The Adventures of FastMikie
in search of Truth and Beauty in the art of pocket billiards.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Johnny Archer and Nick Varner hanging out at the Fun House
Two of the greatest pool players in the history of the game just happened to be hanging out at FastMikie's Fun House, and here we see them in a lighter moment, just foolin' around with a trick shot that involves both of them shooting at the same time. Third time's a charm!
Kamui has just released a new chalk compound, version 1.21, which is a follow-on product to the previous release, the introductory version 0.98, and the one I tested about a year ago.
Disclaimer: I am not getting anything for my review except the one piece of chalk they sent me in the mail.
Review: The best chalk just got better. Worth the price if you value your game. It feels right going on, and the hit is better, with or without extreme english. It all comes down to being able to deliver a confident stroke when you need it. That's priceless. You could use cheaper chalk, but why?
San Diego Area Pool Tournaments (updated 2-14-2012)
These are individual matches. For teams, see SDAPA and TAP. Click on the addresses for Google Maps and directions.
Know of a tournament NOT LISTED HERE? Please let me know! Monday
Sportsman's Pub 7350 Broadway, Lemon Grove, CA
619-461-7063
Tables: 4 medium size 8 ball, call pocket, no safeties. 8pm.
$5 entry, bar matches 1/2 the pot.
Shenanigans 3375 Mission Ave, Oceanside CA
760-433-5086
Tables: 6' bar boxes 8 ball. 7:30pm.
$6 entry, optional $1 for progressive pot for 8 ball on break.
On Cue Billiards 8308 Parkway Drive, La Mesa, CA
619-463-8759
Tables: 9' Brunswick Gold Crown III
9 ball, sign up at 7:15pm, play starts at 8pm
Race to 3, Texas Express Rules, Double Elimination. Handicap.
Winner breaks. $15 entry fee.
Hensley's Flying Elephant 850 Tamarack, Carlsbad CA
760-729-4996
Tables: Two 7' Valleys (not coin-op), 8 ball, race to 1. Double Elimination. 7:30pm. $5 or $10 entry fee.
Stagecoach Inn 1865 West Vista Way, Vista CA
760-724-9090
Tables: 8' coin operated, 50 cents/game, heavy cue ball. 8 ball, race to 1.
Call pocket. Double Elimination. NO handicap. 8pm. $10 entry fee. Nice Rack 1245 E. Main Street #101, El Cajon CA
619-588-0426
Tables: Eleven regulation tables and one coin-op 9 ball, race to 2. BCA rules. Double Elimination. 8pm. $8 entry fee.
Encinitas Senior Center 1140 Oakcrest Park Dr. Encinitas, CA
760-943-2250
Starts at noon, ends 4pm. Must be 50+ years old.
Tables: two 8' Olhausen, nappy cloth. 8 Ball, race to 1. Finals race to 2.
Entry: FREE!
Pacific Q Billiards Club 1454 Encinitas Blvd, Encinitas CA 760-943-9929
Tables: 9' Olhausen 9 Ball, race to 3, alternate break.Double Elimination. Handicap. 8 pm. $10 entry fee.
338 N 2nd St. El Cajon, CA 92021 619-328-5403 9-Ball, double elimination, 8pm. Race to 2. $6 entry fee, bar adds $2.50 or more per player. Pays 1-4th & top women. When full board will pay 6 places.
Nice Rack 1245 E. Main Street #101, El Cajon CA
619-588-0426
Tables: Seven 9' Gold Crown 3s, Four 8' GC 3s, one coin-op.
8 ball. B.I.H. Call pocket. Race to 1. Double Elimination. 8pm.
NO "A" PLAYERS ALLOWED. $7 entry fee.
Stagecoach Inn 1865 West Vista Way, Vista CA
760-724-9090
Tables: 8' coin operated. 9 ball, race to 3.
Double Elimination. NO handicap. 2PM. $11 entry fee.
I ran across this great quote and thought of my lesson with Johnny Archer on how to execute the best break in 9-ball (video link: http://youtu.be/Ffkl-zp96N8):
I haven't been competing much lately, and that means that I sure haven't been practicing much either. So I would have to admit that my skills tend to deteriorate.
But then, all I need to do to get back into stroke quickly is to focus on this practice drill. It is, beyond any doubt, the best all round exercise.
The rules are simple enough: 1. All balls must go directly into the corner pocket. 2. The cue ball must touch the bottom rail, but not any other rail or other ball. 3. Start with ball in hand. 4. Pocket all balls in sequence 1-9.
This video was shot a few years ago when I was just starting to get the hang of it. I was shooting slow and very deliberately, learning how the most minute differences in where and how the cue ball is hit can make big differences in position.
Try it! If I can do it, so can you. It just takes practice...
Why I Didn't Compete in the US Open 9-ball Tournament
It was a lazy Saturday afternoon and foggy by the beach, perfect for hanging out in the newly remodeled Fun House and watching the US Open 9-ball finals. What a great show Appleton put on, easily winning for the second time in a row.
