2nd Place in Best of the Best Tournament

Last Sunday I decided to do something for my birthday. I decided to go to the "Best of the Best" 8 Ball "Big Guns" Tournament.

It was by invitation only, for those APA skill 5,6,7s who were among the top performers in their division. (You have to win at least 50% and also be among the top 30 performers on the list. The list contains skills 2,3,4,5,6,7 and performance is simply the ratio of matches won to matches played.) Our area has about 15 to 20 divisions. There are 3 of these 8 ball tournaments per year (and 3 for 9 ball) in the Northeast Massachusetts region. The spring session is usually the busiest and 50 or 60 players might enter the Big Guns tournament. The fall session is nearly as big. The summer session is the least busiest. The tournaments take place a few months after the session completes.

This last Sunday, only 15 people showed up for the Summer session tournament. As usual, the entry fee was only $10 and our league operator added $300. He always gives a 100% payout. So, $150 from the players plus $300 added implies $450 gets payed out to the winners. What a good investment! Only 15 players, $10 entry, $450 payout. That's like $30 average per person.

My first match was against a player named Emmitt. He knew his stuff! It was very tough, but I won against him. Good defense helped.

My 2nd match was against Rich Minichello. EVERYBODY knows this guy. He has won over a dozen Best of the Best tournaments (probably over 90% of the ones he enters) over the past few years. He is awesome to watch. He plays in the New England 9 ball Tour. He can play with the pros.

But I won! He was unsuccessful in completing some of his break and runs, so I was able to play defensive, get a couple ball in hands, and run out the table. That was a good feeling... winning a race to 5 heads up match against the person known to be the best in our region!

My 3rd match was against Ken Jr. (His dad was there, and in fact they had to play each other later on.) I won that match, again with the help of good defense.

My 4th match was against Russ. This guy is trained to be an official referee for the VNEA. He is also a very good player. Again, I could not have won without doing some good defense.

At this point, I was UNDEFEATED and in the finals!

I have just beaten some of the best players in our region. Emmitt and Russ both play competitively with Rich Minichello. They are all friends. I was soooo lucky.

I watch some of the loser's bracket action. Ken wins a match or two more, but gets knocked out to take 5th place (I think). Russ gets 4th place (I think). Emmitt gets 3rd. I noticed that each of these players I sent into the loser's bracket went home with prize money. (I will confirm the payoffs and update this blog.)

The person making it through the loser's bracket was Rich Minichello. It was him versus me.

Long story short, Rich played much better than me in the finals. I sometimes boggled the 8 or failed to complete an easy run out. Rich won the first match. Now we each have 1 loss. Then I lose the 2nd match. Rich gets $280 and 1st place trophy and I get $100 and 2nd place trophy.

Maybe... just maybe... if I had realized the difference in payoffs, I would have put more energy in. I was just so happy though to have a big trophy for this prestigious event.

But Rich is just so tough. He sinks balls in on the break easier than I do. He is better at running out the table, with hours on end of continuous skill.

Rich is also a gentleman. When he came back from a bathroom break, he told me I didn't need to wait for him -- he trusted me to play through while he was gone. One time his cue tip apparently nudged the cue ball an eighth of an inch, or something... I was not paying attention and didn't see it. He got my attention and gave me ball in hand.

I don't think I will be making a living with pool, but I will get better and enjoy it more and more.

Banking on Physics

I promised Tips on Banking to Andrea as a Christmas present. Andrea is a bit new to the game, and is starting the APA this January. (Good luck Andrea!)

Most people are taught to bank cross side with, "Aim the cue ball from the corner pocket at that 2nd diamond on the other side of the table, and the cue ball will bank off and come back into the side pocket". Well that's close. But there is more going on.

Geometrically speaking, the precise spot where the cue ball should hit would be the "nose of the rail" across from the diamond. And remember, the cue ball is coming in at an angle, so you need to aim over a wee bit so the side of the cue ball contacts at that point. Imagine a ball on the rail directly across from the diamond. That would be the spot where the cue ball would be the moment it rebounds. If you bank from the side to the corner, rather than from the corner to the side, you would aim at precisely that same spot. The fact that it is the same spot proves that the "angle in equals the angle out" regardless of which direction you bank.

