Just a reminder. This game is hard.

C

CueAndMe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
To all of you people running in the hundreds, can I just remind you that you're not supposed to be able to do that. Uh, the game is hard.

I played today and that thought came to me. You guys are amazing. I was absolutely lost. It's true that it was very sticky and the pockets were among the most severe I've ever played--"rattlesnakes" would be a good name for them.

But even so, I found myself unable to concentrate, unable to get comfortable, unable to remember everything I've learned. It was one of those days that in the past has sent me packing for a year or two. I'm determined to shrug those days off from now on, but man this can be a tough game sometimes.
Thank goodness I have the cuetable. I never miss a shot.
 
It is a tough game, man, even if you play like total dog crap one day try to frind a positive from it. Dammit!! The bell is ringing, I gotta go to class. More later.


.......Ok, I'm back. Sorry about that. Anyway, I'm with Bluepepper 110% in that I pick up a bunch of stuff here, go to the pool room and forget it.....or at least the small details of it. I feel like I've been playing like total shit this week *BUT* there are a few things that I've noticed that are making me think that there is improvement.

We keep score on paper instead of using the counters on the table. The paper we use goes up to 25 innings for one game. There have been times in the past, running to 100, that we've gone way over the 25 innings mark. Those are days where I just want to kill myself. Lately we decided that if we get to 20 innings that's where we'll stop. We just thought that limiting ourselves with the innings may make us concentrate more.

I'm not a great 14.1 player but I'm good to run 15-20 at least once in a game and 30+ comes every now and then. Just last week I got my first 50+ but I'm not calling myself a 50 ball threat yet. hehe!! Anyway, like I said, this week I feel like I've been playing bad but if I really look at it I've been playing better than usual. The innings where I only make 2 or 3 balls are becoming less and 9 and 10 are becoming more consistent. I've also been finishing the games within 18 innings. We also count safeties as an inning. The other night I finished in 18 innings but looking at the paper I didn't make anything in 3 frames and I played safe in 6 frames. That means I ran 100 balls in 9 frames. I know technically it doesn't work out like that but if you look at the innings where I was pocketing balls I averaged more than 10 balls per inning. That is an improvement in my mind. At least it's a start.

So, Bluepepper, don't get down on yourself, man. Really take a look at past and present games and look for anything that may show a difference. There's got to be something there. We have all of our old score sheets in a folder, like 2 years worth. I find that invaluable. If you don't keep records of your games I would suggest starting. If you need a score sheet I can post one up here.....I think I will anyway just in case anyone wants to print it out and use it. Will do that tonight when I get home.
MULLY
 
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bluepepper said:
I played today and ...the pockets were among the most severe I've ever played
Click to expand...

Jeff,

I would caution you against playing too much straight pool on conditions like these. It's a fun gimmick once in a while but for many people, me included, it kills the game. It can hurt your confidence and have you feeling "lost", as you say.

A soft double shim is about as tough as pockets should be for 14.1. Once you get tougher than that, nobody's running balls and the games are decided by who wins more racks 9-5 and 10-4. And that is more boring than one-pocket. (Did I just say that out loud? :p )

- Steve
 
Thanks Mully for the encouragement. I'm normally shooting about the speed you are right now--an average of about 10 per shooting inning. Your high run is higher than mine though.

And Steve, it's good to know that tough pockets make that much of a difference for even high runners like you. Basically, these pockets I played on yesterday would not receive any shots over pocket speed that hit any part of a rail. They were cut outward to reject anything that touched them. It drove me crazy. Last week I played on a fast table with loose pockets and it was a delight. Balls opened well, slop went in. Racks upon racks were run. I was practicing and I didn't pay attention, but I probably ran near a 50 that day. So it makes sense that the conditions are crucial.

But then I think about snooker players and how great their pocketing skills must be with those tiny rounded pockets they deal with. It really is about the shooting for me. I get decent position most of the time, and then I still miss easy shots. But I'm working on it.
 
Bluepepper...PMA (positive mental attitude)......You are right this game, these cue sports are tough!! The talent and skill that is needed to be a hundred ball runner is amazing. And the list does not stop at those two attributes.

I have struggled myself this past week, dunno why?? Work, kids, wife, weather.......dunno. Just keep plugging away. I think the 100 will come when least expected, or your high run will come the same way. If you practice at night, try a morning practice change it up if you can.

Like Mully said when you walk away only take the positive with you, even if it is only one thing focus on that.

Keep hittin 'em

Mike
 
My home table does not accept balls that touch rails either (4 1/2"), but I love playing straight pool. It really hurts any attempt at a high run and I was THRILLED to run 21 earlier. Most of the time I jaw the break shot after running a rack and it is getting frustrating. I can't stop though.
 
Yeah, table conditions do make a big difference. I have a Diamond Pro that plays tight and somewhat slow. It's certainly no where near as fast as the DCC 14.1 challenge table appears on the videos. This, of course, makes the balls very difficult to part, especially on the break. And, with more speed required, the accuracy definitely suffers. My runs on this table have never been the equal of those on my prior, shimmed GC1 which I owned for more than twenty years.
 
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