Pool Table in a Casino?

Can you imagine your surprise and delight if you are walking through the floor of a casino and run across a pool table?

Well, welcome to the Encore in Vegas!

I'd be snapchatting pics of this to the world if I ran across this myself!  Maybe when I go to Vegas next I make a special trip to that casino to see this for my own eyes.

In the meantime, check out the article about how they are trying to make the casino a mixture of casino, game room, and lounge (which includes shuffle board, as well).

I Know This is Bad Timing

When i played my first match of the day on Monday morning at BCAPL nationals, I found myself in a tough match.

Why could I not be playing any of the other girls around me that kept missing, lol.

I almost got out the first game but I missed a shot I normally make.  Then my opponent COMES WITH IT.  At first she was missing in this first game, but then we she had 3 tough balls left and a tricky 8 ball, she nailed the out.

Oh shit.

I was impressed.  And I knew I had my hands full.

I won the next game though.

She won the next with more good play and excellent safeties.  She played super smart; knew the game well.

But for some reason, I managed to pull ahead 3-2.  She continued to fight;  continued to play impressive safes and great shots, but I was able to win the match somehow.  Still not sure how tho, because she was a great player.

As we were putting our cues away, I said to her, "I know this is really bad timing, but you played really good."

She snapped at me, " No I didn't. "

She was very upset.   Honestly, she should be; She played REALLY good, but the last two games I prevailed somehow.

I tried again, "You played excellent safeties.  You play really smart and good" I pleaded ( yes, pleaded for her to hear me).

"I played terrible," as she quickly left the area upset.

Although she lost, she was my best opponent and most knowledgeable.   I wanted her to know that so badly.

Fast forward about 8 hours and I see her walking by me.  Then all of a sudden she turns around and comes up to me.

"Hey, it really meant a lot what you said this morning.  And I'm glad you prefaced it with 'I know it's bad timing.'  But I was just upset, but I want you to know it meant a lot."

Then I bragged on her some more in front my friends how well she played and her great safeties.  She left with a smile to her next match and won the rest of her matches that day.  I was a huge fan already from our morning match.

April from Canada.

Taking Advantage

I mowed my lawn and edged and trimmed the yard on Sunday.  You know, when you own a home you have responsibilities and have to get things done.

So, while I did all that (and also getting exercise and great sun on my skin), I took advantage of the perfect opportunity to listen to my self-help tape, The Psychology of Winning, to get my mind ready for BCAPL Nationals.

I LOVE taking advantage of situations like these:  Multitasking and doing things for yourself; and all were very fruitful!

See you in Vegas!

Fast Eddie's Friend

I was playing my favorite table game at Planet Hollywood in Vegas during ACS Nationals.  It's called High Card Flush and the only thing I play now.  Here is a pic of me playing it:

I have seven cards in my hand - it looks like more in the pic - but you get 7 cards and try to make a flush.  The higher number of cards the better.  Straight flush included?  Even better.

I played here a lot because it's my fav place to play.

I was talking to the pit boss and he was asking why I was in Vegas.  I told him for a pool tournament.

He then shares with me that he knew Fast Eddie!  Personally, new Eddie Parker. He said that Fast Eddie was a dealer at this very casino (when it was the Aladdin) from about 1975 to 1980.  He said Fast Eddie was a really nice guy, too.

Pretty cool to hear things about players we've heard about our whole lives!

Pool-Related Drawing

Many people have pool-related items in their house.  Many of us that do, we probably all have the same items.  Right?

But I have a couple I wanted to share with you that are unique.

Here is the first one (click photo to enlarge):

When I was in Vegas for a tourney about 1999 I think, my friend Shayla and I got a caricature done of us at the Excalibur Hotel/Casino.

There were two caricature artists there, and while one created a caricature of her and I, the other one was making small talk with us.  We told him we were in Vegas for pool tournament, and then he drew the above artwork and gave it to us.

The detail is pretty amazing!  8 Ball "bonking" on the wizard's head, the bridge of wizard's hand on the cue is not bad at all, and there is powder and chalk and balls in the pic as well, of course along with a pool table.  And love his caption, "Next!" 

One of my few VERY fav pool drawings I love!

Not bad for just a little drawing as he killed time talking to us, huh?

Roommate with a Twist

A many of you have guessed, I am going to the BCAPL Nationals in mid to late July.

I was not able to get a really low rate for a room at the Rio, like I normally could in the past.  Even though I am a Total Rewards card member, I could not find a decent room rate there at the Rio (where the tournament is held) and honestly, no where else even on the strip that wouldn't cost me an arm and leg.

I asked a league teammate if she had a roommate, as I would like to find someone who I could split the room cost with.  She said she already had a room, and several roommates.

