painfullyslow
Registered
Hey all!
First I would like to thank all the contributors here for such a great forum. I am a 'new user' but have been reading these forums for the past several years and have taken advantage of the wealth of information here.
I thought it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to reflect on my past and what has brought me to where I am now so this is going to be long and not all pool related so if that kind of stuff bores you, this is your chance to skip. You have been warned :wink:
My introduction to billiards came a ways back in '85 as a young punk who discovered that the local video arcade also had 20 gold crowns. I am/was a geek and so loved anything that was physics/geometry related (more on that later) and found that $5 for a pool table provided a lot more entertainment than $5 in the arcade.
I bought my first personal cue: a whippy Meucci that was probably worse-off than the house wood but at least it was consistent.
I began playing with a few friends which lasted about a year until I discovered that I was more interested in taking the game seriously than they were and so my $5/day for a pool table turned into learning the only way you could back before the internet and youtube videos...at $10/rack of one-pocket from one of the local sharks.
I have a bit of a competitive side to me and so it really forced me to pay attention to the multiple whippings that I took from 'Frenchie' as he was called so I learned fairly quickly. I would play a match, lose badly, then retreat to my own table to go over what I had just witnessed and try to figure out what I had done wrong. Information was not free back then and there was no one offering 'tips' to the new guys.
Over the next year or so I began playing other people and am sad to say that I got hustled more than a few times as I was learning but at least I was improving with every match. This really upset me as I dislike anyone taking advantage of another...more on that later as well.
I went through a bunch of different cues back then...multiple Meuccis with a few Vikings thrown in, etc. I did not have a lot of $ so I was constantly trading to try to find something that would make me 'play better'...yes, I was an idiot.
Fast forward a little bit to I think 1988 when I managed to win a high end Schon and J. Flowers case at a state level tournament. I had never played with such good equipment and the hit was fantastic to me at the time. I would stick with this cue/case until 2001 when I 'retired'.
During that time I continued to improve, winning some local tournaments and I eventually ended up what I call a 'counter-hustler'. I would travel to a pool hall, play down and wait to be approached and then try to beat the hustler. It didn't always work in my favor but more often than not I came out ahead. The flaw to this was obviously difficult to keep word from getting around so I would only be able to visit the same place a few times so I found myself traveling further from home for tournamets/matches.
I also went back to where I first learned to shoot pool and played Frenchie in a one-pocket match, finally beating him for the first time. I took my $10 proudly and he proclaimed that he wouldn't play me again. That crafty bugger had probably taken $1k from me in the past years, $10 at a time, and quit me after one match!
Anyway, in 2001 I quit pool to focus on my other passion: motorcycle riding. I had been riding since before I could walk and recently discovered riding at racetracks which eventually led me to taking up amateur and then professional racing.
There was simply not enough time or money for both hobbies (tires are expensive!) and so I committed what I now know to be a horrible sin: I sold my Schon and case to someone who was going to use them, figuring that I would not be playing pool again. Hindsight being 20/20 I wish that I still had them now!
I continued racing in my local circuits and had finally registered for my professional premier in Moto America (the Pro racing organization here in the USA) until one fateful day in 2017 when an old woman in a Buick decided to end my racing career only three months before my pro race by turning directly into me one one of the very rare times that I rode on the streets.
I t-boned into her car broadside at about ~40mph. She literally turned 10 feet in front of me and I had almost no time to react. Thank god for my racing experience and the necessity for making instant decisions. Knowing that there was no way to avoid the collision I began to stand up on the pegs, figuring it was better to go over the car than through it which I am told saved my life. The impact went straight through my hands as I flipped over the car, shattering both wrists and hands into a giant mess.
I underwent 6 surgeries over the next 18 months trying to repair all the damage, and after multiple bone grafts and attempts to fix nerve damage, I am left with a right hand that functions at about 50% and a left hand at about 10%. I have almost no sensation in my left hand at all but my left wrist is in constant pain. My left did not heal straight and so my hand sits at an awkward angle and is difficult/painful for me to move.
As you can imagine, I was pretty depressed as I lost my career and my passion all at once. After moping around for a good long while in self-pity I finally was advised to get out of the house and do things again...so after some research I discovered that there were pool leagues now and so I took up a cue for the first time in 17 years as a means of attempting to rehabilitate my hands and get me back out into the world.
I joined an APA league in late 2018 while still in a cast from my latest surgery and while I cannot say that I actually love league play (I much prefer tournaments/matches) at least it does force me to become more social and it eased me back into playing pool.
Needing a cue and not being sure that I would stick with it, I was unwilling to shell out for a higher end Schon so I settled on a Pechauer that was on clearance as from what I had read, the hit was similar and it is what I am still shooting with today, although I had discovered the 'new thang' of low deflection shafts and had picked one up to try. I found that I liked it and so I am still using that as well.
In the beginning it was extremely frustrating and challenging for me as I couldn't even form a decent bridge with my left hand. The knowledge was still there, but I am not always able to make my hands do what I tell them. Consequently I would make an amazing multi-rail bank shot and then miss a duck 1' from the pocket because my hand twitched mid-stroke...which is still an issue to this day.
Anyway, finally getting near the good part. I have played in league for the past two years now and have begun playing in the few local tournaments that I can manage to find. Two hallmark events took place which brought me to the final point of this long, rambling thread: I turned 50 and I also recently sold my racebike which provided a good chunk of cash to play around with so I decided that I deserved to finally get myself a custom cue.
Although I had been playing for a while, off and on, I had actually shot with a shockingly low number of cues so I began asking around at the local pool hall and doing a lot of research/reading here about various cuemakers. Everything that I had played with was steel joint and although it worked for me, I know that the better players use other materials in their joints which supposedly provides a lot better feel and feedback. I was lucky enough to meet a few better shooters at one of the bigger tournaments around here and they were kind enough to let me try their cues. The hit was significantly softer than what I was accustomed to and although it felt strange, it also felt good.
Over the past few months I had begun looking for someone to make me a cue as I had a pretty solid idea of what I wanted but after multiple attempts with various cuemakers I could not find anyone that would be able to commit to making one for me within the next year or so...so I turned to trying to find what I wanted already made.
I tend to me a fairly simple, traditional kind of guy so a few points, not overly decorated, and a linen wrap (yeah, I know everyone wants leather now. It isn't for me). I am a complete sucker for pretty wood and specifically love amboyna burl, having used it for something else in the past. Finding that exact cue took quite a while but I finally hit the jackpot just a few days ago. After several weeks I had tracked down a Carmeli meeting those requirements through multiple hands and have made the purchase, now waiting anxiously for it to arrive. The pictures aren't the best but you get the idea. I will post more once I get it into my greedy little hands.
Figuring that since I am making such a drastic change from what I am accustomed to, I know that my game is going to tank while I adjust to the new cue so I figured that now is the time to jump to a carbon fiber shaft as well. I am not one to jump on a 'fad' so after a lot of research and finally trying one at my local hall I pulled the trigger on a Cuetec Cynergy 15k with a Kamui medium clear black tip which is what I currently use.
I can definitely say that I like the look of a traditional wood shaft but dings drive me crazy which is finally what pushed me to try the CF shaft. Who knows, if I don't like it I will just sell it and move to a more traditional LD wood shaft.
My hands are killing me from typing this all out so I think I will go rest them for a bit but thank you if you managed to make it this far into such a long, rambling post!
First I would like to thank all the contributors here for such a great forum. I am a 'new user' but have been reading these forums for the past several years and have taken advantage of the wealth of information here.
I thought it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to reflect on my past and what has brought me to where I am now so this is going to be long and not all pool related so if that kind of stuff bores you, this is your chance to skip. You have been warned :wink:
My introduction to billiards came a ways back in '85 as a young punk who discovered that the local video arcade also had 20 gold crowns. I am/was a geek and so loved anything that was physics/geometry related (more on that later) and found that $5 for a pool table provided a lot more entertainment than $5 in the arcade.
I bought my first personal cue: a whippy Meucci that was probably worse-off than the house wood but at least it was consistent.
I began playing with a few friends which lasted about a year until I discovered that I was more interested in taking the game seriously than they were and so my $5/day for a pool table turned into learning the only way you could back before the internet and youtube videos...at $10/rack of one-pocket from one of the local sharks.
I have a bit of a competitive side to me and so it really forced me to pay attention to the multiple whippings that I took from 'Frenchie' as he was called so I learned fairly quickly. I would play a match, lose badly, then retreat to my own table to go over what I had just witnessed and try to figure out what I had done wrong. Information was not free back then and there was no one offering 'tips' to the new guys.
Over the next year or so I began playing other people and am sad to say that I got hustled more than a few times as I was learning but at least I was improving with every match. This really upset me as I dislike anyone taking advantage of another...more on that later as well.
I went through a bunch of different cues back then...multiple Meuccis with a few Vikings thrown in, etc. I did not have a lot of $ so I was constantly trading to try to find something that would make me 'play better'...yes, I was an idiot.
Fast forward a little bit to I think 1988 when I managed to win a high end Schon and J. Flowers case at a state level tournament. I had never played with such good equipment and the hit was fantastic to me at the time. I would stick with this cue/case until 2001 when I 'retired'.
During that time I continued to improve, winning some local tournaments and I eventually ended up what I call a 'counter-hustler'. I would travel to a pool hall, play down and wait to be approached and then try to beat the hustler. It didn't always work in my favor but more often than not I came out ahead. The flaw to this was obviously difficult to keep word from getting around so I would only be able to visit the same place a few times so I found myself traveling further from home for tournamets/matches.
I also went back to where I first learned to shoot pool and played Frenchie in a one-pocket match, finally beating him for the first time. I took my $10 proudly and he proclaimed that he wouldn't play me again. That crafty bugger had probably taken $1k from me in the past years, $10 at a time, and quit me after one match!
