League Players and Tournaments

Katniss sent me a message the other day, "I have a quick question for you."

Being who I am, I got all excited!

I replied, "I love questions!"

She asked, "Do you believe that players get comfortable with league play and not so comfortable competing in big tournaments?"

Wow, what a question!

"It really depends on who you are asking about.  Some league players stay league players and never really improve, and therefore don't do well in big tournaments.  They are perfectly fine with that - they love playing in league with their friends and they have a lot of fun.  While other league players want to work on their game and improve, and when they do that, they become better competitors in tournaments.

So, the answer is really yes and no."

Katniss replied, "I was asking because of a certain player who is in the top spot of my Tuesday league...he did not place well in singles at the State tournament this past year. I mean, we can all have bad days, so maybe he just didn't do well this year. But the top players on my Tuesday league never miss - either against me or my teammates. So, I think highly of their game and expect top performance at all times, so that is why I was surprised of their finish. Or maybe they do not do well in big tournaments with "other" top ranking players? Hmmm."

I told her I had wondered that exact same thing before about top players in league who don't finish well at the state tournaments. I never really understood it, either.

But.... then I did.

She is exactly correct.  You see, many of the top league players get super comfortable and quite content in their weekly leagues.  But if they don't work on their game, don't want to, or don't play in more non-league events, then they wont be competitive in tournaments.

"For some people, it's a natural progression to go from league play to big tournaments and/or playing on tours.  For others, they only stick to league (or only have the skills or means to do league play) and aren't interested in playing in other types of tournaments.  Or, they might want to improve, but they haven't really done anything about it for years.

So, again, the answer is yes and no."

I shared further my opinion (I know, you are all surprised, lol!):  "The top league players that only play in league will always be a league player.  If they would play in bigger tournaments more often, their game would improve from all those experiences and they would be more than just top league players (if that's what they want)."

She said she understood and also defended them saying, "Oh well, everyone has their own feelings and reasons as to why they do what they do."

And she has a good point!  Some people are perfectly fine with only playing in league; there is nothing wrong with that at all.

This is a good time to share something I witnessed when I ran the Omega Tour.  A couple of good friends of mine who were top league players finally wanted to play on the Omega Tour when it was being hosted by one of their local pool rooms that they were used to playing in.  It was close to their house, they felt "at home," and it was a comfortable setting.  So, they took the plunge to play on a Tour stop!

Although these two guys were extremely successful on their league teams and the type of player we all feared at league, they quickly discovered they were a fish out of water playing on the Tour.  They were no longer the top player in the room.  And the feelings and pressure they experienced were pretty rough on them.  Neither lasted until Sunday, and they were very disappointed and disheartened.  But, they simply didn't have enough experience away from league.  One of the two guys played in another stop, but by the end of Saturday night he was out of the tournament and then he wanted his money back for the events he had paid for in the future; he recognized he just wasn't competitive.  He was so deflated - I felt very bad for him.

Sharing this story is not to deter anyone, it's to share with you that we all start out this way and it just takes time and experience playing in different types of tournaments often to become competitive.  It doesn't happen overnight.  I truly believe if they would have kept playing on the tour, the next year or two they would have been lasting until Sunday.  But, while one was interested, his schedule didn't allow for that and the other was just too frustrated to keep trying.

But her question leads to the EXACT tip I have stated over and over in my blog that one of my all time greatest pieces of advice to improve is to play in as many tournaments as you can. 

"In order to do well in tournaments, you must play in as many as you can. Please hear these words. You cannot learn to handle pressure or learn mental toughness with only a couple of tournaments a year. You need conditioning over and over in a tournament environment to give yourself the best chance to gain experience."

Giving the Last Two - Danielson Series

Danielson mentioned the other day that he was gambling a few guys in the city he lives in, to help him stay in stroke.

He told me he gave a couple of his opponents "the last two." I thought it was kinda weird, as all the guys he played were about even, but he brought up a really good point I hadn't though of, and wanted to share.

Because I don't gamble, this hadn't really crossed my mind before I guess.

He shared with me, "They wouldn't play even, so I figured I would offer the last two because I really wanted to play. Plus, the way I see it, if I can't win giving the last two, I probably can't win even."

And what Danielson learned was, "If I'm playing good, they have no chance. But I really have to play smart at the end of the rack to not give away games. That's how I lost one of the sets."

