Giving up Weight Without Knowing....

cuetechasaurus

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There is a guy that pops up in the poolhall every once in a while and he is known for good action if he likes the game. He wanted to play my friend for $500 per set, race to 9. They play about the same level, and they matched up even. The problem is that the other guy had been practicing for a few hours before my friend showed up, and my friend had not hit a ball in three days. I told him to warm up before playing, and he just jumped in the game telling me not to worry. That ended up costing him the first 4 games because he was cold, and the other guy had been warmed up for the last few hours. My friend lost that set badly 9-3. The second set went the same way, my friend not even getting to shoot that much because they other guy was in stroke, and with the few opportunities he had, he couldn't do much. He lost the second set 9-4. The third set he finally warmed up and beat the guy 9-7, then won the fourth set hill-hill. The guy unscrewed his cue and said he had to leave. They played a few hours and broke even, and all the while if my friend had just hit balls for 10-15 minutes before the match, he had a chance to win the first two sets. I told him that going into a match cold when the other guy is warm, is like giving up a huge amount of weight. I have never seen anyone come in and shoot lights out after not hitting a few balls before hand. This is something you should keep in mind, because I'm sure this has cost every one of you at least one match.
 
Tell your friend to learn straight pool!....try watching someone run balls for an hour, stick you on the end rail with 1/2 a shot, then you have to get up and find dead stroke, and run 100. Not to mention his 9-ball game will rise to a new level. Also, Making the gambling game and all things that lead up to racking the balls are JUST as important as winning. I personally would have hit some balls for 10 minutes at least, the other guy was going nowhere....Gerry
 
Gerry said:
...Also, Making the gambling game and all things that lead up to racking the balls are JUST as important as winning....

Hear, hear, Gerry. Tap, tap, tap!

JAM
 
Gerry said:
Tell your friend to learn straight pool!....try watching someone run balls for an hour, stick you on the end rail with 1/2 a shot, then you have to get up and find dead stroke, and run 100. Not to mention his 9-ball game will rise to a new level. Also, Making the gambling game and all things that lead up to racking the balls are JUST as important as winning. I personally would have hit some balls for 10 minutes at least, the other guy was going nowhere....Gerry

Hey, that's what Mr. Lipskey did to me and I was just in town visiting and playing with a house cue! 150-14
 
Mr. Lipsky did the same thing to me, except that I was playing with my own cue and I only got to 10 before he got to 150. I feel like sitting in the chair while he opened with a run of 72 cost me at least those 4 extra points that you got.
 
BackPocket9Ball said:
Mr. Lipsky did the same thing to me, except that I was playing with my own cue and I only got to 10 before he got to 150. I feel like sitting in the chair while he opened with a run of 72 cost me at least those 4 extra points that you got.

Yeah, he only opened with fifty or so on me.
 
Gerry said:
Tell your friend to learn straight pool!....try watching someone run balls for an hour, stick you on the end rail with 1/2 a shot, then you have to get up and find dead stroke, and run 100. Not to mention his 9-ball game will rise to a new level. Also, Making the gambling game and all things that lead up to racking the balls are JUST as important as winning. I personally would have hit some balls for 10 minutes at least, the other guy was going nowhere....Gerry

G-man,
You bring up an excellent point; there is a corollary to this which states - practice is NOT the same as competition (for the very reason you mention). Many of us woodshed devotees can make balls in a very proficient manner when practicing, but in game situations (ESPECIALLY straight pool as you correctly point out) making balls becomes more difficult when you are cold.

My latest match with a top pro (friend of Mr. Lipsky) was tied at 30 (the best I have ever done against this opponent over the short run) when I had to sit through a 65 ball run (very tight equipment with deep drops). My stroke, which is a work in progress, was missing in action the rest of the game. It is an extremely important skill to be able to bring your best stroke even after sitting for a while. For me it is just one more part of 14.1 which increases the tension and thus the interest in the game.
 
Oh yea, i have done this before,

the one that reminds me the most was, during last winter, i had just gotten to the pool hall, and order'd a burger n fries, well in walks this kid, whom i had beaten many many times, and he asked me to play and i said i would when i am done eating.

Well we get to playing and all of a sudden my stomach is like rolling and i couldnt shoot for anything, plus i hadnt warmed up or anything. So after dropping several sets, i stop and head to the bathroom lol.

Well after resting for like a hour i was better and then practiced for about 30mins and then went and won all my money back and then some. lol

dave
 
Williebetmore said:
G-man,
You bring up an excellent point; there is a corollary to this which states - practice is NOT the same as competition (for the very reason you mention). Many of us woodshed devotees can make balls in a very proficient manner when practicing, but in game situations (ESPECIALLY straight pool as you correctly point out) making balls becomes more difficult when you are cold.

My latest match with a top pro (friend of Mr. Lipsky) was tied at 30 (the best I have ever done against this opponent over the short run) when I had to sit through a 65 ball run (very tight equipment with deep drops). My stroke, which is a work in progress, was missing in action the rest of the game. It is an extremely important skill to be able to bring your best stroke even after sitting for a while. For me it is just one more part of 14.1 which increases the tension and thus the interest in the game.



