This

We have one more league night left and we play a pretty good team. I am currently 19 points back, so I had a better shot than expected. If these guys light him up and I don't lose... I've seen bigger upsets in the last week.

Final update.

I won the ERO bet easily and fell short on the total points bet. He won by 8 goddam points. Here's the funny part...

My first game my opponent breaks and runs out to the 8 ball and fouls. I got ball in hand with a table I run out 95 out of 100 tries. My first shot on this table and I slow roll the ball for shape and the table is like mud . The ball gets to the pocket and curls off into the tit. I missed and he fires the 8 in to beat me 10-0. If I just run that out and get the 10 points I win that bet as well. Terrible.

I'm halfway through 99 Critical Shots, and I feel like I'm learning a TON. it feels like the first time I read Super/System. A lot of fundamentals that were not immediately apparent.

I'm on vacation, can't wait to get back home and rack'em up!

I remember sitting around on a dorm couch in college about 15 years ago reading 99 critical shots and having someone exclaim "What class is that for?!"

It seemed that, after explanation, the thought of reading a book that wasn't assigned by a professor was foreign to him.

I played 3-cushion billiards the other day, first time in almost 30 years. It was so much fun.

Next time back at the pool table, and I made some amazingly precise position shots, sending the cueball through narrow gaps.

Reached out the guy who runs the local APA league, asking if he could hook me up with a local team. "Actually, I got a team that needs a guy starting this week."

Went last night. APA rules are a little frustrating**, but I guess any set of unfamiliar rules are going to feel that way. But the worst part: one of my teammates is an immature man-baby who has to yell and scream and stomp at every little setback. At one point, his opponent had to calmly tell him, "You're wound up pretty tight. Calm down, relax. Have some fun!"

I quit my M8 team because I didn't want to deal with teammates like this (I don't care if opponents act like this, I don't have to be with those guys week after week after week). Fortunately, there are only a few weeks left in the season. I'll ride it out with this team, then see if I can go the free-agency route.

(I completely dominated my match, btw. They started me out with an average rating for a handicap, and I'm much better than an average Open player. I was matched up with a bottom-rung handicap, had to spot her two games in a race to four, won the lag and beat her 4-0. I shot poorly the first rack, like I always do, nervous and full of yips...missing my first three shots, but was never in danger of losing that rack...then I really started to annihilate her after that. I'm eager to get past the Open level, and find an Advanced league--but I'm not going to promote myself until I actually WIN something at the Open level, or at least come close.)

** = Ridiculous APA rules, if you're not familiar:

--Make a striped ball on the break, you're stuck with stripes.

--We don't call pockets, except on the 8, and that's fine...but when you're on the 8, you don't "call" your pocket, you "mark" it. You have to set an actual marker on the rail next to the pocket you're calling. You can use anything for a marker--a coaster, your keys, whatever. I used my phone.This is the dumbest rule I've ever heard of. Not just the dumbest rule in pool, but the dumbest rule in rules. Manbaby lost a game because he forgot to mark his pocket, then he REALLY started blasting off. He lost his race-to-7 match 7-5. Woulda been 6-6 with one more to go.

--Actually, I kind of like the rest of their rules, such as the way they score matches, and especially the part where the loser of the rack gets no credit at all for how many balls they made. I rely on defense to win a lot of racks, I'm not a big 8-0 guy yet.

You must be playing a different APA league format than what I'm playing because there is no "race-to-7" matchups possible unless a 7 is playing a 2. In fact, the scoresheets only have enough room for 9 total games in a match. Two 7s playing each other would have a race to 5. Were you maybe referring to the total points won for the night by each team?

There's a little known flaw to marking pockets. You can have your marker hanging over the edge of the bumper and if the 8 ball goes off that and into the pocket it counts. Found this out just a few months ago. There's nothing in the rules against it although I'm sure it won't give you a positive image against your opponent.

I thought it said 7-5, but I'm probably wrong.

