Scotch Doubles Help from the Pros

One of my clients/friends/students that I spar with, her name is Tina. She calls me her "Mentor" which is super sweet and flatters me to no end.  We have become great friends through this "sparring" and so it's really cool that the first time I reached out to her a few years ago to spar has led to a beautiful friendship today!

Okay, put down your Kleenex's, lol.

Well, the other day she was going to play in a scotch doubles tournament and she posted a quote from a pro to her social media account that she said she loved. When I read the quote, I thought to myself, "Yikes, that's not good advice."

Evidently there is a big scotch doubles event going on somewhere in the world with the pros.  I admit I have no idea about this tournament, as I don't follow much pool anymore. Don't judge, lol!

But I can tell based on the few posts I see on Instagram something is going on (I don't really go to Facebook that much anymore).

I wanted to find out why she liked that quote, but more so, did it help her? (why or why not?)

So, I dug into my little keyboard on my phone and inquired for us, because as you know inquiring minds want to know!

I honestly figured Karl wrote that after he or his partner had a fantastic rescue! I personally don't think rescuing your partner is what scotch is about. I think it's more about having fun, trusting your partners' skills, and shooting shots you would normally play (not shots you think your partner wants you to play).

But, who cares what I think, let's see what Tina's thoughts were as to why she loved that quote.

"Well," she confided, "that quote by Karl really change my way of thinking. I was always trying to leave my partner perfect position on every shot, when all along I needed to just trust in their skills."

Hey, that sounds familiar!  (smile)

I found it so interesting she gathered that from his quote.  I became excited!

I continued in inquisition:  "Did you notice a difference when you played in your scotch tourney?"  (hoping the answer was yes)

"Absolutely.  That little phrase has changed my scotch doubles playing life!"

(So cool, right?!)

I replied, "Wow, that's pretty powerful. I'm so happy his words helped you so much!"

She shared, "I was happy, too. I have been watching the World Cup of Pool all weekend..."

[edit to add, oh that's the pro tournament that was going on hahaha]

"..... and I see how the partners in the scotch doubles format we're struggling - even though they were pros. Plus, the quote really did change my way of thinking."

I can imagine how relieved she feels - no wonder she played well in her recent scotch tourney (they placed 4th!). That is a lot of pressure if one thinks you have to leave your partner perfect shape every shot, wow! And, what a relief for her to see pros miss in scotch doubles - seeing them make mistakes makes us realize we are all human.

I get so tickled when words penetrate and they impact people deeply. And I also loved how my interpretation of the quote was completely different from hers - I love learning!

Players Who Need Money Versus Players Who Have Fun

I have discovered, as I'm sure many of you have, that there are really only two types of players in the world. The players who aren't there to make money and enjoy just having fun, and the players who need to make money.

Obviously, this seems obvious. LOL.

You may think this isn't an issue - who cares, Melinda? Well, the problem is the reaction from players who need to make money from playing pool and/or how they treat others.

Let's face it, many of us who love this game get agitated sometimes and mouth off when we lose. But it's the players who needed that money who have more sting to their words. Or, players make certain decisions to play or not because of the need for money.

I have seen, heard, or experienced unfortunate situations because of these differences.

For instance, a friend of mine found a great new scotch doubles partner, and she was very excited because they made a great team. However, he doesn't want to play unless there is a Calcutta in the scotch doubles tournament. And unfortunately around here, the scotch doubles tournaments don't normally have a Calcutta associated with them.  It's really just a tournament to have fun all day on a Saturday and for a team to raise extra money to go to Vegas to play in Nationals.

Of course the top one or two teams make some money from the payout of the tournament, but there's no Calcutta money (which is normally where most of the cash-ola comes from). So, my friend lost a valuable partner because he didn't want to waste time on "just having fun." In his eyes, if there is a Calcutta, though, he would jump all-in to play!

Another example of the difference in the philosophy about playing pool for fun or money is during times players want to split the finals. Usually this is requested by the team/player from the one-loss side when the tournament is running late.  Or, because they want more money out of the situation.

I experienced this directly at a scotch doubles tournament in Dallas about 6 years ago.  It was getting really late in the night, spilling over into the morning hours, and the couple that would have to play us in the finals would have to double dip us.  The guy of the team wanted to split first and second. The guy even tried to strong-arm me to "just split." But, I was there to try to win that tournament with my boyfriend - I hadn't come close to winning that event before so it was exciting to be in the finals!

Sure, the team didn't want to stay any later, but the guy knew they were probably going to lose. Therefore, to get more money out of the situation, he just wanted to split. But the title meant more to me than that and so I told him no; he wasn't very happy with me.

