ProfessorQBall National pool & 3Cushion News by Gary Tate

Professor-Q-Ball’s

Publisher/Editor Graphic Design Photographer

Rack for August/September 2009 Issue 3 • Vol X www.professorqball.com

☜Maryland 14.1

6-9

Harriman takes Title

OB Cues welcomes Grace Nakamura

BCA Hall of Fame

Archer and Fisher to be inducted

☜Eva Laurance to be APA tour operator 19 World of Pool

Mike Dechaine Wins

☜BCA Expo

Lone Star Tour

Rose Country Club 9-Ball Bar Table Open III

Shooters, (Olathe, Kansas) Midwest Tour

Desert Classic Tour

Pool Instructional… Proper Planning…Tom Ross Looks Impossible…Wllie Jopling Two Rails First-1…Bob Byrne You are a Risk Taker, Go for it…The Monk Machine Gun Masse…Eric Yow Where Oh Where is Cue Dean-”E”?…Tom Rossman The Law of Attraction…Samm Diep What Matters…Tom Simpson Bar Box 8 Ball…Marty Kaczmarowski DPM Universal Pocket & Carom Billiard Systems # 42… by Darrel Martineau Departments … Places to Play National Tournament Directory Tournament News Around the USA

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USBA Newsletter • 3-Cushion International Open Tournament, College Billiards & Cafe, San Diego, Ca Javier Teran Wins USBA News Secretary Desk “B” Class Tournament, World Class Billiards, Peabody, MA Dave Van Lokeren claims 1st place and $2000. The Principle of Defense…Bob Byrne Attention Room Owners • Shot Contest Rip’s Tips…George Rippe Upcoming USBA Tour Events PQB 4 August/September

27-29 29 29 30 31 31 32 32

Paul Frankel Gary Tate Diana Hoppe Conrad Burkman

Contributing Writers Willie Jopling • Bob Hunt • Sandy Schuman Samm Diep • Joe Savarin • Tom Simpson • The Monk • Bob Jewett • Darrel Martineau • Tom Ross Robert Byrne • George Rippe • Eric Yow • Conrad Burkman • Tom Rossman Marty Kaczmarowski

SPECIAL AFFILIATIONS APA, BCA, Viking Tour, WPBA, USBA, Joss Tour, AZBilliards.com, Southeast Tour, PQB News is a bi-monthly publication dedicated to providing pool & 3-cushion news. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publisher. Professor-Q-Ball is not responsible for claims made by it’s advertisers. All dates, times and added tournament money is subject to change without notice. All persons interested in submitting articles for publishing consideration, are welcomed.Material submitted becomes the property of Professor-Q-Ball. Submissions may be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All advertising, articles, and photos must be submitted by the 15th prior to the issue date to be considered for the following issue.

Subscriptions Rates • $20/year PQB National Pool & 3-Cushion News 1662 Rocky Hollow Rd • Germantown, TN 38138 (901) 756-2594 • Email: paul@professorqball.com Published bi-monthly. USPS 22727 Periodicals postage paid at Memphis, TN. Postmaster:Send address changes to Professor-Q-Ball, 1662 Rocky Hollow Rd, Germantown, TN. 38138

Advertiser Locator APA Leagues Atlas Billiard Supplies Billiards Across America Cue Cube Cue & Cushion Cue Master Ball Cleaner Diamond Table Products Fast Eddies Fury Gabriel Tables Getaway Sports Bar Jacoby Cues Longoni Mueller Francisco Parra Cues Predator Cues Poison Strchnine Cues PQB 3-Cushion Cues PQB Subcription Form Sharpshooters Sir Joseph Cue Gloves The Rack, Memphis, TN The Galveston World Classic at Moody Gardens TipPik Tweeten Tom Simpson, Master Instructor USBA National Qualifier Willie Jopling Trickshots Service Directory

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Where, Oh Where… IS Cue–Dean–“E”™? Auditions Continue & Site/Dates Announced for Finals / Cup III In Search Of Cue – Dean – “E” has started a major hum within the billiard industry and beyond!! Players and non-players alike are realizing the magnetic appeal of this promotion. Audition submissions may include any variety presentation that is billiard related and should contain some “cue / ball / table” attachment when done in conjunction with the artistic form being performed. Some examples of entertainment content might be singing, juggling, impersonation, comedy, ventriloquism, or any other special talent a person feels would make for enriched viewer enjoyment and healthy media feedback. The initial “online” audition process finishes on September 30, 2009 and leads up to the grand audition “finale” at the Dr. Cue Signature Artistic Cup III. The Cup III will be held November 20, 21, and 22, 2009 at The Bank Shot Bar & Grill in Laurel, MD. The Cue – Dean – “E” final event will be a unique blend of Survivor, America’s Got Talent, and the Miss Universe Pageant. Eight finalists will compete for over $15,000 in guaranteed monetary / entertainment package award values.

Detail inquiries for the Cup III event should be sent to: drcue@artisticpool.org “As I reflect on the “sport” aspects of the growing Artistic Pool discipline, great competitive spirit and special camaraderie have become trademarks of value for all in attendance. Now, from the “show” side via this novel Cue – Dean – “E” contest promotion, everyone that has ever wanted to “express their talent” on or near the table may do so.” For online audition details, optional audition submission process, and complete contest information please visit: www.professorqball.com (click on CUE – DEAN – “E” banner – home page)

August/September 5 PQB

Maryland Open 14.1 Straight Pool Championship Big Daddy’s Billiards, Glen Burnie, Maryland

