I got my high run!

hobokenapa

hobokenapa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
By all accounts, I've been shooting horribly and without any confidence recently. Yesterday, I was playing in a 9-ball tournament. To warm up, I usually do some 14.1 for 20 mins or so before moving to 9-ball. I break the balls and start warming up. Before I know it, I'm in the 4th rack and heading to the magical 50. I run out of position and miss a tough shot with four balls left on the table so that was a run of 53! My best run during worst run of form! Anyway, just wanted to share :)
 
hobokenapa said:
By all accounts, I've been shooting horribly and without any confidence recently. Yesterday, I was playing in a 9-ball tournament. To warm up, I usually do some 14.1 for 20 mins or so before moving to 9-ball. I break the balls and start warming up. Before I know it, I'm in the 4th rack and heading to the magical 50. I run out of position and miss a tough shot with four balls left on the table so that was a run of 53! My best run during worst run of form! Anyway, just wanted to share :)
Click to expand...
NICE RUN! CONGRATS!

I had a one-time run of 72 balls awhile ago. For the longest time, I had been stuck on runs of 35-50....and couldn't, for the life of me, break the cycle.

Then...one magical day...the stars and moons aligned, I had JUST the right amount of coffee, the music on the juke was PERFECT, and there was very little smoke in the air......and it all came together.

I might have even done a few more than 72...but I got myself so rattled by my stroke of luck, I choked HARD on ball 73. Actually, I dug so hard on it for some major draw, that I sent it flying right off the table!! :) :)

Again, congrats! BIG MILEMARKER you hit, there!

Rat
 
Great stuff. Even better, you performed the feat at the Amsterdam Billiard Club.

As I've often told you, high runs tend to come when you least expect them and when you're not completely consumed by how many balls you are running. What better time for your high 14.1 run than when you're warming up for a nine ball event.

Wishing you continued success, and I'd be perfectly happy if you make your next high run against me.
 
Don't mean to run this feat of yours on a different tangent but...

The break shots just kill my runs. How are you guys making efficient break shots? I practice them ok. But when I get to running balls to the next break shot I choke. Whats up with that?

By the way Hobokenapa congradulations! My high run is still 47. :(
 
Great, keep it up! Best secret - count RACKS not BALLS. Just get out of the rack, and don't worry about ball count. Great number, but how did you do in the 9 ball tournament?
 
Good run! You should contact The One and have him move you up on the high run list.

Renard- There are a variety of different break shots, learn them all so that you can be flexible during you run. Find a key ball for the break shot. When you are down to the last 5 balls of the rack, plan the pattern for all 5.
 
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Cameron Smith said:
Good run! You should contact The One and have him more you up on the high run list.

Renard- There are a variety of different break shots, learn them all so that you can be flexible during you run. Find a key ball for the break shot. When you are down to the last 5 balls of the rack, plan the pattern for all 5.
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Cameron I do follow your advice with the last five balls. I sometimes even manufacture good break out balls. It just seems that many times the free balls from the pack are on the opposite side of the cluster from where whitey sits.

I do have problems after the break of backing whitey up to the center table area. It's a 50-50 proposition right now. (Most of my breakshots I plan for are from a center table aspect as I dont feel comfortable yet breaking into the back of the rack.) This is usually what I see breaking...

START(
%AM9S5%BL7P8%CJ5O4%DL7N1%EM7P1%FK6P1%GK6N8%HM7N8%IL7O4%JK6M5
%KJ5P7%LJ5N2%MK6Q4%NJ5R0%OJ5M0%PZ8S4
)END
 

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renard said:
Cameron I do follow your advice with the last five balls. I sometimes even manufacture good break out balls. It just seems that many times the free balls from the pack are on the opposite side of the cluster from where whitey sits.

I do have problems after the break of backing whitey up to the center table area. It's a 50-50 proposition right now. (Most of my breakshots I plan for are from a center table aspect as I dont feel comfortable yet breaking into the back of the rack.) This is usually what I see breaking...
Click to expand...

Then you need to play the break shot with some side spin to bring the back around. I would also suggest practicing a variety of break shots. Just set them up and shoot them again and again. Also what speed are you hitting it at. I usually hit the break with some authority. That is unless I know I will get a shot after the break, ie. slide of the stack to the short rail.

Have you read Phil Capelle's Straight Pool book? Its very detailed and answers just about every question you or I could possibly have.

Oh yeah, and pick up the Irving Crane-Joe Balsis DVD. Much can be learned from Crane on that recording.
 
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renard said:
Don't mean to run this feat of yours on a different tangent but...

The break shots just kill my runs. How are you guys making efficient break shots? I practice them ok. But when I get to running balls to the next break shot I choke. Whats up with that?

By the way Hobokenapa congradulations! My high run is still 47. :(
Click to expand...