This came up a few times for me and people would get upset when I never split. But from my point of view, I hadn't won many tournaments yet and I wanted to play and try to win first place, not just split.  One Friday night a guy called me a bitch because I didn't want to split the finals with his girlfriend.

Rough crowd, huh?

Another scenario is when a player needs money, and is dependent on their finish to make money, which of course comes with a lot of pressure. I was talked about behind my back once by a scotch doubles partner because I didn't play well. Turns out (I didn't know this at the time) that he was depending on a good finish from us to make money so he could afford the room he was paying for in Vegas. Well, then he should have got a better partner because at that time (about 20 years ago), I couldn't shoot straight with a protractor.  This guy actually told people I "stepped on my dick."  I was so upset he was talking about me like that!  Well, after I found out what that meant, haha, as I had no idea, lol.  (turns out that meant I played badly)

When I ran the Omega Tour, I never got chewed out by the players who had other jobs for income. But players who relied on their finish to pay their bills chewed me out the most (you know, because when a player loses it's always the Tournament Director's fault because of the handicap system *I* personally put in place, haha).

Which player are you?  Has fun and elated when you cash?  Or relies on a decent finish to pay bills? (hopefully if you rely on pool tournaments for income you are still sweet to the people around you :)

Be Leery of Giving/Receiving Compliments

I believe it was in February when a friend of mine was playing a scotch doubles tournament. I don't like to ask my friends how they are doing during a tournament, because if they are losing, the last thing they want to do is share that info, lol. Right? Talk about a Debby Downer, haha. So, instead, I deliberately and intentionally send generic, but positive comments to show my support.

So I sent her a sweet text (because I'm sweet like that - hey, don't laugh!). I didn't ask her how it was going, instead I simply told her I hope it was going well and that she was having fun. Oh, and I asked her who her partner was.

She replied, "Thanks for checking on me! I am playing with BB.* " 

I asked her BB's last name, as I wasn't sure which BB it was.  She tells me and then says, "He knows you...but you are famous...so no surprise there. "

I replied, "Omg, you're silly, lol. Have fun!"

But in my mind I was doing cartwheels! It was the BB I knew and he is a fantastic player!  I was SO excited for her to be playing with a top-notch bar table player. I knew they had a great chance to win.

She said she was suppose to be playing with someone else, but he backed out on her.  I told her, "Good! You will have fun with BB."

Continuing my focus on the fun part of playing pool (i.e. no pressure).

She shared, "I'm having a great time... and we are shooting good together!!"

Well, "duh" I said to myself. She already plays jam up and so to add a scotch partner who also plays jam up, it's like Christmas in July!

The next day she told me they won - went undefeated!  I knew they made a great team, but did you notice I never told her that?

Come on, did you?

I hope so, because that's the point of this blog post.

Sometimes giving compliments can affect our game. We can get OVER-confident which can affect our routine and then we miss more. Further, overly confident thoughts and expectations can fill our head - which is a distraction and takes way from our game.

Just like negative emotions can interfere with our performance, so can highly positive comments.

I have played a lot of matches and lost because I was too confident. It's a weird thing that happens to us, but it does.

Players have actually used this as a sharking technique. A player may deliberately comment to their opponent during a match how well they are playing, because that might distract them from being in the zone. It causes the opponent to start being more conscious about how well they are playing, and then they start to miss.

Of course, the other obvious reason I didn't show my excitement for them as a great scotch team is because that can sometimes add pressure.

Sheesh, Melinda, can we say anything to our friends?

Lol.  YES!

But just remember any distraction - good or bad - is still a distraction.

So, my advice is to wait until after a tournament to give all the accolades and compliments you wish! But during or before tournaments, simply focus your support by telling them to have a good time and enjoy the game we love to play (see what I did there?).


*not real name to protect the innocent

Choosing the Right Words - Scotch Doubles Invite

So as we near February, every year about this time of year, the sweetest thing starts to occur:  guys ask me to be their partner in the annual Sweetheart Scotch Doubles tournament that is held annually in Dallas around Valentine's Day.

I think it's a huge compliment that some of the players even think of me, and then ask me to play Scotch Doubles with them.

And this year was no exception.

The last two years I had to break some hearts (just kidding!) and remind the guys who invited me that I just don't really play pool anymore.

This year, I thought many more players would know this, but I still received a few inquiries about playing.  Again, it's super sweet.

However, one invite *almost* got me to play.  I said almost.