Dang!

I was going to ask a few more of my girlfriends, but then she called me back.

She asked, "what days I was going to be there?"  I told her just scotch doubles and singles.  She expressed she might be able to help, as two of her roommates weren't coming til the team events.

Really?  Cool!

She had to check with all the ladies not only for their dates of being in Vegas, but also if they were okay with an extra person staying there.

My girlfriend called me back about a week later.... she and said I could stay!

I was SO excited! 

While I haven't stayed with 4 total women in a room in a LONG time, I was willing to do it to save so much money! 

However, there was one little caveat.

One of the roommates told my friend, "I know the room is really your room, but if Melinda beats me in the tournament, I'm kicking her out."

LMFAO!!

I love my friends!  :)

Advice from Dennis Hatch - Taking Your Time

I eluded the other day in my blog that Dennis Hatch gave some advice to a friend of mine during the ACS Nationals.

Well, here it is!  I finally had time to write this up.  :)

He noticed that a friend of mine two-stroked her shots and shot real fast.

Now, everyone in the world has given tips to my friend (and all fast players), not to two-stroke.

They will say, "stroke the ball more.  Take your time."

 

I heard this a thousand times myself the first ten years I played pool (or more, lol)

Or, they will try to be more specific: "Take 5 strokes before you shoot.  That will help you from two-stroking."

BUT.  This is what Dennis told her:

"Stroke 4 times, then shoot."

Then he adds, "Stroke 1."

(then he paused for a second)

then he said, "Stroke 2"

(then he paused for another second)

Then, "Stroke 3."

(then he paused again)

"stroke 4."

(yes, he paused again)

Then he said, "Then shoot."

She replied, "okay, thanks.  I understand.  Stroke 1, 2, 3, 4, then shoot."

"No,"  He shook his head very politely.

 

"No, that's not what I said."

 

 And he repeated himself:

"Stroke 1."

(then he paused for about second)

then he said, "Stroke 2"

(then he paused for another second)

Then, "Stroke 3."

(then he paused again)

"stroke 4."

(yes, he paused again)

Then he said, "Then shoot."

 

She looked at him intrigued.  And I looked at him intrigued.   And then her and I looked at each other.  WOW.

The next morning (she was my roommate), she woke up and as she was getting ready, she repeated what he said and HOW he said it, with ALL the pauses and everything!

 

"Stroke 1."

(then she paused for about second)

then she said, "Stroke 2"

(then she paused for another second)

Then, "Stroke 3."

(then she paused again)

"stroke 4."

(yes, she paused again)

Then she said, "Then shoot.  I got it!"

I told Dennis later that day that the WAY he said and DESCRIBED the 5 strokes was so key and spot on.

I know I will learn from this exchange for the rest of my life.

Even the other day when I was explaining not to whack at a ball to a girlfriend, I got out of my seat, and motioned how to have a smooth stroke on a tough shot.  Visualization and the WAY you word things is obviously key to get your point across.  AND, for the person to remember it better.

I bet a thousand people have told my friend to stroke more, or stroke 5 times, or take your time.  But the way Dennis explained it, using pauses in his explanation, and having her repeat it WITH pauses will be instrumental in her game and she will remember it a LOT more than just "hey, stroke more."

 

 Dennis Hatch from BonusBall

Unique Poker Card Protector

I stopped by the lovely Bellagio casino while I was in Vegas for the ACS Nationals to go to their large poker room.

A lot of people have card protectors that go on top of your cards.  Usually the card protectors mean something personal to you.

Why use card protectors?

Watch this brutal video clip why they are important:


Prolly the most first famous one was Greg Raymer's (he was known as the "fossilman"), after he won the World Series of Poker in 2004.  He used a small fossil as a card protector while he played poker.

I've seen all sorts of card protectors, so when I saw this stuffed animal, a cute dog in this chicks' lap, I didn't think anything of it.

Until it moved!

OMG, this chick brought in her REAL dog and the dog sat with her the whole time!

While the dog was never on the table, I just thought it was her "little card protector."

Well, maybe he was.  :)

ACS Nationals Championships 2014 - One for the Record Books

I just came back from 9 days in Vegas.  6 of which were playing pool at the 2014 ACS National Championships!

I'll post lots of stories and tidbits from the week, as you all know I will.  As usual, I wrote little reminders down each day on things I wanted to blog about/share, so I wouldn't forget!

Before I give a long, drawn-out detail of each of my tourneys, lol, here's a VERY short, but exciting recap!

I won the ACS Nationals Women's 9-Ball Singles! 

 Jacki Duggan and I

OMG I WON! 

