Played the best I have ever played last night.

Icon of Sin

Icon of Sin

I can't fold, I need gold. I re-up and reload...
Silver Member
Last night I was shooting on league (typical the best playing night of my life had to happen during a league match :rolleyes: ), and I had to shoot my father. We are both even rated on this TAP 9Ball league so it was an even race to 6 for us.

I won 6-2 and had 2 break and runs in the match as well. this is a 9 footer league too, so I felt really proud of myself and had a great sense of accomplishment. My father agreed saying he has never seen me shoot that good before. I just hope it lasts :p

My safes were on, my confidence was high, I remembered things from the book I have been reading (Pleasures of Small Motions) and was able to apply them to every shot I played.

Just felt like sharing my joy, a lot of the threads around here are about blown run outs, figured I would share a positive one for a change.

The first break and run just layed right for me most of the shots were easy position so the run out wasnt to hard, I even acknowledged that after I ran it out. Everything just layed right after the snap.

The second break and run (wasnt a 2-pack unfortunately, happened a few racks later) was a harder one. I had some tough position play in it and came up short for an extremely thin cut on the 7-ball into the side, I had to spin the ball in as i wouldnt go if I just shot it with center, but doing so playingf the shot low right would take me around 3 rails for a shot on the 8 anyway, so I executed it perfectly and got out that rack too.

I also wanted to thank those who recommended the book "Pleasures of Small Motions". I had a very bad mental game and this book as helped a TON. I have recommended this book to another player here on three occasions, but I doubt he is going to read it as he seems to ignore my posts about it, but hey, just wanted to post some proof that it works and Im not all the way through the book yet. So THANKS!!!
 
That's great. My problem is maintaining a high level when I get there. I played in a local weekly 9 ball tourney a few weeks ago. In the first round I beat a good player 6-4, second round I won again easily 6-1. Third round and losers bracket I lost 6-0 and 5-0. I was having trouble with a contact lense but I don't blame that for losing. The guys I lost to were no better than the guy I beat 6-4.

Funny thing is, I went to the same room last week to hit some balls and I noticed the guy who I beat in the first round of the tourney had won the most recent tourney which included a player who is on the IPT.

Go figure.
 
I kinda know how you feel, Icon. :D

I've had a good week playing myself, best I've had in a while. This past Saturday I played in a local APA-type (i.e. not an APA tournament per se, but using ruleset/handicaps) tournament, that's set up in separate brackets - 2/3, 4/5, 6/7 in their own groups. I'm a six, so I was in the last group.

I took 3rd, my best showing yet in this tournament - and I had to beat a tough 6, and two 7s to get to that point - and the two matches I lost were both to 7s, and they were both hill matches for me (and dammit, I was on the hill first each match! I blew both matches). The two guys that got past me took 1st and 2nd overall. I stayed on the winner's side 'til I got to the first of those guys.

The way I've been playing of late, and if I continue improving like I've been, I figure I'll be a seven by year's end. At least, that's kinda my goal. :D
 
I had a real good night last nite too.

Played at the Green Room's (South NJ) Monday night nine ball tournament, and got to the third round, losing 3-5, giving up a ton of weight for a player of my skill level, IMO. It was getting late, and didn't plan on being out so late. I knew trouble could be brewing at home. This was in the back of my mind, I guess.

Anyway, I got to shoot for almost four hours, mostly under competitive conditions, for $20. Not a bad deal.
 
Nice shooting ICON.

Part of what keeps me playing is seeing the day that my best day shooting is now my worst.


Eric
 
Icon of Sin said:
Last night I was shooting on league (typical the best playing night of my life had to happen during a league match :rolleyes: ), and I had to shoot my father.
Click to expand...

Did you ever read my "why you started playing this game," post?

Fred
 
Cornerman said:
Did you ever read my "why you started playing this game," post?

Fred
Click to expand...

Easy there Oedipus; I'm almost positive he was talking about playing pool against his father - I don't think he meant gunplay. But then again, I'm not exactly sure, this IS a pool player....well, nevermind...please disregard this post.
 
Cornerman said:
Did you ever read my "why you started playing this game," post?

Fred
Click to expand...
Your right Fred. My father is one of the main reasons for shooting pool and for being the level I am at in the game.

(Your right Willie, not with a gun :D)
 
Nothing like a break and run on a nine footer, nice shootin. I shot some of my best pool on Sunday. I won an individual tournament for our league's top bracket (8-ball). I have been hitting them real strong lately and my friend knew it so he bought me in the calcutta. I ended going for $50 and one of the players made a comment like it was too much. I played the guy in the finals and won 5-0. I missed one ball during the entire set, it was a good $320 day. :D

Eric A.
 
