He just finished a moment ago. His new high run is 207.
Steve Lipsky Breaks 200!
- Thread starter Jude Rosenstock
- Start date
Steve is my new hero. It was a really nice run and Steve could've tried to cinch the 200 toward the end but saved a pattern for another break shot. He missed position on the key ball and didn't get a good break shot to continue but he didn't chicken out. I really thought he might break 300 he was playing so well.
Steve, it's a pleasure to watch you play and I always play better afterwards. Thank you.
Steve, it's a pleasure to watch you play and I always play better afterwards. Thank you.
Congrats. Awesome accomplishment. Still lookin for 50 myself 
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STEVIE STEVIE !!
Congrats, wish i could have been there to see it.And also wished you caught it on tape.
at what point did you start tightening up? what was your prior high run?
Keep up the good shooting!
Steve
hopefully if all goes to plan i will be breaking a 100 once again! gonna try to get it on film, so you can pick it apart !
Congrats, wish i could have been there to see it.And also wished you caught it on tape.
at what point did you start tightening up? what was your prior high run?
Keep up the good shooting!
Steve
hopefully if all goes to plan i will be breaking a 100 once again! gonna try to get it on film, so you can pick it apart !
stevekur1 said:
Prior to tonight, Steve's high run was 177. He's been playing some great pool lately so as happy as everyone is, nobody is surprised (except Steve, maybe).
Jude Rosenstock said:
When ever I see or mention Steve Lipsky, it is with the utmost reverence and awe. His skill for straight pool is nothing short of amazing. He is a constant inspiration to me. It is also nice to see comments from other wonderful players at Amsterdam like Jude Rosenstock (who I admire just as well) and Chris Lynch who is both a wonderful player and a great league director.
Justlovecues said:
Look, I agreed to pay you $20 to post something nice about me. I'm not paying you extra!
Thanks for the kind words.
Thanks everyone... I have been beside myself with emotion all night because in truth I really never thought I would attain this goal. It's a goal I've had forever, and it just became this huge mental block over the years. The sky's the limit from here, I hope. It's also nice because there's absolutely no question what the run was. I ran the first two racks of a game to 200, caught a weird scratch on a breakshot, and ran out in my next inning. So that was a 173, and from there we just started keeping track of the run.
I really have so many thoughts to convey but I'll just start by saying that my opponent, a guy named Jim Gottier (formerly from out west), has been a great sparring partner lately. He's playing some great pool (running hundreds himself) and I simply don't want to miss when playing him. I was taking my time tonight and trying to play the patterns very deliberately. Jim and I have had some great games together and I look forward to many more.
I got a couple of nice rolls (nothing totally outrageous, but rolls nonetheless) fairly early on. From about 50 or 60, it was a really nice run. I only remember two hard shots, and both of them I could've chickened out and played something easier at the expense of the pattern. But I stuck to my guns. No banks, no real combinations ("real" meaning one that had to be aimed, as opposed to just two balls right in front of the pocket). Almost every end pattern - at least how I remember it now - was tight. Very little extraneous cueball movement in the last 3 or 4 balls of almost every rack.
I have a new appreciation for running this many - the focus it requires is difficult to explain. I wanted to leave nothing to chance. I made sure I knew what would happen on almost every shot. I was shooting balls uptable into the corners rather than risk a secondary break shot when one wasn't necessary, and I was very cognizant of that. It's much harder to play like that - it requires a diligence that is hard to muster in "practice" - but from about 130 on, I made myself slow down and think about everything. I refused to get lazy and let that get the best of me.
When I broke the 177 (my former high), it took a little pressure off, until about 190, when it all came back. When I finally made #200, I sort of took a deep breath, closed my eyes and leaned on the table like I just won the US Open or something, lol. But I was so lucky because a lot of my peers were in the room that night, and there was applause and I started getting a little emotional. Pretty lame, I know, but this has really been my only goal in the game for such a long time. The feeling of surpassing it is something I'll never forget.
I'm very lucky to play in a room filled with such talent. Guys like Danny Barouty, Jim Gottier, Jon Smith, Ginky, Tony, Mika, Chris Lynch, Flaco, Stu Mattana, Jude Rosenstock, and Mike Yednak. I'm sure there's more. It's not just watching them all play, it's also talking about various positions and discussing everything. It's a hell of a place to play, Amsterdam.
That said, what I did tonight is nothing less than a tribute to the man to whom I owe all my straight pool - Danny Barouty. It is under his tutelage that any of this was made possible, and there's just no other way to say that. His is the gold standard by which all 14.1 should be measured, and at least in NY, it is. We all owe Danny a debt we could never hope to repay.
