stevie im sorry i havent said something sooner.
i have not been on the 14.1 forums in a few days.
awesome shooting ,it does not surprise me, you play great pool.
i know as well as anyone how hard it is to run 200 or more and thats a hell of a feat.
it could not have happened to a better guy and now youve broken that mental barrior of 200.
i bet you do it again soon just please dont do it against me at the worlds next year.
do it to my buddy bill that way i could say good shooting that match bill you never missed a ball lol
p.s. great shooting barouty also on that 200 plus. another non surprise your a monster danny and another great guy.
also not to forget bob maidof. i think he ran just over 300 recently another great guy that i dont want to draw next year .
see you next year you ballrunning aliens .
Wow, this is wonderful news. Steve, your dedication to the game of 14.1 is truly special, and because you have never stopped viewing yourelf as a student of the game, you have never stopped elevating and honing your 14.1 knowledge and skills. The 200 ball run club has always been an exclusive one, and, as far as I'm concerned, it just got a little more exclusive.
To me and some others who have played you and have seen your exceptional play up close on so many occasions, the only surprise is that it took you so long to reach this milestone.
I couldn't be happier for you, Steve, for this outstanding achievement. I know how much this means to you, and how hard you worked to arrive at this truly special moment.
Bravo, my friend! Wishing you continued success in your quest for perfect straight pool.
Awesome accomplishment Steve, and by the way, there is absolutely nothing wrong with showing a little emotion for something you have such a deep desire for and worked so hard to attain, breaking the 200 barrier is an incredible acheivement for which you are to be commended, and doing it while in an actual match has to make it all the more fulfilling.
Hope this is the beginning of many more to come, once again, CONGRATULATIONS!
Great job. Really enjoyed reading your review too. I felt your excitement.
A question for all you 14.1 enthusiast out there - how many people have run 200? How many are capable? Just how exclusive a club is our own Mr. Lipsky a member of?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the run. Reaching your goals in pocket billiards is a very personal thing, that non-players rarely understand. Sharing the emotion and allowing us all to be apart of it was very cool!
Great job. Really enjoyed reading your review too. I felt your excitement.
A question for all you 14.1 enthusiast out there - how many people have run 200? How many are capable? Just how exclusive a club is our own Mr. Lipsky a member of?
I'd say the 200 club is very exclusive. Of the 200+ runners I've seen, it takes a HELLUVA player to run 200+.
On this thread, I'd say somewhat confidently that there are only TWO legit 200 ball runners.
Back on topic... Steve-o, congrats on clearing this long time hurdle of yours! You are truly one of NJ/NYC's "unknown" killers. I'd like to hear more details about it when I run into you, next.
This was awesome to watch. It's inspiring to say the least. Of course it takes a little shine off my crappy league match that I was playing on the next table - and I couldn't just watch the whole thing straight through
Wow, thanks everyone. So nice of you all, and I should mention that when I was on about 195, I thought how cool it would be to let everyone on AZ know that I finally did it.
I also never thought I'd be called both a pimp and an alien (albeit one of the ball-running variety) in a single post, but I was obviously wrong. Haahaha, thanks for the post John.
To answer a few questions in the thread:
Sadly, no, it wasn't on tape. But Danny and I have each been putting up some good numbers, so hopefully we'll get some stuff on Saturdays. I still have to get the tape with the 130 out there, but commentary is proving difficult.
Hmmm, was a good question about the break percentages. I think there were 15 break shots if I'm not mistaken. Here's the approximate breakdown:
1 Behind-the-rack
0 Side pocket
6 Side-of-rack, topspin
2 Side-of-rack, hard draw to come two rails back to center (short, long)
5 Side-of-rack, stun/slight draw to rail or to center
So that leaves one more left.... hmmm... oh yeah, this one also answers how the run ended:
1 Miss entire break ball (as in, do not even make contact with it)
HAHAHAHAHAAHA - that might be a first, to end a big run in such a manner. But I went out in style!
