Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 09

Tuesday Night Singles: We have yet to have everyone present Tuesday nights as this week we were two players short. Maybe that will happen next week. Austin was a bit under the weather and will have to make up his match with KaTie as soon as possible. Four players posted (15) point wins against their opponents. Mike Bate, Walter Wnuk, Jimmy Francisco & Ray Ressler. Mike has jumped into first place followed by Walter & Jimmy who take over 2nd place and with Austin not playing, he slips into 4th. I did notice that there were (5) 10 balls on the break made this week, two were made by Walter, two by Gary which were back to back and one by Ray. Wow, the tens were flying out of the racks into the pockets in week 5.  

 Table 2: Walter W. (15) vs (05) Stephanie M:

 Stephanie is getting all of the hard matches out of her way early as she comes up against another one of the sharpshooters in the league, Walter W. She hung in there in the 8 Ball Set even after Walter notched back to back winners to open the set. Walter got a few breaks in the set as misses by Stephanie opened up several extra opportunities for Walter to grab wins. Stephanie took game 3 with a very nice finish, notching the final three balls in her group before dropping in the 8 ball. Then it was back and forth with each player as Walter answered with a very nice run in game 4. Stephanie took advantage of a missed shot by Walter to post the win in game 5. The players exchanged games 6 & 7 as Stephanie continued to trail by 1 game. Walter closed out the set notching game 8, making a great bank shot to close out the game with a 5-3 win.

The 9 Ball Set was all one sided from the opening break. Walter continued to shoot well and each miss from Stephanie continued to leave open shots for a good starting positions. After nailing a win in game one to start the 9 Ball Set, Walter notched a 3-9 combo in game 2. Then the shooting woes continued for Stephanie as each miss turned into a win for Walter. He ran three balls in game 4 to get a set up to nail his second combo in the set, an 8-9 and put him on the hill. Walter finished off the set with a final win in game 5 taking a 7 point lead in the match.

The shut out in the previous set seemed to put a spark into Stephanie’s shooting skill. Walter made a few unforced errors and left the door opened for Stephanie. Stephanie nailed the opening two wins for a great start in the 10 Ball Set. Then the momentum changed right back into Walter’s corner. He notched the win in game 3 and pounded in a 10 ball on the break in game 4. Stephanie continued to struggle and Walter’s stroke continued to improved in each game. Walter took game 5 with a decent run and then nailed his second 10 ball on the break in game 6 to get on the hill with a 2 game lead. It was over in game 7 as Walter finished off the final game with a 5 game run in the set. Walter takes the match by 10 points. A valiant effort by Stephanie and nice shooting by Walter.

Table 3: Nigel M. (09) vs (13) Gary L:

This turned out to be a very good match as Nigel gave Gary a run for the points. The opening 8 Ball Set saw Gary make a 5 ball run to get out and score first. Then the battle began as Nigel appeared to get on his game. He nailed 4 and out to post the win in game 2. After Gary took the 3rd game, he seemed to be in a very focused shooting rhythm looking to continue with his winning ways. Nigel had other ideas, and show that in the next three games. Nigel nailed down the win in game 4, 3 and out in game 5 and climbed on the hill with a win in game 6 as Gary seemed to miss at the most inopportune times, that continued to set up Nigel for some game winners. Gary posted one more winner, taking game 7 before the curtain came down in the set. Nigel made several nice shots en-rout to his set win taking game 8 to get an early lead in the match with a 5-3 win.

Nigel drew first blood in the 9 Ball Set as he came out quickly launching the 1 ball into the 9 ball for a quick win. It was time for Gary to get off the pot and play some pool. Gary got the momentum back into his corner as he took advantage of several mistakes and opening left by Nigel. Gary pounded in game winner in game 2, 3 & 4 to take a 3-1 lead in the set. Nigel wasn’t done quite yet as he notched 4 balls and out to capture game 5 and continued with his shooting skills and some nice position play to post the win in game 6. This tied up the set at 3 game each. Gary may have let the first set get away, but wasn’t going to do it twice in a row. With some precision shots and positions, Gary notched game 7 and ran four and out in game 8 to take a 5-3 set win. This now became an all square match with each player at 8 points each.

