Bernie's answer
i felt great! before i went there, questions flew around my head, would i be nervous? etc.etc. then once the players meeting was over, we all went to practice, and i found the tables to be easier than i expected, and i felt comfortable. at the actual day of the tournament, i found my playing to be great,with no music,good air conditioning,clean balls,and people watching me i was able to play my game, as oppose to pool halls that have loud horrible music, bad air conditioning, and dirty pitted balls,with no one caring about how i play, which makes me play worse, so yes, all in all i played quite well and was pleased, i felt that although i didn't win one race, in this type of tournament, i learned a few things:
#1~~ the score does not reflect how poorly you played, but how great and tough the compitition was, meaning, in a regular tournament with regular players if you lose 8-0, you played lousy, however in this north american open if you lost 8-0, you could have played well, but because the compitition was so fantastic, that's how it goes.
#2```` little itty bitty mistakes, mean LOT!!!! in a normal tornament, small mistakes are no problem, here, they are instant death and magnified 1000 times!
#3~~~ closing the door is a major key here, when i had chances to bury my opponent, the nerves crept in, and i wasn't able to close the door, i will work on this for reno.
#4~~~taking more time, i noticed, that the world of 8-ball is divided into two groups:the europeans who take their time, close to 4 mins per shot! and play amazing, and the non- europeans who play faster, yet commit many,many more errors, i shall be taking a LOT of time in reno!
#5 reading the table, like a golf course, on normal pool hall tables, the cue ball travels at a predictable rate and direction,however at the NOA, you really had to "read" the cloth!!!,follow was S L O W and draw was stunningly fast!, and stun was a big fast arc/wave, all because of the gorina cloth that gripped the draw, slowed the follow, and slid the stun!
all in all i was proud that i played well, and i know now, what to tune up for reno, and my attitude for vegas was "maybe i'll win one race?" my attitude for reno is "i'm gonna get thru the first round!"
hope that sheds light on what it was like playing in the biggest tournament ever,Bernie Friend.
i felt great! before i went there, questions flew around my head, would i be nervous? etc.etc. then once the players meeting was over, we all went to practice, and i found the tables to be easier than i expected, and i felt comfortable. at the actual day of the tournament, i found my playing to be great,with no music,good air conditioning,clean balls,and people watching me i was able to play my game, as oppose to pool halls that have loud horrible music, bad air conditioning, and dirty pitted balls,with no one caring about how i play, which makes me play worse, so yes, all in all i played quite well and was pleased, i felt that although i didn't win one race, in this type of tournament, i learned a few things:
#1~~ the score does not reflect how poorly you played, but how great and tough the compitition was, meaning, in a regular tournament with regular players if you lose 8-0, you played lousy, however in this north american open if you lost 8-0, you could have played well, but because the compitition was so fantastic, that's how it goes.
#2```` little itty bitty mistakes, mean LOT!!!! in a normal tornament, small mistakes are no problem, here, they are instant death and magnified 1000 times!
#3~~~ closing the door is a major key here, when i had chances to bury my opponent, the nerves crept in, and i wasn't able to close the door, i will work on this for reno.
#4~~~taking more time, i noticed, that the world of 8-ball is divided into two groups:the europeans who take their time, close to 4 mins per shot! and play amazing, and the non- europeans who play faster, yet commit many,many more errors, i shall be taking a LOT of time in reno!
#5 reading the table, like a golf course, on normal pool hall tables, the cue ball travels at a predictable rate and direction,however at the NOA, you really had to "read" the cloth!!!,follow was S L O W and draw was stunningly fast!, and stun was a big fast arc/wave, all because of the gorina cloth that gripped the draw, slowed the follow, and slid the stun!
all in all i was proud that i played well, and i know now, what to tune up for reno, and my attitude for vegas was "maybe i'll win one race?" my attitude for reno is "i'm gonna get thru the first round!"
hope that sheds light on what it was like playing in the biggest tournament ever,Bernie Friend.