No "somewhere" when playing straight pool...

S

Serge

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am a pretty decent straight pool player able to put together at least a 56 run once a day and already have several 100 runs with a maximum of 176.

Last fall I took a private training with Ralf Souquet. Ralf is such a great person and I really loved the time we spent together. On the afternoon of the last day we played a run of straight pool in alternate mode: one shot me, one shot him.

Every time looking at the position of the balls and making suggestions. Ralf told me then that he did this exercise several times with other players but never managed to make a 100 run.

So when we approached the 84 mark, end of rack 6, I was in position to pocket a ball when he suddenly asked me : "where are you going to put the cue ball" and I answered "somehwere here" and drew a line with my cue on the table. Ralf, usually very kind and quite, exploded :"the hell with you and and with your somewhere here, you are going to put the cue ball exactly here" and he pointed the place on the table where he wanted it.

I just swallowed my pride, played the ball and positioned the cue ball exactly where he wanted. We reached the mark of 103, I missed the last ball but he left me a difficult cut with the cue ball to be played above another one stacked to it.

Anyway, we were both delighted and he then explained me that there is no "somewhere" in his vocabulary when he plays pool. As he was aware that he had a good chance to reach the 100 mark for the first time doing this exercise he just increased his level of concentration and he expected it from me as well. As I obviously still was in a kind of fun mood with my "somehwere here" he just decided to let me know how important this was for him and basicall how important each ball is.

It was a great lesson given by a great player !
 
Serge said:
I Ralf, usually very kind and quite, exploded :"the hell with you and and with your somewhere here, you are going to put the cue ball exactly here" ........

I just I missed the last ball but he left me a difficult cut with the cue ball to be played above another one stacked to it.

!
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Serge,
Great post, great story, great lesson for us all.


P.S. - I hope you didn't yell too loudly at Ralf for leaving you tough on the last ball....you have to be kind when you are carrying your partner.:) :)
 
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Very good story. Really brings thing into perspective. Give every shot your full attention & be as precise as possible. I know I find myself just making a shot & trying to gett the cue ball "toward the middle of the table". I'm going to try & take this to the table tonight during my practice. Maybe I can get into the 3rd rack for a change. Thanks for the story.
 
That's an awesome lesson. That's something I've been painfully aware of lately actually, because of my inability to not play "somewhere" position. I still don't have the vision or the mental stamina to avoid it. Getting better, but it's draining.

I can't believe he yelled at you though! I'd be so freaked out (a little bit shaken up just reading it ;-) ). Getting yelled at by Ralf would be like getting yelled at by the Dalai Lama! You just don't expect that from someone so controlled!
 
Weekend Warrior Syndrome

This was a great post and so very important to keep in mind. Thanks for that. That truly is the foundation of solid play at an advanced level.

I believe the problem for many advanced players including myself is the amount of time we can devote to the game vs outside (read life's) distractions and its affect on loss of focus.

While I believe most advanced players are well aware of this need to find this pure depth of concentration and exactness in our decisions, it is often much easier to know about than it is to achieve.

As I get ever closer to the big 60, I find it even more difficult to concentrate the way I used to. It seems a lot easier to pass on the knowledge we have acquired over time, than it is to execute. A very frustrating thing at times. :)

I get together with a friend once or twice a week to play pool these days and its always 14.1. We play 100 point games and commonly hit each other with runs in the mid to high 30s to mid 40s. In fact when we give the table up to each other we fully expect it to cost at least two racks.

When we miss, its not uncommon for either of us to stand up with an expression on our faces like we just witnessed the occurrence of the most unnatural event in all of nature take place. An impossible, strange happening. We look around the room for some accountable supernatural force that must have caused it. So unexplainable, that perhaps if we stand there long enough with a stupor on our face, the joke will over and we will realize it didn't really happen at all and we can continue shooting. :)

I've never gotten to 100 but it wasn't uncommon to get into the 60s 15yrs ago, my high run is only a tad more at 78, but it is harder and harder to stay in the moment.

We play in my basement most of the time during these twice a week meetings, and a perfect example of poor focus just happened to me. I was in the middle of a halfway decent run, into a very well opened third rack with multiple shots a foot from the pocket, and less than that between OB and CB. You know, shots any beginner would be 90% to make.

There was clearly no reason not to finish the rack, perhaps even opposite handed. Anyway, a car door closes in my driveway, the wife is home. I pause an extra second or two to confirm I hear the house door open, and then, get back down on my shot and proceed to miss by a half diamond.

