30 Days of Thanks

Sometimes people post a post every day in November on Facebook for what they are thankful for.  I've done this a few times on my personal Facebook page, but this time I did on my AkaTrigger Facebook page and stated each day in November what I'm thankful for POOl-RELATED!

Well, here's all 30 of them for you:

30 days in November to state what we are THANKFUL for. Making mine pool related! Day 1: Thankful for all the opportunities to play pool, which means thankful for all the hard work of the Tournament Directors!

Day 2 of 30 days of Thanks. Today I am thankful that a few years ago I finally figuring out how important a smooth stroke is, and that I do not have to hit tough shots hard ("whack" at them). Once you figure that out, it's a HUGE part to success.

Day 3 of 30 days of Thanks. Today I am thankful for all those damn 8balls and 9balls I missed in close, tough matches! Yep, I really am thankful. Missing those balls in pressure situations led me to figuring out / learning / how to NOT do that in future important matches. Learning to stroke a few more times under pressure (or else I would rush and jump up b/c of nerves), deep breathing to slowing down my adrenaline, and learning to stay down on the pressure shots.

Day 4 of 30 Days of Thanks. My absolute favorite question I was ever asked in an interview was who was my favorite player. I thought for only a brief second and then replied, "my favorite player is every competitor I have ever competed against because I learned something from every single person I played." So today I am thankful for all the players I ever played, who helped me learn something from every match to help improve my game throughout the years.

Day 5 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today I am thankful for being able to play Galaga for hours and hours on only one single quarter in my late teens. Because I eventually got bored and decided to head to the other side of the arcade room to the pool tables and see what all that was about.

Day 6 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today I am thankful for how I learned from competing to contain my emotions, which led to me doing the same in my personal life and at work. It's amazing how what you learn from competing you can apply to every day life and how they all actually intertwine.

Day 7 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today I'm thankful for all the great friends i met through the game we all love. They've had my back through many, many tough times, and also been there through amazing bright pool moments.

Day 8 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today i am thankful for learning from Phil Capelle that when you are embarrassed or thinking too much or worried about those around you or thinking in the future while playing, to concentrate on your fundamentals and 3-ball shape to distract your mind from thinking too much about non pool things at the table. That's NO good. This has helped me immensely to be much more successful in competition.

Day 9 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today I'm thankful for FINALLY staying down on my shots. TOOK years. There are so many tricks and tips to staying down and not jumping up on shots. Some wait til the cueball stops, or wait til the object falls, or just makes it part of their routine (which isn't easy honestly). I finally learned how to stay down by watching the object last. Also, the smoother the stroke the less likely you'll jump up. Watching the object ball last helped almost overnight! Tough to jump up if you're doing that. Try it, you'll like it

Day 10 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today I am Thankful for Phil Capelle and his amazing book /Play Your Best Pool/. I have mentioned prolly over 100 times in my blog how much that sole book skyrocketed my 8-ball game. SKYROCKETED. Thank you, Phil!!
http://www.billiardspress.com/

Day 11 of 30 Days of thanks slipped past me. Yesterday I was very thankful for the awesome cuemakers out there! How cool is it we can have a dream of a design for a cue and then they create it for us! Or they come up with an awesome display that make us fall in love with them. I personally love Jim Buss and Jacoby custom cues the best, with OB shafts.

Day 12 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today I am thankful I always practiced on 9-foot tables. If I went to the pool room for general practice (I had a goal once to practice 1-3 hours every week for a year), and all the 9-foots were taken, then I would come back another time. I feel THAT strongly how much playing on a bigger table helped my game. Practicing on 9-foot tables prepares you for the smaller sized tables (in addition to playing on 9-foots, obviously). I felt SO much more comfortable on 8-foots and bar tables because I always hit balls on that large 9-foot table. Remember to always do what's BEST for your game.

Day 13 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today I am thankful for my blog. It became my online pool diary and I loved how I could go back and read about tournaments I played in or tips I wrote about (yes, reminders are really great!). It's one of my favorite things, honestly, about my pool journey: sharing and remembering. It really means a lot when someone mentions my blog and how they can relate to what I wrote about or how a tip helped them win more matches.
http://pooljourney.blogspot.com/

Day 14 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today im thankful for learning about 3-ball shape. Truly transformed my game to think about figuring out out how to get shape three balls ahead. Truly.

