In theory, anywhere in that blue area gives me a “good” shot on the 5-ball. But that only gives me a good shot to make the 5-ball. The danger with this is that your target is big and it’s easy to get straight-in if you’re too careless—then it’s hard to play shape for the 6-ball. So my instructor told me to walk around the table to look at my next shot, ON EVERY SHOT, and pick a specific spot for the cue ball, not an area. By doing this, you’ll be surprised at how many times you’ll hit that specific spot when you actually have a spot in mind. When I started doing this on every shot, there was another great result that occurred. Looking at the next shot became part of my pre-shot routine and I developed a good rhythm at the table. Building that rhythm instantly increased my shot making consistency!

While it’s important to look at every shot and pick a spot to move the cue ball to, it’s equally as important to know how to pick that spot. In every shot, there’s always one angle that gives you the easiest shot to move the cue ball to your next shot. Having some angle is great, but having the RIGHT angle is better. When you have some degree of angle on a shot, there’s almost always at least one possible path for you to play shape to your next ball, in theory. But why make things harder than it needs to be? You can guarantee yourself easier run-outs by identifying the correct side of the ball to place your cue ball. For instance, in the previous example, the cue ball could be on either side of the 5-ball and you would still have some option to get the cue ball back down table for the 6-ball. However, placing the cue ball where you have to cut the 5-ball to the right will give you easier natural shape to the 6-ball than if your cue ball were in an area where you had to cut the 5-ball to the left. So, the most ideal spot to play shape to is actually somewhere near the spot marked with an “X”.

Being on the other side of the ball would work as well, but by playing this shot, if you miss your target spot, there would be less room for error and your shot would become much harder very quickly if you’re not accurate. So the right, or correct, side of the ball in this case is the side I’ve identified. Pool is all about playing the percentages and your chances are always better when you don’t fight the natural path of the cue ball and play shots that allow for a greater degree of error.

The “right” side of the ball or the right spot can be a matter of personal preference so there is no definite right answer on any shot. You have to pick the spots that give you a shot that you’re most comfortable with while still keeping in mind the possible shots you’ll have if you don’t get the cue ball to the exact spot you’re aiming. And of course there are exceptions to the rule so sometimes the spot you’re aiming for might be a straight-in shot, but more often than not you’ll need some angle to make your run-out as easy as possible.

In February 2004, Terra’s unit flew to Kuwait in support of OIF/OEF II. Once in Kuwait, they prepared for a four day convoy to Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, where they spent the next seven months. In September 2004, Terra’s tour in Iraq was complete and she flew back to finish her last year in the Marines at Camp Pendleton. Throughout her Marine Corps career, Terra was awarded the Navy Unit Citation, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Medal.

In October 2005, Terra’s Marine career came to an honorable end and she moved back to Louisiana in February 2006. Not long after moving back, she became a part of the Shreveport-Bossier APA. She’s been playing ever since.  Terra is currently a skill level 3 in 8-Ball and 9-Ball.

“I look forward to moving up in the ranks of the APA, just as I moved up the ranks while in the Marine Corps,” Terra said.

She actually began playing pool in 2001, at the age of 18. She continued to play pool on base while in the Marines. Although they didn’t have pool tables while she was deployed, Terra was able to watch a lot of instructional videos online in Iraq.

“What I most enjoy about the APA is the pool family in general,” Terra said. “League is a huge part of our community and it seems no matter where you go, you will always run into someone who is a member of the League.”

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“I really started playing in Japan,” Tersigni said. “I was lucky enough to have an older friend that taught me the basics. We had a pool table in our barracks and my dad sent me my first cue as a Christmas present.”

Joseph joined APA in 2011. A friend decided to form a team and asked him to join. He’s currently a skill level 3 in 8-Ball. Joseph says what he most enjoys about APA Leagues is meeting new people and seeing how everyone has their own style in regards to the way they shoot.

“I would love to thank Marine Sgt Jeff Weamire for his pool advice and personal mentorship while stationed in Japan,” Tersigni said.

Is it a mental problem? Or a physical problem? The truth is that it’s both. If you’re playing beautifully the entire game until that all important shot on the 8-ball or 9-ball how can it be a physical thing? The mind controls the body and you’re most likely subconsciously tweaking your physical approach to the shot just enough to miss it. This is something that happens to all players but I find it to be a cyclical problem for me. It’s a phase I fall into when I feel like I’m in a rut; I noticed myself falling back into it recently. I was at a qualifier for the Swiss Championships two weeks ago. Although I felt a bit “off” most of the day, once I advanced to the single elimination rounds I felt myself getting in stroke and was more at ease at the table. That is until I missed six 9-balls in the final match to go out in 3rd Place. I was understandably frustrated but had only myself to blame. So, how do you fix this issue?

There are mental and physical components to everything in pool. To begin fixing this problem you need to remind yourself that consistency is key. Previously, I’ve talked about the importance of having a consistent pre-shot routine. Approach and set up for the shot in the same way on every shot—the easy ones and the hard ones. No shot is less important than the next. This is a concept that is very easy to notice when you see Allison Fisher and Karen Corr play. Because of their snooker background it’s more dramatic than most players when they step into the setup of their shot in the same way every time. Sometimes it’s easy to subconsciously relax too much at the end of a rack because you see the end in sight and you inevitably get a little lazy. But that “simple” almost straight 8-ball shot is just as important as the tough combination or tough cut shot you made earlier in the rack. So approach the shot with the same mentality, no less concentration or more pressure than the shots that got you to that point.

I’m a technical person so I need much more than just changing my thinking to make me feel that I’ve overcome this mental issue. So I practice variations of a couple of shots that come up quite often in 8-Ball and 9-Ball. The first shot is very common in 9-Ball because (when racked tightly) the 9-ball does not usually move too far from its original spot in the rack. Set the 9-ball up in various spots around the foot spot (yellow area in diagram below) and place the cue ball on varying spots near the rail (white area).

Shoot different versions of this shot over and over again, sometimes with the cue ball on the rail and sometimes a short distance off the rail. Practice bridging over the side pocket or off the rail and your mind will slowly overcome this mental fear of shooting in those awkward positions. You’ll also find certain shots in these regions where you might scratch in the side pocket. Make a mental note of which shots and angles do that so you’re more familiar with that when the shots come up in a match and practice varying the spin on the cue ball to prevent the scratch.

For 8-Ball, the common shots are a bit different because there are more balls in the 8-Ball rack so it’s more likely to get bumped around a bit on the break and throughout the match. The two diagrams below are good ones to practice.

Practice all of these shots from both sides of the table. You’ll notice that for some shots, especially the 9-Ball diagram, it’s easier to reach the shots from the left side of the table than the right side if you’re right handed—the opposite is true for left handers, of course. So, keep this in mind when you play shape for the 9-ball. Many of these shots seem quite simple but you might be surprised how many times you can barely miss the shot when the pressure is on. By putting in some time on the table and becoming more comfortable with these shots, you’ll gain more confidence for the next time that you have to shoot them and hopefully you’ll be more successful at closing the match.

“Pool was and still is a great way for me to unwind and try to forget where I was as well as forget about being away from family,” Bosse said. “It has always been a great way to meet other people that are deployed with you as well. The recreation centers would have gift cards to the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) so folks that won could go buy something at the Base Exchange/Post Exchange (BX/PX).”

Most of Craig’s APA experiences came in his hometown of Highland, N.Y., in 1995-1996, just before joining the Air Force. He started back in the League in 2009 after arriving at his current station in Nebraska. He first got into the sport after shooting pool at the bars and clubs he would frequent with friends. Craig is currently a skill level 5 in both 8-Ball and 9-Ball and plays in the APA Omaha operated by League Operators Russ and Mary Reynolds-East.  

“What I enjoy most about being an APA member is the opportunity to play with others competitively from teams around the League,” Bosse said. “I also enjoy traveling to various pool halls and/or bars and meeting a unique and diverse group of players.”

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“Playing pool while on deployment kept my spirits up when I was missing my family and friends,” Tussey said. “It also allowed me to meet new people and create friendships that are crucial to getting one through difficult times.”

Natalie has been an APA member since fall 2009. She first began playing when a friend and co-worker invited her to play on her team after she was first stationed in New Jersey. Her journey with pool began long before she started with APA however; Natalie first began playing during her freshman year at Penn State University in 1998. She learned how to play from her best friend’s husband who played pool semi-professionally. Natalie also played on Penn State’s intramural team.

“I love the competition mixed with the camaraderie,” Tussey said. “I enjoyed it so much that I continued playing in APA League matches up until a couple of days before I delivered my son last year—I think a few of the men on the opposing teams did not enjoy losing to a woman who was 9 months pregnant!”

Many players make the mistake of thinking that when you’re hooked, just hitting the ball is enough to consider the shot successful. However, when you’re playing against very strong players, leaving an open shot is almost as good as giving them ball-in-hand, so having a clear plan is important.

Let’s consider the 9-Ball layout below. This type of scenario comes up more often than you might think, whether the ball was originally tied up from the break or you or your opponent put it there as a safety.  In this particular shot, the cue ball has a clear path to hit a small part of the object ball, but this shot would be useful even if you’re unable to see the ball.

When a ball is tied up you should have one of two objectives:

1) Open up the balls and leave your opponent with no shot OR

2) Keep the balls tied up and leave your opponent no shot.

With this layout, it’s difficult to separate the tied up balls and play a controlled safety so we’ll examine an option of keeping the balls tied up. Many players would aim very thin on the left side of the 1-ball where the cue ball would first contact the 1-ball, then the rail, then it would come off of the rail and drift towards or behind the 5-ball on the opposite side. This is a perfectly good option but it’s also a very touchy shot where you could easily miss the safe or scratch in the side pocket if you don’t play the correct angle.  Another option that many people don’t think to play is similar, but instead you aim for the rail first and instead of sending the cue ball behind the 5-ball, you give it more speed and send it off the side rail down table and hope to block a shot on the 1-ball with either the 6-ball or by leaving the cue ball down towards the bottom rail.

This too can be a touchy shot, and you may have to aim to hit just a very small sliver of the object ball depending on your exact layout. This shot actually comes up quite often so try setting up similar shots and practice how thick and how hard you need to aim in order to get the results you want.

Another shot we should look at is when you’re hooked from the object ball, and it’s just a bit further from the rail than the shot before, but this time it’s not tied up. 

In this case, many players are only concerned with making a legal hit on the object ball. However, you should always have a plan in mind of where you want the object ball and the cue ball to land after your shot. The “hit and hope” method has a low success rate for most. The most effective safety shot in this situation is where you can separate the cue ball and the object ball and likely even hook your opponent behind the ball that you were originally hooked behind. In order to achieve this, you want to kick off the side rail with low english so the cue ball has a little draw when it comes off the rail.

You should set this shot up and get comfortable with how the draw affects the angle of the cue ball’s path off the first rail and in order to see what type of speed is good for different variations of this shot.

Next month’s article will explore some different shots where you have multiple options for which rail to use in order to kick at a ball and how to choose the most effective shot.

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There are many kicking systems to learn, some are more complicated than others, but this 2-rail kicking system is quite simple and easy to manipulate to work for many different situations. Let’s assume you are solids and playing 8-Ball. Your opponent has left you this shot on the 1-ball.

As you can see, you can’t kick off of either of the long rails—both are blocked by the 8-ball.  You could kick off the rail on the right in this picture, but that’s a tricky shot as you would have to use a bridge and would be cueing over the 8-ball. The best shot in this situation is to kick two rails at the 1-ball. In order to determine where to aim, we first need to understand how to measure the rails.

In the diagram above, make note of the numbers across the two rails. You’ll first envision imaginary lines from each number to the corresponding number on the other rail. It’s important to notice that when you measure these lines, you measure them from the diamond (half way from the rail to the outside of the table) rather than the edge of the rail. Then determine which line the cue ball is on. In this case, the cue ball is lying on the number 3 line—aiming anywhere directly on one of these lines will send the cue ball straight to the corner pocket.  In this situation, you would aim at the 3 on the short rail and always use “running english”. This means when you’re aiming to the left you use one tip of left english and when you’re aiming to the right you use one tip of right english. For this shot we’re shooting to the left so we’ll use left english like the diagram below.

Let’s now look at how you should aim the cue ball if it’s not laying exactly on one of these imaginary lines. Suppose it’s lying between lines like the diagram below. In this case it’s between the number 4 line and the number 5 lines so the point we’ll aim is between the number 4 and the number 5.

Loi first got involved with the APA in Jacksonville, Ill. He started playing in APA around 1984, then had to take a break in 1997 and rejoined the League in 2005. He most enjoys the different tournaments, meeting a variety of people and having fun with others.

While deployed, Loi would run APA tournaments on base. He introduced fellow soldiers to the APA rules and formats.

“Pool kept me occupied while deployed, along with other activities,” Loi said. “If I wasn’t on duty or doing other tasks, I would keep practicing my pool skills.”

Loi is rated a skill level 6 in 8-Ball and a skill level 7 in 9-Ball. He recently qualified for the Spring 2012 Singles Regional! Loi will be competing for a spot in the 2012 APA National Singles Championships 9-Ball Shootout!

The most common time to use this shot is when you’re blocked from having a clear shot at the object ball like the example below.

Just as you would do with most aiming systems, you should first envision where the ghost ball would be. The ghost ball is an imaginary ball that’s lined up with the object ball and the center of the pocket. This is where the cue ball will ideally be when it contacts the object ball.

Once you’ve identified the ghost ball, measure the distance from the center of the ghost ball to the side of the rail (shown in black). Using this same distance, find an imaginary spot on the rail and inline with the original contact point (shown in yellow). This is the spot you want to aim when executing the shot.

At first glance, it looks like a no brainer to aim equal distance from the rail. But, there are actually two factors to consider that make this difficult, and because of these, we must adjust our shot to account for these things. The first thing to realize is that the cue ball does not contact the rail at the spot where our imaginary line crosses the rail (shown by the red dot). It actually hits the rail before that spot because it’s only the center of  the cue ball that will follow that path, not the outside of the cue ball. The second thing to know is that once it contacts the rail, the cue ball will grab a little bit of left english since it’s hitting the rail at a diagonal. To account for these two factors, this shot should be aimed with one tip of right english as shown in the diagram below.

This aiming system is very accurate for shots where the object ball is only a few inches away from the rail. For shots where the object ball is further out, you must use alternative aiming systems for kicking because the angles and the spin become too great to counter them accurately. Another shot this method is useful for is one where you’re lined up straight-in on a shot but need to get the cue ball away from the rail like the example below.

On this shot you would use left english because the rail is on the left side but the same system will apply. I also suggest shooting at pocket speed—just hard enough for the object ball to reach the pocket. This usually helps you block that pocket or leave your ball close to the pocket for an easier shot later if you happen to miss the rail first shot.

“I remained focused on my mission, but when I had some free time I would run to the pool table,” Taylor said.  “Playing pool reminded me of all my APA buddies at home—it reminded me that I will be going back home and that my game has actually gotten better while playing other soldiers/contractors in Iraq.”

Latonia said that the Brooklyn/Queens, N.Y., League Operators, Ross and Smith Banfield, were a huge help when she was deployed in 2006.  They sent her APA T-shirts, chalk and food, which all the soldiers loved.  Latonia then held an APA style tournament and the soldiers loved it.  Morale increased and everyone had a good time.  The soldiers for a minute forgot that they were in Iraq and they were able just to have fun playing pool.  It was great for all the soldiers. 

Latonia joined APA in 2004 at a pool hall in Brooklyn, N.Y., and became hooked. She most enjoys the competition aspect of APA because anyone can win on any given League night. She also enjoys the smell in the air in Las Vegas. She’s been twice for the National Team Championships and loved it!

I briefly touched on this similarity in a previous article and will expand on it now. Having a successful break shot is not necessarily related to strength and force but rather precision and understanding of the objective. Many players think that the key to a good break is hitting the cue ball hard. But, just like a tee shot in golf, hitting it hard isn’t as important as accuracy. The goal in pool is to spread the balls nicely AND control the cue ball. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of pictures in magazines of a pro player’s break where their back foot is kicked high in the air and their cue stick is bent almost in half from the force of the break. While this makes for an exciting picture, it’s not completely necessary for a successful break. There’s a saying in golf, “let the club do the work.” This means that the clubs are designed to give you maximum results for that particular type of shot so you don’t have to hit the ball hard to get good results. Rather, your ability to make solid contact and transfer your weight at the correct point in your stroke will determine how successful you are at driving…or breaking. This is what is called “timing.”  If you pull your body through too early or too late, you won’t get the extra whip on the ball that creates the necessary force to spread the balls well.

Having solid contact and good timing is important when you need to break the balls hard, but is breaking as hard as you can always necessary? No. There are plenty of other breaking options depending on the game you’re playing and the desired results.

First, let’s talk about 8-Ball breaking options. Just like golf, sometimes you don’t want to break straight up the middle and just stick the cue ball in the middle of the table. A great option in 8-Ball, particularly because making the 8-on-the break is a win, is the second ball break. When executing this break, you want to first check which of the second two balls is frozen to more of the other balls. Whichever second ball is touching the three balls next to and below it, you should break from that same side because the rack will spread easier. In this break, you should always break from the rail and aim low right on the cue ball (around 5 o’clock). Aim as square at the second ball as possible while avoiding any contact with the head ball. The low right spin will cause the cue ball to come off the rack, hit the side rail and kick back into the cluster of balls where the rack was resting. Many times this causes the balls to cluster on one side of the table, but it also results in much more movement on the 8-ball, increasing your chances of making it in the side or corner pocket opposite from the side you broke from. While playing APA, I almost exclusively used this break because winning safety battles was my strength and I liked the odds of getting movement on the 8-ball.

Not all holes are par 4’s or par 5’s where you need a long drive. Sometimes, you want a short, controlled tee shot and this might mean putting some spin on the ball to get it to stick in a particular part of the green. The same is true in pool, particularly in some 9-Ball games. I must preface this by saying that if you’re playing on old, worn down equipment, this break may be less effective because it may not be possible to get a good tight rack. But on decent tables, this is a very effective break. Again, check the rack to see which side has more frozen balls. If the 1-ball is only touching the second ball on one side, you want to break from the opposite side of the table so your force is going into the frozen ball. It’s actually best to have a line of four frozen balls but sometimes that’s hard to get on many tables. The 9-Ball rack is set up in a manner that the wing balls shoot towards the corner pockets so you have a strong chance of making one of them. You can either break from the side rail or anywhere up to one diamond away from the rail. In this break, you don’t need to hit full force, but more like 70-80% force and aim a little low on the cue ball. The 1-ball naturally will shoot towards the side pocket opposite from where you’re breaking and if it misses the side pocket it’ll most likely come down table to the end you broke from.  Aiming low on the cue ball will bring it back towards that bottom rail, helping you have a shot on the 1-ball if it misses the side pocket. Practice this break with different speeds and place the cue ball at varying distances from the rail to see which one works best on that particular table.

Scott’s been an APA member on and off for about seven years now. While playing in the APA, he’s met several other military members. “I was introduced to APA at Bankshot Billiards in Ocala, Fla.,” Johns said.  “I was invited to join a team after playing in a 9-Ball tournament there.”

Scott has not yet been deployed. He reaches deployable status in November, but he already has plenty of experience playing on military pool tables.

“What I most enjoy about APA is the competition.  I love a good challenge,” said Johns. “I think that the ranking system allows all levels of players to have a truly enjoyable experience.  It is fair and allows for the development of skills.”

Have you ever had a shot where the only thing you can think about is the possible scratch and then you inevitably scratch? By choosing to focus on the possible scratch, you make that a more likely possibility. The internal “conversation” you have with yourself throughout a match can have a huge effect on how you play. As a Scorpio (if you believe in that sort of thing) I am naturally a very emotional player. It’s incredibly hard for me to “let it go” when I make a poor shot and I often carry that anger or disappointment into my next shot. This can be disastrous for your game. Dwelling on past shots will only hurt your confidence and take your attention away from executing the next shot correctly.

I once told a friend of mine, a boxing trainer, about this issue I was having. I told him that I needed to learn to forget about my mistakes after they happen because it’s hurting my game. I was surprised by his reply. He told me that when you work on a mental aspect of your game, you shouldn’t try to change things that are naturally part of your personality, just learn to control or redirect them. What did that mean? Well, it meant that instead of trying to make myself forget about the shot, I should let myself think about the shot, but change WHAT I think about when I “dwell” on the shot. Ah, the power of positive thinking! So, armed with that expert advice, I developed a handful of positive affirmations to use when I come across an intimidating shot or to use after I make a mistake.

It may sound a little bit corny but having positive things to say to yourself can help you stay in a confident mindset. For instance, if I miss an easy shot, instead of thinking, “geez how did I miss such an easy routine shot, I can’t believe I’m going to lose this game because of a stupid mistake like that,” I say, “I know better than that, I KNOW how to make that shot, it’s not like me to miss that shot, I’ve made it 100 times before and I won’t make that mistake again.” Remind yourself of the time and practice you have put in, reassure yourself that you’re a better player than what you have just shown and tell yourself that you WILL execute it correctly next time. Sometimes it helps just to identify what you did incorrectly and reassure yourself that you will make the adjustment to correct that the next time. When you get too focused on the actual act of missing the shot, you aren’t constructive about fixing it for future shots.

Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right.” This basically means that your mind controls your ability to do something. Confidence is everything.  A friend of mine was playing in a match this week and twice made a sarcastic comment like, “I have a wide open table, watch me run the whole table and miss the last ball.” Well, once you put it in your head, it’s not going away, particularly if you’ve said it out loud! Instead of being nervous about messing up the “easy” run-out, have some positive sayings in your arsenal to talk yourself thru the rack and encourage yourself to win, one shot at a time.  

