The Ballad of John and Lou, Part Two

lfigueroa said:


(SNIP)

Somewhere in the latter part of the match I knew something was up. John seemed to be playing different safeties than he had previously and seemed more deliberate about what he was trying to do. So I began to pay more attention to his corner.

I don’t know Dennis Spears but am told that he is a local open level player that plays pros 1pocket, even. He is sitting next to John’s wife, clapping loudly every time John makes a good shot. We progress to the point in the last game of the night where two balls are on the spot and I hide the third ball on the table on my side. John looks at the shot and then goes to his corner and studies the shot from there. That made no sense to me -- studying the shot from that angle. Then, to my surprise, John comes to the table and shoots an intentional foul laying the CB up behind two balls on the spot. The owed ball is spotted and I am now sandwiched between two balls. Now in this situation, taking himself off the hill is actually the wrong shot but nonetheless it's a pretty sophisticated move and I’m wondering what’s going on.

I notice that from my player’s chair, Dennis is sitting out of my line of sight, slouching down behind one of the arena’s wooden pillars. Now, any time I’m near John’s corner, I’m trying to listen in to what Dennis is saying to John. (Gail says I have hearing like a dog.)

(SNIP)
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1. Great write up, thanks. I'm surprised you left out the PayPal bit, but I think you mentioned somewhere else that you found it funny and took it well.

2. Congratulations and well played!

3. I do not at all question your perception of coaching by Dennis Spears. But it still seems unknowable whether or not the coaching was generic encouragement or specific advice. The specific shot you view as the "tell" was discussed at length at 1P.org and widely (perhaps universally) regarded as the wrong shot for a player of any skill level. Clever, maybe, but not the correct shot by a good margin.

By all accounts, Spears is a great one pocket player, so if he's secretly coaching why wouldn't he instead give the better advice and say "kick the 3"?

I'm looking forward to part 3.

Cory

Here's the layout in question (courtesy of Mkbtank):

attachment.php
 
By all accounts, Spears is a great one pocket player, so if he's secretly coaching why wouldn't he instead give the better advice and say "kick the 3"?
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Maybe b/c he didn't trust JB to be able to hit it for sure ???
Just maybe.


Great writing Lou.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Maybe b/c he didn't trust JB to be able to hit it for sure ???
Just maybe.


Great writing Lou.
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Certainly possible, I agree. But even if you miss the 3, the kick is a better shot than the intentional. Note that Lou's pocket is on the bottom right of the picture (the left pocket as viewed from the breaking position).

The problem with the intentional is that the spotted ball doesn't get frozen on the cueball, you have to leave a small gap. So Lou has a variety of good escapes (and I believe he did escape--green rep to anyone who posts a direct link to this part of the match).
 
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Cory in DC said:
Certainly possible, I agree. But even if you miss the 3, the kick is a better shot than the intentional. Note that Lou's pocket is on the bottom left of the picture (the right pocket as viewed from the breaking position).

The problem with the intentional is that the spotted ball doesn't get frozen on the cueball, you have to leave a small gap. So Lou has a variety of good escapes (and I believe he did escape--green rep to anyone who posts a direct link to this part of the match).
Click to expand...

I agree. From there a small wisk shot and back up against the front two ball is really strong. Now he's back up against it and ends up pushing balls your way or tries the bank while being semi-tree-topped. Either way I like your end of it AND your opponent gave up a ball.

Nick
 
Based on the score the kick is the better play. Even if you sell out the ball Lou needs to break out and make both the other balls. If I got to foul it will be making a full hit on the kick and not getting a rail because I don't want to leak out the shot.


Nick



Cory in DC said:
1. Great write up, thanks. I'm surprised you left out the PayPal bit, but I think you mentioned somewhere else that you found it funny and took it well.

2. Congratulations and well played!

3. I do not at all question your perception of coaching by Dennis Spears. But it still seems unknowable whether or not the coaching was generic encouragement or specific advice. The specific shot you view as the "tell" was discussed at length at 1P.org and widely (perhaps universally) regarded as the wrong shot for a player of any skill level. Clever, maybe, but not the correct shot by a good margin.

By all accounts, Spears is a great one pocket player, so if he's secretly coaching why wouldn't he instead give the better advice and say "kick the 3"?

I'm looking forward to part 3.

Cory

Here's the layout in question (courtesy of Mkbtank):

attachment.php
Click to expand...
 
Nick B said:
I agree. From there a small wisk shot and back up against the front two ball is really strong. Now he's back up against it and ends up pushing balls your way or tries the bank while being semi-tree-topped. Either way I like your end of it AND your opponent gave up a ball.

Nick
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That's not how Lou escaped, but he did escape easily and ended up with a good position. From down 7-5 to down 6-5 and with all balls makeable in Lou's hole. That said, I think John won this game because the match score is 8-5 and the final score was 9-6.

See http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/45051262 starting at 1:56 (if you want to see how the layout came about; otherwise, start at 1:58:15).

Here's where the balls lay right after Lou's escape shot. It's John's shot and Lou's pocket is on the bottom-right of the screen (bottom left from the breaker's position):
 

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Waiting for you to finish then it is my turn.

Dennis did not coach me. If he had of then you would lose every game. Instead you won more games after he got there. How did you win those games? By me picking the wrong shots and gifting them to you.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
 
JB Cases said:
Waiting for you to finish then it is my turn.

Dennis did not coach me. If he had of then you would lose every game. Instead you won more games after he got there. How did you win those games? By me picking the wrong shots and gifting them to you.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk
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Lose every game...how so? Was he going to shoot all the shots you missed?

Nick
 
Nick B said:
Lose every game...how so? Was he going to shoot all the shots you missed?

Nick
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Just more of JBs pipe dreaming ,, best thing he can do its sit back and take it like a man
He had months of telling his story and non of it turned out to be true
Lou earned his right to tell his story and 10k worth of credibility


1
 
nineballsafety8 said:
so... is the proverbial hatchet buried?

or atleast dulled a little?

I agree that the two of you will likely never go out for drinks together, but do you think the pointed words and barking slow down some?

By the way... CONGRATS!
while it was not the prettiest match I have ever seen, your ability to keep an even keel was astonishing, even had you lost, you gained my eternal respect just from how you handled yourself in such an uneasy environment!
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Thanks, Jay.

You know the only hatchet I have to bury is from some of what was said to me, by John here, the last few months. It went way beyond what it should have, IMO.

Lou Figueroa
 
Spimp13 said:
Awesome read Lou...I love this line below lol!!


“This isn’t about the money. I don’t care about the money. This is about good defeating evil. Light vs dark. You gotta win for all that’s right in the world and put John Barton down.”


I know team Dark is going to come out with their side of the story, but hopefully people can really start to see what this guy is all about (if they couldn't already from the last how many years and posts on the forums).

People are sometimes different in person than they are on the forums. People who have no dog in the fight witnessed and backup what you saw.

To add to it he was going to honor all bets in person (his words)....so the $100 bet thrown out in the audience that wasn't honored was just another lie of his (one of many).

I'm glad that good conquered evil :thumbup: !!
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I was kind of astonished when Mike said that to me in all seriousness, Simp. I knew that he and John had a history but at that moment is when I knew the depth of it. I felt like Luke Skywalker :-)

Lou Figueroa
 
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