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The GAINESVILLE BILLIARD NEWS
Issue No. 3 - March 2005

DANIEL WINS March 13 FURY TOUR STOP AT JEWELL'S
Humbling Experience for DL

Back in the early '80s, American players seemed to dominate the world of pool. At least that's what American pool players thought. We had ignored European players since Creation or the Big Bang (or whatever fantasy you cling to) and Asia was where Chinese food came from. Then a diminutive player by the name of Efren came to America and taught us what pool is all about. It was a bit of a shock to find out that we were not so hot after all, and thanks to Efren and a host of others, we now see pool as it should be seen, - an international sport. We were humbled.

Well this writer experienced something similar yesterday. I played in my first Fury Amateur Tour pool event. And I was the first one eliminated. I was humbled for two reasons. First, I played what may have been my worst five games ever in competition, losing 5-0 to a player who I probably should have beaten 5-1 or 5-0. A nice fellow, but not a real strong player. The second reason was that "amateur" players have improved dramatically during my years of competition, a fact that I was too stubborn to admit. I've been listed as a "master" amateur player for many years. Well, I'm NOT a master* player any more. The field in this tournament was not terribly strong, but still I was clearly not one of the better players. But enough about me (too much, really!).

The event was won by Tim Daniel from Sanford, Florida. Tim went undefeated, although the final match was not played. Second place finisher Julio Aquina forfeited the finals, as it was getting late and the potential two-match finals (races to 7), could have taken several hours. Daniel is a fine player, but he might have been fortunate; Julio may have been the best player in the field. I saw him make an amazing safety shot that I can't even explain, let alone execute! But Tim played quite well, defeating DL 7-2, Jason Ford 7-3, Carlos Herrera 7-1, Justin Everts 7-4, and local favorite Chris Wall 7-2 in the winners bracket finals.

In the losers bracket finals, Julio stopped Chris 5-2. Chris, whose beautifully compact stroke earned him third place and $175, had knocked off another local favorite, Treniss Evans, 7-3, in a match played to near perfection by the wily veteran.

First place was $425 and second $240, in the small field of 28 contestants. I was surprised not to see more local players at the event. Apparently there was another local tournament that weekend that drew some players. Also, the Gainesville stop was mistakenly listed as March 27 in the Fury Schedule - a serious but forgivable error. The next stop on the Fury Tour was March 20 at South Daytona, to be followed by an event at St. Augustine on April 10. If you want to test your skills, or just witness some high level "amateur" competition, come to one of these well-run tournaments. For a complete schedule of both men's and women's events, check the website at www. furytour.com.

*The problem with "master" player listings at the BCA, VNEA and other websites is that it can be confused with "professional" player". "Master" players are generally high-ranking "amateur" players, in that they are not members of professional organizations and have not cashed substantially in recent pro events. Also, most "master" amateurs achieved that status on bar tables in the '70s and '80s, and are often not as experienced on larger tables, making the designation rather arbitrary.

- Donny Lutz

CONFUSION WITH TERMS AMONG
PLAYERS AND EMPLOYEES

It has been brought to our attention (we knew this already) that there is sometimes confusion between the terms "tournament" and "league". Most players know the difference; it would help if billiard center employees knew the difference so as to respond correctly to inquiries. A tournament is a single event, usually lasting one day, one weekend, or longer in the case of national competitions. "Leagues" are usually any number of teams, such as baseball leagues, football leagues, bowling leagues or pool leagues, that play a number of games or matches over a period of time, - a season. With bowling and pool, a team in a league may consist of anywhere from one to five or more players. "League tournaments" are usually one-time events at the end of a league season, open only to members of that league, or in the case of national events, to members of that league organization, such as the APA or BCA.

RETRACTION AND APOLOGY: Many players love APA

In the first issue of the GBN, we were a little tough with our criticism of the APA league format. Our statement that APA "rules encourage sand-bagging" was unfair. Because we had one negative experience with an APA league director in Baltimore some years ago, was not sufficient reason to make a blanket statement about the APA and its rules. Having gotten to know the local APA director, Chuck Strange, I'm confident that the local APA leagues are run in a fair and un-biased manner. The "Big 3" (or 4?) national league organizations each offer unique formats and opportunities for players of various levels of skill. Diversity is good for pool in general and especially for the million or so players who compete regularly in both sanctioned and un-sanctioned leagues and tournaments. And many players love playing in APA leagues.

"THE GRUMPY OLD PRO"

Q: I hear about tournaments after they happen. Where can I find info about events before they happen?

A: In newsletters such as the GBN, in national magazines that should be available at all billiard centers, or by doing a search on the Internet, looking for "pool tournaments" in your area. Or go to your local establishment and ask. Hopefully there will be someone there who knows what's going on.

Q: I can draw the cue ball way back or stop it dead, but I have trouble with control in between. What should I do?

A: Any decent instructor will show you how, but it's really no secret. Most skills are learned in increments. For you high school dropouts, this means " a little bit at a time". Set up an easy shot and stop it dead at least three times in a row. Then by lowering your hit on the cue ball ever so slightly, try for two inches of draw. When you can do this consistently, move on to four inches of draw. Do I have to continue? Remember, draw control (and dead stop) are also affected by the force of the shot.

Q: Does playing on bar boxes hurt my overall game?

A: Playing on 7-foot tables hurts your game only if play just on bar tables and you want to be able to play well on larger tables. It's much easier to go from a big table to a small table than the opposite. Playing only on the bar boxes with their "soft ears" will eventually cause "lazy aiming". Also, tables in bars tend not to be kept in top playing condition. For me, the ideal billiard establishment would include 7, 8 and 9-foot pocket tables, a 9 and 10-foot billiard table, a 10-foot snooker table and even a bumper pool table, which is great fun and a very competitive game when played correctly.

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