Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 04

Highlights for week 4: For the second week in a row, Reckless pounds in game winner after game winner to subdue a good shooting team in Double D (Doug & Dave). They took care of last weeks match handily, beating their opponents 15-4 to move into 2nd place. Matt and Jim B were both shooting great and held off their opponents from getting too many good open shots during the match. The only other team to take (15) was Bull Dogs ( Jim P & Matt R (subbing for Ray). Matt was hot, nailing 5 combo wins in 9 ball and 10 ball and adding a 9 on the break winner in the middle of the set. Nice shooting by Bull Dog who moves up the standings sheet into a tie for 3rd with The Two Old Guys. There were two highlighted close matches in week 4: Our first match found The Two Old Guys (Mike & Peter) slip by Just Another Bye Week (Scott M & Scott K) by a single point and the second close match was determined by 2 points in favor our of first place leaders English Majors (Jimmy F & Victor) who battled Zenith (Walter & Nigel). Nice effort and shooting by all.

Update Note: Ray was given the green light from his Doctor on 02/09/16 to remove the brace and return to playing in the league. Ray wasted no time and began playing in the singles that started that same day.

Table 1: The Two Old Guys (Mike & Peter) – 11 vs Just Another Bye Week (Scott M & Scott K) – 10:

Scott K from Just Another Bye Week had a pretty good run to start out the 8 Ball Set. He kicked started his team for the first win in the set. Scott M continued his very nice shooting ability to take game 2 posting some nice shots with some great position play. This gave Bye Week a 2 game head start in the set. Peter from The Two Old Guys has been a bit more focused on his leaves against his opponents the last few weeks than his shots,  seemed to step up with some great shots in game 3 for the win to cut the lead to a game. Mike from the Two Old Guys played a bit more of the role of hooking his opponents continued to give Peter more chances for the win. The Two Old Guys evened up the set with the win in game 4, again with some nifty shooting by Peter (alias the Hooker) Ramonat, who may get a new nickname as the Peter ‘Ball Runner’ Ramonat. With an even set, Just Another Bye Week again stepped up with some nice shooting as they got several opportunities to finish games. Scott M nailed down the win in game 5 as he team took the lead and never looked back. Scott K again found some open shots and made good with a win in game 6. This gave Bye Week a 4-2 lead with a chance to close out the set and take a sizable lead in the match. That is exactly what Scott K did in game 7, with a 3 ball run to close out the set, 5-2. 

The 9 Ball Set sparked The Two Old Guys from the opening set loss as Mike made a 5 ball run to nail down the win in game 1. Mike wasn’t done yet either as he continued to shoot well.  After a back and forth game, he notched a 8-9 combo to post the second win of the set for The Two Old Guys. Peter got into the winners column as he got his chance to finish a game and nailed 4 and out in game 3. This evened the match at 5 game each as The Two Old Guys saw Just Another Bye Week fall off their shooting abilities. With missed shot after shot by Just Another Bye Week, Mike cleaned up the balls to nail down wins in the next two games. This gave The Two Old Guys a sweep of the set and take a 2 point lead in the match.  

The 10 Ball Set set found Just Another Bye Week storm back after getting shut out in the previous set. Scott M made 4 and out in game 1 and watched Scott K get a gift from The Two Old Guys and notched the win in game 2. Scott M fired in a game winner in game 3 and Scott K nailed the 3-10 combo in game 4 to get the team on the hill. With a 4-0 lead, Just Another Bye Week was in a nice comfortable position to take their second set of the match. The momentum swung in favor of the Two Old Guys as Mike got them going with a 2-10 combo in game 5.  The lead was slashed in half as Mike found his second 2-10 combo in game 6. Mike seemed to get his shooting eye back into focus and nailed 4 and out in game 7 to now only trail in the set by a game. It seemed like everything was going Mike and Peters way in their attempt to catch Bye Week on the hill. That reality came to fruition as Mike broke in game 8 and nailed the 10 ball on the break to tie up the set. Game 9 could have gone either way but it was Another Bye Week that fought through a few tough leaves by Peter to come out on top in the set. Even after Just Another Bye Week wins two of the three sets, with the sweep in 9 ball they lose the match by a point.  This was a good match as all four players shined in their shooting throughout the match. Good try by Just Another Bye Week who fall 1 win and 3 losses. Congrats to The Two Old Guys who are 3-1 and tied for 3rd. 