layers and fans began arriving into the Baltimore area as early as noon on Friday, June 26 for the Fifth Annual Maryland Open 14.1 Straight Pool Championships. This event has become one of the most prestigious straight pool tournaments of the year in the U.S. and for the second year in a row has been held at a new family billiard venue, Big Daddy’s Billiards, 7954 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., Glen Burnie, Maryland. Under the ownership of Richard & Cynthia Molineiro, “ Big Daddy’s” has become a premier east coast mecca for the beautiful and imaginative game of 14.1. Previously the Maryland Straight Pool title has been won by: 2005 Ryan McCreesh 150 defeated David Hunt 67 2006 Ed Hodan 150 defeated Danny Barouty 89. 2007 Mika Immonen 150 defeated Mike Davis 59 2008 Bob Maidhof 150 defeated Danny Barouty 140 Once again this year a 40 player field of the top Straight Pool players in the country began to filter into Maryland early Friday for afternoon warm-ups, check out the venue, the tables and equipment, get in a few hours of practice, as competition this year was going to be top flight, no question about it. Committee members for the tournament once again provided ‘in home’ congenial accommodations to many of the out of town players who come long distances to play. Most know one another well and this makes for an enjoyable weekend of friendship, camaraderie and top notch pool all tied together. Festivities this year got off to a gentle start at a player-guest reception on Friday evening hosted by tournament director Peter Burrows and his wife Pam at their home. This provides a few hours of warm hospitality before the sparks began to fly on Saturday, and a nice chance for new comers and lesser know players to visit and share cordiality with great champions such as Bob Maidhof, Jeanette Lee and others in the sterling field. Jeanette, popular, sparkling and charismatic as always has been a terrific and valued supported of the Maryland Tournament, and she notes . . .“This will be one of the few non-major events I play this year”, Lee said. “Being here has a lot to do with my rapport with Peter Burrows, who is based here and my fondness and love of Straight Pool, which this tournament is. I’ve always been a student of straight pool, still am and always will be. It’s really nice to be around people who share my love of the game and Peter is one of them. There are certain things that if you believe in you want to give support to them. It’s not all about money.” Lee said. PQB 6 August/September

Danny Harriman is crowned Champ Having Jeanette Lee playing in a pool tournament in the Baltimore-Washington area is something of a coup. The Maryland Open Straight Pool Championship may not be a glitzy and large event, but in its own quiet way it has become a chance for the best straight pool players to meet and play with one another in a well designed tournament under quite ideal conditions. Prize money has grown as has the field of world class players. We have made a concerted effort to attract top lady players to our tournament, but so far with little success, as few of the best women have strayed from their long time devotion to Nine Ball to gain the needed proficiency at the classic game of Straight Pool. Jeanette Lee remains one of the rare modern lady players who has honed her skill in 14.1. In past years the Friday evening pre-tournament reception has served as the tournament “draw” ceremony, but this year the forty player round robin format with eight balanced flights and blind draw was done in advance to allow for advance printing of the tournament program as well as concise scheduling of match times and table assignments between the seven Diamond Pro Tables and eight Brunswick Gold Crowns IIIs. Flights & 40 player field, with shaded players being the two from each flight who had the best Sat. W-L record and advanced to Sunday:

Encompassed in the informal players reception & cocktail party on Friday night was the Players Meeting, which Director Peter Burrows believes is always a welcome opportunity for players to voice their opinions of format, rules and anything else on their mind. Peter always seeks feedback to make this is “players friendly” tournament. One of those elements is no time clock, always a debate. He notes, “we honestly believe that players do play at their own pace, and generally this is a constant one. There will always be discrepancies and fluctuations, but a given player usually in my experience plays the way they play. I have watched top 14.1 players for more than six decades since first seeing Mosconi play at the old Bensingers room on Randolph Street in Chicago in the late 1940s. Pool players play at the pace they play at and the rhythm and tempo of one player’s game is what it is. I just don’t believe in a shot clock in Straight Pool. The game is cerebral and players need time to think and analyze and I want to recognize that. Some situations lend them selves to more rapid disposal of a rack, but others do not. It you want a time clock play chess.” And Peter goes on to note that another deviation is the more modern usage of “cue ball fouls only” and with a greater emphasis on player integrity which has been so widely adopted with great success in golf. “Why do we need a white glove referee at every table? Nice, classic of course, but simply not practical. Golf rules are many times more complex than pool, but the ancient golf rules are well known and players honestly adhere to them. Pool can do the same. And while we’re at it, let’s dress the part. So the Maryland Open is a dress code tournament following the format of other world class events. I think that is proper. The dressier the better, what’s wrong with that? Pool guys . . . and ladies . . . are handsome folks . . . let’s look the part! Dress up our game. My gosh, we’ve got Ms. Lee the most stunning gal on the planet plus just a terrific player and advocate for our sport . . . She is playing right here in our midst, beating all of us like a drum, let’s follow her lead and look sharp!” The tournament format was a Saturday Round Robin of eight flights, five players to a flight playing four matches to 100 points. The old fashioned straight pool format which Director Peter Burrows believes is not only fairest to the players allowing them to play a maximum number of matches, but also a format which is ideal for spectators. They can watch their favorite locals or a top player play all day long, with no fear that they are going to get quickly eliminated in a one and done tournament. From the players perspective they can get warmed up, familiar with the equipment and there is no tedious winners’ side delay which occurs in drawn out double elimination tournaments. Non stop action involving everyone from dawn to dusk is a key positive in the round robin format! After an evening of companionship and an hour of practice

the action got off to a bright and early start 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, using the fifteen tables and forty players in a balanced round robin format, each player playing the other four in his flight on already pre-assigned tables and time slots, with an attempt that each player would play two of his matches on Diamond tables and two on Brunswick tables, The day consisted of six rounds and each player would have two rounds during the day when he had a bye, and the byes would not be back to back. Some tough scheduling but meticulously managed by scorer & statistician, Dave Nangle.

Saturday Round Robin Pairings & Table Assignments For the most part early matches went according to odds with the strong national players pulling away in a field which included such world class straight pool notables such as Ms. Lee, and Bob Maidhof of Drexeline Billiards, Drexel Hill, PA, last year’s tournament winner who just two weeks ago had a run of 316 balls! Included were the great NYC stalwarts Steve Lipsky & Danny Barouty, two of the top 14.1 players in the country and long time tournament regulars in Maryland. In fact twice Barouty has played in the finals, coming in 2nd both times. The young phenom from Waterville, Maine, Mike Dechaine. Mike Davis who recently located to Tampa, FL made the trip to play, as did the great Danny Harriman, probably the best American born straight pool player since Mike Sigel. 1991 World Champion, and still great player and cue maker, Bob Hunter of Chicago. Grady Mathews screwed the old cue together one more time and drove north from Columbia, SC. These are just a few of the world class players that made up a truly great field. Just a terrific assemblage of top players. There were two last minute additions, when Brandon Shuff, one of the strongest players in the area joined the field, and Dr. Michael Frank, Dir. of the Univ. of Maryland Graduate School, and the first alternate, replaced Bill Dunsmore of Dalton, MA. Dr. Frank has been the Tournament’s first alternate for many years, a strong player and always makes a great showing. Given his strong academic management background at the University the good Dr. is encouraging the Tournament Director to put him under a permanent contract as “tournament alternate”! Bill Dunsmore entered a Maryland Hospital the night before the tournament with a mild heart attack! We send Bill our prayers and have learned that he is making a quick recovery, and Bill insists that it was not the level of competition that gave him a scare! Each of the eight flights was balanced with top players, those likely expected to advance, usually playing their toughest opponents in the later rounds after having a chance to play a few August/September 7 PQB