My APA results so far, if anyone cares:

My first week: as reported above, they gave me a Skill Level (SL) of 4, which they say is average...but after three weeks, every team we have played is stacked with 2's and 3's (the lowest). I played a 2, shut her out, never came close to losing a rack.

Second Week: they moved me up to SL 5. I played a SL 3, and I shot horribly. She won the first rack (I had a bad table, and I couldn't make a ball any way), so with the spot, she was on the hill already. I won the next four racks and the match, but only because she was so terrible--she had about 9 chances and dogged every one.

Interesting note about that one: I had a nice runout going in the hill-hill game, but one ball was half-blocked, I needed PERFECT shape to make it, and even then, needed a perfect hit. I ran three balls to get to that perfect shape, and if I make this ball, I've got an easy out the rest of the way. I'm focused, finally, for the first time in the whole match, the balls are going in for me, the cue ball is stopping in the right places, just make this shot....

...."YOU'RE GONNA MISS!", she blurted during my final back swing!

I couldn't believe it. I thought we were grown-ups.

I missed.

"YOU'RE GONNA MISS this shot, you know that!", she finished her sentence.

"I know that's not cool, shouting like that in the middle of my backswing," I admonished her.

The smile fell from her face. She pleaded innocence. We had been having a delightful time up to that moment. She apologized, pleading that it was just meant as conversation, nothing more. I wasn't sold, but I accepted her apology, and didn't say another word about it.

But that ball I missed was now in a worse spot, and this game was going to take a few more innings. I wasn't smiling and chatting any more, it was all game face, and I wrapped her up like a python. Every time I made a ball or played a good safety, I thought, "Take THAT!"

When I made the game ball and the match, I finally smiled, and went over to shake her hand congratulate her on going hill-hill with a higher-rated player. We shook, but before I could give my speech, she leaned in and said, "You don't have to be an *******."

What? ME?

My turn to plead ignorance. "What are you talking about?"

She thought I made a big deal over nothing. I told, "You apologized. I accepted, and I never said another word!"

I thought I had chilled her out--but she spent the rest of the night running around the bar telling everyone--even complete strangers!--what a jerk I was.

So I got an immature baby teammate my first week, then an immature baby opponent the next. This league isn't very much fun. At least my baby-teammate is behaving himself tonight. He must be winning tonight.

Third week (last night): I'm still a SL 5. Get matched up against a 4. He arrives 15 mins after we're supposed to start, so he opens his case and we starts without a warmup. I'm plenty warmed up and ready.

I win the lag (again! I'm 3-0 in lags, against three people who look like they've never lagged in their lives, let alone spent a minute practicing lags), and scratch on the break in an oddball pocket. I go sit, and I'm hit with the usual jittery nerves. Will I ever get over this stage fright in pool? I've been on actual STAGES and not felt like this!

He hits his first shot, and jumps up before the cue ball has hit the object ball. The shot goes, but I immediately relax, thinking, "There is NO WAY I'm losing to a guy who shoots like THAT."

He made the next ball, jumping up again, and I'm thinking, "How the hell does he make balls that way?

I think he made another ball before missing. I've got two different balls to break out...no problem! I run out! Wow! This is big for me.

I win three of the next four racks to win the match. The only one I lost, I had his last ball tied up and was feeling good about it, but he made the bank shot. He made a few more bank shots later in the match, made a lot more than he missed. Who knew?

Only shot I dogged was on a wide-open six-ball runout in the last match. I made the 4th shot, but got way out of shape on my last ball (right line, but half-a-table too much speed, because I was worried about not hitting it hard enough, lol). I tried a safe, hit it bad, left him a three-ball run-out that was anything but easy. He didn't convert, and I got out next inning.

Best I ever shot in a match. God help these guys if I'm getting over dogging the game ball.

In total, I've won 12 of 14 racks, but against lower-rated opponents. And I probably should be spotting them more than I am already.

(also learned last night that man-baby's tantrum was because he lost to a player so bad that it cost him SL 7, or highest, rating.)