For the second time in the match, Gary led off with a convincing win with a very nice run to open the 10 Ball Set. The momentum in winning game 1 of the set seemed to give Gary some extra boom in his breaks. Gary followed game 1 with a 10 ball on the break in game 2, and again in game 3 for back to back 10’s on the break and a 3-0 lead in the set. Gary didn’t slow down in game 4 as he took advantage of a couple of easy starts left by Nigel to clean up the balance of the balls. This put Gary on the hill with a 4-0 lead in the set. Nigel got a break with a decent start in game 5 and finished it with a very nice run to end Gary’s 6 game run. This would be a tough mountain for Nigel to get back into the set. Gary made sure that didn’t happen as he came out in the game 6 with a three ball run to start the game and a hook on Nigel to keep him from a good starting position and opened the door wider for Gary. Gary finished off the game and the set with a 5-1 win to take the match by 4 points. Very nice shooting by both players in a good match.

Table 4: Mike B. (15) vs (03) Micks M:

We want to extend our birthday wishes to Mike Bates who celebrated it on last Thursday, our doubles league night. Happy Birthday Mr. Pool, Mike Bates. Micks was up against one of the better shooters in this league and Mike showed proved it most of the match. Mike opened the 8 Ball Set with the first win, and never slowed down or even looked back. With long runs, strategic safety play and some good old fashion lucky breaks, breezed through the set with a 5-0 win. Micks fought hard but with too many misses, Mike took full advantage of each opportunity and sealed the deal. Micks had several nice runs in the set and at times looked like he might stop the charge by Mike, but fell short.

After the charge by Mike in the first set, Micks stopped Mike’s run at 5 games with a very nice finish to start the 9 Ball Set posting his first win. Micks made a four ball run to take game 1. The momentum didn’t seemed to change in Micks favor after posting the first win and Mike came right back running balls and nailing game winners. With some nice 4 and 5 ball runs, every miss by Micks turned into a win for Mike. Mike nailed 5 in a row for the second set in a row and took a huge lead in the match by 9 points.

Micks got on the score sheet first in the 10 Ball Set as he nailed a 2-10 combination to get things going in a positive direction for his game. Mike seemed to feed off of his opponents errors and posted some very nice runs. Mike strung together three wins in a row to take a 3-1 lead in the set. Micks cut the lead to a single game as he posted a 4 ball run to get out in game 5, looking to take a set in the match. Mike just didn’t slow down nor miss much. Each opportunity he had, he made good on the win as he closed out the set with back to back wins and a 5-2 win. It was a valiant effort by Micks and nice shooting by Mike.

Table 5: Ray R (15) vs (07) Marty M:

At the start of this match, it looked pretty grim for Marty who watched the pool Gods do everything in their power to keep him from winning. Ray was playing fairly well, but received a multitude of gifts from Marty through out the match. Ray experienced several gifts in the 8 Ball Set. He made an opening 5 ball run to get out in game one of the set. Then when he missed, Marty would make a few shots and then hang up balls in the corner, or watch his cue ball drop of the table into one of the pockets that continued to give Ray more chances to win. Ray took advantage and posted 5 straight wins to take a large lead in the match.

The 9 Ball Set didn’t present any favors to Marty at the beginning as Ray continued to make the balls left on the table to notch wins. Ray continued to shoot well and build up a 4-0 lead in the set as Marty continued to get screwed with missed opportunities throughout. Ray had now taken 9 straight wins sitting on the hill with his win in game 4. It was Ray’s turn to hang up a few balls. In game 6, Ray gave Marty a ball in hand and four balls left on the table. Marty quickly made each shot and stopped the bleeding with the win in game 5. Then it looked like his luck had changed as he got one of his first opportunities to make a combination shot. He lined up the 7 and nailed the 9 ball dead in, not touching anything as it dropped in for the win. After breaking in game 7, Ray missed a shot and the one ball lined up for a possible combination again for Marty. This was a quick 1 shot and out as Marty nailed the 1-9 and now trailed by 2 games. Just like that, the momentum had changed and Marty now was looking at a 3-9 combo in game 8. For the third time in a row, Marty nailed the game winner to tie up the set at 4 games each. Marty and Ray fought in game 9, both players missing but not leaving too many easy starts. It would come down to a missed shot by Marty that set up Ray for a three and out run to take the set, 5-4. Ray had a 6 point lead in the match heading into the final set.

Ray opened the 10 Ball Set with an opening break that move the 10 ball slowly to the left corner pocket, that had enough momentum to drop giving Ray the opening win. Marty seemed to gain some of his shooting stroke back and he made a 4 ball run to close out game 2 and even up the set. Ray continued to shoot decent and had a nice run only to mess up the position shot on the 10 ball. This forced him to make a tough bank shot, that luckily found the pocket for the win. Ray nailed the next win as well and took a 3-1 lead in the set. Again, Marty had overcome most of his bad fortune and fought back with some great runs and shot making when he lost a bit of his position. Marty made a charge nailing back to back wins to tie up the set with both players with 3 games each. Ray came right back, nailing a winner in game 7 to hit the hill. After the opening break in game 8, Marty missed a shot setting up a possible combination for Ray with the 2 ball. It worked for Ray as he was able to finish off the set with a 2-10 combo win and a 5-3 set win. A valiant effort by Marty who was plagued with bad luck right from the opening break in the match. Nice shooting by Ray.

