Practice practice practice

This has been my morning workout. Physical and mental.
Final score; right hand 14 left 7.
Chaseing the Tail is my name for the game I have built on the Colin's drill, that I found at Dr Dave's place.
The game is growing on me.😉
I play against myself. Sounds better than, uh [whisper]with myself.[/whisper]
 
😂 just heading out the door but could do as the dog this morning. Colder than usual. So might put the remodel on inclement weather program and BRB:shrug:
 
Tho
gregcantrall, Howdy;

On a roll this morning? Interesting thoughts/ramblings.

hank
Thought of the morning:
If you don't ride a Harley you ain't shit. Well that's the moto of the bikers bar. I walk in the front door with stick in hand. Wait for attention then loudly inquire, "Anyone in here play worth a shit?"
Back on trAck I think. If you don't have a morning run.......Earl channel over!
 
Military discipline is effective.
Endurance, I can improve by following the most basic uh gravity neutral. The flow of the dance. I see it in Ronnie when he is soaring.
Far far above.....
 
By staying center ball.. I save myself for the big shot. The $20 shots😉
The story of 1 ball practice for a month, has inspired my commitment to the value of precision strike on the cue ball....down to atomic level.
Tangent alert:
39th Squadron was a new squadron as my generation was baby boom. So anyway we had to invent a squadron patch (for the flight jacket) and a motto. 37th squadron, got away with..., something Red Dorks. It flew. So the best motto my generation could come up with was, "39 Scrotums Balls To The Wall!"
Should be all caps as in basic training dismissal led to the motto at Top of lungs! My esteemed roommate, John well he narrow escaped K squadron in basic. We were J Jaguar. K was heading out the door. John came through narrow ly.
Anyway as 3rd class we were in charge of Basic training. We matched them to and from. In front of the Chapel. At least 5,000 photos a day I gave. Well upon dismissal. John, who had grilled them with our uh underground motto. Dismissed! Got it full volume right next to the chapel.
We were reported and held accountable. My 4th CDB...... The presiding officer. Maybe a Major or the next rank up that I can not spell. Greets me with, "well hello Cadet no, we were more familiar, as he presided at my first 3 🤷 so it was, Mr Cantrall, good to see you again. My reply is etched, "no sir it is not" might have been relaxed enough by his greeting to use 'isn't". Nah my training.
 
We narrow escaped because our classmate Oddell. A good man and more mature, as he had come up from the ranks. Came through Prep school. At the upper age limit. So he attended our evening court before 6 officers and 6 cadets. Asked to speak and explained how it happened. We were uh released. My CDB sentences previous had been 4 and 40 which I served and was up for early release but papers didn't make it in time for the weekend game with Nebraska. I had a date and chance d a off base. Got caught and 12 and 120 was my sentence.
Tangent alert, Cadet Duffy was a senior in my first year. He had a brand new Corvette in the lot that he couldn't drive as he, as a chear leader the year before got drunk at the Army game. Prosecuted and given the 12 months and 120 tours (at 5/week) Strangely enough he took a like to me and he would summon me into his room. He would hand me two dimes and order me to go to the coke room.(a forbidden zone for me as a Basic). Deposit the dimes and return to his room with the 2 cokes. Whereupon he would open them and hand me one and order me to drink it. Eeek, the 3rd class cadets in charge of the uh hands on training are in the hall observing as they had indeed intercept me in the coke room.
Upon exit and turn around the corner... They await. Put me in the Front Leaning Rest, as push ups were not allowed for the first time. So I, oh yeah the good part is they placed a coke bottle in a strategic position so that upon fatigue.. . ..
Then came the recitation of knowledge. With the favorite being Discipline;
Sir the discipline which makes the soldiers of our country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. . .....
 
The discipline of Ronnie is evident in this clip of his finish of latest European Masters match. While he doesn't hold for very long he always starts each shot from ground zero and flows through the dance.
I try to follow the lead and hit all of my check points in my dance. I just have to remember that mine is a slower dance than Ronnie's.
Just as impressive is his encouragement of the young player at the end. I too try to fill the role of Ambassador to the game.
 
Gamesmanship:
Should be conducted when I am at the table. Some would consider their little shark moves. Gamesmanship. My version of gshit is hit em with the kind of shots that send a message.
As ambassador I should confess to my failure.😉 When a weak player seeks to uh supply a small distraction that can be claimed as innocent. I let this player think it works..,his "Lucky" ritual has awarded him (another) shot. Just that my "luck" has left him ...shit. poops pooped again.
I am struggling to find, well my next technique is to....siddle alongside while chalking my cue a quiet speak . "You will stop the shit or I will make a scene." My look in the eyes let's them know I can take the escalator to the top.
I have only had one taker on the escalator ride. I chalk it up to a cultural different.
 
