Milestone Matches

After the exhibition by Dr. Cue,
I met up with my instructor, Tony "El Maestro" Sorto,
to shoot some 9-ball at the local pool hall.

Tony is all business, and doesn't give me a chance to
get in any practice shots at all.
He racks immediately and announces: "Race to 7".
He always lets me break, for two reasons:
1. If he broke, he would run out almost always.
2. I need the practice with the break shot.

Getting the break is my only spot, even though
he is a much better player.
Duh, that's why he's my instructor!

Some days, the gods are in your corner,
the planets are aligned in your favor,
and the rolls go your way.
On such days, I might win a game or two,
and maybe even three from El Maestro.

But tonight was extraordinary!
Not only did I win the first race to 7,
I won another race to 7 immediately after it.
These wins were not even hill-hill,
but more along the lines of 7-5, 7-4.

Knowing that I shouldn't push my luck
and play a third match, I quit winners,
and proceeded to strut and howl and generally
celebrate the greatest day of my pool career, ever.

After I calmed down, I sat next to Tony,
who was very subdued all along.
He turned to me and said:
"I'm not going to teach you any more."
To which I replied smugly:
"There isn't any more you CAN teach me!"

I am sure that my words will come back to haunt me.
When Tony gets energized by that sort of smack-talk,
he is unbeatable.
I am sure I have lessons in humility coming my way.

But until then, my hat size has just expanded a bunch.
I may even need two hats!

Tom "Dr. Cue" Rossman

This afternoon, "Dr. Cue" appeared at The Stagecoach,
a local pub which hosts APA matches 3 nights a week.
It's amazing that such a pool-world famous artist
would come to such a remote corner of the planet
and perform for such a small crowd (about 30+),
but there he was, and it was FREE, courtesy of
the APA and coordinated by the local chapter operators,
Brian and Jill Frankland, who did an excellent job.

Dr. Cue is an extraordinary pool shooter,
and puts on a really entertaining show.

I showed up early and got a front row seat,
so I got to see Dr. Cue warm up and get the
feel of the table, which was an education in itself.
Can you imagine putting on a professional exhibition
half a dozen times in a weekend,
on as many different tables?

After about 10 minutes of banks and wing shots,
he had it dialed in!
If you haven't seen his show, I won't spoil it for you
by telling you all about it here,
but I was most impressed with his wing shots
and wing caroms and 4+ rail kicks.
It shows that he has done this a few times before!

Click this link to learn more about the man,
and his show, and a few video lessons, and more!

Local 9-ball Tournament Results

Match 1: won 3-1 vs. Kellen (D)
Match 2: lost 1-3 vs. David Nakano (A)
Match 3: won 3-2 vs. Marcello (A)
Match 4: won 3-1 vs. Grumpy Theresa (D)
Match 5: lost 1-3 vs. Ken J (A)

The highlight of the night was against Ken J.
In the first game I broke and ran out.
In the second game I had a nice run going and got
to a tough cut on the money ball.
Made the shot in the lower left corner,
but let the cue ball loose,
and it scratched in the upper right corner.
Almost stung Ken J. twice in a row!
That woulda been sweet.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda...

It's not good to miss against "A" players!

Back to the practice table...

The Straight Pool Bible by Babe Cranfield

Babe Cranfield was one of the all-time great players.
Hall of Fame, of course.
And reported to have a much higher straight pool run
than the world record claimed by Willie Mosconi.
His list of accomplishments is quite impressive.

Straight pool, according to the Billiards Congress of America, "is generally considered to be the game that provides the greatest all-around test of complete pocket-billiards playing skill, requiring great concentration, accuracy, shot-making, defense, patience, and knowledge."

This is an easy book to read,
and it seems to be too short
when compared to others on the game.
But it is written by the king of straight pool,
and therefore is a must-read.

Click on the link above to buy it from amazon.com
and you will save $6.38 off the retail price,
and a portion of the proceeds goes to charitable causes.

New Custom Shaft - Is it a Z+ or a 314- ?

Today I ordered my long-thought-about experiment.

The Z-shaft (at 11.75mm) which I use for my playing cue
seems too thin, and the 314 shaft (at 12.75mm)
which I use for my break cue, seems too fat.
So I have always felt that I wanted a 314 shaft
cut down to a compromise between it and the Z.

