Chopped Up a 9 Ball Tourney

Well yesterday I got a call from my friend Southern Jay and we decided to go play some pool. I tell him let's hit this small tournament at Groggy's which is in Mesa AZ, we have been there before and it is a tough tournament in a tough part of town. One time my girl stopped by to pick me up and she looked at me and said "Why would you play here in this dump?".

Jay said he would never go back there because the format of alternating breaks and snapped 9 balls. Jay would break and run out on his break and his opponent would break and drop the 9, the races are 5,4,3 depending on your in state AZ rating, we both go to 4. I beat a guy by snapping in 9 balls myself every time I had broke before and felt kind of bad as it was a cheap win but what can you do, some of us players agree they wont count on the snap.

We roll in and it does not look like there will be many players but then the count gets to 20 players so we have a decent little bar table 9 ball tourney. My first draw is Dave who is a big older guy and the highest rated player in the tourney, he has a crazy haircut like a mohawk. I break and scratch, he runs out, he breaks dry and I push out, he makes a great shot and runs out, the next thing I know he is up 3-1 in the race to 4, I put some stuff together with a 9 ball snap and nice run, to win hill-hill I broke and made 4 balls, the 9 ball hangs but I play a nice carom off the 3 ball for the win.

My next opponent is Andy who is from the Philippines and you can tell he plays very well. He is only going to 3 games, he runs out the first rack with ease, I miss a routine shot in the next rack and he is up 2-0. I get it back to 2-2, he misses a shot and leaves me dead hooked with only 3 balls on the table. I kick at the ball and leave him a tough shot and he gets out and I lose the match 3-2. Now I have to go through the losers side.

I play a bunch of players in the losers side and one of them was my buddy Jay whom I beat 4-1, then a nice lady who I see around named Claudia and win that 4-1 also. I play Dave again and he is saying I am trying to rack him which pisses me off because I am getting them as tight as I can with the equipment we are using, crappy wood racks and beat up bar tables are not easy to rack on. I win that match 4-1 also with two 9 ball combos. I play Layton next who is a nice guy who does not get out and play match, we both do not play great and he dogged some balls, I win again 4-1.

Now I am in the finals with Andy, I think we are even players on the small track but I have to spot him a game and he goes to 3. I play well and he missed a routine out and I capitalized to take the set after some nice safety play and shots. Guess what the score was?, 4-1 again! Well me and Andy are both tired and decide to split as we both were in the side pot. Jay did well in action when I knocked him out of the tourney beating a guy who beat him in the tourney for a quick race to 5 for $50. All in all it was a good night out and I was happy with my play.

I have been doing very well in the bar table tournaments, mainly 8 ball, cashing in 4 out of 5 of them. I will most likely play tomorrow in Preacher Ronn's Monthly One Pocket at Kolby's, I really love one pocket and it is a good tournament. Last month I did beat Preacher Ronn 2-0 so that was a victory within itself as he plays hard, he actually took 4th this year in the One Pocket State Championship that took place last weekend. Well wish me luck, I need it!

One Pocket Weekend

Well OTR decided to sponsor Scott Frost in the AZ State One Pocket Championship at Kolby's this weekend. The tourney drew 36 players I believe and some good talent out of Cali came to play. Scott was not who he normally is, seeming to be too relaxed and not killing the other guys like he usually does. He took 3rd losing twice to Mitch Ellerman who went on to win 5-2 against Mike Pankoff. I really like Mikes game and his style, really plays the game well. Mitch played very well also and it is nice to see a young guy like himself who is a real good guy win it. I cannot deny I was rooting for Scott in this as I took him against the field when it got down to about 7 or 8 players left and he was on the losers side but no one is invincible. I do think Scott played poorly both times he lost and even in other matches where he won but I am sure he knows this. I do hope that he does well in Galveston and takes down the $25,000 first place prize, that would be awesome for him.

As for me my action this weekend was limited, I played one guy 10-6 and won 3 games in a row and he quit. I played a tourney that was an 8 and under and cashed coming in 4th place along with splitting the side pots. Got to beat Jude aka badcompany in the tourney 5-2 which is always nice since the last 2 times in tournament play he beat me badly but I am still 3-0 gambling with him. I was hoping we could match up for some $50 a game one pocket but he did not have his cue and its understandable not to play without your weapon, I have done it and it really can be a handicap. I backed Bobby E in some one pocket action at $50 a game and he broke even, if that kid develops some patience he will be a very good one pocket player. All in all it was a fun weekend with some great one pocket played, the DCT put on a good tourney and I am really shocked more players did not come out and play for this, last year had a dozen more players in it.

My New Player

Well this just came in the mail from Crown Cues! I cant wait to put it through its paces tonight and see how it plays but I am sure it plays great. The cue is made from one piece of curly maple so it and flows perfectly. This is my first cue with a joint that matches the ring work, always wanted that and think it is a nice touch. Let me know what you think. The maker Gene La Viness did and awesome job on this and is highly recommended, customer service is top notch along with workmanship. The pics do not do it justice IMO. Go to www.crowncues.biz ! I had to sell my Huebler before being able to get this one and keep it and I am so happy I did.

Report on the Game

Well the game with the guy I was meeting up with at Kolby's went pretty good. I did not play well and the first set went hill-hill and the second set I won 5-2. I did end up playing later against another guy who has been jumping in action throwing his money around. I gave up 9-6 playing one pocket and finished up 3 games and then we played some $10 a rack 9 ball with me giving the 8. I am not much of a 9 baller and hate to give up ball weight. He is up 3-4 games most of the time but I make a run back and get up 3 games but I have to eat so we take a break.

He gets a bit impatient so I offer to stake numerous players in the room against him in various games. We agree on me putting this kid in against him who has not been playing very long but plays decent some even 9 ball. The kid and him are even for hours but the guy gets up about 6 games and I pull the kid out, he is tired and worn out, not a big deal as I am up decent for the night and I will put the kid in against him next time when he is fresh. So far for the year I am over $4000 in wins and at about $800 in losses, not too bad really at all. I am glad I am keeping track this year as I have been curious as to how I do each year and it sure beat guessing.

Gambling a Bunch!

Well as of late I have been in good tourney and action mode and making some good little scores. I have been doing very well on Sunday night at Kolby's playing bar table 8 ball. I have cashed 3 times there out of the 4 or 5 that I have played in it which is nice as it is one of my better games. I have been mixing it up gambling and my winning for the year are just about $4,000 which is not bad for not being a pro or short stop player. I keep track of my wins and losses for the year and do not book too many losers but in the end it all adds up, my losses are at about $800 so basically for every $50 I win I lose $10, not too shabby IMO.

I really would like to focus on playing better in the Tuesday night tournament but with streaming it getting focused is tough because you have to handle the stream and make sure everything is running okay. I have had a few times where the stream goes down but I am in a match so it has to wait because I cannot do that to my opponent. I plan on doing some upgrades to the stream audio wise which is great as I have been waiting for awhile to do it.

I really have to say that I enjoy gambling and tournament play, not sure which I enjoy more but the competition and seeing how I will do under the pressure is what it is all about. I played last night and lost to a guy I should beat if I am right. Being hungry and not really feeling my opponent as he just was not a pleasure to gamble with really just did not have my mind right along with the crap table we played on. I think if you need to eat or anything you should before getting into a session with someone because when you play for hours it can really be tough on you. I could not get food at the place as it was late so it took its toll, yes I know every pool player has an excuse, haha, but on the square I was disgusted with how I played. Me and the guy might match up again today and I hope to avenge my loss to him and play my game.

Well play well and be lucky my friends and hopefully I am today, will follow up on the action if it goes down.