It might be time to redo my expectations for this tournament.

Oh well.

I have a tournament today. Or tomorrow. Whatever.

I'm breaking one of my unwritten rules. I'm going into this tournament with expectations.

I'm expecting to win the thing.

This probably means that I'll end up going two and out, but it's kinda fun to expect to win.

This is from a little over a year ago, but it's still extremely accurate. I've, once again, decided to shoot with my ugly Predator, at least until after the DCC.

One thing that I don't think I mentioned in the video is that all that crap about effortless and such was about banks. For regular shots, I don't think there's much of a differences between my cues.

So I've got this problem with this damn journal. I've had this problem for years. And years, even.

I go to this stupid bar slash pool hall and I play against pretty much the same three or four people every time. Every day of the week this happens. Sometimes I do pretty well. Usually, I do pretty well. Sometimes you might even say that I murder my opponents.

But, because I only ever play against three or four people, and it's always the fucking same three or four people, I can't write about it.

People would figure out who I played and who I beat and, who am I to be writing about crap like that? About these people who are friends of mine?

It's nobody's business, and that's my problem with this damn journal.

Just messing around, trying to break and run a game of one-pocket.

I don't do resolutions. I used to, but I gave up on them years ago.

I just wanted to say that I hope the guy I played tonight didn't have a resolution to not get murdered at one-pocket in 2014, because if he did, then that resolution was out the window before 24 hours had passed.

It's been less than three weeks since I got my Schon H4 back. It seems longer than that.

Initially, I was extremely happy with the cue. In fact, I shot well and didn't lose a game (one-pocket, 9-ball, 8-ball, or banks) out of the first thirty or so games I played with it. I still haven't lost too many, but a problem remains.

It's hard to describe. The cue makes me work too hard. It's not very relaxing. My Predator sneaky is relaxing. The balls just go in, and the cue ball just goes where I want. I don't have to try as hard.

The Predator, despite having the same Kamui medium tip as the Schon, has a softer hit. I'm thinking that maybe that's what I need. So today I'm going to take the Schon in and get an Ultraskin soft put on it. I think I'm also going to try to get another 1/2 ounce of weight on the cue.

Maybe this will all help. If it doesn't, then I guess I'll have to go back to using the Predator as my regular cue. That would piss me off, because it's my least favorite cue.

One of the methods I sometimes use to force proper mental focus.

Dicking around, shooting pretty well, so I strapped on the head-cam and managed this.

I've recently purchased two new cues, so an update is in order. Way overdue, actually.

These are the good cues that I currently own. There are others - not pictured - that are crappy. Click the image for a larger version, if you want.

From top to bottom, which is also oldest to newest:

Schon SL-7 I've had this cue since 1999, so it's pretty much my oldest possession, and one of my favorites. In the Fall of 2012, the finish was looking a little rough, and the Irish linen wrap was looking even rougher, so I had it shipped off to Richard Phillippi for some work. He refinished it and put on a black water buffalo leather wrap. The thing looks better than new now, and I'm quite proud of it.

Schon STL-4 I bought this in 2001 or so, as a break cue, and I've used it as such for most of its life. For a while I was taking it to stupid Jack's and using it as my primary cue, mainly because I felt safer leaving it in my truck that I did with my SL-6.

Predator 9-6 I picked this one up at the Super Billiards Expo in Valley Forge, PA, probably around 2002. This remains one of the most beautiful cues I've ever owned, but I almost never shoot with it. It's a little back-heavy - maybe that's why I don't shoot with it very often.

Cuetec Strickland Signature Cue I bought this one on one of my trips to Seattle, when I just needed a cue to shoot with. For a while, I used it for a break cue, but then in 2005 I talked The Pearl himself into signing it, so I never even take it down from the rack anymore. The ferrule is kinda scratched. I'd like to have that fixed someday.

Predator SPWU I got this cue in Omaha in 2004, just to have something to shoot with. I gave it to my friend Mike for safe-keeping, then I forgot about it until 2010. This is, as of this writing, my main shooting cue. I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm shooting better with this cue than with any of my others - even better than with my Schon that I've had for over 20 years. This pisses me off because I don't particularly care for how the cue looks. I wish I'd got one of the steel-jointed Predator sneakies instead.

Elite Heavy This is a 26 oz. break cue I picked up in January 2013. I've only used it a couple of times, so far, because I either didn't have it with me, or because I was playing one-pocket.

Schon H4 This is a Willie Hoppe tribute from Schon. I fell totally in love with how this cue looks and, after a week or so of pretending that I had some willpower, I bought the thing. Soon it will be shipped off to Richard Phillippi, so that he can try to add a little weight to it, and remove a small ding near the butt end. Once I get it back, I expect that this will become my new daily shooter. (Update 03/27: My cue has had weight added, and now there's a small ding that Mr. Phillippi wants to remove. I should get it back next week! Yay!) (Update 04/03: I got the cue back! It's heavier, the ding is gone, and Mr. Phillippi even put a nice rubber bumper on it. I've very happy with it.)

Joss 10-08 In February 2013, I was bored and looking around eBay, and this cue caught my eye. It caught my eye so much that I bought it - it was my birthday present to myself. I love the "stitching" around the joint, and I love the overall simplicity of the design. As of this writing, I'm waiting for Seybert's to make me a Predator 314 shaft with matching joint stitching. I'll probably shoot with this cue every now and then, especially if I can take an ounce or so off the weight. (Update: I've got my new 314 shaft, and Bryan at Rack 66 was able to take an ounce off the weight of the butt. I should be good to go now.)