So, something interesting happened this past weekend. We were at the poolhall, it was late in the evening, and I wasn’t shooting too well. I was playing Josh, who’s about my speed so it’s usually a good game, and after a while, he asked if I wanted to play some 1-pocket. Well, I haven’t ever played. Not once. I’ve watched it from afar quite a few times and I tried to watch a match or two on youtube, but it’s hard to dedicate that much time to the game. I’ve turned down lots of offers at my usual place because I’m on a limited time-line there and this game takes a while. So, it’s late, it’s Josh and I say, “Eh, why not?”
So… we play it even, first to 8-balls. The first game, was a real learning experience – as you can expect I lost… badly. Something like 8-2 (fouled a few times, but oh well). The 2nd game went a little better. I started seeing the smallest hint of patterns and defensive moves. I still lost, but it was closer, I think 8-6. The 3rd game, was much better. I learned very quickly that unless it’s a dead ball, don’t try it if you don’t need to. I also learned very quickly that leaving your partner with absolutely nothing is almost more fun than making a ball for yourself. I took my time with most shots, evaluated the percentages, and calculated the leave if I missed. As a result, I owned that game. I won 8-2!
Offensively, I made some good cross-bank shots and got pretty good shape for the next ball. Defensively, I nearly always left my opponent behind the stack, or frozen to another ball. Whenever he got a ball close to the pocket, I kicked it away, even if it meant passing up a chance to make a ball in my pocket.
Overall, it was more fun than I expected it to be; but I won’t be switching schools just yet. 😉