Table 6: Jimmy F. (15) vs (05) Todd C:

For the second week in a row, Todd falls short and has dropped his match to drop into 5th place in the standings. He was playing a very accomplished shooter, Jimmy Francisco, who remains in a tie for 2nd place after week 5. Jimmy still has a make up game that he needs to complete. Jimmy got off to a quick start in the 8 Ball Set as Todd’s game seems to be a bit off and misses continue to help his opponents finish games. We all know Jimmy doesn’t need the extra help, but he will take it if your willing to give it. Jimmy rattled off shot after shot as he took advantage of miss shots and opportunities left by Todd. It was four straight games putting Todd in the hole in the first set. Todd was able to find a win with a 4 ball run out in game 5 to stop the run by Jimmy. It was over in game 6 as Jimmy finished off the set with a 5-1 win.

Jimmy got on the score sheet first in the 9 Ball Set with a 6 ball run to get off to another good start. Todd took advantage of a couple of unforced errors by Jimmy coupled by some great shooting by him and strung together back to back wins in games 2 & 3. Todd nailed 4 and out in game 2 and came right back with a 3 ball run to close out game 3. Todd again seemed to stall, missing some key shots and against a good shooter like Jimmy, you are in trouble. Jimmy. Jimmy took advantage and nailed wins in the next three games to put him on the hill with a 2 game lead. Todd rallied with some very nice shots and put game 7 into the win box on his score sheet and trailed by a game. Jimmy closed out the set with a win in game 8 as he takes a 6 point lead in the match.

The players split the opening two games in the 10 Ball Set, with both players making some nice shots complimented by some great position shots along the way. With it all tied up, Jimmy then seemed to put the hammer down, taking advantage of missed shots by Todd, that seemed to set up Jimmy for some easy starting positions. Jimmy nailed the next four games in a row with some very nice shot making when he got into trouble a couple of times on his way to his fourth victory in the league. Jimmy wins the final set 5-1 and the match by 10 points. A very nice effort by Todd, who told the writer he has had some shooting woes for the last couple of weeks which has dropped him down in the standings.

Thursday Night Doubles:

The leaders, English Majors, continue to play well against their opponents and have increased the lead to 15 points as they take (15) points  in week 9. They knocked off the 2nd place team with some incredible shooting by both Victor and Jimmy.  They remain unbeaten after 9 weeks of competition against some very good opponents. Only one other team took (15), that was Zenith who played well against their opponents. Honorable mention to The Two Old Guys who take (14) and Just Another Bye Week who take (13). Nice shooting guys.

Table 1: English Majors (15) vs (8) Reckless 

Reckless was the closest team to English Majors and could not capitalize to slow them down as they lose the match and fall fifteen points behind them, still holding on to 2nd place. The Majors pounded in the opening game winner to start out the 8 Ball Set with some nice shooting by Victor. But it was Matt and Jim coming back strong in the next three games. Matt nailed four balls to close out game 2. Jim continues to play steady and he put together some nice shots with great position to take game 3. Jim wasn’t done yet as he again got an opening from the Majors and made them pay with the win in game 4. This gave them a 3-1 lead as they shut down the offense of a very good shooting team with some key safety play. You can only hold down a strong team if you continue to stop the offense, but that came to a halt in game 5. Victor came right back with a 5 ball run to take game 5 and cut the lead to a game. It was Victor finishing game 6 that evened up the set at 3 games each. Jimmy had been held back with some nice defense by Reckless, but got his chance in game 7 and made it count as the Majors took the lead in the set. Reckless was unable to stop the English Majors shooting skills as they finished off the set with the four game run and a 5-3 set win.

It was Victor getting the Majors on the score sheet first in the 9 Ball Set. Jimmy came right back in game 2 and closed out the rack with some nice shots and position play. Just like the first set, Reckless put on a surge with some very nice shooting by Matt and some key defensive leaves by Jim B. Matt notched 5 and out in game 3, and closed out game 4 & 5 with three ball runs to take the lead in the set. With a 3-2 lead by Reckless, the English Majors fought back as Jimmy nailed a 1-9 combo to even up the set. After making the combo, Jimmy kept Reckless off the table with a break and run out in game 7. When the English Majors weren’t running balls, they were playing some very nice safeties that continued to hold off Reckless from winning games. It was 3 straight by the Majors as they take the second set 5-3 and take a 4 point lead in the match.