Here's a pool league story I bet you've never heard before: I'VE BEEN TRADED!

The guy who runs the league called me up and asked if I'd be OK with being reassigned to another team in the same league. The team I'm on has too many high-rated players. The APA has rules limiting a team's handicap (the five players who play cannot have Skill Levels that add up to more than 23), and he's afraid I won't be able to play every week if I stay on this team.

I'm not aspring to winning a national title or anything, I just want to play every week, so I said sure, no problem. I'm being moved to a team that was tied with us in the standings, for the last playoff spot.

Hilariously, I'm playing against my old team this week. How funny will that be if I somehow go 3-0 for them, then knock them out of the playoffs?

Kid who works the counter at the poolroom where I practice asked me how my game was coming along. I had glowing things to say about myself...but then I asked him the same question. I had trouble following his answer, because I had never seen him play, so to get a baseline for this discussion, I asked, "How good are you? I mean, can you consistantly run 4-5 balls...?"

"Oh, I can consistantly run the rack," he assured me with quiet confidence.

"Really?"

"I'd say...1 out of 3 times."

"What are you playing? 9 ball?"

"9 ball, 8 ball, 10 ball, whatever."

Wow. I was impressed, and told him so.

My next visit to this place, he was practicing at a table near the entrance. I asked him if he wanted to play, and he said sure. We played about an hour, before we both had other places we needed to be.

We played 9 ball on a 9-footer. I've spent the last month playing/practicing on the 7-footer, and I had no warm-up, so there was a bit of an adjustment period for me at the start.

He did not run a single rack. If he ever ran 5 balls (and I'm not sure he did), they were never the LAST five balls. I beat him 5-2 or 6-3, something like that.

We both made some nice shots, tho. It was a lot of fun.

Last night, I stopped in for an hour to practice 8-ball on the 7-footer. It was insane how well I shot. Cue ball control has been through the roof. After a lifetime of coming-close-but-whiffing on breakout shots, I'm nailing them now. On many shots that require precise position (say, a target zone about the size of a coaster), I'm dropping dimes. All without conscious thought about speed, the unconscious part of my brain is handling that. A few shots left me thinking, "This is scary, how good I'm shooting," because it *is* scary and unsettling when you step into a strange, unfamiliar place for the first time.

I was in that place last night.

Week Four: Still a SL 5, matched up against a SL 4, gotta spot her one in a race to four.

She beat me on the lag, shattering my undefeated streak there. I was within a ball of the end rail, but she hit hers better.

I demolished her the first three racks. I actually felt bad for her, she was so overmatched. It has to be no fun to come out on a Tuesday and get shut out by a far superior player.

I broke the fourth rack, made a striped ball, looked over the table...and the runout was about as wide open as you could hope for. Three short stop shots to begin...and I got cute on the second one, trying to move the CB over an inch for no good reason, rather than just stop it. Missed the shot. Laughed at myself for trying to make 7 shots instead of trying to make 1 shot 7 times.

She only made one ball. I get back to the table, and my run-out is still wide-open. I'm knocking in balls, all the while silently cursing myself for botching the break-and-run (the APA gives you a PATCH for that! I scoffed at the notion of patches...until I earned one, and now I want to earn ALL of them!). I left myself a longer shot than I intended on the 8...so long, that now one of her balls might be in my way...and I missed the shot. Completely because I worried more about the trophy (future) than the shot (present).

With my balls cleared, she made a few of hers, then shocked me by playing a great safety, her first of the match. I kick at it and make the hit, but now she has four hangers to run out and win, and that's exactly what she did.

Not only don't I get my stupid patch, but i cost my team a point by not getting the shutout.

Rack 5, I'm winning handily again...and get out of shape on the 8 again. Try a tough shot and leave it hanging in the corner. She plays another spectacular safe, sticking me behind her ball at the far end. My only shot is 2 rails first, AND if I make the hit, I gotta worry about following it in and losing, AND she's got another ball in the middle of the table I need to squeeze past after the second rail. GL YTF.