Renard

I explained this to Vagabond yesterday when he was kicking my A$$ in one pocket - lol (I can't play one pocket) lol -

Remain in your comfort zone. By this I mean that if you are confortable with one type of break shot, say at he top to the left or right - stay with that and set up for that EVERY TIME - or whenever the opportunity presents itself. Set up your key ball AND a ball designated to get on your key ball. Isolate those balls early by clearing that area out. If you run into problems along the way (crashing into your break ball - left with no other shot except the key ball etc) then you need to identify a back up plan.

Practice your break shots. A lot of players hit the break shots too hard and that is why they miss. I screwed up at 98 the other day doing the same thing. Try your breaks shots at different speeds and make notes about how the balls are spreading and what they are doing. It doesn't take great force to spread the balls - it takes accuracy.

Plan and then excute. Just like planning for a trip, you need to prepare, plan, and then excute. If you don't plan for a destination, you'll just be wandering aimlessly. Many pool players do this in mid-rack. They get trapped into tunnel vision and lose the perspective necessary to continue the run. Nobody is immune to that. It is important to re-evaluate the lay of the table after every shot, or every 2-3 shots. In my book Stroke of Genius, I outline how to Dissect the rack, and my style is to break the balls into 3 designated groups. Balls are either Set Up, Key Ball or Break Shot (3 balls designated and not pocket until the end) - then we have groups A, B, & C. In the groups I label the balls as either pocketable balls, or transition balls. A transitional ball is a ball that can be used to go from group A to group B. See below diagram:


Divide_Conquer.JPG



Remain in your comfort zone, practice your breaks shots, plan and then execute. I guarantee you that you can add another rack or two to your count if you do these 3 things efficiently.
 
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Make the ball

renard said:
Don't mean to run this feat of yours on a different tangent but...

The break shots just kill my runs. How are you guys making efficient break shots? I practice them ok. But when I get to running balls to the next break shot I choke. Whats up with that?

By the way Hobokenapa congradulations! My high run is still 47. :(
Click to expand...
All great advice. One other bit of advice I would give is this.

Three things you must always do when shooting break shots.
(1) Make the ball.
(2) Make the ball.
(3) I'm sure you can guess the third.

Do this first to get out of the rut, and then look to add position making english off the break such as drawing out of trouble. Hope that helps...remember...make the ball.

Gene

Nice job Hobokenapa!
 
Thanks for all the congratulations guys!

On my way to the golf course early this morning, I mentioned to my buddies "Hey guess what? I finally broke 50 in Straight Pool yesterday. Can you believe it? You all know I've been shooting bad recently and I was out drinking the night before, just trying to wake up with a big dose of caffeine and just shooting loose and running balls not counting and it is then I get the run, how crazy is that?". One of the guys said "I think you just said the reasons right there".

I did good in the 9-ball event. It was an OPEN with even races to 9. Players like Danny Barouty, Frankie Hernandez. I knew I had a chance to do well because many of the other big names were at Turning Stone. Anyway, I placed 5th, just lost tight game 9-7 to an A at 11:30pm. EXHAUSTING day!

I'm interested to see when my next 50 is now that the hurdle has been accomplished and it won't be on my mind. Going back to a Steve Lipsky post a few months back, there is no doubt that I left a really tough shot way too late in the rack (wanted to wait until it was after 50). I wasn't just "shooting the ducks" in the 4th rack but it was on my mind for sure.

And for the questions on break shots. SJM has taught me very well to get tight on them. I did that all three times and had unmissable shots that opened up the pack. In fact, it was only in the 4th rack I needed a secondary break shot to open more up. The most satisfying thing about the whole run was I did not have one hero shot, or even tough shot. It really was 53 easy shots before leaving myself on the rail. But my 4th rack pattern was bad because I was more focused on 50 (leaving the tough ball or two) than playing the correct pattern to run the 4th rack. Another interesting fact was I was not in the slightest bit concerned about the miss (Steve Lipsky also mentioned this about his first 100+ run). It was already mission accomplished, and the "extra credit" did not worry me.

And I even birdied the 1st hole this morning :)
 
renard said:
Cameron I do follow your advice with the last five balls. I sometimes even manufacture good break out balls. It just seems that many times the free balls from the pack are on the opposite side of the cluster from where whitey sits.

I do have problems after the break of backing whitey up to the center table area. It's a 50-50 proposition right now. (Most of my breakshots I plan for are from a center table aspect as I dont feel comfortable yet breaking into the back of the rack.) This is usually what I see breaking...

START(
%AM9S5%BL7P8%CJ5O4%DL7N1%EM7P1%FK6P1%GK6N8%HM7N8%IL7O4%JK6M5
%KJ5P7%LJ5N2%MK6Q4%NJ5R0%OJ5M0%PZ8S4
)END
Click to expand...

If that's what you see for your break shots, then you are in GREAT shape! I'd suggest Joe Tucker's breaking DVD. After all the 9 ball stuff (good by the way), there's some stuff on straight pool. It's all about contact points of the cue ball and a specific object ball in the rack. Predicting that contact point really helps you figure out how to get to the center of the table.