 The same is true for distractions—you will be distracted by something as long as you think it will distract you. I can always remember the mistakes I made when I was not playing well but I rarely remember my run-outs when I feel like I’m in dead stroke. When you’re playing well, you aren’t over-thinking shots and you aren’t doubting your decisions. You’re just shooting in a good rhythm and playing well. Unfortunately, even for the top players, being in dead stroke can be a rare thing. It’s only natural that you’ll notice things happening around your table. Maybe it’s the people walking by, someone being loud at a nearby table or your opponent not sitting still while you’re shooting. Whatever it is, you don’t have to ignore it. Sometimes you can’t help what will catch your eye or your attention while you’re at the table. Don’t fight against this natural reaction to notice your surroundings. Instead, identify the distraction and address it. One of my pet peeves is not being able to ignore waitresses walking by. I think it bothers me because they seem to be the only people in the pool hall that are exempt from poolplaying etiquette. By that I mean, when another player or an opponent is walking by they will stop and wait until a player that is down shooting a shot completes the shot so as to not distract them. However, waitresses seem to be exempt from this and walk freely without hesitation around all matches. I’m not complaining that this is the case, I’m just explaining that this distracts me more than other things because I’m constantly thinking, “Is she going to walk  across my shot or will she go a different direction?” Rather than trying to ignore the waitress walking by, I have learned that it’s better to notice her walking by, stand up and wait until she passes, then readdress my shot, with no distractions. Of course, this is easier said than done when you’re playing against a loud opponent or something that won’t just pass after time. In those cases it’s important to have positive things to tell yourself and reaffirm to yourself that you’re a good enough player to not let those things bother you.

What happens on the table is only a small portion of what makes a winner and a loser. Just as it may be impossible to learn everything there is to learn about the game of pool, you can never stop developing your mental game—there will always be room for improvement and something new to learn.

“We decided that because we are all in the Army and work well together we would make a formidable team in anything we do and since APA has ‘the Equalizer’ we could compete and win. And as YOUR military, we want to win in everything we do!” Mayo said.

Team Havoc was able to play some pool together on base and while deployed to Baghdad. Curtis has been in the military for 26 years, and has known each member of the team a different amount of time, meeting them as early as 2000. In addition to Curtis, other teammates include SFC Ellten Davis, SSG Josh Mosley, SSG Dale Beshara, SGT Justin Day, SGT Alex Zhang and SGT Steve Oxford.

“When we work, we work hard and when we play, we play hard. In everything we do, we have and always will come out on top,” Mayo said. “We enjoy playing in the APA League as it allows us a chance to play and consequently learn from higher level players, improving our ability to be the best. The APA makes us a better team!!”

10. Warm Up Alone

Whether you’re warming up for League night or a tournament, it’s always best to warm up alone. I know that it’s customary to play a “king of the hill” format where the winner retains the table and challengers rotate in, but this is actually a very inefficient and ineffective way to warm up. In this format, you can’t re-shoot trouble shots and are only exposed to the few shots that you might get if your opponent even lets you get to the table. The better alternative is to take turns running racks with the others at the table. That way all of you get an equal number of shots and you can determine which shots you want to shoot.

9.  Stay Down

This is a tip that I constantly have to remind myself about. It’s a very common error for players to pull their head up, and consequently their body, during the last part of their shot. Staying down throughout your entire shot will reduce the room for error in your stroke. Pool is a game of small motions where millimeters count, so the less unnecessary movement the better.

8.  Have a Pre-Shot Routine

Having a good pre-shot routine will develop good habits. Becoming a consistent player requires some muscle memory, so having a defined pre-shot routine that you stick to with every shot—difficult and easy ones—will help create consistency in your game. When you become lazy and abandon your pre-shot routine, you have a higher chance of letting other things in your stroke go wrong as well.

7.  Sometimes Racking is More Important Than Breaking

When you check your opponent’s rack, sometimes your opponent feels offended, but there really is no reason that they should feel this way. In addition to checking whether the rack is tight, the real reason to check a rack is to determine which side is the best to break from and where to place the cue ball. This is a topic that I would need many more pages of text to fully explain, but for now I’ll just direct you to an instructional video called Joe Tucker’s Racking Secrets. This video shows you how each gap in the rack affects how the balls react. Mastering the concepts will increase your number of balls made on the break significantly—making a ball on the break keeps you in the driver’s seat.

6.  Pool is Like Golf

This is true in many ways, but the particular similarity I’m talking about on this tip is relating breaking in pool to driving in golf. Having a hard break is not necessarily related to how big or strong you are. But rather, it’s related to your ability to effectively transfer your weight in the correct part of the shot. If you’re not a golfer this may not make as much sense to you, but those of you that do golf know that there’s a particular way to transfer your weight in the shot that gives you that extra whip and pulls the club through the shot with greater force. The same is true in your pool break. Many people think you can simply hit the ball hard and get good results, but hitting the ball SOLID with the right timing is actually more important than your strength.

5.  Kick with a Purpose

When you’re hooked and must kick at a ball, many times just hitting the ball is not good enough. If you’re competing against a good player you need to make sure that you kick in a manner that will give you the best chance to leave your opponent a tough shot. Many times this means kicking at the ball from a different direction than the easiest way to hit the ball. For instance, sometimes you have a one rail kick that is a simple hit but you’ll almost definitely leave your opponent a shot—against good players leaving them a shot is similar to missing the kick and giving them ball-in-hand. But many times, if you kick two rails into the ball, your cue ball and the object ball are likely to separate with one staying on one end of the table and the other going to the opposite end. This is a great tool to have so I will likely expand on this topic in another article.

4.  Address Problems Early

Although you may have the perfect plan for a run-out, more likely than not that run-out will not go as planned and you’ll be forced to rethink your plan. Because of this, it’s important to try to take care of problem balls earlier in the rack. Whether the problem is that the ball can only be pocketed in one pocket and you need to have perfect shape in order to get to that shot, or the ball is tied up and you need to break it out, you have to try that shot earlier in the rack. This way, if you miss your break out or your precise shape on that shot, you will still have the opportunity to try to get to it later in the rack. And if you do execute it correctly the first time, then the rest of the rack is smooth sailing from then on out and there is less pressure on you the rest of the rack.

3.  Learn 3-Cushion

Three-Cushion is an incredible game which requires you to learn about the paths the cue balls and object balls take after contact. Many times in 8-Ball and 9-Ball you will have to move the cue ball up and down the table maneuvering through other balls. Three-Cushion helps take the guess work out of playing shape for your next shot. You become much more familiar with the exact path of the cue ball when you have experience playing 3-Cushion often. The balls are heavier and a bit larger, so it will be a bit of an adjustment at first, but the diamond system applies for all size tables. I suggest learning any and all kicking systems you can get your hands on and using them in some 3-Cushion matches. It will definitely elevate your game.

2.  Play the Percentages

Many times you’ll come to a shot where you can choose to take one shot over another and many times you can talk yourself into taking the tougher shot. Other times you may only see the tough offensive shot. Learn to determine what all of your options are before deciding on a shot to take and then decide with which one you have the highest chance of executing correctly. Many times the safety is, by definition, the safer shot. But when the safety requires such speed control or such a precise hit that is just as difficult as the offensive shot, then this could be a time to go for the glory and be offensive. Playing the percentages in matches may not be the most exciting way to play, but it will increase your number of opportunities at the table and keep you in control. You can try the crazy offensive shots when you are practicing instead.

1.  Get a Qualified Instructor

This perhaps had the largest impact on my game. Almost nothing I know about pool is something I learned on my own. I either learned it from an instructor or a fellow player. Not all great players make great teachers and what works for some people may not work for others. We all learn in different ways so I encourage you to find someone to learn from that is trained on the subject, not just a good player, and someone that teaches in a manner that compliments your learning style.

These are the 10 tips that influenced me the most, but all players are different so some may be better for you than others.

The Ghost Ball

When talking about the tangent line of a shot, we have to talk about the ghost ball concept. The ghost ball is an imaginary ball that you envision where the cue ball will be when it contacts the object ball. This is usually directly in line with the object ball and the back of the pocket where you’re attempting to sink that ball. An example is illustrated in the shot below.

The ghost ball is a common tool used for aiming shots. Envision an imaginary ball lined up with the object ball. Aim the cue center of the cue ball to the center of the ghost ball in order to pocket the object ball. The tangent line is a line that runs through the contact point as shown in the diagram below.

The tangent line forms a 90 degree angle with the line to the back of the pocket. The tangent line is the path the cue ball will take if you shoot with no top spin and no back spin. You should aim at the center of the cue ball with medium speed.

Now that we know how to determine the natural path of the cue ball, let’s talk about how to alter that angle to change the path of the cue ball. Many times, you’ll inadvertently play a shot with top spin rather than center ball. This means that your cue ball will naturally follow forward a bit into the yellow area demonstrated below. You can steer the cue ball further into the yellow region by shooting with more top spin and stroke through the cue ball.

There will also be situations where you’ll want to do something different with the cue ball. Perhaps there’s another ball in the yellow area that you want to avoid hitting. Or, maybe your next shot is on the other side of the table and you want to bring the cue ball back in that direction. To play that shot, you should hit with at least one tip below center on the cue ball—lower if you want to draw the cue ball more. By doing this you can bring the cue ball into the blue area.

When Matt first reported to San Diego in 2006, he played a little bit of pool in the recreation center. After moving off base he began playing with friends in bars. When on deployment in Iraq, Matt purchased his first cue online to play in the recreation centers there.

“While I was deployed, I spent almost all of my time in the ‘Green Zone’ in Baghdad,” said Hepburn. “Contrary to what you’ll see in the movies, it gets VERY boring waiting for the next incoming alarm. If I wasn’t working or sleeping, there wasn’t much to do. Having a pool table I could practice on and even play some of the locals helped keep me occupied and pass the time.”

Matt’s girlfriend has been an APA member for a number of years. Last August, he spent a lot of time following the APA National Team Championships online from Iraq, as his girlfriend led her team to a top 100 finish in the 8-Ball Open event!  So, Matt was involved with APA as a spectator first. When Matt’s orders called for him to relocate to Riverside in late December 2010, she needed new teams in the new city, so he joined APA with her. He’s now been an APA member since January 2011.

“I think the thing I like the most about being an APA member is that it’s an inexpensive way to have a lot of fun and meet new people,” said Hepburn.

I recently gave birth to my first child and although I was playing pool up until my due date, I took almost two months off after the delivery. A few weeks ago, I accepted an invitation to my first pro event of this year and had just two weeks to prepare.  While you may never take time off of pool to have a child, there will likely be other life events that draw you away from the game.  Getting back into it is not always easy, so this month I’m examining where to start in order to get back to where I left off.

Pool is a game where developing muscle memory is important. When you’re away from the game for an extended amount of time, you’ll likely lose some of that muscle memory. So, one of the most important things you can do is go back to the basics and focus on your mechanics.

Pre-Shot Routine

Although the stroke where you actually contact the cue ball is important, everything you do leading up to that point is equally as vital. You’ll often see top pros like Allison Fisher and Karen Corr “step into” each shot. This is no coincidence; they do this for a reason. Some players just get down and shoot without giving much thought to how they’re lined up. This can cause a number of things to go wrong in your shot. Instead, stand a few feet back from the table and find the line of your shot. Then, line your cue up to the shot and position your body based on where your cue is lined up as you approach the shot, not the other way around. Taking the time to do this on each and every shot will not only assure that you’re lined up correctly, it also causes you to subconsciously focus more on the upcoming shot.

Stroke Drills

After taking so much time off from playing, it was very tempting to just hit balls and play games against friends, but I knew that wouldn’t help me prepare for a tournament in such a short time. Instead, I focused mainly on stroke drills. It may sound fairly basic, but the straight stop shots can tell you a great deal about the status of your stroke.  Set the cue ball up for a straight-in shot at least 1-2 feet away from the object ball and shoot a stop shot. If you’re truly hitting center ball on the cue ball, the cue ball should stop directly behind where the object ball was set, not a quarter inch to the right or left, but directly behind that spot. Chalk your cue and shoot the same shot, from the same location, over and over again. You’ll notice a line of chalk residue on the table after several shots. If this line or residue veers off to the right or left, then your follow-through is crooked. This sounds like a very simple drill but you’ll be surprised at how many times you won’t hit this dead on. Adjusting your stroke until you’re able to consistently stop the cue ball in the correct location, while having a straight follow-through line, is important before beginning real competition.

My pre-shot routine and stroke were the two major things I focused on during those two weeks of preparation. Finally, it was time for me to actually play matches again. A great way to prepare for a tournament is to play a race or format very similar to the tournament you’re preparing for. So my next step in preparation was to spar against someone of equal skill to my upcoming opponents and play a race format similar to that tournament. This prepares you for the mental aspect of returning to competition.

After my two week preparation, I returned to competition at the Ultimate 10-Ball Championships in Frisco, Texas. It was a great event and I came out strong winning my first two matches before I met up with Allison Fisher, only to be followed by top Japanese player Kyoko Sone. All in all I was happy with my results for my first major tournament after a long pregnancy. I will continue to focus on the basic fundamentals of my game moving forward in preparing for the upcoming U.S. Open in Oklahoma.

*Photo is Cristina playing in the Ultimate 10-Ball Championships. Photo by Jeff Smith of Heirloom Portrait Art.

Brianne is a single father and only began playing pool on a regular basis after being asked to join APA by a couple of players in his area. He’s currently in his fourth year playing in the League and enjoys the family feeling of the Central Texas APA. Brianne is a skill level 5 in both 8-Ball and 9-Ball. All three teams that he’s on are very close and work hard to help each other improve. As soon as Brianne joined the team, one of the older players took him under his wing and taught the ins and outs of APA play. “Mr. Stone will always be my coach and mentor,” says Brianne.

Brianne’s Team Captain, Sheryl Sofge, is like a mother according to him. Sheryl’s husband, Ted, has taken Brianne’s 13- year-old son Nathaniel on as a student. He spends his Sundays at the Greenroom in Temple, Texas working with Nathaniel. Sheryl and Ted own and operate the Greenroom. One day Brianne hopes to play on a team with his son.

“As a soldier, we travel and don’t spend much time with our extended family,” said Breniser. “But it’s not that way here in the APA. I feel as though every time I go to pool I am going to see family.”

“Pool was one of the most relaxing aspects of the day when I was deployed,” Miller said. “It symbolized that the day was over and that everyone was there and everything was okay. Also, every night of pool meant one day closer to getting out of there.”

After returning from active duty, Ray joined an APA League with friends. He now plays in the League two nights a week—one night of 8-Ball and the other 9-Ball. He also plays two additional nights a week when out with the guys. What Ray enjoys most about the League is meeting and having fun with all the great, friendly people. It’s been about 12 years now since Ray began playing pool. He claims that at first he wasn’t too good at the game, but once he started to pay attention more, he realized he was quite good.

“I plan on being in the military for many years to come, and for just as many years I plan on staying in the APA to help develop my skills and meet as many good friends as I can,” Miller said.

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This is a kicking system that my instructor discovered when he was learning a similar banking system.  The basic shot for this system involves the object ball (3-ball) resting in or near a pocket while the cue ball is blocked by another ball (8-ball). See below:

The first step is to measure the mid-point between the cue ball and the rail that you’re kicking at.  Then draw an imaginary line (line A) from that midpoint to the center of the corner pocket extending that line all the way to the rail:

Next, you take the spot on the rail where your line extended to, and draw a line from there, thru the cue ball and extend that to the opposite rail (line B below) to determine where to aim on the opposite rail:

One common misconception is that one-rail kicks are easier than 2 or 3 rail kicks.  However, one-rail kicks are sometimes tougher because the speed and the amount of right or left spin used on the shot can greatly affect the outcome.  For this kicking system, it’s very important that you use medium speed (about the speed of a lag) and top spin, with little to no english.

You might be thinking, “What about shots where the object ball is NOT in the pocket?” The answer is simple—you change the first imaginary line based on where the object ball is located.  See the example below:

I suggest trying this system a few times to get a feel for how hard and what type of stroke to hit in order to get the most accurate results.  The rails on some tables are more stiff than others, so they’ll vary slightly, but this is a great guide for one-rail kicks.  Try moving around both the cue ball and the object ball until you’re comfortable with how to measure the aiming points. It’s a great, simple tool to have in your toolkit of shots.

According to the article, Wade says her secret to success is, “Hard work, discipline, determination, dedication, confidence, drive and relentless ambition are the key factors in why I can boast that the OCAPA is the largest amateur pool league in O.C.”

View the complete article at http://digital.ocmetro.com/publication/?m=10213&l=1 (go to page 41 to view Victoria’s feature).

APA League Operator Andy Segal won the 2011 World Artistic Pool Championship held in conjunction with the Super Billiards Expo in Valley Forge, Pa., March 10-13. Segal defeated

Segal won the Masters Artistic Pool Championship held at the Super Billiards Expo in 2005, 2007 and 2009.

In addition to Joe’s cooking, Bris also enjoyed meeting APA members from across New York, each with their own interesting story—and in one case, a famous name.  On Saturday morning, Kim registered none other than James Bond (pictured lower right), player number “0096”, from Amsterdam, NY.  Kim’s husband Brad overheard the name and couldn’t help himself.  “You look just like you do in the movies,” Brad said with a smile.  “I’ll bet you’ve never heard that one before.”  James laughed and assured us that he had heard that one before.  Regardless, it’s not every day you get to meet a James Bond, and James was more than willing to humor us.

We also met Dave Covert (pictured top left) from South Dayton, NY, who quickly became known as “the guy with the APA patch vest”, a fantastic example of how to display one’s APA patch collection.  While not qualified himself, Dave accompanied his son James Covert on the drive from Erie County APA.  James competed in the Red Tier (8-Ball Skill Level 5) and had a strong showing, making it to the Finals before losing on the hill.  After watching all that pool, Dave got the itch to compete himself and actually won a Singles Board that night, earning a qualification for the APA Fall Singles Regional Tournament taking place this October.  Congratulations to the Coverts and all the APA friends and families for making the entire event a memorable one.

In 2008, Blue Ridge APA League Operator Vicki Catalano (pictured at top left and lower right) decided to share her love of Frank’s deli with local APA members.  She approached Frank during APA League night at “Fat Cat’s Billiards” and asked him to be the first non-pool related business to join her Blue Ridge APA Discount Program.  Frank agreed, and for the last three years, Frank’s New York Deli has offered a generous 10% discount to Blue Ridge APA members who show a current APA membership card—and a lot of Blue Ridge APA members took full advantage of the deal!

While visiting the Blue Ridge APA, APA Senior Franchise Consultant Bris Robinson dropped in to thank Frank for hooking up local APA members with incredible food at a great price.  Frank’s pool teams proudly display their APA trophies inside the deli alongside the specialty mustards, chips, and jars of pickled goods, and a Spring 2011 issue of The American Poolplayer® magazine is available to patrons while they wait for their order.  A native Western New Yorker, Bris had to see for himself how Frank’s sandwiches stacked up against those he remembers from home.  After much deliberation, he ordered the ham club on sourdough with smoked Gouda, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and dijonaise—hold the onion.  The verdict?  No contest, Frank wins.

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“On my second deployment I was able to enjoy some pool with some of my fellow Marines in Kuwait on our way back to the U.S., and let me tell you it was a great feeling to get on a table again,” Haslip said. “It made me feel like I was back in the U.S. with my teammates and was a great taste of home.  It made the last month of the deployment go by very smooth when waiting to get back to my son.”

James is a Gunnery Sergeant and has been stationed at Camp Pendleton in California for the past 13 years. There’s a place to play pool on base, but it’s a far drive because the base is so big, so James plays pool in the surrounding South Orange County, Calif., area. He first joined the APA about 5 years ago, but has been playing pool for about 20 years. Originally from Minnesota, James began playing pool in junior leagues at a young age. His father has been playing for about 30 years, and James would always watch him play. Eventually, he started teaching James the game.

In 2008, James competed in the APA National Team Championships in Las Vegas. He’s fighting to get back there again. Currently, James plays in the South Orange County APA League three nights a week. He most enjoys the atmosphere and competitiveness of League night.  Some may say that he’s too serious about the game because of his Marine background, but he’ll disagree with that. That’s his dedication to the sport and discipline of the Marines in him.

“I support the APA in every way. I think it is an amazing experience for me and my friends to enjoy healthy competition,” Haslip said. “I would also like to mention my League Operators Liza Gazmen and Scot Burnell. They are excellent Operators and am going to miss them here in the near future when I get stationed in San Francisco, but will definitely still be playing in the APA up there!”

There are two main components to being a good coach: technical and mental. Most coaches are more focused on one or the other and it’s rare that you find someone that’s great at both.

For most APA teams, the coach is usually the highest rated player on the team, a skill level 6 or 7 (in 8-Ball). These coaches obviously understand the technical side of the game because it takes a certain level of skill to become a 6 or 7.  Translating that knowledge to other players is the tricky part and many times it has more to do with the way the shooter learns and thinks than it does with how the coach thinks. As a coach, you really have to understand your players. You need to know what types of shots they’re comfortable shooting, understand the limitations of their knowledge of spin or angles, and know what motivates them. 

One time, I played in a scotch doubles tournament with Shane Van Boening as my partner. Our opponents left me a kick shot and I didn’t see any clear path to hit the ball. Shane, who is arguably one of the best players in the U.S., tells me to kick off the rail and then massé the ball around a cluster to hit our ball. Naturally, I think to myself, “How the heck am I going to do that?” When I ask him for more help with the shot he just repeats, “Kick off that rail and massé it.” But I really needed to know how hard to hit the ball, where to aim on the cue ball, what type of stroke I should hit—much more information than he was giving me.

Just because you know how to shoot a particular shot doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to explain how to shoot that shot in a way that other skill levels on your team will understand, and more importantly, explain it in a way that they’ll be able to execute successfully on the first try.

The important part about that last sentence is the “execute successfully on the first try” because when you’re coaching, your player only gets one try at that shot. And many times, you’re only called upon to coach them on a “make or break” situation. If they make the shot successfully, they’ll likely win, if they miss it, they’ve probably sold out the game and left it open for their opponent to win. Being a good coach means helping your players make the best decision based on their abilities and helping them understand how to execute it. Sometimes this means taking a different shot than you would choose to shoot in the same situation.

You’re successful at the technical side once you’ve determined how to help your players choose the right shot, but what about the mental side of coaching? Being a good coach is more than simply giving instructions and having your players understand. It’s also about being positive and knowing how to motivate your players and recognize that each of your players is different. Some players like you to stop them before they take a shot that could potentially leave them in a troubled position. Others only want you to coach them when they call on you for help. Some players want you to explain in detail exactly how to shoot a shot—how hard, what type of spin, exactly where to aim, exactly what the outcome should look like. Others just need your help deciding between two different shots that they already know how to shoot, so they don’t need full details. As a coach, your job is to help your player do the best they can. If they tell you they’re not comfortable with a particular shot, don’t stress them out and make them shoot it, just be supportive and help them find something that they ARE comfortable shooting. Be positive and help them have confidence.