Icon of Sin said:
Last night I was shooting on league (typical the best playing night of my life had to happen during a league match :rolleyes: ), and I had to shoot my father. We are both even rated on this TAP 9Ball league so it was an even race to 6 for us.

I won 6-2 and had 2 break and runs in the match as well. this is a 9 footer league too, so I felt really proud of myself and had a great sense of accomplishment. My father agreed saying he has never seen me shoot that good before. I just hope it lasts :p

My safes were on, my confidence was high, I remembered things from the book I have been reading (Pleasures of Small Motions) and was able to apply them to every shot I played.

Just felt like sharing my joy, a lot of the threads around here are about blown run outs, figured I would share a positive one for a change.

The first break and run just layed right for me most of the shots were easy position so the run out wasnt to hard, I even acknowledged that after I ran it out. Everything just layed right after the snap.

The second break and run (wasnt a 2-pack unfortunately, happened a few racks later) was a harder one. I had some tough position play in it and came up short for an extremely thin cut on the 7-ball into the side, I had to spin the ball in as i wouldnt go if I just shot it with center, but doing so playingf the shot low right would take me around 3 rails for a shot on the 8 anyway, so I executed it perfectly and got out that rack too.

I also wanted to thank those who recommended the book "Pleasures of Small Motions". I had a very bad mental game and this book as helped a TON. I have recommended this book to another player here on three occasions, but I doubt he is going to read it as he seems to ignore my posts about it, but hey, just wanted to post some proof that it works and Im not all the way through the book yet. So THANKS!!!
Click to expand...

Hi Heath!

It's great to hear you're shooting strong. It sounds like your taking to that 9 ball league. Do the other players seem to enjoy it?

We're having trouble starting/keeping a 9 ball league running. I think the problem in our area is there just aren't enough nights to shoot anymore. Also, the players would rather play in the established 8 ball leagues than put up with getting yet another league up and running.

Anyway, great job on your win and good luck with the rest of the session.
 
Icon of Sin said:
....

I also wanted to thank those who recommended the book "Pleasures of Small Motions". I had a very bad mental game and this book as helped a TON. .... So THANKS!!!
Click to expand...

Well you're working on your mental game I would recommend "The Tao of Sports". Easy read, real easy.

BTW, I've also been playing what I think is the best pool of my life the last couple of weeks. I'll see if it continues tonight. :rolleyes:
 
Nice job! My dad plays fairly well. He is learning the safety game since he is an old straight eight pusher-ducker player who can't do that now. He is probably a SL-5 in APA. Of course whenever I play him I want to beat him just like I do every other player. Haven't had the opportunity to play him in any league since he only plays county fun league. Its weird cause whenever someone sees me play and then my dad play they say "I see where you learned how to play from your dad". Truth is I never played one game of pool with my father until I got back from college and I could already play far better than him.

This one night I was playing an older (all over 65 years old) APA team at my bar. They were complaining about everything (musics loud, foods cold, beers warm, etc) including some specific APA rule violation that I had never heard of (and can't remember now). So I got kinda pissed before I played my match and was going to make whoever I played wish they had never picked up a cue. I am a 7 and played a 5. I finished him off 5-0 in 1-inning. He won the lag and broke and made a ball, he ran 4 balls, missed and I ran out. Then I broke and ran 3 straight before coming up empty in the 5th game. he ran a few balls and I ran out. Felt good to stick it to the man!!
 
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Skess said:
Hi Heath!

It's great to hear you're shooting strong. It sounds like your taking to that 9 ball league. Do the other players seem to enjoy it?

We're having trouble starting/keeping a 9 ball league running. I think the problem in our area is there just aren't enough nights to shoot anymore. Also, the players would rather play in the established 8 ball leagues than put up with getting yet another league up and running.

Anyway, great job on your win and good luck with the rest of the session.
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To tell you the truth, Im not really taking to it and I dont think some of the players like it either. Its fun having it on 9 footers and at a nice bar, but there are only 4 advanced players in the whole league and My father and I are two of them. We only have 6 teams and each team has 4 people and we only shoot 3 matches a night. Most of the players like the rules but think the league office doesnt properly rate people, what they dont understand is that you are not going to go up or down every week. It takes a few weeks to find an established rating and for them to figure your playing ability out. I think the next session is going to be smaller and we may lose a team, which is fine with me. Less paperwork. Most of the players have never shoot in a league before either, so its a rules and regs nightmare, but last monday was the 9th week so they are starting to get it down.

I like going up there shooting but, running the league is just a PIA. Im going to do it for probably another year and then pass it along to someone else, if it lasts that long.
 
