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The Final Session

Postby acesinc

Hi, all. It took me a while to decide where to post this as it serves several functions I think. The most important function is for my own simple sentimentality. Some of you are aware that my most enjoyable time on the Green Baize has been time spent with my son since he was 7 or 8 years old but especially since he became much more interested in the game about 8 years ago. He is all grown up now, a responsible young man, has completed his Master's Degree at University and is now moved off to a new city, new job, new life. We will play snooker again, but it can never be the same again.

In the time leading up to his big move, we continued to enjoy snooker at my little club but neither of us seemed to do all that well. I think we were both jittery and nervous at the impending new chapter in his life and frankly, the snooker just wasn't all that important. Then, for the last few frames, things magically came together. I played a great frame myself. Sam responded with a fantastic frame. Then there was a decider that I won't tell you about, you can watch yourself, but I will just say that, suddenly, the snooker was the important thing for us again. The future would take care of itself. Let's focus on the here and now and either one of us might have won that decider.

I think this video can also be useful for the lower level players for some instruction if they can glean it from the context. There are plenty of resources for instruction these days, but I think a lot of low level players TRY to learn from watching the professional game. My opinion is that there is only so much a low level player can learn from the pro game. We cannot and should not be trying to play the game the same way as them. At least, not yet. If you and your playing partner can devote 6 or 8 hours a day, EVERY DAY!, to playing and learning this game, then sure, you can learn a lot from watching the pros and you should try to emulate them. If you have a life outside snooker, then watching this video may help you learn better how YOU should approach the game. I added some time stamps to interesting/useful points of the video in the Description field (you will have to click "Show more..." to see it I think). So if you, an admitted low level player, might pick up a pointer or two, then good luck and more power to you. I am no pro and don't pretend to be. I have worked hard to improve my game and I still want to get a lot better, and if I can help a few others along on their journey, that would be even better yet. If you see something else useful in the video that I didn't note, feel free to time stamp it in the comments.

Last, this is a video, a rather long one. Three frames, a bit less than an hour. So I decided to post here in the Snooker Videos section. I don't expect many to watch this all the way through. Sam and I move along at a pretty good clip. If you tend to be a slow, methodical player, maybe you can see here that you don't need to be slow to play well. 20 minutes a frame is normal for Sam and I....there are several players in my club that I have a hard time finishing a frame in under an hour. Think about that.....Sam and I = 20 minutes, therefore, Don, eh.....10 minutes? Don and another player = 1 hour. What do you think that means? Pace of play is rather a vital factor in other players' enjoyment of a game with you.

YouTube did take note of our background music as a copyright issue and said that maybe the video will be blocked in some countries. If it is blocked and you want to see it, just let me know, I can remove the sound and re-post it.

Again, this video is mainly for my selfish self, to enjoy watching it time and again in the coming years and decades. I invite you all to watch if you care to. I thoroughly enjoyed my time on table with my son and will miss it and him terribly. Of course, we will play again when he comes back home to visit, but he probably will never be in his best form again as Snooker is so scarce in these United States that he likely will never be playing other than visits back home. So it will be different. But it will still be good.

Thanks, Sam!




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcJrCGy-qoQ

Re: The Final Session

Postby Badsnookerplayer

Touching post that Aces.

I am part way through frame 1.

Sam nearly finished right side of the blue at 7:31.If he had I think he would have scored well there

Re: The Final Session

Postby Juddernaut88

I've watched the 1st frame. Nice 40 break Acesinc :) okay I know the 1st red was with the aid of a fluke but the rest was very well taken, you had to recover it at the start with a very tough double. I liked the screw back shot on the black around 13 minutes 17 seconds. You also looked pretty confident in amongst the black spot.

Re: The Final Session

Postby chengdufan

This was very welcome in these snooker-starved times. I enjoyed watching it, thanks for sharing.

Re: The Final Session

Postby Prop

I’ll be watching this later. Nice to have such a genuine and positive contribution to the Island.

Re: The Final Session

Postby Juddernaut88

I've finished watching the last 2 frames and I really enjoyed watching it. Thanks for sharing this Ace. I was commentating in my head during most of the shots :chuckle: What is Sam's highest break if you don't mind me asking? He plays some good stuff.
The club 74 rule is pretty interesting, I think to an extent it is a good idea but sometimes if a player just needs the 1 snooker it is a bit unfair they have to concede but I understand it.

Re: The Final Session

Postby acesinc

Juddernaut88 wrote:...What is Sam's highest break if you don't mind me asking? He plays some good stuff.
...



High break of 39. Not the tightest positional play, but some really good potting to put it together. Right when he was finally getting the cue ball on a string near the end, he missed a critical, very pottable Pink which could have led to a couple more Reds and maybe his first half-century. He's got a handful in the 30's and innumerable breaks in the 20's, very regular feature of his game.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6n20ZpcOSc

Juddernaut88 wrote:...
The club 74 rule is pretty interesting, I think to an extent it is a good idea but sometimes if a player just needs the 1 snooker it is a bit unfair they have to concede but I understand it.


If you don't tend to fall asleep reading my long musings, there is plenty of information about the Club 74 concept here: http://www.acesmachinery.com/Club74.htm , especially the link to Club 74 General Description at the top. It was Sam's idea actually. Then he and I worked out the details.