During my play in APA Leagues, even when I was a skill level 7, I would often call time-outs on myself. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if I could play the shape I needed to on a shot, other times I needed help deciding between one shot or another, and sometimes I just needed someone to reassure me that the shot I had in mind would work out.

The APA Black Widow Tour features exhibitions by Jeanette Lee in 10 cities throughout North America! The Tour opened in Chicago in early January, followed by a stop in Miami. Dallas and Memphis are on the agenda for May. The final three cities will be determined by YOU!  The three League areas that grow the most members by Oct. 15 will receive a visit from Jeanette. Visit http://www.apablackwidowtour.com for more information.

 In October 1982, Bill returned to the Navy where he became a certified instructor.  He served on several ships as an engineering instructor. Aboard the USS Fox (CG33), Bill participated in Desert Shield and Desert Storm—aboard the USS Constellation (CV-64) he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal for heroic efforts during a fire that was caused by exploding jet fuel.  The explosion caused fires on over 15 levels (decks) of the ship and burned for almost 12 hours. There were no deaths or serious injuries as a result of this fire. In October 1992, Bill retired from active duty as a surface warfare qualified Chief Petty Officer.

In 1994 Bill joined the APA while living in Miami, Fla. He met some friends in a sports bar where he played darts, and they asked him to join the League. He later moved to Atlanta, Ga., and joined APA-Atlanta. In 2007, Bill qualified for APA's National Referee Program and has refereed at the National Team Championships 2007-2010. His current skill level is a 7 in both 8-Ball and 9-Ball. As an APA member, Bill most enjoys meeting new people and making new friends.

The newly constructed NU Hotel Brooklyn is located in downtown Brooklyn's vibrant Boerum Hill neighborhood. Surrounded by the city's premier cultural, retail and tourist attractions, the hotel is minutes away from Downtown Manhattan and the Financial District.

Company Preferred Transient Rates:
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For more information on NU Hotel Brooklyn, including a list of amenities, visit www.nuhotelbrooklyn.com.

The Georgia Billiard Academy (GBA), located in Marietta, GA, is a state of the art facility with a family friendly atmosphere that provides education and training on the game of pocket billiards for enthusiast of all levels. 

GBA’s instructors provide instructional programs custom tailored to meet each student’s skill level and objective.  Packaged programs are available for individuals, couples and families to learn how fun and fulfilling the game of pocket billiards can be. 

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For history, one would be hard pressed to compete with the five million year old Grand Canyon, but at Grand Canyon Railway, they try their best. Each train engine and each train car has been painstakingly restored to its original state by a staff of mechanics who see their work as more a labor of love than a job. During the train tour, your crew is no less enthusiastic. Each is bursting with local and Grand Canyon folklore and history, as well as Grand Canyon Railway knowledge. Strolling musicians catch you up with what was hot way back when. And there's even fun recreations of an old fashioned shoot out and a train robbery.

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Liberty Tax Service is offering this special discount for members of the American Poolplayers Association. Liberty Tax Service provides fast, efficient and accurate service with an unconditional money back guarantee. Liberty Tax is the second largest international tax service, and offers the following services at all of its locations in the United States and Canada:

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Upon arriving at Fiddlestix, APA met up with owner, manager, and billiard professional Chris Szuter (pictured at far right).  Chris was busy honing his skills for the upcoming Derby City Classic, but he’s also working with Scott to introduce more folks to APA’s Wednesday night traveling 8-Ball Division in Canton/Massillon.  He and Scott also have their sights set on a Monday night Double Jeopardy Division that’s in the works.

This is where APA member and new Area Manager Sherry Wagner (pictured with Alex in the second panel, and with Scott and Chris in the far right panel) steps in.  Sherry is a great shot in her own right and is no stranger to APA play—let’s just say she’s a lot better than Alex.  She also loves promoting the sport of pool and is working closely with Scott to grow APA in the Canton/Massillon area.  (Shameless Plug Alert: If you call Canton/Massillon your home and aren’t playing APA, call Sherry!)  What better way to avoid the snow than playing APA while enjoying a beer at Fiddlestix?  Stay warm out there!  

 There are a few key things to keep in mind when pursuing any pool-related goals.  Some of these may seem completely obvious, but you’d be surprised how often they’re overlooked.

Clearly Define Your Goal

Players often write me asking how to get out of a slump or improve. My most immediate thoughts when this happens are, “What type of slump?” or “Improve how?”  When you say that you want to become a better player what do you really mean? Do you want to be a better shot maker? Have better mechanics? Gain better understanding of strategy? Or do you just want to win more often? When setting a goal, you need to define exactly what you’re trying to achieve and by what date. Otherwise, how will you know if you actually reached that goal? A few years ago I set a goal to qualify for a certain tournament level by a certain time. Perhaps your goal will be different—maybe you want to improve to a certain skill level by a specific time, or qualify for a top gun tournament. Whatever your goal is, it needs to be more specific than, “I want to improve.”

Put it in Writing

This may sound a little silly but research shows that you’re more likely to commit to a goal if it’s written down. Putting it on paper makes it more “real.” You’re less likely to change your mind about the goal or put it off until later. Many people even find it beneficial to keep the written goal visible on a regular basis.  

Have a Plan

This is perhaps the most important part of reaching your goal. Many people know where they want to go but may not have the first clue about how to get there. Or maybe you just never really thought about what it’ll take to reach your goal. Let’s say, for example, your goal is to improve one skill level over the next year. To reach that goal, you may think about what’s keeping you from moving up. Maybe you’re stuck in your skill level because you’re not as consistent as you’d like to be—part of reaching your goal should be to re-evaluate your mechanics. Fixing problems in your stroke and stance can increase your consistency enormously. You can’t just decide to get better and not have a clear plan of what specific things you need to change.

Additionally, once you identify what you need to improve on in order to reach your goal, you must identify how you’ll work on that. Some things are easy to address yourself, and others will require you to obtain knowledge or advice from another person who is better than you in that particular area.

Set Tangible Milestones

This goes hand-in-hand with having a plan. When you develop a plan for your goal, you should set milestones to strive for along the way. This will help you measure how effective you are at reaching your goal. These milestones will also help you not become overwhelmed on your path.  When you have that sense of accomplishment from meeting those milestones, it helps to keep motivated on your overall goal without feeling like it’s completely out of your reach.

Keep it to Yourself

Some people may disagree with this one but I always advise that you keep your goal as something that is just yours. While some might like to share their goal and talk about their goal, I think this only opens you up to change your feelings about your goal. Once you start talking about your goal, you’ll undoubtedly receive feedback from others which could be positive and negative. Obviously the negative feedback can be discouraging, but even the positive feedback may change your feeling about your goal.  A goal should be personal commitment to you. You don’t want to let what others think about your goal influence your own thoughts about it.

“During a deployment to Africa, we had the luxury of a pool table in one of the tents,” Adams said. “It was a great way to spend some time after coming back from patrol or from standing guard and just meet up with everyone and relax a little when we could.”

At the young age of 7 Jim began playing pool. He joined APA four years ago when a member noticed his cue case in the back of his Wrangler—he invited Jim to play in the League and the rest is history. When having to leave his wife and two daughters for an extended period of time, Jim says one of the first things he does is search for an APA Pool League. He says that no matter where he goes, he finds that just being an APA member has a very strong aura of camaraderie that is very similar to the military—despite different backgrounds, APA players across the country already share very similar experiences and it’s always helpful to go some place different and find that you already know everyone there.  To Jim, APA isn’t just about getting to Vegas, it’s also about the journey!

“Of all the things that I enjoy about the APA, I would have to say the other members are the best,” Adams said. “Everyone is out to have a good time and I’ve made a lot of friends in the divisions that I’ve played in. Even when the competition heats up, it’s still easy to just break away from the everyday norm and spend some time having fun with everyone.”

Jim also enjoys getting others involved in pool. Last Thanksgiving, Jim was in Bethesda, Md., and visited a friend at the Wounded Warrior Regiment (WWR).  He was given a Marine Corps themed “Semper Fidelis” pool cue the year before as a gift that he always carried in his cue case as a spare.  The WWR had a recreation room with a pool table, but received little attention when he was there.  Jim used a shaper and a punch to fix up the tips on the sticks—he also gave the counter attendant his “Semper Fidelis” cue stick and Masters chalk to keep for the table. 

“Visiting those guys and their families, especially around the holidays, really introduces you to new emotions—as a fellow service member you just wish you could do more to change things,” Adams said. “Pool delivers such a universal form of competition that watching a wounded veteran ignore their physical limitations to shoot a game is nothing short of inspiring to those of us more fortunate who sometimes take our own abilities for granted.”

Below is a scenario that might come up during a 9-Ball match. In this layout, you have ball-in-hand and must play shape from the 2-ball to the 3-ball. Some players would like to place the cue ball in a similar place to the diagram below and take that path to the 3-ball.

But in this scenario, that path is blocked. The best shot to take in this scenario is demonstrated in the diagram below.  In order to make the cue ball travel the desired path, you must aim with top right and follow-through with enough speed to make the cue ball travel two rails to the yellow area.

If you’re unfamiliar with this shot, there are two things to focus on while learning how to shoot it: 1) how to stroke the cue ball and follow-through correctly for your spin to catch properly, and 2) where to aim on the cue ball and the object ball.

1)      One of the biggest mistakes I see when developing players try these types of shots is that they THINK they’re aiming with top right, but they actually follow-through with something closer to middle ball, so the cue ball just comes off straight  and doesn’t take the intended path.  This is usually because players that are just learning to use english are scared to aim too far away from the center of the ball. Trust yourself, trust that you have a steady stroke, and follow-through at the spot that you aim. Don’t be afraid to aim too high or too far right on the cue ball to play around with how the english will affect the cue ball. Your cue and tip are designed for these types of shots, so don’t be afraid to use them. There’s a reason your cue costs more than a regular house cue.

2)      The issue of WHERE to aim on the object ball is a little more complicated because this varies from cue to cue.  Each cue has a different amount of deflection, so you’ll have to play around with the shot to determine how much you need to change your aiming spot when using english versus when not using any english. For players that are just learning to use english, I always recommend a cue with a lower deflection shaft like a Predator (Z-2 or 314-2), Cuetec R360, Lucasi Hybrid or Poison’s Venom shaft. Some of those have more deflection than the others, but they’re all low deflection shafts so you will not have to adjust your aim quite as much as you would if you were learning to use english with a regular shaft with normal deflection.

Once you learn to execute this shot with ease, you’ll find that it’s useful for playing shape to other balls and you’ll find other useful variations of this shot.  For example, sometimes you get too straight on a ball when having to play shape to the other end of the table like the diagram below.

A variation of this shot is another shot where you’re fairly straight on a ball and need to play shape to an opposite rail, similar to the shot above.

Don’t be afraid to try different shots and make adjustments to your aim if you find that you’re missing shots. If your cue ball is not following the intended path, focus more on your stroke and your follow-through to ensure that you’re contacting the cue ball correctly. If your stroke or follow-through is not level, that’ll create problems in your shot. 

Understanding how to use english is a huge factor in progressing as a poolplayer. The pros make it look easy because they’re able to utilize the correct english to make their shots and run-outs easier. Learning to effectively use english is a process, so don’t be frustrated if it takes you awhile to get the hang of it.

James Spires from Bristol, Tenn., was in the United States Navy for three years. He joined at the age of 17 in 1965. James served three years aboard the USS Dewey DLG14 and spent six months in Vietnam. In 1966, they were pulled out of Vietnam and sent to North Korea. Unfortunately for the avid poolplayer, they were unable to have a pool table on the ship due to the 30-foot waves and the fact that it’s a bit difficult to hit moving balls.

“In the war zone you had six hours on and six hours off, and then your other duties,” Spires said. “So there wasn't a lot of time for much else.”

James played a lot of pool while in port—he was under 21 and unable to drink with the other men, so he instead used his free time to improve his pool game. The ship’s home port was in Norfolk, Va.

James joined the APA in 2001, and recently reached 500 matches played! He’s also chairman of his local Board of Governors and plays in three divisions of the Tri-Cities APA. More than anything, James enjoys the friendship and challenge of the competition—it keeps his mind fresh. James says the League gives him a great outlet to meet new people. He’s currently a skill level 6 in both 8-Ball and 9-Ball.

“It’s a great way to have fun without spending a fortune,” Spires said. “I guess mostly I enjoy sharing my skills with the lower skilled players and being their coach. League play is like chess with athletic skills.”

He’s also been to Vegas four times for the National Team Championships and loved every minute of it. James said he’ll continue playing pool until god says, “no more, let the younger folks share what you have shared.”

Pool Hall Junkies from North York, Ontario took 1st Place in the main event, collecting $5,000 for the victory.  Second place, and $2,500, went to Straight Shots from Lapeer, Mich.  Finishing in 3rd Place and collecting $1,250 each were R U Ready to Rack and Pool Pirates, both from Grand Rapids, Mich. 

Eight teams participated in the Last Chance Tournament, with GR8 Pretenders from Ajax, ON taking 1st Place and winning $400.

	Champions - Pool Hall Junkies from North York, ON
	Runners-Up - Straight Shots from Lapeer, MI
	3rd Place - R U Ready to Rack from Grand Rapids, MI
	3rd Place - Pool Pirates from Grand Rapids, MI
	Last Chance Winners - GR8 Pretenders from Ajax, ON

Playing on the WPBA, I’ve made some great friends and great travel partners. In one of my events last year, my best friend on tour, who was also my roommate at this event, drew a spot in the bracket that was similar to my match play schedule. At first we thought this was great because our practice/warm-up times were similar and eating schedules fell right into place. But we soon realized that if we both continued to win matches, we would soon have to play against each other. We supported each other along the way and eventually did have to meet up in the brackets.

At first, I was very intimidated going into this match because my roommate is a very strong player. This was only my second WPBA event ever, whereas she is a far more experienced player who has played on tour for a couple of years and has competed in multiple world championships all around the world. As I have mentioned in previous articles, you should never allow yourself to be intimidated by another player’s strong reputation or track record. So I took my own advice and reminded myself that no player is unbeatable.

But what if your friend is not a higher skilled player than you? What other mental factors could affect your play? A big factor is the tendency to be talkative and relaxed during your match. While this doesn’t necessarily sound like a bad thing, being too relaxed can certainly take you out of your game. When you become too relaxed, you often get lazy with your pre-shot routine and can easily make uncharacteristic mistakes. A match against a friend requires just as much, if not more, focus as any other match.

In previous articles I talked about how to recognize your strengths and weaknesses and focus on exploiting your opponent’s weaknesses. Well, who knows your friend’s pool abilities better than you? Being a close friend who plays with them often should certainly give you an advantage. In my match with my roommate, I made myself analyze the types of shots and situations that I knew she had issues with.  For instance, our match was running late and the tournament director decided to put us on a shot clock. The regional tour I qualified through routinely uses shot clocks, so I am comfortable playing under one. But, I knew she had been stressed earlier in the tournament about previous matches where she felt rushed by the clock. Although this was not a strategic move on my part because shot clocks are determined by the tournament director, I immediately felt at ease and gained a new confidence in the match that was tied at the time when we began playing under a clock. Shot clocks may not come into play during APA matches, but the concept is the same. You know more about your friends and how they play than you do about a random opponent. Use this to your advantage and come up with a game plan that helps you keep the upper hand in the match.

I went on to beat my roommate and in the process, achieved my highest finish on the WPBA to date, but the match easily could have gone the other way. Next time you play against a good friend, block out the negative thoughts and stress that comes with that and focus on the mental and physical things you have learned to get yourself through the match successfully.

Visit cristinadlg.blogspot.com to follow my tournament travels and email me with questions at crisdlg2005@yahoo.com.

Derek has been an APA member since 2004, and has over 200 matches played. Currently, he’s the only active skill level 9 in the Lexington APA.  Derek has been very influential in bringing many new players into the League, but it was his patch collection that amazed everyone at the bar that night. The photos show just a small part of his extensive collection, which features numerous rare and hard to find patches.

Derek continues to collect patches from any APA event he can get to.  When not playing pool, Derek is a local law enforcement officer in Lexington.  Thanks for your service Derek!  And, thanks for being a valuable part of the Lexington APA.

While hanging out at Al Evers Place in Okinawa, Japan, they brought a pool table into the bar and he started shooting pool with friends. This is when he first got into the game.  “I played a lot of pool in the recreation area to help pass away the time,” Shaw said.

The thing he most enjoys about being an APA member is spending time with friends every week—a lot of his friends and co-workers play in the League and it’s nice seeing them outside a work environment. David first joined the APA when a few friends were playing in the League and asked him to join.

Even the top pros can find new things to improve on in their game—they never stop working. World Champion Thorsten Hohmann has a coach in Germany that he trained with for many years and still goes to in order to identify new things to tweak in his game. After every tournament, win or lose, U.S. Open Champion Shane Van Boening identifies something he needs to work on before the next event and devotes hours each day to work on that thing.

Think back to your childhood when you may have played sports. You always had a coach that taught you new things, or guided you in your skill development. Why should pool be any different? You might eventually learn a few things and become a better player without help from others, but I can guarantee that this will come at a much slower pace if you’re trying to do this on your own. There are simply too many things in pool that you would never think to try if you didn’t know to try them, or you didn’t know the full details of how to execute them. Practice is of course important and the more you play, the better you’ll be, but this is really only from a consistency and mental standpoint. Obviously someone who’s played for years has more experience playing under pressure than someone that just started—the muscle memory they form from repeated play will make them a more consistent player. However, the true knowledge and skills you have under your belt may not increase dramatically.

So what does being the best on your team really get you? Admiration of other people, self esteem knowing you’re the strongest player—sure you’ll have those things, but so what? Where does that take you later?  I played in the APA for several years and made many great friends through the League. Of course there was some sentimental value to the longevity of having the same team for years. And, if my aspiration in pool were purely social, then I would have stayed with the same team year after year. However, many of you have probably seen that as your players improve and move up in skill level, it’s tough to keep the same roster year after year. This is not a bad thing. That’s just proof and reassurance that all of you are becoming better players. The structure of the APA lends itself to teaching, coaching and forming of new teams—that is something that you should take full advantage of.

I’m a competitive person by nature, so when deciding what types of people I wanted to be on a team with, my main motivation was team chemistry and which people I can learn from. Of course there are the usual things to consider like, “Is this person reliable to show up when they say they’ll be there?” In addition to those, here are a few tips I think are useful in deciding who to play with:

Skill Level 2s and 3s

When I first started playing APA and was in this category, I wanted to learn as much as I could. So at this level, it’s important that you find a team with players (and more importantly a captain) that is patient, supportive and coaches in a manner that you can understand. That last part is most important. Different people learn in different ways. Some are more visual and need to see a shot to understand it. They need to know the exact details of how a coach expects them to hit a ball—How hard? Exactly how much of the ball? At what angle? Other people are more abstract and understand without full explanation. Then there are some that are strong players, but sometimes just need a time out to help them have confidence in that next shot. So whatever your preference is, make sure you’re paired with a coach that you can understand. As a coach for a skill level 2 or 3, it’s important to think in terms of their understanding. And the best thing you can do as a coach is provide support to them. At that level they’re new to the game and it’s natural for them to be more timid, so knowing their team and coach is behind them will make a world of difference.

Skill Level 4s and 5s

At this skill level it’s a little more difficult to know what aspect of your game you need to improve and what types of players can help you achieve that. Some players get to this level because they’re just great shot makers, but maybe their lack of strategy is keeping them from moving to the next level. Others understand strategy well and are consistent shot makers, but maybe they’re not comfortable using all types of English, so they’re limited on executing certain key shots. There’s a wide range of things that could be keeping you from progressing to the next level when you’re a skill level 4 or 5, so the first thing to do is to identify what aspect of your game is the strongest and think about what skills you can add to be better. Then, make sure you’re playing with people that can help you develop those skills.

Skill Level 6s and 7s

When I was at this level, I was almost always on a team with other 6s or 7s that had VERY different skill sets from mine. I was always more of a methodical player—I would opt for a defensive shot before trying an aggressive offensive shot, and I mainly focused on controlling the table. However, the other 6s or 7s on my team were quite the opposite. Usually they were very aggressive, fast-paced players. Neither one is better or worse than the other, but we each had our own strengths that were different from each other, so we each had something to learn from one another. Even when I was a 7 and needed a time out, I would sometimes go to the 5 or 6 on our team depending on the type of shot that I wanted advice on. Try to look for players that you have compatible personalities with, but ones that have different strengths than you do.

In my first year playing in the APA, I began taking lessons with a well-recognized instructor, Rod Gustafson, who taught me most of what became my foundation of pool knowledge. I’ve previously mentioned that before he ever taught me other concepts, we focused on the idea of controlling the table rather than just learning how to run out. This particular layout was one of the very first things I learned— it made a world of difference in my scores because it gave me more opportunities at the table.

This month’s article will focus on several routine safeties that can be played right after the break. If you pay attention in your matches, this layout or something similar will come up quite often. Many times the “wing balls,” which in the diagram are the 2-ball and 6-ball, will likely be pocketed in one of the corner pockets.

One-Ball Bank Safety

For our layout, let’s say the 2-ball goes in off of the break and you’re left with the layout below.

Since we don’t have a good shot to pocket the 1-ball in this layout, the goal of this safety is to bank the 1-ball down table with just enough speed to get to the bottom rail. You want to aim the 1-ball straight into the rail so it’ll go down table and stay as close to the middle of the rail as possible to not leave a good offensive shot at the 1-ball.  Be sure to aim with follow/top spin on the cue ball.

Many players think that you can’t practice safeties, but all of these safeties are shots that you should set up over and over again to get the right feel for where to aim and how much speed to hit. In this shot, we’re more concerned about where the 1-ball goes than the cue ball. If you hit this at the right speed for the 1-ball to stay near the end rail, your cue ball will naturally stay within a foot or so of the other rail. In this shot, it’s okay to allow your opponent to see the 1-ball; we’re simply trying to leave your opponent with no clear offensive shot.

