Shooting well lately. I got added to an APA Double Jeopardy team which had an SL5 as its highest level. I'm a 6 in 8 and a 5 in 9, so I've been pitted against the opposition's best players, and my record shows it. I'm shooting OK but now I have to find a way to win. I think it's going to come down to making better decisions.
Last week in 8 ball I played a 7. I jumped out to a 1-0 lead, then slowly but surely got overrun, lost 5-2 in a 5-4 race. It's OK because I didn't embarrass myself. I actually played OK.
Yesterday in BCA 14.1 I was in a 90-70 race (I had to get to 70). I jumped out early 12-2, and that first rack got in my opponent's head a little bit. Later he admitted he started pressing a little, being behind early. He didn't play his best game thereafter. Toward the end of the match he made a good comeback, started to find his stroke, but I won 70-58. Because I won by such a large margin, next week I'll be shooting to 80. I don't know what my opponent's goal will be yet. Hopefully it will be manageable.
14.1 is one of those games that you can sandbag, to a point. Not that I would, but I could have played more, um, conservatively, so my margin wasn't so large, to keep my goal at 70. But 1) I'd never do that. I always bring my best game, no matter what. And 2), in 14.1 a player can go on a tear and run through one or two (or more) racks, and just like that, your big lead evaporates.
I must say that 14.1 has taught me much about touch, feel, safety play, and decision-making. My safety play translated over to 8- and 9-ball, and is MUCH better as a result of competing in 14.1, and practicing it at home, just six weeks now.