I had a pretty good day, pool-wise. Got a new tip on my shooting cue, then went over to this new (for me anyway) Louisville Billiard Club.

It's a pretty nice place. Their draft selection sucks, but they have Newcastle in bottles, so I can live with that I guess.

Not that I drank any beer. It was, after all, the middle of the afternoon.

Played a guy who's a lot better than I am, but I managed to win most of the games. This was mostly because I don't play for money and I think that's all the other guy ever does.

I'd like to say that I'll be going back, but with me it's hard to tell what I'm going to do. I had fun though. I guess that's what's most imporant.

My cousin Mike came over last night and we played for several hours.

All I really wanted to say was that my 9-ball game was pretty good. I was using the Schon, and for the most part I ran out when I felt like I should.

Of the 70 or so games we played, I broke about 50 of them, and made a ball on the break a whopping three or four times.

It was fun though.

Man it's boring here. Can you get cabin fever in a single day?

Friday I went to The Bank Shot after work.

There's really not much to report except that I ended up playing a guy three games of one-pocket and won two of them.

I missed a lot of shots that I shouldn't have missed, but the guy was just trying to warm up so he didn't play much defense.

I did make one pretty fantastic shot that I need to put on the Eye-Openers page once I get it diagrammed.

All in all it was a decent outing but I'd probably have been better off going home and trying to take a nap.

Saturday I went to The Bank Shot for a while.

I've been playing very well at home and just wanted to see if I'd crumble against a real opponent.

I didn't.

I played this guy that I'd never seen before. We played 9-Ball and very early in the session I could tell two things:

1. I was nearly in dead stroke.
2. The guy was just out-matched.

I recall about three mental mistakes I made during the forty or so games we played. Those mental mistakes, along with the approximately four shots I missed, contributed to our final score being about 38-2. It really should have been 40-0.

Did I feel bad about beating the guy so badly? Not at all. Builds character.

I do wish the guy would have asked for some advice though as he had a few glaring problems.

He was relying entirely on his practice strokes to convince himself that he was aligned correctly. There was no attempt to step into the shot at all.

He was fighting the cueball on almost every shot. Using the path that the cueball wants to take may be tough to learn, but it's a vital skill to have.

After a while his attitude just disintegrated. He convinced himself that he was going to miss every halfway-tough shot and he very nearly did.

Friday night I went to The Bank Shot after work.

I really shouldn't have.

And the way the rest of the night went it turns out that I should have just gone straight home and went to sleep, because as shitty as my play was, it was the best part of the night.

I started out playing this guy that I've seen around some games of Banks.

I don't really know how good the guy plays, but what little I do know tells me that I should be about a 5-4 favorite over him, maybe 5-3.

Armed with this knowledge I proceeded to lose five games in a row by the combined score of 25-0. I ended up winning zero games of the about ten we played.

I shit you not.

Man did I suck.

Everything went 1" short, and when I tried to adjust everything started going 1/2" short.

So great was my suckage that, were I the gambling type, I'd have games lined up for weeks.

Since I'm very fond of over-analyzing my weaknesses I believe I've figured out the problem.

I could be wrong - that was the theme for the remainder of the night after all - but I think maybe I was overhitting my banks because of the height of the table I was playing on.

Specifically, that table's height (it's on a slanted floor) ranges from about 26" to about 30". My own table is 31" all-around.

Maybe, and I know this sounds really silly, the stance I've been working on just doesn't work very well at all table heights. Or maybe now that I know what to watch out for I'll be able to adjust.

I'll see the next time I go in - probably next Friday.

My trip to Omaha was quite an eye-opener.

I've been saying for years that my 8-ball game has gotten pretty horrible, though subconsciously I didn't really believe it.

Now I believe it.

I got my ass kicked by people that, in the past, would have not had a chance against me.

Some may disagree (though not if they're being honest) but I was once one of the very best bar table 8-ball players in the Omaha area. I was certainly the best player in the local APA league. My records in my social play, my league play, and my tournament play all back up that statement.

Boy things have sure changed.

I really suck now.

I think the small tables messed me up more than the strange cue and the lack of pattern recognition did, but all three factors contributed to my suckiness.

I probably shouldn't care. It's not like I ever play bar table 8-ball anymore. I played more games in the last few days than I've played in the previous five years.

But I do care. It's pretty humbling to drop so far while people you used to beat handily remained the same or even improved.

Maybe I'll buy a 7-foot table and practice on it.

Yeah, that's the ticket.

When I found out that I'd be coming to Seattle I nearly panicked. All of my friends there know me as an 8-ball player, but my 8-ball game sucks donkey dicks. As soon as I found out about the trip I stopped my regular banking practice and started an 8-ball practice regimen like I haven't done in years.

Well that practice paid off. Sort of. What ended up happening is that I played okay, but not great. Good enough to win, but not good enough to make my opponents cry or break their cues. Can't win 'em all, isn't that the saying?

On Saturday, The Sports Pub (my old Kent WA hangout) was quite crowded and I ended up playing some scotch-doubles with Gene against a couple of 5-6 level players. Gene and I won nearly every game in so-so fashion. It was expected by everyone but me, since I'm the only one who's known how bad my non-banking skills have become. I usually made the shots I should have made, and I usually left the cueball where Gene had a decent followup shot. This was a relief for me as I was geniunely concerned that I'd miss every time I shot.

The next afternoon Gene and I went to a pool hall to play against each other without the distractions and rhythm-breaking that partners play provides.

Our original plan was to play one-pocket, and we did play five or six games of that, with each of us winning two or three. At one point I missed a couple of easy shots and felt my alignment going away. I asked Gene if we could play one game of banks so I could get my stroke back. One game turned into several, and banks is all we played for the next four hours.

We were playing on a Gold Crown IV, the first time I've had that pleasure. And what a pleasure it was. Now I love my Diamond table, but it's pretty well known by those who've tried it that Diamonds bank weird. Banks go short no matter how shallow the angle. You can get used to it, but it just seems weird.

This Gold Crown banked the way a table should. Shortening up at steep angles but letting the ball go long at shallow angles or at low speeds.

I went into a state that's about as close as you can get to dead stroke playing bank pool. I made a zillion 3s, a few 4s, and even a 5 or two. Gene kept saying he was enjoying the games, and I certainly was, so we kept playing.

I didn't get the serious straight-shot making practice I'd been planning on, but I did get to spend several hours playing with someone who enjoys playing as much as I do. To top it off I was fortunate enough to play quite well while I was at it.