Video's up

[dmgwalsh]

Dennis,

Can you please give an example or two of the shots you mean, where I go off the bottom rail into what's left of the stack?

I use Windows Movie Maker... it's super easy to include the graphics and I'm experimenting with the narration now. That looks easy too. By far the biggest problem with our making the new video is that it's tough for Danny to come to my house (and vice versa).

- Steve

Steve:

My earlier comments were meant to spark discussion and I apologize for my lack of precision. I'll try to look again with pen and paper in hand.
and see if I can find a few spots and ask you specifically about them. May have been Danny. Situations where I was thinking if he goes into the bottom what will he have and as the balls are breaking, seeing nothing until they settle and he has a little something to get started.

What did you think about crossing the line of position as opposed to coming in on the position line? Something that crosses your mind much or no need as long as your cue ball control is good enough?

At about what point do you usually start mapping out your end pattern?
Assuming no two balls touching and everything open.

 

[Steve Lipsky]

Steve: I haven't checked this thread for almost 2 weeks, and I just now saw that you have a 130 on tape. Looking forward to see it!!!

I think the conversation between you and dmgwalsh here was great. It's awesome to get "into" a players head like this.

Those breakshots you mentioned, with the breakball parallel to the top ball, is definitely something I am gonna look for in the future.

I noticed that you said that the general rule for breakshots is to use topspin if the cueball is closer to the siderail than the breakball. I believe Thorsten Hohmann and Niels Feijen tends to use heavy draw on shots like this, especially if it is a "high" breakball.

I have started to use this on my opening shot (when practising 14-1 alone), and I draw the cueball to the end rail with spin, so it spins into the siderail and then goes to end at the center of the table, and the pack is wide open.

Hey Roy. The extreme draw to the end rail/side rail is one of the exceptions I mentioned. It's a great shot but shouldn't be overused. In my opinion, it can only be played in specific situations (depending on the angle of the shot and where the breakball lies in relation to the rack). If the shot is not laying right, there are possibilities of a scratch in the back corner or a scratch in the side after hitting the first rail. There is also at least a slightly higher chance of jarring the shot.

We might end up saving the 130 for a future endeavor, but I just got a really clean 97 on tape yesterday and I'm in the process of getting that one ready for the 2nd free one.

- Steve

 

[Steve Lipsky]

What did you think about crossing the line of position as opposed to coming in on the position line? Something that crosses your mind much or no need as long as your cue ball control is good enough?

Dennis,

I think whenever you can, you should try to stay within the line. Here is a good example. I'd almost always opt for option 2 here (page 3):

CueTable Help

At about what point do you usually start mapping out your end pattern?
Assuming no two balls touching and everything open.

As a general rule, I like to start thinking of my end patterns as soon as the balls are all open, just like you say. If I got a good opening break and there is a good spread when there are still, say, 12 balls on the table, I'll be thinking pretty nebulously about it. Once I'm down to about 8 or so balls, now I'm really going to start getting serious about looking for a viable end pattern.

This doesn't mean I'll always pick the best one, but even a sub-par plan is better than none...

- Steve

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

Dennis,

I think whenever you can, you should try to stay within the line. Here is a good example. I'd almost always opt for option 2 here (page 3):

CueTable Help

As a general rule, I like to start thinking of my end patterns as soon as the balls are all open, just like you say. If I got a good opening break and there is a good spread when there are still, say, 12 balls on the table, I'll be thinking pretty nebulously about it. Once I'm down to about 8 or so balls, now I'm really going to start getting serious about looking for a viable end pattern.

This doesn't mean I'll always pick the best one, but even a sub-par plan is better than none...

- Steve

Wow, this is very interesting. As a predominant 9-ball player, I can't imagine very many scenarios where I'll use a 2-rail route to gain position on a side-pocket shot. However, the reason for this stems from the fact that it's unusual to try and attain a straight angle anytime in 9-ball. I'll readily admit, I would have gone one rail here KNOWING that if I under/over hit the shot, I can be left with an uncomfortable angle. The two-rail route is just so natural.

 

[Roy Steffensen]

Just finished watching this match, and will start on the next one now.

It is great to watch you two play, I enjoyed it actually even more than watching most of the pro-matches from the major tournaments!

I felt that you two plays the game the "American" way, with knocking out three, four or five balls from the rack at the time, instead of smashing the rack like Hohmann, Immonen, Engert and Feijen prefer to do.

What do you think is the advantage and disadvantage of each style?

I have taking notes of all of your breakshots in the run, and I will do my best to set them up exactly the same way and try to use same speed, spin etc to see what kind of results I get. Thought it could be a great way to learn more about breakshots.

 

[Steve Lipsky]

Just finished watching this match, and will start on the next one now.

It is great to watch you two play, I enjoyed it actually even more than watching most of the pro-matches from the major tournaments!

I felt that you two plays the game the "American" way, with knocking out three, four or five balls from the rack at the time, instead of smashing the rack like Hohmann, Immonen, Engert and Feijen prefer to do.

What do you think is the advantage and disadvantage of each style?

I have taking notes of all of your breakshots in the run, and I will do my best to set them up exactly the same way and try to use same speed, spin etc to see what kind of results I get. Thought it could be a great way to learn more about breakshots.

Thanks very much Roy. Danny probably plays a bit more "American" than I do - I used to hit the breakshots very hard, and lately I've been trying to play more of a hybrid game. In other words, I will basically hit the break as hard as the shot will allow me without (hopefully) losing the cueball. My preference is to hit hard, if I can. Btw, I'm surprised to see you mention Engert as a "blaster" - from every game I've seen him play, he is definitely in the old-school column.

I would recommend a conservative style at the intermediate levels and an aggressive style at the advanced levels. A conservative style might work best at the middle levels because there's no great gain in taking a shade of risk. If taking a tough shot has no chance to lead to a 50 ball run, say, then it might not be worth it. An aggressive style with a strong player can combine into huge runs - which wins games. Straight pool is not like baseball... defense doesn't win. There are turnovers in almost every single 14.1 game; the winner is usually the one who runs more balls with his opportunities. At no level should you be afraid to miss.

Looking forward to your notes!

- Steve

 

[Roy Steffensen]

Thanks very much Roy. Danny probably plays a bit more "American" than I do - I used to hit the breakshots very hard, and lately I've been trying to play more of a hybrid game. In other words, I will basically hit the break as hard as the shot will allow me without (hopefully) losing the cueball. My preference is to hit hard, if I can. Btw, I'm surprised to see you mention Engert as a "blaster" - from every game I've seen him play, he is definitely in the old-school column.

I would recommend a conservative style at the intermediate levels and an aggressive style at the advanced levels. A conservative style might work best at the middle levels because there's no great gain in taking a shade of risk. If taking a tough shot has no chance to lead to a 50 ball run, say, then it might not be worth it. An aggressive style with a strong player can combine into huge runs - which wins games. Straight pool is not like baseball... defense doesn't win. There are turnovers in almost every single 14.1 game; the winner is usually the one who runs more balls with his opportunities. At no level should you be afraid to miss.

Looking forward to your notes!

- Steve

I mentioned Engert because I remember the match against John Schmidt inthe World 14-1 Championship, which was available on ProPoolVideo.com. I seem to remember that he kept firing in the balls, and use lots of power on the breakshots. I could be wrong though, it has happened before

I like to use lots of power on the breakshots, but I do lose the cueball pretty often. And I am still just learning the game, and know very little about when to use follow, draw, stun etc on the breakshots, to control it better. I guess I should definitely use less power on the breakshots...