Playing Even in a Tourney - Thanks to FargoRate

Catching up a bit from my trip to OKC for that tournament I played in January...

When we play in tournaments (whether open or handicapped) it's very natural to "judge" ourselves and our opponents ahead of every match.  We wonder things like:  who is the better player, will I have a chance, I should win, this will be tough, or this will be easy.

To be frank, it's is best if we DON'T ever think any of these thoughts and just focus on the game in front of us - that gives us the best chance to win!  But it is kinda normal to compare our skills to others.

The tournament in OKC was different than any other I had ever played in.  Basically, the race of every single match was not standard and instead depended on who you played.  And the race was established using an option on FargoRate.com.

It was a "575 and under tournament," which meant any player with a Fargo Rating of 575 and under could play.  And depending on who you played, your race was determined for you.

This is going to be tough to explain, so bear with me.

There is an option on Fargorate.com entitled "Find a Fair Match."  See top right choice below:

From there, there are 3 categories: Hot, Medium and Mild. The Hot column is the race that should benefit the lower ranked player and the Mild column would benefit the higher ranked player, if two players would try and match up evenly:

In the OKC tournament, the race was to 7 on the winners side and 5 on the one-loss side. And we were to use the "hot" column to determine our races.

So, if I (524) was to play a player ranked 460, I would race to 7 and they would race to 5. (See below far left column and find the match up that begins with 7, since this tournament was a race to 7 on the winners side and I was Player One). If it was a one-loss side match, I would race to 5 and my opponent would race to 4 (again, below far left "hot" column and find the match up that begins with 5, since this tournament was a race to 5 on the one-loss side).

So, what was SUPER cool about this tournament was each player was essentially playing about even, no matter who you played because the race was stat-dependent.

So, let's set me up to play a higher-ranked player. If I was playing a player rated 570 and we were on the winner's side, I would race to 6 and they would race to 7. See hot column on the left and notice my opponent is Player Two, so we look for the "7" in the hot column for the second player, which would be 6-7 in this case:

It was actually a lot of fun and really cool to realize we were all playing about even in every single match. I don't mean we all played the same, I mean each race was established under the "Fair Match" option and that allowed for every person we played to be matched up pretty evenly in our matches.  I admit it was a different type of pressure - not one where one or the other is suppose to win, but who will win?

There was no guessing who played better and there was no pressure like there normally is when we all race to the same number. It was cool that each player raced to their own proper race against whoever it was we ran across based on our skill.

I liked it!

Friendships Are Stronger Since Not Drinking

I don't recall if I've mentioned this in my pool blog or not, but I quit drinking over a year ago.  421 days as I write this to be exact.  :)  Ahhh, but who's counting?  :)

One of the cool benefits of not drinking anymore is every single conversation with a friend has my full attention and I remember everything.  I have also noticed my friendships are deeper.

I especially noticed this when I went to OKC two weekends ago for a tournament.  I can't begin to express how joyful it was to spend time with my friends giving them my full attention, instead of breaking off to go get us shots.

Sure, drinking can be fun and taking shots all day with friends can be fun, too.  But for me, being fully engaged and spending quality time with my friend who took time out of her schedule to come visit me at the tournament was much more impactful and memorable than when I used to spend my time drinking instead.

It also meant a lot that she pointed out to me, "congrats on the accomplishment of not drinking over a year," as I had shared the great milestone on Facebook back in November.

Here is a selfie of Bobbi and I on that day in OKC:

I shared many other benefits of no longer drinking on my personal blog, if you want to read them.

I find it rather cool and awesome how fully aware I was that I enjoyed so much more spending quality time engaged with my friends, laughing and having fun, instead of interrupting them to make trips to the bar for our shots.

Disturbances Affect Playing Our Best Pool

I decided over a month ago to head to Jamaica Joe's in Oklahoma City to play in a ladies tournament December 19th.  I rode with two friends of mine (my friend and her husband) as we hit the road early Saturday morning to make it in time to sign up and then be a part of the calcutta.

One of the top three pick of the litters is a player I don't know, but Amanda Lampert (a good player in her own right who went for pick of the litter), told me she plays well and that's why they wanted to buy her.  I had never heard of her.

My friend's husband bought me for $70 in the calcutta.  Not sure why he did that, but it kinda put some pressure on me, lol.  I never buy half myself, so he was in for all his own money.  Normally who buys me doesn't affect me at all.  But, it also actually gave me more to play for.  Instead of just "having fun," I really wanted to do well for him.