I am a National Champion!  I still can't believe I did it, even as I type this out over 8 days later.  I am on cloud nine! I won it on Mother's Day and dedicated the win to my lovely Mom, Mrs. Toni Bailey.  :)  Gosh I miss her.

My ladies team, All Mixed Up, won BOTH the 9-ball ladies team event AND the 8-ball ladies team events!

BOTH!

Courtney Evans, Me, Janet Ybarra, and Nina Stillwell

I can't believe what a amazing week pool-wise I had!  Especially under the personal circumstances I was under. 

I will provide details later of each division, and also share many, many blog entries of cool, different, or interesting topics that I saw, learned, felt, experienced throughout the week.

Until then - enjoy the game you love to play.

My Journey to the Mosconi Cup!

I have been going to Vegas (my favorite city) every year for 22 years straight.  Sometimes more than once a year!

I have never driven to Vegas, though.  Never really had the time (had to be there at a certain time to play in the BCAPL Nationals) or the trip didn't coincide with being able to take enough time off to play in Vegas AND drive.

Well, this year, for the Mosconi Cup, everything fell into place for me to drive to Vegas for the first time ever!

Usually the Mosconi Cup falls on a weekend, well this year the dates were December 2-5, A Monday through Thursday.  And with Thanksgiving the week before, I already had that date off.  So, the dates and weekends just fell into place for a longer-than-normal trip.

So, my b/f suggested we drive.

Really?

"Sure.  Have you seen the Grand Canyon?"

"Um no," I say with a little sparkle in my eye.

"Well, then we have to drive!  And I'll show you some other cool places, too!"

And the plan was set!  :)

I have to say it was the best road trip ever!  Sure, Vegas was fun and the Mosconi Cup is always a treat, but to drive and see all these cool places I had never been was THE BEST.

Here is my trip in pictures and words:

Day One (Wednesday, Nov 27th):

Drove from Dallas to Amarillo where we ate at the famous steak place, The Big Texan.  Home of the 27 ounce steak.  We were not impressed AT ALL with the steak we tried.  :(  But, I HAD to eat there - it's famous!

Then drove to Albuquerque.

Day Two:

Drove to Lake Powell in Page, Arizona.  OMG that lake is BEAUTIFUL!  And we made a little fire by the lake!

Day Three:

Next day we drove to the Grand Canyon.  when they say you have to see it in person to appreciate it, they ain't lying!  These pics do NOT do it justice.  It was SO cool though because there was snow on the ground, too!

We also made a camp fire there in the campgrounds and even cooked steaks and had a really sweet dinner of beans, steaks and a salad.  Of course, it was in the 20s and we were COLD!  Our steaks had to be reheated b/c they kept cooling off, lol.

Day Four (Saturday, Nov 30th):

Drove to Lake Havasu, Arizona, in Lake Havasu City.

WOW!  It was in the low 70s and we got to walk around easier to see the water, sights, and amazing small city with breathtaking views!

This is also where we played in a little tourney that Sat night. and then later that week heard they looked me up, lol.

Day Five: (Sunday) Drove to Vegas, Baby!

We visited all the pool rooms in Vegas that most everyone frequents:  Pool Sharks, Best Billiards, and the Cue Club.  Mosconi Cup started Monday, so we walked the strip and did a little gambling before settling in.

Days Six- Eight:   Mosconi Cup.

USA didn't fair too well and lost to the Europeans by Day 3 (even tho there is 4 days slated for the tourney) FROWN.  However, it's still an awesome event to witness in person and I dare say a Bucket List item for pool players for sure!

Here are some pics from the event:

Fans getting autographs from the USA players during commercial break, and Jeanette Lee saying hi to Buddy Hall and Nick Varner.

 

 And me, drinking a Mai Tai during my breakfast at the Venetian. Hey, it's Vegas!!

Day Nine:

Drove to Tuscan, Arizona for some pool and spent the night there.

Day Ten:  

Drove to Midland/Odessa, Texas.

Day Eleven (Sunday, December 8):  

Drove back to Dallas/Fort Worth.  HOWEVER - the whole metroplex and 250 miles around it was ICED over.  It took us literally 10 hours to drive from Midland to Fort Worth, normally that would be 5 hours, but we had to drive SUPER slow on all that ice.  Honestly, we shouldn't have drove at all, but it wasn't about to thaw out any time soon so we risked it.  Eeeek!

I know the pictures don't do the trip justice, but I had such a great time seeing the USA like I had never seen it before!

Vegas May 2013 in Photos

My Vegas trips are focused around pool tournaments, but non-pool things happen too, lol.  I thought I'd share with you some of the other activities and happenings from my ACS Nationals May 2013 Vegas trip:

I was lucky enough to get to see ELTON JOHN in concert at Caesars Palace!  Teammate Janet and I got to have a date with him on my second night in Vegas (his last show until September).  I never in a million years thought I'd get to see this talented showman.