I have had a few different leagues in my club over the years and none of them worked out so well, mostly for lack of enthusiasm and participation, griping about handicap setting, scheduling, etc., etc. A huge problem was time. All I asked was 5 frames. Self-refereed, set your own schedules, fill in the score sheets and leave them posted. What I found out is that few people (in my club in this oasis of a snooker desert) could even manage to play 5 frames in a reasonable period of time. To do this would often require 4 to 6 hours and there was more than one occasion where completing a simple 5 frame match required multiple sessions over multiple days. It's like these guys know nothing about snooker other than what they watch on YouTube of the World Championships every year. Every stroke has to be assessed like winning the WC is riding on the outcome. It was really at the point of being ridiculous.

Then there was a time that Sam and I went to another club in the Chicago area (since defunct) that had three decent tables installed. As we finished a frame and I racked up for Sam to break off, I just noticed the two guys next to us were near the end of their frame, playing at the final Green ball. These guys are 10 feet away so you can't help but notice once in a while, but Sam and I finished up our next frame and I chalked to break off while Sam racked and I glanced over again. They were on the Pink! I tremble at the thought that the day will come that all I have for opponents in my club may be players of this caliber.

So I did run another league in the club just before Covid hit, but I explained to my three guys that joined (did I mention....it's a tiny club,) that we would NOT be playing standard snooker, it simply doesn't work in our situation, so we would be using this Club 74 format that Sam and I developed a couple years ago. And we ran the league for about 4 or 5 months before Covid put a stop to everything. We have never picked up on the league since, but everyone is back now of course and I can say that ALL of those guys (and a couple more in the club that weren't in the league) still play by the Club 74 format every session. They get it. They understand it. And they (and I) can see that they are actually playing the game better than they used to. With the relatively minor changes to the Rules, Club 74 changes one's perspective on the game, which strokes to choose, which pots to let go (......hint: if you are not pretty certain of a following Colour, then potting a Red is not very smart; a couple missed opportunities with lone Reds and you just ain't gonna reach 47), and positional play naturally evolves to keep High Colours in the frame and play your Reds to them. It works.

As for the forced concession, even standard Snooker has a forced concession. Club 74 just moves the goal posts is all. What do I mean? Well, what if there is a difference of 8 with only Black remaining on the table. Frame. Why? Can't a player continue to play at Black and hope the opponent goes in off? Or actively play to leave him angled? Of course not, it is a forced concession at this point. Yes, at the professional level, if Ding Junhui needs a snooker or two against Gary Wilson, then it is near certain to be an exhilarating ten more minutes to finish to the frame. But if two low level amateurs (myself included) are in this situation, let's face it, it is really just a waste of time. Chances are there won't be a REALLY good snooker laid to save the frame; if the frame turns, it is far more likely to be because the leader did something stupid and went in off for a foul or something. Club 74 avoids this wasted time by setting the forced concession goal post to a new standard. If you kinda like the format and want to play it yourself, make your own rules. Simply move the goal post to forced concession at two snookers required. Or whatever you want.
Last edited by acesinc on 26 Jun 2022, edited 1 time in total.

Re: The Final Session

Postby Prop

Has the video been set to private?

I wanted to settle in and watch it on the TV, but I can’t find the video on your channel. The latest upload was 6 months ago.

No bother; I’ll grab the iPad <ok>

Re: The Final Session

Postby acesinc

It's not set to Private but it is Unlisted so you need to input the URL or click a link to go to it. Not listed on the channel. After all, this is really a personal video for me. As my friends, you are invited.

Re: The Final Session

Postby Juddernaut88

Thanks for the explanation Acesinc. I completely understand your point about the frame ending after snookers are required. I remember in my older Snooker club I played a guy a few times and he would play on needing 4-5 snookers. In fact one occasion I swear he needed that amount of snookers with just the pink and black remaining and he was still playing on!

Even a few weeks ago last time I played. My friend needed 3 snookers on the colours and the frame dragged on for another 10 minutes. When we're paying by the hour I do want to try and get as many frames in as possible and ideally avoid time being wasted unnecessarily.

Re: The Final Session

Postby Prop

acesinc wrote:It's not set to Private but it is Unlisted so you need to input the URL or click a link to go to it. Not listed on the channel. After all, this is really a personal video for me. As my friends, you are invited.


I’m watching it right now <ok>

Re: The Final Session

Postby rekoons

I enjoyed watching this Ace!

Some great pots in there, as well as the very recognizable misses, refreshing to see some fellow mortals falling victim to ill timing and stabby shots from time to time as well.

I see you sneakily trying to get the thin right cut with a lot of left hand helping side at the 11:10 mark ;-) Ever since I learned about this on here I employ it as well.

Re: The Final Session

Postby SnookerEd25

Badsnookerplayer wrote:I always concede if I am more than 27 down on the yellow.


Yes, but you’re a bad snooker player :shrug:

Re: The Final Session

Postby Badsnookerplayer

SnookerEd25 wrote:
Badsnookerplayer wrote:I always concede if I am more than 27 down on the yellow.


Yes, but you’re a bad snooker player :shrug:

<laugh>

...or I am never down by more than 27 on the yellow?? :chin: