silvertuner
New member
new guy here, although i have been reading the forum for about the past 6 months. a bit of background first. i started playing about 3 years ago (24 years old) after a rough break-up which shot me into heavy drinking, which then turned into me playing drunken pool 4 hours a night, 7 days a week. once i realized how badly this was screwing me up in my personal and business life, i ordered a mcdermott G222, g-core shaft, all that good stuff. i decided the ole "mr and miss cue" in indianapolis was close, didnt serve alcohol, and should dry me out nicely. the game stuck with me, and i had that ambition to play and improve.
Kenny was less than welcoming the first few weeks, but after a while hed sit and chat with me, coach me a bit with the whole "are you an idiot, you shot a duck, and had no way to get shape up table for the last ball"... after a while, and getting my ass handed to me by an A player (Kenny) for a few months, it started becoming more routine, and running out an 8 ball rack was almost a certainty if nothing was tied up terribly. i then joined a Valley league after being invited to join Kenny on a team. at this point, i could practice 8-14 hours a day, helping Kenny run Mr and Miss Cue in exchange for free time on the tables and a few other perks.
In the league, holy crap, i had no idea how different it would be. the pressure was high to win, and having only played a handful of competitive players, i was completely thrown off my game. about 4 weeks into it, i finally started playing well. 2 turns at the table and i was out. i ended up finishing that league in 4th place for points, and Kenny wont MVP by 4 points (he was over 100 points above me too). next session, i had found a job, practiced much less, and noticed my game was deteriorating something FIERCE. i accepted it as "not enough practice" and winged my way thru the end of the session, finishing somewhere in the top 20 out of about fifty players. nothing great.
Kenny shut down Mr and Miss cue almost a year ago (june 6th i believe 2011). it was a sad day. i spent almost every waking hour there. now what to do? BUY A TABLE! done and done. my game deteriorated more, the more i practiced. over practicing i suppose. i went from a strong B player, to a D player quickly. i was invited to play on an APA team that had a few players who simply couldnt show up. sure, ill play. slop counts in 8 ball, thats a load of sh*t right there. Diamond tables with 860 cloth, i had to relearn the entire game. patterns had to allow for a little extra movement, and english transferred a whole lot better using super-pros. my Valley table was now useless, so i sold it, and paid the mortage that month lol.
i did the usual "it must be my cue" when i could no longer play like i once did. sell the $300 mcdermott, and use the cheapo Players that i had as a back up and the j&j to break. my game improved in about 2 games. the balance of the players was a little more forward, and it balanced with me better. now here i am, a couple cheap cues, used to play well, and cant even hit 3 in a row anymore. i can play 2-3 rail kicks (thanks to Kenny teaching me a bit of a diamond system), but i simply cannot cut an easy 60 degree shot with a ball a foot outside the pocket.
so, to cliffnote, im a new guy, have a bad game, but fell in love with this game thanks to a bad ending. just wanted to say hi to everyone, and look forward to potentially posting, and making fun of the half-ball aiming technique.
Kenny was less than welcoming the first few weeks, but after a while hed sit and chat with me, coach me a bit with the whole "are you an idiot, you shot a duck, and had no way to get shape up table for the last ball"... after a while, and getting my ass handed to me by an A player (Kenny) for a few months, it started becoming more routine, and running out an 8 ball rack was almost a certainty if nothing was tied up terribly. i then joined a Valley league after being invited to join Kenny on a team. at this point, i could practice 8-14 hours a day, helping Kenny run Mr and Miss Cue in exchange for free time on the tables and a few other perks.
In the league, holy crap, i had no idea how different it would be. the pressure was high to win, and having only played a handful of competitive players, i was completely thrown off my game. about 4 weeks into it, i finally started playing well. 2 turns at the table and i was out. i ended up finishing that league in 4th place for points, and Kenny wont MVP by 4 points (he was over 100 points above me too). next session, i had found a job, practiced much less, and noticed my game was deteriorating something FIERCE. i accepted it as "not enough practice" and winged my way thru the end of the session, finishing somewhere in the top 20 out of about fifty players. nothing great.
Kenny shut down Mr and Miss cue almost a year ago (june 6th i believe 2011). it was a sad day. i spent almost every waking hour there. now what to do? BUY A TABLE! done and done. my game deteriorated more, the more i practiced. over practicing i suppose. i went from a strong B player, to a D player quickly. i was invited to play on an APA team that had a few players who simply couldnt show up. sure, ill play. slop counts in 8 ball, thats a load of sh*t right there. Diamond tables with 860 cloth, i had to relearn the entire game. patterns had to allow for a little extra movement, and english transferred a whole lot better using super-pros. my Valley table was now useless, so i sold it, and paid the mortage that month lol.
i did the usual "it must be my cue" when i could no longer play like i once did. sell the $300 mcdermott, and use the cheapo Players that i had as a back up and the j&j to break. my game improved in about 2 games. the balance of the players was a little more forward, and it balanced with me better. now here i am, a couple cheap cues, used to play well, and cant even hit 3 in a row anymore. i can play 2-3 rail kicks (thanks to Kenny teaching me a bit of a diamond system), but i simply cannot cut an easy 60 degree shot with a ball a foot outside the pocket.
so, to cliffnote, im a new guy, have a bad game, but fell in love with this game thanks to a bad ending. just wanted to say hi to everyone, and look forward to potentially posting, and making fun of the half-ball aiming technique.