Day 15 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today i am thankful for the opportunities to play in different cities and states and locations. Pretty cool to play the game we all love in new cities we may have never been able to visit in our lives.

Day 16 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today im thankful for the amazing people we meet through competing. It's crazy to comprehend that our competitors could eventually become our friends, some become great, dear friends!

Day 17 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today i am thankful for reading /Mental Toughness Training for Sports/ in the late 90s. There was a time in my pool journey when i would beat myself up real bad after tournaments. I would even dip into depression afterwards for dogging shots and not doing well in matches. After i read that book, i learned that if i tried my best, how could i be sad for a long time after? The book gives a lot of great advice, but today I want to share how thankful i am for learning how important it is to simply play your best, give it your best, and no matter what happens, you will be okay because of that simple but very important fact.

Day 18 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today i am thankful for all the poolrooms that have great workers. When you become a regular, they take care of you, while we take care of working on our game. They are much appreciated!

Day 19 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today im thankful for Straight Pool! Even tho the game makes me cuss like golf, lol, it is a very good game to teach you focus, safeties, patience, and playing under pressure. It seems like such an easy game, but trust me, you will cuss soon too.

Day 20 of 30 Days of Thanks. Today i am thankful for the book /Winning Ugly/ by Brad Gilbert that helped me gain a killer instinct.  I didn't play sports in high school so I wasn't  competitive until I started to play pool.  And because being competitive was new to me, I didn't have that killer instinct or mental toughness that many players already had from competing that they learned from other sports in high school.  Yep, I was the type of player who felt bad for their opponent!  For example, if I was defeating them 6-0, or if I was playing a friend, or if they were having a rough time, I would cater and lose focus and care more about their emotions than me winning.  All that changed (luckily) after reading /Winning Ugly/.  This tennis book is NOT about winning ugly, it's more about being prepared to take down your opponents.  To really have that mental toughness and killer instinct to want to really defeat them, which I hadn't had for most of my pool journey.  I still re-read all the highlighted parts of my copy before each big title tournament I play in.  It helps me THAT much.  I highly, highly recommend his book. 

http://pooljourney.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-poolsynergy-recommendations.html

Day 21 of 30 Days of Thanks.  Today I am Thankful for stepping out of my comfort zone and playing in tough tournaments. One way to improve your game is to play against tougher players in different/bigger/tougher environments.  It makes you tougher and gives you amazing experiences for when you play in your other regular tournaments or leagues.  Don't be scared - go for it!

Day 22 of 30 Days of Thanks.  Today I am Thankful for finally figuring out how VITAL is it to have solid fundamentals and a solid pre-shot routine.  Condition your pre-shot routine and fundamentals!  Repeat after me:  Condition your pre-shot routine and fundamentals.  Repeat after me again:  Condition your pre-shot routine and fundamentals.  Trust me, you'll like it.

Day 23 of 30 Days of Thanks.  Today I am Thankful for learning to prepare for a tournament BEFORE I even get to the tournament.  It's important to realize that things may not go as planned.  The A/C might be broken.  Or something or someone at the event might really affect you.  Basically, prepare for the unprepared.  Know that it's okay if the tournament isn't running smoothly....  because you are there to play pool and not be worried about things out of your control!  You can't focus on playing your best if you are bothered by things you can't control.   Playing your best IS something you CAN control, so focus on that and don't let things bother you.

Day 24 of 30 Days of Thanks.  Today I am Thankful for realizing what I can and cannot control.  I cannot BEGIN to express how helpful this has been for me.  During a tournament, if it's too cold in the pool room, why bitch?  If it's too hot?  Why complain?  Here's what I KNOW:  If you are too concerned and thinking about the temperature (something that you canNOT control), then is your mind on the task at hand:  playing pool?  NO.  Same with rolls.  If someone shits in a ball against me, watch my reaction.  Yep, there is none.  I cannot control the rolls.  I can only control what happens when I step up to the table.  And if I'm wasting brain cells on still thinking about the shit-in ball from my opponent, then how can I give 100% to the shot at hand? 