Hey, How'd you know people call me G-man?:)..............
 
mjantti said:
I've heard Steve Lipsky has done that to many people... he's a lethal straight pool player !

Thanks guys. Actually one of my favorite games ever was against your countryman and friend, Mika. It was on the house table at Amsterdam Billiards, and I lost the toss.

I broke perfectly, bringing the two balls back to almost their places. Almost. One of them got dead. Mika, in a rare mental error, never even looked at it and tried to thin the rack, but missed it completely!

I got up there, pounded the dead one in, and ran 114.

I think I made him mad, because two innings later I lost 150-125 lol.

That Mika sure hits 'em good :p .

- Steve
 
Steve Lipsky said:
I got up there, and ran 114.

...two innings later I lost 150-125 lol.

- Steve

SL,
Geez, if you can't do any better than 114 you can't expect to do very well.

Just kidding. It is always tough playing the champions - they seem to do quite well when challenged. I have never seen Mika play straight pool - does he play a classical style - or a wide open 9-ball style???
 
Steve Lipsky said:
Thanks guys. Actually one of my favorite games ever was against your countryman and friend, Mika. It was on the house table at Amsterdam Billiards, and I lost the toss.

I broke perfectly, bringing the two balls back to almost their places. Almost. One of them got dead. Mika, in a rare mental error, never even looked at it and tried to thin the rack, but missed it completely!

I got up there, pounded the dead one in, and ran 114.

I think I made him mad, because two innings later I lost 150-125 lol.

That Mika sure hits 'em good :p .

- Steve

Remember it well, Steve. Happened on table eight, the front table at Amsterdam West. I was one of many in the gallery and was one of several that knew that ball was dead. Really one of the more bizarre things I've ever seen in straight pool.

Reminds me of a comment Sigel once made about a similar situation during the World Open Straight Pool Event (approx 1982). Crane had just passed up a ball that looked dead in favor of a safety, after which he left Mike a long tough shot. Sigel passed up the same combo in the pack, shooting and, of course, making the long tough shot and going on some run, the length of which I don't recall. What I do recall is that at the end of the match won by Mike, referee Cueball Kelly asked Mike about that poisition. Mike commented that he thought it was probably dead, but that if it wasn't good enough fro Crane, it wasn't good enough for him.

Good thing you didn't feel that way against Mika, right?
 
Williebetmore said:
SL,
Geez, if you can't do any better than 114 you can't expect to do very well.

Just kidding. It is always tough playing the champions - they seem to do quite well when challenged. I have never seen Mika play straight pool - does he play a classical style - or a wide open 9-ball style???

Willie:

I've always thought Ginky, Tony, and Danny played tighter patterns than Mika. But Mika is still an awesome player. And I don't mean that to connote, "Mika's just very talented so he gets away with a looser style." His patterns are quite good, just a little different than the others. But a tremendous straight pool player, to be sure.

I wouldn't bet against any one of them if they were playing each other, and I would bet on all of them if they were playing me :p.

SJM:

Ah, you remembered that one? Wow, that was awhile ago, huh? Good times we had. I know there will be more to come.

Would you agree with my assessment of Mika's game?

- Steve
 
Steve Lipsky said:
I've always thought Ginky, Tony, and Danny played tighter patterns than Mika. But Mika is still an awesome player. And I don't mean that to connote, "Mika's just very talented so he gets away with a looser style." His patterns are quite good, just a little different than the others. But a tremendous straight pool player, to be sure.

I wouldn't bet against any one of them if they were playing each other, and I would bet on all of them if they were playing me :p.

SJM:

Ah, you remembered that one? Wow, that was awhile ago, huh? Good times we had. I know there will be more to come.

Would you agree with my assessment of Mika's game?

- Steve

Though Mika and Ginky would score many a win against Tony and Danny, I really feel neither plays the table as well as the other two.

Ginky showed how dangerous he is in the 1999 National Straight Pool Championships. You don't beat Allen Hopkins and Dick Lane back-to-back without a very strong pedigree. Mika can run rack after rack after rack sometimes, and is always dangerous. He's a solid problem solver at the table, but, in my opinion, his pattern play, though world class, is the weakest of the four.

To me, of the four, Robles and Barouty are the true straight pool connoisseurs (along with yourself, of course). They make it look so simple, and play the game like they've been playing it their whole lives.....probably because they have! They solve their problems early, clear their rails, unblock their pockets as needed, play superior attack angles into the clusters, and manage the end patterns without breaking a sweat. I don't feel Ginky is as techinically sound as either at straight pool, but he is a better nineball techinican than either.

Every serious straight pool player in NYC, and I can safely say you and me included, has learned plenty about straight pool from both playing and watching Tony and Danny.

To make a long story short, Steve, I guess I agree with you.
 
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