I have to say I didn't like the way the tourney was run - $55 entry and we had to pay quarters still, and the players were moaning we wanted the calcutta to be paid down more than 4 spots, but we just weren't listened to.  But, to play on beautiful equipment with a great staff was for sure a treat!  39 ladies and at least $1,000 added because we had more than 32 ladies.  But if they would have paid out 9-12 in the tourney and 5/6 in the calcutta, that would have made it not so very top heavy (IMO). 

So, I get called to my first match and low and behold I have to play the girl I mentioned above - the one I don't know but everyone says she plays well.  I have no idea if she knows me or not.

She wins the first game, I COME WITH IT tho and win the next game.  She wins the next, and I again return and come with it to win the next game.  Now she knows I can play.  I haven't faltered and she has seen me run out a rack twice now.  We trade games again and it's 3-3, and I can feel SO much pressure, still.  Before we even flipped the coin, a player walks by and says "wow, you two drew each other?"  And I'm sitting here like, THANKS.  lol.  I honestly have never seen her or know how she plays but people are making it pretty obvious she plays well.  Then again - they do indicate WE drew each other, not that I drew her.  So, basically, it was going to be a good match.

I wanted to do well for my friend's husband who bought me, but it was a weird feeling to be playing this player that everyone thinks plays well.

I get ahead 4-3 and then she ties it again.  Then I get ahead 5-4.  At this point, a friend of hers, but a good player that I know, sits right next to her.  I at first think, "hey wait a minute...you shouldn't get a corner man."

There is a LOT to this moment in the match.  At this point, she is missing more and feeling the pressure as she realizes she is playing a good player.  I realize that I am in control of the match and feel real good and am PLAYING good too.  Can't begin to describe how awesome it feels to get out well and play great safes in a tough match. 

As this friend sat right next to my opponent, A LOT is going through my mind already.  It's already very tough to play in an environment where it seems everyone is watching this "famous" local girl playing me and wanting her to win (because she's expected to), and they have no idea who I am.  I'm just trying to play my little heart out and not be too aware of all things around me so that I can just focus on playing good pool.

Her friend asks me, "Hey Melinda, is it okay if I sit here."  It was my shot, and as I'm walking to the table I turn to her and say, "no, it's cool." 

I have to play safe and then sit back down and tell her I thought it was really nice of her to ask me that.  And she said, "well, I am sitting close to you and just wanted to be sure."

I felt pretty cool about it until when I got back to the table, I could hear them talking!  THAT I did not like.  You see, this goes WAY back to about 20 years ago when I'm in match and a friend walks up to my opponent to talk to her.  She eventually tells her friend to leave and my opponent begins to share with me how unfair that was.  That during tense situations, if a friend comes up to talk to us, it actually calms us down.  We feel "safe" and "loved" and we get to either vent about the match or we get to just feel comfortable; or maybe use the talk with a friend to get over any embarrassment feelings.  Well, I knew RIGHT AWAY that them talking was NOT good for me; it would be good for my opponent.

I'm used to not having players be able to talk to anyone during a match.  And this proved it.  It was distracting because I could hear them talking while I was at the table, and I could also hear her giving her a little pep talk.  Although not intentionally, it is something we would just normally simply do with friends, so I don't consider it coaching, but I didn't think it was "fair."

And so, as I look back, if I would have said, "please don't talk," then THAT would have been on my mind.  You see, we don't need any confrontation during a match.  I don't want to feel bad (or look like a bitch) because I asked her to move or not talk, because then that "negative emotion" takes away from my match.  BUT, them talking was giving me a negative emotion as well.  It was distracting.  It wasn't really "right."  It wasn't really fair. And yes, it was bothering me. 

I was running out the next game, again I'm up 5-4, and I get bad on the 8 ball but it's still make-able.  But, I shoot the 8ball too fast b/c I wasn't sure before I got down on the shot and I missed.  She easily makes the 8 and 9 balls.  Score 5-5.  That was A HUGE game.  Instead of me being up 6-4, it was now 5-5.

I then leave myself a really tough shot on the 8 ball the next game but thought I could still make it, and I missed.  I heard her friend say, "there you go."  She wins that game and is up 6-4.

One of my friends asks me in front of my opponent if I am the player up 6-4 and I reply, "I should be, but I've missed the last two 8-balls" - which is now showing my frustrations, which I hate showing any emotion during a match because you don't want to give your opponent an edge letting them see you sweat.  She wins the next game due to errors on both our parts (but mine was the final error) and she makes the four balls left and beats me 5-7.