And he's right - giving the last two will help him focus more because the end of the rack is crucial when giving up the last two. And in turn, all of this experience will carry over when he competes in tournaments.

After a few weeks of doing this, he was kinda giddy, lol. He shared, "These guys really think getting the last two is a spot...lol."

Then he got serious and reflected, "But giving those guys the last two really makes me bear down. I still need to work on my 3 ball patterns to stay on the correct side of the ball... but I feel like I played well and these matches are really helpful." 

Love hearing good news!

Project Idea In Honor of Dave Faver

I was watching tv and a commercial came on that gave me an idea that gives back to the pool community... in Dave's honor!  And it would be an alternative to a tournament, to carry on Dave's legacy/name!  It's currently percolating in my mind, but when I figure out more details, I will announce it here on my blog. :)

I am super excited about it, honestly!

I just have to figure out the many different aspects of the project/idea before I share what I'm mulling over, lol.

But, wanted to give you all a heads up something is a-brewing!

Inner Turmoil Doing the Right Thing (for Myself)

One of the things we discover as we start to reach our mid 40s, is we want to be around less drama, to be around more positive and influential friends, and we want to be around people that bring us happiness.

Hold on now, folks...  This doesn't mean we haven't felt this way much of our life; we have!  But what is different as we age is we start to actually act upon different choices and decisions based on yearnings for peace.  We start to make more conscientious decisions that are best for ourselves.  Finally, right?!  For so many years we made a lot of decisions for others.

Let me provide one little, quick example.  You have a family member you hate to be around because he's so rude and obnoxious, but you continue to still go to the family functions and put up with them.  Then comes your mids 40s, and you have a epiphany about wanting less stress in your life and you realize you actually have a choice, lol.  "You know what, I'm not going to go.  I get upset for days after I see him and I simply want to have a good time around the holidays."

And btw, many decisions take time to finally make a change.  It's actually uncomfortable to start looking out for ourselves because it seems selfish.  So, it's not an easy transition at first, honestly.

My friend Dave Faver (as you all remember) passed away in May. He was a road player his entire life and I shared many things about him earlier this year when I posted the interview I did with him.

What I have been struggling with lately is Dave deserves an annual memorial tournament in his honor.  The annual "Dave Faver Memorial Tournament" or something like that.  Doesn't that sound awesome?!  And as one of Dave's best friends who happens to be a seasoned Tournament Director, it makes perfect sense that I would lead the effort to set up a memorial tournament for him and also run it every year.

He deserves that more than I can even express.  And that would also mean the world to me because he would be remembered every year (as he should be).

I've seen several memorial tournaments that have become annual events in honor of those who have passed.  And it honestly makes my heart ache because I have not done this for Dave.  But to be honest…. I cannot do this for him.

You see, this is the part of the story where I explain to you that I'm suppose to look out for myself. Which is something I only started doing recently.

What I have alluded to in my blog a couple of times is:  I don't drink anymore.  And I have not drank exactly 2 years of the posting of this blog entry (Nov 21).  Yay!

What this means is, tho, as hard as this for me to say in writing to people I don't know personally and to admit to those I do know personally, is to let you all know that I'm kinda scared to go into the pool room at certain times. I know it doesn't really make sense because, sure, I ran the Omega Tour the first year of my sobriety and I didn't drink any of those 12 weekends I was stuck in a pool room.  But, it wasn't really a choice for me - I had to be there and run the tournaments.

Running a tournament for Dave would be a dream come true for me, and you would think I could handle being in a pool room for only two full days out of a year without worrying about drinking, lol, but... I feel apprehensive.  And I need to listen to my instincts.  And I have to look out for myself and my well-being.  I'm nervous about hanging out in the pool room over two days around a lot of people drinking around the atmosphere where I used to drink frequently, often, and for numerous years.

It's not to say I would start drinking, but it's not to say I wouldn't be tempted, either.  I have always been a social drinker - I've never drank at home or by myself.  So, to do what's best for my health, my mental stability, my depression, my job, my friends, etc., I just believe it would be best if I don't put myself into situations that used to be the catalyst for excessive drinking.

You can go ahead and think that I'm weak, but literature will tell you to stay out of the element that can initiate those feelings of your addiction.

