John Schmidt's high run marathon

Bob Jewett

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John has been trying to break his high run for Easy Street Billiards in Monterey, CA, which sponsors him. Here is a recent post he made on Facebook:

“Ok i just got the numbers in. I had 18 playing days and had 28 runs over 200 in that time. Here's the exact numbers from low to high only mentioning 200 plus. 200, 208, 211, 211,214, 224, 225, 228, 228, 233, 239, 239, 239, 240, 240, 244, 249, 250, 255, 271, 272, 294, 294, 322, 323, 327, 353, 362. Thank you to my Racker and friend Doug Desmond who kept track of everything so I could just play”

So that's close to a 300-ball run every three days.

I don't know if that does or does not qualify for the AZB high run list since he hasn't been here in over three years.
 

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
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John has been trying to break his high run for Easy Street Billiards in Monterey, CA, which sponsors him. Here is a recent post he made on Facebook:

“Ok i just got the numbers in. I had 18 playing days and had 28 runs over 200 in that time. Here's the exact numbers from low to high only mentioning 200 plus. 200, 208, 211, 211,214, 224, 225, 228, 228, 233, 239, 239, 239, 240, 240, 244, 249, 250, 255, 271, 272, 294, 294, 322, 323, 327, 353, 362. Thank you to my Racker and friend Doug Desmond who kept track of everything so I could just play”

So that's close to a 300-ball run every three days.

I don't know if that does or does not qualify for the AZB high run list since he hasn't been here in over three years.


Table specs please.

Lou Figueroa
 

robertno1pool

AzB Silver Member
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2018 High Run - Accepted or Not

Hell Yeah -


If it happens between 01-Jan-2018 to 31-Dec-2018, it qualifies.
The idea is to promote 14.1 for that year, rather than stipulate equipment played on, etc.

Not sure why you might question whether it occurred or not.
 

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
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Hell Yeah -


If it happens between 01-Jan-2018 to 31-Dec-2018, it qualifies.
The idea is to promote 14.1 for that year, rather than stipulate equipment played on, etc.

Not sure why you might question whether it occurred or not.


IF this is directed at me, I'm not questioning whether it occurred.

I'm just curious about the table. Specifically the pockets. I guess I'd also be interested in knowing how often the balls were polished up. I don't think any of that is unreasonable for 14.1 aficionado to ask.

Lou Figueroa
 

sixpack

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From what I understand on FB he videotaped every session.

If so this could be the greatest video collection of straight pool runs in history by a single player.
 

Get_A_Grip

Truth Will Set You Free
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IF this is directed at me, I'm not questioning whether it occurred.



I'm just curious about the table. Specifically the pockets. I guess I'd also be interested in knowing how often the balls were polished up. I don't think any of that is unreasonable for 14.1 aficionado to ask.



Lou Figueroa

If I had to guess, freshly polished balls and 5 inch pockets. I believe that he plays on loose pockets when going for his high runs. In fact, he commented once that he considered his ~200 ball run on a Diamond table tougher than all the rest of his runs.




_______
 

Positively Ralf

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I'm assuming he did these runs on the same table in which a run of his was recently posted to youtube. if so, the table looked like it had decent sized pockets for 14.1

but yeah, wonder if he will post them up to youtube. would like to see that.
 

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
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If I had to guess, freshly polished balls and 5 inch pockets. I believe that he plays on loose pockets when going for his high runs. In fact, he commented once that he considered his ~200 ball run on a Diamond table tougher than all the rest of his runs.




_______


oh yeah. I used to play some 14.1 on an old GC that I thought had relatively tough pockets. Then I started playing on a Diamond. The Diamond is definitely tougher. I run 50 on it and want to celebrate.

Lou Figueroa
 

measureman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
i play on Diamonds.
every now and then i will run 50 balls and think thats like a 70 on a GC.
for those that dont know if you shoot a ball down a long rail and it touches the rail it will rattle and not go in on a Diamond,on a GC it probably will rattle and drop,shorter shelf on the GC.
And of course speed has a lot to do with it.
and because so many balls hang up deep in a pocket on Diamonds you better know how to play position off a ball deep in the pocket.
also i dont care what table he is playing on,those runs are impressive none the less.
 
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Bob Jewett

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John has been trying to break his high run for Easy Street Billiards in Monterey, CA, which sponsors him. Here is a recent post he made on Facebook: ... So that's close to a 300-ball run every three days.....
Applying some probability and statistics to the high run list says that John is 25% to run 100 or more from each start under the conditions he had. He shoots at a clip of 220 balls per hour. If that is a complete description of the situation -- ignoring fatigue, anxiety above 450, etc. -- then John is expected to run 527 in about 527 hours of play. (Well, I got about 480, but 527 kind of fits and is easier to remember.) He had about 140 hours total in his marathon.