Thin 1-Ball Cut Shot

This shot is essentially the opposite of the last shot and takes a little more speed control with the cue ball. Shoot the cue ball with a thin cut on the right side of the 1-ball so that the cue ball follows the path similar to the diagram below.

This shot has a higher level of difficulty because rather than controlling just one ball, you’re trying to control two balls. This may be a shot reserved for higher skill level players, although I recommend all skill levels try to learn. You want to try to leave the 1-ball as close to its original position as possible. More importantly, you want to focus on getting the cue ball to the area covered by the red box to keep it behind some blockers.

When practicing this shot, you’ll notice that you have a lot of options on where exactly you can put the cue ball based on how thin you cut the 1-ball, and whether you aim with follow on the cue ball or you aim with a little bit of top right.

Hiding the Cue Ball

In this shot, we’re again trying to control both the cue ball and the object ball (1-ball in this case). Shoot the 1-ball on the left side and aim at placing it behind the two blockers while driving the 1-ball up table.

This is not a thin cut like the last shot—aim more full at the 1-ball. Of the three shots, this is the most deadly of the safeties because you have the potential to lock up the cue ball tightly to the back of the blockers. In attempting to hit the 1-ball, your opponent will most likely have to kick off one or two rails. While it’s important to hide the cue ball behind the 3-ball and 5-ball, it’s equally as important to make sure you drive the 1-ball as far down table as possible. At minimum, the 1-ball needs to pass the side pocket in order for this to be a safety. Otherwise you might leave your opponent a shot in the side pocket.

All of these shots are good to practice. Once you can successfully execute each shot consistently, try moving the cue ball to a different angle and play around with the different ways to aim the shot to get the same results. Or, you can move the blockers around a bit, and practice getting the cue ball to different positions. The next time you watch a pro match on TV, look for these shots, you’ll see some variation of them quite often.

In most cases, the player that has control of the table first will gain the most points in that rack. So be patient, and don’t hesitate to play a good safety rather than trying a crazy bank or other low percentage shot.

“I was shooting pool with a few friends when this older gentlemen asked me if I shot on a team.  I told him I didn’t—so he invited me to come on the following Wednesday to meet his 9-Ball Team Captain,” Grenz said. “I shot with them before the match and was added to the roster that night.  I played my first match that night and have been hooked on the APA since!”

While Grenz didn’t have much opportunity to shoot pool during his first deployment, he was able to purchase his first cue while there. It was at home waiting upon his return. The second deployment allowed a few more opportunities for Grenz to shoot, but he also purchased instructional pool DVDs that he played in the sleeping quarters anytime he was in his room. Grenz shot in a few pool tournaments on base at Camp Pendleton, Okinawa, Twenty Nine Palms and Camp Lejeune.

“When I moved to New Orleans, the APA League Operator was the first person in the city that I met,” Grenz said. “He provided me with names of bars and teams that shot APA in the area that I was going to be living.  Since then I have become the Team Captain of one team and the Co-Captain of the other two teams I shoot on.  I’m also on my second session as Division Representative for one of the divisions.”

The greatest thing that’s happened to Grenz because of the APA is that he met his fiancé, Michele Deacon. She’s an APA member and they’re on two teams together—both teams won the division last session!

Cristina competing at the WPBA U.S. Open.
Copyright 2010 Heirloom Portrait Art By R. Jeff Smith

This was interesting and led me to write about the topic this month. Players at all levels get frustrated with losing. Advanced players feel like there is an expectation to win and their pride is hurt when they lose. Beginner players feel discouraged if they are losing often when they first start out. And at some point in every player’s pool career, we will feel as if we’re in a rut. As with most things in life, it’s all what you make of it.  If you were winning all of the time, you would never learn anything.

Previously, I wrote about identifying your weaknesses. The time to apply this is when you lose. Losing teaches you several things on many levels. It’s not just about identifying what particular shots you did wrong and what types of shots you need to work on. It’s also about identifying other more conceptual things that are lacking in your game. For instance, here is an example of something I recently identified as an area I need to work on in my game—and it’s actually something I worked on in the past but will now have to readdress.

Last year I played every tournament I could enter. I flew over 50 times that year, most of which was for pool tournaments, and I was constantly in competition. This year has been a bit different. I rarely play any regional events and my work schedule in Austin is so hectic that I only travel for the WPBA events, nothing else. That being said, I’ve only competed a few times this year. Going into my first WPBA event earlier this year in San Diego, I knew I would have a tough draw.  All WPBA events are seeded and since missing several events at the end of 2009, I fell out of the top 32 rankings.  This meant I’d have to compete against a top player in the first round and as luck would have it, I drew Karen Corr.

Much to my surprise, I was able to pull away with a decisive lead of 6-1 in a race to 9. Having a chance to go up 7-1, I missed a fairly routine 9-ball. Then…I completely lost focus. All of this time off where I was not competing as frequently as I had in the past caused me to not be as conditioned for competition. A few mistakes later, I had lost the match 9-6 and was very disappointed. There’s no shame in losing to a player of her caliber, but I just couldn’t understand how I lost such a big lead. I was determined to work on this, so I played in as many tournaments as I could between then and the WPBA U.S. Open that took place two weeks ago. I just won a tournament the week before the U.S. Open, so I was feeling confident about my game. Once I got into my first match, all of that changed. I jumped out to a big lead—7-2 in a race to 9 and then lost focus again. I quickly realized I was getting lazy with some open run-outs and almost ended up losing the match. I had the same scenario in a later match that I almost lost, but also barely won. In this one I was up 8-4 and got careless. Although I still came out ahead in these matches, it was clear that I still have a lot to work on in keeping my focus throughout an entire match.

This type of weakness is not a particular shot that needs to be worked on and it isn’t the result of bad decision making. These conceptual weaknesses are much tougher to diagnose and just as difficult to correct. And many times, they need to be worked on over and over again, even after you think you’ve fixed the problem.

Beyond identifying what you did wrong in your matches, losing can also inspire a hunger to win. I think this is perhaps what Shane meant when he said it was the best thing that could have happened to him. Losing can motivate you not only to improve, but to gain a killer instinct that you might have been lacking in the past. It’s only natural to be frustrated, but it’s what you do with that frustration that will define your development. Do you want to focus on the fact that you are losing and potentially stay in this slump? Or, do you want to learn from the losses, take a more constructive approach and use that frustration to motivate you to win in the future? 

While there’s no pool table at her New York base, there is in both Greenland and Antarctica. Annee spends much of her off-duty time practicing. She started playing pool when her brother taught her the basics at the age of 7. But, she really began playing seriously while stationed in Hawaii. She’s made many friends, from all walks of life, and continues to keep in touch with several of them.  In Greenland, pool’s allowed her to get to know a lot more members from her base who work in different sections.

“Pool helps me to relax when I’m deployed.  We put in very long days in Antarctica, with 12-hour shifts, in often extreme conditions, with an additional hour or more of travel (each way) between the ice runway and McMurdo Station,” Annee said.  “Shooting pool helps me to wind down at the end of the day, plus it’s given me the opportunity to meet many of the civilians that work down there, who also play pool.”

Annee first got involved with the APA when some friends who were playing in the League asked her to join their team. Her 8-Ball Open team is headed to the National Team Championships this year for the third year in a row.

Mike’s father was in the Air Force for 20 years, so they moved around a lot when he was a child. His father would take him to the NCO (Non-Commissioned Officer) Club and show him how to shoot pool. At the age of 18, Mike bought his first pool table for $25 at a garage sale. After that, he became more serious about the sport. It was after finishing basic training and tech school that Mike joined the APA. He was approached by the Captain of a local team about joining—the rest is history. Then, while practicing at a bar, he met his wife. She now plays on his APA team, and has for the past 14 years. They play every session—Summer, Fall and Spring! Currently, their teammate Adam Hamilton is serving in Iraq.

The next generation of military in Mike’s family is his son. He’s currently serving in the Air Force at Battle Creek Air National Guard Base as a Security Forces Specialist. Recently, he was deployed to Saudi Arabia.  Mike’s other son hasn’t decided whether he wants to go in the military yet, but it’s an option for him.

Before the Tournament

In the weeks leading up to a competition, you should focus on practicing a variety of things. And when I say “practice” I mean just that. Playing games and meeting up with your team to play against each other is not necessarily practice. What exactly are you working on? Did you improve in that practice session? If you are simply playing against friends with no structure, just for the sake of getting some shots in, then you’re not having a very productive practice.

Many players make the mistake of focusing on several things during this practice time and expecting to play perfect all around. This will not help you address specific weaknesses in your game. During each practice session you should pick one particular thing to work on and only determine your success based on that one objective.  For instance, if you notice that you have a problem staying down on the ball during your stroke, pay the most attention to that particular thing during a specific practice time—don’t worry about the other stuff quite as much. If you work on one thing at a time, you can perfect your game better. With too many variables, it’s harder to determine what you’re doing wrong.

Your practice time should be divided into two types of practice: drills and competition.

By “drills” I mean anything that you set up yourself and try to execute, rather than playing games. Many players say they don’t like drills because it’s boring. The real reason most players don’t like drills is because it shows you how inconsistent you actually are at some shots and it’s frustrating. If you’re a player that gets bored with drills, try making a game out of it by doing progressive drills. In progressive drills, you’re not simply repeating the exact same shot over and over again, you’re making a slight variation to the shot each time—begin with an easy shot and move to the most difficult variation of that shot. Start with the easy and progress to the difficult—don’t stop until you can execute each of them without missing. If you miss a shot along the way, start over. This way you’re playing a game against yourself. Some examples of good progressive drills can be found in this publication by the San Francisco Billiard Academy: http://www.sfbilliards.com/progpract.pdf.

Practicing the competition side is very important. Some people are great players when they’re playing socially, but there are very different mental factors that come into play when you’re actually in competition. Sometimes when I haven’t played in a big tournament in awhile, I’ll enter a random tournament just to get used to the pressure again. While I don’t suggest that you run out and play in every event you can before Nationals, I do suggest that you set up some practice matches against friends or other teams to follow the same tournament format you’ll be playing in Vegas. I do this quite often before WPBA events. One of my weaknesses is staying focused throughout an entire set. So, I will often play races to 9 (like the WPBA format) against different players (one weaker, one stronger and one around my level) to get myself ready for the different mindsets.

Have your team set up a scrimmage against another team and play all the matches out in the exact way you would in competition. I know this sounds very similar to a regular League night, but League nights usually have a more social tone to them. If you do this completely separate, you’ll subconsciously place a little more importance on doing well and it’ll put slightly more pressure on you than a regular League night. Sometimes it’s hard to coordinate that many people so you as a player can practice against individual players in the same format that you would play them in a tournament.  For example, find other APA friends and play individual matches against them with the same handicaps that you would use during a regular APA match. This will get you used to thinking in that “race” format and help you mentally prepare for playing against different skill levels.

This article by an instructor at the Cue-Tech Pool School is a great resource that first introduced me to this concept of practice vs. play: http://www.poolschool.com/doctor1.htm.

The Day of the Tournament

The manner in which you prepare on the day of a tournament is very different than what you do in the weeks leading up to the event. The day of the tournament, you’re no longer “practicing.” This is when you’re just warming up, getting acquainted with the tables, getting your arm in stroke and mentally preparing.

One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing players spar against each other during warm-up.

You usually have to challenge the winner and the winner stays on the table.  This is a rather unproductive way to warm-up for a tournament. If you miss a shot, you don’t get to try the shot over again and correct what you messed up. And most importantly, you won’t get nearly as many shots in as you would if you were shooting by yourself. But, perhaps the most negative thing shooting against someone else can do for you is hurt your mental preparation. If you aren’t winning much, it can hurt your confidence. If you’re missing a particular type of shot a lot since you weren’t able to attempt that shot again until you figured it out, that might get in your head later when that shot comes up in a match. There are many reasons why this is just not a good idea for warm-up.

Of course sometimes it’s hard to find a table that doesn’t already have someone shooting on it. So, next time you want to warm-up for a tournament, ask the person already shooting on the table to just “trade racks” with you rather than play against you. This means you each get a turn to throw the balls out on the table and run them. This will allow you to practice particular shots that you might want to set up and you can re-shoot. I suggest that the first shot you take on any day when warming up is just a long, straight stop shot over and over again. Make sure it’s set up perfectly straight and then try to stop the cue ball directly behind where your object ball was. If you find that the cue ball is squirting slightly to the left or right, then you’re not hitting center ball on the cue ball and are most likely not stroking correctly. This drill helps you get your stroke in order before you ever start shooting anything else in your warm-up. Many times at tournaments you are tired or get lazy in your stroke because you’re playing at different times than you are used to or are just not focusing as well because of the atmosphere. This will help orient your stroke and develop a good habit before you start playing. After that, you can progress from just setting up other routine shots to throwing the balls out and taking a normal run-out. Don’t hesitate to set up a shot again if you miss it rather than just continuing to shoot from where ever the cue ball ends up. This keeps you from having that mental distraction of remembering missing the shot.

For higher skill levels, I would also suggest practicing breaking on the table you are going to play on before you play. Many times, the break is a key factor in whether you have the first control of the table—for 7s, 8s and 9s, it can make a huge difference. So know where the table breaks best from and which balls are consistently going in.

I know players get very excited about competing in any of the National APA tournaments and you want to do your best while you’re out there.  While playing well is important, also try to remember that you’re in one of the most exciting towns in the world and you get to go there to play a game that you love. Pool is not a matter of life and death, so be sure that you don’t lose sight of the fun aspect of the tournament in your quest to win.

In September of 2008, Kaylie was in a serious motorcycle accident which left her with a broken neck and massive concussion. Her hopes of playing pool with her husband were shattered. At this point, many would have given up, but not Kaylie.  It angered Kaylie that she had lost so much, and she was tired of being afraid to do anything for fear it would cause further harm.  After more than a year of doing nothing, she vowed to get it all back—everything she used to be able to do—including playing pool.  She began to do little things such as sit-ups, push-ups and other basic exercises to strengthen muscles and increase flexibility.  As she became stronger, she also began to play pool again.  Kaylie went back to the basics, working with anyone who would take time to teach her.  Players around the APA League helped her with everything from basic mechanics to ball selection. Kaylie was a little rough at first, but to her great surprise, she found it helped with focus.  Having to concentrate so hard on sinking that ball was helping get her hand-eye coordination back.

Now, almost two years later, Kaylie has finally made it back onto an APA 8-Ball team, and they’re happy to have her.  League night is date night for the pair—the one night they leave their daughter with grandma and spend some time with family and friends. Being on the team has taught Kaylie that pool is now a mission— she used to play for fun and as a social event.  She measures her gains and goals for future accomplishments by her pool game.  If she can get that back, she knows she can do anything. 

APA wishes you the best of luck over the rest of your recovery and we hope to see you in Las Vegas next year, Kaylie!

Sun Buggy Fun Rentals most popular run, the Vegas Mini Baja Chase, is a wild desert chase on 15,000 acres with a view of the Las Vegas Strip from the tops of the dunes!

You'll travel over very aggressive and challenging terrain and are required to wear a full face helmet and a 4-point harness at all times on the course. Typically 1 and 2 seat buggies are best for the Mini-Baja, however they do offer larger Buggies for families. You'll chase one of their expert Dunies—the only thing that will slow the Dunie down is if he's waiting for you to catch up! Go take a ride that you won't forget!

Visit www.sunbuggy.net for more information and call 866-728-4443 to make your reservation. Be sure to identify yourself as an APA member in order to receive the 20% discount.

In my early APA days, I was a skill level 4 and was dating a guy who was a skill level 7. He was scheduled to play in the U.S. Amateur Championship qualifying rounds. Since I was going to be on the trip with him, I thought I might as well play too. Much to my surprise, I was one of only TWO women that were registered for that location, so naturally, I was happy to see that I only had to beat one girl to move on.  Well…easier said than done.  I played a girl who was a skill level 7 and when it was all said and done, I only managed to get one game on her.

It’s obvious that I was not “ready” to compete with her skill level, and arguably was not ready to compete in a tournament of that level. Many players like to stay in levels where they are comfortable. Maybe it’s the fear of embarrassment, or maybe thinking they may not be able to play at that level of pressure.  Very often I hear people use the argument that they don’t have a chance to win the event, so why bother.  While the statement that you, “don’t have a chance to win,” might be true in some cases, that should never deter you from stepping up to the plate and trying. Regardless, whether you win or lose you should learn something every time you compete. You can only grow as a player if you push yourself and go beyond your boundaries.

Shortly after I became a player representative for Predator and Poison Cues, I was invited to play in the Predator International 10-Ball Championships in Las Vegas. This was an international pro event that consisted primarily of professional male players, with a handful of females.  Clearly I had zero chance of winning this event with champions like Efren Reyes and Ralph Souquet on the player roster. Having only competed in very few professional women’s events by this time, I had very low expectations and would be surprised if I won even one match. Surprisingly, I almost won my first match, but scratched on a 6-10 combination in the hill-hill game and ultimately my opponent ran out with ball-in-hand. But I felt confident going into my second match. That was until I realized that my opponent would be Santos Sambajon, Jr. That tells you how competitive the tournament was when I drew a top Philippino player on the one-loss side. Santos is one of the many players that I idolized, so I was understandably nervous playing him. I had plenty of embarrassing moments like missing easy shots or not remembering when it was my turn to break. But I also had some moments where I even surprised myself.  In the end, I lost 11-8 but was very happy with my play and the experience I gained.  This was the first time I played in front of such large, attentive crowds and the first time I had played against a male pro player.

Many people wait until they think they are "ready" to play in a big tournament instead of just jumping feet first any chance they get. I understand the reasoning behind waiting until you feel mentally ready and feel like your skill level is there, but I think it "wastes" your real chance at doing well. Let me explain what I mean by "waste". If you wait until your skill level is there, you are still going to have those "oh my gosh" moments when you play a well-known player, in front of a huge crowd or on TV. And inevitably, you will not play your best because you will have all these other things factoring into your mental game. But, if you throw yourself in before your skill level is there, you will get all those nervous moments over with. And the next time you play a top name or in front of a big crowd in a crucial match, it won't be quite as big of a distraction to your mental game.

Then, when your skill level has caught up with the level of competition you are playing against, you will have that seasoning that other players new to those tournaments or situations won't have. And you won't be "wasting" your real shot at doing well or placing in a bigger tournament.

Qualifying boards, regionals, masters divisions and play-offs (and everything beyond that) are an entirely different animal and come with an elevated level of pressure. Pushing yourself to explore all of what APA has to offer will help you advance your game at a more rapid pace. I don't care if you think you are straight up DONATING in a tournament and have zero shot of cashing...if you can afford to play in it, make yourself play. This will do wonders for your game on so many levels. You can always learn from top players by watching them play, but you will learn so much more about yourself and your game if you play against those top players whenever possible.

By forcing myself to play in these types of events I was able to meet many of my personal goals. After that first U.S. Amateur Championship experience where I only won one game, I later won qualifiers in my area.  Ironically, I’ve also played against that same skill level 7 that handed me such a brutal loss and beat her pretty decisively in another pro event. Sure you might feel completely stupid playing in a tournament, event or league that you think is above your level, but believe me, it will cure you of all nervousness in other tournaments. Well, maybe it won’t cure you of ALL nervousness but it will definitely put things into perspective.

As a member of the American Poolplayers Association, you will receive an additional 10% off the Best Available Rate* at participating locations every time you travel. Book online or call and give the agent your special discount ID number 8000000318 at time of booking to receive a discount.

Program Name:  American Poolplayers Association

Discount Account ID Number: 8000000318

Member Benefits Hotline: 1-877-670-7088

Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today:

1-800-221-5816 Hawthorn Suites®

As a member of the American Poolplayers Association, you will receive an additional 10% off the Best Available Rate* at participating locations every time you travel. Book online or call and give the agent your special discount ID number 8000000318 at time of booking to receive a discount.

Program Name:  American Poolplayers Association

Discount Account ID Number: 8000000318

Member Benefits Hotline: 1-877-670-7088

Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today:

1-800-330-8712 Microtel Inns & Suites®

As a member of the American Poolplayers Association, you will receive an additional 10% off the Best Available Rate* at participating locations every time you travel. Book online or call and give the agent your special discount ID number 8000000318 at time of booking to receive a discount.

Program Name:  American Poolplayers Association

Discount Account ID Number: 8000000318

Member Benefits Hotline: 1-877-670-7088

Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today:

1-800-682-1071 Knights Inn®

As a member of the American Poolplayers Association, you will receive an additional 10% off the Best Available Rate* at participating locations every time you travel. Book online or call and give the agent your special discount ID number 8000000318 at time of booking to receive a discount.

Program Name:  American Poolplayers Association

Discount Account ID Number: 8000000318

Member Benefits Hotline: 1-877-670-7088

Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today:

1-800-980-1679 Baymont Inn & Suites®

As a member of the American Poolplayers Association, you will receive an additional 10% off the Best Available Rate* at participating locations every time you travel. Book online or call and give the agent your special discount ID number 8000000318 at time of booking to receive a discount.

Program Name:  American Poolplayers Association

Discount Account ID Number: 8000000318

Member Benefits Hotline: 1-877-670-7088

Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today:

1-800-545-5545 Travelodge®

As a member of the American Poolplayers Association, you will receive an additional 10% off the Best Available Rate* at participating locations every time you travel. Book online or call and give the agent your special discount ID number 8000000318 at time of booking to receive a discount.

Program Name:  American Poolplayers Association

Discount Account ID Number: 8000000318

Member Benefits Hotline: 1-877-670-7088

Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today:

1-800-889-9706 Super 8®

As a member of the American Poolplayers Association, you will receive an additional 10% off the Best Available Rate* at participating locations every time you travel. Book online or call and give the agent your special discount ID number 8000000318 at time of booking to receive a discount.

Program Name:  American Poolplayers Association

Discount Account ID Number: 8000000318

Member Benefits Hotline: 1-877-670-7088

Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today:

1-800-769-0939 Howard Johnson®

As a member of the American Poolplayers Association, you will receive an additional 10% off the Best Available Rate* at participating locations every time you travel. Book online or call and give the agent your special discount ID number 8000000318 at time of booking to receive a discount.