Janet and I.

She found these AWESOME, PERFECT glasses for us!  Yes, we wore them inside Caesar's Palace and at times during the show  :)

I really wanted to hear two songs that he didn't play, but I was impressed with his enthusiasm and stories!  The stage was beautiful and he still is a major performer for sure!

I stayed at the Planet Hollywood Casino/Hotel (PH) this time (abt a 20-25 minute walk to the Tropicana) because I got a good rate.  I LOVED staying there!  The atmosphere and abundance of table games and eateries was awesome.

I am not shy to admit since I normally stay by myself, the rates at the Tropicana where ACS was held were WAY too expensive when I can stay at PH for $20 night because of my players card.

I heard they were filming Think Like a Man Too ( the second installment of Think Like a Man) for a couple of days and so Courtney (my roomie and teammate) and I stalked the taping's for a few hour, lol.  Actually, we just watched the filming at the table games. 

But I noticed at one point that someone was taking a pic with Michale Ealy while he reviewed one of the taping's.  I told Courtney and she ran up to him to ask him also and she snapped this pic:

 Michael Ealy and Courtney 

Then we stalked Kevin Hart so she could get a pic with him, too.  Turns out these two are her Mom's favorites!  When we sent her the pics of her favorite actor and comedian, she literally was screaming with delight through the cellphone's speakerphone!  It was so super super cool.

 

Courtney and Kevin Hart

Teammate Angel picked up Courtney from the airport, in STYLE:

(Courtney may not ask for a ride again, lol)

I ate at a few new places this time! 

Munchies with teammate Janet at Caesar's Palace before we saw ELTON JOHN!

The PH buffet where I saw this sign:

It sounds really cool and a good deal, except all drinks are free if you are gambling, so why pay for this during the buffet?   FURTHER, I went during the champagne brunch.  Yes, where they give free champagne with your meal, lol.

 I ate at Fatburger fur the first time, since a friend recommended it.  It was tasty!

And also ate at Del Taco for the first time (which is real funny since they have them in Texas and had never been, lol). 

I also had Steak and eggs for the FIRST time in my life.  For $6.95, yes, it's worth a try AND a pic for you all, lol:

I also sat by two pools - PH and my FAV at the Mirage:

  

Ironic Meeting held in one of the conference rooms, since the IRS was all in the news, I thought the topic was hysterical:

Hit a few slot machines, mostly because Courtney played them.  Hit this mini jackpot at the Mirage on a 5 cent machine:

 

 Played Poker at the Mirage and Planet Hollywood.  Did much better at the Mirage.  Here's a pic from my view the last day:

Scotch Doubles in Vegas

Still trying to catch up on the many blogs topics that magically entered into my two-week jaunt to Vegas in May.  :)

I entered the Scotch Doubles tourney of the BCAPL Nationals and as usual, it's one of my favorite parts of the BCAPL Nationals experience!

This year didn't pan out so well.  When I found out my boyfriend couldn't go to Vegas because of work, I asked the top shooter of my league if he would be interested.  Altho he was surprised I asked him, he said yes. 

He wasn't someone who regularly went to BCAPL Nationals, but had been there before. He made plans to drive with his cousin and seemed pretty excited about the tourney, every time I saw him during the rest of the league season for the next 4 months.

In Vegas, on the Thursday morning of the Scotch Doubles event, I texted my partner to let him know we play at 7pm that night (in other words, we didn't have a bye).  That was about 10am.  I hadn't heard from him yet, and had hoped he was just sleeping in from the drive with his cousin.

I was staying at the Mirage (one of my FAV casinos) and slept in, slowly checked out, ate one last time at the delicious buffet before moving my things over to The Riv.  I had decided to also walk through the dolphin sanctuary and check out the white tigers.  I paid my $20-something fee and went in.  I walked toward the awesome, crystal clear pool that had swimming adult AND baby dolphins (SO CUTE!).

I love to be around nature and strongly feel it provides good aura to my mental state, so I knew being around the animals out in a nature setting would be a good thing for my next week of intense play.

Just as I walked in, I got a text.  It started with, "I don't know how to tell you this...."  My partner basically told me he wasn't going to make it to Vegas.  WHAT?!   I immediately freaked out, not sure what to do.  I no longer took my time by the dolphins, even tho I wanted to, but instead hastily made my way toward the white tiger kingdom as I texted him back, hoping it was a joke (b/c he does joke a lot).