By "expected" I mean more than 50% chance. It might only take 10 hours or it might take 2000. In 140 hours the expectation is for one or two runs over 400 and the actual number was zero.
 
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alphadog

AzB Silver Member
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Applying some probability and statistics to the high run list says that John is 25% to run 100 or more from each start under the conditions he had. He shoots at a clip of 220 balls per hour. If that is a complete description of the situation -- ignoring fatigue, anxiety above 450, etc. -- then John is expected to run 527 in about 527 hours of play. (Well, I got about 480, but 527 kind of fits and is easier to remember.) He had about 140 hours total in his marathon.

By "expected" I mean more than 50% chance. It might only take 10 hours or it might take 2000. In 140 hours the expectation is for one or two runs over 400 and the actual number was zero.

Intreseting, thanks for taking the time to post all this.
Curious how many runs of 400+ he has ever had?
I would assume the more data to analyse,closer to reality for "probabillity':wink:
As we used to say about betting on the horses "trying to predict how a horse will do,when it has never done it before, that is gambling".
 
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AtLarge

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Applying some probability and statistics to the high run list says that John is 25% to run 100 or more from each start under the conditions he had. ...

At the 2017 DCC George Fels Challenge, John had only 1 run of 100 or more (125) in 48 attempts. I don't have the score sheets yet for the 2018 event, so I don't know his results there other than a 183 that was the 2nd highest run of the event.

So (at first glance, anyway) he produced much better results at Easy Street than at DCC. As previously mentioned, it would be interesting to know the table specs for the Easy Street runs vs. the pro-cut Diamonds at DCC. And, obviously, he spent far more time at it at Easy Street -- about 140 hours you said versus maybe 8 or 9 hours at the 2017 DCC. Do you have the info to chart his frequency of 100+ runs at Easy Street day by day? I wonder if the frequency rose the longer he played. Or maybe it rose for a while and then leveled out (or fell?).

28 runs of 200+ (including 5 of 300+) in 18 days is remarkable. I wonder how he feels about how he did here versus any similar high-run efforts in the past.
 

alstl

AzB Silver Member
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John has been trying to break his high run for Easy Street Billiards in Monterey, CA, which sponsors him. Here is a recent post he made on Facebook:

“Ok i just got the numbers in. I had 18 playing days and had 28 runs over 200 in that time. Here's the exact numbers from low to high only mentioning 200 plus. 200, 208, 211, 211,214, 224, 225, 228, 228, 233, 239, 239, 239, 240, 240, 244, 249, 250, 255, 271, 272, 294, 294, 322, 323, 327, 353, 362. Thank you to my Racker and friend Doug Desmond who kept track of everything so I could just play”

So that's close to a 300-ball run every three days.

I don't know if that does or does not qualify for the AZB high run list since he hasn't been here in over three years.

Now I know my problem. I don't have Doug Desmond racking for me.
 

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
IF this is directed at me, I'm not questioning whether it occurred.

I'm just curious about the table. Specifically the pockets. I guess I'd also be interested in knowing how often the balls were polished up. I don't think any of that is unreasonable for 14.1 aficionado to ask.

Lou Figueroa
Yeah, that was the very first (rather obvious) question I had after reading the initial post as well - you beat me to it. No doubt, 28 runs over 200 and 5 runs over 300 in just 18 days is a truly amazing feat, regardless of pocket size. I would be shocked if he was playing on a table any tighter than 5-inch corners and 5-1/2 inch sides.

One would have to think, that if he stuck with it, 527 is a realistic possibility. His biggest obstacle will surely be the mental barrier of approaching such a historic and coveted record. The mounting pressure not to make a mistake, once he gets within 100 balls would be hard to fathom!
 

ChrisinNC

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Applying some probability and statistics to the high run list says that John is 25% to run 100 or more from each start under the conditions he had. He shoots at a clip of 220 balls per hour. If that is a complete description of the situation -- ignoring fatigue, anxiety above 450, etc. -- then John is expected to run 527 in about 527 hours of play. (Well, I got about 480, but 527 kind of fits and is easier to remember.) He had about 140 hours total in his marathon.

By "expected" I mean more than 50% chance. It might only take 10 hours or it might take 2000. In 140 hours the expectation is for one or two runs over 400 and the actual number was zero.
I'd heard that Mosconi's 526 record exhibition high run was set on an 8-foot table with 5-1/2" corners, which would likely mean 6" sides. Can anyone who really knows for sure, please confirm the size table and pocket specs (corners and sides) of the table this record was set on, or is it unknown?
 