But pool is not so much pure geometry, as it is physics. Balls spin. Rails squish. Balls rub against rails and cloth and other balls in such a way that energy gets transferred in ways you might not think.

Imagine the cue ball rolling from the corner pocket toward the nose of the 2nd diamond. It is going end over end, right? That means it is spinning with a bit of topspin. If there were no topspin, it would be sliding like your car tires, when you slam on the brakes on an icy road. The ball would not be rolling end over end if it has no spin.

What happens when a rolling ball hits the rail and starts back the other way? The rolling changes direction. Once it comes off the rail the cloth grips the ball until it goes end over end the other way. Get it? This is one of the reasons why a ball cannot bank a zillion times. The cloth keeps grabbing it to change its rolling direction, slowing it down every time the ball comes off a rail.

So, what does that imply? It implies that the ball loses energy (and speed) perpendicular to the rail. The component of speed parallel to the rail stays about the same. The result is that the ball "goes wide". So if you aim from the corner to the nose across from the 2nd diamond, the ball might miss the side pocket and hit the rail slightly past it.

This explains why it is a bit more prudent to aim more directly at the 2nd diamond rather than at the nose of the 2nd diamond.

But what if you hit hard? Hitting a ball hard into the rail does 2 things.

First, it gives the ball less time to grip the cloth to change its direction off the rail. If you hit it hard enough, the ball might just slide over to the rail and slide across toward the side pocket.

Secondly, rails compress. When a ball squishes into the rail and pops back off, the ball wants to come straight out a bit.

These two things cause a banked ball to come back narrow, rather than wide when you hit hard. If you bank hard from corner to rail to side pocket, you might come up short of the side pocket.

Okay, all this time we've been talking about banking just one ball. That's fine if you need to kick at an object ball (bank the cue ball first, so it hits an object ball). Usually though, you want to hit the cue ball into an object ball, and the object ball banks across. The difference is the object ball might not have that rolling topspin. Depending on how hard you hit, whether the cue ball hits with top or draw, affects whether the object ball has topspin or not. It could very well have backspin draw, if the cue ball hits with topspin and the object ball reaches the rail before the cloth has time to grip it. In that case, the object ball already has the spin it wants after it comes off the rail; it does not slow down. It fires across and might hit short of the pocket.

Okay, anything else? Yes. When the cue ball contacts the object ball at slow or medium speed, it tends to grab the object ball slightly. This is known as contact throw. If the cue ball has side spin on one side or the other -- or even if it hits the object ball at an angle, it can grip the object ball and drag it slightly with it and also cause the object ball to spin slightly.

If you are an APA skill level 5 or more, you probably know all this stuff. If not, let some of it sink in over time. Come back to this page as a refresher.

The best way to get a feel for banking is to practice over and over and over. See what happens when you hit hard and soft. See what happens when you hit the cue ball below center or above center into the object ball when trying a simple bank. If you have the opportunity in a match, try not to hit too hard or too soft. I suggest hitting a bit harder if you want the object ball to rebound narrow, or a bit softer if you want it to go wide (such as a cross corner shot).

In some cases, speed is what really matters most for the bank shot.

Consider the cue ball near the corner pocket. Your game winning 8 ball is almost on the far end rail, near the 1st diamond, but just an inch or 2 off the rail. The best choice is to bank the 8 back to the pocket where the cue ball is. Simply roll the cue ball at medium lag speed so it hits the 8 ball slightly off center. If you have the speed right, cut angle is not so critical. The contact throw and the way the 8 springs off the rail can make it go in. Experiment with this one. Banking "back at you" a table length can be easier than banking back up to the other pocket.

Mirror method

The simplest method for a beginner to line up a bank shot is to imagine a mirror placed along the rail, hung vertically. If you were to hit a ball at an angle into the rail, and watched the reflection as it rebounds, it would travel (pretty much) in a straight line to how it travelled (unreflected) into the rail.

