Last weekend, I played in a local 64-man single elimination tournament and it was one of the craziest experiences I’ve ever had in pool. (Kind of long, sorry)
First, I arrived at the hall and get in the elevator and I notice Lo Li Wen and Ramil Gallego standing next to me. The tournament poster advertised that there would be a couple pros in the field, but I didn’t think there would be any major pros there, so I was happy to get to see some great players.
Anyway, I get in and sign up, get on the practice table and miscue on the first shot, WTF!? Then I chalk up and the tip just falls apart, WTF X 2!!
Somehow the inside of my case got wet and the milk dud tip absorbed the water like a sponge and had swelled up to twice its size. I didn’t bring a spare shaft, but there was no need to panic, because the hall had a pro shop, so I could just get a new one. I ask, but they say they don’t have anything to match my joint. Okay, time to panic.
So I grab a house cue off the wall and practice with it. It played okay, but I'm an LD guy so I gave up trying to use sidespin. I thought, okay, this isn’t going to work but at least I can blame it on the cue when I lose.:grin:
The first match was against a B player, so I had to give a game on the wire and it was on the main table in front of all the spectators who’d come to watch the pros play. It was the most horrible display of pool ever, and we put the gallery to sleep. However, it was the other guy’s first big tournament so he was really nervous and handed me the match on a silver platter.
The next two matches, I resolved to play shape so that I wouldn’t need to use sidespin, play lots of safeties and I also realized that TOI worked really well with the house cue. I started playing much better, won the matches and people started wondering who the heck is this guy and why is he using a house cue?
In the quarterfinals, I came up against Hideaki Arita, one of the top Japanese pros. I guess the tournament was designed to make it easy for amateurs to win, because I got 2 games on the wire to 6, which is a huge handicap. Of course I needed all of it, as it went down to the wire. We went back and forth with break and runs and lots of safeties. Then in the hill-hill game, he left a shot on the 1-ball and I kept cool, stayed in line and used TOI shape to clean up and get the win.
In the semis, I faced a top amateur player who had beaten me in all our previous meetings. I guess he was tired, because he made some uncharacteristic errors, and left me a bunch of easy layouts and I was shocked to get the win.
So there I was, in the final, with a dirty house cue, against another top pro, Takashi Uraoka. All I could think about was winning the whole the thing so I could be like my hero, Black-balled. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be as I missed an easy 9 at 2-2 and he squashed me from there.
I ended up getting my best finish ever in a big tourney, about $500 in cash and prizes, and about a dozen people coming up and asking why I don’t have a playing cue. Sometimes the rolls just go your way I guess.
So anyway, I learned three things from this experience:
1. I think not having my cue gave me an excuse and kind of took away the pressure to win, so I probably did better than I would have if I had used my regular playing cue.
2. It really is the indian and not the arrow, but a good arrow makes things so much easier.
3. Mark Wilson’s book has really helped me solidify my PSR and stance, and CJ’s TOI is the nuts!
Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading!
Vic
First, I arrived at the hall and get in the elevator and I notice Lo Li Wen and Ramil Gallego standing next to me. The tournament poster advertised that there would be a couple pros in the field, but I didn’t think there would be any major pros there, so I was happy to get to see some great players.
Anyway, I get in and sign up, get on the practice table and miscue on the first shot, WTF!? Then I chalk up and the tip just falls apart, WTF X 2!!
Somehow the inside of my case got wet and the milk dud tip absorbed the water like a sponge and had swelled up to twice its size. I didn’t bring a spare shaft, but there was no need to panic, because the hall had a pro shop, so I could just get a new one. I ask, but they say they don’t have anything to match my joint. Okay, time to panic.So I grab a house cue off the wall and practice with it. It played okay, but I'm an LD guy so I gave up trying to use sidespin. I thought, okay, this isn’t going to work but at least I can blame it on the cue when I lose.:grin:
The first match was against a B player, so I had to give a game on the wire and it was on the main table in front of all the spectators who’d come to watch the pros play. It was the most horrible display of pool ever, and we put the gallery to sleep. However, it was the other guy’s first big tournament so he was really nervous and handed me the match on a silver platter.
The next two matches, I resolved to play shape so that I wouldn’t need to use sidespin, play lots of safeties and I also realized that TOI worked really well with the house cue. I started playing much better, won the matches and people started wondering who the heck is this guy and why is he using a house cue?
In the quarterfinals, I came up against Hideaki Arita, one of the top Japanese pros. I guess the tournament was designed to make it easy for amateurs to win, because I got 2 games on the wire to 6, which is a huge handicap. Of course I needed all of it, as it went down to the wire. We went back and forth with break and runs and lots of safeties. Then in the hill-hill game, he left a shot on the 1-ball and I kept cool, stayed in line and used TOI shape to clean up and get the win.
In the semis, I faced a top amateur player who had beaten me in all our previous meetings. I guess he was tired, because he made some uncharacteristic errors, and left me a bunch of easy layouts and I was shocked to get the win.
So there I was, in the final, with a dirty house cue, against another top pro, Takashi Uraoka. All I could think about was winning the whole the thing so I could be like my hero, Black-balled. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be as I missed an easy 9 at 2-2 and he squashed me from there.
I ended up getting my best finish ever in a big tourney, about $500 in cash and prizes, and about a dozen people coming up and asking why I don’t have a playing cue. Sometimes the rolls just go your way I guess.
So anyway, I learned three things from this experience:
1. I think not having my cue gave me an excuse and kind of took away the pressure to win, so I probably did better than I would have if I had used my regular playing cue.
2. It really is the indian and not the arrow, but a good arrow makes things so much easier.
3. Mark Wilson’s book has really helped me solidify my PSR and stance, and CJ’s TOI is the nuts!
Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading!
Vic
