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Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Wildey

when you went to pieces when monique turned up i know exactly how you feel.

on my own its so much easier its unreal you just feel back of ur Neck getting hotter and hotter with people watching or that how its for me even in a club.

yes it doesn't look good and you got a ex Ranking semi finalist at 9am in the morning :-(

but its great experience for you.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Wildey

Sonny wrote:That was my practice!

i meant how did you find time to write that ;-)

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Roland

That's it, espresso injected and now I'm heading out. That's perked me up a bit :redneck:

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Roland

Wild wrote:
Sonny wrote:That was my practice!

i meant how did you find time to write that ;-)


That only took me about a second. If I was a slow typist do you think I would write such long boring posts?

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby gallantrabbit

Good luck Sonny. Please see and sign below.
After such an experience at a great venue with many top players buzzing about I will never again allow my cue to gather dust.

...................................................
Roland Cox
:D

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Wildey

gallantrabbit wrote:Good luck Sonny. Please see and sign below.
After such an experience at a great venue with many top players buzzing about I will never again allow my cue to gather dust.

...................................................
Roland Cox
:D

the seat was comfortable apparently :redneck:

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Roland

No, I would love to have sat down but I had to spot the balls :redneck:

More ball spotting tomorrow morning. Play Nick Pearce and I watched him for a bit tonight. Seriously guys, absolutely not a cat in hells chance there!

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Wildey

Sonny wrote:No, I would love to have sat down but I had to spot the balls :redneck:

More ball spotting tomorrow morning. Play Nick Pearce and I watched him for a bit tonight. Seriously guys, absolutely not a cat in hells chance there!

question on everyone's lips is are you going to turn up against Alex he has actually entered a tournament he needs to get his cue out lol

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Sickpotter

Sonny wrote:No, I would love to have sat down but I had to spot the balls :redneck:

More ball spotting tomorrow morning. Play Nick Pearce and I watched him for a bit tonight. Seriously guys, absolutely not a cat in hells chance there!



Nice positive mindset there Sonny ;-)

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Roland

When I was practicing and Monique was spotting and a couple of people walked in and started watching and I was the only person playing - that was pressure! But I felt good during my match, no pressure but when i was down on the shot I was scared of the pockets. That's how tight they are. All this "tables were tougher in the 90's, these are easy to make century breaks on today" is complete and utter bull. Trust me.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Witz78

Sonny wrote:All this "tables were tougher in the 90's, these are easy to make century breaks on today" is complete and utter bull. Trust me.


Seifer lover :limp:

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Sickpotter

Sonny wrote:When I was practicing and Monique was spotting and a couple of people walked in and started watching and I was the only person playing - that was pressure! But I felt good during my match, no pressure but when i was down on the shot I was scared of the pockets. That's how tight they are. All this "tables were tougher in the 90's, these are easy to make century breaks on today" is complete and utter not true. Trust me.


The tables during the 90's were less receptive to certain shots and not quite as quick. Both factors made centuries slightly more difficult but the differences aren't so evident to the 50 break players.

No matter, the tables are tight as hell at the pro level so matter what decade you look at so it will be a struggle for you as long as you've got it in your mind that they're extra tough.

My suggestion is just forget about them being tight and play the pots as you normally would. If you don't talk yourself into believing the tables are too tight you can usually find your normal potting game and get on with the business.

There's always been a debate on what kind of table is best to practice on. Some like practicing on super tight tables so they won't be affected when they play on the match tables.

Some prefer to practice on a looser table to get themselves confident on the shots but that can create some problems on the match tables as you might take on balls you shouldn't.

IMO you need to mix it up but as you approach the tournament date you should spend more time on tighter tables so you have an accurate assessment of your potting success rate and don't take on the shots that become lower pecentage as the table tightens.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Wildey

player like Ronnie can create angles on these tables from almost straight pots that was impossible before in the 80s and early 90s players played with side to get the reaction now the cloths so responsive plain ball is the order of the day.

but pockets are obviously tighter than club tables which sonny is finding out.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Roland

My first match was the ball spotting exercise I knew it would be. Nick Pearce is quality, no getting away from it. He had a 50 odd in the first then a 67 then a couple of 30s in the 3rd but in the 4th he missed a few and gave me a couple of chances, or rather I actually carved the chances out for myself with some good safety as I like to think, even though I didn't pot more than about 3 balls in a row. Anyway, it came down to me being 2 points ahead and facing this shot. Given how tight the pockets are I thought there was no danger in potting the pink, I just wanted to develop it so if I did get a chance on the blue the pink would be pottable. Anyway, he potted blue and a good pink to win.

Image

The second match started right after the first and I won the first frame but stupidly in my mind I was so delighted to have won a frame I lost concentration which resulted in my worst spell of form since coming here. I was awful, I dragged the other guy down something rotten but I should've won the second frame but missed about 3 frame balls, then I should've won the 3rd as well which also came down to the pink. But during the 4th frame my head was in a mess and I was dreading having to play another match, I couldn't see the shots or pot a thing. Anyway, at 3-1 I pulled myself together and kept it tight and won it fairly easily then won the next after he made a 48 break when the scores were level. 3 reds left I think and I managed to win the frame potting a pressure black to keep the match going. I learnt my lesson from last night by this time using the mini but so I could reach the shot.

