Striking True

"Power is not revealed by striking hard or often, 

but by striking true." 

Honore de Balzac

I ran across this excellent quote this morning, and it reminded me of Johnny Archer's visit to FastMikie's Fun House, when he gave me a lesson on how to execute a proper 9-ball break.  Here's the video of that lesson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ffkl-zp96N8

New Cloth, New Rules

To celebrate the new year, I am treating myself to new cloth.  And with the new cloth comes new rules.  No more noisy break games like 8-9-10-ball.  Only quiet games like straight pool, or carom.  The neighbors complain about the noise.  Also, no jump shots, no masse' shots, no spitting, no cussing, no whistling, no singing, no children, no food or drinks on the table, no smoking, and no gum.  Most of all, as the sign over the table makes abundantly clear: "NO SNIVELING".  I hate it when they do that.


:)


Simonis 760 Tournament Blue is on the table now.  I'm thinking of making a change, and I'm open to suggestions....


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Notes: The shot, some important "points".

Imagine the shot in your mind.  See in advance the path of the cue ball after it hits the object ball(s), see the object ball move to and drop into the pocket.   See the cue ball move into your next intended position, the full path sometimes 3 cushions or more.  See it come to a stop.   If you imagine troubling results, then adjust your thoughts and re-imagine the shot coming out perfectly.  Proceed only if you see the shot.


Commit to the shot.  Confidence is essential.


Sense the shot in your body.  Sense how strong you need to stroke the shot.  Sense the sounds of the shot.  Sense the follow through.  See the path of the cue ball as you sense the shot.


Now move from the fantasy world to reality...


Now look for the line between the center of the pocket opening and the place on the object ball that is farthest from the center of the pocket.  


This line is a very fine line, thinner than a human hair, and therefore the point on the object ball will be very, very small.


The point where the line exits the back of the object ball is Point A. 
The more clearly you see Point A, the better the shot.
Stand directly in line with the object ball and the pocket.
See Point A on the object ball.


Keep your eyes on Point A.


Move to the table to approach the cue ball.


There is another point of interest, the point on the cue ball which is the only point that can touch Point A.  This is Point O.


You will need to change your focus away from Point A, to the cue ball to align where you will stroke through with the cue tip (Point T).  Your vision will switch from Point T to Point A as you take warm up strokes.


When the warm up strokes are complete, the focus returns to Point A.


Point A is where to focus prior to, during, and after releasing the stroke.  That is the ideal.  This consistent focus helps follow through.

Execute the shot so that points A and O meet with enough force to drive the object ball to the pocket and the cue ball to arrive at its intended destination.

---------------------------------------------

Footnotes:


The pocket opening is judged from the perspective of the object ball, not the widest point as measured at the pocket. 


Allowances must be made for any english applied.
  


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FastMikie's Fun House Video

As I was doing a little cleaning up of the sidebar ----->
I discovered this little video experiment among my YouTube videos.  I like the music (Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata); very restful.  It shows a typical "day in the life", including some favorite pool exercises, the sunsets, food, etc.  Enjoy...


Link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw3CWBkCOJM







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So, what's new, you ask?

Posts here have waned lately, and some have wondered what could possibly have eclipsed my obsession with pool, and why.  Well, here's the story, starting with a little background...


There was a time, long ago, 1983, that I was quite poor.  Bankrupt, in fact, the result of a business adventure that went poorly.  At that time I started on the long road back to building financial independence.  Of course, during the following 10 years there was no pool, no Frisbee, no real fun whatsoever; just total focus on recovering from destitute conditions, and on being a responsible member of society, paying my bills, and hopefully building a nest egg for my retirement.


It went well, and in '92 I was able to leave the world of business behind and basically go play and make up for all that I missed.  I might have overdone it, what with the airplanes and Ferraris and fantasy homes.  I'm like that, I have discovered; I tend toward excess.  Sometimes that's a great thing.  When it comes to spending money, I can hang with the best of them.  But I'm getting better at being a fiscal conservative.  Poverty is a good teacher.


The years since between 1992 - 2000 were filled with what could be called conspicuous consumption, and I gave a lot away to various good causes.  Around 2000 I started to slow it down, and live a more conservative lifestyle.  


About 2 years ago the thought occurred to me to do a spreadsheet to analyze how much longer my dwindling nest egg might last; just out of curiosity.  The short answer is that there is a distinct possibility that I may outlive my resources.  The good news being that I would die before the resources did, if you can call that good news.  The bad news is that I could live long enough to be poor again.


The spreadsheet showed me that there was no great urgency, but it also showed me that I needed a plan of action that would resolve the issue.


Based on this analysis, it seemed that spending a lot of time on pool practice would be akin to Nero fiddling while Rome burned.  I needed to get back to "Taking Care of Business".


