I played my 4th straight pool match of the season on Saturday afternoon (July 30) at 3pm.
I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before (played poker late) and also had a lot on my mind, which kept me from going back to sleep when I woke up Saturday morning. The mind is very selfish and is a rude conjurer. So, sometimes I can't turn my brain off. :(
I know in my heart I am playing well right now (which feels great, btw) but it doesn't mean I still show up every time I play pool. But, I know after a few tough months (maybe I was in a rut?) that I am now CAPABLE of playing well. But with lack of sleep and too much crap on my mind, how would I play?
I played a new guy and so I didn't know how to gauge him before hand, lol.
He was a tall slender, older man, with white-ish hair. For his age, he stood very tall and didn't slouch at all. He moved around the table like a cat, too. He was slick, calm, collected, and confident.
He made some "funny" comments in the very beginning of the match that rubbed me the wrong way, but since I didn't know him I wasn't sure if it was dry humor or if he was really kinda rude. I just dismissed the comments and didn't want to worry about them.
I lost the lag, scratched on the break, and was down -1 right off the bat. He missed his first shot, but left the cueball in the stack. I was so nervous he was going to respond rudely to me if I fouled, that I barely hit the cueball and barely touched the five ball I was trying to make. I sat down and merrily and embarrassingly said, "At least I hit it."
But then he tells me "you didn't hit a rail." I sat in my chair kinda confused, trying to rewind in my mind what just happened. Indeed he was correct, and so I was down -2. He then tells me, "I want you to go backwards." He said it without smiling or laughing. Again, was that dry humor or was he being rude?
He then ran 15. Ouch. -2 to 15.
He played good though. Got out well, shot well, made balls well.
Then I made two balls and he ran another 9. Down 0-24.
I was able to run 8 and now I'm only a 3rd down (because it's now 8 to 24).
I then ran 6 and I'm only down ten (15 to 25). Whew! BUT.... he returned with a 20 ball run! Twenty! Major ouch! I'm now down 15 to 45. :(
Holy cow.
I make 5; then 3; and miss. It wasn't my first miss, but that one pissed me off. I kept leaving shots for him and it frustrated me to no end because how can I catch up if I keep missing AND leave him a shot with wide open tables? Ugh! As I went to the bathroom to wash my hands (it was sticky in the pool room and I had to wash my hands several times) I pumped my fist in anger. I was mad.
When I came back, he ran 7. Down 26 to 53.
I don't know why I wasn't nervous or felt pressure to be down so much.
At this point I tell myself to just play well when I get a chance at the table. I may not win, but I am going to fight (dang it!) and not give up. I tell myself also to focus on staying down on my shots. Take my time, like I had been in the past few weeks that helped me climb out of my rut.
He goes for a risky side pocket shot from the stack and misses and leaves a wide open table. I don't know why he risked that. Not sure - I guess he thought for sure it would go, but such a risky shot no matter how far ahead is not good, imo.
I then run 16. ME! Not him. Down only 42 to 65. I feel a little relieved. I'm not gonna lose badly, lol.
I look over at my boyfriend and smile real big and mouthed "sixteen" as he smiles back.
But my opponent makes another little run and goes up 45 to 75. I can't believe it! But, if I keep missing and also leaving shots, then it makes sense, right?
Then I make a few balls and also have a little run of 6 and I'm down only 53-78.
At this point, I figure out how many racks he will need to win. He needs 22 points, so that's at least two racks. I tell myself to just try to keep picking away at balls to slow him down from reaching 100. My goal now is strictly PREVENTION. Try to prevent him as long as I can from reaching 100 by taking away enough balls in each rack to force another rack.
I then run 15. Score 69 to 81.
Then I run 3, then 5, while he scratches a couple of times or only runs two balls at a time. I play safe by hitting the side of the rack and I tell him, "That's a foul. I didn't hit a rail."
He was so immersed at the score sheet, he didn't reply to my comment. Instead he tells me matter-of-factly while he puts down his pen, "well, now you are ahead. I was winning by a lot, but now you are ahead by one."
Score 81 to 80. Me.
Huh?
Really? I'm ahead!?
I didn't show my excitement to him and instead I reminded him dryly, "I didn't hit a rail."
He replies, "I thought you did."
He walks to the table for his shot, and I look at the ball layout and *know* I didn't hit a rail. I tell him, "I'm taking a point off, I didn't hit a rail."
He replies to me pretty perturbed, "whatever you want to do."
Really? Well, I want to take the foul, buddy.
I again look over at my boyfriend and smile with HUGE excitement and mouthed "score tied" but of course he has no idea what I am trying to say, lol. Still, I'm ECSTATIC!
My opponent plays safe. I make two balls but then scratch. He runs 6. Dang it - he's getting closer to 100. Down 80 to 86.
He plays safe but accidentally leaves me a shot and says out loud, "that wasn't very safe." And, it wasn't - I got a shot and then run 11.
Eeeek! I'm up 92 to 86.
He counters with a 7 ball run but misses a tricky shot right before the break out. He has left a great break out ball for me (which would have been perfect for him, obviously). I manage to make the break ball nicely (I swear I didn't feel nervous or pressure for some reason, and I only concentrated on making the ball) and I opened the stack and ran 8 to win 100-93.
OMG! Really? I was down 45 to 75 and somehow just won? WOW!
I wash my hands and when I get back my boyfriend tells me, "He just told me he's mad, because he was ahead by so much and ended up losing."
I am very proud of myself for not letting my emotions completely ruin the match. I got upset at times and frustrated with myself, but I also convinced myself to just play well when I got to the table. I didn't play catch up or felt pressure at any time, which I don't know why but it felt good. I think just accepting I might lose but to also remind myself to play well when I could get to the table, kept the pressure from building. For some reason I remained calm and was never nervous or scared to lose. Embarrassment never entered my body, either.
I am trying to explain what happened, but I'm not really sure I am doing a good job, lol. But, in 2 of the last 4 matches, I had been down by 30 and came back and won with the same attitude - I cared about playing well, even tho I was down. Trying TOO hard to overcome a deficit is a detriment to my game. But that is difficult to control or remember in the midst of battle. I admit I was lucky tho, I just wanted to FEEL my body playing well. There is no better feeling than staying still while shooting balls in. I yearned for that feeling so badly, I just started to concentrate on that instead of the score or how much I wanted to win.
Damn I wish I would have done that my first match when I lost 100-97, then I'd be 4-0 right now in my stats instead of 3-1. Ugh!
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