Playing the US Open this year. Very nervous about it as I have never played or seen a live professional tournament. I've been competing in the ghost challenge thread in the main forum but have no idea where I stand up against the pros.
Nov & Dec I'll work on 14.1 Looking to break the 117 ball run on my 10 footer. Hopefully before the new year.
Nice! Green with envy! Have fun!
As to preparing yourself, be sure to practice the break and shoot a variety of opening shots from the head rail, so you know your strengths and weaknesses in taking or refusing the shot, or taking two scratches before taking it etc. (practicing this on a 10-foot should also give you an advantage: in the olden days, players would break themselves when the won the lag, whereas on the 9-footers today, nobody does that anymore). I find that even strong players, who don't go places very often, too often feel forced to take the shot (and without taking any scratches beforehand) even if they feel uncomfortable.
In the same vein, it may be a good idea to find recent Straight Pool matches on YouTube and watch a hundred first and second innings to get an idea what the pros will take on, so you know what not to leave them.
As to where one stands: I firmly believe that, leaving high runs aside (and don't we all love them?), Steve Mizerak was right on the nail that what one really needs to do to win tournaments is running 30s and 40s every time one gets an open shot, and
never miss but leave the table on a safety. In other words, knowing one's strengths and weaknesses so one will NOT force oneself to shoot a shot one could miss may be the biggest factor of all.
Again: enjoy yourself! I mean it when I say I'm green with envy. The sheer honor of attending a historic event. Wow!
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
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„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
