Money Pool
by Anthony Beeler
In November of 2007, the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Louisville, Kentucky, played host to the $20,000 added CSI Qlympics. A star studded field gathered to compete in the BCA, U.S. Open Bank Pool Championship, U.S. Open One-Pocket Championship, U.S. Open 14.1 Championship, and the ever prestigious U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship. Early on Saturday morning I decided to drive north to Louisville and watch some of the world’s greatest players. My intention was to watch the featured Action Report match pitting Earl Strickland against Shane Van Boening. However, when I arrived on the scene, my good friend Samantha Patton and convinced me to enter both the 8-Ball and 9-Ball minitournaments. She said it would be a great way to test my skills against some of the world’s greatest players.
on the hill by a score of 2-1 and Louis had just missed an opportunity at a difficult run out. I came to the table with a crucial decision to make. As you can see below, I had the solids and Louis had only the 8-ball left. It was clear that I had to play safe. The problem was how do you defend against the firepower of a world-class player?
The 9-Ball mini was single elimination, race to 5. I started out strong winning several matches by significant margins. After winning the final match of the 9-Ball tournament against “Detroit Tom” by a score of 5-2, I found myself in the semi-finals of the 8-Ball event pitted against top ranked touring professional, Louis Ulrich. Louis had just won the BCAPL Men’s Master Big Table Singles Division and had just finished 2nd in the U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship.
After carefully surveying the table, I noticed that my 2 and 3 ball were positioned near the 8, and could be potentially used as blockers for executing a different type of safety. My new plan was to shoot thinly into the left side of the 6-ball and position the cue-ball two rails onto the other side of the table, leaving it at position “B”. This plan cuts off the upper cushion, which takes the easier to pocket 1-rail kick out of the equation. I would rather have my opponent kick to the short side of the ball with a lower percentage of making it, rather than letting him kick to the long side, which has a higher probability of the ball being
The match was close and it was only a race to 3. I was
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As I studied the layout my first instinct was to do something simple. I wanted to graze the 6-ball rolling up behind it and the 5, leaving the cue ball at position “A”. However, as I continued to study the layout of balls, I came to the realization that it was the incorrect shot. I kept telling myself, “You can’t let him have a clear kick shot to pocket the 8.” So I surveyed the table for other options.
Sneaky Pete Mafia Magazine - November - 2013