I not only hit that ball in the center, but *it* knocks the 8 in, and I lose this rack. In about a minute, I've gone from "pitching a shutout" to "hill-hill", costing my team another point (she gets a point for hill-hill the way hockey teams get a point for losing in overtime), and now I might not even win this match.

I got lucky when she didn't sink a ball on the break, and I could claim stripes, because the solids were hopelessly deadlocked, and I won the rack easily (she even got BIH after another great safety, but couldn't do much with it).

I really admired the way she never quit after getting destroyed the first three racks. Most people would have.

So I beat another lesser player in a hill-hill match. I need to stop saying that I'm better than a SL 5. Maybe I'm not.

(we did not play my old team this week, that's next week. They have two SL 7's. I hope I get to play one of them, just to see what it feels like to get spotted two racks in a race to five.)

Really enjoying this thread mate. What size tables do you play on in competition?

Nice story, YTF!

I had a similar experience last night for a match as your opponent did. I was matched against a SL4 (I'm a SL6) so was spotting him two games. He won the lag, broke and made a solid. He made another ball and then missed. I had seven balls on the table and had to play a defense (shrug). He's able to make a legal hit and I was stuck playing another d. In fact, four of my first five shots were defenses as it was such a tough table for me. He won that game.

Second game, he break made a stripe and then ran four others in before missing. I run seven through and fail to get shape on the eight. Had to go for a tough bank where I hit low right on the cueball to prevent a scratch in the corner and at the same time leave the cueball on the end rail after hitting the side. I rattled the bank and left him tough. He proceeds to miss a long shot by a mile, it bounces to the other end of the table and goes in leaving him an easy side and eight. Down 2-0 :P

Third game I get stuck, again, with another tough table (some nights you just shrug your shoulders, look at your teammates and go "I dunno"). He again makes a ball in a pocket he wasn't aiming for with one ball left (I had two left). He makes that but leaves himself a tough cut on the eight and misses allowing me to finally take the game. At this point I'm feeling pretty confident in my accuracy and decisions and just attribute the first two games to bad luck and the third game was my luck starting to turn. He seemed to be getting a little shaky and making mistakes on his leaves.

Fourth game, two innings, he had 5 balls left on the table.

Fifth game, 3 innings (with a d), he had 4 left (I think you can see where this is going). At this point my confidence is sky rocketing as my breaks are producing open tables, I'm pocketing one in and playing smart.

Sixth game, I break, make none. He makes two and misses, I run out.

Seventh game (hill-hill), I break and run five more in. Couldn't manage to break out my last ball as it was sitting behind one of his so I pocketed his ball in and left him on a rail. He plays a defense after consulting with another player during a timeout. Three rails and I make contact. He plays another. Two rails and contact again. One more defense. This time I go two rails once more but miss contact by less than two inches.

He now has BIH, makes one in the side (wrong choice to start) and goes for a combo. He misses that and leaves one of those sitting inside a side pocket next to another of his balls. I make my last ball and leave myself an easy straight on shot on the eight to the opposite corner pocket...and rattle it. Grrr! Eight ball is now in the middle of the table and four out his five balls are sitting in pockets.

Remember those two balls sitting next to each other in the side pocket? He proceeds to go for one of them...and follows the cueball in right after it! BIH on the eight to win, lol!

This match was especially memorable for me, not because of a significant comeback against a player who came out shooting on fire, but because it boosted my lifetime win % to 60. I started out shooting in APA as a SL4 ten years ago with having no knowledge of position, strategy or defense (never even heard of playing defense in pool before that). So you can imagine my first few sessions weren't exactly superb. A little while ago I set my self a goal to hit 60% and it took me almost 5 sessions to do so while mostly playing against other SL6s and a few SL7s. Now I just need seven more matches to get a "300 matches played" plaque (yes, that's a thing, I don't need another stupid trophy or plaque, my closet already has too many, just give me a freakin' patch).