In the 2nd page, as long as I get to A or B, the pattern plays itself. In my first big mental lapse of the run, I really don't make a decision and wind up on the 50-yard line. The 11 is basically unplayable now, which presents a real problem, because the 10 was a perfect key ball for the 13. It's important to note that without the 10, I don't like the 13 ball at all. It's sitting too high for my tastes, and I don't want to play area position on the 13. The 10 was perfect, and as soon as I had to shoot it early, I felt I was in trouble.
I decided to play the 10 to the 9, and see where I landed on it. The one thing I could do in this situation was, with 4 balls left, remove the 2 non-break-balls first. This would leave me with my choice of the 13 and 11, both of which weren't laying great but would work given good position. Depending on where exactly I landed on the 9, I could make my final decision.
I got awkward on the 9, because I had enough angle to draw to the other side rail and back out - however, the other side pocket looms large on that shot - especially when you've just made a few bad shots and it seems you might be losing the momentum. So I tried to straight draw it back to center table, but my stroke failed me a tad and I wound up where I show in slide 4.
On the WEI, it looks like I can play the 11 from here, but I couldn't. It was too thin a cut into the side and I either would have scratched in the lower right pocket or would not have been able to play predictable position on the slightly-high 13. So I chose to take the 3 rail route on the 13, for position on the 11 in the side. I am trying to get to position A or B in slide 5, but in another giant mental error, come up too short. The reason I consider this such an error is because it's almost impossible to hit this shot too hard to lose the angle on the 11. The cueball dies a bit off the 2nd and 3rd rails, and I would have had to hit this shot simply terribly to go too far. Therefore, I should have been cognizant of this, and make the error by going too hard. Unfortunately I didn't take my time, didn't think it through, and played it too softly. This is really an egregious mistake and I was a bit upset at myself.
I still had a shot, as seen in diagram 6. When I looked at it, I figured I was probably about 30% to make it and break the rack well enough to get a second shot. Not great odds, but I was happy to at least have the chance.
There are a lot of glass windows at Amsterdam, and I very calmly told myself before shooting this shot that if I missed the 11 by undercutting it, I'd take a running start and hurl myself through the nearest one. It was really that simple. That's not the "pro" way to miss this ball, and I just told myself that I'd rather miss the whole ball than undercut it. By giving myself permission to miss the whole ball, I am really giving myself permission to take a good stroke at it. Whatever happens happens, but I'm going to stroke this ball well.
I hit it with a medium-slow speed, and a lot of righthand english to throw it in. I tried to judge the swerve and I guess I just slightly miscalculated, missing the entire 11. Oh well. I was happy with my decision.
Wow, thanks everyone. So nice of you all, and I should mention that when I was on about 195, I thought how cool it would be to let everyone on AZ know that I finally did it.
I also never thought I'd be called both a pimp and an alien (albeit one of the ball-running variety) in a single post, but I was obviously wrong. Haahaha, thanks for the post John.
To answer a few questions in the thread:
Sadly, no, it wasn't on tape. But Danny and I have each been putting up some good numbers, so hopefully we'll get some stuff on Saturdays. I still have to get the tape with the 130 out there, but commentary is proving difficult.
Hmmm, was a good question about the break percentages. I think there were 15 break shots if I'm not mistaken. Here's the approximate breakdown:
1 Behind-the-rack
0 Side pocket
6 Side-of-rack, topspin
2 Side-of-rack, hard draw to come two rails back to center (short, long)
5 Side-of-rack, stun to rail or to center
So that leaves one more left.... hmmm... oh yeah, this one also answers how the run ended:
1 Miss entire break ball (as in, do not even make contact with it)
HAHAHAHAHAAHA - that might be a first, to end a big run in such a manner. But I went out in style!
In the 2nd page, as long as I get to A or B, the pattern plays itself. In my first big mental lapse of the run, I really don't make a decision and wind up on the 50-yard line. The 11 is basically unplayable now, which presents a real problem, because the 10 was a perfect key ball for the 13. It's important to note that without the 10, I don't like the 13 ball at all. It's sitting too high for my tastes, and I don't want to play area position on the 13. The 10 was perfect, and as soon as I had to shoot it early, I felt I was in trouble.
