Leaving for a few days
 

Pulling out of here in a few hours. Headed for the coast. Lincoln City. The Casino there is hosting the Western Regional BCA 9 ball championships. Top level players from all over the west will be there.

How high is the level? Click here to see the 8 ball finals from last March. I love watching Glenn Atwell play...this guy stalks the table like a cat stalking a mouse.
Dan Louie, his opponent, recently moved to the Northwest, is known as a top level East Coast pro...

http://www.onthebreaknews.com/WBCAMasterSingles8.htm

(edit) After clicking the link above, click on the image of "men's masters division". Don't bother if you don't want to see pool being played by top level players. If you do watch...do you think these guys would do okay on the tables of your favorite bar? ;)

Did you take your remodeling road trip yet?

Yep...it's over. A fun few weeks, but other than time spent in The Cue ball, I never saw play level that these videos show. I did learn that on bar tables I can now hold my own. Mainly because the more my opponent drinks, the better I shoot when I stick to club soda with a twist. ;) Serious players don't drink much, if at all.

When I was a teen working at the local bowling alley, the pool was free as long as the tables were open. That usually meant unlimited time on the 5x10 snooker table with the round cornered smaller pockets. Years later when I first played on a 3x6 bar table, I felt like I was cheating.

Yeah...a lot of guys at the cue ball use the snooker table there to improve accuracy. Bar tables for this champioship will be 3X7 (IIRC) Diamond brand, Considered a superior table to the more common Valley Brand bar boxes.

Video will be shown of the championships I'm going to watch by these folks...but what events and when they'll be broadcasting, I haven't a clue.

http://www.onthebreaknews.com/

Last March, my "honorary nephew" Matt placed 3rd in the Men's masters 8 ball...eliminated by Dan Louie's excellence in playing safe (defense). Hope Matt does better this year.

Note to the un initiated...the game is really about cue ball control. Many "misses" you see are purposeful...hitting the object ball, but placing the cue ball where your opponent is left in a bad place. Maybe I'll pick up the skills of these guys by osmosis? If only...

Don't let the door hit you in the ass........:D

Sounds like a good time. But not drinking while playing pool? That's just wrong.:p

Aren't all regulation tables twice as long as wide, ie: 3x6 3.5x7 4x8 4.5x9 5x10? While the size changes the geometry remains the same? Likely, the bar tables I played on were indeed 3.5x7, they just seemed so small in comparison. Never needed a bridge where in snooker it could be used on consecutive shots.

Okay...my typo. 3 1/2 X 7 diamond...and I could be wrong there...might be 4X8.
This my first trip to a major BCA tourney...

Watch out for yer corn hole, buddy.