I haven’t been playing too often, and have skipped out on the last 2 weekly tournaments. I’m clearly not ready for them – although I know that by continuing to play in them I can only figure out how to play in them. *shrug* I’ve been playing a local, Zac, who’s been really stepping up his game lately. 2 weeks ago, he offered me 10-8 in one pocket to pass the time. We played 2 games, I won 2 games. They weren’t big wins, but they were wins. Each game I fouled at least once, so it was essentially 10-9 or 10-10, but still, it’s a win. Last week we changed it to 9-8 and I think we ended even at the end of the night. This week, we again did 9-8, and I won the set 3-2. I realize that he’s playing more than I am and he should be passing me by now, but either the bet isn’t high enough to make him really care (which has said before) or he hasn’t really learned when to play safe. He is absolutely moving better these days though. And he banks way better than I do, so I’m not sure how he’s not winning. Actually, I do. It’s when his misses a safe – badly. I will likely get 4 – 6 balls when he misses a safe.
And right there is when I let him back into the game. I will 4 or 5 balls, leaving me with needing just a few to all of his and instead of playing the game “properly”, I continue to play the game I played in the opening portion, move balls to my side, hide the CB. This has almost never worked well for me, yet I continue to do it. 🙁 Now, I do usually win the rack, but when I’m up 6-0 in ball count and I win the game 8-7, that is NOT good.
I’m hoping that by me writing this out, it will be the engraving my brain needs to fix this issue.
I’ve also noticed that my stroke has developed a lean to it. My arm isn’t perfectly perpendicular to the floor/cue and it’s causing me to twist my wrist just enough to put some unwanted right enlish on the ball. I can’t say I’m entirely surprised – with all the varying stroke mechanics I’ve tried recently coupled with the overall lack of playing time – it makes sense that my arm would be a little out of whack. However, because of this – I’ve re-developed a fear of a long straight-in shot. I’ve lost several ring-games and a few 1P games because of that flaw. Again, I’m hoping that by writing this out, my brain will pick up on the post-it note to fix it.
Not sure how much I’ll get to play this weekend, but I’m hoping it’s a good amount. I need to start preparing for the weekly 9-ball league that’s forming out at Cue & Cushion. I’m really excited about this. 9-ball on the 9 foot tables! None of those tables are easy either and they all play pretty darn well. The only downside is that place tends to get pretty warm whenever it’s above 75 outside. That’s really annoying sometimes.