Program Name:  American Poolplayers Association

Discount Account ID Number: 8000000318

Member Benefits Hotline: 1-877-670-7088

Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today:

1-800-268-2195 Days Inn®

As a member of the American Poolplayers Association, you will receive an additional 10% off the Best Available Rate* at participating locations every time you travel. Book online or call and give the agent your special discount ID number 8000000318 at time of booking to receive a discount.

Program Name:  American Poolplayers Association

Discount Account ID Number: 8000000318

Member Benefits Hotline: 1-877-670-7088

Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today:

1-877-202-8814 Wingate By Wyndham®

Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today:

1-800-462-8035 Ramada Worldwide®

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is an upscale hotel brand with over 75 properties in the U.S., Canada, Caribbean and Mexico. Each includes the following amenities: coffee maker, a choice of down or hypo-allergenic pillow, shower massagers, complimentary weekday newspaper and upscale bath amenities. Most importantly, the Wyndham Grand Collection, our finest 4+ star hotels, offer a unique experience with compelling local flavor.

Members now save on rooms at almost 7,000 participating hotels worldwide!

As a member of the American Poolplayers Association, you will receive an additional 10% off the Best Available Rate* at participating locations every time you travel. Book online or call and give the agent your special discount ID number 8000000318 at time of booking to receive a discount.

Program Name:  American Poolplayers Association

Discount Account ID Number:8000000318

Member Benefits Hotline: 1-877-670-7088

Whether you are looking for an upscale hotel, an all-inclusive resort or something more cost-effective, we have the right hotel for you… and at the right price. So start saving now.  Call our special member benefits hotline and reserve your room today at one of these fine hotels:                    

1-800-980-1679 Baymont Inn & Suites®

1-800-268-2195 Days Inn®

1-800-221-5816 Hawthorn Suites®

1-800-769-0939 Howard Johnson®

1-800-682-1071 Knights Inn®

1-800-330-8712 Microtel Inns & Suites®

1-800-462-8035 Ramada Worldwide®

1-800-889-9706 Super 8®

1-800-545-5545 Travelodge®

1-877-202-8814 Wingate By Wyndham®

*Best Available Rate is defined as the best, non-qualified, publicly available rate on the Internet for the hotel, date and accommodations requested. Certain restrictions apply. to redeem this offer, click our URL link on Organization's website, or call the hotel brand phone number above and give the agent your special discount ID number ID8000000328 at the time of reservation. Offer not valid if hotel is called directly, called must use toll free numbers listed above. Advanced reservations are required. Offer is subject to availability at participating locations and some blackout dates may apply. Offer cannot be combined with any other discounts, offers, or special promotions. Discounts vary by location and time of year. Offer is void where prohibited by law and has no cash value.

Escape to Universal Studios Hollywood for blockbuster entertainment! Crash through Springfield on the Simpsons virtual rollercoaster, go behind the scenes on the world famous Studio Tour, and experience all new movie sets. There's something new everywhere you look - only at Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A.

APA members are entitled to receive:

$10.00 off General Admission

• Enjoy the Ultimate Hollywood Experience!

$5.00 off Front of Line Pass

• Includes all day admission and priority access to all rides & attractions
• Reserved seating at all shows

Pre-purchase tickets at www.universalfanclub.com/hollywood (click on Buy Tickets)

You will be required to enter your email address, company name (use APA), and zip code (use 63367)

TO SCHEDULE A HEARING TEST CALL TODAY

TOLL FREE 866-814-4327

Operators available- Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. (EST)

Or, visit us on the web atwww.TruHearing.com

The first time you use ResX you will need to enter MEMBER in the Login ID box and ENROLL in the Password box and choose Submit. The next screen will prompt you to create a personal Member ID. We suggest you use your email address for your Member ID. When completing your contact information, please be sure you enter your name as it appears on your Driver License as this is the name that will appear on any airline tickets you may book. Next, you will create a Password. Your Password must be at least 4 characters, but no more than 15 characters. It can include both letters and numbers. In the future you will use your Login ID and Password to access this online booking tool.

*One discount per procedure. The discount provided cannot be combined with any other offer, promotion or discount. Present current member identification at time of payment.

To learn more about Laser Vision Correction and TLC,click here or on the TLC Laser Eye Centers logo!

Plus receive Free Shipping, Free Return Shipping, a 100% Price Guarantee and live, toll-free Customer Service at 1-888-200-8414.  To redeem this offer, visit www.shoebuy.com/apamember/ — your discount will be automatically applied at checkout!

Simply enter the promotion code "APARULES" during your checkout process and you will instantly receive a 5% discount on your order plus a wide variety of specialized services specifically designed to make your online shopping experience an enjoyable one.

Discounts are available online or in our retail store located in Coldwater, MI 49036.

*Discount Exceptions: Additional discounts may not be applied to products from manufactures who have a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) restriction, such as Predator, Poison, and Viking.

Click here for more information.

APA Members and guests can receive preferred rates and other discounts at Rhodes Ranch Golf Club.

Discounts offered include:

• 20% off on green fees (10% off during Twilight & Happy Hour)
• 50% off on rental clubs

Renowned golf course architect, Ted Robinson, designed this facility with lush tropical surroundings, beautiful views, and a unique golf experience comparable to only the finest golf venues in Las Vegas. Rhodes Ranch boasts what Ted Robinson calls “the very best group of par 3s he has ever designed”.

Click here for the Rhodes Ranch discount card

Rhodes Ranch Golf Club is located at 20 Rhodes Ranch Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89148

To reserve your tee time call: 888-311-8337

Red Roof' Inn's great rates and quality rooms means that you won't be breaking the bank to afford a comfortable room. Through American Poolplayers Association, Red Roof Inn is also offering additional value. When you book your reservation using Volume Plus Number 527271, you'll save 20% off Red Roof Inn's Best Available rate. Red Roof Inn's Volume Plus Number works just like an online coupon code.

Use this link -- www.RedRoof.com/Partners/american-pool-players-association -- and Red Roof Inn's online discount code will automatically be filled in for you!

Or go to www.RedRoof.com to make a reservation. All you have to do to receive a discount at participating inns is enter Volume Plus Number 527271 in the VP+ / ID # slot.

You can also make a reservation with an inn directly by calling 1-800-RED-ROOF (800-733-7663), or contact our Sports Group Department at 248-398-0274. You are required to provide the Volume Plus Number 527271 to the reservationist when you make your reservation, BEFORE arriving at any Red Roof Inn property. 

We'll leave the light on for you!

Check out our websites for the latest news:

Motel 6: www.motel6.com — Use APA Membership CP/ID Number CP541260

Studio 6: www.staystudio6.com — Use APA Membership CP/ID Number CP541261

PLUS, Free Shipping! PLUS 100% Satisfaction Guarantee!

To place an order, call Order Line:  1-877-346-5006, or

Use coupon code “APA” at checkout online.

Monster Break Billiards is a top online resource for the best in billiards supplies, pool cues, billiard balls and more with Free Shipping* and a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.  All APA members are entitled to 5% off all our quality billiards merchandise. We have everything from the custom two-piece cue you've been looking for to the best in game room accessories, cue racks, barstools and more!

*Discount Exceptions: Additional discounts may not be applied to products from manufactures who have a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) restriction, such as Predator, Poison, and Viking.

Use APA Program ID Number 184333.

Sales items are excluded from this discount.

The discount is valid for in-store, catalog and Internet orders at www.JOSBANK.com.

To receive your JoS. A. Bank discount card, simply visit the JoS. A. Bank store nearest you.

Show them your APA membership card and mention APA's program ID number 184333, or

call their toll-free catalog number at 800-285-2265,or email a request to corporatecard@jos-a-bank.com.

(You must have a JoS. A. Bank card before you can receive a discount on purchases.)

JCPenney Portraits is an all-occasion portrait studio designed to provide high-quality portrait products for customers' needs. JCPenney Portraits provides portrait services for all occasions: newborn, birthday, first communion, holiday, graduation, engagement, adult and family portraits, passport photos and portrait greeting cards.

Click here to print your coupon and find a JCPenney Portrait Studio near you

At RecRooms USA, APA members receive 20%* off the MSRP of most billiard and pool accessories. Please use your APA membership number when ordering for verification. Visit our "APA members only" section and save NOW!

*Discount Exceptions: Additional discounts may not be applied to products from manufactures who have a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) restriction, such as Predator, Poison, and Viking.

Use Hertz Member Discount Card CDP#166708.

Place your reservation online at www.hertz.com or call 1-800-654-2200

Hertz offers APA members special year-round discounts on daily, weekly, weekend, and monthly rentals for business or pleasure, traveling in the U.S. or worldwide. Call 1-800-654-2200 or visit the Hertz web site at www.hertz.com to make your reservation. Use your Hertz Member Discount Card CDP#166708 at the time of rental. It’s that easy! For program information, membership cards and discount coupons, please call Hertz Association Sales at 1-800-375-4066.

Here is an another savings offered by fromyoubaskets.com and fromyouflowers.com! All APA members can receive $10 off their order with usaflorist.com as well! usaflorist.com offers a wide array of gorgeous floral options with same day delivery available nationwide. usaflorist.com is also known for its unparalleled customer service, and stands by its products with a 100% service and product guarantee.

APA members save 10% off your next installation with Granite Transformations

Minimum purchase of $3,000. Must mention your APA discount when scheduling your free in home consultation in order to receive this discount. Mention code GT loves APA. Not available at all locations. Please contact showroom for terms and details. Cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion.

Visit www.granitetransformations.com to schedule your free in home consultation.

Giftsnideas.com

Visit Giftsnideas.com and use coupon code “APA10” to take advantage of the 10% savings.

Use this link to place your order:  www.fromyoubaskets.com/apa

From You Baskets offers an extensive selection of gifts for any occasion. 

Our premiere baskets are filled with only the freshest items! 

Save an additional 5%* off already low prices at Frank's Center!   Order Hot Line:  800-666-9190.  Use APA Member Number to receive discount.

*Discount Exceptions: Products already on "Special" or "Limited Edition" items and products from manufacturers who have Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) restrictions, such as, Instroke, Predator, Poisonand Viking. In order to receive the 5% APA discount you phone in your order using our Order Hot Line 800-666-9190. To receive your discount, be sure to give us your APA Member number when you place your order!

Benefits of the Program include:

• A discounted rate pricing structure through the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand at all 7,500 home city locations and airport locations across the U.S.
• A discounted set rate for Commercial Truck Rental at all locations.
• An aggressive set rate at all national Car Rental locations that would also include one way rentals.
• Free Enrollment into Enterprise Plus
• Free enrollment into Emerald Club

Ways to book:

• Go to www.enterprise.com and use Corporate ID-01W1257 and PIN "APA"
• Call 1-800-Rent-Car (1-800-736-8227)
• Go to www.nationalcar.com and use Corporate ID-GCAMA001
• Call National at 1-800-Car-Rent  (1-800-227-7368)

How to enroll into Enterprise Plus, Enterprise’s loyalty program, and Emerald Club, National’s loyalty program:

Enterprise Plus

• Go to www.enterprise.com/plus
• Choose “sign up now”
• Enter your personal information on the left and Corporate ID and PIN “AME” on the right side. 
• You will automatically be sent a profile number to your email.

National Emerald Club

• Go to https://www.nationalcar.com/offer/gcama001

Click here for more information.

When you want it all, you’re ready for Cove Haven Entertainment Resort in the Pocono Mountains- the world’s most romantic resorts offering ALL-INCLUSIVE packages for every season. Our exclusive Getaway Club discount program helps heat things up like never before and saves you up to 50% off your all-inclusive escape. Relax in a luxurious suite featuring cozy fireplaces, in-room pools, heart-shaped whirlpools and more. With bigger entertainment, hotter romance and more excitement than ever before, there’s never been a better time to plan your perfect escape. Your ALL-INCLUSIVE escape features – unlimited breakfast & dinner, a luxurious suite, live nightly entertainment, Ultimate Adventures with your CXO, hot romance and endless excitement. That means everything you could possibly imagine is part of your stay. And don’t forget to indulge in one of the many new exciting things you’ll find…only here.

Call 800.245.8807 and mention GA# 19024 or visit CPResorts-Getaway.com for more information or to book your escape.

Company owners have 38 years of combined fishing experience and rod building expertise. It all began with the idea of producing superior quality fishing gear at affordable prices.

Visit www.boomerangfishing.com to view the selection of innovative rod designs hand-crafted exclusively in the USA. Then call (772) 340-5047 to place your order. Don’t forget to mention APA when you order to receive 10% off your rod purchase.

Boomerang Fishing offers:

• Lifetime Guarantee against Breakage
• Affordable prices for Superior Products
• Custom Craftsmanship to Match your Rods, Vessel, Logo, Color, or Original Design
• Personal Customer Service
• Rod Building Components and Fishing Accessories
• Ladies Fish Too! Custom Rods and Wraps for the Lady Anglers too!

*Discount Exceptions: Additional discounts may not be applied to products from manufactures who have a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) restriction, such as Predator, Poison, and Viking.

Save 5% to 25% on discountable retail and promotional rates.

Call your travel agent or the Avis Reservation Center at 1-800-331-1212,

or reserve online at www.avis.com. Use Avis Worldwide Discount (AWD) Number B656800.

• Receive a minimum 5% discount off the lowest available discountable retail rates in the contiguous USA and Canada!
• Receive up to a 25% discount off promotional rates in the USA!
• Plus, receive 10% to 20% off rates at 4,800 locations in over 140 countries worldwide!

AWD Number B656800 entitles you to a wide range of valuable services and savings, including:

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Whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, your membership in the APA entitles you to special rates.  APA Tournament Attendees: To receive deeper discounted rates mention AWD Number B656899 when making your reservation and use those coupons to save even more money!  Always ask for the best rate available for APA members!

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“It was one of my biggest accomplishments ever,” Lastrapes said about winning the event. “It was my first time ever winning anything. It let me know that anything is possible, even for me. Being determined made up for being a newer member with less experience.”

Davis is scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in September. When he found out about the deployment, he tried his best to qualify for Regionals so he could go to Vegas before leaving. He more than succeeded in that!

“While playing on my team one night out of Action Billiards, a homeless guy told me to do the things I love with all my heart. I took his advice,” Lastrapes said.  “I borrowed a book from my Team Captain, got tips from good players and started practicing more. Well, thank to God my dreams came true. When I qualified for Nationals, I focused on the basic fundamentals of pool. Soon I was in 9th Place, 5th Place, 3rd Place, then your 1st Place Champion!!!”

He first started playing pool just 2 ½ years ago. He and his wife went shopping for a dining room table and found a reasonably priced pool table for their dining room instead. He’s been playing ever since! Davis says there are two good pool tables on base, and are free to play on. So, this allows him to practice and play against others on non-League nights. He first got involved with the APA by seeing a poster in a bar.

Play the Player, NOT the Table

How many times has someone given you the advice to not worry about who your opponent is and just play the table? This statement is true if you’re talking about the mental game. Of course you don’t want to be intimidated by a strong player, or not try as hard against a weaker player. However, with regards to your actual PLAY (shot decisions, breaking strategies, and rhythm at the table) my advice is completely the opposite.

In matches with top level pros, it’s often a battle of break and runs so many times they’re only playing against themselves.  However, most of us aren’t top level pros, and 99% of the time, we aren’t going to break and run. This means we actually have to play against the other person.  In other sports, coaches and staff are paid millions and spend hours each week studying film, doing scouting reports and developing strategies for their upcoming games. So why should your strategy in pool be any different? Every player has strengths and weaknesses and both of those will come into play in most matches.

Identifying Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Many times you won’t know your opponent, so you probably won’t know their game very well either. Before you can think about exploiting your opponent’s weaknesses, you have to understand your own game.  This is sometimes tricky because most players don’t analyze their game very well.  This could be because you’re just not paying that much attention to the mistake you made when you lost, or it could be because you’re not being honest with yourself about why you lost a particular game.

In my first year playing pool, my instructor suggested I read an article by Tom Simpson called “100 Misses” (http://www.poolclinics.com/pdf/TS13.PDF).  This is a great tool to assess what your weaknesses are, as long as you can be completely critical about your own game.  This article tells you to record information about your next 100 misses.  This could be a missed shot, a missed safety, missed shape for your next shot or even failing to make something off your break.  It’s important to record the type of shot you missed as well as the reason why you missed it.  The “why you missed it” part is the key to understanding your weaknesses.  Sometimes you’ll lose because you run the table and miss a tough shot towards the end of the rack.  But did you lose because you missed a tough shot that you need to practice, or did you lose because you played bad shape to get to that ball in your run? Maybe that particular pattern to play shape on that ball is what you have trouble with, rather than the hard shot you missed. So be critical of why you missed or lost a game. After 100 records, you’ll see patterns of what usually goes wrong in your game. 

Many players don’t like to focus on their weaknesses, and as a result, don’t like to practice those shots.  But, why would you only practice the things you already do well? So once you identify your weaknesses, take some time to work on getting better at those types of shots. 

Strengths are usually a little easier to identify, but aren’t necessarily as overt as your weaknesses.  Weaknesses can be specific shots, while strengths are usually overall concepts.  For instance, some play their best when they are in a good rhythm; others are intimidating because they are aggressive players. My strength is my knowledge of safeties and kicking systems. When I win against a player that is higher ranked than me, it is usually because I won the close safety battles, not because I was able to run out more than them. 

My First WPBA Win

In my first WPBA event of 2009, my first round match was a blur. I played Ga Young Kim, and although I won the first two games, ultimately I was no match for her. After that loss, I had to play a girl from my area. She had been our tour champion and a WPBA exempt player for several years and I’d never managed to beat her before.  She’s a steady player, much slower than Ga Young Kim, but equally as capable of running out.  Going into the match I decided that trying to out-run her was not going to work. I needed to stick more to my strengths.  In doing so, I played many safeties after the break and focused on controlling the table and only taking high percentage offensive shots.  The safety plays seemed to get her off of her rhythm when she would get an open table and she was not able to complete her run-outs as often as usual. Or, I would successfully get ball-in-hand after safeties and was able to get a comfortable lead in the match.  In the end, I won the match 9-5 and finally beat a player that I was unable to beat in the past. In the past, I always fell into her style of play and tried to be better than her at HER game.  That almost never works. So stick to your strengths, have confidence in what you know you do best, and continually analyze your own game. 

Being constructively critical of your game and abilities (which change all the time) will help you develop at a faster rate and help you win against players who are arguably stronger than you. Next time you find yourself down in a match, think about the games that already took place, analyze what you’re doing well and what went wrong thus far in the match and decide how you can fix it before that match is over. Think about changing your game plan and you just might come out ahead.

Visit cristinadlg.blogspot.com to follow my tournament travels and email me with questions at crisdlg2005@yahoo.com.

Planting The Seed

Cristina at the 2006 U.S. Amateur Championships.

Through the APA I met many incredible people, including several women that have also earned their WPBA exempt status or regularly play in WPBA events.  In the years that I qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship in Atlanta, I became friends with Michell Monk from Florida, who later won the U.S. Amateur Championship and is now a WPBA exempt player.  Although we’ve had to compete against each other on the table, we are friends off the table. Michell often volunteers to help me with rides from the airport or a place to stay when I come to tournaments in her area. Recently, Michell and I signed on as part of Team Gambler and will join another fellow APA player, Betty Sessions, to represent the pool and poker clothing company, Gambler Clothing. Other former APA players who are also now exempt players on the WPBA Classic Tour are Amy Chen and Denise Belanger, just to name a few.

Yu Ram Cha, Samm Diep and Cristina at the finals of the Predator World 10-Ball Invitational where Cristina and Samm worked for InsidePOOL Magazine.

Video interviews from my most recent trip to Spain can be found at www.Predator10Ball.com.

My Introduction to APA

I am a very competitive person by nature. Because of that, I don’t like to play sports that I am not good at or at least have some potential to be good at. However, when I first started playing pool, I was definitely below average, and like many beginning players, I had no idea how much I didn’t know about the game.

I was out with some friends one night when a mutual friend asked me to join their APA team. I enjoyed playing pool for fun while killing time between classes in college, so I thought it would be a fun thing to do since I just moved back to town.  At the time, I never could have imagined where this game would take me and the incredible places I would see.

While playing in a local weekly tournament I happened to meet a local instructor and began taking lessons with him.  Not knowing what to expect in our first lesson I went in very open-minded.

Cristina with her instructor, Rod Gustafson, at the Las Vegas airport after a national tournament.

The next thing he told me was probably one of the most valuable things I ever learned in pool, “At the level you want to be playing, everyone can run out an open table. The player that controls the table the best when it’s not an open layout is the one that will win matches.”

Pro Players Play Safeties, Too

When we think about pro players, we often think about break and runs and how consistent their shot making abilities are.  We don’t often think about their incredible safety abilities. But, the concept is genius! I don’t have to be able to run nine balls if I can play good safeties.  I only have to be able to run a few balls at a time, play a good safety shot, and then run a few more balls. With this in mind, my instructor taught me a handful of routine safeties that come up regularly before he ever taught me patterns.

The first thing to learn about playing safety shots is to judge when to use them.  Sometimes you play a safety shot when there are no offensive choices.  Other times you do have an offensive shot, but maybe it’s a difficult shot that you have a low percentage of making and successfully getting shape on your next ball.  In both of those scenarios, it’s fairly easy to decide on playing safe. 

There are instances, though, where playing a safety shot is not so obvious. Sometimes, in 8-Ball for instance, you have several open shots, but one or two balls that are tied up.  This is a good time to consider playing safe. Remember, a safety or defensive shot can also be a shot where you simply are not attempting to pocket a ball. You don’t necessarily have to be trying to “hook” your opponent, but rather just create a more favorable layout for yourself. Even though you may have available offensive shots, it’s not always to your advantage to run out those open balls, particularly if you run down to the point where all you have left are the one or two balls that are tied up.  If your remaining balls are tied up and your opponent has open balls, there is a high percentage chance that your opponent will win that game. So rather than get down to that point, you can play a safety earlier in the rack to make the layout better for yourself later in the game. In this type of situation you can do a number of things. You can move one of your balls to a position that blocks one or more of your opponent’s shots. You can move one of your balls closer to your tied up balls so you can later use that ball to break out the tied up balls. Pool is much like a chess game, you want to be the one that makes the last move—almost winning doesn’t count.

