Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 13

Tuesday Singles League: Four players struck gold with (15) points in week 9. Katie continues to play well, having an off week  last session but she rebounded with a vengeance. Todd took 15 in a match that almost went the distance, as he and Micks played 25 games. Victor (filling in for Jimmy) had a marathon last week with sharp shooter Gary L, with Victor coming out on top with 15 that put Jimmy back in 1st place by two points over Walter. Ray was also able to take 15 points as Table 5 took its toll on both Stephanie and Rays position play most of the match. The table seemed to favor Ray a bit more than Stephanie giving him some extra chances to take games. Walter gets honorable mention with 12 points. Nice effort and shooting by all.

Table 1: Katie M (15) vs (6) Marty M:

Katie rebounded from last weeks loss as she got back into the winners circle playing against Marty who has been struggling a bit. Marty came out quickly making Katie pay for her mistakes. He nailed down wins in the first and second game of the 8-Ball Set, with some nice shooting. He finished last four balls and the 8 ball in game 2. Then it was all Katie. Katie got her shots to start dropping and nailed wins in the next 5 games. At times, Katie was notching 4 and 5 ball runs to finish off the games. It was a 5-2 set win to get going in the right direction.

Marty struggled more in the 9-Ball Set as Katie continued to attach with some great precision shooting. It was a 3 ball run to start the set in game 1 and then Katie nailed a combination shot that dropped the 9 ball in the corner for her second win in the set. She never slowed down, and every miss by Marty led to a win for Katie. Katie breezed through the set taking all five games that also included a second combination shot in game 5. This gave her a 10 straight wins and increased her lead to 8 points in the match.

Marty finally put an end to Katie’s run as he nailed back to back wins to get going in the 10-Ball Set, with some very nice shooting.  He notched a 3 ball run in game 1 and came right back to nail the final two balls in the 2nd game. Katie would answer with her own mini run as she notched games 3 ,4 & 5 to go one up in the set. This set would finish with both players posting back to back wins. Marty nailed game 6 and notched a combo win in game 7. Again, this gave Marty a game lead. It was Katie continuing to shoot well and posted  her own back to back wins. Unfortunately for Marty, it was the final two games of the set and the final set win for Katie. A valiant effort by Marty and nice shooting by Katie.

Table 2: Micks M (10) vs (15) Todd C:

Todd got off to a very quick start to put Micks behind by three games. Todd’s game has been a bit up and down lately, but continues to win matches. He played steady for the 2nd week in a row. Todd came out hot nailing 3 and 4 ball runs to put together 3 straight wins and a good lead in the 8-Ball Set. Micks didn’t seem to let it affect him as he answered with back to back wins in games 4 & 5.  Micks took advantage of a few opening left by Todd and made him pay. He notched 4 balls and the 8 to win game 4 and finished off a few and the 8 in game 5. Todd wasted little time getting his lead back posting the win in game 6 and closed it out with a win in game 7. Todd takes the first set, 5-2.

Todd started the 9-Ball Set with back to back combo wins. Todd used the 3 ball in game 1 and the 1 ball for a very quick win in game 2. Micks didn’t back down as he too got his rhythm going in the set. He nailed game 3 and then added his own back to back combination wins. Micks nailed a 4-9 in game 4 and then made quick work in game 5 with a 1-9 shot to take the lead by one in the set.  Todd continued to focus and took game 6 as he ran out the final 3 balls. He wasn’t quite done as he regained the lead with a 4 ball finish in game 7 to get to the hill.  Micks continued to play well and got to the hill with a win in game 8. Todd ended Micks chance to take the set as he finished off game 9 with the win and a 5-4 set win. Micks only trailed by 4 heading into the final set.

The 10-Ball Set was a true back and forth affair. Micks started with the opening win in game 1 and then they exchanged games back and forth. Micks was in control of wins in all of the odd numbered games, while Todd controlled all the even games, starting with game 2. Micks notched game 3 as he played a couple of outstanding shots to keep a run going and close out the game. Todd notched game 4 and Micks continued to stay a game ahead taking game 5. Todd answered with a 4-10 combination in game 6 and the set was again even. After exchanging games 7 for Micks and 8 for Todd for both players hitting the hill and it came down to odd game #9. Micks was hoping that it the momentum would continue to favor him in the final game, but Todd ran out the final three balls to take the final set with a 5-4 win. This was a good match as Todd takes the match by 5 points. Nice shooting by both players.