Turns out he was serious.  He had more than one family emergency that came up and pool hadn't even crossed his mind.  While, I, of all people understand family emergencies, I was still shocked I was just now hearing he wouldn't coming to Vegas the day OF the scotch doubles event.  I told him I was sorry for what he was going through.. and then started my quest.

I needed to find a partner quick; someone, somehow.  In my frantic state, I can only think of ONE guy who I saw yesterday who is here in Vegas from my league who wasn't playing scotch doubles.  I didn't even know if I could switch partners, but I had to TRY. 

Several texts later, I get the guys phone number.  His name is Blas and I only know him from seeing him around, I don't think I've ever really spoke to the man before.

I tried to call him, but there was not a good signal in the Tiger section.  I moved to the Dolphin pool; nothing there either.  I had to leave.  I was there about ten minutes, but had to leave.  I then make frantic calls from the cab.  Blas said he would play with me but I had to find out from the front desk of BCAPL IF they would even allow such a chance so late.

The lady was extremely nice at BCAPL and took care of everything for us.  Blas was in!  I called him back and told him we play at 7pm.  His response was, "I'm going down to practice then."  How cute!  While relieved I had a partner, I was still trying to calm myself down from all the hassles and the rushing.

We had a TBA at 7pm and so got that win, then met back up at 9pm for our first real match.  I was very nervous for some reason and wanted to play good for him, instead of being confident like I should have.  We lost hill-hill!  Our opponents were very good, and although we played good, we lost hill-hill. 

We then played at 9am.  We won at 9am and then 10:30am.  We played good together!  I was much more confident and played much better than the previous night.  However, we lost our noon match, again hill-hill.  We played good, but our opponents were also good.  Both teams we lost to placed 13th!  So, they weren't schmucks, they were really good players and made great teammates.  We gave them both a run for their money for sure.

Blas woke up at 5am and ate a good breakfast and also practiced before our 9am match.  You see, Blas is 74 years old!  The man looks like he's in his 50s, MAYBE 60s.  He exercises every day, plays pool for his income (tourneys around town), and lives on his own.  He also has diabetes and keeps it in check by eating properly and checking his blood sugars. 

He had lots of great stories he shared with me and he is an extremely positive person and a very talented pool player.  Being 74, he's seen a lot, been through a lot in life, and also had a good outlook on life.  His positiveness was contagious and I LOVE to be around positive people! 

I did see one other guy later on Thursday that was from our league that I could have played with.  While it was a toss up on who I would place farther in the tourney, I made the right chose because I learned about LIFE from Blas.  


Before this event, Blas was "just a guy on my league."  Now, we are friends.  :)

Women's Team Answers

Many people keep asking my women's team members what our plans are for next year.  Since we won the Women's Open division in the BCAPL Nationals Tourney, what exactly does that mean for us?

Do we have to play in the Masters team division?  Do we all move up?  Can we play together in the Open next year?  What?

Long story short, we are going to split up so we can play in the Open again.  How can we do that?  Read below for all the details, and also why we chose this option:

According to the BCAPL website (see page 11 here), the Advancement Criteria for the Team events is as follows:

"Players who finish as listed below in the Teams Divisions will be moved to Advanced status. Players may petition to be lowered back to Open status based on their history in singles play or known ability."

• Top 16 Men’s Mixed Open Team
• The Top 4 Women’s Open Team
• Top 4% Men’s Mixed Advanced Teams

Therefore, because we won the Women's Division, all the members of my team became Advanced Player's!

We were all designated Open Player's before the event, but after placing 1st in the team event, we all became Advance Player's.

A Women's Open Team can only have one Advanced Player on their team, the remaining members must all be Open Player's.  So, if we decided to stay together, we would have move up to the Master's Women's division next year.

However, as the BCAPL stated, "Players may petition to be lowered back to Open status based on their history in singles play or known ability."

Therefore, my teammates and I emailed Bill Stock of the BCAPL and gave our individual stats of how we each placed in the singles event.  It was pretty obvious we can only place well as a team, lol, because our singles results were pretty bad.  haha!

Bill Stock emailed us back and after he looked at our individual stats, he moved us all back to "Open" status for singles.

But then he added, "As you know, only two of you may return on the same team in the Open Division. That also applies to the high finishing teams you played on in the past."

So, while we were happy we were all moved back to the Open division for Singles, it meant if we wanted to play in the Open Women's Team event, we would have to split up.

Instead of competing in the Master Division, we are indeed going to split up so we can try and compete in the Women's Open again. We just don't feel strong enough yet to play in the Women's Masters Team event.

It's very sad to have to break apart such an amazing group of women, but it's something we have to do and we will survive it.