Table 2: English Majors (Jimmy F & Victor) – 12 vs Zenith (Walter & Nigel) – 10:

English Majors (Jimmy F & Victor F) continues to win matches and goes up 4-0 in the standings, holding on to 1st place by 7 points over Reckless. Jim continued to shine in his shooting as both Walter and Nigel struggled throughout the 8 Ball Set. Jim opened the scoring for English Majors as he notched a nice run to take game 1. Zenith had several opportunities in game 2 but again squandered their chance and Jimmy again got a nice run to close out the game. It didn’t seemed to get any easier as both Vic and Jimmy focused in on the goal to win. Jimmy finished game 3 to give English Majors a 3-0 lead. Now the roles seemed to reverse, with Victor making some nice long runs in game 4 and closed out the set with a 5 and out in game 5. It was a sweep for English Majors and a 5-0 match lead. 

The 9 Ball Set was a back and forth set with Zenith on a mission to make up for the opening loss. Walter stuck first posting a very nice run that put an end to the 5 game run by English Majors. Victor jumped in with a win in game 2 and followed right behind that with a 3-9 combo to take game 3 to take the lead in the set. Nigel got his chance to perform and did not let his team down. With some nice shot making and position play he got his team even with the Majors. All of a sudden, the English Majors went cold and Zenith got hot. Walter took care of the balls in game 5 and came right back making a 5 ball run to close out game 6. This put Zenith on the hill with a 2 game lead. A couple of misses opened up the door for the Majors as Victor finished off the balls in game 7 to close within a game of Zenith. Jim finally got back to running balls and evened up the set as he posted a win in game 8.  Walter again stepped up in his shooting and his partner made some good leaves to hold off Vic and Jimmy, that finished off the set to take a 5-4 win. This still left Zenith 4 points behind the match.

With each team winning a set, this would be decided by the team that could stay on the offensive and leave the other team hard starting shots or no shots to get going. It was Jimmy jumping back in his excellent shooting mode and nailed the opening win in game 1 in the 10 Ball Set. Victor continued to shoot well any time he got a decent opening to run and made it two straight for English Majors winning game 2. Nigel got Zenith going with a nice 3 ball run nailing a nice cut shot to close out the game. It seemed like Zenith started shooting again as they did in the previous set. Walter posted the next win in game 5 and Nigel capped off a 3 game run with a 5-10 combo. This put Zenith on the hill with a 4-2 lead. Victor stopped Zenith’s run at three games with a nice finished to a game that looked like it would not got their way. This cut the Nigel & Walters lead to 1 game. Nigel coming off his previous win with a combo, finished off the final few balls on the table to win game 8 and the second set in a row. Even taking two out of three sets, Zenith drops the match by a couple of points. Nice display of shooting and position skills by all four players in a tough and close match. 

Table 3: Double D (Doug & Dave) – 04 vs Reckless (Matt D & Jim B) – 15

This match did not go the way the writer expected this match to go with four quality shooters matching up in week 4. Doug got Double D on the score sheet in the 8 Ball Set first with a nice shooting and position play. Jim B continues to shoot very well and matched the score in the set at 1 each taking game 2. When Jim wasn’t shooting he was leaving their opponents bad and Matt took over the shooting duties. Matt pounded in his final group of balls in game 3 and continued to make shot after shot to post another win in game 4. This put Reckless with a 2 game lead in the set. Even with some tough leaves that Double D was getting, Doug put together a 5 ball run to close out game 5. That would be all that Double D would get as Jim nailed down the win in game 7 and partner Matt notched game 7. This gave Reckless a 5-2 match lead. 

Jim opened the 9 Ball Set with a combo win using the 4 ball to nail the nine in game 1. Matt got into the combo shot groove as well as he used the 3 ball and Reckless took a 2-0 lead. The set continued to stay tough for Double D as Reckless continued to be stingy with their leaves. Matt stymied Dave & Doug continually in game 3 to give Jim extra chances to finish the game. Jim notched the win in game 3 to open up a 3-0 lead. Reckless seemed to slow down some, giving Double D chances to catch up. Dave made a nice run in game 4, hooked his opponent and got partner Doug to the table. Doug closed out the game for win and cut the lead to 2. It was Doug again getting more chances to shoot and that he did. Doug notched the win in game 5 and now Double D trailed by 1 game. The two game run was short lived as Matt & Jim went up 4-2 with a nice finish in game 6. Double D continued to get left tough shots and Reckless continued to stay hot. They finished off game 7 to take the set with a 5-2 win and now led in the match by 6 points. 