Day 25 of 30 Days of Thanks.  Today I am Thankful for taking my time.  I figured out that when I was under pressure in tournaments, I would rush my strokes.  That affected my fundamentals and pre-shot routine.  FURTHER - rushing my shots caused me to jump up and NOT keep my head down.  One of the biggest things I learned is that under pressure, take a few more EXTRA strokes.  It really, really will help you from jumping up which tends to happen when we feel pressure or nervous.  Staying down on shots every time is one of THE most amazing feelings in pool. 

Day 26 of 30 Days of Thanks.  Today I am Thankful for learning how to slow down my adrenaline.  Let's face it, we get nervous.  We feel pressure.  We get "scared" we might lose this match.  You can feel the adrenaline rushing through your veins.  That's not good in competition!  So, you need to slow it down and I learned how to do that:  Take deep breaths in and then HOLD.  Hold your breath until you can feel your heart beating through your neck veins.  Then let the air out S-L-O-W-L-Y.  Repeat this and it will slow your racing heart and the adrenaline.  Try it - you'll notice a difference.

Day 27 of 30 Days of Thanks.  Today I am Thankful for billiard publications!  Being interviewed is something I cannot even put into words how awesome it makes one feel.  It's super cool to see our name printed in billiard magazines after winning a big tournament!  Heck, it's even cool to see our names if they are only mentioning us because the winner defeated us, lol.  We still tell our friends, "did you see my name?  Yep... made it in Billiards Digest."  Print magazines spend a lot of time caring about the players and writing articles and following the pool scene.  To do this monthly is tasking and a lot of work, but we the players are EXTREMELY grateful for their dedication to the sport.  How else would we ever see our name in lights?  Special shout-out to Mike Panozzo of Billiards Digest for becoming a great friend and mentor to me.

Day 28 of 30 Days of Thanks.   In order to do well in tournaments, you must play in as many as you can.  Please hear these words.  So, today I am thankful for playing in the plethora of tournaments available throughout the years.  You cannot learn to handle pressure or learn mental toughness with only a few tournaments a year.  You need conditioning over and over in a tournament environment to give yourself the best chance to gain experience!

Day 29 of 30 Days of Thanks.  Today I am Thankful for NOT having a pool table at home.  Sounds weird right?  Well, I would rather play pool in a DISTRACTED atmosphere.  I want to practice under the same conditions as in tournament play!  So, a table at home gives me peace and quiet, but I don't want that.  I would rather condition myself to playing under unexpected conditions around me, just like in a pool room.  Further, when we play at home we tend to not dress the same as when we would out in public.  Well, I don't want to practice in my slippers (as an example).  I really need to practice in the same shoes and clothes as I would wear in a tourney.  Don't get used to playing in the wrong conditions.

Day 30 of 30 Days of Thanks.  Today I am Thankful for all my fellow pool players who have read or commented on my blog and/or this Facebook page!  Means a lot we can share our pool journey together!  Hope these posts the last 30 days weren't annoying and instead even slightly helpful for your pool journey.  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

New Players and Future Matches

One of my friends played in her OB Cues Ladies Tour stop in early November.  Here Brittany and I are taking the always-required selfie:

After winning her first match, she came up to me asked me how her next opponent played.

"What is her name?"

"Terry something.  Terry P, I think," she shares.

I replied, "she has good days and bad days like the rest of us."

Okay, I FIBBED.

Terry is a BEAST!  She won one of the OB Cues Ladies Tour stops this year!  She is one of the top players, but I was not about to make Brittany nervous in her first tourney with the ladies.  I didn't want to shark her at all, I just wanted her to play pool!

I think we should all be careful how we describe someones' abilities to others.

If we tell someone, "oh they are easy, you can beat them" - That's actually pressure!  What if they start to lose, then they might be thinking "damn, I'm suppose to win," which adds more pressure and crazy thoughts in our head.

If you say, "oh, that player plays GOOD," then you have already defeated the player in their mind and they haven't even stepped up to the table yet!

I have defeated many players in big tourneys I had no idea who they were.  Once I knew, I was like oh shit!  I actually would have been nervous if I had known I was playing a top regional player.

I've seen so many players defeat a top player because they had no idea who they were playing. 

So, help your friends out and don't give them details of their opponents.  Just let them PLAY POOL.

(btw, Brittany defeated Terry and then afterwards I told her who she was.  She was like, "yea, she played GOOD.")