I called Predator customer service at 888-314-4111
and they say it's ok to cut the 314 down to 12.3mm
and they even gave me a lead on who could do it:
Seybert's Billiard Supply and they'll do it for only
30 bucks, and give me a $50 discount on the shaft,
so I'm still saving 20 bucks and getting a custom shaft!
And they will ship it in a week.

Such a deal.

Now I expect to never again miscue,
and never miss another ball.

Move over Mosconi...

The Game Called Three Thirty Eight (3-38)

Judd visited the Fun House today,
to check out the spectacular new front door!
(see post & photo below)

He showed me this game he calls Three Thirty Eight.
It's a great combination of pool and billiards.
The rules are simple enough:

Start with 3 object balls on the table.
One on the head spot, one on the foot spot,
and the other on the center spot.
Taking ball in hand on the first shot (lag for first shot),
from behind the head string, attempt to score as follows:

One point for each ball pocketed.
Three points for cue ball hitting two object balls.
Six points for cue ball hitting all three object balls.

If a ball is sunk, it is spotted immediately
to the spot closest to the pocket where it went in.
If that spot is occupied,
the ball stays down until the spot is open.

Continue to shoot, and accumulate points,
until you miss or scratch.
Scratch, and you lose all points accumulated in that inning,
the next player gets ball in hand behind the head string,
and can only shoot forward of the head string.
There is no such thing as a table scratch
(you do not have to hit a ball and a rail on each shot).

Play until you reach 38 points, which you must hit exactly.
If you go over 38 points, you get busted back to 20 points.

And, as a final twist, your final shot must be a scratch
(with 38 points accumulated).

With so few balls on the table, and extra points for billiards,
it is a real test of long distance multi-rail shot making.

And a lot of fun!

New Front Door at Mikie's Fun House

(That's my old Waco biplane, "The Spirit of Adventure", flying over the beach in Del Mar)

You know how condo associations are real restrictive
on what you can/cannot do when you remodel,
especially if it effects the common areas?
Well, one of the big things that you can not do,
is to change your front door in any way.
Everyone's front door must look exactly the same.

Now that kinda irks an oversized ego such as mine.
I figure a guy's front door should be special,
after all, it is the entrance to his castle!

After much thought, and years of planning,
my cunning scheme has borne fruit.

My original front door remains intact,
just as the condo association would want.
However, I have constructed an additional front door,
inside the original front door.

When I am expecting guests
I will leave the original front door open.
The space between the two doors, an area of about 5'x8',
creates a nice vestibule to welcome those
people who are privileged to be invited to the Fun House.

The image is a custom original design by Tamara
at Cast Glass Images of San Marcos, CA
and perfectly crafted by Michael,
the owner and artisan extraordinaire.

The door itself is made of solid cherry,
and a one-of-a-kind creation by the awesome craftsmen
at MZ3D Custom Furniture Design & Production Inc.,
with special thanks to the owner Roberto Mendez,
whose extraordinary skill is at the highest level.

It's a "Dutch" door, whereby the bottom and top halves
are operable independently,
so the bottom can stay closed while the top remains open.
Notice also the transom which gives extra flow through ventilation,
while retaining privacy.

All things considered, it is spectacular!
It is, quite possibly, the finest front door of any pool room.

Pool Room with a View

(recent sunset from the pool room at Mikie's Fun House)

Looking west, from the lower right corner pocket,
past the head spot, and out over the Pacific ocean.

It's a bit distracting at times,
but I guess it's ok to take a break and enjoy life,
every once in a while...

New Cue Case Has Magical Powers!

I just got my new custom cue case made by Jim Murnak
and not only is it awesome looking and extremely well made,
(see photos in post below)
it is also MAGICAL! At least the one he made for me is magical.

I got the case yesterday, and really excited to check it out.
Last night I transferred the cues and stuff from my old case.
This morning I woke up and figured I'd take another try at
a drill that has bugged me for a long time.
I call it The Sorto String,
named after the deviant (my instructor Tony Sorto)
who challenged me with it.
I've been close, but never did it,
and I've tried probably north of 100 times.