games and get used to the tables and atmosphere. Strong local and regional players always surprise the front runners, and it never fails a dark horse has a great day at the expense of one of the favorites. In the very first round this year Maryland’s own Steve Haag, a long time straight pool lover and solid player from Frederick, Maryland stunned top rated Shaun Wilkie in early match, winning a squeaker 100-95 and World’s Champion Bob Hunter lost his very first match to top rated local player, Mark Ford. Brooklyn’s great Danny Barouty lost to Bob Chamberlain 100-42.Welcome to competition at the Maryland! In the second round Alan Duty knocked off old pro Grady Mathews, while Rob Pole surprised eventual finalist Dave Daya 100-33. Jeanette Lee ran a 56 to defeat tough NYC player Marc Vidal. Chamberlain & Ford continued their winning ways defeating two great young players, Mike Dechaine and Matt Tetreault, early tough wins over strong opponents that would eventually help in moving both winners ahead to the Sunday rounds. In the third round Ford again won a tight match defeating host room owner Rick Molineiro 100-95. Other matches in the 3rd round went according to Hoyle, and Zion Zvi, eventual semi-finalists and strong Israeli player now living in Queens ran an 83 to defeat Rob Pole 100-10. The 4th round had no surprises, and Dave Daya had a beautiful 81 ball run to best Richmond’s pride, Dr. David Hunt. Brandon Shuff continued his powerful play with a hard fought win 10092 over Trenton Marty Ciccia from NJ. The finals two rounds on Saturday got under way a half hour later than expected and Danny Harriman moved to 4-0 with a hard fought win over Zvi 100-86. The first defeat for Zion and they both advanced on to Sunday. Mike Dechaine defeated Barouty 100-3 to knock Danny out of the tournament. But the key match late in the day would prove fatal to top player Shaun Wilkie, when Mike Davis ran a 56 on him to win 100-21, putting Shaun at 2-2 tied with Steve Haag. But Haag would be PQB 8 August/September

the only 2-2 player to advance to Sunday when his ball count differential bested Wilkie, who was also 2-2. Mike Davis, coming off a big win, was thrilled to begin play at nine a.m. on Sunday morning, noting that it just an ideal time for a professional pool player to start work! “Peter, 9 a.m. is the middle of the night!” The Sunday format pitted the top two players from each of the eight Saturday flights. As noted above the winner of each flight was 4-0 on Saturday, with the 2nd place players all being 3-1 except Haag at 2-2. The first places finishers were seed 1-8, based on Saturday ball differential, and paired 1-8, 2-7, 2-6, 4-5. The eight second place winners were randomly placed, two into each of the four flights, so that they would not be in a group with a player from their Saturday flight. So the four Sunday lights ended up:

The first flight was won by Dave Daya who bested Bob Maidhof in a great match 125-116 which included a 91 ball run, advancing Daya to the four player elimination finals. Zion Zvi won all three matches in his flight to move on. Jeanette Lee, after finishing 2nd with 3-1 in her Saturday round to advance to Sunday, probably drew the toughest Sunday flight. Playing before enthusiastic fans she surely displayed why she is a great champion and competitor. Everyone who watched her three back to back hard fought wins over Mike Davis, Ryan McCreesh and Brandon Shuff was in awe of the great competitive spirit of the Black Widow. Lee reinforced an awareness that she is at the top of the list of WPBA players when it comes to 14.1. Davis, McCreesh & Shuff are three very strong players that are seldom going to be defeated by anyone, and Jeanette consecutively won each of her matches over all three! The last flight would prove to be very competitive with the three top players all going 3-1; Harriman lost to Lipsky, but defeated the others. Lipsky lost to Dechaine and won vs. the others; Dechaine lost to Harriman but defeated Steve Lipsky and Alan Duty. So all three were 2-1 and in the tie breaker format of ball differential Harriman bested Lipsky by 6 balls to

move into the Sunday night four player elimination round as the #4 seed vs. #1 Zion Zvi. David Daya was the #2 seed and played against #3 Jeanette Lee. The semi final rounds were sterling, with Zion opening up a large lead following a 69 ball run, only to have Harriman run 115, and then 21 and out to win the t.v. table match 150-107. In the second match Jeanette jumped off to a big lead again Pennsylvania’s great Dave Daya, who knuckled down and made a strong comeback to pull away 150-128 and finally end what had been a long and really beautifully played tournament for Jeanette Lee, finishing tied for 3rd -4th and a $900 purse. Lee’s two day record of 6-2 versus the best Straight Pool players in the country is enviable and a terrific accomplishment. The final got underway about 9:30 Sunday night, pitting the two semi winners, Danny Harriman, long time top 14.1 player from Kansas City and Dave Daya, who seems like he has been playing 14.1 for ever! But Harriman was not to be denied and from the very outset virtually never let Dave out of the chair. One of those days as they say, and Danny was just on a roll. After early safeties, Harriman put together rapid fire runs of 28 and then 99 to make the score 126 to -2 before Daya even had a chance. Dave ran a few racks before getting stuck and Harriman came to the table and ran out the match, winning the 2009 Maryland Open 150 to 25, and going 7-1 for the entire two day tournament, with his only loss coming against Steve Lipsky. First prize including Sunday High Run $4,100. Daya’s second place finish awarded him $2,400. Zion Zvi had the Sat. high run of 83. Always lots of debate amongst players and fans as to 14.1 format. Is this the best way, an old fashioned round robin, let the cream rise and then a handful of players play on in a single elimination? How many players, how many matches, how many points in the early and later rounds? A lot of issues and things to think about as we look ahead to the 2010 Maryland Straight Pool Tournament, planned for June 26-27 next summer. Mark it down! I think the overall consensus amongst fans and players was that this year’s Maryland 14.1 Championships is coming to the top of the heap around the country. Congratulations to all who played, helped, came to watch and viewed the internet links. And especially congratulations to Danny Harriman and to the other three finalists, Dave Daya, Zion Zvi and Jeanette Lee (right) for their beautiful play, and to hosts Richard & Cynthia Molineiro and to the many sponsors and supporters, most particularly Simonis Cloth and APA.

