Roland wrote:Acesinc where is that table? It looks like a garage or an office. Is the camera fixed all the time? Fancy trying to set a score at some of the practice routines in our dedicated section?
This is my interview with Cliff fyi
https://www.snookerisland.com/blog/clif ... view-1of3/And the toilet break thing is out of order, they should wait until it's their turn if they have to go during a frame. That should be pointed out but it sounds like they know you'll just play on and spot your own balls because you've given the impression you're happy to do so.
Are you the best player in your club? Are you the only one who takes it seriously? And do your opponents expect you to spot for them? What happens with the slower players like the guy in the first clip if you don't spot the balls for them? Do they complain?
Whew! A lotta questions!
My story quickly; some you have already gathered, some new...
I am born and bred in the USA, a damned Yankee all the way. I learnt of Snooker for the first time in my life when I was 19 years old in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Three years of multiple weekly sessions before going back home and I KNEW that I would have to own my own table. A couple years later, bought a house with a big basement and acquired a reasonably good table. Game is not popular here so I literally could not find a soul to join me in the enjoyment of the occasional frame so after many years of solo practice, table fell into disuse. Time goes on, got old, had babies, started a company to keep the bellies full and pay the mortgage.
The table is in my company warehouse now, moved in there about four years ago, and it is large enough that I had space for the table (made my wife happy to finally "get that damned thing outta the house!"). This means that I have somewhat of an impromptu "Snooker Club" much like a Workingman's Club as I occasionally visited in England. About a dozen members, mostly American and Indian. One Canadian (ran the 61 in the video) and he is really the only other one who understands what I am saying about the etiquette required in Snooker because he grew up with it. The rest of them think I am just goofy and making these things up in my own mind because that is the way I would like for it to be, not because that is the way that it is. So I have tried to teach a bit about the Culture of Snooker (a la the Thorburn interview) but I get nowhere. Me and the Canadian, that is it. To announce going to the loo as your opponent steps to the table is not sharking, not gaming, it just honestly does not occur to them that it is poor etiquette. And I have talked until I'm blue in the face but I have just given up because I am quite obviously the crackpot here. Me and the Canadian. And the English and the Irish visitors that I have had passing through for a visit. No one else can even comprehend the Culture of Snooker that you guys have the good fortune to just be able to take for granted. That and the fact that you can probably step out the door of your flat and you probably have three different places in a fifteen minute walk where you can go have a frame of snooker. Throw a dart at a map of the USA and chances are, wherever it hits, from there you probably could not find a snooker table within a three hour car ride. Pickings are slim here.
So (other than private tables in the homes of a few,) mine is probably the best "snooker atmosphere" that you will find between Toronto and Houston.
The interview with Cliff is great. I always admired his integrity, though I admit that The Grinder was not my favorite to watch. Thorburn's Snooker Skills was the first book that I read dedicated to Snooker. Still crack it open on occasion but currently, Joe Davis' books are my bibles.
Am I the best? Loaded question...some days yes, most days no. You also need to understand that as it is my place, I want dollar bills to end up in my till. These guys have no other place to go and some travel a long way to get here, up to two hours each way in one case. So most guys only show up occasionally, maybe half dozen times in a year. There are only a few who will make it in on a weekly or maybe bi-weekly basis. Most of them watch the snooker on the internet and they try to emulate what they see. Unfortunately, that means SAFETY and when players are low caliber, safety of course is pretty much a waste of time. Most of the players simply don't understand that when the blue, pink, and black are tied up on the cushions, then playing off the pack and trying to snuggle up to the yellow or brown simply is not a "great shot"; in fact, it is quite an ignorant shot. But they see Ronnie run the white back behind the baulk so then THAT must be the correct shot in all circumstances where a clear pot is not on. And who am I to try to be teaching anyone anything about Snooker? If I am so good, then how come I am not running centuries every time I step up to the table? So..........I spend most of my match time practicing my cannons, making sure that I am feeling the angles correctly to nudge the colours off the cushions. It is nearly a neverending job so I really don't concern myself with the score too much. I want the club members to enjoy their snooker experience (and so keep coming back) and if that means that they can frequently take a red, then pot that black which is so conveniently near the corner pocket (after having been nudged there), then so be it. On average, I would say in a session of ten frames I will take maybe two or three twenty breaks, and sometimes a thirty as well. Overall, there are very few twenties made in the club. It's tough to get a good break when the table is constantly so ugly.
I do have aspirations for the US Snooker Nationals. There are only a few dozen guys that go to it. I have been twice, just a steadfast journeyman at the moment, right in the middle of the pack both times. One other member of my club has also been several times, but at best, he only comes into the club about every two or three months. He's a journeyman as well, has some talent but it doesn't shine when one plays so rarely. I truly wish that I could have a regular playing partner who actually
understands the game as that is what I need in order to advance my game. At the moment though, that is just a pipedream.
Yes, the camera is a permanent set up so I can capture the occasional good break. Again, it makes the players feel good about their game and keep coming back. Hopefully, that helps explain my rather unique condition...