The English Majors again got a quick jump ahead of Reckless in the 10 Ball Set. Victor nailed the first game and Jimmy followed as he nailed 4 and out in game 2. Jim who was trying to contain the good shooting of the Majors got his chance to finish off a rack since the first set, and promptly notched 4 balls and the win in game 3. Again, Victor continued to shoot well and posted a win in game 4 as the English Majors took a 3-1 lead. It was Jimmy finishing off game 5 to put his team on the hill. Matt got a chance for a combination, nailing a tough 4-10 shot that found the bottom of the pocket. That would be all they could muster as Victor also got a chance for a combination. Victor nailed a 6-10 to finish the set with a 5-2 set win. It was a very good try by Reckless and very nice shooting by Victor and Jimmy.

Table 2: The Two Old Guys (14) vs (11) Double D:

This would be a tough match between four evenly matched players with great shooting abilities. The Two Old Guy got the 8 Ball Set going as Mike notched a game winner to take game 1. Double D’s Dave evened up the match as he nailed a four ball run in game 2. The Two Old Guys Peter got into the scoring act as he posted the win in game 3 and Mike followed him with a 4 ball run to take game 4 putting The Two Old Guys in the lead 3-1 in the set. Doug’s game has been on a roller coaster, but put it all together in game 5 posting his own 4 ball run to close out the game. Dave notched the win in game 6 that squared up the set and Doug did his part winning game 7 to get Double D on the hill. The Two Old Guy got to the hill as Peter nailed a game winner in 8 looking to take the first set. Unfortunately for The Two Old Guys they could not contain some nice shot making by Dave as he posted a 5 ball finish and the set 5-4.

It was The Two Old Guys striking first in the 9 Ball Set as Mike closed out the first game with some great shots and pin point position. Doug got Double D going as he nailed the last three balls in game 2 and the momentum continued for them in game 3. This time it was Dave finishing off the rack and a 2-1 lead in the set. The Two Old Guys shut down the offense of Double D as Peter continued his expert hook jobs in games 4 & 5 that seemed to cool off the opponents. Mike took games 4 & 5 and then Peter nailed the 9 on the break in game 6 to put The Two Old Guys on the hill with a 4-2 lead. It was over in game 7 as Peter closed out the game and the set, posting a 5-2 win and take a 2 game lead in the match.

Just like the first set, the 10 Ball Set went the distance and this match was 2 games short of the maximum that could have been played. The Two Old Guys started out the first game with some great shooting by both Mike and Peter. Dave continued to shoot well, and Doug played some very nice defense as Double D nailed back to back wins in games 2 & 3. Then it was a back and forth match. The Two Old Guys Peter posted the win in game 4 to even up the set. After Double D took game 5 to go ahead again, The Two Old Guys notched their own back to back wins.  Mike nailed three and out in game 6 and Peter got them to the hill as he too posted three and out, to put them on the hill. With the 2 game lead in the set, The Two Old Guys could not lose the match at this point as they had a 3 point lead. Double D did take game 8  to remain three points behind, but could not stop Peter and Mike from finishing off the set posting the final win in game 9. The Two Old Guys take the set, 5-4. It was a close match as all four players played well. This match came up 2 games short of going the maximum. Nice shooting by all.

Table 3: Zenith (15) vs (03) The Johns:

This could have been the tale about how David beat up Goliath, but it didn’t end that way. The Giant seemed to have his way most of the night. It started going south for The Johns in the opening game of the 8 Ball Set. John Sr was about to draw first blood, making the 8 ball, but unfortunately for him, the cue ball found a pocket as well to give Zenith the first game. With the opening game confidence builder, Walter from Zenith posted wins in games 2 and 3 as they took a three to nothing lead in the set. There were a few mistakes made by Zenith and one of those cost them in game 4, as John Jr cleaned up his group and the 8 ball for the win. That would be all that Zenith would yield in the set as Walter notched game winners in 5 & 6. Zenith takes the opening set with a 5-1 win.

Nigel got Zenith on the board first in the 9 Ball Set as he got several chances on misses by the opponents to get a good starting position to make balls. Walter gave his partner many chances as he would make 4 or 5 balls and keep The Johns from getting a good starting shot. This led to some nice opening shots for Nigel and he capitalized on them with game winner after game winner. The Johns were down 3-0 when Walter finished off a 5 ball run to take the fourth game of the set. John Sr from The Johns got his chance for redemption when he got a rare good leave to start his inning. He pounded in the game winner to win game 5. With Zenith on the hill, Nigel ran 3 balls and out in game 6 to close out the second set with the identical score as the first set, 5-1.