So the next morning,
I take my same old cue out of my brand new Jim Murnak case,
warm up with a couple of wimpy tries at the Sorto String,
and then turn on my camcorder and record the next 10 tries.
I guess I felt something good might happen.

Sure enough, on the 5th try, I finally beat the devil!
It must have been the case. Had to be. Only makes sense.

(I wish I had that case last weekend,
for the US Amateur Championships,California preliminaries.)

Since that morning-after magic,
I have completed the Sorto String to the 9-ball three times.
Yesterday, El Maestro saw the videos for proof,
(click here for the video on youTube.com)
and, as my reward, he added 6 more balls to the drill.
As I said, he's truly deviant!

Just to show him I was serious,
I got to the 11. His best effort was the 12.

Watch out, Tony! I'm right behind you!!

New Jim Murnak Custom Cue Case!

I am sooooo stylin' with my new Jim Murnak case!
If I had this baby with me last weekend,
I would have won the tournament, for sure!



Notice the Fast Mikie. Duh, how could you miss it?



Notice the SIX POCKETS!!!



Notice that Jim Murnak signs his work.
And what a beautiful piece of work it is!
The finest leather, for sure, and built by an artist!

Thanks Jim!

Let Jim build one for you.
Check his website at http://jimmurnakcuecases.com.

Now all I need is a stick or two from Miltonio,
and I'll have no excuses left.
Hmmmmm.....

The Sorto String, Revisited

(the setup)

This is one darn challenging drill.
You try it and let me know how you do with it.
And if you can do it, let me know your secret.

Line the balls from the center of the foot rail
right through the foot spot, and a bit beyond.
I usually have the 9 ball located at about the foot spot.
The space between the balls increases slightly with the 7 - 9.
Start with ball in hand,
and run them all into the corner pocket.
You must hit the foot rail on each shot,
but no other rails, or another ball.

This morning I got them all up to and including the 7,
but lost out on position on the 8.
Can anyone, except El Maestro, get them all?

---

Follow-up entry:
I finally did achieve this exercise.
Click here to play the video.

Girl Pool

When I was hanging out in Denver
I had the great pleasure to meet and shoot pool
with Sammantha Diep, the owner of
SammsPocket.com
which sells some interesting and useful pool products.
(Check it out!)
And check out her pool blog!

Samm is an excellent player, and the first thing I noticed
is that her pre-shot routine is flawless.
She approaches every shot with the same high intensity
and total focus. Every move is choreographed.
It was very intimidating for me,
because my style is more toward the "fast and loose"
end of the spectrum.
Ok, maybe slow and loose would be more truthful...

We played at a pool hall in Boulder.
The tables were pure garbage.
The cloth was stained and ripped and loose.
What a mess!
But they can't all be as classy as Mikie's Fun House,
and you have to take your pool as it comes...

Samm had some tough rolls,
and I had some good ones.
If it weren't for that,
I would have been in serious trouble,
and had to report that I lost to a pretty girl.
That's the problem with shooting pool with girls:
You might lose!

;o)

But Samm is no ordinary pretty pool shooter.
She's also a sharp businesswoman, and an author.
Check out her new book:
"You Might Be A D Player If..."
which will keep you laughing (sometimes at yourself!).
Click on the link, and buy a bunch for gifts,
and save money on the pre-publication price!

And tell Samm that "Fast Mikie" sent you.

Pocket Billiards in Russia

Scott R. is a good friend of mine,
the guy who owns the cabin in the Rockies (see below),
and he also owns a software company in Russia.
After his latest trip there, he sent me this note
about his pool playing experience:

Played "Russian Pool" in Moscow this last trip
and almost won our in house tournament.
The table is two feet longer and two feet wider than my table.
The balls are the size of tennis balls....bigger, and all white.
The holes are smaller and not flared:
there is only half an inch clearance
on each side of the ball to fit in the pocket.
And the biggest difference is there is no cue ball.
You can hit any ball with any other ball!
Wow....that really blew my strategic gaming thinking
into a different paradigm!
I ended up in third place
and all were impressed with my ability at the new game.

It sounds like Yankee Imperialist pool
is better than Commie pool...
I'll post a photo of Russian pool
as soon as he gets back from his next trip.

Here's a link I found with the Russian Rules:
http://www.billiard-online.com/ecpsporte/rules.html