Okay, okay, I didn't really almost say yes, but I do want to share that the words he chose were pretty incredible and were probably the ONLY way I would ever even consider to play.  He said, "I know you are retired, but any interest in some no-pressure scotch doubles?"

You see - it was wasn't that he remembered/knew I retired, it was that he prefaced it with "no-pressure."  He knows I play good, but he was cognizant enough to realize that the best way for a retired athlete (no matter the sport) to play in a tournament/event would be if I felt like there was no pressure.

I was quite impressed!

And then I broke his heart, too.

Ha!

I played pool on Sunday (sparred with a student) and I played JAM UP.  Was that a sign I should actually play?  I even joked with her I should play in the scotch event, but it was just a joke.

But then I saw ANOTHER sign!  Here was my fortune cookie from yesterday:

I sent it to the guy who asked me to play no-pressure doubles and he replied, "See!"   lol

I will explain in further details in a future blog post for you all, but alas, I'm still not going to play.

But next time you ask someone to play doubles or on a team, chose your words carefully to make the most impact.  :)

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!

Practicing Scotch - Project Hunger Games

I have pontificated a lot in my blog that players who play scotch doubles together do not necessarily need to practice together if they already know 8ball well.

Katniss changed my mind a bit.  I love seeing different aspects of things!

What I hadn't really thought of was when two people who don't know each other at all play scotch doubles together, it is actually very beneficial to practice together ahead of time because then you get to find out about their personalities.  Some people show a different side to themselves when they are competing, right?  Competition can bring out the worst in someone, and if you don't know that about your partner, you will be surprised.

You see, Katniss played in a scotch doubles tournament with that guy a while back and he is the type of player who shows his emotions when he's upset - usually a small tantrum sort of thing - walking off mad, quipping about her slot selection - nothing loud or obnoxious, just a hint of upsetness.

He's like this all the time when he plays, but she hadn't seen him play a lot in tournaments and didn't know this about him.

So when they played together for the first time, his negative emotions and reactions bothered her, and therefore distracted her from playing well, because she thought she caused his tiny tantrums.  I tried to explain to her after the scotch doubles tournament that he's like that all the time, and while she understood that and it made her feel a little better, there was still some doubt and she continued to take some blame thinking her mistakes on the table upset him.

As we all know, we play our best not distracted.  Therefore, because he showed his upsetness, it definitely distracted her and she didn't play her best.

They decided to play in another scotch doubles event together, but this time they got together to practice a week or so before.  And what did she see?  She saw him act the same in their practice session and it clearly proved that it's just his personality and nothing to do with her!

So, when they played again in their next scotch doubles tournament, she felt much more at ease with him, wasn't taking things personal if he got upset, and they played much better together!  I'm not saying they won the tournament or anything lol, but they played better together and felt better much better because they got to know one another a little better during the practice session.  They are also becoming friends, which helps in scotch doubles, as well.

I definitely failed to see that when two people don't know each other at all, even if they know 8ball well, finding out about their personalities ahead of time can be a key element to shooting well together.

Thank you, Katniss, for the lesson!

Doubles with Dave

I had another big smile moment last night.

I met with a VERY dear friend of mine for dinner.  She is moving out of state in a few weeks and so we met up to catch up and say our "temporary" goodbyes.  I plan to visit her in the coming years and walk in the Ozarks with her!

She is one of these women in life that we judge before we know them.  She was tough to play because she was so intimidating and I because incorrectly assumed sometimes rude.  What I would find out was she was raised in a tough world, which made her a menace around the pool table.  What I didn't know 10 years ago was this tough gal had a heart of gold and a love for life that most of us can only hope for.

She is one of those people that once we get to know the real them, they turn out to be a gem in the world and we find we are lucky if we get to be a part of their life.  She has made a huge impact to me personally and even though I don't see her that much, she still has a part of my heart.

She has lived in the area (Dallas-Fort Worth) for over 30 years.  And she mentioned last night that my friend Dave Faver and her used to play scotch doubles together about 20 or 25 years ago!  I just smiled and smiled :)  I love that so many people are still sharing stories about Dave with me.  Warms my heart.

Confidence in Scotch - Project Hunger Games

For the first edition of Project Hunger Games, Katniss talked me about a scotch doubles tournament she played in.

I hope that players who play scotch doubles really listen to this to get the best possible play from their partner.

Katniss played with a really strong player, but in the very first match in the middle of one of the games, he told her, "I really thought you were going to shoot the 14 ball."

So, let's think about this.  At this very moment she isn't thinking, "I am shooting good and really like playing with XXX."  She is pumped up, happy, confident and sitting up straight in her chair ready to shoot again.