Table 3: Gary L (09) vs (15) Victor F:

This was a battle between two heavyweight shooters, both capable of running tables any given chance to get a decent start.  Victor opened the 8-Ball Set with an opening 8 ball run after Gary’s break shot was just a lot of noise. That put a bit of fire into Gary’s stick as he nailed 5 balls in game 2 and the momentum stayed with him for games 3 & 4 as he built up a 2 game lead with some very nice shooting. Then Victor took advantage of a few mistakes by Gary and turned the set around.  Victor methodically played great shots and outstanding position play as he nailed game winners in the next four games, to turn a potential set loss to a win. Victor stayed focused and when he wasn’t making shots, he was leaving Gary very difficult shots to keep him a bit off balance. Victor takes the first set 5-3.

Victor made it 5 straight wins as he opened the 9-Ball Set with a win. Gary stopped the run posting a win in game 2 and evened the set. Then with some very decisive safety play kept Gary a bit out of sync. Victor strung together wins in the next three games. Victor played some very nice shots and kept his position close enough to notch game after game. He opened a 4-1 lead in the set sitting on the hill with the three in a row. Gary finally got back into the winners circle as he nailed a 4 ball run in game 6. That was as close as Gary would get as Victor finished off the set winning game 7 and a 5-2 set win. This gave Victor a 5 game lead in the match.

The 10-Ball Set would be the only set that went the distance as the two sharp shooters battled back and forth in the set. Victor nailed game one and Gary answered with a very nice run to take game 2. Victor ran 5 balls in game 3 to again stay ahead of Gary. Gary again put on a shooting show, keeping the position near perfect to drain shot after shot. Gary nailed game 4 & 5 to leap ahead of Victor again. It was Victor again coming right back, notching a 5 ball run to take game 6 and a 4 ball finish in game 7 to put him on the hill with the lead. Gary got one more chance as he nailed down the win in game 8 to again even  up the set. Now is all he had to do was hold off Victor to take a set. It was not to be as Victor played as solid in this game as he did most of the match. Victor wins the set 5-4 and a 6 point match ‘Victor’y. Great shooting by both players in a very good match.

Table 4: Stephanie M (04) vs (15) Ray R:

Both Ray and Stephanie could have probably made more shots with the crooked stick in the picture on the right. The table they played on was crooked and had a mind of its own. Stephanie has been playing great lately, but she stumbled a bit this week with some missed opportunities that kept Ray with the momentum in his pocket. Ray opened the 8-Ball Set with a missed shot by Stephanie that gave him an extra chance to take the game. Then with some great shooting, Stephanie went to work in the set. She nailed a 6 ball run to close out game 2. It looked like Ray would get a chance to win game 3 as Stephanie had a very difficult bank shot left on the 8 after running 3 balls. She nailed it dead center to take game 3. It was all Stephanie with some outstanding shooting  in game 4 as she has built up a 3-1 set lead. Ray came firing back in game 5 as he nailed a nice bank of his own on the 8 to win. He continued with the momentum in game 6 as he broke, but failed to make anything. Stephanie got a chance making a few balls before missing to give Ray his chance. Ray made a very nice run, nailing his 7 balls and the 8 ball to take game 6. Ray finished off game 7 and then Stephanie would not get a shot in game 8 as Ray broke and notched the 8 ball on the break for the win the game and the set, 5-3.

Ray continued with some nice shooting and punched in a couple of game winners after a few Stephanie misses in the 9-Ball Set. With a 2 game lead, Stephanie stepped up in game 3, running 5 balls to get on the sheet with her first win in the set. Then with more misses and easy set ups, Ray got going again in game 4. He ran 3 and out and then continued to get the breaks on a table that took its toll on both players, but Ray seemed to overcome more than Stephanie. Ray finished off the set with wins in games 5 & 6 as he takes a 7 point lead in the match with a 5-1 set win.

It was all Ray in the 10-Ball Set as made combo wins in three of the 5 games played in the set. Ray started the first game with a 7-10 combo win. A miss by Stephanie near the end of game 2 gave Ray a easy finish and a 2-0 set lead. Ray nailed back to back 5-10 combo wins in games 3 & 4 and finished off the set with a final win in game 5 to sweep the set. It was a valiant effort by Stephanie who misses were not always her fault as the table took its toll on her more than Ray. Nice try Stephanie and good shooting by Ray.