Thanks for listening to the rambling...
- Steve
I really have so many thoughts to convey but I'll just start by saying that my opponent, a guy named Jim Gottier (formerly from out west), has been a great sparring partner lately. He's playing some great pool (running hundreds himself) and I simply don't want to miss when playing him. I was taking my time tonight and trying to play the patterns very deliberately. Jim and I have had some great games together and I look forward to many more.
I got a couple of nice rolls (nothing totally outrageous, but rolls nonetheless) fairly early on. From about 50 or 60, it was a really nice run. I only remember two hard shots, and both of them I could've chickened out and played something easier at the expense of the pattern. But I stuck to my guns. No banks, no real combinations ("real" meaning one that had to be aimed, as opposed to just two balls right in front of the pocket). Almost every end pattern - at least how I remember it now - was tight. Very little extraneous cueball movement in the last 3 or 4 balls of almost every rack.
I have a new appreciation for running this many - the focus it requires is difficult to explain. I wanted to leave nothing to chance. I made sure I knew what would happen on almost every shot. I was shooting balls uptable into the corners rather than risk a secondary break shot when one wasn't necessary, and I was very cognizant of that. It's much harder to play like that - it requires a diligence that is hard to muster in "practice" - but from about 130 on, I made myself slow down and think about everything. I refused to get lazy and let that get the best of me.
When I broke the 177 (my former high), it took a little pressure off, until about 190, when it all came back. When I finally made #200, I sort of took a deep breath, closed my eyes and leaned on the table like I just won the US Open or something, lol. But I was so lucky because a lot of my peers were in the room that night, and there was applause and I started getting a little emotional. Pretty lame, I know, but this has really been my only goal in the game for such a long time. The feeling of surpassing it is something I'll never forget.
I'm very lucky to play in a room filled with such talent. Guys like Danny Barouty, Jim Gottier, Jon Smith, Ginky, Tony, Mika, Chris Lynch, Flaco, Stu Mattana, Jude Rosenstock, and Mike Yednak. I'm sure there's more. It's not just watching them all play, it's also talking about various positions and discussing everything. It's a hell of a place to play, Amsterdam.
That said, what I did tonight is nothing less than a tribute to the man to whom I owe all my straight pool - Danny Barouty. It is under his tutelage that any of this was made possible, and there's just no other way to say that. His is the gold standard by which all 14.1 should be measured, and at least in NY, it is. We all owe Danny a debt we could never hope to repay.
Thanks for listening to the rambling...
- Steve
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Steve Lipsky said:Thanks everyone... I have been beside myself with emotion all night because in truth I really never thought I would attain this goal. It's a goal I've had forever, and it just became this huge mental block over the years. The sky's the limit from here, I hope. It's also nice because there's absolutely no question what the run was. I ran the first two racks of a game to 200, caught a weird scratch on a breakshot, and ran out in my next inning. So that was a 173, and from there we just started keeping track of the run.
I really have so many thoughts to convey but I'll just start by saying that my opponent, a guy named Jim Gottier (formerly from out west), has been a great sparring partner lately. He's playing some great pool (running hundreds himself) and I simply don't want to miss when playing him. I was taking my time tonight and trying to play the patterns very deliberately. Jim and I have had some great games together and I look forward to many more.
I got a couple of nice rolls (nothing totally outrageous, but rolls nonetheless) fairly on. From about 50 or 60, it was a really nice run. I only remember two hard shots, and both of them I could've chickened out and played something easier at the expense of the pattern. But I stuck to my guns. No banks, no real combinations ("real" meaning one that had to be aimed, as opposed to just two balls right in front of the pocket). Almost every end pattern - at least how I remember it now - was tight. Very little extraneous cueball movement in the last 3 or 4 balls of almost every rack.
I have a new appreciation for running this many - the focus it requires is difficult to explain. I wanted to leave nothing to chance. I made sure I knew what would happen on almost every shot. I was shooting balls uptable into the corners rather than risk a secondary break shot when one wasn't necessary, and I was very cognizant of that. It's much harder to play like that - it requires a diligence that is hard to muster in "practice" - but from about 130 on, I made myself slow down and think about everything. I refused to get lazy and let that get the best of me.