Place 1 2 3-4 3-4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Sat Sun

Player Danny Harriman Dave Daya Jeanette Lee Zion Zvi Bob Maidhof Ed Hodan Mike Dechaine Brandon Shuff Steve Lipsky Mike Davis Mark Ford Bobby Chamberlain Bobby Hunter Allan Duty Steve Haag Ryan McCreesh Zion Zvi Danny Harriman

Prize $4,000 2,400 900 900 650 625 575 550 425 400 375 350 325 300 275 250 100 100

Record 8-1 7-2 6-2 6-2 6-1

83 high run 115 high run

Photos: Warren Kahle Photography, Annapolis, Maryland

August/September 9 PQB

Proper Planning by Tom Ross Contributing Writer

ometimes we play good position for the next ball but not the position needed to pocket that ball and complete the rack. In many nineball situations, any reasonable shot on the next ball is good enough to continue beyond it. So when things are going well itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easy to feel comfortable merely glancing at the next ball and then moving the cue ball into position for it. Often however, more precise or careful position play is required. This month we shall discuss position strategy and distinguish techniques for avoiding good shots that end the run. The most common example of good position that does not work is landing straight in on a ball near a rail when the next ball is on the opposite rail. The eight-ball shot in the diagram from position X illustrates the problem. The typical cause of ending up at X is not bad position play but careless planning. The player who finds himself in this predicament probably feels good until he gets ready to shoot the eight and sees his error. Very often we take a quick look at a ball near a rail and regard it as a ball on the rail. If you look at the eight ball in the diagram and mentally move it to the rail, you will see that position X is ideal for moving cross-table to the nine. An experienced player would note the few inches between the eight and the rail and move the cue ball out to position Y from the seven. Look at the diagram now to examine the routine out from the seven ball. Going from the seven to eight here is very straightforward. It requires an above-center hit on the cue ball to roll one rail along the track indicated by the dotted line. A closer look reveals that the dotted line heads for position X and the problem just discussed. A more thoughtful player is likely to play the PQB 10 August/September

two-rail position indicated with the solid line. For this setup that would require a slightly lower hit on the cue ball and maybe a touch of outside english. One of the first valuable rules we learn is to choose the simplest cue-ball routes to the next shot. Why then would a player opt for two rails when one-rail position appears to work? The answer is found in another rule that we usually learn a bit later in our pursuit. The best way to avoid a rail is to hit it. In this setup we have a choice between two cueball tracks to get to the eight ball. The simpler one moves the cue ball one rail to the eight and toward the rail it lies near. As the cue ball moves closer to the eight ball on this track, it moves closer to the rail and the straighter angle for the shot on the eight. Opting for two rails sends the cue ball into the long rail and then across the straight-in line to raise the probability for an easy shot on the eight to get to the game winner.

Using the concept of hitting a rail to avoid it will work to prevent another nagging position problem, finding the cue ball lined up nicely for the next shot but frozen to the rail. When this happens mid-rack, it often ends the run

because of the difficult, hard follow shot with english that it offers up as the only option. Even a soft, straight-in shot on the game ball is easy to miss with the unwanted difficulty of shooting off the rail, especially under a little pressure. We leave ourselves frozen to the rail too often for one primary reason; we use the rail as our target. Usually when determining a cueball target for the next shot we pick a spot on the rail, a diamond or half diamond and play for it. If that is the last thought we have going into the shot, we typically land on the chosen target. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frightening sometimes how well we can play position. The remedy is simple. After choosing your target on the rail, make a clear decision to hit it. If the cue ball hits a rail it will rebound from it. Practice some rail shots with cross table position to get a feel for hitting the opposite rail and rebounding from it to a specifically chosen spot. We find ourselves in trouble too often after playing the position that we wanted. This shows up as a lack of planning rather than talent. Balls lying near a rail as the eight ball in the diagram will lead to us to this dilemma more than any others. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very easy to glance at such a ball and think of it as a ball on the rail. An object ball three or four inches from the rail can require a cue ball shift as great as one and a half diamonds for the proper angle. Begin now to look carefully at such balls and decide exactly where you want the cue ball to land while considering the option of hitting the rail to avoid leaving yourself on or too close to it. Great players rarely encounter unpleasant surprises after executing the desired plan.

PQB 12 August/September

“The Latest Billiard News sent to your Doorstep. One year subcription only $20” Subcribe online at Professor-Q-Ball www.professorqball.com or send check/money order to Professor-Q-Ball National Pool & 3-Cushion News 1662 Rocky Hollow Road Germantown, TN 38138 Name ________________________________________ Address ____________________ __________________ City __________________________________________ State ____________________Zip __________________ Phone ______________________ __________________ Email Address __________________________________ 901-756-2594 PAYPAL, VISA, MC, Discovery Accepted PQB 14 August/September

Looks Impossible by Willie Jopling Contributing Writer

his is one of those shots that looks impossible, but it can be made. And it comes up in most any pocket billiard game, but more often in one-pocket games. In this example the 2-ball is frozen to the rail at the first diamond and the 7-ball is frozen to the 2-ball directly in line with the diamond on the right side of the end rail as shown with the dotted line. My opponent has the left end pocket and my pocket is the right end pocket. Instead of just moving the two balls away from his pocket I can make the 7-ball in my pocket by forcing the 2-ball into the rail behind the 7-ball. If I hit the 2-ball rail real hard the cushion will give enough to get the job done. On a soft cushion table you can align the 2-ball and 7-ball at the center diamond and make this shot.

DVD’s Available

Two Rails First-1 by Robert Byrne From “Byrne’s Complete Book of Pool Shots” with permission

It often isn’t enough just to hit the correct ball to escape from a safety; you have to hit it thick or thin and on the proper side. One reason the great Efren Reyes is so hard to beat is that he is an excellent three-cushion player and can estimate multiple-rail kicks with uncanny accuracy. Diagrammed is a two-rail kick shot. If the cueball hits the 7-ball thin, the result is a safety as shown. Hit the 7-ball too full and you have sold out.