Image


I had chances in the decider but all I could think about was how good it would be to win the match. It's so hard not to think about winning. I should have won the match and I thought I'd won the match but a few careless shots here and there left the door open and in the end the fella won on the blue after I stuck the yellow up for him. I can't remember what happened or what I missed, just that I should've won.

Anyway, before I had chance to eat I was back on again for the "Snooker Island grudge match" as people have been calling it but there's no grudges, Alex is a nice bloke and we had a bit of banter when we played. I thought he would be fresh and would kick my bottom but even though I was tired from the previous match I caught him cold and he couldn't get going so I kept it tight because I could see he was getting frustrated. Sometimes you've just gotta do it.

There was one scenario where he was about 15 ahead I think and I laid him in a good snooker when the score was 2-0:
Image

and he thought about it for ages, and then played a shot and didn't even get close to be fair. I had the balls replaced but then he went another way and still didn't get close. This is where the miss rule is tough because I had no idea of his standard but I reckon he could've got a lot closer than he did. I felt bad but then figured what would anyone else do in that situation? It came down to the black and I had one chance at pocket weight which I missed and he potted. So it didn't matter in the end. But after the second attempt the shot I had facing me wasn't one I fancied and wasn't one I would be happy putting him in to bat so what do you do?

Anyway, ended up winning an entertaining last frame with pink over the pocket so I'm through to tomorrow where I'll get pumped 4-0 but I don't care.

:-D


Right, a quick catch up on the forum and I'm back across. I do want to do some interviews but I don't really feel like it at the moment so I'll probably watch a few games and have some food and a couple of beers and see what happens.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby randam05

Reading through your first post sonny, couldnt agree more on the premises, they are very nice arent they! Lovely place, great arena, nice people..its perfect!

But I thought the pockets are quite generous, but thats comparing them to mine at home. Compare them to club tables and I understand how they would be tight!

Unlucky in your matches so far. Seen you lost 4-3 not long ago! tough luck.

Hope to be going back there for a couple of nights in a few weeks to get some proper training and practice with Paul and sort my game out again! Hopefuly a good few days will let all the new techniques and changes settle in and be tampered with more, as 4 or 5 hours in one day isnt enough to see whether im getting the hang of it.

Anyway glad to hear youre enjoying yourself! dont blame you, its gorgeous there. Shame I cant be there :( due to this stupid virus I have got. See ya!

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby gallantrabbit

I think opportunities like these are incredible. When I get based back in the Uk I'll be there in the pink and some PTCs. The chance to play in these conditions against classy players must be a great buzz, well worth a couple of days off work.
Good on you Sonny for getting through to tomorrow. Now you've had your hand on the table I'm sure you feel better.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby MySnookerStats

Don't ever feel bad about putting your opponent back in in these pro-am events. You can guarantee there will be no quarter given by your opponent, and you're also getting a good insight into just how many damn good amateur players there are out there these days!

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Sickpotter

Wild wrote:player like Ronnie can create angles on these tables from almost straight pots that was impossible before in the 80s and early 90s players played with side to get the reaction now the cloths so responsive plain ball is the order of the day.

but pockets are obviously tighter than club tables which sonny is finding out.


Very true.

Unlucky Sonny but you have some aspects of the match that were very positive so take those forward. :spot on:

Speaking of cloth responsiveness/conditions I was thinking that a shot you just don't see happen very often anymore is the half ball black to open the pack and it slides past the pack before the screw takes effect and banana's around the reds to strike the blue. :gag:

Still happens in clubs with the less responsive cloths but in pro events I haven't seen it happen for ages. I remember that happened a lot in the 80's and early 90's, Jimmy White was the master of it.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Sickpotter

Wild wrote:little kitten me screwed back for pink .


I think the right shot would've been to run that red around the rails and back up by the black while bringing the cueball into baulk but only if he's got the angle to come off the 3 baulk rails clean. From the picture it looks like the path through baulk wasn't quite clean and he might've hit the baulk color so I agree with the pot and playing for the pink.

The shot is actually a fairly safe shot to nothing as long as you're hitting the jaws with the pot. The red will typically jar in the pocket and stay at that end of the table so you draw back to put some distance between cue/object ball should you happen to miss. If you make it and you've got pink or black and your opponent feels sick. You miss it and worse case you'll leave at best a 3/4 to full table length pot for the opponent.

Perhaps it's just my sick potting mentality but I always prefer going for the shot if I'm given a choice between a tough pot and a risky safety.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Roland

Yeah looking at it again the safety isn't obvious or easy. He did take the snake hiss in another frame though by attempting to hammer the yellow into black pocket screwing on and off the baulk cushion and back down for the reds. Made me laugh, cheeky bastard. Of course he missed the yellow.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Wildey

Sonny wrote:Yeah looking at it again the safety isn't obvious or easy. He did take the snake hiss in another frame though by attempting to hammer the yellow into black pocket screwing on and off the baulk cushion and back down for the reds. Made me laugh, cheeky bastard. Of course he missed the yellow.

but his standards is pretty dam high and he feels he can take liberties BUT that wont get him far against hard match players.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Alex0paul

The pink was near the middle pocket blocking the one cushion escape to be fair.

Re: Right, pretty much all set...

Postby Wildey

randam05 wrote:I reckon higgins will win, and win half the tournaments next season.

Higgins is out lost 4-2 to Mark Joyce about 3 hours ago your looking at the wrong thread lol