So, let's try to use this. If you are banking into the side rail the distance it rebounds to reach the pocket would be the width of the table. On a 7 foot table, that is about 3 1/2 feet; on an 8 foot, about 4 feet; on a 9 foot, about 4 1/2 feet. If you are banking to the corner, imagine shooting at a point that distance away off the table, perpendicular from the opposite corner pocket. That is where you would see your goal pocket if a mirror was over the rail. (A picture would clarify this easily. If you study this and experiment, you will figure out what I mean.) Likewise, to bank into the side pocket, aim the object ball at a point, a table width past the table, perpendicular to the opposite side pocket. On league night, I help the beginner by standing a table width away from the side of the table and cup my hands precisely how they would see the pocket in a mirror. I then step away, and they bank the ball to where my hands were cupped, and have a pretty good chance at making it.

Dr. Cue

Dr. Cue (Tom Rossman) is considered one of the foremost authorities in banking 1, 2, 3, and more rails. His methods not only deal with geometry, but take into account physics. I could describe his methods, but it would undermine his thoughtful work. For more info, you can buy his small inexpensive Racking Up a Victory booklet or his 2 part video tapes or the equivalent 3 part The Monk Series 202 tapes. I think his little booklet is adequate enough. I have the 3 Monk Series 101 and 3 Monk Series 202 video tapes from Seyberts, but they are a bit costly. (I do not have the 2 part videos from Dr. Cue's site.) Some informative videos he has posted online are here.

Rail Conditions

Be aware that rails differ on various tables. Tables in a pool hall generally have firmer, more resilient rails, and cleaner cloth -- compared to the rails on bar tables. The balls tend to bank back a bit straighter (narrower angle, or short) on a clean, well kept table and a bit wider (long) on a dirty bar table with loose, dead rails. Sometimes a portion of one rail is totally dead while the rest is okay. (By the way, do not let friends sit on the edge of a pool table -- that can loosen the rails.) You can pretest for dead spots by bopping the cue ball several times on the rails as you walk around the table, before you start your match.

Note the weather outside. On warm, humid days, there is more cloth & rail friction causing a banked ball to go wider (longer) sooner. Cold and dry days will delay the time a ball skids after coming off the rail, so it will rebound narrower (shorter).

Rails should be installed so the lip is only slightly above the center of a ball. If the rails are too low, a rolling ball might tend to climb up onto it slightly, and hop off the rail as it rebounds. These are the tables that make it easier to "bank off the end rail, back at you". Rails that have a lip too high behave a bit strange. A ball with backspin (for example, hit with a cue ball having topspin) will fire back a bit straight (narrow, short) on a normal rail, but on a high rail, it can actually loose a lot of energy and come off dead (wide, long). If you want consistency on rails that are too high, roll into them with topspin.

Well, good luck Andrea! The more you practice, the better you can predict how balls will bank and move around a table.

Sick Tricks

If you think Artistic Pool is awesome, check out this 38 minute "Magic Show" by famous 3 Cushion Billiard player Semih Sayginer of Turkey. His stuff is insane! The cueball is still spinning against the cloth (curving) after hitting 4 or 5 rails! He can do 9 rails around the table to complete a carom, but what really makes his show are his masse shots. This is no sissy table either. It looks like a 10 or 12 footer. Download the Google Video player and his video. It's a keeper.

A young but very talented hacker does some very impressive jumps and masses of his own. Grab this Google video here. It's a nice little show.

Eric Yow has some great shots at his site too. Eric was invited to the 2006 World Artistic Pool Championship. His MySpace article about his near death motorcycle accident in May is worh reading.

Close cut

First, back to http://www.easypooltutor.com/article239.html (2 pages, mentioned in my first blog). I suspect the author of that article (Joe D'Aguanno) may have drawn a wrong analysis. Perhaps Joe was so accustomed to contact throw that Joe forgot contact throw is reduced as you hit harder. A fuller hit would be required for that reason, not due to "object ball deflection". In any case, whether his analysis is right or wrong, his instructions are truthful. Hit slightly fuller when hitting harder on cut shots, against your habit of relying on contact throw.