Table 5: Austin H (00) vs (00) Mike Bates:

This match will need to be made up as Austin was unable to play in week 9.

Table 6: Walter W (12) vs (07) Nigel M:

Walter was matched up against his Thursday night doubles partner, Nigel. Walter continues to shoot well as he opened the 8-Ball Set posting the opening win and never slowed down. With the first game momentum in his corner, Walter stepped up to the table in game 2 and broke. With a ball made on the break, Walter continued to make his entire group and the 8 ball for a great break and run out. Walter continued to shot and hook as he went through the next three games to keep Nigel off the score sheet. When Walter had no shot, neither did Nigel. Walter made it tough for Nigel to get anything going and turn it into an opening set sweep.

With a nice lead in the match, Nigel would have to play at a higher level or get a few breaks along the way. Nigel got on the score sheet first in the 9-Ball Set with a 8-9 combo. Nigel made it two in a row as he notched a 4 ball finish to take a 2-0 lead. Walter had been a bit quite since the first set, but nailed a 5 ball run to take game 3. Nigel regained a 2 game lead as he nailed a 1-9 quick win in game 4.  Nigel increased his set lead to 3 game as he finished off three balls in game 5 for a 4-1 lead in the set. Walter nailed a 2-9 combo in game 6 but could not hold off Nigel in game 7. With a couple of misses by Walter, the stage was set for Nigel to get back into the match. Nigel finished off the final game to close out the set with a 5-2 win. Walter had a 2 game lead heading into the final set.

Walter did what Nigel did in the previous set, nailing back to back winners to start the 10-Ball Set, except without the use of a combo. Walter posted game winners with some nice runs in 1 & 2. Nigel posted a quick 1-10 combo to take game 3 but Walter continued to stay hot. He ran 4 balls to finish off game 4 and again notched his second combo of the match. This time it was a 9-10 into the corner and a 4-1 lead in the set. Nigel made a fantastic 2-10 bank shot that dropped in for the win and cut the lead to 2 games. Walter finished off the set with a very nice run and the set win, 5-2. Walter takes the match by 5 points, but with not taking all the points, he falls into 2nd place as Jimmy regains 1st place.  Nice effort by Nigel and very nice shooting by Walter.

Thursday Night Doubles: Only (1) team takes all (15) points in week 13 play. The Two Old Guys were the only team to take them all. Honorable mention to Zenith and Reckless who come in with (14) points. The notable match happened a couple of weeks ago when English Majors played Double D in a heavyweight match up with 4 excellent shooters fighting it out. This match turned out to be all square after a 26 game match. English & Double finished at (13) points each. Great shooting by all.

Table 1: Zenith (14) vs (08) Bull Dogs:

Walter & Nigel were playing well and Ray and Jim P could not make anything happen as they started strong in the 8-Ball Set. Walter got Zenith on the sheet first as he nailed 5 balls to close out game 1. While Bull Dogs struggled to make shots, Nigel posted a 3 ball finish to cap off game 2. It was like Bull Dogs were shooting blanks as nothing would go in or they would would make something, a positional problem would pop up. Zenith continue to fire in winner, Walter nailed a winner in game 3 and Nigel finished off the next two games to sweep the set for Zenith taking a large lead in the match.

Walter continued to shoot lights out into the 9-Ball Set, and made it 6 straight wins for Zenith as he capped off a 4 ball finish in game 1. Ray took advantage of an easy combination shot in game 2 using the 4 to drain the 9, stopping Zeniths run. Zenith and Bull Dogs split the games 3 & 4 keeping the set even with both teams at 2 each. Nigel stepped up in game 5 and slammed home a 3-9 combo for Zenith to take the lead for good, and Walter put game 6 into their score sheet taking a 2 game lead. Bull Dogs notched game 7 but could not stop Zenith as Walter took the final game with a decent run. This gave Zenith a 5-3 win and a 7 point lead in the match.