While we already knew this rule would affect us, even as we played IN the hotseat in Vegas - that we would have to probably split up next year - and so it made the win even more bitter sweet.  

Lisa and I will stay together because we live closest to each other in Fort Worth, and Monica and Jennifer will stay together because they live in Dallas (the two cities are one hour apart and it makes for qualifying in the same league difficult). Connie had decided already not to play next year, and since we can only have two members of the team be on a team together, it worked out with 5 people.

This group of women helped me create a life-long amazing memory, and a dream come true.  I'm gonna miss playing with them.  :(  But, we are forever bonded as National Champs!

Final Score Sheet

2012 BCAPL National 8Ball Women's Open Team last Score Sheet - the Finals!

"Monsters, Inc." versus "How's My Rack?"

Negative Comments

It's amazing to me the comments people say.  Why say negative things?  Seriously?  Why?  Why point out obvious mistakes?

As usual, there are some unfortunate things that happen during tournaments.  But, that's the way competition goes. 

This year, I not only expressed myself more than usual, I also seriously evaluated more the "whys" of my feelings and thoughts.  While I despise negative comments, and while this blog is pretty much one big whine fest, I am still glad a lot of negative things have happened so I could try to control my thoughts better.

Practice makes perfect, right?

I found myself reacting, then moving on quickly.  I also found myself rationalizing the words I heard, which helped as well.

In other words, instead of just feeling and reacting (badly) to the raw, negative emotions from the negative words I heard, I instead tried to think about why I was bothered.  Then I tried to rationalize my feelings.  It really helped me overcome my downward spiraling thoughts.

And let's face it, we have enough pressure to play well and enough inner demons to deal with, so it's beneficial to our pool game to try and not let outside influences affect our mental game even more.

The reason for this blog entry:

Back in May, I watched a men's team (from my area) play in the BCAPL Open's Team event of the National Championships in Vegas.  I knew 2 of the guys on the team, but the other 4 I had never seen compete before.

I saw one of the teammates I didn't know (let's call him "NJ") verbally expressed his excitement for good shots, but also his discontent of his fellow teammates when they messed up.  I was MORTIFIED!  How does a teammate hit a wall after a fellow teammate misses?  How does he verbally assault his own player with crappy comments if they miss?

While I appreciated his enthusiasm and support of his teammates when they would get to the table, but God forbid you make a mistake because he WILL say something out loud.  To you.  In front of your teammates.  In front of the other team.  In front of all the bystanders.

After I witnessed this, I was VERY concerned about him watching our women's teams matches.  He had already watched a few games and I figured he might watch some more.  Sure enough, I saw NJ at breakfast in the Cafe on Friday morning and he wanted to know what time our match was so he could watch.

O.  M.   G.

I tried not to let it bother me.  I really did.  I tried not to even think that he *might* show up to the match.

I had even told one of my teammates as soon as I saw him act like that, "if he says anything during our matches, I'm gonna ask him to leave."  She replied, "do it if you have to."

Sure enough, NJ and a couple of his teammates show up to our first match of the second day of the Women's Open event.

I was up first and I admit I was proud of myself for not even thinking about him while at the table.  I have had MANY situations in the past where I'm standing at a table, and wondering what an audience member is thinking of my choices.  This time, I was only thinking about pool. I didn't care who was in the crowd.

I made a bad decision on my 3rd ball left and HOOKED myself on the 8ball.  I knew as soon as I shot the shot before, I had made the wrong decision.  I didn't listen to my gut.  And, so I got hooked with a bad shot.

Luckily, the ball before the 8ball was "in the hole" and I just had to a kick long rail bank to make it.  I felt no pressure and made it.

This left, however, for a VERY long straight-in, tough shot on the 8ball, with the cueball pretty much on the rail. 

I got down on the shot, took my time, stayed down, smooth stroke, and MADE IT!

I couldn't believe it!  I was so elated.  It really was a very tough shot!

High fives all around and then I sit down with my teammates, and I couldn't stop smiling.  :)

The smile quickly ended.

NJ says, "nice kick, but you should have shot the 2ball before the 5ball."

I interrupted, "Really?  You're gonna say that to me?  I'm in the middle of a match right here...."

He stopped talking and I was very upset.

I leaned to my teammate, "I'm gonna have to ask him to leave.  I don't want to be bothered by him when I'm trying to play.  I do NOT want to be thinking about being judged while I'm at the table."

"I'll support you, ask him to leave.  It wont bother me."

That was her way of saying without saying, that he can sometimes bother her, too.

I had to get more off my chest.  I told her," I'm serious.  If I think someone is questioning my decisions, I wont be able to play well and will be second guessing my choices," I confided.

I'm suppose to be the clutch player, I don't need anymore pressure than I already had!