Recently I went back to school.  UCSD is only a couple of miles away.  I'm taking a course called "New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur".  It's a subject I know a lot about already, having started several businesses from scratch, but I wanted to learn what they are teaching nowadays.  And the best part is that it is being taught by a couple of Venture Capitalists.  VCs are the guys with the money to help entrepreneurs start businesses.  All my businesses have been started without VC money, but I'm thinking it might be easier/faster with VC help.


And I've been reading voraciously, everything about new technologies (my favorite business), VC blogs and books and videos.  I've even been getting out in public, attending networking meetings, seminars, and reconnecting with business contacts from long ago.  My inner hermit is giving way to my outer extrovert.


My business blog "The Art and Science of Success in Business" has transformed from intermittent to a much more frequent and focused endeavor and a growing resource for entrepreneurs.


Mentoring entrepreneurs has been a pastime for many years, but over the last two years it has taken on growing importance to me.  And, it seems that being more involved in helping others with their businesses has increased my interest in getting back into a business of my own.


Over the last year I finished a couple of book projects.  The story of my tour of Europe in an open-cockpit biplane in the summer of '97 is now available on Amazon.com (see http://AirMikie.com for more information).  Another writing project was the republishing of my trademark poster "The Ten Commandments of Managing a Young, Growing Business" into a Pocket Guide for Entrepreneurs (see http://ArtSciBiz.com) for more information.  


I even transitioned out of super-fast cars and traded the Corvette roadster for something much more practical, heck it even has two usable back seats (but still only 2 doors, of course!).  See my car blog "A Man and His Car".


FastMikie is becoming BizMikie, again.  Just as it was when I left my pool playing days in college in 1964, and entered the world of computers with IBM.  The more things change, the more they stay the same! 


I still shoot a little bit, but as you know, without a lot of focused practice, the fine edge wears down a bit.  That is unfortunate, but I gotta be taking care of business, for now.  


If I play this right, I should be able to add a zero to my nest egg and get back to shooting some sweet pool again in a couple of years.  Wish me luck, and watch this space for news as it develops...




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Secret of Success, from a tea bag

Patience gives the power to practice;

Practice gives the power that leads to perfection.

(from the tab on tonight's Yogi green tea)

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Woody Allen Wins Pool Tournament

I had not been planning on entering it, and I felt rotten when I woke up the morning of the Big Quarterly 8-ball Tournament.  I didn't get much sleep at all.  I was listless, and unfocused, and when I tried to hit a few on my table, every shot missed by a mile.  My vision was fuzzy.  I figured there was no way I was going to win the tournament, so why even show up for it?


But, the deciding factor was that I kinda missed hanging with the guys who frequent the room; I hadn't competed in this tournament since I won it 9 months ago.  That was the second time I won it, so I have been staying away in order to not wear out my welcome.  


So, with my fuzzy vision, and well over 2 years of not practicing at all, this was a good opportunity to show up and let them beat up on me, and we can all have some good fun, and then the Next time I'll try for the 3-peat.  This was my humble plan.


Strangely, I won it anyway.  I wasn't happy with my game at all.  I missed some shots that were inexcusable, giving my opponents many opportunities.  I lost one match to "Lefty" Bob, who won it last quarter.  But somehow I just hung in there until the end.


So what can you learn from all this?  I guess it kinda proves what Woody Allen was saying: "80% of success is showing up".  Thanks, Woody!




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Pool Notes

I was going through an old computer that I used for recording some of my practice sessions and found a file called "Pool Notes".  It got me curious, so I opened it to find some thougths you may find interesting.  Here it is in its entirety:

Pool Notes:

Enjoy giving each shot your full, consistent Attention.

Practice the way you want to play.

Don’t pick up the cue unless you are going to give the shot your full Attention.

Pre-shot routine:

1.      Breathe – Oxygen: brain food

2.      Relax

3.      Self Talk:  Relax, Breathe, Confident stroke, follow through

4.      Walk around the table

5.      Plan 3 balls ahead

6.      Touch the position target

7.      See the shot

a.       See the shot, the stroke, the follow through

b.      See the ball go into the pocket

c.       See the cue ball go to the position spot 

Pre-match

            A.  The night before the match:

1.      Get fully rested.

2.      Equipment

a.       Tip maintenance

b.      Clean glove

            B.     The morning of the match

1.      Eat right

2.      stretch

3.      Visualization

i.                     See yourself winning

ii.                   See yourself being relaxed, smiling, breathing

4.      Affirmations:

1.      I am in the match for what I will learn from it.

2.      I have all the tools.

3.      I can make all the shots.

4.      I have the experience.

5.      I have the knowledge

5.      Self hypnosis

During the match

A.     Tunnel vision

a.       Focus only on the table

b.      Composure: Confident, Emotionless

c.       Continuous positive self talk

d.      No conversations.

e.       Bear down from the start.