This may not make sense because you all know I go to Vegas 3 or 4 times a year (heck, I'm writing this blog post FROM Vegas right now lol!) and even though I don't have to pay for drinks there nor have to drive, I still don't drink there anymore.  So why can't I be in a pool room all day?  It's not that I CAN'T, it's that I don't want to.  In Vegas, if I feel uncomfortable or get nervous about any situation I'm in, I can just walk away.  But I get anxiety sometimes thinking about going to a pool room and being in that environment again.  Probably because I associate the pool room with me drinking too much.  And if I run a tournament for Dave, I can't just up and leave during it if I feel uncomfy.

Also, when I give/gave lessons in a pool room the last two years, I would always intentionally go in the mornings and be out of there by 1pm. You see, my drinking didn't start at night in pool rooms, it ended at night. So, I don't want to go into a pool room in the afternoons right now, either.

Even I admit I don't quite understand how I wasn't nervous about going into the pool room the first year of me not drinking, and yet now I am apprehensive about it for some reason.  I guess because I am more aware for some reason that relapses can happen in the blink of an eye, and I want to help myself by not being in situations where that might occur for me.

It may sound like I'm not having fun being sober, lol.  So I think it's important to state that I am only sharing this single trepidation of my life because it's related to my pool journey.  And btw - how cool is that??  I mean seriously, how many people have only one trepidation in their life?  I feel very blessed!

And this would be the perfect time to share something crucial: one of the fears of becoming sober (or clean) is that you wont have fun anymore.  And you may be thinking this to yourself right now about me, "Gosh, is Melinda even having fun?  She's scared to go into the pool room so how can she be happy?"  Well, I am here to tell you that I'm actually much happier than I've been in a VERY long time!  I have more fun in life and enjoy things so much more!  This isn't about the pool room making me sad - it's about the more substantial things I do now in life that bring me much more honest, memorable, and refreshing joy (drinking too much was getting in the way of those things).

Plus, there have been SO many benefits to not drinking anymore!  Read mine here if you wish.

But, if I felt like I was in a better spot mentally, I would be able to hold a Dave Faver tournament in his honor.  But, I think even Dave would understand my apprehension and would want me to do what is best for my well-being.  Dave was so very happy for me when I started down this road, and then proud of me when I reached my one year anniversary (he was still alive then) and he knew how important it was for me to remain this way.

Temptations, I feel, I must avoid.

I know plenty of people who can eventually go back into the environment of their addiction.  But right now I have a choice - and I am choosing what is best for me at the moment and I just don't want to put myself in that situation.  Maybe it means I'm not strong enough yet?  Maybe it means I just need more time?  Maybe it means I'm just trying to be careful?  Maybe it means I am glad for my decision to stop drinking and want to continue up this great path I'm on?

Whatever the reason, whether known or unknown, aware or unaware, I want to listen to myself and do what is in the best interest to stay sober.  And I know Dave and my other friends would approve. :)

I know I try to be honest in my blog, and this is may be a little too honest. But I'm hoping that maybe at least one person can relate to what I'm going through, and therefore know you aren't alone.

Mike Howerton Interview

Well, well, well... the elusive Mike Howerton of AzBilliards.com actually let me interview him for the November 2018 issue of the online magazine, Billiard Buzz! 

Even in the interview, he states just 5 years ago he wouldn't have agreed to this. So, we are pretty fortunate of our timing :) 

I am so excited for you all to learn how AzB became the most popular billiards website! And, we also get to find out more about my good friend, Mike - the man behind the creation of AzB, his thoughts on the industry, and all he does for the pool community. I know this wasn't easy for Mike to come out of his shell, so I was very thankful!

Less Knowledge Can Lead to Improving

When I played in the BCAPL Nationals Master's Scotch Doubles event in 2010 in Las Vegas, my partner was a mere 25 years old and one of the top one pocket players in the state of Texas.  I was 15 years older than him, but he was much more experienced at pool than I was.  His name is Sylver Ochoa and he had been playing one pocket for over 10 years or so and so he was very knowledgeable and talented about all the games of pool way younger than I ever was, lol.

What I learned playing scotch doubles with him (read my blog report of that tourney here) was just how unknowledgeable I was about 8 ball/patterns, lol.  You'd think that is a negative thing, but eye-openers are not usually a negative thing, right?