The 10 Ball Set was a total bust for Double D as their struggles continued from the previous set. Reckless continued to do what they had to do, shoot well and leave bad. Double D could not get into any type of shooting rhythm and watched game after game go into their opponents score sheet. Jim and Matt seemed to take turns on finishing off the games. Matt started the first game with a very nice run and the winner. When Matt was leaving Double D bad, Jim was making some fantastic cut shots and closed out game 2. Double D continued to struggle to get started and Matt nailed the win in game 3. Jim did not slow down and closed out the set and match as he notched wins in game 4 & 5 as Reckless swept the set, taking all three sets in the match. A valiant effort by Double D and nice shooting by Reckless.  

Table 4: Bull Dog (Jim P & Ray (sub Matt R) – 15 vs The Johns (John K Sr & John K Jr) – 06

With Ray getting a release from his doctor to play pool without the brace, this will be Matt’s last week as his sub. He did relay if he is not busy, he will be available to sub for others. Ray will join partner Jim from week 5 and on. Jim put Bull Dogs on the sheet first with a nice finish to get the 8 Ball Set underway. Matt appeared to struggle early on, but had enough good shots to help Bull Dogs take game 2. Both John Sr & John Jr have improved their games tremendously and fought back to get on the score sheet. John Jr notched a 4 ball run to finish game 3.  When Matt wasn’t making shots, he left The Johns very little to get started with and helped Bull Dogs continue to stay in a shooting mode. Jim stepped up with some nice runs and position play to notch back to back wins for the Bull Dogs. This put Bull Dogs on the hill with a 4-1 lead. John Sr got to the table in game 6 and made some very nice shots to give The Johns their second win. A few more openings left by Bull Dogs continued to allow The Johns a chance to catch up. John Jr got his team the win in game 7 and now only trailed by a game. The hope to even the set came to a screeching halt as Matt got a chance to finish game 8 and  he did. Bull Dogs take the set 5-3. 

The 9 Ball Set turned out to be a set filled with combination and include a win on the break. John Jr from The Johns got a 4-9 combo shot and drained it for the opening win. That seemed to spark Bull Dogs Matt as he answered with his own 4-9 combo to take game 2. Then it seemed to escalate for Bull Dogs as they took advantage of the misses by The Johns. Matt nailed down a win in game 3 with a short run after his partner Jim hooked their opponents to give them an opening. Matt stayed hot, nailing a 9 ball on the break in game 4 and take a 3-1 lead. Matt came right back in game 5 using the 4, which seems to be the popular combo ball in this set, but added the 6 to make a three ball combo win in game 5. Why stop there, Matt again got a chance for a combo win, and guess what ball he used. You got it, a 4 ball for another combo win to close out the set with a 5-1 win. Bull Dogs take a 6 point match lead.

Matt continued to get a lot of support from his partners tough leaves for The Johns in the 10 Ball Set. Matt started the set nailing a four ball run to take game 1. Jim got his chance as he took game 2 with some nice shots and position play. Matt wasn’t quite finished with combos, as he made quick work in the third game with a 1-10 winning combination. The Bull Dogs have put together 8 straight wins but with a few misses the doors opened for The Johns. John Jr nailed down the win in game 4 and father John Sr made some nice shots to close out game 5. This put them a game behind Bull Dogs in the set. Again, it looked like another combination set up for the Bull Dogs after The Johns broke. Matt stepped up to take his shot at another 1-10 combo and nailed it to put Bull Dogs on the hill. It was all over as Matt finished the set with the final game winner. It was a very nice effort and try by the Johns. Great shooting by Matt and Jim as they take all three sets. This help them move back up the ladder into a tie for 3rd.

Weekly Tips and Tricks: David Alciatore, PhD (“Dr. Dave”) ILLUSTRATED PRINCIPLES “VEPS GEMS – Part III: English and Position Control”

This is an article based on the “The Video Encyclopedia of Pool Shots (VEPS),” an instructional DVD series I recently created with past Billiard Digest columnist and good friend Tom Ross. VEPS contains over 750 shot types within 50 main categories and 5 major areas. Many clips in the series are also designated as “gems” indicating shots or concepts important to know as a pool player, whether understood explicitly or in a more intuitive way.

To read more follow the link below.

http://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/2010/march10.pdf