2017 VNEA World Championships - Team Preparation Advice
- Thread starter CoreyD
- Start date
Corey,
Last year was my first VNEA experience. My best advice is practice as much as possible on a Valley Panther coin op with the correct Valley cue ball. Nothing else can prepare you for the extra rotation or the sudden sideways lurch but the correct cue ball.
Lyn
Last year was my first VNEA experience. My best advice is practice as much as possible on a Valley Panther coin op with the correct Valley cue ball. Nothing else can prepare you for the extra rotation or the sudden sideways lurch but the correct cue ball.
Lyn
I will be making my 25th or 26th trip to the VNEA World Championships and as far as a single practice regime goes, I would suggest in my opinion three things.
1. The air is dry and with the air conditioning, the cloth is super dry and if from a league heading out there, the tables will be fast, so, I suggest, putting a object ball on a diamond from 2 diamonds up the long rail, back to the short rail and up 2 diamonds on the long rail the opposite side, both ends of the table.
Take ball in hand and run them all off in any order and not touching another object ball, the reason why, practice making them as soft as possible and remember, if you don't think you can hold a shot, don't, go long up and back down a table, speed kills out there.
2. Jump shots and Jump Shots and kicking for legal hits. You may not make them, but, seriously, legal hits may just buy you that extra chance to a table.
3. Most importantly, have fun, take your time, that casino is opened 24 hours a day and no one is going to throw you out. Don't cheat yourself from being in a rush. 95 percent of the people there are awesome folks from all around the world.
Remember also, a safety may not always work, but the intentions are always 100 % correct.
Good Luck and send me your contact information, would be a pleasure in meeting you and your team.
Chuck 320-583-6710
I will be there for 11 days.
1. The air is dry and with the air conditioning, the cloth is super dry and if from a league heading out there, the tables will be fast, so, I suggest, putting a object ball on a diamond from 2 diamonds up the long rail, back to the short rail and up 2 diamonds on the long rail the opposite side, both ends of the table.
Take ball in hand and run them all off in any order and not touching another object ball, the reason why, practice making them as soft as possible and remember, if you don't think you can hold a shot, don't, go long up and back down a table, speed kills out there.
2. Jump shots and Jump Shots and kicking for legal hits. You may not make them, but, seriously, legal hits may just buy you that extra chance to a table.
3. Most importantly, have fun, take your time, that casino is opened 24 hours a day and no one is going to throw you out. Don't cheat yourself from being in a rush. 95 percent of the people there are awesome folks from all around the world.
Remember also, a safety may not always work, but the intentions are always 100 % correct.
Good Luck and send me your contact information, would be a pleasure in meeting you and your team.
Chuck 320-583-6710
I will be there for 11 days.
Chuck,
I'll be there for the Masters Scotch Doubles through the Masters team event (Dick's Pick). Was fortunate to be voted a first team All Star last year. Except for the door nazis and the rediculous food prices, this is a GREAT event.
Lyn
Lyn's advice is very good. I play most of my pool on a Diamond table but when preparing for this tournament time spent on a Valley table will be very valuable. Getting to know how badly a ball can be "missed" and still pocketed will serve you well.
Steve
Be prepared to be severely disappointed in the quality of the equipment. For an International tournament, they are garbage. Most of the tables are way out of level. Most tables will have miss-matched sets of balls with crappy plastic racks. The tables will play fast and the cue ball will have a mind of its own sometimes. Tables in different banquet rooms will play totally different.
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You can get others opinions on this but personally I would not agree completely with that statement. Gary Benson and his crew do a decent job of maintaining the Valley tables they haul around to tournaments. I think you will find they play reasonably consistent for a Valley table. As far as level goes you will find a few wonky ones early in the tournament during the 9 ball. Just roll some balls before you start, if it's off they will come and level it for you.
OP, if you've never been to a tournament in Vegas you're in for a fantastic time. It's quite different than the BCA tournament in July in some ways better, many ways worse but I find it just as fun and look forward to it every year. One thing I find better than BCA is the Compusport system for running the tournament. It's a pretty slick program for scanning your results and letting you know when and where you play.