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I was wondering if anyone cared about this stuff. I could totally enjoy more stories like the one Dayo posted above.

Mike, my Tuesday league plays on 7' bar tables, so that's what i practice on, too.

One thing I forgot to mention: I was relieved to see my new teammates did not get upset with me when I called a foul on myself (did I hit the ball first or the rail first? I'm the only one who knew for sure). My old teammates didn't even want me calling *safeties*.

Another thing I forgot to mention: the reason I was scratching so much on the break is because I was breaking with a house cue that was so awful, I was afraid to put any English at all on the ball. I scratched on my first break this week, then just used my own cue to break after that and never scratched again.

I usually work Monday nights, but a scheduling quirk gave me tonight off, so I went down to the local room to play in a little $15 9-ball tourney that draws some of the top players in the area. No handicaps, so I'm going to get killed, but maybe I'll learn something.

Had 15 minutes to warm up. struggled on the bigger table, but started feeling comfortable near the end of warm-ups.

Race to five. First guy killed me, 5-2, but it felt good to take a single rack from a player as good as this guy, let alone two racks (I got out from the 6 the first time, the 5 next time).

Double elimination, so I move on to play a guy who also lost his first match. We went hill-hill before I got him. He instantly starting making excuses ("I'm so tired, I shouldn't have even come out tonight..."). He's probably right, but come on man, don't make excuses, just congratulate me.

My next match is against one of the best players in the room. If I take a single rack from this guy in a race to four, I'm marking it as a win.

I win the lag (!!!), and nothing goes on the break. He's running this rack with an efficiency like you'd see in a tv match, until he gets out of shape after the 6. He has to get fancy on the 7, and not only bobbles it, but he scratches, too. In frustration, he swipes ALL the balls with his cue, and concedes the first rack.

I LOL'd. "You don't know who you're playing," I told him. "I'm only even-money to get out from here."

"So am I!", he laughed, frustrated with himself.

I racked 'em (you rack your own here), then turned to him and asked, as gently as I could, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way: but could you please NOT concede any shots to me? The whole reason I'm here tonight is because I need to learn how to finish a rack without dogging shots. I'm not going to win anything, I'm just here for that specific experience." He graciously agreed.

Next rack, I broke, got hooked, pushed. He made the tough shot on the 1, didn't get shape, tried a safe, hit it bad. I got up, AND RAN OUT. FROM THE *TWO*! Got such perfect shape on the 9, the guy was visibly uncomfortable restraining himself from conceding the rack!

He took the next rack, and was running out the one after that to tie it up, but got out of shape on the 9 (cueball got away from him, and rolled up almost frozen to the 9). He tried a hero shot and missed, left me a pretty easy shot, and I'm suddenly up 3-1 on this champion in a race to four!

"I don't even care if I win this," I decide. "This is ALREADY a win in my book."

He turned on the safteties from this point on. I never got snookered so bad in my life. He easily tied things up at hill-hill.

He made three balls on the break, but had a tough leave. Decided to shoot it and missed.

I got a wide-open runout staring me in the face. Not a single tough shot left.

First shot, straight in. Ball is a yard from the pocket, cue ball is a yard from the object ball. I can stop it, draw a little, draw it 2', or even roll it a few inches forward. Anywhere on that line will do.

I go with roll it, to cinch the shot.

I miss.

It wasn't a dog.

"Man, I must be tired," I thought.

He ran out, and I never shot again.

I was going to play more pool after this at a place that has free pool on Mondays, but I was done. Took my cue and went home.

Great experience, tho.

(I kept my "I'm tired!" excuses to myself, btw.)

Congrats on the "personal" win! 9 ball is something I've only played a few times against teammates of mine that are also in 9 ball leagues but I tend to beat them. It's a game that fits my defense minded game style. I also feel tournaments are an excellent way to gain experience because you normally run into players with an above average skill level and you get the stress of having to win to move on. Great way to learn!

