Back to the basics

Taking the advice of El Maestro, I got back into the competition scene to get myself "tournament tough" for the US Amateur Championship which is 137 days from today.

Not one to back away from a challenge, I signed up for the toughest tournament
in the San Diego area, at On Cue Billiards in La Mesa.

What I learned from the experience is that I forgot a lot about competing! Although I did win one match, I was knocked out early and had plenty of time to reflect on what I did wrong.

Additionally, after looking at the videos (recorded by Billiard Assistant Dave) I know even more about what I did wrong.

The video clip below shows two "outs" that were successful, before the battery died on the camcorder.

The first out was with ball in hand, but even though the 3 ball was almost in the pocket, the 6 ball was holding it back, so I played the billiard off the 3 to pot the 6.



What I need to do is:
1. Stay down
2. Focus (do not talk to others)
3. Prepare according to pre-match checklist.
4. Never underestimate opponents.

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