The meeting of Captains

Rack ‘em up!

The Fort Bragg Pool League is on holiday until February 1, 2022. The Captain’s meeting will be held on January 24, 2022, for the Spring session. This is the last notice I can make reminding you that if you want to play in Spring Pool League, make your desire known. The League allows a period of weeks after the start to add members, but teams are filling with players rapidly. The Fall session is still posted at establishments that had teams. Their bulletin boards list contact numbers and names of the different teams to join.

Golden West Saloon will again be on the Pool League roster with two regular teams. Confusion of start times was why they were not part of the Fall Pool League session. Golden West Saloon has great bartenders and the most diverse menu of high-end drinks in Fort Bragg. Looking around, you feel the history of this fantastic bar in Fort Bragg. Golden West Saloon has more Pool League Championships than anyone in town.

Saturday afternoon at Welcome Inn hosts a regular 8-ball Tournament. The new times are as follows: Sign-up starts at 2:30 pm, and the Tournament begins at 3:00 pm. There will be no exceptions for late arrivals! If you arrive after the draw, you will forfeit your chance to enter and compete. Why the rigidity, you ask? When people arrive late and restart it, it lasts past dinner time to complete the last games. Last week the games ended well after 8 pm. That prompted complaints from some players. We will try this format and see if it works better, as this will help guarantee that the Tournament will end before dinner time at least. Come and play, and Tournaments are open to anyone that wants to enter and compete at 8-ball. League rules apply.

Milano’s Bar is our new member of the Fort Bragg Pool League. We welcome them with open arms and hope they benefit from joining. Although Milano’s has yet to receive their new pool table, they are confident it will arrive for the start of Spring League. I think Milano’s will be one of the best venues to play League Pool at. They have a great bar with an outdoor patio for relaxing and talking. Friendly bartenders, patrons, and supportive owners. This will be a great venue to play at or visit. Hey, y’all, come on down!

FOR TUESDAY, 01/11/2022 » TOURNAMENT WINNER »

Dan Casteel was 1st and Steve Neal 2nd. Congratulations!

Visit Angelina’s Grille & Bar, Golden West Saloon, Tip Top Lounge, or Welcome Inn: all maintain a Pool table for playing. You might meet new people, or see old friends to visit with.

Tournaments usually take a couple of hours to complete. Watch weekly competitions, and anyone can enter. If visiting Fort Bragg, test your game with the 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 Grille and Bar also features Karaoke Friday evenings. If you like a venue with an outdoor patio, try Milano’s bar, friendly patrons, a full-service bar, and an outdoor patio. Come and enjoy your day in Fort Bragg.

CUE TIP » Have you practiced playing a Safety? That is a really difficult shot, mainly because of cue ball speed. Huh? Cue ball speed is crucial because playing safe means hiding the cue ball behind another ball or group of balls. After you play safe, the other player fails to hit their ball. First, they give up their turn at the table. The real problem is that it also gives a ball-in-hand to the opponent. Uh-oh, spaghetti-o, the other player usually makes hay and wins. So, to practice this shot. Place one object ball near a rail and another object ball down the table. Play one object ball to a rail softly but with enough speed to bounce off the rail and block any direct route for the cue ball to the other object ball. Try different cue ball positions, speeds, and spin with the cue ball on the first object ball to learn how to play it. It may seem simple, and you might not bother to practice or worry about them, that is until you need one. It is an extreme finesse shot that few players do well at without any practice using them. Contact me at mcbohanon@gmail.com.