Congratulations Hoboken! I've been over 50 just once and it's a great feeling. You'll be back over 50 before you know it.

Andy
 
Cuedog said:
All great advice. One other bit of advice I would give is this.

Three things you must always do when shooting break shots.
(1) Make the ball.
(2) Make the ball.
(3) I'm sure you can guess the third.

Do this first to get out of the rut, and then look to add position making english off the break such as drawing out of trouble. Hope that helps...remember...make the ball.

Gene

Nice job Hobokenapa!
Click to expand...

Funny thing is I always make the ball....but Cameron might have hit the nail on the head. I don't hit the breakshot with authority. More finesse and feel.
 
Blackjack said:
Renard

I explained this to Vagabond yesterday when he was kicking my A$$ in one pocket - lol (I can't play one pocket) lol -

Remain in your comfort zone. By this I mean that if you are confortable with one type of break shot, say at he top to the left or right - stay with that and set up for that EVERY TIME - or whenever the opportunity presents itself. Set up your key ball AND a ball designated to get on your key ball. Isolate those balls early by clearing that area out. If you run into problems along the way (crashing into your break ball - left with no other shot except the key ball etc) then you need to identify a back up plan.

Practice your break shots. A lot of players hit the break shots too hard and that is why they miss. I screwed up at 98 the other day doing the same thing. Try your breaks shots at different speeds and make notes about how the balls are spreading and what they are doing. It doesn't take great force to spread the balls - it takes accuracy.

Plan and then excute. Just like planning for a trip, you need to prepare, plan, and then excute. If you don't plan for a destination, you'll just be wandering aimlessly. Many pool players do this in mid-rack. They get trapped into tunnel vision and lose the perspective necessary to continue the run. Nobody is immune to that. It is important to re-evaluate the lay of the table after every shot, or every 2-3 shots. In my book Stroke of Genius, I outline how to Dissect the rack, and my style is to break the balls into 3 designated groups. Balls are either Set Up, Key Ball or Break Shot (3 balls designated and not pocket until the end) - then we have groups A, B, & C. In the groups I label the balls as either pocketable balls, or transition balls. A transitional ball is a ball that can be used to go from group A to group B. See below diagram:


Divide_Conquer.JPG



Remain in your comfort zone, practice your breaks shots, plan and then execute. I guarantee you that you can add another rack or two to your count if you do these 3 things efficiently.
Click to expand...

Thanks Blackjack, Very good advice...I've copied it all!
 
Thanks everyone... very good points.

Hobokenapa you gave me another little nugget I like with that SJM comment. I try that as well.

Again congradulations!
 
all good advices!

my 2cent, after i realised that breaking with alot of power, also moved the path my keyball was going; ive changed my keyball aiming spot.

in the typical breakshot, posted above, where u shoot from mid table to a ball right next to the pack, i tend to cut the ball less. the speed at wich i play breakshots makes me overcut most keyballs. since ive adjusted this, im running alot of 15+'ers

my record of 3 packs was exactly the same way, just arived in the hall, was going to warm myself up,took the balls out of the box and I was running 2racks with a cold engine before i realised it. i panicked on the last breakshot and forgot to undercut it (because of the speed corection).

i know there are MANY different breakshots, but i really find the typical one explained above being the easyest to find in most racks and to prepare, and easyest to leave a good shot after the break.

ps blackjack. could u explain me a bit more about the 3 zones? how u identify a zone? and the transition balls? im not getting it 100% =D and i WANT to get to 50 this year.
 
hobokenapa said:
By all accounts, I've been shooting horribly and without any confidence recently. Yesterday, I was playing in a 9-ball tournament. To warm up, I usually do some 14.1 for 20 mins or so before moving to 9-ball. I break the balls and start warming up. Before I know it, I'm in the 4th rack and heading to the magical 50. I run out of position and miss a tough shot with four balls left on the table so that was a run of 53! My best run during worst run of form! Anyway, just wanted to share :)
Click to expand...

That's awesome, Tim! Really happy for you. Enjoy it for about a minute, then you get to torture yourself with the next hurdle ;).

Congrats again.

- Steve
 
Congratulations! I'm still aiming for 50, myself. 38 has been all that I can muster so far.

Did you accomplish this while SJM and I were playing 14.1 on the corner table?
 
StevenPWaldon said:
Did you accomplish this while SJM and I were playing 14.1 on the corner table?
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Yep, I think it may have been just before you arrived because SJM arrived during the run itself. I actually almost did it the previous evening against the maestro himself, but the cue ball scratched on a break shot on 36 after spreading the balls nicely.

SJM must get a lot of credit because without him pushing me to play correct patterns during our games, I'd never have broken 50. Now I have a new zeal for playing regularly again.
 
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