Each shot of his match appeared so perfect that it almost seemed to require no effort at all. Some of the shots were truly extraordinary, so I had to go to my table and try them myself. What I learned from the experience (as if I hadn't already learned it many times before) is that while I can make those great shots, I just can't do it consistently. And, of course, that makes all the difference in the world. Another reason for not competing in these marathon tournaments is the enormous stress it puts on one's body. My physical conditioning is just not up to it.
While I'm on the subject of reasons (excuses?), there's the hotel food I'd have to endure (I'm a vegetarian). And don't get me started on the rigors of air travel. I'm sure the weather was awful too; I'm so spoiled by SoCal climate.
And that's why I didn't go to the Big Show...
While standing at the foot of my table (9' Brunswick Gold Crown IV, with Simonis 760 cloth) I can watch the tournament on two 65" plasma (Panasonic) screens, streaming through my MacBook Air and redirected to these external monitors. The High Definition webcast was amazingly clear on these screens.
Scott Adams, the creator of the wildly popular Dilbert cartoon series, is a pool player of some considerable skill, it seems. Although I have never seen him shoot a ball, his post describes a deep understanding of what it takes to excel at the game. I couldn't have said it better myself, so click here and read it yourself.
FastMikie's Fun House remodel project has turned the corner!
The pool table (Brunswick Gold Crown IV) has been re-assembled and re-clothed (Simonis 760 Tournament Blue) with the excellent assistance of Steve Leistikow. Thanks, Steve, it plays flawlessly!
To celebrate, I spent a few hours just hitting one table full after another, getting back in stroke, and enjoying it a lot. Next up was a "Shoeless Pool Tournament" with a couple of friends. The "shoeless" stipulation is to protect the new, spectacular wood floors as well as to help give it a shine while walking around the table (socks required).
I sure am enjoying the new space, and the table, a Ton. And I'm looking forward to having a lot more friends over in the coming weeks and months to shoot some pool, talk business, and plan Global Domination, as usual...
The new, improved FastMikie's Fun House is ever-so-slowly advancing toward completion! The new floors have been installed, and as you can see, they are outrageously awesome. The walls are painted. Nice! And, soon the pool table will be re-installed. Happy Days!
If I ever stop shooting pool, I'm going to convert the space into a yoga studio: FastMikie's Seaside Downward Dog Yoga Emporium. Imagine the possibilities...
For the past 6 weeks, the Fun House has been torn apart and completely remodeled, because, well, why not, right? It's not every day you get a chance to reinvent where you live, and in honor of my coming 70th year on this planet I decided to do just that: reinvent just about everything about myself.
Some things will stay, including the pool table, of course, but the floor upon which it rests will be completely replaced with "Royal Mahogany" (see above photo) which I think will look great with the Gold Crown IV table.
This wood sort of reminds me of the wood floors at Allinger's pool hall in downtown Philly (now long gone). It was a second-floor establishment, a long walk up a wide staircase, usually littered with homeless, panhandlers, and all manner of humanity. But the pool hall itself was pure pool, an artifact from the Depression era pool halls, where the "No Gambling" sign was merely a decoration, one of very few. I remember that when you wanted a new rack of balls, you banged your stick on the floor and over would come a young black girl, who would rack them for tips. That's just the way it was back then, in the Fifties.
I remember the sound of those floors, and the crack of the balls on the break, and every once in a while the sound of a ball rolling along those floors, sent aloft and on its way by some overenthusiastic ball-banger. Not me, of course; even in those early years I had great respect for the game.
Mark Twain, known as "America's Favorite Author" as well as a skilled cueist, related this story about how he was once hustled at billiards:
The game of billiards has destroyed my naturally sweet disposition. Once, when I was an underpaid reporter in Virginia City, whenever I wished to play billiards I went out to look for an easy mark. One day a stranger came to town and opened a billiard parlor. I looked him over casually. When he proposed a game, I answered, “All right.”
“Just knock the balls around a little so that I can get your gait,” he said; and when I had done so, he remarked: “I will be perfectly fair with you. I'll play you left-handed.” I felt hurt, for he was cross-eyed, freckled, and had red hair, and I determined to teach him a lesson. He won first shot, ran out, took my half-dollar, and all I got was the opportunity to chalk my cue.
“If you can play like that with your left hand,” I said, “I’d like to see you play with your right.”
While researching the details on the auction of Mosconi's cue (previous post), I found this video of Willie giving a running commentary while he runs racks.
He also answers the question of whether he missed, or just quit, on his record 526-ball run.
News comes this morning that Willie Mosconi's personal cue, made for him by the legendary Balabushka, will be auctioned off to the highest bidder by Willie's son. (Click for story)
This is so wrong, on so many levels, and yet... I want that cue! Yes, it's a stupid thing to want to own something so expensive only because someone famous once owned it.
What is the best use of this cue? To allow people to buy a few moments with the cue, to hold it and even use it in a game. To rent it out by the minute, by the hour? What would that be worth, $100 per hour? One thousand dollars to use the cue for a weekend tournament?
That sure beats having it stuck in a case in some collector's home, or some museum, or the Brunswick corporate archives.
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