Walter continued his great shooting, running 5 balls to put Zenith on the sheet first in the 10-Ball Set. Ray from Bull Dogs ran the final three balls in game 2, and continued to shoot well as Bull Dogs got into the lead in the set. Ray nailed the win in game 3 and then Jim got a gift from Zenith and cleaned up game 4 with a 3 ball finish. This gave Bull Dogs the lead for the first time in the match. Nigel got the momentum back into Zenith’s corner as he nailed a 5-10 combo that cut the lead to a game. Ray got his chance at his second combo of the match, this time making quick work of game 6. With the combo win, Bull Dogs climbed on the hill with a 2 game lead. Walter got back into stroke in game 7 with some great position play to keep his inning alive. He nailed the win in game 7 and then finished off game 8 to tie Bull Dogs on the hill. A missed shot on the 10, hung up in the corner giving Bull Dogs the final game and a 5-4 win to salvage a little out of the match. Very good try by Bull Dogs and nice shooting by Zenith.

Table 2: The Johns (05) vs (15) The Two Old Guys:

John Sr was under the weather in week 13 and Dylan Wilson filled in for him in the league. Mike has seemed to pick up his game again and got he and Peter into the lead in the 8-Ball Set with some great shot making and position play. Peter continued to play ‘Mr Hook’ as he continued to keep John Jr and Dylan cold through out the match. Mike posted some nice runs en-rout to a 3-0 lead running 5 balls in game 3. John ran 3 balls and was faced with a difficult bank shot on the 8. Execution is the name of the game and that is what John Jr did. A perfect bank dead into the middle of the pocket and a win in game 4. Mike got The Two Old Guys back in command as he nailed a game winner in #5. Peter who had been playing the devils advocate with very tough leaves, posted a 4 ball run to cap off the set with a win in game 6. This gave them a 5-1 set win.

Peter ‘The Hook’ took the lead in the 9-Ball Set as he notched a winner in game 1. He worked his way through 4 balls to claim the victory. Dylan answered for The Johns with a very nice 1-9 combo win in game 2 and even up the set. Peter went back to work in game 3, after a few misses by The Johns, Peter finished off game 3 to give The Two Old Guys the lead that they would not relinquish in the set. Mike added another win on the sheet as he nailed a 2-9 combo in game 4. Mike finished off four balls in game 5 and put he and Peter on the hill. John Jr continues to improve, not only his shot making but also his position play. He exhibited that in game 6 as he worked his way though the game running the final 5 balls and the win. Mike would finish off the set with a victory in game 7 and a 5-2 win in the set. The Two Old Guys have built up a 7 point lead in the match.

Peter is starting to learn that he has more of a role than ‘The Hook’ as he got into a nice shooting rhythm nailing a 5 ball run to start game 1 in the 10-Ball Set. John Jr got things square as he nailed down the win in game 2. Dylan came up to the table in game 3 and proceeded to pound a hard break, that dropped the 10 ball in for the win and the lead. Mike answered in game 4 with 2-10 combo for a fairly quick win. Too many misses by The Johns continued to favor The Two Old Guys as the took the lead for good in game 5 as Mike won the game. Peter put on another show with some nice shooting that was complimented by some pin point position to put them on the hill with a 2 game lead. It ended in game 7 as Mike ran off the remaining balls for a 5-2 set win and the match. Very good effort and try by The Johns and nice shooting by The Two Old Guys.

Table 3: Reckless (14) vs (10) Just Another Bye Week:

Don’t be fooled, it was not Jim that was  shooting last week, as he was on vacation, somewhere warmer than here. I just figured I would let you see what he would have looked like had he been here shooting at the table. Todd Cook filled in for him and played very well as Reckless continues to hold on to 2nd place with our position round coming up in week 15. Scott K got Bye Week on the sheet first in the 8-Ball Set with a nice 4 ball run. It was Todd cleaning  up his 5 balls and the 8 ball in game 2. Scott M took game 3 with another fine run and Todd again answered with a win in game 4. Then it was all Reckless the rest of the set. Todd continued to burn up the cloth with some nice shot making as he notched games 5 & 6, that put them on the hill. Matt got his name on the score sheet as he closed out the set winning game 7 for a 5-2 set win.

Todd continued to stay hot, notching game one to start the 9-Ball Set. Bye week Scott M ran 6 balls to get his team on the sheet in game 2. A 4-9 combo came up in game 3, and Todd executed perfectly as this set was going back and forth. Scott M again evened up the set as he ran 3 balls in game 4 to take the game. Todd made quick work of game 5 as he nailed a 2-9 winner and he stayed  hot finishing off game 6 to put Reckless on the hill with a 2 game lead. Scott K wanted to get into the act so he punched in a 5-9 combo to win game 7.  Matt from Reckless closed out the set as he nailed a 6-9 combo in game 8 and take a 5-3 set win. Reckless has a 5 point lead heading into the final set.