When I broke the 177 (my former high), it took a little pressure off, until about 190, when it all came back. When I finally made #200, I sort of took a deep breath, closed my eyes and leaned on the table like I just won the US Open or something, lol. But I was so lucky because a lot of my peers were in the room that night, and there was applause and I started getting a little emotional. Pretty lame, I know, but this has really been my only goal in the game for such a long time. The feeling of surpassing it is something I'll never forget.
I'm very lucky to play in a room filled with such talent. Guys like Danny Barouty, Jim Gottier, Jon Smith, Ginky, Tony, Mika, Chris Lynch, Flaco, Stu Mattana, and Jude Rosenstock. I'm sure there's more. It's not just watching them all play, it's also talking about various positions and discussing everything. It's a hell of a place to play, Amsterdam.
That said, what I did tonight is nothing less than a tribute to the man to whom I owe all my straight pool - Danny Barouty. It is under his tutelage that any of this was made possible, and there's just no other way to say that. His is the gold standard by which all 14.1 should be measured, and at least in NY, it is. We all owe Danny a debt we could never hope to repay.
Thanks for listening to the rambling...
- Steve
Any coincidence that Bruce Springsteen's new song "Working On A Dream" was free for download yesterday and only yesterday?
I don't think so.
One can only imagine the shear joy and sense of accomplishment you are feeling right now. Us mere mortals who love this time honored game can only dream of a number like this. I agree that you a very lucky to have players around like Danny to push you to new levels, but the dedication and determination it takes to play at this level was all on your own buddy.
Again congrats on an amazing accomplishment that some great players will never do in a lifetime, and thanks for always sharing with us your thoughts and feelings here on the forum.
Thank you for keeping our great game alive and well as you take your seat in the USA's straight pool elite.
Kev
Again congrats on an amazing accomplishment that some great players will never do in a lifetime, and thanks for always sharing with us your thoughts and feelings here on the forum.
Thank you for keeping our great game alive and well as you take your seat in the USA's straight pool elite.
Kev
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first of all gratz steve!! :thumbup:
second of all: WHY DIDN'T YOU TAPE IT !!!:angry:
third of all: thanks for taking the time to write how you felt. At least if we mortals can't seen the run, we can imagine the emotions you must have been feeling. :clapping: :bow-down:
Ps the way you described your emotions , makes me feel like i was there, running the 200. I'm a MAN, and i DONT CRY, but if i wasn't a man, i could have let a small miniscule teardrop of hapyness :grin-square:
If i'll ever make my dream of coming to the states, amsterdam is surely the place i'll be visiting !
ps a question: Do you think that because it was a match that is was easyer to concentrate for so long, compared as to training, where you just set up a ball and try to run 100? Did the matchpressure helped you concentrate?
if you had to say in % what the breakshots where, how would they be devided? aka 20% under the rack, 30% breakball in middle pocket and 50% breakball next to the rack and in cornerpocket?
I'm trying to see if there are patterns in high runs of wich breakshots gives the best payout on the long run...
EDIT:
i forgot to add. Just like the run couldn't be achieved thanks to other players, i hope u stay on this forum as you are an inspiration for many players here, and maybe someone in the future will thank you for all your help when they run there 100 or 200.
second of all: WHY DIDN'T YOU TAPE IT !!!:angry:
third of all: thanks for taking the time to write how you felt. At least if we mortals can't seen the run, we can imagine the emotions you must have been feeling. :clapping: :bow-down:
Ps the way you described your emotions , makes me feel like i was there, running the 200. I'm a MAN, and i DONT CRY, but if i wasn't a man, i could have let a small miniscule teardrop of hapyness :grin-square:
If i'll ever make my dream of coming to the states, amsterdam is surely the place i'll be visiting !
ps a question: Do you think that because it was a match that is was easyer to concentrate for so long, compared as to training, where you just set up a ball and try to run 100? Did the matchpressure helped you concentrate?
if you had to say in % what the breakshots where, how would they be devided? aka 20% under the rack, 30% breakball in middle pocket and 50% breakball next to the rack and in cornerpocket?
I'm trying to see if there are patterns in high runs of wich breakshots gives the best payout on the long run...
EDIT:
i forgot to add. Just like the run couldn't be achieved thanks to other players, i hope u stay on this forum as you are an inspiration for many players here, and maybe someone in the future will thank you for all your help when they run there 100 or 200.
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Steve Lipsky said:
Steve,
Very nice accomplishment and congratulations.
Surely you need to give Jim more credit for his racking skill (I personally am in favor of "slugging" the rack if my opponent runs more than a rack; you'd be lucky to run more than 14 with such racks
).