The next thing to learn about safeties is how to ensure you get the most out of the shot.  This concept is most effective in 9-Ball because you are usually trying to hide the object ball from your opponent.  When first beginning to play safeties, many players try to do too much with the shot.  It’s very difficult to control two balls at once, so start out by just trying to control one: the cue ball OR the object ball. We aren’t perfect and the balls aren’t always going to do what we want them to do, so keep it simple.  Think about how you WANT the balls to end up and then decide which one is more important.  If you get the cue ball where you want it to go, but not the object ball, will it still be an okay safety? Or is it better if you get the object ball where you want it, but not the cue ball? Obviously you want to try to get the balls exactly where you want them; decide which one is most important before trying to execute the shot.

Safeties are a very important part of the game and that doesn’t change when you begin to play at higher levels.  The safeties just get more precise and deadly.  I’m still not at the point where my shot making ability can keep up with the top WPBA pros, so I have to rely on my safeties and kicking. But I know that if I stick to my game plan and just control the table, I’m much more likely to get more chances at the table and that greatly increases my chances of winning.

APA also managed to snap a picture of APA members Jen Biron, Heather Lakatos, and Cyndy Sawyer, along with Miss Ewa herself as she is lovingly referred to by many of the players in the area.  Before Cyndy was called off to compete in the 9-Ball side of her team’s double jeopardy division, she took a minute to explain her APA “family tree”, which includes her husband Bob and their three sons, all of whom have competed in several local APA pool leagues, including nearby Raleigh, Durham, Chapel-Hill APA of North Carolina.  “The boys” came within one hill match of qualifying for the APA National Team Championship recently, and Cyndy was called in for moral support during the event.  And while the boys didn’t win this time, they did promise Cyndy a road trip of her own to fabulous Las Vegas the day they do qualify for the APA’s biggest stage.  Hold them to that promise Cyndy!

 

He recently renovated the upper level of “The Mayfield Grill”, once a 250-seat movie theater in the early 1920s, a fact confirmed by a certificate of compliance discovered in a wall during recent construction.  In addition to showing movies for as little as 15 cents a ticket, a stage was erected from time to time for professional boxing matches!  Chaffee recently turned this room into a banquet hall that doubles as additional space for APA weekly league play.  His goal was to retain and highlight the room’s previous life as a movie house, so he refinished the hardwood floors, made of locally milled maple, and paid homage to the cinema with posters and drapes recalling the classics—John Wayne photos even make an appearance or two on the walls of this cozy old room with a view. 

As always, Dr. Cue’s performance was amazing and the fans had a great time. Tom got the crowd involved by asking a volunteer - 9 year old Austin Carr - to help execute a trick shot.  Austin was put to the test, but came through with flying colors.  Austin and his 10 year old brother, Hunter, were involved in the show again later in the evening when Tom set up for his version of the Boot Shot. Instead of using a boot from the crowd he used Austin & Hunter's tennis shoes.

The owner of King’s Table, Dean Liakaos, was a gracious host to APA and everyone there.  Dean was involved in the first challenge match of the evening, which turned into a banking contest that ended up with the two competitors agreeing to a draw.  Dr. Cue played a few more fans that night and then we moved on to the autograph and photo session. The line was long, but Tom made sure that anyone who wanted a photo and autograph got one.

• The new changes and upcoming events in the Riverside APA
• To watch, and even play, two Professional Poolplayers who came out (Thanks Dave and Rhiana!!!!!)
• Test their luck trying to win one of the numerous prizes Local League Operator Kim Pankonin was awarding
• And let’s face it, have a few drinks, a few laughs and shoot some pool!! 

You can add to KT’s list Randall’s great sense of humor.  When the APA showed him pictures we took of him warming up before his match, he commented on how well we “captured his lack of hair,” which he of course thanked us for between a laugh and another swig of beer.

First, of course, are fundamentals. You know about stance, and what someone who is fundamentally sound looks like over the ball.  I am not going to talk about stance here, or grip, bridges or arm position.  There are hundreds of articles on those things, and I have always wanted to write something a little different than the standard information available anywhere. 

Instead, I am writing about addressing the ball properly in the line of the shot.  When I give lessons, only maybe 1 out of 20 players somewhat does this correctly.  That is why it is my Number One tip when giving a lesson.  In pool, like many other sports such as golf or bowling, consistency—doing the same thing over and over—is important.  A person who plays golf would never haphazardly step into their stance, and someone who wants to bowl a strike would never approach the lane at any odd angle.  Why do people do this in pool?  I often watch someone come off their previous shot, walk around to their next one, and slide right into the shot. 

You need to get down on each shot the same way, every time.  Step back from the shot, standing in the line of the shot, and then step in the same way every time.  Your approach to one shot should look exactly the same on the next shot you shoot. While you are standing up in the line of the shot, you should be looking at position for the next ball. Pinpoint where you would like the cue ball to end up and what angle you would like to have.  How can you do this when you get off one shot, walk around to the next, and instantly get down on the ball!?  Every time you are behind a shot, you should be chalking your cue stick, and formulating a concrete plan for that shot.  This is your pre-shot routine.  Giving yourself enough time to see the line, chalk your cue stick, and formulate a plan for the run out or safety play.  It is difficult to describe a pre-shot routine. I have posted a link to the YouTube video at the end of the article to illustrate this for you. 

In the video, you will hear me talk about visualization.  This is the most important thing I do when playing position.  It is one thing to see a shot and say to yourself that you would like to see the cue ball end up in a certain position on the table after your shot.  I used to do that for years until one day I added a facet to that.  Instead of just saying to yourself where you would like to place the cue ball in your pre-shot routine, actually visualize the cue ball moving along a path to where it needs to go.  Before I shoot l, I determine where I want the cue ball to end up, but I also see it hit the object ball in the pocket, and then I visualize how it will come off the object ball, where it will hit the rail, and the angle it will come off that rail to get to the place I want it to go.  When I first started doing this (after about seven years of playing), I saw that sometimes the end place where I picked for my cue ball to end up wasn’t reasonable.  After I took the time to visualize the path that the cue ball would have to take, I realized that it just couldn’t get there.  That is why adding the visualization part to playing position and not just identifying the end position of the cue ball is one of my greatest tips.

Next, when you get down on your shot, stay focused on the object ball and the exact spot where your cue ball needs to make contact to pocket the object ball.  Do not get down on your shot looking only at the cue ball!  Trust me, you will not hit the cue ball accurately with your cue stick if you do not get down and look at the entire length of the shot.  With the entire shot in your perspective, and as long as you are addressing the ball properly, stepping into it straight, your body will naturally get in line with the shot.  If you only get down on your shot looking at the cue ball, then the entire length of the shot is not within your sight, and you could get down on it on any sort of line.  

Lastly, when you are finally ready to shoot, always look at the exact spot on the object ball where you want the cue ball to hit.  You must never look at the cue ball last.  You must trust that you will strike the cue ball where you have aimed—and you will—if your stroke is straight.  If it isn’t, then you are missing and must practice to fix that separately.

The next part I would like to cover is playing smart position.  I am going to discuss the concept of playing “in-line” of the next shot.  There are generally two ways to play position for your next ball, and that is playing “in-line” or “crossing the line.”  Look at the diagram below.  You have ball-in-hand and you want to play the 1-ball first to the 6- ball.  You have two options in placing ball-in-hand.   The first diagram below is an example of one placement for the cue ball.  This would be the incorrect choice.  The line of the shot is the green line, the 6-ball.  When figuring out where to place ball-in-hand for the next shot, you always want to choose the path where the cue ball will travel more closely this line of the 6-ball.  You can see, if you were to place the ball as I have here and go to the two rails, you cross this line of the 6-ball.

This first diagram is an example of “crossing the line,” not what you want to do.

 

The second diagram below is where you would want to place the cue ball with ball-in-hand to get the best position on the 6-ball.  In this diagram, the cue ball more naturally follows the line of the 6-ball shot.  I added a little outside or left hand spin in this case, so the cue ball widens on the bottom rail and even follows the line more closely. 

You can see in the above diagram that the cue ball path marked in blue more closely follows the line.  This is important because that means that the shot is not wholly speed dependant.  No matter how hard or soft you hit this ball you will most likely have a shot on the 6-ball because you followed the line.  In the first diagram, you can see that you have to hit it perfectly to be on the line.  Also, hit it too soft and you are going to have to back cut the 6-ball; hit it too hard and you may come underneath it.  I go over these two diagrams on my YouTube video. Here’s the link:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pU5vBK3kvI

I have enjoyed writing these articles for you this year!  I hope that what I have written has helped you in some way, whether you are a SL3 or a SL7.  Please, if you have anything you would like to share about any of my articles, or have anything to say in parting, write to me at tina@tinapawloski.com.  Also, if you see me at an APA event, come up and say hello!

Blue Ridge APA League Operator Vicki Catalano, and her husband Dave, turned their passion for pool into their life’s work in December 2006.  Since then, they’ve worked tirelessly to introduce APA in Asheville, N.C. and surrounding towns.  The area now has over 75 teams and nearly 500 members!  Ask Vicki what she likes most about her new calling, and she’ll happily share any number of stories, like this one involving APA members Steve and Beth Kasper.

The APA stopped at Fat Cat’s pool hall during Tuesday night league where we watched Steve Kasper during his 9-Ball match.  Schmelke Looney Tunes, as Steve and Beth’s 9-Ball team was known at the time, went on to win the Local Team Championship at the end of the Spring Session, earning the right to represent Blue Ridge APA at the National Team Championships this past August.  They decided to make the most out of their trip to fabulous Las Vegas and renew their wedding vows as a way of celebrating their five-year wedding anniversary.  Unfortunately, money was tight, and a Vegas vow renewal ceremony can be pricey, so they decided against the idea.

First, the Cue Stick!

I have many people ask me what kind of cue stick I recommend, what kind of cue stick I play with, and the differences between various shafts on the market.  I’ll start with how I came to play with the cue stick I use now.  In the beginning, I picked up a lot of cue sticks and hit balls with them to determine what kind of “hit” I liked to feel from various cues, and how much deflection each inherently had.

What is deflection you may ask?  Deflection is the amount that the cue stick effectively shoots out the cue ball when applying english. After playing with the Meucci, I moved on to a custom cue stick (meaning not production made, produced by hand by a person) made by Jerry Franklin, called a Southwest.  The Southwest has a much more firm hit, which I liked, and produced less deflection than the Meucci did.  Over the years, after I let go of the Southwest, I picked up everyone else’s cues to zero in on what I liked best. Cues also aren’t a matter of cost.  There was awhile in 1996 I played with an $80 Cuetec cue because I loved it from the first shot I took with it.  Currently, I play with a Bob Hunter custom cue.  Each cue built by him, in my experience, not only hits well, but also is a beautiful piece of art.  I have been playing with this cue for 13 years, and it will be the last cue stick I own.  When you find something you like, don’t sell it!  I am constantly reminded of how lucky I am to have something that is perfect for me. Even though I could sell it today for $2,000 – I would never dream of doing such a thing.

What would make a cue stick so expensive?  First, when a cue is made by hand and not production made, that adds to the cost.  Also, custom cue makers such as Mr. Hunter use exotic woods such as cocobolo, ebony, birds-eye maple, zebrawood and Indian rosewood. Many use precious metals such as silver and sometimes gold.  It is also standard to use ivory, which my cue has a lot of. 

For the beginning player looking for a quality, but a less expensive cue, I like the Cuetec brand and even have hit well with a couple of Lucasi brand cues.  You can get the Cuetec cue for less than around $100 for their introductory line, on up to around $250. The Lucasi is more in the $150-$250 and up range.  Cuetec cues are also made to cut down on deflection, so it may be easier to use for some. Don’t be afraid to bargain a little for your cue; most stores you go into will come down on the price. Please stay away from three-piece cues.  The more you cut into a solid piece of wood meant to be a cue stick, the less solid it is and you can feel this in the hit.

Bob Hunter Custom Cues: http://www.huntercues.com/gallery/main.php

Contact: huntercues@yahoo.com

Cuetec Cues: http://www.cuetec.com/

I have also been asked about buying separate shafts that promise to cut down on the deflection imparted to the cue ball.  I do not use these shafts myself.  I started playing pool (17 years ago) before companies started engineering shafts to take away deflection. The reason I personally do not play with these shafts is I like that I know how to account for deflection with my conventional shaft, and that my shaft produces a hit that throws the cue a bit more off the line.  I feel like I can do more with the cue ball because of this mastery of the amount of deflection.  For those starting out and/or just learning english, any one of these shafts may help you produce the desired results more often and faster than taking the time to learn how the conventional shaft imparts spin.  These engineered shafts make it so you can hit straighter at the contact point, taking away the need to judge so carefully, and making it so you have more successful shots more often.

Most people like having a break cue in their case.  I have never played with one.  I break with my regular playing cue, and have since I’ve owned it.  You will do no damage to your regular playing cue by breaking with it – unless of course it is a very cheap cue.  The only reason to have a break cue is that it may prolong the longevity and shape of the tip on your regular playing cue.  I would generally recommend you go with a heavier break cue than a lighter one.  Some players like to use those with a phenolic only or a phenolic/leather tip blend. In the end, you want to pick a break cue that is the most natural for you to yield in a power shot such as the break, while maintaining optimum control of the cue ball.

Let’s learn about the cue tip!

Ahhh, so many options!  What you need to determine first is if you want a conventional one layer tip, or a stacked, laminated tip.  A laminated tip is one that normally has 10 layers of either boar hide or pig leather, glued and compressed together.  The conventional tip is one that has been cut out of a various animal hide and compressed, but is only one layer.  The one layer tip such as Le Pro or Triangle tips are the least expensive options to have installed on your cue.  The layered tips can run up to $40-$50 installed.  The layered tips promise to deliver more of a consistent tip, and wear down slower than a conventional one layer tip would.  These tips will keep their shape longer, and tend to “mushroom” less.

There are many different layered tips on the market. Tiger Products makes many different kinds of layered tips, which you can find on a lot of Cuetec cues, called the Sniper, Everest and Dynamite options.  You may be asked about what shape you would like – either a “dime” or a “nickel” shape, when you have your cue tip replaced.  Dime means that you would like your tip more rounded, versus a nickel being less rounded.  What’s the difference?  A more rounded tip will give you more spin on the ball when hitting away from the center axis. Almost all professionals play with this shape of a tip. A less rounded tip will help impart less spin on the cue ball.  Also, tips come in various hardness levels: soft, medium and hard.  The softer the tip, the more it grabs the cue ball, the more spin it will impart.  Also, the softer the tip, the more propensity it has to mushroom out of the sides, losing its shape.  The harder it is, the less spin it may impart, the more it might miscue, but keeps its shape longer.  Most pros play with a medium-hard, or a hard tip.

Care and Maintenance of your Cue Stick…

I actually do not clean my shaft at all.  I like it to be semi-dirty, as I can feel the shaft run through my fingers.  The only time it gets cleaned up at all is when I get a new tip.  Keep in mind, any time you apply sandpaper, or the little green scrub pads – anything – you take material off your playing cue that cannot be put back.  I know people who have had their cues for 25 years.  If they took a little piece of 200 grit sandpaper on it every other month, they wouldn’t have much of a shaft left.  If you want to clean it between tips, using a towel to wipe it, it is okay as long as it has nothing on it.   It is simply not necessary to do this to a shaft often.  You can use all of those products out on the market, but just know you might be investing in a new shaft if you keep your cue for any lengthy period of time.  This also goes for maintaining tips.  I do not use any tip tools.  Anytime you grind, prick, or rub at the tip, you take away tip material and shorten the life of the tip.  Many pros I know just have a little square of 80 grit sandpaper that they either press (not grind!) into the tip or very lightly go over with.  This is truly all you need if you find the tip is a bit glazed over.  There is no need to scrape away this tip layer so vigorously. When you chalk your cue, try to be discerning about the cube of chalk you use.  Do not use one that is too pitted, as the edges can scratch and discolor the ferrule.

Equipment I love to own!

There are a few things in my case that I always have with me.  First and easiest are a couple of cubes of chalk.  You never know where you have to travel to play pool, so you should always have what you need, versus relying on the Host Location.  You don’t want to end up with those scratches in the ferrule mentioned above because you didn’t have your own.  Not relying on a Host Location’s bridge applies here also. I really like Tiger’s Corona Bridge Head.  This is a soft leather bridge that affixes on the end of any cue.  It is way better than the white plastic options you’ll find under most tables!  I also have a bridge that is very adjustable, just in case.  I have a bridge called the Justa Bridge that allows me the height that no other bridge does, so that I can jack up over a ball and still apply draw to the cue ball.  Lastly, if I absolutely need to smooth out something on my shaft, like a little nick or something sticky, then I have Tiger’s Shaft Smoother & Burnisher.  It has two sides, so I can clean my shaft without water.  Lastly, as the coach on my team, I have a neat little magnetic table so that when I want to explain a shot later, I can diagram it.  Samm’s Pocket also has a lot of other fun pool related items, since the holidays are right around the corner!

Tiger Corona Bridge Head: http://www.tigerproducts.com/store/product.php?productid=16187&cat=248&page=1

Justa Bridge: http://www.pooldawg.com/product/justa-bridge-billiards-bridge

Tiger Shaft Smoother & Burnisher: http://www.tigerproducts.com/store/product.php?productid=16195&cat=248&page=1

Magnetic Pool Table Diagram Tool: http://store.sammspocket.com/mac20.html

Finally, the Cue Ball!

The cue ball that is normally played with is called an Aramith red circle, because it has a little red circle on it.  It is incorrect to call this cue ball a “red dot.”  There is a different cue ball that actually has a red dot, so that moniker should be saved for when talking directly about that cue ball.  The “red circle” is the most accepted ball when playing in most arenas.  It is less dense than the measle ball, the ball with all of the red dots on it. The measle ball is also called the Aramith Pro Cup cue ball.  I much prefer playing with the Aramith red circle ball, as it reacts in a predictable way and generally plays “lighter” than the measle ball.  The measle rolls further, but draws less.  The pros play with the measle ball now.  It has been determined better for television, so they adjusted to learning how to play with it.  There has been a huge discussion on the differences between the two balls, and I could write another article just on that.  In the end, you can do more with a red circle, as it is more in line with the standard weight and density of the rest of the object balls, so I like it better.

I hope this article answered many of the questions regarding the many choices we have in the billiard industry! Please email me any questions or comments you may have at tina@tinapawloski.com.

2 Plus 2- For You!

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 3.0

CONFIDENCE FACTOR: 6 minutes per day for 3 days

SETUP/POSITION: 4-ball on foot spot; 3-ball frozen to 4-ball and setup aim line to right edge of BR as we stand behind setup; Cue ball in straight line to 3-ball and on the straight line created by 1 diamond to left of TC and 1 diamond left of BC; 1-ball frozen to (c) aimed to left edge of TC and 2-ball frozen to (c) aimed to right edge of BC (toward BL).
DOUBLE CHECK SETUP!

BALL(S) POCKETED/OBJECTIVE: : Cue ball is aimed to (a) and shot straight with cue extension -- 1-ball in TC, 2-ball in BC, 3-ball in TR, and 4-ball in BR. Cue ball must not scratch and end up on foot half of table for shot to count. (Right of dash line -- foot spot to foot rail.)

The ability for a player not shooting to be able to call a timeout is one of the reasons I like the APA over other Leagues.  Many of the lower skill levels that play on my team try to learn something from me by observing my play and getting instruction during timeouts. For these players to learn the most—and for you as a coach to learn the most about them—the following things should always happen.

One of the most important things I do is wait until I see what the player is going to do before I call a timeout.  Many times the higher skilled player sees a problem situation that the player is in and immediately calls a timeout.  When I join a new team, I tell my teammates that when I call a timeout, it may be when they are down on a ball.  It is wasteful to call a timeout before you give the player a chance to look at the layout.  Many times, they will come up with the right shot.  It may not occur as fast as you may have seen it, but they can come up with it.  It is wrong to assume that because you are a SL6 and they are a SL3, they are incapable of seeing what to shoot.

I didn’t start playing in the APA until I was a higher skill level player myself, so my experience with timeouts comes from when I used to play scotch doubles events with men that were champions.  I used to hate when they would come over to help me before I even looked at the table.  I would get so frustrated because in many cases I would have figured the shot out without help. I carried that experience with me when I starting coaching APA League members.  I will call a timeout before they are down on the ball, only if I see they are going to shoot the wrong ball.  Typically, I will wait until they are shooting at the right ball, but are cueing at the wrong axis of the ball.  I know it can be startling at first, but when they know why I call timeouts the way I do, they understand it is because I am truly trying to give them every opportunity to shoot assistance free and be their own player.

Next, whether they call the timeout, or I do, I always ask them what they were thinking and planning to do.  Do not just start saying what you want them to do!  You lose the perfect opportunity to understand your player and how they approach the game if you just start talking. Telling them something like this in the middle of a match is much more powerful than trying to set up balls later for them.  In the middle of it, while they are still thinking and seeing it, lasts longer than trying to recreate what occurred before.  You know what?  Sometimes, just sometimes, they have a better idea then I had.

When they tell me something that wouldn’t have worked, I use that coaching time to tell them shooting that ball would have resulted in a scratch, or shooting that stripe could have resulted in the cue ball knocking in the 8-ball, etc.  I then quickly show them the tangent in that case so they see it.  I then move on and tell them why I want them to shoot my shot.  I don’t just tell them what to shoot, I tell them why.  I then ask if they are comfortable with the shot I have suggested.  If they are, great!  If they aren’t, I really try to find another option for them.  The greatest suggestion of the right shot makes no difference if the player cannot execute it.  That brings me to my next point.

Do not ever, ever, coach above someone’s skill level!   I cannot tell you how many times I have heard coaches telling SL2s or SL3s, and even some SL4s, to spin this ball with left inside english, and come two rails over there.  Are you kidding me?  Invariably it is a coach who gave his timeout loudly enough (like he/she is on stage) so everyone can hear it.  This person wants others, including the player he/she is coaching, to be impressed with their knowledge of the proper shot.  The shot is only proper with a higher skill level shooting it.  It becomes the wrong shot when you tell a SL3 to shoot it.  You make the lower skilled player feel like a failure for not being able to execute your shot.  We are here to make their playing experience more successful—that’s it.  I have always found a shot during a proper timeout for a SL3 or SL4 by having them use the top, bottom or center of the cue ball.  The only time I may have one of these skill levels use a sidespin is if they are kicking at a ball, and they have to widen the angle or shorten it.  Using english this way is simple because you do not have to account for deflection in pocketing a ball.  All that happens here is that you hit the cue ball on the side and the ball goes to that side.