Tri-Cities,WA in '03; I had just arrived in anticipation of my next job at The Vit plant (largest construction project in USA. Anyway we found the local $5 tournament run by John Duclose. There was a character that would do the most incredible dance. When I waited out the cue break down then it was putting on the jacket with the arm in the air struggling to enter the sleeve. Wow what a difficult sleeve. I waited it out and suppressed the urge to giggle. Next came the rearranging the chair and uh even table, as we are done here right. Being New, I was not ready to make a ripple. In the course of my longest job, after a while we were in the local doubles league. In the finals I was on the final 8 ball. Of course in his preparation, he had positioned his chair. He played dumb all the way to the top. Broke down his cue. And sat back down. I asked if that was a concession. Then gave a dissertation on why his gamesmanship was uh cowardly.
This elevated my adrenaline to the fight forget the flight. Made it in the heart. No he didn't get a handshake. He did sit still (I guess)😉
 
Gamesmanship:
Should be conducted when I am at the table. Some would consider their little shark moves. Gamesmanship. My version of gshit is hit em with the kind of shots that send a message.
As ambassador I should confess to my failure.😉 When a weak player seeks to uh supply a small distraction that can be claimed as innocent. I let this player think it works..,his "Lucky" ritual has awarded him (another) shot. Just that my "luck" has left him ...shit. poops pooped again.
I am struggling to find, well my next technique is to....siddle alongside while chalking my cue a quiet speak . "You will stop the shit or I will make a scene." My look in the eyes let's them know I can take the escalator to the top.
I have only had one taker on the escalator ride. I chalk it up to a cultural different.
Watching pool players is like a scientist inspecting a petri dish. :)

My gamesmanship is mainly relegated to 8 ball and is a subtle one that happens only while I'm at the table. It fits into my PSR, the thinking part. Quickly analyze if the shot is easy enough to not miss. Quickly re-analyze the balls. If I'm not confident in making the ball and getting shape (even shape for a safety, or getting out depending on the rack) it's time for a safe that leaves them nothing and improves my chances. 8 ball is a game of improving your chances while eliminating those of your opponent.

The gamesmanship goes like this: Shoot at a ball and make it miss, turn it into a key ball or push it closer to the pocket as in 1P. If it's being pushed to a pocket I miss by 1/2", enough to show I was close, making an attempt, but they think "look at this guy, he sucks, he misses the easy shots!" (sometimes in league I'll hear his team mates whisper this to each other😝) In one motion, as soon as I "notice" I missed, I'll let my head softly and slowly droop a tiny little bit, turn and walk back to my chair while the CB is still in motion. Opponent jumps up, chomping at the bit! The head droop is subtly, only enough for those watching an opponent's body language closely to even see it. Who says pool players can't act? ;)

I can almost hear them think "ah this guy can't even make an easy shot but he gets all the rolls." Sometimes they say it out loud. That's when I know my gamesmanship has worked!

The fun part is, the "rolls" were planned and I know where the CB is. They get an extremely low chance heroic shot with no future, or enough of the ball to scratch, break out my problems or to initiate a safety battle with no real hope of a return. The key to a good safety is you have to leave them enough meat on the bones. Let them think there is a small chance at turning the tides and hope they bite on it. Some bite hard, some just nibble. The nibblers will soon bite if they make a couple trips to the table with nothing. 1P players do not bite like this as long as they realize the gamesmanship that is going on.

IMO the best safeties in a tough rack aren't lock up air tight safeties, they are those shots with just enough meat on the bones to temp. Where they can see enough of an object ball in order to make the trap invisible. Just simple little things that cut off angles, leave scratches, break out my problems, etc. Let them do the heavy lifting and chalk it up to bad rolls. This gets tougher to do if the opponent is in dead stroke, but an "open" safety leaving them nothing keeps them unaware for longer than being frozen to the back of a ball or something. That snaps them awake real quick. That type of lock up safety is for when you have the table run-able for certain and would like BIH to finish the rack.

Some players notice what is going on, others just think I have all the luck. I never let them know. The ones in the know are family or very close friends who qualify as family. I've had a few people ask me if I was playing safe or just getting lucky. I'll usually just offer a canned response like "well you know how pool goes, it's hard to tell what can happen one shot to the next."

I just wish I was good enough at 9B to use this same strategy, but those 9B players are a tricky bunch, they bring the heat when it's needed and often make an impossible shot entirely possible with okay shape.
 
I just wish I was good enough at 9B to use this same strategy, but those 9B players are a tricky bunch, they bring the heat when it's needed and often make an impossible shot entirely possible with okay shape.
Playing in 9 ball ring games cultivated my go for it attitude. Finding a way to make a ball, any ball with a difficult leave in case of a miss is a ring game skill.
Leaving the player behind you an easy shot could lead to uh social pressure from the other players. While safety play was not allowed, smart play was critical.
I once got into a ring game where the person I followed left me hooked 7 times in a row. I didn't know him but must have reminded him of somebody.🤷 I was kicking well and a few times made the ball but no shape. I finally got an open shot and got out. Followed by a 9 ball break then after respot run out. I had to laugh, after 3 consecutive money balls, I was still stuck in the game.
 
The Ram in University Place was the home to a ring game. The first table by the entry was designated The Ring game table. After work around 4:30 the game started for $1.(for the little fish). This game only allowed 4 players unlike all others locally that had a 5 player limit. So when the fifth player wanted in, it was "raise the bet" worked well. By 8 o'clock on Friday night it could be a $10 or $20 game.
 
I walked in one day after work and there were only 3 in the dollar game. Hopefully I could at least get enough for my first beer before the small fry bail.
I casually asked a player as I was getting my beer, if I could get in. His eyes got big as saucers and his reply was, "you're GREG!". I had no idea that I was such a big fish in the small pond. His initial exclamation was followed with a no. They would relinquish the table if I insisted but I was content to watch and wait for more of the big boys to come in.
 
Ronnie O'Sullivan on what he will be remembered for.
I practice by the numbers so hopefully it becomes ingrained. When in competition I need to be able to flow with the rythem. Thinking only of the challenge and chosen solution.
 
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