I arrived just in time to start the match against my old team. No warm-up. I always suck when I don't get a warm-up.

We put up first. Our captain announces, "We put up YTF."

The top three players on the other team huddled up, and the consensus seemed to be, "I don't want to play him! YOU play him! I'd rather NOT play him!"

Finally, their highest-ranked player (he's a 7, the highest they got in this league) stands up and announces without enthusiasm that he will play me.

This guy is the Man-baby I mentioned from my first night in this league. He never behaved that way again after that first night, but you know how first impressions go. He seemed in a good mood tonight. He needs five racks, I only need three.

I win the lag easily, and his shoulders slump, lol.

He racks, I wait for him to step away from the table before I bend down to address the ball. I take a few practice strokes and fire at the second ball...and somehow make the 8 in a kitchen pocket!

I turn to where both teams are huddled, to accept my congratulations...but no one saw it. I'm standing there for a minute, calling out, "Nobody saw that?", and being ignored. "I get a patch for that!" Nothing.

Finally my opponent sees that I'm not shooting, so he grabs his cue and approaches the table, but I break it to him, "I win."

"You....?" He scanned the table for the 8, and couldn't find it. Another slump. Now he's in a deep hole.

He racks, I hit a lousy break and turbo-scratch in the nearest pocket. "Same guy!"

The rack wasn't that broken, so this game took a while, and I shot TERRIBLE. He wins.

I rack. He hits a great break, but nothing falls. I think I can run out whether I take stripes or solids. I take stripes, AND RUN 'EM!

"I get a patch for that, too!"
"Not in this league. You gotta break and run 'em."
"But it was my first shot, and all 15 balls were on the table!"
"Not in this league."
Grrrrr.....

I'm thinking if I *bury* a 7, my rating is going up next week. Good, that's just how I want it.

I needn't have worried. He won the next four racks, leaving me dying on the hill.

I almost had him, too: I had a long run-out going. The 8 was just above the spot. My key ball was just below the rack...but I got *just* out of shape on the key ball. I can still make it easily, but now I need to follow it into the corner, go two rails close to the pocket, and come out about a foot. Right where I need to stop, is one of his balls. I should be OK...

I'm not OK. the cue balls stops, almost frozen to his ball. Can I see the 8? Yes, I think I can. I need to send the cue ball exactly perpendicular to the ball it's stuck on.

My opponent asks the league operator to come officiate this shot, and to call the foul if need be. Fine, whatever, I'm not going to touch that ball.

I ignore his ball, and focus on the 8. I hit it perfectly, cutting it into the side. Ballgame.

Official says, "Yup."

My opponent is shocked. "That wasn't a foul! The ball moved!"

Official clarified, "Yup, it moved. Foul."

My turn to be shocked. "It moved?" Both men assured me that it clearly moved.

I can't believe it. I mean, I believe them...but it's a good thing he called over an official--if he had called that foul on me without a witness, there would have been trouble, because I would never have believed him.

One of my teammates was right there, he confirmed that his ball moved a little. I guess when I put a little left English on it, it squirted to the right a little?

That wasn't the only chance I had to win. Another rack, almost all of his balls are out of the way, and I'm running out. I cut in the 9, and need to go 2-3 rails and leave the cue ball by the side pocket to cinch the final two balls...and I scratch in that side, the cue ball *barely* falling in.

Our hill-hill game featured about a dozen safeties before he finally got an opening and ran out.

We lost as a team by one point, but they needed to beat us by 3+ to knock us out of the playoffs, so we go to the playoffs next week....versus the same team! I want this "7" again! I can beat this guy! I'm not missing warmups next week!

Honestly, if I were a 7 and had to take on a fairly strong 5 I'd be unenthusiastic as well. I'm now giving two games to someone who's a potential 6. Doesn't exactly instill confidence in my chances to win. (also another example of trying to get favorable matchups throughout the night)

Our team is currently waiting on the results from last night's matches to find out if we have a bye for the playoffs or have to shoot. We had to reschedule our last two week's of matches (last night and next week) since our captain is refereeing in Vegas through next week. We're in second place and the team in first is only 2 points ahead but holds the tie breaker. They also are going to be in Vegas next week competing.