Scott M continued to shoot well as he opened the 10-Ball Set with the win in game 1. Again, Todd got another chance for a combo win, and took down the 10 ball using the 1 for a very fast win. Scott K had been keeping Reckless off balance with some very nice safety plays and got into the scoring act taking game 3. Bye Week built up a 2 game lead as they notched the win in game 4 as Scott M continued to shoot straight and accurate. Todd posted the win in game 5 as Reckless continued to try and catch up. It would be Scott K getting Bye Week on the hill as he ran 4 balls in game 6 to regain a 2 game lead. Matt had been off just enough that he was hanging up shots through out the match. He got his eye back running 3 balls in game 7 and following that up with a 5 ball finish in game 8. This tied up the set with both teams on the hill. Just Another Bye Week salvaged one set in the match as they Scott K nailed down the win in game 9 to take a 5-4 win. Nice effort and shooting by Bye Week and good job by Reckless.

Table 4: Double D (13) vs (13) English Majors:

I highlighted this as the ‘Match of the Week’ as four good shooters went head to head in week 13. This match was completed ahead of the actual week 13 as Jimmy has left the building, sporting a new job in Ohio. Jimmy started the 8-Ball Set with a great run to get English Majors a win to start the set. Doug has picked up his game again with some nice shot making as he evened the set at a game each, taking game 2. Then, as Victor played safe maker, Jimmy continued to gain momentum with some very nice shooting.  He notched wins in games 3 & 4 as he and Victor continued to shut down the offense of Dave & Doug. Jimmy broke in game 5 and never missed a shot. It was his 3rd time this season with an 8 ball break and run giving English Majors a 3 game run and 4-1 set lead on the hill. You would think that with that much momentum it should have been a done deal to notch one more game. It wasn’t to be as Double D got their offense going and picked up some great defensive leaves. The games went back and forth, but it was Double D closing out the set as they came back strong. Double D nailed the next four games to come from behind by 3 games to take a 5-4 set.

The battle continued in the 9-Ball Set with Double D’s Dave ran the final 5 balls to take game 1. Jimmy got English Majors also posted a long run in game 2 but the momentum seemed to shift back to Double D. Dave & Doug continued to fire in game winners with both players staying focused and sharp in their shooting. It was game winners by Doug in game 3 as he ran 5 balls. Doug notched a winner in game 4 and Dave contributed with a 4 ball finish in game 5. This put Double D on the hill with a 4-1 lead. The 3 game lead did not last long as the English Majors turned the tide around as they got the momentum back into their corner. Jimmy nailed down game 6 with Victor posting a win in game 7. Just like that, the set was all tied up as Jimmy finished off the final four balls in game 8. With Both teams on the hill, game 9 would either even up the match, or put Double D a couple of games ahead. Double D notched game 9 taking a 2 game lead in the match into the final set.

Victor stuck first for English Majors as he posted a 5 ball run to start the 10-Ball Set. It was the Doug and Dave show in the next two games. Doug ran the last four balls out to take game 2 and Dave nailed a 5-10 combo to close out game 3. The momentum continued to shift back and forth as Jim nailed a 3-10 in game 4. English Majors continued to shoot and play defense as they notched the next two games as well, making it a 3 game run to get on the hill. Double D got a few chances to close the gap and Doug took advantage of that in game 7 with a win to cut the lead to a game. English Majors Victor finished off the set with a final win in game 8, to turn a loss into a tied match. This match 26 games, one short of the maximum that could have been played. Great shooting by all four players.

Tips & Tricks to help your game: David Alciatore, PhD (“Dr. Dave”) ILLUSTRATED PRINCIPLES “VEPS GEMS – Part IX: Plus System Adjustments”

This week, we’ll look at how to make adjustments to the Plus System at its extremes, where the basic system breaks down if you don’t alter shot speed, the amount of English, and/or your aim point. This is the second of three articles on the Plus System Adjustments from Dr. Dave’s Billiards and Pool Instruction.

To read more follow the link below.

http://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/2010/sept10.pdf