Eventually, I guess he left because I never had to ask him to leave.

I just simply DO NOT GET IT.  Why freakin' say that to me?  Why point out a negative?  Why not wait and *maybe* discuss it with me later?  Is he trying to point out I'm wrong?  Or is he just trying to point out he's right?  Does he *really* think telling me what I did wrong and what I should have done will help me play better?

Listen, all it does it make me question myself.  Makes me contemplate what I *think* others *think* I should do.

I was already very aware I made a mistake.  Hello?  I HOOKED MYSELF!  Yes, I don't need to be pointed out what I did badly; I knew already.  Pointing it out does NOT make it better for me; or anyone.  No one that I know of plays better being told they messed up.  And then, to do it in front of people?  Is that really motivation?  No, it's just embarrassment.  Was he trying to show off that he knows best? 

I don't understand. 

Seriously. 

Why say something AT ALL like that?  Why not just clap and be thankful I even kicked the ball in and then made the tough shot?  Does it help his ego?  Does he think he's helping?  Seriously?

For the rest of my life, I will not ever like this guy watching me play pool.  Ever.

Even when a teammate expressed a mistake I made, it made me feel bad.  I do NOT thrive on people pointing out mistakes or negativity. 

I realize I've wrote about this before, but I'm still so shocked when it happens.  It takes such strong mental capacity for me to overcome things like this.

I am proud of myself, though.  I really handled my thoughts better during the women's team event.  I tried not to let things get to me like they used to in the past.  I tried to rationalize why I thought the way I was thinking, which helped me get over comments or situations faster than usual.

Sure, things still bothered me.  But, for some reason I overcame them with either methodical thinking, rational thinking, or by venting to someone.

My mental toughness became more solid as time went on during the event.  It's a great feeling.

Still - I don't like to be embarrassed or mistakes pointed out.  Duh!

I fully admit there IS a time and place for such things to improve and learn.  But in the middle of a match is not the place nor the time.

Awesome Realization About Recent Solo Trips

I went to Reno and Vegas this year alone.  I didn't travel with anyone, I didn't stay with anyone.  While this didn't bother me, I admit it makes for many lonely meals, lol.

Most people responded confused, with a weird look on their face, "you came by yourself?"

Hmm... well, what's wrong with that?

Turns out that while I decided to stay alone so I could focus on playing my best, and to travel alone simply because there was no one who could travel to the same tourneys, the trips turned out to be a Godsend for me.

Whoever we travel with, that's who we hang out with.  Whoever we decide to room with, that's who we normally spend the most time with.

Because I stayed and traveled by myself to a week long trip to Reno (Bar Table Championships) and two weeks in Vegas (for ACS Nationals and BCAPL Nationals), something pretty awesome happened:  I met and became friends with new people!

When we travel around the country playing this awesome game we love, we recognize the many faces we see a lot, but not often do we get to hang out with new people and feel so good about new friendships.

While in Reno, Kim Benson Broughton (former WPBA pro) saw that I was by myself one day and asked if I wanted to chat about our recent 9ball tourney finishes.  I met many people through her the next couple of nights and really enjoyed getting to know this wonderful woman.  She co-owns a pool room in Reno and it's always nice to meet women who give back to the pool world through businesses.

The last night in Reno, I sat next to Leslie Bernardi, fellow competitor and former Master player from California, in the casino at the table game Let It Ride for hours and we chatted all night long.  We decided since it was the last night in Reno and the tourney was over, that we could have a few shots.  One hundred shots of Crown later, lol, we are still drinking and then meet up with pro player Sal Butera.  Sal owns a pool room in CA and had very recently lost his Mom.  My heart ached for him so badly as he shared with us the sad news, as my Mom had recently passed and my emotions were still very raw.  I cried (as he held it together), as he drank tequila and Leslie and I had more Crown, lol.  Sal is the son of the famous Machine Gun Lou Butera.

It was so cool that last night in Reno hanging out with Leslie and Sal, and getting to know new friends.  Our friendship would not end in Reno, as we would meet up again in Vegas.

When I traveled to Las Vegas three months later, I went to the ACS Nationals... also by myself.  I didn't know how many people would be there that I knew, as I usually only played in the BCAPL Nationals and therefore was not sure how many people go to ACS.

The very first person I see is Janet Ybarra.  She runs the Texas ACS State Tourney and she was there in October when I won her event.  As soon as I saw her, she hugged me tightly and then asked who I was with.  Surprised my boyfriend couldn't get off work, she would watch my matches the next few days.