You see, after the break, he would walk up to the table, look at the layout of the balls, and then almost immediately know the best pattern for a run.  He saw the whole table so much more differently than I did.  I walk up there, and then stand up there wondering what should I shoot next for him, or how to get on the next ball.  He instead saw the patterns for the entire rack.

Don't get me wrong, I knew strategy of 8ball well, and so we played really well together and actually beat a lot of tough teams.  I had enough experience under my belt to know when to run out and when not to.  But it was the obvious patterns I still lacked quick knowledge of.

I realize that his top skills, fast improvement, and becoming a top pro player quickly at such a young age allowed him the luxury to see the layout of an entire 8 ball layout much easier than I did.

But it was still so impressive to witness him almost automatically see/recognize the proper pattern to  connect each ball naturally to run out.  At one point, I wasn't sure if I should have shot the 7 ball or the 6 ball, and his response was so obvious lol.  "You make the 7 first because that naturally connects to the 6 ball which then sets you up for the 2 ball and that will lead you easily to the 8ball.

pffft.  "easily."  Whatever, dude.  lol

As you know, there are a ton of different ways to run out 8 ball; there are so many choices!  But he saw the "correct" paths and connected the proper pattern to each ball so well and quickly, that it really proved to me I needed to work on my patterns lol.  It was a great experience to find out I had so much more to learn about pool!

Perceptions During a Match

I'm sure you have heard this before where two people see or hear different things even though they both saw/heard the same thing?

Similarity, when people witness one situation (like a car accident), they all kinda reflect differently about what they saw.

Another example is if you go to a doctor's visit with a family member.  You each hear something different from the conversation with the doctor.  It's really very normal.

And of course this also carries over into pool, too.

Case in point.  I remember distinctly playing against a friend a mine from Arkansas during the Champion Stop of the Texas Ladies Tour about 8 years ago or so.  I barely got to shoot!  I only had a few chances and the biaatch kept running out!  I was pretty agitated, lol.

Afterwards, I told her, "Man, you played so good - you barely missed!"  And she lamented, "Thank you.  I didn't think I played all that great, but appreciate the kind words."

I was kinda stunned - how did she think that when I hardly got to shoot the entire match and she kept running out?

Back then, one of the guys would attend the tournaments and video tape some of our matches (we affectionately called him "Video Mike").  And we happened to have that match recorded.  I bought a copy of the video and watched the match when I got home and I was STUNNED.

She didn't run out one game!  I had plenty of chances!  I just didn't play well and she played better, but she missed a lot too.  How in the heck did I think she ran out most of the match?

But, this happens all the time to players, lol!

As a Tournament Director, I not just run a tournament, but I get to watch a lot of the matches because of where the Tournament table is normally located.

And almost once a tournament, some player will come up after they lost and lament in a loud voice to me, "That guy never missed!"  And I stand there thinking to myself, "Hmmm, I just watched the match and you both missed quite a lot."

The player will go on, nipping at me about his opponents' handicap, "That guy shouldn't be a 5 - he was ran out every time I missed!  That's not a 5.  Fives don't play that good!"

But, I simply realize that they witnessed something different than what actually happened.  Part of the reason is emotions, as we don't see clearly or think clearly if we are upset.  But, the other factor is we all simply don't always see the same things, even if we are involved in the same situation.

So, I didn't usually rush to change someone's handicap based on one player who just got beat, because it's usually not what they really experienced, lol.

Special 10-Ball Helmet

This is my little friend Ezekiel! (Zeke for short):

Ezekiel is the beautiful boy of Nicole and Joseph, who was born Jan 10, 2018. 

I asked Joseph about Zeke's cool 10-ball helmet.  No, no, he's not getting ready to ride his bike into the sunset with a new girlfriend, haha!

Joseph shared that basically nowadays they recommend babies sleep on their back.  At 3 months, they noticed the back of Zeke's head was really flat.  They moved him from rocker to basinet and from 3 to 6 months, no matter what they did, he would always sleep on his left side.  Joseph shared, "Move him, he would move back. lol"

The result was a flat head on the back and left side, and they also noticed his ears were uneven "by a lot."  Zeke was diagnosed with Plagiocephaly.  It's actually a very common problem, and some fix on their own, some do not.  Nicole and Joseph decided (rather than hoping it would correct itself), and "knowing how mean kids are, we didn't want him getting teased about his head shape," to look into options.