NOooooooo.  She's now second guessing herself, starting to feel defeated, losing confidence, etc.  

A few games later, he says it AGAIN.  "I thought you saw the 5 ball, thought you were going to shoot that."

Katniss is now mentally out of the game.  She's frustrated, wondering what she should do, confused on choices, losing her confidence,and going straight downhill.

She confided to me (and you readers) not only did her confidence go down during the rest of that scotch doubles tournament, she also felt unconfident the rest of the week at her leagues.

You see, scotch doubles players need to be lifted up, not shot down.  It may seem like his words weren't harmful, but they WERE.  If he wanted her to shoot something else, or a better shot, he could have gone over them AFTER the tournament was over.  But to raise doubt in her game in the middle of a match and the middle of a tournament did the exact opposite.  

A lot of scotch players do not realize the most innocent of comment can derail a teammate.  We start second guessing everything, wondering if we are shooting the correct shot, and then we play timid, unsure, and scared.

When my scotch partners have shot at a ball that I did not set them up for or I didn't understand why, the very LAST thing I did was lean over and say, "Uh, what are you doing?"  lol.  I didn't want them to think I was judging their decision or second guessing them.  I wanted their best from that point on, not a partner who was wondering what they are suppose to do, just because I asked a question.

The VERY best scotch doubles partners are the ones who make me laugh, never question my choices during a match, but also might show me shots after the match/tourney is completed.  Let me play my game, in order to be your best partner.  If you make me nervous about wondering what you expect me to do, I can't play my best at all.

And as a reminder, the effects can last way after the match.  So, I'm begging scotch partners to tread lightly, have fun, enjoy the chance to play together.  Then go over shots later.  :)

Deciding to Play or Not

I had an opportunity to play scotch doubles back in March. Are you ready for all the details of it?

Are you sure?

Okay, here it goes!

I chickened out.

Yep, CHICKEN.

You see, I'm not in denial. I don't play like I used to because I'm not competing anymore. Sure, I have moments of greatness when I do play, but it's nothing like it used to be.

As a matter of fact, I didn't throw in the towel right away when the opportunity arose. I actually waited to see how I would play when I gave a lesson (remember, I don't watch my client's play and then point to what they should do, I spar with them and we talk about all our options). I told myself, "If you play good, go ahead and play in the scotch doubles event."

Well, I played FANTASTIC! I always find myself surprised when I play good, lol. It reminds me that because my fundamentals were so solid toward the end of my career, they still are.

But I'm not fooling myself. That's practice. Put me on the stream table competing and my mental toughness is thrown out the door and I play like my arms are wobbly and I'm paddling like crazy in a sinking boat, lol. I just don't play enough anymore to be a threat. And I'm okay with that - I'm actually much happier! But I also don't want to put myself through the angst trying to play well.

One of my exes went through this and stated, "My lack of confidence and struggling is just making me not have fun. I guess I should just accept this fate of sucking since I don’t practice, but I’d rather just quit than accept being less than. "

Boy, do I hear those words! I'd rather be doing less stressful things in my life than trying to play well, when I know I can't anymore. Life is short, right?

Don't get me wrong - pool is a beautiful sport! And I played for 25 years competitively.

However, the fact I struggled and debated so much with the idea of should I play or not, is the true answer: I was too apprehensive to play.

Just like with many decisions in life, if we can't decide on something and are struggling with what to do (or not to do) then that usually means we don't really want to do it. In other words, if we have no hesitation and are excited, then that means we really want to do that something. Too much "should I?" or "do I want to?" usually means deep down we don't want to.

Now peeps, don't tell me to start practicing and don't tell me to start playing more. I don't want to. I'm actually much happier stepping away.

Athletes in top sports still compete even though they aren't in their prime anymore. But they have sponsors and are being paid to show up....hmm, those things aren't knocking at my door for some reason lol.

So, when the opportunity comes up to play or compete, am being realistic. And that reality for me is I don't play like I used to, and that makes it stressful, which is one of the main reasons I stepped away. Who needs more stress? hahaha

Do I Miss Playing?

A lot of people ask me if I miss playing pool.

Nope.

I am still around pool, but I do not miss playing.

I even went to BCAPL Nationals in Vegas in July and visited a few friends the first day I got there (Friday).  I was apprehensive at first trying to locate them at their tables, thinking I might get the pool bug and the tug of wishing I had signed up and was playing. 

Instead...

I felt nothing.

Not even one smidgen of myself was envious or had feelings of regret that I didn't play.  It was actually really weird.