Anyway, in 2001 I quit pool to focus on my other passion: motorcycle riding. I had been riding since before I could walk and recently discovered riding at racetracks which eventually led me to taking up amateur and then professional racing.
There was simply not enough time or money for both hobbies (tires are expensive!) and so I committed what I now know to be a horrible sin: I sold my Schon and case to someone who was going to use them, figuring that I would not be playing pool again. Hindsight being 20/20 I wish that I still had them now!
I continued racing in my local circuits and had finally registered for my professional premier in Moto America (the Pro racing organization here in the USA) until one fateful day in 2017 when an old woman in a Buick decided to end my racing career only three months before my pro race by turning directly into me one one of the very rare times that I rode on the streets.
I t-boned into her car broadside at about ~40mph. She literally turned 10 feet in front of me and I had almost no time to react. Thank god for my racing experience and the necessity for making instant decisions. Knowing that there was no way to avoid the collision I began to stand up on the pegs, figuring it was better to go over the car than through it which I am told saved my life. The impact went straight through my hands as I flipped over the car, shattering both wrists and hands into a giant mess.
I underwent 6 surgeries over the next 18 months trying to repair all the damage, and after multiple bone grafts and attempts to fix nerve damage, I am left with a right hand that functions at about 50% and a left hand at about 10%. I have almost no sensation in my left hand at all but my left wrist is in constant pain. My left did not heal straight and so my hand sits at an awkward angle and is difficult/painful for me to move.
As you can imagine, I was pretty depressed as I lost my career and my passion all at once. After moping around for a good long while in self-pity I finally was advised to get out of the house and do things again...so after some research I discovered that there were pool leagues now and so I took up a cue for the first time in 17 years as a means of attempting to rehabilitate my hands and get me back out into the world.
I joined an APA league in late 2018 while still in a cast from my latest surgery and while I cannot say that I actually love league play (I much prefer tournaments/matches) at least it does force me to become more social and it eased me back into playing pool.
Needing a cue and not being sure that I would stick with it, I was unwilling to shell out for a higher end Schon so I settled on a Pechauer that was on clearance as from what I had read, the hit was similar and it is what I am still shooting with today, although I had discovered the 'new thang' of low deflection shafts and had picked one up to try. I found that I liked it and so I am still using that as well.
In the beginning it was extremely frustrating and challenging for me as I couldn't even form a decent bridge with my left hand. The knowledge was still there, but I am not always able to make my hands do what I tell them. Consequently I would make an amazing multi-rail bank shot and then miss a duck 1' from the pocket because my hand twitched mid-stroke...which is still an issue to this day.
Anyway, finally getting near the good part. I have played in league for the past two years now and have begun playing in the few local tournaments that I can manage to find. Two hallmark events took place which brought me to the final point of this long, rambling thread: I turned 50 and I also recently sold my racebike which provided a good chunk of cash to play around with so I decided that I deserved to finally get myself a custom cue.
Although I had been playing for a while, off and on, I had actually shot with a shockingly low number of cues so I began asking around at the local pool hall and doing a lot of research/reading here about various cuemakers. Everything that I had played with was steel joint and although it worked for me, I know that the better players use other materials in their joints which supposedly provides a lot better feel and feedback. I was lucky enough to meet a few better shooters at one of the bigger tournaments around here and they were kind enough to let me try their cues. The hit was significantly softer than what I was accustomed to and although it felt strange, it also felt good.
Over the past few months I had begun looking for someone to make me a cue as I had a pretty solid idea of what I wanted but after multiple attempts with various cuemakers I could not find anyone that would be able to commit to making one for me within the next year or so...so I turned to trying to find what I wanted already made.
I tend to me a fairly simple, traditional kind of guy so a few points, not overly decorated, and a linen wrap (yeah, I know everyone wants leather now. It isn't for me). I am a complete sucker for pretty wood and specifically love amboyna burl, having used it for something else in the past. Finding that exact cue took quite a while but I finally hit the jackpot just a few days ago. After several weeks I had tracked down a Carmeli meeting those requirements through multiple hands and have made the purchase, now waiting anxiously for it to arrive. The pictures aren't the best but you get the idea. I will post more once I get it into my greedy little hands.
Figuring that since I am making such a drastic change from what I am accustomed to, I know that my game is going to tank while I adjust to the new cue so I figured that now is the time to jump to a carbon fiber shaft as well. I am not one to jump on a 'fad' so after a lot of research and finally trying one at my local hall I pulled the trigger on a Cuetec Cynergy 15k with a Kamui medium clear black tip which is what I currently use.
I can definitely say that I like the look of a traditional wood shaft but dings drive me crazy which is finally what pushed me to try the CF shaft. Who knows, if I don't like it I will just sell it and move to a more traditional LD wood shaft.
My hands are killing me from typing this all out so I think I will go rest them for a bit but thank you if you managed to make it this far into such a long, rambling post!