If they got 9 points or fewer last night (against a strong team) then we jump to first. Sounds great but at the same time it will make it 3 weeks in a row where we haven't shot a match. Wednesdays just don't feel right.

At the start of this thread, I mentioned joining my first team, captained by my old roommate. His team won their league this past spring. I've played against a few of the guys on that team since then (informal settings), and they've all improved since I was on their team, but I never would have guessed they were good enough to win a league.

Ran into one of the guys last night, he was telling me that they were feeling saucy after winning an Open season, and they joined an Advanced league. They were not at all prepared for the culture shock. They are getting annihilated, week after week. "We're finally realizing now that we need to learn how and when to play a safety!"

"Oh, you mean it's finally sinking in, what I was preaching to you back then?", I asked smugly.

Yeah, YTF, that was his point.

.

Playoffs, a rematch with last week's opponent. I hope I get to play the same guy again, because this time I'm properly warmed up, and had a good practice the night before....but more importantly, I need to shoot the first match, as I'm going out of town for a few days as soon as I finish here.

CAPTAIN: We put up YTF.
THEM: OK, he can play (a different guy).

We're both a SL 5, so it's a race to four, no spot. I'm disappointed that I don't get my personal rematch, but they're strategy makes sense: they only have four players on their team who played enough games this season to be playoff-eligible, so they've already forfeited one of the five match-ups tonight, and it goes in the books as a shutout...so they're saving their best guys to play our worst, to try to get some shutouts in return.

I shoot poorly the first rack and lose. Feeling the jitters a little. Playoffs, I guess. Also, my girlfriend is here tonight to watch, first time in forever.

He breaks the second rack. When it's my turn to shoot, I notice the jitters are gone. It's like being scared in a fight, until you take that first punch, then all the fear drains away. I win the second rack, it's 1-1.

I beat him again to make it 2-1.

We play a few safeties in the next rack. When he has one ball left, and I have two, I play the shot of the night, a safety that hooks him in a corner behind both of my balls. He tanks for over five minutes. A couple of times, he jacked up for the jump shot, wound up furiously--then stepped back to think some more. It was pretty funny. He finally tries the jump, and like every jump attempt at this level, it does not come close to clearing the ball he's trying to jump over.

I've got BIH, but now there's a 3-ball cluster on the short rail: mine, his, and the 8. I have no shot on my ball that can get me to the opposite end for my other ball. I tank for a minute, then take my time-out, even though no one on my team figures to be much help with this.

My captain arrives, and we discuss a few safety possibilities, but none of them are easy.

Suddenly, my opponent gripes that were taking too long.

I wasn't sure if he was kidding. "You just spent thirty-seven minutes on that ridiculous jump shot, and I never said a word! You're going to give me a hard time on the very next shot???"

"That wasn't a time-out!", he pointed out. What a nit. I *still* don't know if he was kidding. He's a nice guy, but sometimes, he can be too much. At one point this match, I played a ball that was right next to the 8, and told him he should watch the hit to make sure I don't foul. He pulls out his phone and starts filming! And I don't mean from the sidelines, he's standing at the table with the phone directly above the object ball at shoulder height. I coulda told him to back off, but I took the shot any way, and made it (it clearly hit my ball first, didn't need replay review, lol). As he sat, one of HIS teammates told him, "If you did that to me, I'd tell you to stick that phone up your ass!"

I play my BIH, rail-first, kick safety, but it does not go as planned. We trade a few safes, then he makes his last ball, can't get shape on the 8, so he plays safe.

His balls are gone, I got one left, it's on the second diamond. He leaves me in the middle of the nearest short rail. Do I safe? Or do I cut this and send it down 3/4ths of the table? That shot doesn't seem as hard as it used to be, at least on these small tables. If I use pocket speed, I don't need any English to get an easy shot on the 8 for the runout....