August/September 15 PQB

You are a Risk Taker. Go for it by “The Monk” Contributing Writer • www.monkbilliardacademy.net

uring my recent road trip from NC to CA to OK to NV to NE to WI and back I thought about what I wanted to share with you. When I drive I always think about my students and the journey you are taking. What makes you so special is that you dare to reach out. You are a risk taker. It is your nature or you would not pursue pocket billiards excellence. I often talk about being the path you follow. Along the way we learn the fine art of the safety game and for some of us, this spells doom. In other words, it sets up a mind set of the defensive nature. We leave our own personality of risk taking, which is our strength and decide we don’t want to take a chance. This goes against our very nature. We came into this game as a risk taker. Now we hold back and don’t want to go for it.

You will lose a few games when you take risk. You will win a few games when you take risk. I once had a guy run seven racks on me and three times he sent clumps flying in every direction looking for luck. He got it because he took the risk. You decide. Are you a gunslinger? Do you feel better when you go for it? If you answer yes, then I want you to go for everything for the next thirty days. Every single time you go to the table I want you to attempt a run out. When you walk to the table you are focused on winning this game at this turn. It is time you found out how this works. Go for it. Take a chance. Go for some luck. Try to run out every single time you come to the table. Do not second guess yourself when it does not work. Note how many times you steal a game from your opponent. Note

You decide. Are you a gunslinger? how many times this mind set serves you when you need a shot. A conservative player cannot make a tough shot. Sometimes we go for a tough shot and leave our opponent safe. Sometimes we go for a tough shot and finish our run out after we make it. You will be surprised by how good you can play this game when you allow yourself to use your talent. Go for it and I will see you in the finals.

OB Cues Welcomes Its Newest Team Member - Grace Nakamura!

race Nakamura is not only a seasoned women’s pro player with titles and accomplishments spanning more than 2 decades, but she has also worked in the billiard industry for the last 15 years. If you have attended a major billiard event anywhere in the United States or Canada within the last several years, odds are you’ve run into Grace either raffling cues, or operating a sales booth with tremendous energy and enthusiasm. “Grace provides a perfect complement to OB Cue’s commitment to total customer satisfaction. She brings strong sales skills and excellent customer service to our growing company” says Royce Bunnell, President and Co-Owner of OB Cues. “We are happy to welcome her to our team.” OB Cues, located in Plano Texas, is the manufacturer of the OB line of performance cues and cue shafts. For more information contact: Royce Bunnell – OB Cues rbunnell@obcues.com 972.578.9100 or 877.399.9901

PQB 16 August/September

Machine Gun Masse by Eric “The Preacher” Yow! WPA Masse World Champion

asse shots come in all shapes and sizes. Once your discover that you can elevate the cue, strike down on the cue ball, and create such a massive amount of spin, your creative mind will begin to wonder what exactly you are capable of doing with such a stroke. Recently, people who have bought the Eric Yow Masse Cue have shared with me that they “never knew these shots were possible” and are doing things they’ve “never dreamed they could do.” The creative pool player will begin to see shots that have never been seen, perform shots that have never been performed. I once read an author say that every pool shot that has ever been conceived has been shot before, implying that you will not be able to invent a new shot. I beg to differ. Several of my fans and friends have gone on to invent beautiful combinations, jump shots, and masse shots that I’m convinced are original to them. A few of them, I will shoot on ESPN Trick Shot Magic this fall! An old favorite, however, is the substance of my article today. With my Yow! Masse Cue, I like to go back to the crowd-favorites like the Machine Gun Masse. In competition and in my exhibitions, I perform this shot regularly. Line up all of the balls as diagramed with the row of balls right at one ball’s width from the long rail. Strike down with your Yow! Masse Cue with straight draw-masse. I add just a touch of inside English (toward the rail) so that the cue ball hugs the rail a bit more, just in case it hops and tries to escape. The cue ball will spin rapidly down the chute, making a noise like a machine gun, and pocket the all in the side pocket. If you have a clean ball and Simonis cloth, you can add more balls, perhaps from another set of balls. I’ve performed this shot on a 9 foot table taking the row

of balls as far out towards the corner pocket as possible. Obviously, you must strike it harder but the effect is beautiful. To add more flare, put a cue along the long rail and use three sets of balls, lining the row of balls one ball’s width from the cue stick. The cue ball will spin all the way down, hitting every ball, and be able to do so because it won’t lose its action due to the cue stick creating less friction than the rail would. Crowds love it!

If you have purchased a Yow! Masse Cue or Yow! Jump Cue, shoot me an email (yow@ericyow.com) with your feedback. I’d love to see what kinds of shots you are now capable of since you have purchased the best jump cue and the best masse cue on the market! I look forward to hearing from you

PoolDawg, an online leader in retail billiards and game room equipment, announced their sponsorship of WPBA touring pro pool player Sarah Rousey. Rousey is currently ranked 13th by the WPBA and will represent PoolDawg at upcoming pro billiards events. “We are thrilled to have Sarah as part of our team,” said Mike Feiman, PoolDawg’s DOM. “Sarah is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable names in the WPBA and we are really excited to have her representing our brand. In addition to being a perennial Top 20 player Sarah brings with her a loyal and rabid fan base and a personality that meshes nicely with what we’re doing here at PoolDawg.” Sarah turned pro in November 2003 after a successful junior career. In addition to her Top 20 ranking in the WPBA Ms. Rousey finished the ‘08 season as the 12th ranked player on the WPBA Tour including a top 4 finish in the ‘08 Tour Championships. PoolDawg.com Inc. is a recognized online leader in retail billiards and game room equipment, offering over 3,000 products ranging from pool cues and cases to dart supplies and game room furniture. As one of the web’s largest billiards retailers PoolDawg offers cues from over thirty manufacturers including Scorpion Action Meucci Lucasi McDermott Schon Mezz and Viking. August/September 17 PQB

Archer & Fisher to be new BCA Inductees Dominant Stars become first-ballot inductees in Greatest Player category

ohnny Archer and Allison Fisher, the most dominant male and female pool players of the past 15 years, have been elected for induction into the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Hall of Fame in voting conducted by the United States Billiard Media Association (USBMA). Archer, 40, and Fisher, 41, was honored at the BCA International Billiard & Home Recreation Expo in Las Vegas, June 23, and will be formally inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame on Oct. 22 during ceremonies at the Chesapeake Marriott in Chesapeake, Va.