Name in a BOOK?

Boy was I surprised to see my name in Phil's most recent book, Play Your Best 9abll and 10ball:

(click photo to enlarge)

"Longtime friend, Melinda Bailey" 



:)


Phil and I have a great relationship and have a lot in common with our lives.  We are like lost souls and very helpful and supporting to each other.  I am HONORED to be called a friend.  

High School Billiards Program (video clip)

Check out one of the Omega Tour Players made the news!  William Howard, back when he was in high school.  I wrote about his awesome parents in a previous blog about a year ago.

RIP Royce Bunnell

At a mere young age of 49, Royce Bunnell of OB Cues succumbed today to his injuries from a fatal heart attack that occurred on Monday.

;(.................

I was honored to have Royce Bunnell as a scotch doubles partner in Vegas for BCAPL and we came in 5th and then 4th places out of over 400 teams those back-to-back years (2007 and 2008).  Royce always knew to make me laugh so that I would not be nervous - he was SO good at making me laugh and smile!  And he ALWAYS called me "Champ," even before I played good. 

We became great friends as I worked on his website for OB Cues over 8 years ago. 

Here he is in this pic from the the OB Cues Ladies Tour stop JUST back on Nov 8th.  I'm on the left, right next to him.  :(

You will forever be in my heart and soul and I will never forget you, Royce. 

May your family be surrounded by Peace, always.  You will be deeply missed.

 (click photo to enlarge)

"Biggest Win of My Life"

At the Season Finale of the Omega Billiards Tour, one of the good players who plays regularly on the Tour came up to the tournament table to give the result of his match. 

He gives me the score (he won 7-4) and then leans in towards me whispering (and kinda nervous-acting, but very happy), "That was the biggest win of my life.  Wow."

I look glance at the chart to see who he had been playing and he just defeated one of our top players on the tour, a local player who has lived in the area for years.

He continued, "I have so much respect for him.  So much.  I've admired him for years."

I replied, "That's a great win."

He shared, "I can't believe it.  I am shaking!"

It was so cool to hear the happiness from this player, as he reflected right after his big win - pretty much defeated one of the most respected top players in the area that he's known for years and years.

It was a really sweet moment that I was lucky enough to hear.

Gift from World 9 Ball in Qatar

One of the Omega Tour players went to the 25th World 9 Ball Championships in Doho, Qatar and surprised me and got me a gift!

It's a six ball key chain with the event title on it!  (click photo to enlarge).

It was SO cool to be thought of!

Watched My Play and Slowed Down

One of my friends watched me play all my matches on the first day of the OB Cues Ladies tour stop at the beginning of November.  Oh, and also the first match of the day on Sunday.

I lost my next two matches, and he hadn't watched those.  So, I blame him.  JUST KIDDING.

He posted on Facebook afterwards that he learned some things from me, by watching me play (he had never seen me play before), so I was anxious to find out what it was.

I was hoping he saw me as the epitome of 3-ball shape, because I walk around the table before every shot to see where I need to be that would help me out best for the third ball ahead in sequence.  This gives the best chance for a run out.

Instead, he told me he learned from watching me that he needs to take his time.

He said that when it was his turn at the table, he would normally just jump up and go and shoot the ball.  After watching me and some of the other girls in this regional tour, he recognized that we don't do that.  We instead take our time to see where we need to be on the table, not just jump up and go shoot.

He said a player he spars with has been trying to tell him to take his time and it hit him like a light bulb after watching over that weekend, what his friend had been trying to tell him.

He was actually pretty excited to share with his sparring buddy, "Hey, I finally figured out what you were trying to say!"

And then he cashed in his first Omega tourney the very next weekend!

Personal Issues Set Aside as a Leader

As a Tournament Director, it doesn't really matter if I am upset with a player or not, I MUST be professional and treat everyone the same and with respect.

I fully admit I did not do this in the past in my 30s when I ran the OB Cues Ladies Tour.  I was upset at a female player that spoke bad about me behind my back.  Instead of talking to her to try and resolve the issue or find out what was going on, I instead (mis)treated her like I was taught as a child:  You ignore them when they have upset you.

It was NOT right or correct and looking back I see how wrong I was and I am downright ashamed for acting that way.  

