Real straight pool takes more patience than I possess, which is also why I don't like to play one pocket.
It sure is. Completely diff mindset.
I read Irving Crane used to spend considerable time playing himself safe. Could be thorough prep or just not breaking the continuity. I'd do it some times but wasn't consistent about it.
This was a good 10 years ago....when I was playing and on the improve.
As good of a player as I was my high run was 106 just after my 17th birthday and jersey Reds wife Dotti was watching! I didn't know she was counting when i quit! She asked why i quit at 106? So after that day i would never run over 65-70 balls so nobody would see 100 ball runs! Hustlers didn't want other players to see their game and that was the same with me. I knew i could go 150 and out but didn't want to show it all the time just like the other pros in Houston. I got in the habit of practicing 14-1 almost every practice and usually on my first shot i would run 4-5 racks and work on something else! I could run a 100 balls every day but i would stop purposely. After I won Johnston City in 1970 I knew I was a monster and hit a gear that very few could deal with! If a 14-1 tourney arrived that psid enough money I would have practiced 14- 1 a couple weeks or more and had a punchers chance to win it no matter who was in the tourney! But 100 ball runs are impressive on any table! You did Well!
100 is such a Mental Barrier. Its not easy but you have to learn to shoot the 83rd ball the same way you shot the 3rd ball. Running in the 70's &80's there is no doubt you willpass 100 very soon I wish you the best in your Quest ! IMHOI've been playing a bit of straight pool lately trying to join the century club (100 ball run if you didn't know). My past high run was 84 balls. I got too steep on the break ball for rack 7 and rattled it.
Yesterday I started rolling along and found myself at 56 with a pretty nice break ball. I cleared the next rack and got long and tough on the break ball but a nice angle so all I had to do was make the ball. I drilled it and got a nice spread! Finished that rack to tie my record at 84 and had a near perfect break ball. The nerves were there but I was ready! I probably hit the shot too hard, made the ball and the cue ball went way up table and ended about an inch off the top rail. I surveyed the rack desperate to find a dead ball. I saw one I liked, but the pocket it was heading towards was a bit blocked. I had maybe 3/4 of the pocket to work with. I opted for a different shot. Makeable, but long and near straight. It offered guaranteed position on a few balls if I made it. Of course, I hung it in the pocket and my run was over. I put the cue ball back where it was and fired at the dead ball. Straight in the pocket and exploded the rest of the balls.I still like the choice I made.
Getting so close to 100 again was both awesome and frustrating. The game is so much harder than it appears on the surface. I'm playing on a Diamond with standard pockets and a wood rack. I'd love to try it on the table Jayson set his record on with generous pockets and template racking. Back to the grind!