To say I was deflated is an understatement.  I am seasoned (enough?) to know to not let things bother me, but I haven't been playing enough still in my lifetime to /really/ ignore things.  SUPER proud how well I handled myself to even get to five games against this good player!  I really did come with it in the beginning and overcame a lot of pressure to play well, just got distracted in the end (dammit).

Off to the one-loss side I go, but it's a race to little ole' five!  Ugher.  I play super sporty (imo) on the one loss side as well and win about 5-6 matches before finally losing steam and placed 9th.  Yep, one of the money!

I am still very happy (even elated) that I played well most of the tourney!  And I had a great learning experience.  I try to learn from every tourney, every match.

Video Tour of Jamaica Joe's

Didn't come out too great, but hopefully you can see how awesome Jamaica Joe's in Oklahoma City is:

OB in OKC

I played in the OB Cues Ladies Tour stop at Jamaica Joe's in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma this past weekend.

My road partner and I, Jenny Pav, went to Jamaica Joe's last year together.  And, we made the trek together up there again.  And ironically, we finished the exact same as last year!  I placed 9th, and she placed 7th again.

I didn't play too well and was disappointed, but that's okay, I'm not going to play well in every tourney I enter.  I do love me some diamond bar tables though - WOW!

My first match, I run out to the 8 and scratch.  I also missed a tough 9-ball later and a tough combo on the 9.  That's three games right there and a brutal scratch on the 7 ball cost me the match and I lost 5-7.  :(

I then won my next two matches but they were newbies and timid.  And my third opponent was very drunk.  She even left her cues at the pool room (but took her cue case!).  Unfortunately for her she lives about 6 hours away from Oklahoma City. 

I then played a determined, Lisa Marr.  I just wasn't playing well enough to beat her, and she ended up placing second, so that shows how well she was playing all weekend.  It was really good to see her though - she's always a treasure to be around.

The highlight of my trip was when my friend Bobbi came to visit me for about an hour or two.  I've written about her before.

Here we are posing:

As I reflect back, maybe I just thought I would magically play well.  I prolly should not have gone to this tourney.  I had a great event just the previous weekend, but still having this dreaded sore throat and a cold makes for a not very comfy feeling when trying to compete.  I also had some pains in my right forearm.  Hoping that goes away and doesn't affect my pool playing career in the future.

I placed 9th.  Only 25 ladies showed up, so I didn't even get in the money.  Ugher.

What Does a Nickname Mean?

At the Jamaica Joe's tourney I went to back in November (in Oklahoma City), Stan Tourangeau was there from Seattle.  He's a real nice guy and a heck of a player!

I asked him on Saturday night how his last match went, as I didn't know who he played or how it went.

He said, "I won, but it was a real close match.  The guy played real good and it went hill-hill."

I said, "Oh, who did you play?"

"Hippie Dave.  He doesn't have a nickname for nothing, ya know."

lmao!!

The Devil is in the Details

You thought you could get off easy by my blog entry earlier this week that said I placed 2nd without any of details.  ;)  Well, of course I have to give more details of my tourney!

Since I use this as my pool diary, it really is necessary.  You can stop reading now if you aren't a detailed person.

Many people are surprised I can remember all these details, but somehow I do.  :)

The Second Stop of the OB Cues Ladies Tour was at Jamaica Joe's in Oklahoma City on March 9-10th.  Jamaica Joe's recently did a remodel and the place is absolutely beautiful!!  With 16 Diamond Bar Tables and three 9-foot Diamond Tables, the pool room is the best within 200 miles!

First off, I want to state something that really helped me at this tourney: practicing on the Diamond Bar Tables the morning of each day.  I normally don't feel the need to hit balls on tables for too long as I adapt very well (I'm lucky) but Diamond Bar Tables (DBT) are a different breed of tables and I NEEDED to hit balls on them to be prepared to have a good chance in the tournament.

1. DBTs are extremely fast.  You must get yourself acclimated to that before a tourney.  I hit balls for 25-45 minutes each morning of the tourney.
2. DBTs banks VERY different from all other tables.  I would run several racks, but THEN practice a rack or two of banks.  Esp short banks.  This is key for all tourneys I play in with DBTs.
3. The Break.  For the first time in my life, I practiced the break.  And for the first time (EVER), I broke from the side.  I break really well for a girl, but I wanted more control and more assurance.  So, I practiced my side break about 15-20 times til I felt comfy with the speed and ensuring I made a ball.  I got really good at the break on Sunday - only after having more confidence watching Michelle Yim do it against me on Saturday.  She controlled the cueball better than I.  In the finals, Amanda and I both had our breaks working well and it was really cool!

