Cue Tips: Stamina is the only way
Rack ‘em up!
This winter session of pool league has been a little difficult to keep working smooth, but it’s working well enough considering the different problems that have come along. The teams of Golden West Saloon are not playing this season. The original schedule included them and it is difficult to re-format. Tournaments are being held by some teams on the nights of scheduled play against them. They don’t exist as a League team but they all are more than welcome to join the weekly tournament at 7:00 pm Tuesdays. Anyone that wants to play is welcome in these open pool tournaments.
The Welcome Inn hosted this past week’s tournament with 12 entries. Starting shortly after 7:00 p.m. and wrapping up by 10:00 p.m. with the usual antics and some really great pool playing throughout the night. Mark and Trish Love came to play with Mark making it into the finals. Steve Jackson played pool all day and into the night, right up to the last game.
Then saddled up the old Ford to head over the hill and back as if there were nothing to it. How can you play pool for 5 or 6 hours and then take off on a trip? Stamina is the only way and Steve must have some because you can’t wear him downplaying on a pool table.
5 wins; Tip Top Lounge Team # 2: 2 wins; Angelina’s Grille & Bar Team # 1: 3 wins; Welcome Inn Team # 1: 5 wins; Angelina’s Grille & Bar Team # 2: 2 wins; Welcome Inn Team # 2: 2 wins.
Brady Baumgartner and Joshua House are tied; Angelina’s Grille & Bar Team
# 2: Tony Matlick; Tip
Top Lounge Team # 1:
Will Niemeyer; Tip Top Lounge team # 2: Jason Kreienhop; Welcome Inn Team 1: Ian Rubesch; Welcome Inn Team 2: Priscilla Adams and Omie Behrns are tied.
Will Niemeyer and Ian Rubesch tied with 10 games won. Steve Jackson and Jubilee Placido
tied at 9 games won. Dan Casteel, 8 games won. Brady Baumgartner, Bryan Cruthcher, Joshua House, Steve Neal, and Ed Smith all are tied with 7 games won.
Mike Bohanon, 2nd Steve Jackson, and 3rd Mark Love.
Visit Angelina’s Grille & Bar, Tip Top Lounge, or Welcome Inn: all maintain a calendar of play. Look to the list for someone you know and find where they play. You might join a team, meet new people, or just watch the 8-ball games as they play out. League play starts Tuesdays at 7 pm and is usually over by 10 pm. Tournaments also take a couple of hours to complete, and anyone can join. If visiting Fort Bragg, test out your game with local players! Good company, food, and music, a full bar with Shuffleboard, Dice, and/or Dart games in addition to billiards for entertainment. Angelina’s Grill and Bar also features Karaoke Friday evenings. If you like a venue with an outdoor Patio, try Malano’s bar, friendly patrons, a full-service bar, and a patio to enjoy the outside air. If you like playing Corn Hole, head for Golden West Saloon, all
are located in Fort Bragg.
If playing on an unknown pool table, and you cannot draw the cue ball. Don’t blame the table first, try instead, checking the cue ball. If it is hardly getting any drawback at all, it is probably a “heavy” ball. If you can’t tell by comparing its weight to a numbered ball, shoot a numbered ball into the cue ball in question. If you seem to get more drawbacks than normal, then you know for sure it is a heavy cue ball. Some people prefer a heavy ball, especially if you like using a follow on the cue ball. The problem? Is that it changes the distance the cue ball travels after being hit. A heavy cue ball travels further every time. The problem comes up as you need to re-adjust stroke power and constantly think of how much to reduce when using a heavy ball or add to the same or a similar play when using an equal weight cue ball.
You might consider picking one or the other. Pro Tournament balls are of equal weight. What comes to your mind, when you see a cue ball drawback faster than, and beyond what you believe to be the maximum? Contact me at mcbohanon@gmail.com.