Sounds pretty freaking strong for a C Player.
Ahhh, well. That whole "short bus", and "mediocre player" thing came from some back and forth with oldtimer Smorgass Bored, who is no longer with us. I latched on to his smack talking, and ran with it.
At my best.. I was prolly ~640-650 Fargorate when really practicing.. I think that is a fair estimate, based on my DCC matches, and some side action there. But unfortunately.. I was practicing on a VERY short playing Red label Diamond when back in the states. That cost me a win over John Morra in the One Pocket at DCC in 2012, the very first match of the One Pocket after he won the Banks the night before. I had him down 2-1 (with SVB watching MY match on the sidelines!!!!), and simply could not finish him off with multiple attempts at cross corners, because my Red Label at home banked a full diamond short banking from the middle pocket to the corner... The table also played extremely springy, and really jacked with my speed control and position routes.. I simply didn't play enough hours on other tables to be able to compensate... I actually felt like I let SVB down, because he was surely hoping I handed Morra a loss in the first round of the One Pocket, when he and Morra were very close in the all around points.
I had a run around late 2015 when I placed top three in every regional event I played in CO/WY for about 6 months, and actually won one... I haven't beaten a pro yet.. But I have come close. Not too bad, considering the relative lack of time I put into the game.
I have a perfect Blue Label Diamond now in Germany, but am getting older, and having some shoulder soreness from time to time. I am trying to take the "long view" now, and need to treat it as a process I am going to need to dedicate significant time to, in order to achieve results. I need to start getting my cardio back in shape, and do some weightlifting to strengthen my back and shoulders.. I have been pretty consistent about practicing in the mornings now, even though it is miserably cold, and very high humidity where I am, so the 860 cloth I have on my table soaks up moisture, and plays slow, having a negative effect on my stroke. I am replacing the cloth with 860HR this week. I have always found it easier to move from a fast table to a slower table, than the reverse.
I am sitting at about 550 Fargorate currently, which is frankly, a little embarrassing. That does not include my great run in CO/WY, as those tournaments did not report to Fargorate. No matter how good I play in a few matches against tough competition at DCC, the result has been 1-0, so that has a slight downward pressure on my rating. I have been out of stroke the few tournaments I played in Germany that did report to Fargorate, so that does not help. Working as a military contractor in Germany has been very good for my wallet, helping my wife and I recover from the housing crash, but most of that time has been on night shift, and has not been great for my game. But.. I have committed to practicing a minimum of an hour a day immediately after getting home in the mornings, and a few hours a day on the weekends. It will take some time to get things back in order.