That first afternoon, we sat by the awesome Tropicana pool and talked like little school girls for hours, getting to know each other.  And one night we ventured out together and went to a real nice dinner and then walked the strip.  It was so cool to get out and visit the town I love with a new friend.  She has a huge heart and a great personality.

I saw two other people I knew from Texas at the ACS tourney - Charlie and Nancy Smith.

While I run into this awesome husband/wife team all the time, I hadn't really had the opportunity before to spend quality time with them.  Attending the ACS alone was a also blessing, as I was able to spend long hours with Charlie and Nancy.  They would watch my matches and support my progress, and I would watch Charlie place 2nd in the Super Seniors division!  I was so proud. :)  They treated me like one of their own children, and I welcomed the unconditional love I felt.

Then when I moved over to The Mirage, I met more people who also love Let It Ride and we would meet up almost everyday to share how our days went.  Most were there for meetings or conventions, and here I was a little pool player competing in a big pool tournament down the street at another casino.  It was cool!

Then when I arrived at The Riv for the BCAPL Nationals, I would hang out with people I normally wouldn't have, had I had a roommate or travel buddy.  I hung out with my teammate Monica (Moni) several times the rest of the week, including a very special lunch date on Mother's Day that was an extremely tough day for both of us. 

Moni and I have known each other for years and are good friends, but we haven't had any recent chances to spend quality time together, due to personal things we were going thru and because our homes are almost an hour apart.  

One sunny afternoon I ventured to The Riv pool and run into Kristie Womack and Wendy Kent.  Kristie is the famous BCAPL ref and the smallest woman on earth with a huge heart.  Wendy is from Oklahoma and we only see each other in Vegas, altho we hit it off right away the first time we met a few years ago at the Riv bar.  Both are truly awesome women.

We all hung out and got some good rays and then they invited me and Moni to check out The Rio and then to go downtown to Fremont street.  I hadn't been to either in years, and Moni had never been.  So, Moni and I tagged along with a large group of great people to check out the future BCAPL Nationals Venue (The Rio) and then to check out the street party downtown.

It was a lot of fun to hang out with friends away from the tourney setting.  We smiled and laughed a lot and had a truly wonderful time!

I was also able to spend quality time with my friend Heather who is a great friend from Florida.  She always checks on me each month and I have been so distant, yet she still texts me (even tho I barely respond) because she knows how close my Mom and I were.  I was able to have a great lunch with her and her fiance' one day and joined by two awesome friends of hers from Florida who's hearts are filled with greatness.  All of them would keep in touch throughout the week to see how we were all doing in the team events.  I felt very loved. 

I met up with Sal in Vegas only for a brief moment, as we toasted to our great tourneys.  He would place an eventual awesome 7th place in the Men's Pro Ten Ball Tourney, and my team would win the Women's Open event.  Leslie and I got to hang out a few times to watch matches, eat at the Peppermill, and we texted the entire time.  Even after she flew back to CA for work, she would still follow my progress, as I would cry how much I miss my Mom and wished she was there for my wins.  Leslie was so supportive!

I was also able to have a solo lunch with my dear friend Kelly.  Kelly and I have known each other for several years and met through other pool players.  Even though we always promised to meet up for lunch or dinner while I'm in Vegas, we never had had a chance to.  Until this trip!  It was SO wonderful to get to know her and hear how her life is.  And she would listen with an open heart to my words.  I will cherish every moment with her, forever.  I love to be around mature women who enjoy life and their happiness.

While I would have loved to travel with my boyfriend, I am secretly thankful for the solo trips this year because I was able to meet new friends and create a bond that only pool players can understand. 

I am so happy for the new relationships I have been privileged to recently.  I'm so internally elated, and know I needed these friendships because it's been such a tough year.

While all this seems so obvious - if you travel alone you meet new people, duh.  I think what sets this apart for me is:

1. I hardly ever travel alone,
2. I'm actually pretty shy when I don't know people, and so I don't normally hang out with new people, 
3. The new people I met were very genuine and caring, and I need that right now,
4. I got to spend quality time with some dear friends, but mostly:
5. I think it's awesome I REALIZED how personally fruitful these trips were for me!

I could have easily went on with my normal self, getting back into the swing of things at work, and moved on in my daily life.

But you know what?  I am GRATEFUL.  I truly am.  I have no family anymore, and therefore friendships are all I have.

And I want to savor my new friendships.  This all may seem very minuscule to others, but to me, relationships are important.  And make for a solid LIFE.

Every person I mentioned in this blog (and the many others I didn't mention who I spent  a little time with on these two trips, like Andy W, Cristina, Darnell, Kristen, C, Vicki W, Sunny, Amanda, Yvette, Lisa E, Jennifer P, etc.), I have a valuable relationships with.

And for that, I am truly grateful.