I apologized to her many years later (TOO many years later, honestly) and we are now cordial with each other.  I found out it was all a miscommunication of why she was talking about me, but let's face it - anyone can talk about us and say what they want behind our backs; they have that right, really.  We don't have to like it, BUT, as a leader of an organization, I should have still treated her with respect instead of being hurt and acting like a child not talking to her.  I WAS WRONG.

So, fast forward to ten years and me now running the Omega Billiards Tour.

/personal feelings turned on/

So, I was running an Omega Tour stop about two and half years ago and I was very un-confident and overly concerned about myself as I had gained some weight.  Towards the end of the tourney, one of the regular players at the pool room and I were talking and I confided I was having some back spasms.  He replied, "well, maybe you should lose weight and that wouldn't happen."

To say I was mortified is truly and absolutely an understatement. 

I literally cried all the way home.

/personal feelings off/

About a year later, this guy started to play on the tour.   Yes, it sounds stupid but I was still hurt and couldn't forget how upset I was.  But, I am running an organization, and I had to be a leader and treat him with respect even though he hurt my feelings.  (sorry, but you can say a lot of things about/to a woman but weight should be off limits IMO.)

I admit (again) that at first I didn't really talk to him at all.  But then I put on my leadership hat and treated him like all the other players and at least would speak to him.  I also ALWAYS contacted him if he was on the standby list.  I never skipped his name, I was doing the right thing at all times, just wasn't really very friendly to him. 

But, I have changed that though and even say hi to him if either of us walk by each other and am very cordial with him now. 

I'm actually proud I have matured enough to recognize running the Tour comes before my personal feelings. 

Bottom line is, yes I have gained weight.  But, NO it's not a reason to not speak to someone who plays on the tour just because they helped point out my weight gain to me, lol.

Leader at all times, no matter what.

This is just one personal example.  There are a thousand other examples of situations that have or could come up where someone upsets us.  But, we have to put those feelings aside and still run the best organization we can.  And still treat everyone the same.  Running an organization is about the people, not ME.

Gift From the Heart - the Buddha

One of my dear friends was looking at chalk holders at the OB Cues Ladies Tour stop.

I walked by her and she stops me and says, "look how adorable" as she showed me this bright chalk holder with a Buddha on it.

I was like, "wow, that's cool."

I have been looking for more peace in my life and a Buddha sure does represent that.

Then the sneaky little b!tch surprised me and bought it.  She handed it to me a few minutes later (I had no idea) and I could NOT believe it!  How thoughtful!

I used it the entire tourney very proudly, and even placed 3rd out of 36 players in the OB Cues Season Finale!

Love ya, Julie! 

Prepare to Compete - Routines

A lot of people ask my about my routine for tournament play.

SLEEP:  Well, honestly, THE most important thing for me to do to ensure I play my best is to get sleep.  SLEEP I say.  I don't really know what consistent sleep is in the last 5 years, but I can tell you the odds are more in my favor to play good when I get sleep, more than absolutely anything else I could do.

BREAKFAST: Honestly, whether I eat the morning of, doesn't matter.  If I do eat, I don't eat too much though - can't play pool on a full tummy.

THOUGHTS:  What am I thinking about?  What am I going to wear so that I feel COMFORTABLE.  Being in comfy clothes is key, too.

MUSIC:  I DO like to jam out to hip hop on the way to the tourney,  Jamming in my car and singing keeps me happy and joyful and not thinking, just enjoying the drive singing.

But again the most important thing for me to do to help me play my absolute best is to get sleep.  And not just the night before - a couple of nights before ensure you get good sleep.

Sleep can however sometimes be affected.  At my last tourney, I didn't get much sleep because one of my dogs passed away in my arms at home the morning of the tourney.   I was still on the winner's side on Sunday but obviously didn't get much sleep.  I won my first match.  Then I was playing for the hotseat match and in the middle of it it hit me like a tone of bricks, "Omg I'm exhausted."  I should have taken a break and gone and done some jumping jacks but it was a rough weekend and I admit I was content to be in a position to place 3rd (when I didn't really even want to play in the event in the first place).  My 3rd place is dedicated to lovely Izzy.  May she RIP.

But, get some sleep if you have the power to!  You'll thank me, I promise.