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Icon of Sin said:
Most of the players like the rules but think the league office doesn't properly rate people, what they dont understand is that you are not going to go up or down every week. It takes a few weeks to find an established rating and for them to figure your playing ability out.
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If it's TAP, we here have the same problem with the ratings; guys are all over the place. In many circumstances, a strong SL4 could be break and run artist, where a weak SL3 could really be a glorified SL2, but is getting one game from the SL4.

You don't see this too often in APA, where for example, a weak SL4 against a strong SL4 still has a chance. In TAP, one SL4 may totally outclass another, and everyone in on both teams knows it. Make you wonder why you sit there an mark each and every shot...
 
Its TAP Gregg.

the problem I have is we have people who came in with a known rating from the APA. APA around here is mostly barbox. We have 2 guys in particular who wanted to bring there apa SL5 rating over to TAP with them. They have been getting slaughtered by TAP SL2's and SL3's on these 9 footers.

I decided to Keep my SL 6 rating because I like to shoot on 9-footers. I shoot on them recreationally and for practice and gambling and stuff so I know I can hold my own with it. However these two guys are horrible. I have no idea why they were rated 5's in the APA. They should be APA 3's. Only thing I can think is that they were 5's in APA 8 ball and just slopped balls around to get to that level. So for some reason they think they can hold that SL in TAP 9-ball on 9 footers. No way. they are out of their mind.

We have 1 SL 3 who shoots like a 4. We have numerous other SL3's who should be 2's. the SL4's we have shoot ggood as 4's against the rest of the league, but then get stomped when playing one of us higher level players. To tell you the truth, I dont know how TAP rates these people, but I dont care, I just want to have fun, but these people come *****ing to me asking me why they just got their ass kicked by a 2 or a 3 when they are a 5. I dont have the heart to tell them they suck and shouldnt be a 5 so why did you want to come in as one?
 
Icon of Sin said:
... but these people come *****ing to me asking me why they just got their ass kicked by a 2 or a 3 when they are a 5. I dont have the heart to tell them they suck and shouldnt be a 5 so why did you want to come in as one?
Click to expand...

Sinner-man,
Do you think it's possible they will ever figure this out on their own? The over/under says they'll figure it out about 2 weeks from NEVER.
 
Williebetmore said:
Sinner-man,
Do you think it's possible they will ever figure this out on their own? The over/under says they'll figure it out about 2 weeks from NEVER.
Click to expand...
Yeah I pretty much know they wont figure it out. But its a league for bangers. These guys are not pool players, they dont practice. They shoot one night a week and thats league night... and they get mad when they lose!!!!!!

That shouldnt be allowed. I can understand if you practice all week and pull a DCP on league night (no offense DCP), but come on, these guys are not good, do not practice therefore have no hopes of being good and they get pissed off anf ***** about the ratings when they lose.

This is the first time I have been on the leagues side of the tracks with pool leagues, its unbeleivable and a real good experience. You think twice now before calling someone a sandbagger and such just because you lost. Now these horrible 5's are stuck at that SL until they go down because they made the bad choice of coming in as that.

The sad thing is that THEY WANT TO GO DOWN JUST SO THEY WIN. This is so the exact opposite of correct thinking. The way I look at it is I want to go up, this shows Im improving and will put me against harder players in the future, which will also help me to improve. However, if I go up to a 7 then I will be the harder player as there is no one over a 6 on the league.

Anyway, its a good night to get out and have a few drinks and shoot on some 9 footers in competition other then gambling. Just the competition is slim, but Im making the most of it. Who knows, maybe we will pick up a team or 2 in the next session instead of losing one or two. Im dropping APA and giving BCA a try next session. I know a lot of people who left APA and went to BCA and like it so much they wont go back to APA.
 
Well look like everyone had a great night..i am currently ranked a 5 but everyone calls me a sandbagging 7, i shoot full speed evey match. I gave up the game of pool for 9 years and have just come back to it the past year and a half and i told the coach of the team that at one time i could really play this game...well on sunday everything just clicked...I lost the lag..he broke didnt play anything..i ran down to the 7 missed it..so did he i finished the rack..broke..ran the rack...broke again..played the nine ball..broke..didnt play anything..snookered him from the one off the break..he missed i ran out..needless to say the finial score was 39 to 9 with only 7 innings.. i had two run racks and a nine on the break...i played almost flawless pool..it felt wonderful to hit the ball that good...Some peopole who think im too good to be a 5 said that if im not a 7 next week there gona go slap our league director..ha ha ha..even the guys who would play me and give me weight said ...well that the end to your spot..i just laughed it off....but i did shoot one hell of a game..hehehe
 
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