Self talk

A.     Everything is going extremely well

B.     I am breathing easily

C.     I am remaining calm and relaxed

I use my high intelligence to play percentages, see opportunities, natural patterns.

I know how to win.  I have an excellent record of going undefeated.

I never give up.  Never. 

I have an excellent record of success in my Life.

Situations:

A.       When there are only a few balls left on the table, and no easy runout:

DO NOT TAKE LOW %  shot.

Play a double shot strategy. 

Don’t give the opponent a shot.

i.        Push a ball in front of pocket

ii.    Push a ball in front of his

iii.   Push a ball for breaking cluster

   B.  Sharking:

Ignore it.  Do not reply.  Smile.  Let it go.

Only MY behavior is of importance.

           

Max Eberle's "Powerful Pool" Fundamentals DVD set

Max Eberle is one of my favorite pro players.  Sure, he's a great shooter, but he's much more than a typical great shooter.  He's smart.  He thinks deeply on the game.  And he writes well.  I have reviewed his book "Zen Pool" in this blog way back in 2007.  Great book.  Read my review here.

One thing that distinguishes Max Eberle's game is his fundamentals.  He is rock solid and very consistent in the way he approaches his game.  If you study him closely, you can learn a lot.  Now Max has made it easy by releasing a new 3-DVD set called "Powerful Pool - World Class Fundamentals - The Seven Primary Skills".  

The first DVD, about 84 minutes, covers stance, grip, and bridge, and the many variations of each of these skills.  It's very complete and an excellent video to follow along with while you are at the table.  The other two DVDs cover stroke, aim, stop, draw and follow.  The combined set runs about 4 hours and 40 minutes.

Some of his teaching methods are really innovative.  Very early in the first DVD he gets us out of the pool room into the fresh air to show the similarity between pool and the throwing motion and follow through of other ball sports.  I've seen a ton of pool training materials, but that's a first.

My practice sessions have been few and far between lately, so I am really looking forward to using these reviews to get back in the game.  

Highly recommended!

The list price is $99 for the 3-DVD set, but you can get it straight from Max, on his website: click here.

Outrageous shooting!

I use a Kamui tip, but I can't do anything like these amazing shots. I guess it takes more than a great tip.

And, I'm not really into trick shots, but these are some of the best I've seen. Enjoy!

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Longoni Cue Extension

There are many times when you need to stretch to reach a shot, and that's where the normal "mechanical bridge" comes in handy. The problem with the bridge is that you lose a lot of the feel of a shot, and you are standing in an position that is not natural. Your sight line is not normal, you must make adjustments to your aim, and the success rate for shots using the bridge are lower.

That's where this neat cue extension comes in. It fits over the butt of your cue and gives you another 14" or so of reach, while allowing you to use your bridge hand, giving a more natural feel for the shot.

It's too big to fit in the cue case, so it goes in the tournament support bag. Click here to check it out on Amazon.com.

(I used this extension twice to good effect in my recent straight pool match win.)

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Be careful what you ask for!

Ten days ago a pool shooter called me out. Challenged me! What was so unusual about it was he did it on Facebook, on my birthday, and made the stipulation that I post the result of the match on my blog and on Facebook.

So, I'm just doing my job here, posting the results...

Straight pool, race to 100, final score 100 to 24. Winner: me.

Now that my contractual obligations have been taken care of, I guess I can take this opportunity to mention that I did have one run of 33 balls in that win, which was quite pleasant, especially since I have not been practicing for about 2 years.

Be careful what you ask for!

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What's in the case?

Updated as of September 15, 2010 as part of the PoolSynergy project.

For a look at what's in other players' cases, click PoolSynergy.

Cue Case
Made by Jim Murnak
"Vintage" model

Playing Cue

Samsara #1676, 19.2 oz.
lizard wrap

with two Predator 314 Series 2 shafts,

30" with Uni-Lock joint,
with Kamui soft tips





Break Cue
Predator Willie Hoppe Limited Edition
#169/500
Predator 314 Series 2 shaft, Tiger XH tip
with Limbsaver
18.7 oz overall

The Stuff Inside
Ultimate Tip Tool
Tiger Paw cue holder

(gift from Samm Diep!)

Miltonio signature bridge head
Sir Joseph Billiard Glove
Hand towel (2004 US Amateur logo)

Blue Diamond chalk
Log Book & pen

Shaft cleaner (leather pad)
Ball position marking device
Playing glasses, cleaning cloth, case
Band-Aids



Tournament Support Bag:

Longoni Cue Extension
Water
Advil
Snacks (Fruit/Nut Bars)
Hard Candies

iPhone 4

Swiss Army KnifeDental FlossVisine
Personal Business Cards