Steve
You can think what you want, but my description is 100% spot on. Last year we get to a table for a match and they "leveled" the frame so badly one of the legs wasn't even touching the ground! They had the frame twisted that badly. Benson's crew cracked the laminate on almost every table they touched by using the refrigerator dolly to lift the table to turn the levelers. It simply crushed the laminate. I'll add one other thing. The spots on most tables are about a ball too high. They must be cross-eyed as well. At least I know a name to never have work on a table. 
You are right about the BCA. MUCH better in every respect.
You are right about the BCA. MUCH better in every respect.
You can think what you want, but my description is 100% spot on. Last year we get to a table for a match and they "leveled" the frame so badly one of the legs wasn't even touching the ground! They had the frame twisted that badly. Benson's crew cracked the laminate on almost every table they touched by using the refrigerator dolly to lift the table to turn the levelers. It simply crushed the laminate. I'll add one other thing. The spots on most tables are about a ball too high. They must be cross-eyed as well. At least I know a name to never have work on a table.
You are right about the BCA. MUCH better in every respect.
gutshot,
I have a simple explaination. Valley makes BAR BOX tables. Note the BAR part. Most every bar in Rochester has a Valley table. Only ONE has a Diamond small table. Some have terrible rolls because of poor set-up. Some still use the terrible old weighted cue ball. Some use "grass" for cloth. It's bar pool and you sadly expect it.
Diamond makes pool tables. The ones BCAPL use are just small Diamonds. They have much more in common with larger pool tables. The cost of those tables is in line with a nine foot table. Think a new seven footer is around $5000. A Valley? Less than half! Of course the Valley has a slate half the thickness. You can only level Valleys with the feet once the rails have been bolted in place. Diamonds have adjusters accessible at all times.
Which would I prefer to play on? Honestly Diamonds. Must also say we have nine Valley BB's at East Ridge Billiards in Rochester. Seven of them play 95% as well as our competitors Diamonds. Two have been "massaged" to where they play better (and tougher) than a Diamond. We take care of the Valleys. New cloth. We react to negative customer input ASAP. Then again, we are not a BAR. We are a pool room and our players expect the best.
In closing, which tournaments cater to which players? Actually, all of them cater to bar players. Yes, there are leagues coming out of pool rooms that only play on nine footers. They are the ones in the most trouble at the VNEA, ACS and APA events.
They are not prepared for the conditions they'll find in Vegas. So, how should they prepare? Get their excuses polished? Probably. I'd prefer finding the type of equipment I'll be playing on and practice, practice, practice. What do you do?
Lyn
Good post Lynn. When I joined apa I played strictly on valleys. 4 months after joining I went to regionals in Nashville and played on diamonds. My game was way off and I wen 2 and out.
I qualified for regionals again the next year. The week before regionals I decided I better get some play on a diamond before I went so I practiced for 2 days ....a whopping 2 hours each day because I find practice boring. This time I went undefeated all the way to the finals where I lost hill - hill. I think that speaks volumes about what a little practice before hand on tables you are not used to before a major tournament
CoreyD
Baller, Shot Caller
For the record, we only play on Valley tables as there are no Diamond tables in our town, so I'm well aware of the Valley table's shortcomings and how they play overall.
Is there anything to be done in regards to the team? Should we be practicing together as much as possible to help each other see things we might not see on our own? Any drills or other games that help prepare for an 8ball tournament?
Is there anything to be done in regards to the team? Should we be practicing together as much as possible to help each other see things we might not see on our own? Any drills or other games that help prepare for an 8ball tournament?
Another very important thing to do is ..... Read the rule book. Know the VNEA rules regarding the break. Open table after the break. Using the eight ball as the first ball in a combo after the break. Could go on and on. If you already play with the rest of the team going to Vegas, you are already ahead of the game. Many teams going are made up just for the event. Again, read the rules.
I'm playing in the Master Doubles, Masters 9 and 8 ball and the Masters team event with "Dicks Pick" of the Las Vegas Cue Club. We won the Intermediate Team event last year. Stop by and say hello.
Lyn
Stay loose and have fun.....i seem to play better that way myself. When my team went to Vegas I had 2 players that cost us dearly by putting too much pressure on themselves and playing way under their skill level. They both had that dear in the headlights look the entire tournament and as I only had 5 players there I had no choice but to play them.
They were both 4's and played worse than my 2and 3. Hope that gives you an indication of how bad they played lol .
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