Sometimes when I spar with a friend and play good I think about maybe going to State, but then by the time I even get back in my car the feeling goes away.

However, I thought it was REAL weird last month when the feeling of playing overcame me.

I happened to catch my scotch doubles partner from the last 2 years play in a match during the Omega tournament when I was walking around taking photos.  I watched him play a rack and for the first time, the desire to play tugged at my heart.

That was such a weird feeling... first time I felt such an urge to play.

I'm still not playing, tho, lol.

Celebratory Apology

At the scotch doubles tourney I played in back in February, my partner and I had to race one extra game because I am listed as an Advanced player for BCAPL.

This meant that we were one of the teams "to beat."  Everyone had their eye on the "good team."

We were on the one-loss side and after winning several matches, we found ourselves in a tough little match, deep in the tourney.  It went hill-hill and we lost.

The female player of the team is a very good friend of mine that I adore and she actually told me WAY before I ever won a title that she was my biggest fan.  Which still to this day is surreal to think I would have a fan.

And her and I became good friends a couple of years after that and we really respect each other in life.

Fast forward to that match, and after her partner makes the 8-ball hill-hill, she kinda yells and claps with delight.  For a very split second I was a tad bothered, but in all honestly I was upset we lost, not that she showed a happy emotion.  And let's be honest, Greg (my partner) and I are such a great team, that I would also celebrate if I was in her shoes, too!  It was a GREAT win and they had to play well to defeat us and they did.

Greg and I never spoke about it, as we both knew it was just part of being the "team to beat" syndrome.  Didn't even think of it again, honestly.

Two days later, he and I receive this text: 

"Hi Melinda and Greg,

I wanted to message you to tell you something.  I want to apologize to the both of you.  I got way over excited Saturday and left that damn yell come out of my mouth when my partner dropped the final 8 Ball.  My emotions took over.  I normally never do that, it's rude and I think it is disrespectful to your opponent.  It shouldn't matter if I know you or not, but I am even more disappointed in myself that I did that playing against you two.  I respect both of y'all immensely, personally and as pool players and I'm honored to call you both friends.  So, I am sorry for that.  I will be better behaved in the future!  Hope you had a great Easter.  I hope to see either of you soon. "

When I read her text, I was completely floored.  She didn't have to do that at all.  But she is a "feeler" like I am and since it bothered her what she did, she really felt like she should apologize.

I was impressed.

I responded with:

"No worries at all!  You should have been excited!  :)  Sweet of you to think of apologizing, but no worries, babe :)  Love ya!"

She said,

" Ok. Thank you.  I just had to, though, it was out of character.   :-)."

 And I shared back,

"I know what you mean. Been there myself  :)  "

It was a great exchange among friends that admire each other.  I cherish her and her passion for the game and learning so much - and that experience and exchange is part of that journey!

Wrong Team

While playing scotch doubles last weekend, my partner in our first match scratched while he pocketed the 8ball.  We were up 1-0, and would have been on our way at 2-0 but now it was 1-1.

No biggie.  We've overcome worse.

However, it happened again - very next game - he scratched while pocketing the 8ball.  Eeek.

Now the other team is up 2-1, and we have to go to 5, and they only have to go to 4. 

To make him feel better (because that can't possibly feel good), while he was racking I went up to  him and whispered, "they are going to be pissed when we still beat them."

"Yep," he says.

He and I both know we could come back and win and we weren't even worried.

Then our opponents started to "talk" and "nibble."

They told my partner, "hey, you're the best player on our team!"  And they laughed and laughed.

While this team is the type to jab in general anyway, and my partner (hopefully) could care less, I actually thought it was funny, too.  I immediately went to the other side of the bar to grab my phone to make a note so I could remember it to write this blog entry about it (I didn't want to forget).  hahaha.

However, it wasn't really that funny any more when we actually lost 4-3.  LOL.

Scotch Recap

I found myself in an awkward position last month (Feb).  I saw a flyer for a scotch doubles tourney and I actually wanted to play in it! 

I hadn't really /wanted/ to play pool in a while.  Would rather spend my time at the poker tables (and had been) so to even have a desire to play pool felt super weird.

Called my 'ole faithful partner that I've won several top scotch tourneys with (Greg) and he luckily said yes to playing with me.  :)

We had to race to one extra game because I'm listed as Advanced for BCAPL.  It's stupid funny really, because Greg plays so much better than I do, yet he's still listed as an Open player.  But, to be the reason why we go one extra game was kinda cool, too. 