....I hit it like God....

...we watch the 7 rolling along slowly towards the pocket, doubtless going in. I'm going to have a straight-in, 2-foot shot on the 8....

....my eyes go back to watch the 7 drop, when suddenly, it makes a right turn a few inches before the pocket, and misses.

"Did that roll off?", I blurted, unable to believe my eyes.

Everyone agreed it did. My opponent got the easy shot on the 8 instead of me, and he didn't miss it. I grab a ball, spot it where my 7 started, shoot it at the pocket, and it goes in--but I shot it too hard. I shot another ball, softer, and watched it take the same path the 7 did.

What a bad beat! Instead of a commanding 3-1 lead, I'm tied 2-2.

Next rack, we play a few safes, he even knocks in one of my balls at one point...but then he leaves me an opening. My last ball is on the short rail, an inch or two from the pocket, and i'm shooting from the center of the table. The 8 is on the same short rail, so I need to go up-and-down-and-up-again, through traffic. I make the cut shot, but traffic+speed=scratch, of course, giving him BIH and an easy out. He's up 3-2. OMFG. Two horrific beats.

Now I start playing terrible. My first shot, the ball is a foot from the pocket, I'm straight-in, a foot away. I want to draw back 1-2 feet. I hit it horrible--the shot goes, but the cueball stops dead.

Before I can hang my head, my gf shouts, "Nice shot, honey!" To her, it looked like I just rifled one in with authority, lol.

My botched draw leads to a short inning. Next shot, I miss the pocket by a foot. I must be getting tired, I was up super-early today, and running around getting ready for my trip. Oh well, GG....

...but suddenly, my opponent starts dogging shots. The more I miss, the more he misses! He hits one so bad he scratches, giving me BIH with two solid balls left---but it's not so easy. They're not clustered, but the 8 is blocking most of the approaches to my key ball; and I can't shoot the key ball first, because a stripe would get in the way of getting shape for the other ball. I got BIH, but I need to play a very precise leave here, will need perfect speed...

...I get the perfect speed...but I was so focused on getting the leave, I forgot to make the shot! I *missed* the BIH shot with a chance to tie the match. Oh man, what opportunities I had--

Opponent, with easy out, somehow scratches again.

This BIH out is not nearly as difficult, and I knock it home to make it hill-hill.

He knows he had his chance, and blew it. I dominate the last rack to win yet another hill-hill game.

Our team won the match, we advance to next week.

Congrats on the win! I tend to start out most of my matches on the slower side and gain momentum throughout (not sure why, I think it's a focus issue which I've been working on and improving this session). I end up with many matches getting to or close to the hill, but still usually a win.

Our team finished 1 point behind first place (and they had the tie breaker) which means we have to play a playoff match against a wild card draw to get into the LTC. What really sucks is that during our final session matchup one of our players was up 2-0 (3-2 race) with an easy 8 to finish the shutout. He somehow missed by a mile, lost that game and then the next one to give the match to his opponent. There's our 2 points for a bye to LTC. At least the teams that are left for the wild card draw we've all but destroyed twice this session (knock on wood).

Oh, semantics. There are no "safeties" in this league. They are considered defenses. If you pocket one of your balls in on a defensive shot it is still your turn. With a safety it is the opponents turn no matter what.

Also, http://media.poolplayers.com/TMRB/Te...al-English.pdf - scroll to page 7. There's a chart showing the time guidelines for everything including coaches, shots and special shots. There's no official penalty for any of these but if a team is intentionally delaying a complaint could be made to the league operator. This guide will come in handy for LTC where if a match is running too long a "sudden death" (one game) match could occur in the final matchup to speed things along. A team that is saving a strong 7SL for the final may try to take advantage of this situation by slowing down other games. Be careful. There's plenty of jerks in this league that will do anything to just win instead of have fun. It helps to know the rules inside and out to prevent these issues.

This is the opposite of a good rule.