Ethics Versus Right or Wrong

What are you suppose to do when someone you are playing is about to shoot the wrong ball in 8 ball?

Do you be nice and stop them?

Do you not say anything at all and let them shoot and then you get ball in hand?

What if it's a friend?

What if it's just league night?

What if it's in league PLAYOFFS?

Or a big National tournament?

What do you do??

What is right or wrong?  What is ethical or unethical?

There isn't a correct answer, is there?

During one of my league playoffs, we were on the hill and the other team was making a charge as they were now only slightly behind.  My teammate had just fouled and her opponent got ball-in-hand and proceeded to shoot the wrong ball.  My teammate stood steadfast and didn't say anything.  Her teammates were practically jumping up and down because they could see she was about to shoot the wrong ball.

She shot it.

My teammate said, "foul."

Her opponent stood there at first confused.  Then STUNNED.  Then cried.... ;(

They lost.

I had this happen to me hill-hill at ACS Nationals in 8-ball b/c I didn't put the cueball behind the line.   My opponent let me shoot and told me sweetly (lol) "foul" and ran out for the 7-6 win.  It's like a dagger to your heart.

That player from playoffs, a dear friend of mine, was able to overcome the embarrassment and the feelings of let down of her team and played good for her team the rest of the playoffs. 

And I commended my teammate afterwards:  "That was a super tough decision there, wow."  She shook her head feeling absolutely horrible, "but it's part of the game and we were in a team event" she explained sadly.

Not easy. 

What would YOU do?

Learn to Refocus

One HUGE thing I learned from being diligent about competing in tournaments was I found out how vital it is to refocus during a match.

I wrote about this before and I still think it's a huge, important thing (link here) to increasing your winning percentages. 

And I experienced this just the other day in league playoffs.

Basically, a match can go by in a instant!  And then afterwards, you think, "what happened?  why did I lose?"

Although you should always evaluate your game and learn after each match - how about after you miss a few times you ask yourself those questions right then and there (what's going on, why am I missing?).  Don't wait til after the match to finally realize why you were missing.  Figure it out before the match is over so you can try to resolve it.

Probably over 200 times over ten years after a match, I realized, "oh crap I was nervous" or "dammit I wasn't staying down" or you were worried about someone watching so you felt funny and were concerned more about that than focusing on three-balls-ahead-shape.

After a match, it's TOO LATE.  So the key is it REALIZE early that your game is off and to figure out why during the match so you can resolve it before the last ball falls and you lose. 

Sucks to figure out later what was going on. 

However obvious this sounds, it's really not.  It's really about training yourself to recognize that something is off.  As soon as you miss a few balls - what is different?  Why am I missing?  What am I thinking or doing?  And then resolve it - right then and there - to give you a better chance at getting back into the match at hand.

So during league playoffs, my opponent ticked me off b/c she said we didn't need a ref even though I wanted one.  It took me about 5 missed shots (in 8ball with a tough table, luckily) to realize I was missing because I was upset with her.  And since I was upset with her, how can I possibly focus on pool?  (multitasking is something our brain cannot do well - read another link here).

So, as soon as I realized what was going on in my mind and with my body being upset, I was able to refocus back on my fundamentals and not miss again to win for my team.  Can you imagine if you were in a race to 5 or 7 of a match?  Figuring out what is going on can easily get you back in the game even if your are down 0-2 or 0-3. 

It's normal to get distracted at times, the key is getting you back on track as soon as possible.

I got lucky I had time to regroup.  That's why it's important to really recognize right away that something is off so you can resolve it to give you a better chance of winning. 

Played Like Me

The other day I was talking to a female captain of one of the ladies leagues. 

She was talking about the strengths of her players and also what they should work on. 

And then she shared that one of her players needs to work on being patient and see more of the strategy of playing 8-ball. 

She added, "I beat her the other night and I told her afterwards, "I beat you by playing like Melinda.""

I was like, "omg, really?"  lol.  But I admit that was such a huge compliment to me!

This captain knows how much I love the strategy of 8ball (her and I have practiced together a couple of times just talking 8ball strategy) and that is why I win almost 95% of my games.  I am always recommending Play Your Best Pool by Phil Capelle because it has helped me THE MOST with 8ball strategy.