So, they got 3D images and a custom DOC band made.

For those like me who don't have kids nor around kids:

"The DOC Band is the only custom cranial helmet with nearly 35 years of documented outcomes. It’s been used to safely and successfully treat more than 175,000 babies with moderate to severe plagiocephaly.  Each DOC Band is custom made using our state-of-the-art technology and one-of-a-kind manufacturing process to ensure it delivers the best possible outcome for your baby."

He will wear his helmet 4 to 6 months, 23 hours a day.  And Zeke will have head band adjustments done every 2 weeks to evaluate his progress.

Then one day they were eating out for Nicole's birthday dinner and having an awesome conversation about billiards with their server.  Turned out their server (Brandon) also loves pool and Joseph shared information about the tournament scene in and around Houston during their dinner.  Joseph used to play on the Omega Tour here in Dallas / Fort Worth and he's still on the pool scene down in Houston and many other places when he travels.

Joseph and Brandon would soon become friends on Facebook and that's when Brandon also started to ask questions about the DOC band.  Then he asked if he could decorate it, as he is an artist.  Because it has to be worn 23 hours a day, doing awesome detailed art work was not an option, but Nicole and Joseph had already agreed what they wanted.  Because he is a pooloholic and Zeke was born on Jan 10th, "Logically a 10-ball was the design we wanted."

Well, logically to us pool players, right?!  :)

Turns out Brandon's family runs a sign and wrap company, so he hooked them up!  They got two decals created based off dimensions, and when the decals were ready, Brandon went over to do the install.

"With a blow dryer, a lot of patience, and business cards, we installed it together which was a really cool experience."

And they still have the other decal if this one gets too messed up.

"Brandon offered to do it for us, no charge, just looking forward to having a friend he can shoot pool with.  I believe everything happens for a reason, and divine meetings like this take place all the time."

Rather than spend hundreds of dollars to get it done at a place elsewhere, they had a chance meeting, talked about billiards, became friends, which set in motion for how Ezekiel got his 10 ball design.  "And Nicole and I gained a friend that likes billiards."

You can see in the photo above Zeke already likes billiards!  And, he watches tournaments streamed all the time with Dad, too.

Here is Zeke and his parents:

Thank you for sharing your story, Zeke, Nicole, Joseph, and Brandon!

Publicizing Local Gambling Matches

I noticed that a pool room (Putters) in Las Vegas advertises matches on Facebook.  You might think, so what?  So do other people.  Well, what I find more interesting is their matches are showcased.

You see, sometimes matches are "announced" on Facebook, but no details are given.  I am sure there is a good reason for this.  But it never fails - people will ask who is playing, for how much, etc?  And instead of responses, we are Ghosted.

(damn, I hate being ghosted!)

"Ghosting. While this term is relatively new, the act of ghosting existed long before the dawn of the Internet. But what does it mean? Ghosting occurs when someone you're seeing suddenly stops making any contact, giving no signs at all that they're no longer interested."

And we aren't told who is playing or any details.  Just "big names" and "you don't want to miss it" so "come on out."  Well, crap, just tell me who is playing for how much and what is the race??

However!  Check out alternatively what Putters does: they create graphics for their match ups that contains photos, times, race, game, how much they are playing for, etc:

Now honestly, which advertising gets you more interested in the match ups?

I know - it all depends on who is playing if you want to traverse to the pool room to watch them gamble.  But at least we know who is gambling at Putters!  lol

Too Much Love for Pool?

Okay, I think this might be over the top!

But, I suppose to die-hard pool fans, this is true love:

Increase Your Confidence During Adversity

Ha!

Isn't this true?

I really like this cartoon.  Proves what we all already know - we are our own worst enemy at times, right?  lol

So, when people try to bring us down or say negative things about us or our game, man go away!  We have enough going on in our own minds!

But it's a great opportunity to remind you of a post I wrote about back in 2014 about Facing Fear.  Well, should have worded it more positive, now that I just linked it to those two words haha.

But, the blog post is about how to overcome negative thoughts while we are competing and also how to increase our confidence during matches.  hmm, I see now that would have been too long of a title.  ;)  Oh, and that blog post has several links in it to other pieces I wrote about increasing our confidence and overcoming negative emotions.  I highly recommend the light reading if you have some time.

Enjoy!