AtLarge

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I'd heard that Mosconi's 526 record exhibition high run was set on an 8-foot table with 5-1/2" corners, which would likely mean 6" sides. Can anyone who really knows for sure, please confirm the size table and pocket specs (corners and sides) of the table this record was set on, or is it unknown?

Wikipedia says they were 5¼". But then it says "citation needed" so that may not be reliable.

Jay Helfert has written about this several times.

From 2011: "I was in that poolroom a couple of times in the 60's and even played on the same table. It was a typical over-sized 4x8 that was popular in Midwestern poolrooms back then. Not the toughest table in the world, but not the easiest either. Those old boxes had straight cut pockets with fairly deep shelves. I'm guessing the pocket openings were just under 5". You had to hit the pockets though or the ball wasn't going in. Shooting down the rail was probably easier than most tourney tables in use today, but out on the table you had to make a clean shot."

From 2009: "It was what we called an "over sized" eight footer (46"x92" playing surface). It just seemed like a normal table to me back then. What did I know? Based on the Sport Kings that were so popular in Midwestern poolrooms at that time, I would guess the pocket openings at about 4.75". But remember the slate was fairly deep on those old tables and the pocket opening were straight cut with very stiff rails."

From 2007: "I visited East High Billiards in the 60's when my friend Russ Maddox owned it. The 4x8 tables they had there were the over sized Sport Kings (46" by 92" playing surface) with approx. four and five/eighths inch pockets. These were very popular tables in Midwestern poolrooms in that era. ... I played on these tables quite a bit growing up, and they were great pool tables. The pockets were straight cut and "stiff", and you had to hit them cleanly or the ball would not drop. The slates were not shallow either. George Rood played in that same club quite a bit and was a terrific 14.1 player. I doubt he ever ran over 200 balls there. He and Russ were friends and George often remarked that he thought Mosconi's run of 526 was amazing."
 
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ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Wikipedia says they were 5¼". But then it says "citation needed" so that may not be reliable.

Jay Helfert has written about this several times.

From 2011: "I was in that poolroom a couple of times in the 60's and even played on the same table. It was a typical over-sized 4x8 that was popular in Midwestern poolrooms back then. Not the toughest table in the world, but not the easiest either. Those old boxes had straight cut pockets with fairly deep shelves. I'm guessing the pocket openings were just under 5". You had to hit the pockets though or the ball wasn't going in. Shooting down the rail was probably easier than most tourney tables in use today, but out on the table you had to make a clean shot."

From 2009: "It was what we called an "over sized" eight footer (46"x92" playing surface). It just seemed like a normal table to me back then. What did I know? Based on the Sport Kings that were so popular in Midwestern poolrooms at that time, I would guess the pocket openings at about 4.75". But remember the slate was fairly deep on those old tables and the pocket opening were straight cut with very stiff rails."

From 2007: "I visited East High Billiards in the 60's when my friend Russ Maddox owned it. The 4x8 tables they had there were the over sized Sport Kings (46" by 92" playing surface) with approx. four and five/eighths inch pockets. These were very popular tables in Midwestern poolrooms in that era. ... I played on these tables quite a bit growing up, and they were great pool tables. The pockets were straight cut and "stiff", and you had to hit them cleanly or the ball would not drop. The slates were not shallow either. George Rood played in that same club quite a bit and was a terrific 14.1 player. I doubt he ever ran over 200 balls there. He and Russ were friends and George often remarked that he thought Mosconi's run of 526 was amazing."
Thanks - I appreciate the info. Sounds like it was an oversized 8-footer with slightly under 5-inch corners and fairly deep shelves - certainly not as easy a table as I'd heard from someone else.
 

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Applying some probability and statistics to the high run list says that John is 25% to run 100 or more from each start under the conditions he had. He shoots at a clip of 220 balls per hour. If that is a complete description of the situation -- ignoring fatigue, anxiety above 450, etc. -- then John is expected to run 527 in about 527 hours of play. (Well, I got about 480, but 527 kind of fits and is easier to remember.) He had about 140 hours total in his marathon.

By "expected" I mean more than 50% chance. It might only take 10 hours or it might take 2000. In 140 hours the expectation is for one or two runs over 400 and the actual number was zero.
Bob, just curious - any updates on John's recent high run attempts, or is he taking a break for now? - Thanks
 

Bob Jewett

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Bob, just curious - any updates on John's recent high run attempts, or is he taking a break for now? - Thanks
He posted that he was exhausted from playing for 18 days solid. I have not heard of any new try.
 

ChrisinNC

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He posted that he was exhausted from playing for 18 days solid. I have not heard of any new try.
Yeah, I guess that's one reason why Willie's 526 has held for 64+ years! All records are made to be broken though, and eventually someone will break that one.
 
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