Fisher was born Feb. 24, 1968, in Peacehaven, Sussex, England. She began playing snooker at age seven and won her first title at 15. In a dozen years playing professional snooker, Fisher won 18 titles, including 12 world championships (four of those in doubles competition). She Archer is a four-time world 9- moved to the U.S. in Septemball champion and winner of 25 ber 1995 to try her hand on pro tour titles, while Fisher is a the WPBA Classic Tour, and promptly won two 9-ball titles in three-time world 9-ball chamthree months. Fisher won an astounding 20 Classic Tour titles pion and winner of 53 Women’s in the next four years. She also won the WPA World 9-Ball Professional Billiard Association Championship in 1996, 2001 and 2002. During Fisher’s reign, (WPBA) Classic Tour titles. she earned POY honors from both Billiards Digest and Pool & Born in tiny Twin City, Ga., Billiard & Magazine 11 times in 12 years. Nov. 12, 1968, Archer was “I was worried that I was still a little too young to be elected,” drawn to the game by a small said Fisher, who learned of her election while competing in the coin-op table in the arcade of a World 10-Ball Championship in Manila, Philippines. “It’s local Minute Mart. He began wonderful to be recognized like this,” Fisher said. “I had a great playing more frequently at a small room called “Chester’s” in career in snooker as well, but was never recognized for it. I’ve nearby Matter, and it was Chester, himself, who took Archer had a great career in 9-ball, and this is the icing on the cake. under his wing and eventually introduced him to tournament Being recognized among the greatest players is something that play in 1984 at the Tennessee State Open in Chattanooga. is there forever. It’s a great honor.” Archer, 15 at the time, never looked back. “My parents tried to Voting was conducted by the USBMA Hall of Fame Board. keep me in school, but they couldn’t change my mind,” Archer Induction is awarded to the player named on the most ballots. said in a 1992 interview in Billiards Digest. A second player is elected if he or she is named on more than Archer joined the pro tour full-time in 1986, but it was six 70 percent of the ballots. Archer (82%) and Fisher (75%) both years before he won his first tour title, the 1991 Sands Regency easily topped those requirements. The next closest vote-getters Open. The following year, Archer won five titles, including the were Filipino stars Jose Parica (25%) and Francisco Bustamante World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) World 9-Ball Champi- (18%). onship, and was named Billiards Digest Player of the Year To be eligible for consideration in the Greatest Player cate(POY), the first of such POY titles Archer would garner. gory, a player: a) must be 40 years old by Jan. 1 of the year of Archer would go on to win 12 Professional Billiard Tour (PBT) their induction; b) must have a professional playing career of at titles over the next four years, including two of his four world least 10 years; and c) must have recorded significant achievecrowns (back-to-back PBT World 9-Ball championships in ments in U.S.-based events. 1993 and 1994). Archer once again won the WPA World 9Ball Championship in 1996. In all, Archer has won more than 60 tournaments. He has also been a member of Team USA in the Mosconi Cup 12 times. “This is really a great honor,” said Archer. “The Hall of Fame has the greatest players in the world, and to be in the same group with them is a blessing.“The biggest thrill will be having my father there in October when I get inducted,” Archer added. PQB 18 August/September

Ewa Mataya Laurance becomes APA Tour Operator WPBA Star Takes Over APA League in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

s a major sponsor of the WPBA Classic Tour, Ewa “The Striking Viking” Laurance has associated for years with the American Poolplayers Association (APA). Ewa has traveled to various APA Leagues around the country conducting exhibitions, and Mitch, her husband and ESPN billiard commentator, is well versed on promoting APA during the ESPN event airings. Now both, along with daughter Nikki Graham, will own and operate the Coastal Carolina APA League. “I’m really excited about taking over APA operations in the Coastal Carolina area where we reside. This is really a perfect fit for me, and an extension of my involvement in the sport. Mitch and I will be marketing and promoting the league, and we believe there is a major opportunity for growth here. Being able to do this as a family makes it even more special given that Nikki will handle day-to-day procedures,” said Ewa. Ewa, a multiple winner of 9-Ball and Trick Shot Championships, joins renown trick shot artists Bruce Barthelette and Andy Segal as fellow APA League Operators. The APA has more than 260 League Operators throughout the United States, Canada and Japan.

The APA, based in Lake Saint Louis, Mo., sanctions the world’s largest amateur pool league, known as the APA Pool League throughout the United States, and as the Canadian Pool League in Canada. More than 260,000 members compete in weekly 8-Ball and 9Ball league play. The APA is generally recognized as the Governing Body of Amateur Pool, having established the official rules, championships, formats and handicap systems for the sport of amateur billiards. The APA produces three major tournaments each year—the APA National Team Championships, the APA National Singles Championships and the U.S. Amateur Championship—that, together, pay out nearly $1.5 Million in cash and prizes annually! The APA and its championships are sponsored by Cuetec Cues and PoolDawg. For more information on the American Poolplayers Association, visit www.poolplayers.com.

Jeremy Archibeqe & Alek Haj-Hussein to Represent Colorado in BEF

n May 17th, 2009 The Wynkoop Brewing Company located in Downtown Denver held their annual BEF Junior Nationals qualifier. Jeremy Archibeqe from Thornton, CO and Alex Haj-Hussein from Colorado Springs, CO both came in first and second to qualify for the 2009 BEF Junior Nationals to be held this July in Michigan. Congratulations to both players and good luck next month. Melissa Little, WPBA Pro and house-pro at the Wynkoop has scheduled the Colorado State 9-Ball Championships this year for the weekend of Saturday & Sunday, September 26th-27th, 2009. Last year we offered over $4500 worth of prizes for the top finishers and look forward to this years championships. Look for up-coming Wynkoop ads in the future months to come.