The first two shots I made that almost-too-cold-for March Saturday morning, my adrenaline sure was racing!  I hadn't competed in so long that it definitely affected my adrenaline.  After some deep breathing to slow down my adrenaline, though, I surprised myself with how well I was playing!  Esp for someone who doesn't practice and no longer has league.  And, I became more and more confident as the day went on coming with shots for my partner and playing well.

We lost our first match and then tore through the one-loss side before running up against a team that pushed us hill-hill.  I went for the correct shot but one of their balls nudged a little and blocked one of our last 2 balls and we didn't get out.

We got one-out-of-the-money (5th out of 24 teams).  I told Greg after wards it was my fault we were out because we had to go one extra game, otherwise we would have beat them.  Luckily he just laughed at me.

For as much as I don't feel like playing pool, every time I get to play and see how awesome I'm still playing, makes me KINDA want to play more.  I still do not even remotely want to play league, but I'd like to get in a few good gambling sessions if I could.  Maybe venture out once a month for a weekly 8ball tourney at least to keep me "in the game" ironically lol.

Had fun Saturday, even though I was itching to get out of the smoke (that I did not miss) and head to the casino/poker room.

Miscommunication 101

At our very first scotch doubles match in the Open Scotch Doubles event at BCAPL Nationals at the end of July, my partner and I are up 2-0 or so in a race to 4.

At some point during this third game, the female of the other team is standing at the table kinda confused.  She gets down to shoot a certain shot and her opponent stops her.

Uh, hold up - what's going on here?

He says something to her, and they motion to each other and then he says, "time out" to us and walks towards her.

Time out?!  HOLD ON!

I stop them and say, "uh, excuse me, there isn't any time outs in scotch doubles."

The guy says to me, "Yes there is."

"No, there isn't," I counter.

He tells me, "we did it last year."

"Um in what league?"  I ask.

"This one."

I told him, "I have been playing in this event like 10 years, it hasn't been allowed for YEARS," as he's looking at me confused.

I ask nicely, "Can I ask the ref?"

"Sure," he says, "sounds good."

I go up to the ref that is literally just feet away from us, "Uh, excuse me, but are time outs allowed?"

He looks at me and replies, "yes."

I'm like OMG REALLY?

I asked, shocked, "since when?"

Ref's reply:  "Since as long as I can remember."

OMG....

I go back to the table and tell my partner first, "he says there are time outs."

So, the guy goes back to the table to tell his opponent the better shot to shoot.

I ask a friend of mine who is playing next to us, "hey, are time outs allowed?"

She replied to me laughing, "No, Melinda, we've been playing in this event over ten years and they have never allowed it.  Come on."   It was ironic she said ten years, too, lol.

So I go up to another ref and he says the SAME thing.  I'm about to lose my mind - has my memory REALLY gotten that bad??  I know I had two concussions in the last year but REALLY?

So I go up to the first ref, "I'm sorry, but can you ask the head ref for us, please?"

He says sure.

At this point,  my partner is like, "cool - let's take time outs."  LMAO.  It's funny because we don't need any.

The head ref shows up and they call me over.

"What is your question ma'am?"

"Thank you.  Are time outs allowed?"

"Yes."

I'm DUMBFOUNDED!

Then he adds, "you can take a five minute time-out for a bathroom break."

I ask, "no, for coaching?"  He says, "Oh no, not for coaching, just to go to the bathroom."

Even the first ref adds, "no, not for coaching."

Communication 101 people - be very SPECIFIC when you ask questions, lol.

Really, More Hardware?

Pretty tough to do, but Greg Sandifer and I WON the BCAPL Texas state Scotch Doubles event undefeated!   Second year in a row for me!  And with a new partner.

Then came singles.  After a very long, exhausting, tough day full of close matches and lots of nerves and adrenaline, I found myself winning all my matches somehow and won the hotseat match.  I would be I the finals the next day!!

As you might recall, I won this event last year - THE tourney I always wanted to win.   To be in the finals the next year didn't even make sense to me how I could do that.

Felt pretty fortunate to be in the finals!!  I got double dipped by a super talented player (Ricki Casper), and plus I didn't play well enough.  But very pleased with second place in a really tough field!!

People kept acting disappointed when I told them (after they asked how I did in singles), that I placed 2nd (and not 1st).  Well, I still think I did great, honestly!!  (even tho someone actually told me second place is the first loser).   BUT.... I found out after the finals, that my opponent lost her Grandmother just the week before, and she wanted to win it for her. So, I'm even more glad she won!  I've been in her shoes and I know that means a lot. So again, second place was great for me, and my opponent played her heart out to win it!