New topic. You are shooting the 8 ball to the corner pocket on a large table. It is located 6 diamonds down the long rail, maybe 3 inches off the rail. The cueball is somewhat close to the 8 ball, separated by maybe 3 inches, and it looks like you need about a 30 to 45 degree cut to make the 8 ball go in. (Let's imagine you are looking down the length of the table toward the top left corner pocket. The 8 is sort of near the left rail, and the cueball is a bit further out from the rail, so the object ball would need to be cut to the right.)

Should you hit the cueball with top or bottom spin? Left or right spin? Center? Hard or Medium speed? I am not sure of the best answer, but I have my ideas.

One mysterious thing I think I perceived long ago is that if I hit with draw, I think I need to cut more. I now know I have an aiming and stroke flaw (I am working on it using Joe Tucker's 3rd Eye Trainer). When I intend to do straight draw (at 6pm on the cueball), I accidently hit at 6:30 or even 7. When I intend to hit at 12 o'clock, I believe I hit a bit toward 1 o'clock. I am left eye dominant, shooting right handed, so maybe that is messing with my perceptions a bit. Anyway, due to my stoke flaw, hitting at 6:30 will cause a little cueball deflection, so I would need to cut more. Furthermore, I would hit that shot with a bit less force because I know the object ball would get topspin from my draw. Less force would mean more contact throw. Again, cut a bit more.

My experience tells me that the best odds of making the 8 ball is to hit mostly with center cueball, but with only slight outside english (to cancel throw in a natural way), at a medium speed. The stroke needs to be smooth and accurate, without much cueball deflection, so don't hit too hard.

Noodles a la Rube

Here, one of the best Rube Goldberg devices ever makes what seems to me to be Egg Drop Soup. The video is more than 6 minutes long -- so go do something else as it loads. Enjoy. (Source: Rocketboom)

Bachelor Food

I like several of the "no preservative" meals by Lean Cuisine. Look for the large portions.

1. Chicken Portabello (12 oz) The flavorful mushrooms and rice make this my #1, and the chocolate cherries are a good touch.
2. Balsamic Glazed Chicken (12 oz) The chicken, rice, veggies and apple crisp are very tasty.
   
3. Lemon Garlic Shrimp (12 oz) Garlic + shrimp == good

Try others if you wish. I also like the Steak Tips Dijon entree.

Make your smile muscles hurt!

Enter the site of Lilly McElroy , choose the area labeled "Performing Videos", then choose the video for "The Square" (hillarious) and "Pushing Cowboys" (funny). My cheeks are aching from laughter. Her other stuff is good too, like "Locations" and photos of her randomly throwing herself at men. (Source: Rocketboom)

Art Gems

A cute drawing that M C Escher (1898-1972) might have done as a kid. (Source: May 8 podcast of RocketBoom)

The best animated video ever is Pipe Dream. I recommend downloading the largest mpeg (65MB). Visit free-codecs.com if you have trouble with codecs. Do you hear the air leaking in the tubes? Do you see the marks on the wall where balls once missed? I bought the 2 DVDs from Animusic (Source: RocketBoom, IFILM)

Mind Games

Jigsawdoku. Try options Medium 6x6 using the "picture" type tiles. You can use Hints to check a guess, but you should never need to. My fastest is 1:23 1:06 0:51 0:48 0:41 0:38 with no hints.

Kakuro. Scroll down and do the puzzle of the day. To pencil in possible numbers into 1 square, you need to use Space+click. Their lists of permutations are sometimes incomplete, so you might want to download their Kakuro helper.

Websudoku. I prefer Easy if I want to kill a few minutes. Hard can be solved with regular logic. Evil is...evil.

Object Ball Deflection, but not Throw?

Is this for real?
http://www.easypooltutor.com/article239.html
(Note it is 2 pages.) It mentions "object ball deflection", but describes it differently from what we all consider as "contact throw". This guy says 2 polished balls want to squirt away from each other, which is the opposite effect of contact throw. I would normally cut a bit more to account for throw, but this guy says to cut less. Is there any sense to what he says?