Coaches need to understand that this is ultimately not their match.  The suggestions we give for what shot to shoot should be in the end, just that, a suggestion.  I always tell players when I join their team that when I give a timeout, the shot I am telling them is the shot I would have them shoot.  It is still their match, and if they want to try some other reasonable shot, then that is their decision.  A timeout is about communication, and not the one-way kind.  The player getting coached should always be able to reject a timeout or voice when they are not comfortable with a suggestion. One of the only exceptions is if you know the shot they want to shoot is impossible. I will not allow someone to shoot something I know is impossible, because they do not know it is.  This person is still playing on my team, and even though the match is his own, he is playing for the collective. 

In the end, timeouts should help both skill levels.  The higher skilled player should gain an understanding of the lower skilled player at almost every timeout. And the lower skilled player should truly be helped by the suggestion given.  The shot suggested needs to be the right one for the player getting coached, not the right one for the coach. 

I love to hear your questions and comments!  Please send any you have to tina@tinapawloski.com.  I look forward to hearing from you.

3 Balls, 3 Pockets & 3 Cushions!

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 2.9

CONFIDENCE FACTOR: 5 minutes, 48 seconds per day for 3 days

SETUP/POSITION: 1-ball slightly left and 1 inch out from pocket BC; 2-ball frozen to 1-ball and aim setup line for (1) - (2) is to left center of TC; 3-ball on center edge of pocket TR; Cue ball 1 diamond segment back of 2-ball and in a straight line with 2-ball as you stand behind it. Maintain good fundamental form! DOUBLE CHECK SETUP!

BALL(S) POCKETED/OBJECTIVE: Shoot cue ball (c) to aim point (a) on 2-ball. 1-ball will drop in BC, 2-ball will travel to BL and drop, and cue ball will travel to (r) on #1 cushion and make 2 more cushion contacts on head and #3 before making 3-ball in pocket TR.

What is the best way to prepare yourself to play a person with a skill level (SL) much lower than your own?  I'm a SL6, and I often have to play SL3s.

Many times during League play or at Nationals, we have to play people that are not close to our skill level, whether higher or lower.  It can be frustrating on both ends of the spectrum, so I will address the higher to lower skill level matchup, as well as what the lower skilled player competing with a higher skilled player should be thinking about.  It definitely can take you out of your comfort zone when you compete in a match with someone who is not near your skill level.

Viewpoints of a higher skilled player . . . When a higher skilled player competes with another higher skilled player, there is a certain amount of familiarity to the number of safeties—especially the safeties that are intended to be played—and the overall pace of the game. It is a longer race.  If you make a mistake (like making an early 8-ball), there is a whole match of either a 5-5 race, or a 5-4 race to "battle" back and play through this error. When playing a SL2 or SL3, that luxury definitely doesn't exist. If you make an error and lose a game, the other player at the lower tier may only have to win one more game. I know this puts many higher skilled players on edge. You start pointing out all of the rolls when the lower skilled player missed a ball and got safe (again!), or when a ball rolls in front of your hole for the 8-ball and/or clusters up your balls when previously they were all out in the open. I know. I have seen it happen during many of my matches with these players— many innings in a row!  All of this is just one facet of what happens. The mental side of this matchup can also have the higher skilled player playing much more wide open, or haphazardly. After seeing a SL2 or SL3 miss the balls they do, the higher skilled player will sometimes play faster, or try to run out when there is no out, sending the cue ball into a large cluster to break out balls without paying attention to how the balls would spread, etc.  When a higher skilled player competes with another player of their caliber, he/she will play more carefully.  We pay attention to exactly how to break out that cluster.  We do not make a ball until we know we can run out fully.  We play focused and at a steady pace.

Ultimately, what needs to happen is you have to play everyone the same. You have to play that SL2 or SL3 the exact same way you would against the best SL7 (in 8-ball) or SL9 (in 9-ball), or any other pro that you respect. I, myself, visualize playing Efren Reyes. If my goal is to play the best shot, the best way I know how, why would it matter who I am playing? If I'm playing Efren, you can bet that I am doing everything that I have written in previous articles—not caring about the rolls, staying even-tempered, and focusing with quiet, determined concentration.  I realize it takes a lot of discipline to watch a SL2 shoot the way they do at times, and then regard them the same as you would Jeanette Lee. It is not exactly respect for the other player you are showing by doing this, but ultimately a respect for the game itself. No matter the opponent, you take what the table presents you—no matter who positioned the layout for you that way— and do the absolute best option your knowledge and practice affords you. Do not readily assume a SL2 or SL3 cannot run out if the balls are open. We have all seen it happen, or have heard stories of it happening to other people. Don't let this happen to you because you rushed a shot, or took a "flyer" that you had no business shooting because the shot looked fun and impressive. Taking these shots would lose the game for you against Efren; it is better to assume the same when playing a SL3.

There are only a few instances I would approve of doing some things when competing with a lower skilled player that you may not ordinarily do when you compete against another higher skilled player.  One such situation is when you have only the 8-ball left and you are safe behind a ball. If you have to kick at the 8-ball and it looks like if you hit it at the wrong speed or on the wrong side that you might scratch, give the SL2 or SL3 ball-in-hand, and don't take the kick. Now, you don't have to just pick up the ball-in-hand and give it to them. You can shoot at one of their balls to tie up another one of their balls, or move an unfavorable ball of theirs out of the way of the pocket the 8-ball is positioned toward. Ideally, the SL2 or SL3 would have many of their balls on the table, in a cluster. Again, you could make one for them if they do not have a cluster already. This way, you could play to your opponent's weakness, where I have been advocating to only notice what is on the table. The difference is to do it intelligently and thoughtfully. You are playing to their weakness because that is a better option than kicking at a dangerous ball that could give away the game in one shot. There are almost always exceptions to most rules, and this is one.

Viewpoints of a lower skilled player . . . It is almost always nervousness that gets the best of you in this matchup. You often feel like the match won't be fun for you if you think this player will run out all the time, or this kind of pressure is just overwhelming at your experience level. You have to take this as an opportunity! Normally, when a SL2 is put up against a SL7 (8-ball), it is rarely with the expectation that you will be the favorite in the matchup. You do not need to feel any pressure that you have to win exactly.  All you can do, and all anyone on your team can (or should) expect, is that you will do the best you can to make the balls that you are able to make at the given time. I would hate to see you miss balls because you believe that there is added pressure. I know we all want to win, and you can! You will come to find out, the first step to winning more often is when you quit caring about winning so much. I'm not saying don’t be competitive. You should want to do as well as you can based solely on that, wanting to do well for you. Playing this way will result in a win more times than if you are focused more on winning versus playing as well as you can. Again, do not be focused on the "win," but instead be focused on playing as well as you can.

When you find out that you have been thrown up against a higher skilled player, welcome the challenge! So many SL4s and SL5s wish they had the opportunity to play these great players more often. As the saying goes, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall." It is almost always a greater victory to defeat someone who is widely respected, and I guarantee you, if you are the person to make a SL7 "fall," it will definitely make your night, and encourage you. To some, playing like that could definitely be viewed as a "risk." There you are, center stage in front of no less than 10 people, playing this highly skilled player. Again, with great risk, comes a great reward.  But what really is this risk to you? You get the opportunity to play this higher skilled player, with no true expectation (other than your own) to win. You really are in the best spot possible if you think about it. All the "glory" but really, no risk. The risk to some is their own ego; losing in front of these people. SL2s and SL3s need to be realistic here. If someone has an ego, it should be owned because someone truly has an ability worthy of having an "abundant confidence" about it. If you are a SL2 or SL3, you simply aren't there yet. It is like if I were to get upset or embarrassed trying to par a hole playing golf at Torrey Pines. I have only played golf sparingly; what business do I have getting upset or having an ego playing something I have not put that much practice into? I enjoy playing golf for the sheer fun of it, and you should feel the same way about pool.

If you come across a higher skilled player that is complaining that they have to play you, let them complain. This only makes them shoot not as well as you may have seen them play others of their caliber. There are many problems higher skilled players make for themselves while playing you; take advantage of that. Just try to play your game the best you know how. Do not get nervous because of who they are. Just try to make a ball.  Think of a way that you can move your ball in front of a pocket that would obstruct your opponent from pocketing a ball, something simple. Just push balls around if you can't make one, in a way that you feel would be the most difficult for them to run out. That's it.

In the end, it's about welcoming the challenge no matter what skill level you are. For the higher skilled player, it is accepting the challenge as presented and digging deep for the discipline to play everyone the same. You need to play "tight and right" against anyone you play. For the lower skilled player, it is about having the opportunity to really be the star that night, to stand out above all the expectations, and do what you may think is, "the impossible." How fun is that? That is why I have played pool for all of these years. I appreciate the "dare to be great" situations that I have been in, and many times, have risen above. My life has been enriched from being presented with these challenges in pool, and has helped me in many other facets of my life.

I welcome any comments or questions you may have!  Please email me at tina@tinapawloski.com.

Adjustment!

Great Falls, Montana… Rock Springs, Wyoming… Pueblo, Colorado… North Platte, Nebraska… St. Charles, Missouri… Decatur, Illinois… Indianapolis, Indiana… King’s Island, Ohio… Valley Forge, Pennsylvania… Las Vegas, Nevada… New Orleans, Louisiana… Utica, New York… Bangor, Maine… Jacksonville, Florida… Houston, Texas… Los Angeles, California… Moscow, Russia… Kiev, Ukraine… Malaysia… Singapore… Barbados… The Bahamas… and on, and on, and on! Wherever “Dr. Cue” goes or, better said, wherever “Ms. Cue” sends him, I have discovered a recurring necessity in each show, tournament, clinic, and challenge match — adjustment, adjustment, and adjustment!

Adjustments for the speed of the table… adjustments for cushion rebound angles… adjustments for clean versus not-so-clean pool balls… adjustments for different cue and tip experiences… adjustments for a headache or muscle pain… adjustments for loose and tight racks… adjustments for opponent attitudes… adjustments for the weather (which seems to affect everything) and a myriad of adjustments for hundreds of other environmental, human, and billiard physical properties!

With all these considerations, it is a wonder that we ever play well. All is not lost, however. I remind you of five key elements for game success, to help each of you overcome most problematic situations and/or conditions that sometimes appear too overpowering. Learning the following golden nuggets of an enlightened game approach will surely take you to new heights, and give you an understanding of how to handle the little and big things that cause us to stagnate and question our abilities.

Many of you have studied these principles as a positive and growing APA League player— gaining insight via the vast locations we have taught at and shows we have performed over the years, and at specific venues at the APA national events in Las Vegas. Whenever and wherever we meet, please don’t hesitate to ask me specific or general questions on these important instructional keys to game success. In addition, my RACK UP A VICTORY book and videos will help you in your journey to playing excellence. For instructional/product information and/or show/clinic tour details please visit my Web site or e-mail me: www.drcuepromotions.com; drcue@artisticpool.org

I write this post for all players who are serious about doing as well as they can at Nationals. In past events, I have watched a lot of players get a bit crazy about being in Vegas. If you truly want to win an event of this caliber, you have to forget that you are in Vegas and ignore the whole "party" atmosphere. Wait until the event is over for your team before starting to get involved in all that goes on other than pool. You are there to accomplish a goal—one that your team has been qualified to do based on the performance you have shown during the season. You have relatively the same shot at the National title as any other team that goes there. You are going to be playing the best of the best from around the country. Your team merely having the best SL4 and SL6 and a super SL7 probably won't be enough for you to just go in and win it. I guarantee you that there are at least a hundred other teams with that same formula. You can't depend on this or that player to always be the winner for you now. The thing that is going to be the big determiner is not necessarily skill or how good you are at your Skill Level, but the smaller things that aren't given as much credence as merely practicing. I am going to share those with you now.

So, how to prepare?

Everyone knows you must practice. This doesn't mean going out with a friend and playing some games. This means setting up balls for shots that you may be having trouble with, or working on your stroke or speed. This is serious practice that involves focus and at least an hour of your time every day.

Even when I am getting ready for a bar table tournament, I still hit balls on a regulation size table. I believe that loosens my arm up the best, and since the pockets are smaller and the balls don't seem to slide in as much, I am really getting the correct feedback on whether I am making the balls or not. You do not need to practice on a big table if you do not want to. Just putting in time hitting the balls is good for you. Not only do you benefit from the practice, but when you go into the event, you will know that you put in the time to succeed, and you will have confidence going into the match. You have worked on your game—you know that—and you will play better because you know that.

You do not want to be the person who says, "Wow, I missed that ball because I haven't been playing; haven't had the time." All I am proposing is one hour a day. That means if you have to miss your favorite episode of ER, this is what you need to do to get ready. You shouldn't approach a shot thinking to yourself, “I always miss this ball.  I hate this shot.” Set up those shots and shoot them over and over. I promise you if you spend just 20 minutes of focused practice on most shots, you will not think of them in that way again. This is a big tournament, and if you truly want to win, you need to do everything possible.

Once you are there . . .

When you arrive in Vegas, it is a good idea to call a team meeting. The goal of the meeting is to get everyone on the same page with the expectations you have for one another. Talk about how important it is to do well. You should tell each other that you expect everyone to get an appropriate amount of sleep, practice time, and familiarity with the equipment as much as possible—and do not drink too much! Everyone should be accountable to everyone else. If you want to drink waaay too much, and have a good time playing drunk, go to the SWC. Don't get that Vegas experience of the SWC confused with the Nationals. This is “go big or go home.”  You can drink too much and play some Mini's if you want to have a good time drunk while playing. At least the outcome only affects you, not your teammates. This is not the Southwest Challenge; this is the big show. Many teams shed a lot of blood, sweat and tears to try to get to Nationals.

When I am at a big event, I really try to spend as much time as I can on the tables I will be competing on with whatever cue ball I will be playing with. There is no way your team should be going into its first match without having spent a good amount of time getting acclimated to the tables. The cloth is newer, the balls cleaner, and the humidity is less than what you are probably used to playing on or with. Everyone should get familiar with those things, so the shot with follow on the 8-ball in the first game doesn't follow the ball in because they didn't understand that the table would play that fast. When I am at a tournament, I spend hours (and however many dollar coins that amounts to) to feel right with the equipment. You and your team should do the same.

More on the mental side of things . . .

When I know I have a match coming up at, say, 5:00 p.m., I start preparing hours before. I make sure that I have eaten something not very heavy (nothing fried for sure) at least 2 to 3 hours before; never right before a match. You do not want to be newly digesting something as you are playing. Food should never be a factor in anything while you are at the table.

While you are on your way to the tournament room . . .

When you are walking down that long hallway, imagine yourself playing your best pool. Prepare by seeing yourself make everything with that great stroke you have felt. Concentrate on exactly what it felt like to play that way. Playing great (really great) usually never involves someone just showing up, but by making oneself ready for greatness.

I never walk into the tournament room 15 minutes before my match. I want to give myself a chance to be a part of the environment, the smells, the temperature and the noises. I go early and watch a good match already in progress. I continue thinking about pool, being engrossed in only that. I get my mind ready for a high level of competition. I feel very calm and focused. I try not to talk to anyone at this point anymore. Of course, that is different when you on a team, but keep your conversations on the task at hand, not how troublesome your new dog has been at home, or how you just had some new floors put in.

While in a match . . .

There are many things you can do to keep yourself steady while in a match. This first thing is to NOT GET ANGRY. I know that you are feeling a lot of pressure, but getting angry only worsens it. Everyone knows that getting angry doesn't help them with the next shot, but people still have outbursts. I used to show emotion when I missed, but while reflecting on it I found I was doing that for everyone else, a performance within a performance you could say. Years ago I worked on sitting down and waiting for my next shot after a miss. I didn't curse or scream at anything. You need to remain on an even keel emotionally at all times. That means do not get extremely happy with the great shots, and do not grieve over the bad ones.

Between games, I smile with my teammates a little, and acknowledge a good shot on the 6‑ball or whatnot, but never in the middle of an inning or during the game. This concept might seem odd for many people. Try playing very focused and calm throughout the duration of a match, and I know you will see the difference. I have a good time at this game, not necessarily while engaged in it, but as I reflect on how good I played. Winning a match is not just making good shots, but knowing how to persevere and win through a match filled with bad ones. Staying even-tempered is one way to achieve this.

If you do miss a shot, when you go back to your chair, consider instead what happened. Do not waste your time saying some choice words to your teammates about the shot. Instead, think to yourself: “Did I stand straight up from the shot?”  “Did I change my mind during the shot (what english to use) and not get back up and readdress?” “Was I generally unsure of what to do and I shot anyway?” You do not need other people to help you to play better. If you spend your energy constructively by staying actively aware of yourself in your game instead of getting angry and cursing, you can fix most problems that happen on your own.

About the rolls . . .

When playing 9-Ball, I have heard many people complain about the "rolls." To me, there are none. Why? A long time ago, I would get upset when someone was slopping in balls or would hit a ball and got safe on me. Getting angry as explained above, would affect my game immensely. It was when I realized that the only reason that person got a roll was because I gave them the opportunity to shoot. I missed that position on the 5-ball because I rushed the shot, didn't make all the necessary decisions in my pre-shot routine, and so I missed. It makes no difference to me three balls later if they end up slopping a ball in or leaving me dead safe behind the 9-ball trying to shoot the 8-ball. I gave them the opportunity to shoot because of my mistake; therefore, my fault. End of story. Since then, I have never gotten upset at a roll, ever.

I think this post is long enough for now! Teams, just show up and be smart about why you're there. Do everything you can to make as successful a result as possible. I just wanted to share some suggestions of things that I did at pro events that helped me that you may not be aware of.

“I Think I’ll Transfer!”

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 2.4

CONFIDENCE FACTOR: 4 minutes, 48 seconds per day for 3 days

SETUP/POSITION: Place cue ball (c) on center spot of table; 2-ball on center edge of pocket TC and 1-ball 12 inches from 2-ball, and on the straight line created by the cue ball and 2-ball. Good form and perfectly square hit on 1-ball required. DOUBLE CHECK SETUP!

BALL(S) POCKETED/OBJECTIVE: Shoot cue ball with maximum draw to target aim (a1) and additional aim target (a2), which is where the 1-ball must contact the 2-ball to not only make it, but also be made itself. With success both 1-ball and 2-ball will drop in pocket TC.

Ball In Hand “Shortcut!”

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 2.3

CONFIDENCE FACTOR: 4 minutes, 36 seconds per day for 3 days

SETUP/POSITION: Place 8-ball on foot spot; Freeze 9-ball to (8) toward foot cushion side and straight in line with 8-ball as though you are spotting 2 balls one behind the other. With cue ball-in-hand due to a scratch or foul situation, place cue ball straight in line with 8-ball as we look at diagram and as close as possible to (8) without touching it. DOUBLE CHECK SETUP!

BALL(S) POCKETED/OBJECTIVE: With the elevated cue stick, shoot (snap) the cue ball (c) and use (a) as an aiming aid for the shot. (a) is exactly opposite the 9-ball as diagramed. The cue ball will hit the 8-ball causing the (9) to shift slightly, then carom (9) to TR!!!

APA Member Question to Tina Pawloski . . .

When I practice, my performance level is almost always better than my play in tournaments. Obviously, the desire to do well when it counts—for myself and my team—creates that tiny bit of tension that gets in the way of playing to my abilities. I would suspect that I'm not alone with this problem. Now we (in the APA) are just out there having fun. You have competed at the highest level, playing against the best in the world, for your livelihood. How did you deal with the pressure and what advice do you have for us?  Thanks.  Cliff — San Diego APA Chapter

Tina’s  Reply . . .
Thanks for the question, Cliff!   Getting rid of nervousness mostly is accomplished from good old fashioned seasoning, just playing a lot of matches and as many tournaments as you can.   That is why my playing on a semi-pro regional tour first, for as long as I did, really helped me. There is just no getting around good old-fashioned time spent in the heat of battle to get used to what that feels like. It was a combination of just playing a lot of matches and a few realizations I made along the way that ushered me along the path of getting to the point of pretty much not being nervous at all. I will share some of those realizations here with you today, and some general tips in the moment for dealing with nervousness.

Going to the bathroom!  
This is the good old standby most will advise you to do when they notice you being nervous. Okay, that is all fine and well, I guess, and in my earliest days I did go try to "take a breather." I would sit in the stall, trying to breathe, get my heart rate down. I'm not sure that this method helped me a good percentage of the time. It was what I learned later after the realizations I was having that allowed me to think about what I should be thinking to help me overcome my nervousness. I found that just going in there to get my heart rate down was fleeting, but once I was back at the table with the cue in my hands, it would invariably go back up again. This is a good place to start, but do not to stop just here.

Mental exercises during a match . . .
Do what you can while in a match to not get worked up. As I have said to some of my students, the way to play is to "not grieve over the missed shots, and not rejoice on the great ones." What this means, especially if you watch me during League play, is that I stay as emotionally even as I can the entire match. I do sometimes "ham it up" with my opponent during APA League play, because when I play in this arena I am simply trying to have a good time. But mostly, you will see me adhering to my old practices when I was playing in the semi-pro and professional tournaments.  When you miss [a shot], do not get mad or curse.  

Indulge me as I veer off on a tangent for a moment and give this piece of advice:  Use that opportunity while you are sitting down to go over in your head the true reason why you missed [that shot].   If you are a SL2 or SL3 and sometimes a SL4, the reason you miss most of the time is because you just aren't good at making balls yet. But any person above that rating really needs to use the time after a miss to think about why you missed it. I just had this conversation with Jason Yeagst (SL6 in 8-Ball) at the Library a week or so ago. He was telling me how he lost his match after missing a straight in ball and gave the match away.