The Johns continued to struggle to finish off racks. A missed position placement cost them game 1 as Walter closed out the game with a nice run. Walter continued to shoot very well and cleaned up game 2 as Zenith got out to a 2-0 start in the 10 Ball Set. John Jr got a good chance at a combo, using the 4 ball he notched a winner in game 3 but again, too many misses and open chances for Zenith kept them on the table with more chances to win. Zenith posted wins in the next three games as Walter continued to shoot well. Nigel played a great supporting act as he kept The Johns at bay most of the final set. Zenith takes a 5-1 set win matching their two previous set wins. It was a very admirable try by The Johns and very nice shooting by Zenith.

Table 4: Just Another Bye Week (13) vs (11) Bull Dogs:

It turned out to be a stormy match, with Just Another Bye Week weathering the battle better than the Bull Dogs. Bull Dogs get on the score sheet first in the 8 Ball Set as Ray nailed a game winner after a 4 ball run. Ray continued to shoot well early in the match and had to settle for a bank shot in game 2, that found the bottom of the pocket for the win. Scott M and Scott K started slow, but both players were making great shot selections and enough next shot positions to get into the set. Scott M nailed a 4 ball run with some very nice shot making as they took game 3 and began a charge to catch up. Scott K has had his ups and downs throughout the last few weeks, but seemed to get back into stroke this week. Scott got good chances to run balls, and that is what he did. He nailed four balls in game 4 and followed with another nice run in game 5. Jim P held off Bye Week in game 6 with a very nice safety, that opened the door for Ray, who promptly notched the win in game 6. Ray still hot from the previous game, continued to shoot well and got Bull Dogs to the hill with the win in game 7. Scott M made another nice run posting the win in game 8 to match Bull Dogs on the hill. An unforced error by Ray on a miscue gave Just Another Bye Week the opportunity to finish the set, which they did. Bye Week takes the set, 5-4

Scott M continued to shoot so-so and missed several chances that could have swung the door more in Bye Weeks favor in the set. He did post the opening win in game 1 of the 9 Ball Set with a very nice run. Jim who had been somewhat quiet through the first set, banged in a 5-9 combo to put Bull Dogs even with their opponents. Ray appeared to stay focused and pound in game winners in game 3 and 4, as both teams raced for the finish line. Scott M ran 3 balls in game 5 and got to within a game of Bull Dogs in the set. Ray again got a good starting position and ran out the remaining balls to put Bull Dogs on the hill. Just Another Bye Week got one more chance to catch up as Scott K had a very nice run to finish off game 7, trailing by one game again. It would end there as Bull Dogs dropped the curtain with a win in game 8 to take the set 5-3. Bull Dogs now had a 1 point lead in the match.

Scott K continued to get stronger in his game as the sets went on. He opened the first game finishing off a couple of balls to nail the opening win in the 10 Ball Set. The set would be all tied up as Bull Dogs Ray posted the win in game 2. Jim also made a nice run, nailing 3 balls to close out game 3 and put Bull Dogs ahead. That leaded ended quickly as Scott K again got a good opening and didn’t squander the chance taking game 4. Scott M got cue ball in hand in game 5 after a scratch by Bull Dogs. He proceeded to line up a very long shot, attempting to cut the 2 ball into the 10 ball. With precision, the cut was perfect and the 10 ball never touched anything as it dropped into the pocket giving Bye week the lead for good. With several missed shots by Bull Dogs the momentum continued to stay in Bye Weeks corner. After Scott K nailed down the win in game 6, Scott M again got a long shot combination opportunity using the 2 ball. This wasn’t quite as long, but still effective as he drained the 10 ball and set winner in game 7. Just Another Bye Weeks gets a bit of revenge as they lost to Bull Dogs the first time they played by come out on top in this match. Nice shooting by Just Another Bye Week and good try by Bull Dogs.

Tips and Tricks: “VEEB – Part IV: Throw Hold Shots” ILLUSTRATED PRINCIPLES David Alciatore, PhD (“Dr. Dave”)

Pool tips to help improve your game:

This article deals with how to use throw to help hold and limit cue ball (CB) motion after a shot. Throw is a change in object ball (OB) direction due to sideways friction force between the CB and OB during contact. 

To read more, follow the link below:

http://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/2016/feb16.pdf