And my women's team, 8 Ball Heat, placed 7th!!

Good pool week.  Made me reflect a lot about pool and where my future lies with it as I can sense a change acoming, but still feel extremely fortunate for my week!

Playing Pool Tired

I mentioned I played in a scotch doubles tournament and the my friend Amanda and her partner won it at around 4 in the morning.

At one point, they had to wait on a very long match and I could tell they were getting tired.  When they finally got to play (this was about 1:30 am), her partner was making some unusual mistakes.  I brought up to them that at this point in the tourney, it was who is less tired that would do better. 

And I suggested they drink cold water or go outside for fresh, cold air.

He quipped at me, "I'll go outside after we win."

I thought to myself,  "you may not get that chance...if you DON'T GO NOW."  Yes, I was little perturbed because I was trying to help!


But just talking about it helped and they eventually won hill-hill to move on to another tough match.  Her partner did go outside before the next match and I was happy he finally did because they really needed to get themselves pumped up from waiting around for so long and playing all day.  We had been there since about 10:30am and it was 2 am. ...

If you ever see someone missing all of a sudden, see if they need some water or maybe to get some fresh air.  Sometimes we don't know that we are tired or dehydrated.

Valentine's Day Scotch Tourney

I played in a scotch doubles tournament on the dreaded Valentine's Day.  My bestie, Amanda, was going to Tulsa for this tourney and invited me to tag along.  

Here is Amanda and I the morning of the tourney:

The tourney director in Tulsa found me a partner and so I got to play as well.  So, I was happy with that, especially since they added $500 to the prize fund (and the entry fee's were $50). 

It was held at the 727 Club, which I had heard about a lot from my ex, and even saw a few players he normally gambled with.

They decorated the whole place with red and silver and hearts and cool Valentine-themed table cloths.  They really went all out.  Even had door prizes!

I was introduced to my partner, Charley, right before the calcutta, and I found out he played good bar table pool, so we were golden.

I asked him, "Do you break well?"  He said yes, but that normally when he plays scotch he let's the female break and he picks the opening ball.  I told him I played good 8 ball and since he broke well, I could pick for us.  :)

I told him we would be pleasantly surprised, but then I got kinda nervous.  What if I didn't play well today?  Did I just jinx myself?  Nah, I still played well :)

He said at one point, "Well, we will at least have fun today."   I knew right then he was being nice in case I didn't play well, lol.  I admit it was kinda tough not to brag about myself, because I wanted him to not worry haha.

Once the break was decided, we didn't talk again about pool strategy.  I'm still of the belief if two people play really good 8 ball, then they will do just fine together. 

We went hill hill the first match and lost against a team who would eventually get 4th out of 32.  They didn't make one mistake and got out when they should.  But Charley and I played real well together.

We won the next three matches easy, 3-0.  But we ran into another tough team and lost.

I honestly thought we would for sure be in the money because we both played so well but the teams were tough; tougher than I thought.  And we only went for $30 in the Calcutta, too!  A couple of people wanted to bid on us, but they let me buy ourselves for $30.  Everyone thought it was a steal but they were nice to not outbid us.  And then we didn't even get in the money LOL.

Turns out Charley and I know a lot of the same people and I enjoyed playing with him, even though I didn't even remotely know him before that day.

Amanda and her partner (who she had never played with before but knew) won the tourney by double dipping the favorites around 4 am.   They both played really, really well and they came with some amazing shots to win.  Amanda was impressive in her knowledge and talent as usual!

I also got to spend quality time with my girlfriend Bobbi and it was great to spend the day with her:

Scotch Doubles BCAPL Texas State Hiccup

Well, this is such sad news for my scotch doubles partner, Marty Jones, and I:

(click photo to enlarge:)

The reason why is, I decided not to play anymore in my Sunday league (for many reasons), and that was the league Marty plays out of.  The BCAPL Texas State tourney allowed players to play together in scotch doubles, even if you didn't play in the same league.  As long as you both played in a BCAPL league AND in Texas, you could play together.

I admit that when they made this changed a few years ago, I wasn't very happy about it.  I thought it was unfair that a good player from Dallas (for example) could play with a good player from say Austin, San Antonio, or Houston.  While the rest of us were putting in time in the same league.

Then, when I was making the decision not to play on Sundays, I figured, "well, this wont affect scotch at State, so that's cool."

And they JUST made this change on Monday.  MONDAY!  And the entry fee is due THIS Friday.  So, they literally made this last minute change.