You may think I should do the above the morning of for all tourneys, but DBTs are so much different, it's more of a "must" than a "should."  I still hit balls the morning of, but I don't normally ensure I get there early for an open table and I usually only hit a few racks.

I got out my Winning Ugly book by Brad Gilbert and only had a chance to review a few pages before heading to the tournament.  I wrote down a few notes/reminders, that proved very helpful during the tournament.  I really think those few pages helped me be mentally stronger in this tourney.

Here is a copy of my short notes:

Click photo to enlarge and excuse the handwriting.

The two points I wanted to remember most was to play like a boa constrictor and to stroke more if I get nervous.  I didn't want to let up or get comfy at any time (boa constrictor) but I also needed some reminders of what to do if I get nervous - stroke more.  BOTH helped immensely this tourney. 

We only had 29 women so I was disappointed in that, but I played Bye first and won.  Whew! I then played the Tour Champ and I was nervous but she was distracted and wasn't herself and I was able to win somehow 7-4.

In my next match I played Michelle Yim.  I was also nervous against her.  She has been playing really well lately and has had several major accomplishments the last couple of years, along with a new b/f who is a top player.  I knew I would have my hands full.  She played really, really smart and has a very beautiful stroke, but some flukey things happened in our match and I won 7-2.  She got a lot of bad rolls and I felt bad for her, but I also had to play like a boa constrictor, so I tried to be mentally strong.  Luckily I prevailed, altho I did feel bad as the outcome of the match was not indicative of how well she played.

Then I was informed I was in til Sunday.  Wait?  Already?  Wait?  On the winner's side again?  SAWEET!

I could have got more sleep but still felt fairly good in the morning as my roadie (Courtney) and I got ready for our matches on Sunday.  Courtney would end of winning the Second Chance tourney!  Her first time to play in it and she steals the show.  Congrat's!

Courtney and I

I practiced again Sunday morning and then played my first match against fellow teammate and Board Member, Tracie.

I felt real good the first game but missed a key safe and she got out.  Then I was on the 9-ball in second game and got bumped by someone on another table.  I was pretty ticked.  I tried to regroup, but I missed the tricky side pocket shot.  I was down 0-2.

I noticed my heart was racing and my blood flow was really fast.  I wasn't sure if my breakfast hadn't settled yet or I was dehydrated.  I stopped drinking my diet Pepsi (which has caffeine) and I got a cold water and drank half the bottle right away.  The water helped and my heart stopped beating out of my chest (I have a little heart murmur, but not sure what was going on). 

At this point, I simply told myself if she gets out and wins the match, so be it; I can't do anything about it.  Not sure what happened, but I ended up winning 7 games in a row and found myself up 5-2!  I could tell I was in the zone (yay!) and I was really playing super well (I thought).   I didn't really give my opponnt too many chances for those 7 games.

I then noticed that Orietta lost, which would mean if I won, I would play a new girl Sherri from OK in the hotseat.  I also noticed that if I lost, I would have to play Amanda.  All of these future possibilities were on my mind and it felt like the game at 5-2 took FOREVER for some reason.  I scratched on the 7ball but had a chance on the 9 but missed.  A miss back led me to get on the hill.  At this point I could tell she was more frustrated and I finally won the match 7-2.

OMG, was I really IN the hotseat again like last time!?!

My biggest fear this time was the match was going to be streamed.  The last time at Jamaica Joe's I was put on the stream my first match and was so nervous I lost from nerves.  I tried SO HARD not to think about the stream and JUST PLAY POOL.  I did not want to lose again on the stream by dogging it.  Thinking of that in itself is stupid pressure.

It took forever for us to finally play, as we were waiting on a match to finish before they would play us.  I hit balls on the stream table to prepare myself and for some reason, I just didn't think anymore about the stream.  Well, I didn't WORRY about being on the stream.

My opponent was a very good player from OK and she was having a fantastic tourney.  She was already having a reputation for a great break, so I was prepared to not let that bother me and just accept it.

Sure enough, a few times she made 2 balls or more and even one 9ball on the snap.