I decided to play the 10 to the 9, and see where I landed on it. The one thing I could do in this situation was, with 4 balls left, remove the 2 non-break-balls first. This would leave me with my choice of the 13 and 11, both of which weren't laying great but would work given good position. Depending on where exactly I landed on the 9, I could make my final decision.
I got awkward on the 9, because I had enough angle to draw to the other side rail and back out - however, the other side pocket looms large on that shot - especially when you've just made a few bad shots and it seems you might be losing the momentum. So I tried to straight draw it back to center table, but my stroke failed me a tad and I wound up where I show in slide 4.
On the WEI, it looks like I can play the 11 from here, but I couldn't. It was too thin a cut into the side and I either would have scratched in the lower right pocket or would not have been able to play predictable position on the slightly-high 13. So I chose to take the 3 rail route on the 13, for position on the 11 in the side. I am trying to get to position A or B in slide 5, but in another giant mental error, come up too short. The reason I consider this such an error is because it's almost impossible to hit this shot too hard to lose the angle on the 11. The cueball dies a bit off the 2nd and 3rd rails, and I would have had to hit this shot simply terribly to go too far. Therefore, I should have been cognizant of this, and make the error by going too hard. Unfortunately I didn't take my time, didn't think it through, and played it too softly. This is really an egregious mistake and I was a bit upset at myself.
I still had a shot, as seen in diagram 6. When I looked at it, I figured I was probably about 30% to make it and break the rack well enough to get a second shot. Not great odds, but I was happy to at least have the chance.
There are a lot of glass windows at Amsterdam, and I very calmly told myself before shooting this shot that if I missed the 11 by undercutting it, I'd take a running start and hurl myself through the nearest one. It was really that simple. That's not the "pro" way to miss this ball, and I just told myself that I'd rather miss the whole ball than undercut it. By giving myself permission to miss the whole ball, I am really giving myself permission to take a good stroke at it. Whatever happens happens, but I'm going to stroke this ball well.
I hit it with a medium-slow speed, and a lot of righthand english to throw it in. I tried to judge the swerve and I guess I just slightly miscalculated, missing the entire 11. Oh well. I was happy with my decision.
I'm sorry but this is mildly sick to read. UGH!!!!! I first went through the diagram without reading your comments and I realized the first shot took you out of the pattern. However, what is fascinating is how you chose NOT to struggle to get position on the 13 and instead, opted for a different solution that would allow a deliberate and calculated approach. Honestly, it's not what I would have done and frankly, that's why you're a 200 ball runner and I'm not.
At 204, you are in perfect position to carry into the next rack and you're completely aware of it and then you fell funny. It forced you to dismantle an absolutly perfectly laid out plan. It's sickening. It's probably the worst feeling any player could possibly have at this moment. I know there are so many people that will say things like, "we're all human" or "hey, it happens" but GOD DAMN IT, WHY THERE? WHY DID THE CUE BALL HAVE TO END UP THERE?
I really am proud of you. To many at Amsterdam, you are an unbelieveable inspiration and, not just for your talents at pool but your appreciation for those who also are "[o]n quest for perfect 14.1" (if only for a moment). Your contributions on azbilliards are really just a small portion of what you give back. You are CONSTANTLY in the ring with players, teaching them, letting them know what they did right to give them confidence and what they did wrong to give them knowledge. It's why we all root for you. It's why this thread is now three pages long and likely to be much more. So yes, my word for the end of this run is UGH!
Great run Steve, thanks for sharing your information with us all.
You explained your emotions very well also, you even went into some of your thoughts as you made your run. I found that extremely interesting as I do believe that the mental game and its deep indulgence is the final frontier (so to speak)
I'm very curious if you could put into words any specific concepts or techniques ( be they shooting, aiming, thinking or planing) that progressed you from one "speed" to the next.
In other words, are there specific things you could put your finger on that you consider milestones in your play that may help us all find the confidence to be in "that place" long enough to run very high numbers.