"What made you miss the ball?" I asked him, and he replied, "Oh, I don't know, I just missed it."
And I said, “No really, what were you thinking about when you were addressing the ball?" and he replied, "I don't know." I asked, "Did you make sure you got in line and addressed the ball properly?" and he said, "Yes." So I let it go, and I started talking with someone else.  About 5 minutes later Jason turned to me and said, "You're right!"  And I said, “Yes, of course!"  “What about?"  Jason went on to say, "I was thinking about something on the straight in shot. I was thinking about how I didn't get the position I wanted to get on the next ball, so being a little angry about that, I just got down and shot it.  I mean, it was straight in!"   I smiled, "Hallelujah!"

A SL6 who missed a straight in shot. Should he have missed the straight shot? No. Let's explore why he did, and why higher skilled players will miss these balls from time to time. So the tangent part (that we are still on) is that he missed because he was thinking of something other than just pocketing the ball. When you are standing before a shot, before you get down on it, you need to make all of your decisions about what you are going to do.  What english to use or not, and visualize the path the cue ball is going to take to get to that destination. What happens is that sometimes we'll get down on shots we aren't sure of, such as you are not sure if after you hit the ball, trying to get position, if your cue ball will really hit the rail between those two balls to get position over there. You are afraid you will not draw the ball enough, or anything else that you have doubts about. Again, before you shoot the ball while you are standing, you have to have made a concrete decision before you get down. Fully commit to a plan that you are going to execute as you are standing. Do not make these decisions when you are down on the ball, because it was straight in. Indecision is what causes people to miss. Thinking of anything other than the shot at hand will make you miss. Make sure that when you are down, that shot is literally your world.

So even though I could write a couple of more thoughts about this, I will go back to the spirit of the post and off the tangent—the mental side of that shot.

Now, still on the Jason example, there is another reason he missed that shot. He was angry. He was perturbed he didn't get the perfect angle he was aiming for. He has the ability to put spin on this ball and get there another way, that isn't the problem. He could have gotten that same perfect shape on the next ball for sure! He missed this ball and the match because he was angry, and he took it for granted.

Angry much? 
Keeping "even" as I was writing above is really exemplified by my conversation with Jason. If you do not allow yourself to get angry, you do not make the mistake Jason did. You will notice if you ever watch me play that when I miss, even if it is the case 8, that I just simply go sit down and wait for my turn. While I am sitting, I ask myself why I missed that ball. Sometimes it’s because I adjusted when I was down, because I didn't think I was cutting it enough. So next time, I know that I will trust my fundamentals when I get down in line with the shot, that I am seeing it right, and not to second guess myself. I teach all my students how to address a ball properly, walk into a shot properly, and that there should only be the need to make the slightest adjustments while you are down. If you have to make more than just the slightest [adjustment], then you need to get back up and readdress [the shot]. Although I do this well, I am prone to some bad decisions myself at times. Because I take the time to constructively ask myself, “Why?” when I miss, instead of getting angry (which doesn't help you at all), I am reminded next time to get up and readdress, instead of potentially developing a bad habit.

Other questions may include, "Did I feel out of line, and shot anyway?" or "Did that waitress that walked right in front of me distract me, and I shot anyway?" or "Was I worried that I was taking the wrong shot, but did not make a concrete decision to shoot it, no matter the outcome?"

I used to be an angry player. When I missed, I made sure that whoever was watching on the rail saw the frustration.  It was like I was playing for them, that they needed to know missing that [shot] doesn't happen that often (when it did!), and they should know I was frustrated about it. Phooey!! I learned over the years what those people watching think of you is fleeting, and will change day by day. I quit playing to impress the people after that. I was inspired to change this initially by watching now pro player, Louis Ulrich, play over 12 years ago. Even when he was a teenager, when he was playing, you could never tell whether he was winning or losing.  If he was stuck 5K or up 5K, he looked the same sitting in the chair, during his match, gambling or otherwise. I recognized that is what it took to be a champion. It took me about two weeks to get out of the bad habit to wanting to make some sort of face either in anger or to the audience. I did it though, and it truly was transforming.

No rejoicing, either. What?!!
To stay even, you must also not get too happy when you make great shots. Many times people have watched me play and have seen me jump balls in during my match. It was a skill I learned out of necessity when playing in tournaments, and have been useful in a few of my APA matches. Those same people will also attest that they do not see me pumping my fist, or smiling or shouting a "woo hoo!" I shoot that shot, and then shoot the next shot. That is all. During a match, if you make a great shot, just keep shooting as if you made a ball straight in 4 inches from the pocket, and when you miss, sit down and calmly wait until your next shot, if you get one. If you lost the game because you missed a shot, own that, and go rack the balls. Remember it.  Practice it later so it will not be a reason that you lose a game again. You do not want to be in a game situation in the next week of play and that same shot that you missed (the game clincher!) comes up again. I am not saying that every time you miss it’s because of something mental; sometimes you just miss.  But if it was a truly easy shot [that you shouldn’t have missed], you need to ask yourself why. After a match is over, be really excited over a well executed shot and talk it over with your teammates—but only when the match is over!

Some realizations . . .
Nervousness, like any emotion, can be cultivated. When you realize you are nervous about something, you can either do all you know to squash it, or you can make it worse. Here are some ways to make it worse:

1. Tell yourself, "OMG, I am so nervous!"
2. Think to yourself what this match means to you or your team.
3. Treating the 9-ball or the 8-ball different than any other balls on the table, assigning them more value.
4. Seeing someone you respect watching your match and thinking, "OMG, I want to impress them!"

These are just a few of the ways that you can "cultivate" nervousness. If you sit and think to yourself how nervous you are, or talk to other people on your team while you are playing, you are not defeating it, but allowing it to take hold of you. Stop! Do not sit and think to yourself if you win this match you will win MVP, or your team will take over first, etc. This puts pressure on you to play when your whole perception of the situation should be different.

What I do is play the best I can shot after shot. If playing my best results in a win, then I win the match. I do not have the goal set in my mind that I want to "win this match." I just approach the table and each and every shot the best way I know how, and execute it to the best of my ability. I have lost matches when I really played the best I could, and that is okay!  I wholeheartedly congratulate [my opponent] on a job well done.

One of my pet peeves, when I am playing, is if someone is sitting in my line of sight as I am getting down to shoot either the 8 or 9-ball, and that person gets up and moves. Stay there!! What someone is doing is assigning value of a greater importance to those balls. To me, and to other higher level players, if I miss the 4 in the beginning of the game, I assume I have lost already. I always play—no matter who I am playing—if I miss, I lose. Moreover, when you are shooting (whatever level you are) and you say to yourself, "OMG, it's the 8; God, I better make this!" you are creating or making worse the nervousness! Don't do this! Treat shooting the 8-ball as calmly as when you shot the first stripe that started your inning.

I have had a lot of people say to me (especially my students) that I make them nervous when I watch them play. They are always wondering if they are taking the right shot, if I would approve, etc. First, I am usually not really watching you play. A lot of times I am just watching balls roll around and not judging anything. Even if I, or any other player/person you respect, were watching, you can't be nervous here either.

It's like a nightmare, isn't it . . .
I used to get nervous when players that I respected a lot watched me play/practice when I was in the poolroom. One of the realizations I made is that I knew playing nervous didn't help me. I sat there and just reasoned with myself. I knew I was missing balls that I would never miss because I was intimidated by them. I ended up just saying to myself, "This isn't helping me. I am going to play like I know how, and in the end, I will play right, how I am supposed to. No more  letting how I feel get in the way. Stop it now, and play through it."

So I did, and it worked! I remember one of the first times this thinking worked for me. Keith McCready still lived in LA at the time, and I was playing at Hardtimes, LA's premier poolroom. I was just warming up for one of their weekly tournaments, and he was sitting there talking to my friend near the table where I was shooting. I ended up breaking and running that rack before he walked away.  He said to me, "I hope I don't have to play you!"  Boy, I can tell you the feeling I had hearing that from a legend was better than letting that nervousness get the best of me!

Lastly, before this article becomes a full length novel, I leave you with this. The last kind of epiphany I have had while playing this game came about 6 months ago. It was when I fully realized that I was missing some shots because of some sort of lingering doubt I had when I went to shoot them. This doubt could be either caused from nervousness, or indecision. I declared to myself when I felt any inkling of this at all, "Remove all doubt, and shoot this ball. Remove all doubt, and do it clearly." I knew in all my years of experience how many times I missed because of these things, and I knew what they felt like even before a shot. Instead of now continuing to shoot it, I wait, take a deep breath, and shoot it as clear of mind as possible.

Please email me with your questions!  I am happy to help you with any issues you may be having with the game or general questions. 

• Do I have any problem balls?

The first thing you do when you come to the table during your inning is ask yourself if you have any problem balls.

If the answer is YES:

• The problem balls need to be addressed first. You have to see if there is a way to break these balls out. Is there a ball near the cluster that you can use to do this? If so, you must immediately play to get on that ball.
  
• Do not shoot a ball in the corner; shoot another in the side, then another in the other side to get yourself down on the foot rail for position to shoot the breakout you should have done in the first shot. You have just shot what I call your "saver" balls.
  
• When you shoot a ball to break out two balls that are tied up, you should not play position for the balls you are breaking out. One of those two balls is ideally not good to be your next ball.
  
• This is why it is good to have a "saver” ball—a ball that is up in front of a corner, or hanging the side. Something that you can shoot to get your position on something else or even one of the two balls you just broke out.
  
• I am telling you to play position for a known ball, versus an unknown (the clustered or tied up balls).
  
• To the higher skilled player, having many balls of your suit on the table are not obstacles, but options. It is very important for you to change your thinking on this. You do not simply start shooting your balls because they are there and out in the open when you have problems elsewhere.

If the answer is NO:
If you have no problem balls, and the balls are out in the open, you can proceed to the YES portion of No. 2 Can I run out?I have seen many people come to the table and start shooting various balls they have in the open and then save their problem balls for last. You cannot do this! Any ball you choose to start the inning with is to get you in position to break out that cluster.

• Can I run out?

If you have no problem balls, the answer to this should be yes for a SL5 or above.

If the answer is YES:

• Start at the 8-ball and work backwards. The game is played a bit like straight pool.
  
• First, look at where the 8-ball is, and then pick a key ball. A key ball is the easiest ball for you to shoot before the 8 that gives you the simplest shape for the 8. Ideally, you want to be able to shoot the ball straight in the side with stop, and with that, your cue ball position would be perfect for the 8.

• In the example posted below, if you have solids, the 1-ball should be used as the key ball. You would not want to choose the 4-ball or 3-ball as key balls in this situation because they are below the 8. You could under hit one of these balls trying to get above the 8, so shape would be speed dependent. The 1-ball is the choice because you could hit it in the side and stop, and you are perfect on the 8 without having to depend on speed or angle for the most part.

• So, continuing backward from the 1, the 2 looks like a good ball to get straight on the 1, the 3 looks like the ball to get on the 2, and the 4-ball would be the one to start with. So again, 4,3,2,1 then the 8.

If the answer is NO:

• The answer would be “No” if you cannot break out a cluster; there are no balls to get you there. In this instance, you would not hit one of your balls in until you knew you could run out. If you tried to break out a cluster, and failed, you must stop! Play safe here. Do not continue shooting balls if you find there is no other way to break out a cluster.

• Do not shoot 3 of your open balls in, and then play safe. You would be making it very easy for your opponent to play safe on you. Remember, these balls are options for you, and obstacles for your opponent.

The above strategy covers most of it.  I welcome your questions at tina@tinapawloski.com.

The Doctor Is In – A Secret of Sorts

As each of you approach local, regional, and national events in the APA League system, I hope you are experiencing victory in your practice and competitive play modes. In this regard, I want to provide you with a secret of sorts to improve your league and tournament performance.

!@#$%^&*()_+ — Something is definitely wrong!!
L@o$o^k*S)h+arp — Better, but still not right!!
Lo#ok^Sh(ar+p — Warmer, keep trying!!
Look%^Sharp — You’re almost there!!
Look Sharp!! — Now you’ve got it!!

The above chameleon text holds within its pattern a golden nugget of instruction—to correct specific glitches in a player’s mechanical movements, before, during, and after a shot. The foundation of this analogy is based on an in the present mode by me, as I type each line, and then review it. Making the appropriate changes as I go, from line to line, is a necessity to eventually get the last line to Look Sharp!!

In a similar light, you can enter an in the present training mode to your game components. Back in 1913, Welton Harris, the grandmaster of billiard instruction, created teaching techniques that produced some of the greatest champions and teachers our sport has ever known. Maurice Daly, Walter Lindrum, and Joe Davis became crusaders for the champion’s wisdom of Harris, using this proven method. I have been using similar techniques for years now with player-friendly results in clinic presentations; therefore, I would like to pass these elements of training success and player improvement along to you in a written rendering for your reference and application to your game.

An instructor’s analysis/diagnosis of a student has minimal value, if some method of corrective remedy is not prescribed for an existing glitch or glitches. Pre-stance, chalking efficiency, alignment, stroke, and/or the obvious errant movements of grip, bridge, head, and other body parts can all cause a player to play poorly and look dull. A less than professional image can give away percentage points of confidence to an opponent who is a student of the game himself or herself. Many of the games we lose are the direct result of not looking sharp at the table in our preparation and execution skills.

What is truly amazing about this in the present training technique is that each of you has been using it most of your life— without a pool table in front of you. The secret? A mirror! How simple! The process of prepping yourself to Look Sharp occurs each morning; if something looks dull or out of place, you correct it in the present with a trustworthy feedback deep from within the mirror’s reflection.

Imagine looking in a mirror and seeing yourself chalking the wrong end of your cue, stepping erratically into a contorted body/stance position, swinging the cue in a wild twisting hand/wrist/arm movement, pumping oil with the lower arm in relation to the upper shoulder hinge, and/or jumping mightily up from a final stroke movement with your head or upper body. What would you think if you saw these glitches destructing your game? You probably would agree it would be time for a transformation to a new you in the game you love. You can correct any glitch of muscle memory or pre-stance by talking to yourself in the mirror until the correction is made with comfort in a reinforced subconscious image implant. Tuning yourself to Look Sharp in a mirror—with each mechanical component in its proper order and movement—will allow you to take the new you in the mirror to the table. It is okay to talk to yourself in the mirror as you correct each glitch. Do not accept the you in the mirror, just settling for second best in your poolplaying image! Note: Don’t be alarmed that the image in the mirror is reversed! It still works!!

Prescription from “Dr. Cue”: One to two minutes a day in the present with a mirror for 3 to 5 days, and then every 3,000 games or 3,000 miles, whichever comes first! Chalk consistently on each approach, align body with cue under shoulder, step forward into down stance position, maintaining the cue/shoulder relationship, balance yourself with a parallel to the cue rear foot movement, start swinging the cue in a non-twisting and unrestricted motion of the hand/wrist/lower arm, with no upper shoulder/body/head movement, make a final, slow back swing, hesitate, and free flight the cue forward to the awaiting tip in the mirror.

Goal: Straight alignment and straight stroke motions…under the shoulder…with “2 tips” in a gentle unified perfection to each other.

Result: A new, improved you—Look Sharp, Be Sharp, Feel Sharp!!

Until next time, when The Doctor Is In.

First, a lower skilled player pockets balls less accurately and less often than a SL5. Because of this, we cannot teach someone who is under a SL5 the same strategy as a higher skilled player. Successful strategy for a SL5 and above is dependent upon the player’s shooting ability (once their suit is open) to clear the table.

This is not to say that you cannot help the SL2-4 play better 8-Ball! It is just as important that you play as defensively in 8-Ball as you would in 9-Ball when faced with a low percentage shot, or no shot at all. In 9-Ball, it is easier to decide what to do. It is easier to devise a plan when there is only one ball that you have the option of shooting versus the many options in 8-Ball. It should be standard that if you are faced with a very tough shot when playing 9-Ball and no reward for making it, (i.e., no position on the next ball) then you should play safe.

Often, I see this not being done in 8-Ball! I'll watch a player play smart 9-Ball, but then go over to 8-Ball and try to back-cut bank a ball because it is the only one they could see. Instead, they should push that ball in front of a hole controlled by the opponent's suit, or place it in a position to break out a cluster of their own balls where there was no ball previously in position. This is playing intelligent pool! If you push one of your balls squarely in front of one or more of my balls, you are almost guaranteed to get at least one more inning at the table. This applies when I am playing a SL3 or a SL7.

In reality, 8-Ball for SL2s, 3s and 4s is just a race to see who makes their balls first. When a SL3 plays another SL3, the game will be won 90 percent of the time by the person who has one ball left to make and the opponent has four or more. When I am coaching and watching lower skill levels play, I am more interested in helping them run the maximum number of balls. With a SL5 or higher, I would be more interested in them being able to run the full rack at the right time. Let me show you what I mean:

I would tell the lower skilled player to shoot the 5-ball first with a little top to drift down for the 6-ball. I would then hope after they shot the 6-ball, they could shoot the 4, and if we get a long run going, on to the 1-ball and 3-ball. I want them to make as many balls as possible, even though they have no feasible way of making the 8-ball.

I would tell the SL5 and higher to shoot the 4-ball and stop the cue ball right where it hits the 4. As explained in my strategy article for higher skill levels, you should never shoot a ball in until you know you can run out. Because the 8-ball is so obscured, with no ball in position to break it out, the higher skill level should not be shooting open balls until he can run out all the way. Shooting the 4-ball in this way puts it in position to break out the 8-ball in the next inning. Stopping the cue ball where it is leaves the opponent no good shot.

A lower skill level can incorporate a little of that into their game. Say that the SL3 can see 3 of his balls out in the open, but there is no pocket available for any of them. It is then that they should not try some back-cut bank, but instead say to themselves, "What ball can I shoot that would leave the cue ball in the worst spot for my opponent?" This is the basis for playing safe, but it doesn't mean that they have to completely hide the ball. When the SL3 is playing another SL3, sometimes it is good enough to try to get the ball to freeze against the end rail, so they would have to bridge flat on the rail. Sometimes a fair amount of distance is enough to earn another inning at the table when the other player only has one ball left. These are some things you can do as a lower skilled player without taking a time out. When you are thrown up against a higher skill level player that can make these long shots or rail shots easily, you would want to challenge yourself to come up with hiding the cue ball the best you can.

Another way of helping yourself when you have no shot is lagging your object ball in front of a hole, especially one that a ball of the opponent's suit is going toward. How much better is it for you when you have your object ball hanging in front of a pocket (and blocking one of their balls) instead of in the middle of the end rail? If you have no good pocket to shoot one of your balls in, consider banking it toward a pocket, or hitting the long rail above the pocket for you to get it closer.

Look at this example...

THE MOVE RULE!

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 1.2

CONFIDENCE FACTOR:
2 minutes, 24 seconds per day for 3 days

SETUP/POSITION: 1-ball as diagrammed; Cue ball 4 inches from the 1-ball and placed so that it is aimed (a) at 1/3 of the 1-ball straight on line. The 2-ball is set straight in line with the cue ball on the TC-BC center line. The 2-ball is also 4 inches from the 1-ball. Maintain sound fundamental form and concentrate. DOUBLE CHECK SETUP!

BALLS(S) POCKETED/OBJECTIVE: Hitting cue ball at aim point (a) on
1-ball, the 1-ball goes left and the cue ball deflects to the right, leaving an open path for the cue stick to follow through to the 2-ball. The cue actually contacts the 2-ball for its make at TC!

ADJUSTMENT ANALYSIS: When striking the cue ball, if the contacted 1-ball hits the 2-ball, then your aim was faulty—adjust to the right slightly. If the 1-ball contacts the 2-ball again, you may not have the four inch spacing needed to be successful. Assuming all goes well with the cue ball and 1-ball getting out of the way and the 2-ball doesn’t move, extend more on follow-through. If you hit the 2-ball, but miscue off it or make a non-straight hit, then firm up that bridge! Raise your cue immediately and prepare to “move” out of town as you have just done the unthinkable. WARNING: FOR TRICK SHOT PURPOSES ONLY!

Straight follow-through cue extension causes cue tip to contact 2-ball! After contact with 2-ball immediately raise cue in air.

CUE BALL — AWAY!

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 1.1

CONFIDENCE FACTOR:
2 minutes, 12 seconds per day for 3 days

SETUP/POSITION: Place 1-ball and 2-ball 2 inches apart and each ball 1/8-inch away from head cushion. Center near name plate or middle diamond of rail the entire setup. Cue ball over edge of two balls from above and head (eye) over cue ball aiming downward at ball edges. Body should be rock solid stance and head motionless, with hold on (c). DOUBLE CHECK SETUP!

BALLS(S) POCKETED/OBJECTIVE: With the thumb on one side of the cue ball and the index on the other, hold the cue ball over the two object balls below... 6-8 inches from cue ball. Sighting with eye over cue ball to balls below, drop cue ball and make (1) in TL and (2) in BL.

A "Change" In Your Game!

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 1.0

CONFIDENCE FACTOR: 2 minutes per day for 3 days

SETUP/POSITION: Cue ball as diagramed and 2-ball/3-ball on top of coin wrappers. One quarter coin wrapper standard length, while other quarter coin wrapper cut to 2 3/4" long. Note side view for placement as frozen object balls off table surface. Shoot cue ball under 2 balls on wrappers and make 1-ball placed on edge center of pocket TC. DOUBLE CHECK SETUP!

BALLS(S) POCKETED/OBJECTIVE: With a normal fundamental form shoot cue ball under 2-ball and 3-ball. Coin wrappers will fly out and (2) and (3) will drop to surface, carom off each other and 2-ball will go in TC plus 3-ball in BC. Cue ball makes 1-ball at (a) in TC first.

The Snake Shot (15 Ball Combination)

DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: 0.9

CONFIDENCE FACTOR: 1 minute, 48 seconds per day for 3 days

SETUP/POSITION: 15 balls in a snakelike setup across the table surface. Start with the 15-ball 6 inches from the corner pocket TL. Set up the 14-ball 3 inches from the 15-ball and each successive ball 3" back from the previous. Align by developing each "mini" combination so that 2 balls next to each other aim to the 3rd ball on either side of that set. DOUBLE CHECK!

BALLS(S) POCKETED/OBJECTIVE: Placing cue ball in a setup position straight in line with the first 2 ball combination, which is the (1)-(2) link, shoot and listen. The snake will sound like a clicking machine as the respective "mini" combinations make one big one (15-ball-TL).