I was a little nervous at first, but when I saw she was more nervous than I, I took advantage of that.  I played better and got ahead 3-1.  Then she made the 9ball on the break, but I didn't let it get to me. I faltered on a 9ball next but she scratched after she made it.  I could have let the easy miss get to me, but I did NOT.

I overheard "Good shot, Sherri" a lot all around me, but I tried not to let the words get to me.  I just played my game when I got to the table.  I got up 4-2 but she countered with a 9ball combo.  She kept right up with me!  I couldn't shake her at all.  I got on 5 and then she made a fantastic out to tie it up 5-5.  Then she broke and made 3-4 balls!  The out was a little tricky and I got a chance at the table and got out.  Whew.

I was up 6-5 and she played safe on the 6ball and I was left was only 3 balls.  I studied it for what seemed forever, and it finally dawned on my to play safe, lol.  I nailed it so good, even her fans told me it was a good shot!  (once Cuetable is back online, I post a diagram of it).  I got ball in hand and ran out the three tough balls to WIN the hotseat match 7-5!!!

OMG.  :)

Did I just win another hotseat match?

Really?

Wow.

I admit I was proud of myself for playing well and staying mentally strong.  :)

Wait, this meant I was in the finals again!

REALLY?? 

Wow.

Amanda Lampert played Sherri next and was up 5-1 and I could see our future:  A repeat of the previous tourney where Amanda and I were in the finals together! 

She defeated Sherri 7-2 I think and Amanda was ON FIRE - she was playing so, so good.  In fact, she beat me the first set 7-1;  I only had a few chances.

However, I countered the first set loss with opening the second set with a break and run!  I even pulled ahead 4-3 at one point, that was short lived as I lost 5-7.  BUT.  I played so much better in this finals than the last one and I am definitely making progress in "positions" like this.  :)  I never even thought of the stream or felt pressure.  I just waited for chances (which only arose in the second set), and I played pretty good.

I told my boyfriend after I placed 2nd before, that one of the reasons I was so upset about playing poorly in the finals in January was because I may never get in the finals again.  He immediately told me I would be there again.  And look at me!  I swear he has more faith in my game than I.

So, placed 2nd again!  I am so surprised!  But, VERY glad I played well this time in the finals and didn't dog it, lol.  :)  Learning experiences all around me!  I love it.  :) 

What's This Mess?

I really don't know where to begin.  I am shocked to tell you that I placed 2nd at the OB Cues Ladies Tour stop last weekend.  That's not a typo! 

I can't begin to express that I have no idea how this is even happening.  Before December 2012, I had never placed above 4th place before on the OB Cues Ladies Tour in the last 15 years.  In December I placed 3rd and just in January at their Season Opener I placed 2nd, and now at their second stop, I placed 2nd again!  I honestly never thought I'd be in the finals again - I kinda thought it was a fluke or something that I made it that far in January.  Then, I won the hotseat on March 10th at Jamaica Joe's in Oklahoma City at the OB Cues Ladies Tour 2nd stop and found myself in the finals again!

 Amanda and I

I am not depressed after this tourney like I was last time.  Last time I played so badly in the finals, it literally depressed me.  This time, I played good!  Amanda Lampert was too on fire to beat her (I love when she plays this good), but I feel so good that I competed well this time.  I definitely learned from last time.  In the first set I didn't have too many chances and lost 7-1.  But I played good in the second set.  Whew!

I countered the first set debacle with opening the second set with a break and run!  I even pulled ahead 4-3 at one point, that was short lived as I lost 5-7.  BUT.  I played so much better in this finals than the last one and I am definitely making progress.  :)

I do think this journey to the finals was also kinda a fluke, but I did play good at times (esp my matches on Sunday) and I took advantage of mistakes all weekend.  I felt more mentally strong, too.  I reviewed little notes I had written down for inspiration and felt really stronger mentally.  I was also more prepared in the finals, and I know that is a direct result of recently playing in the finals in January.

I had mentioned on Friday in my blog that I was apprehensive about this tourney.  I didn't go into detail, but the pressure to place well again after placing so high at a previous tourney can actually be very tough.  I have seen many people falter after a big win.

Each tourney is a learning experience for the next one and the recent little accomplishments have really helped me.  In December, I made it TO the hotseat for the first time ever in a big ladies tour event.  Next tourney I actually WON the hotseat and played in the finals for the first time.  Next tourney I played well IN the finals.  I can honestly say I am excited for what may come.  :)