There are three (3) main reason why this change affects me personally:  (1), I am only playing on a ladies-only league.  I quit my other two leagues.  Now this is becoming very painful that I made that decision.  In other words, I have NO ONE I can play with because the only league I play on is women only.  (2), Marty and I will not be able to DEFEND our title!  Oh, I am so BUMMED!  (3), playing scotch always got me ready for singles.  Ugh, so many personal impacts.

Life goes on, I know, but this change affects a lot of teams that were planning on playing together, I am hearing.  I actually think it's a good rule, but it just happened ti bite me in the butt this year, lol.

UPDATE!  After I posted this, they had listened to the many comments the received and changed the rule BACK!  Whew.

Advice Given to Others

Sometimes I am not sure if I should give advice or not.

Sometimes I feel like it's not my place, other times I think,  I wish someone would have told me that long ago.  Other times, I don't know the player, so I prolly shouldn't say anything.

But, I opened my mouth at the scotch doubles tournament that I played in last week.

One of my friends was playing with a girl I had never seen before.  He told me she LOVES the game and he had been helping her with shots and things.  And so they decided to play together.

When I say 'LOVES' I mean she has the pool bug bad.  You know - we have all been there when we live and breathe pool when we first start playing.  Sure, it's on our minds now as well, even with seasoned players, but it pretty much is all we think of when we first get the "pool bug."

They won a few matches and while I didn't really see her play a lot, I did watch her this one game.  She stayed down well, made a lot of shots, and also carried herself well for being new to the game.

This one match she also chose the correct balls (the game was 8 ball) and it was a joy to see!

Then she was set up on the 8-ball and she shot it fast, and missed it.  She took her time on all the other shots in that game.  I immediately thought to myself, "I remember doing that."

Later on in the day, I saw them watching matches and I approached her.

I complimented her game and made some small talk, and then suggested to her that if she strokes more under pressure or when nervous, she will make more crucial balls.  And she replied, "Like that 8 ball I missed."

I was taken by surprise she noted the shot I was talking about.  I told her I was sorry I said something, but I had wished someone would have told me this 20-25 years ago!

She seemed receptive to my advice, so I explained more:

I told her she stayed down on all the other shots and stroked more except that one.  I mentioned it's VERY key to be aware you are nervous, breathing fast, feel pressure, adrenaline going, because that's when you will know to stroke a few more times (instead of shooting fast b/c of adrenaline which causes misses).

She thanked me and then I went back to my seat, wondering if I should have said something.

The next day I get a text from her partner, "Thank you for coming over and talking to her yesterday.  She needed another perspective of the game other than mine.  It will make a difference in the future."

I told him I felt bad, like I shouldn't have said anything b/c I didn't want to make her feel bad that I noticed she missed the 8 ball.

He replied, "She was excited that someone of your caliber even noticed and took the time to talk to her about the game.  It was well received."

What, really??  My caliber?  He said that?

OMG!

I asked him how did she know I played okay?

He said, "She's heard a lot of people talk about your accomplishments."

WOW, really?   That made me feel awesome!

Then told him I was glad she took my comments well - it meant a lot he passed that on to me, too!

How cool!  :)

KA

I mentioned I played in a scotch doubles tournament.  They listed no "Masters" or "KA"s could play.

KA.  Known Ability.

Boy, that turned out to be something else!

They weren't going to let several players play (including myself) but then someone came up with an idea that KA's could just add one game to their race.


I asked my partner about it.

He said, "well, what is the race."

"Uh, they don't know yet."

He said, "Let's play anyway."

I didn't want to!  I wanted to be defiant!  (Is that the correct word?)

I was miffed, I admit, because they were questioning my partner and wanted to have us go an extra game.

I told them that my partner didn't play as good as another guy that was playing.  But they said HIS partner wasn't that good (ouch), so they let them play together.

And then they told me I was Master/Advanced.  Ugh.  I had to point out I'm NOT a master in ANY league.  Advanced only in ACS (not even BCAPL).

But then when they explained that most couples were very amateur levels and that they just didn't want us to scare the other players, I calmed down a bit.

I decided to play and get some good practice in.

I show up and I see /several/ teams that should ALSO race to one extra game.  One team they already talked to, the other they hadn't considered and the consensus was they should, also. 

It was actually a very TOUGH tournament. 

So, even though there were suppose to be very amateur teams, it was instead quite tough!  Wow.

And the race t was 2 on each side, but three teams (including that of my partner Jesse and I) had to go to 3 on each side.

As I mentioned on my previous blog post, we placed 3rd out of 20 teams.  We played real well together.  TOUGH tourney and tough teams!