Alex Haj-Hussein and Jeremy Archibeqe

For I ntr uction al vi deos or the latest E vent News V i sit www. pr ofessor qbal l . com August/September 19 PQB

Golden Nugget of Instruction by Tom Rossman • drcue@artisticpool.org Contributing Writer

y wife, Marty (Ms. Cue) and I have been on the road for over 22 years doing clinics, shows, and promotional events. The demanding logistics and performance of our tour schedule requires significant planning and disciplined focus. The principle of burning focus is essential for success for your game. Without it, concentration is lost or never obtained, and failure normally lurks around the corner to steal away the joy of a game well played! Therefore, I would like to provide you with a special technique to acquire focus when one might appear to be in limbo. First, I would like to give you a brief test of focus, so that you might better understand how it is controlled and found/absorbed when you feel like you are wandering aimlessly from shot to shot. Pick an object of any size. View it in its entirety with both eyes open. Then reduce your viewing/focus to a part of the item. Reduce again to a specific point on the item. Imagine a fly sitting on that point and ultimately a spec of lint on the wing of the fly. Finally, imagine the spec of lint smoking! While you are burning your focus on the lint, try to burn your focus on another fly’s wing right next to it. You will find this is impossible! The left-brain function is visually burning the focus on one specific point. It can’t do two burning focus points at the same time. The focus will always be split if you try to do both, back and forth back and forth. The brain is comprised of a left side(analytical) and a right

PQB 20 August/September

Burning focus – Sneak Attack of the Right Brain side(global). To put this in pool jargon, the left side analyzes things in a game,point-bypoint and point-to-point manner. If we are not free flowing our stroke, we are steering it with our left-brain function in a calculated and trying to make it method. This is inconsistent with how most pros and fluent stroking players execute their stroke. They use their right brain function in a graceful and musically let it go technique. How does one develop this right side brain tempo and fluency? First, before your last slow, backward stroke, hesitate at the cue ball with your cue tip. Burn your focus on the lint on the wing of the fly, or for you pool players, the contact point of the object ball. note: Use a magnifying glass, penetrating, and laser-beamed focus on this point. Now, the left-brain function is being kept busy! It is time for what I call the sneak attack of the right brain function – a uninhibited, free-flowing final stroke to victory. The stroke cannot be steered with the left-brain because it is busy burning its focus on the contact point. The only thing that can stroke the shot is the right brain, which does so automatically without the left brain getting in the way. Slow backstroke, hesitate again, continue to burn the focus… and, let your cue go! The shot will shoot itself, so to speak and you will often enter the “golden” arena of dead stroke. You can practice this burning focus technique from large to ultra small while in your chair. Watch your focus come alive!

The Law of Attraction by Samm Diep Contributing Writer • blog.SammsPocket.com • House Pro at Table Steaks East in Aurora,CO

things you want, not the things you don’t want. If you have yet to see the movie, watch it or read the book with an open mind.

Without getting too heavy on this topic, let’s think about how this applies to pool. We may not realize it, but we often create our lives by focusing on what don’t want. For instance, “I hope I don’t scratch,” “I don’t want to lose my next match,” “I’m not a bad player,” and “I hope I don’t miss this shot.” These are all ways that we allow the things we don’t want to creep into our subconscious. Instead, choose the exact spot where you want the cue ball end up and think, “I’ll make this shot and the cue ball will go there,” and visualize it happening. Say, “I will win my next match,” and believe it. Say, “I’m a spectacular pool player!” and be proud of it. Think, “make it, make it, make it,” with each warm up stroke and see the ball going into the pocket. Visualize everything that you want to happen, making the shot, beating your opponent, and winning the tournament. Attract the positive outcomes with your positive thoughts. Obviously, I can’t guarantee that just by doing this you will win more tournaments. However, I do believe that by adjusting the way we phrase our thoughts, not only in pool but also in life, we can proactively attract the things we want, not what we don’t want. A quote by Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, either way, you’re right.” Shifting the way we think and feel to the things that we want takes practice. It’s natural to want to complain about bad things that happened, the bad rolls we got, the bad luck we had. But, if we can focus on the positive things, we create them for ourselves. Our destiny lies in the future, not in the past. If we constantly dwell on the negative things from our past, then we inevitably recreate them. Remove “I can’t and “I’m not” from your vocabulary. Imagine yourself as a magnet that attracts things to you through the signals you emit, using your thoughts and feelings. Whether its money, relationships, health, or pool, be clear about what you want the ultimate outcome to be. Visualize it. Believe in it. And, make it happen for yourself. Focus on the

Please be sure to visit www.pooltipjar.com You can take polls, view article archives, and read tournament and training updates.

just finished the movie and the non-fiction book, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne. If you’ve heard anything about it, then you know that it’s all about the Law of Attraction. Without giving away too much of the movie, the law of attraction is all about getting what you think about; using your thoughts and feelings to determine your destiny. Whatever you focus on will be attracted to you. Far fetched? Decide for yourself. But, you can’t deny that there’s much truth to this theory.

Samm Diep, “Cherry Bomb” House Pro at Table Steaks East in Aurora, Colorado Author of “You Might Be A D Player If… (101 Classic Moves That All Pool Players Can Appreciate)” www.SammsPocket.com Pooltipjar.com

August/September 21 PQB

World Summit of Pool

fter four grueling days Mike Dechaine defeated Thorsten “Hitman” Hohmann at the World Summit of Pool, taking his share of the prize fund and top honors to boot. The event Hosted by the Riviera Hotel and Casino took place June 7th in Las Vegas, NV. The $20,000 added event was sponsored by McDermott Handcrafted Cues, Instroke Cases, Ivan Simonis Cloth, Aramith Balls, Delta-13 Rack, Quick-Clean, and Diamond Tables. The tournament featured many top players including Thorsten Hitman Hohmann and Ralph Eckert of Germany, Roberto Gomez of the Philippines, Johnny Morra, Max Eberle and tournament favorite Rodney Rocket Morris. Morris defeated Bennett to advance to the hot seat match sending Keith to the one loss side. To the disappointment of fans and on lookers alike, with the score tied at 3 all, Morris broke down his cue

and forfeited his match. UPA rules required that Morris be disqualified. Morris issued an apology on AZ Billiards. “I would like to extend my most sincere apology to the UPA, ACS, staff at the World Summit of Pool, my friends and family, my sponsor Kamuitips.com, fans, and my fellow pool players. Earlier matches saw Stevie Moore beat John Morra to play one of the tournament favorites Roberto Gomez. Moore eliminated Gomez and advanced to the quarterfinals to face Hohmann who had Thorsten “Hitman” Hohmann and eliminated Kucharo and Bennett. Winner Mike Dechaine Hohmann ousted Moore to advance to the finals after Morris’ disqualification not quite ready to give up just yet. Gathleft the semifinal spot with no opponent ering himself together Dechaine took the for Hohmann to face. Hohmann, being match 13-11 to take the title at the on the one loss side was forced to defeat World Summit of Pool. Dechaine twice to take the title. He won “This is my first title and I can’t stop the first set 13-7 leaving Dechaine visibly shaking,” said Dechaine after the match. shaken. The second set saw Hohmann Dechaine went on to compliment out to an early lead but Dechaine was Hohmann.