My point in all this is, knowing the importance of being exact and precise is key, but .. achieving it, training your self to stay in the moment, these are the things most advanced players, myself included,need to work on. I'd love to hear different player's approaches. I'd love to read about the ways players who run 100s use to focus. I realize playing twice a week isn't going to get it, but all this going "instant brain dead" has got to stop. :)
 
Enjoyed the story. Check out the two quotes in my signature.
 
Serge said:
I am a pretty decent straight pool player able to put together at least a 56 run once a day and already have several 100 runs with a maximum of 176.

Last fall I took a private training with Ralf Souquet. Ralf is such a great person and I really loved the time we spent together. On the afternoon of the last day we played a run of straight pool in alternate mode: one shot me, one shot him.

Every time looking at the position of the balls and making suggestions. Ralf told me then that he did this exercise several times with other players but never managed to make a 100 run.

So when we approached the 84 mark, end of rack 6, I was in position to pocket a ball when he suddenly asked me : "where are you going to put the cue ball" and I answered "somehwere here" and drew a line with my cue on the table. Ralf, usually very kind and quite, exploded :"the hell with you and and with your somewhere here, you are going to put the cue ball exactly here" and he pointed the place on the table where he wanted it.

I just swallowed my pride, played the ball and positioned the cue ball exactly where he wanted. We reached the mark of 103, I missed the last ball but he left me a difficult cut with the cue ball to be played above another one stacked to it.

Anyway, we were both delighted and he then explained me that there is no "somewhere" in his vocabulary when he plays pool. As he was aware that he had a good chance to reach the 100 mark for the first time doing this exercise he just increased his level of concentration and he expected it from me as well. As I obviously still was in a kind of fun mood with my "somehwere here" he just decided to let me know how important this was for him and basicall how important each ball is.

It was a great lesson given by a great player !
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Thanks to your post I had the idea of trying just this with the best player in my 14.1 leagues and to my surprise he agreed. We did our first session of Scotch doubles and there were no high runs but there was a lot of explanation by him of what "we" were trying to do and sometimes we stopped and re-shot to demonstrate the stroke needed. After a while I got somewhat of a feel for some of what he was doing and sometimes I could use the appropriate stroke to get the job done.

On our feet the whole time. A little grueling but I can't wait until we do it again. He even said he saw some improvement in my patterns and stroke by the end of the night.
 
hjs032570 said:
Great Story. Your initials wouldnt be SD?
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I agree, great story and tells something about being a world champion. It's not just "somewhere", it's "right here" :)

I was about to ask the same thing about SD, going to the EPC this year ? ;)
 
Great story. I have a long way to go to get there, but am willing to try. What are the best practice techniques to understand exactly where the ball is going and the speed?
 
this may sound funny but during my at home practice sessions, I used to penalize myself for missing/mistakes by making myself STOP practicing, and go do some yard work for an hour.....I LOVE practicing, and HATE yard work....you see?! :D

quit laughing....it works on the concentration!
 
It's funny that so many sports share things at the "top". A famous old golf story is very similar to the Ralf story.

I believe it was Hogan playing an unfamiliar golf course and the local knowledge about a certain hole was passed on to him by one of his foresome "you want to aim at those 3 pine trees out there about 350 yards, to which he replied "which one?".

Same idea, no "somewhere".....:)

Joe
 
Gerry said:
this may sound funny but during my at home practice sessions, I used to penalize myself for missing/mistakes by making myself STOP practicing, and go do some yard work for an hour.....I LOVE practicing, and HATE yard work....you see?! :D

quit laughing....it works on the concentration!
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So how does your yard look? :rolleyes:
 
Danny Barouty and I just tried this for the first time together tonight. In our second inning, we ran a 103 as well... Seems to be a popular number.

First time I have broken the 100 barrier in this exercise, though Danny's definitely the strongest player I've ever done it with.

A ton of fun, whether there are high runs or not. I strongly recommend it.

- Steve
 
Steve Lipsky said:
Danny Barouty and I just tried this for the first time together tonight. In our second inning, we ran a 103 as well... Seems to be a popular number.

First time I have broken the 100 barrier in this exercise, though Danny's definitely the strongest player I've ever done it with.

A ton of fun, whether there are high runs or not. I strongly recommend it.

- Steve
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Steve,
I've played this a couple of times with Mark Wilson during lesson sessions. Admittedly I was working on my stroke at the time, but I believe our high run was somewhere around 25. I found it VERY educational; though it sounds like I need a MUCH better partner (or I guess I could break down and practice a bit more myself).:) :)
 
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