BCA Returns to Vegas for Successful 2009 Expo hibitors that attended saw a strong show of support from the retail base. Many he 2009 edition of the Billiard buyers commented that Las Vegas is the Congress of America’s (BCA) In- right place for the BCA Expo and they ternational Billiard & Home were happy to be back in Vegas. I was Recreation Expo came to a successful also impressed with the Business of Bilconclusion. The event, produced by the liards Seminar Series. We had very good BCA, was held at the Sands Expo and attendance at the seminars this year and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, the information presented was timely and June 25-27, 2009. very useful.” Buyer attendance for the three-day “If you are involved in the billiard inevent was 1,120. The number of compa- dustry and didn’t participate in the BCA nies exhibiting at the event was 116, Expo you missed out,” said Lee. “But, while the total number of booths was 412. don’t take my word for it, ask the ex“I was excited to see how well the show hibitors, retailers and room operators turned out and I am very pleased with all that came to the Expo.” of the positive comments that I have reThe BCA has secured the Las Vegas ceived from both exhibitors and buyers,” Convention Center for the 2010 Expo, commented Ivan Lee, co-chair of the which will take place June 24-26, 2010, Expo and 2008-2009 chairman of the and the Sands Expo and Convention BCA Board of Directors. Center, June 23-25, 2011. “Informally, the show was a roll-call for the billiard industry and the exBroomfield, Colo. – June 29, 2009

PQB 22 August/September

About Billiard Congress of America Founded in 1948, the Billiard Congress of America is a non-profit trade organization dedicated to growing a united, prosperous and highly regarded billiard industry through BCA leadership. The BCA seeks to enhance the success of its members and promote the game of billiards though educational, marketing and promotional efforts, annual industry trade shows, tournaments and other programs designed to encourage billiards as a lifestyle and make pool everybody’s game. For more information, visit www.bcapool.com or call 866.852.0999.

www.USBA.net USBA Officers President Bob Jewett 1000 Kiely Blvd Apt 86, Santa Clara, CA 95051 408-615-7479 president@usba.net

Secretary/Treasurer Jim Shovak 58 Hawthorne Avenue East Islip, NY 11730 516-238-6193 jimshovak@usba.net

International Open Tournament

Javier Teran Wins at College Billiards College Billiards and Cafe, San Diego, CA

Eastern Region Directors Mazin Shooni 2006 USA Champion 135 Broad Street Unit # 3A5, Hudson, MA, 01749 cell phone: 248-910-4466 work phone: 603 623 5330 mazinshooni@yahoo.com Henry Ugartechea 3795 NW 5 Terr Boca Raton, FL 33431 561-929-8100 henryugartechea@comcast.net Charles Brown cbrown54@speakeasy.net

Central Region DirectorsGeorge Theobald 1N260 Prince Crossing Rd. West Chicago, Illinois 60185 (630) 231-9444 gtheobald4@comcast.net Bill Johnson 734-368-3315 williamharryjohnson@gmail.com George Ashby 8X USA Champion 206 E. State Street Jacksonville, IL 62650 217-440-0069 pooltabledoctor2@verizon.net

Western Region Directors George Aronek 19120 Nordhoff St. Northridge, California 91324-3654 AGQcase@aol.com Ken Higgins 19342 47TH Ave NE. Seattle, Washington 98155-2954 206-355-5498 ken.higgins@hushmail.com Bruce Warner (310)738-5429 bw-@ix.netcom.com

(l-r) Hugo Patino (2nd), Pedro Piedrabuena (3rd) and Javier Teran (1st)

here were 40 players from different states across the country as well as from Mexico and Ecuador. In all, there were at least 15 players that have established averages of at least 1.000 and only 10 players would be able to qualify into the finals. That’s how tough the field was. There were also some upsets which changed the outcome dramatically. The tournament was played on 6 beautiful Verhoeven tables with brand new Simonis 300 rapide cloth. With the players split up into 5 groups of 8 players each, only 2 players from each group would qualify into the finals along with one auction and one lottery winner. The prize fund from the entry fees alone was $10,000 ($ 250 times 40 players). Between College Billiards and the USBA Tour sponsors, another $6,000 was added. The auction brought in $1,600 and the lottery brought in $1,900 raising the total prize fund payout to $19,500.

Flight A: Javier Teran from Ecuador, Jae Hyung Cho from Colorado and Sonny Cho from New York were the favorites, but only 2 could advance. Javier Teran finished 7-0 to win the flight. Sonny Cho lost 2 matches, one to Teran and one to Jae Hyung Cho but had only 8 and 9 points respectively in his 2 losses. Jae Hyung Cho lost his match with Teran but was upset twice, first by Arturo Velasquez (“Carnitas”, as he is affectionately called) from Mexico and then by Alfredo Reyes from Huntington Park, California, giving Jae Hyung Cho three losses altogether. Because of points, the winner of the match between Arturo Velasquez and Alfredo Reyes would advance to the finals and “Carnitas” defeated Reyes 25-20 to earn the 2nd spot. Flight B: Miguel Torres from New York, Rodolfo Covarrubias from Mexico and Michael Kang from New York were the favorites, however Lupe Cruz from Iowa upset some apple carts, first by defeating Miguel continues on page 28 August/September 27 PQB

Torres 25-19 and then beating Michael Kang 25-21. Covarrubias wins the flight at 6-1 and a three-way tie for 2nd place between Miguel Torres, Michael Kang and Lupe Cruz is decided by points in favor of Miguel Torres. Lupe Cruz finished 3rd and Kang in 4th. Flight C: This was a very tough flight as well with Mazin Shooni from Massachusetts, Miguel Almaraz from Mexico and Guillermo Sosa, also from Mexico as the favorites. The flight also had some strong players such as Carlos Alvarez from West Covina, California, Ivan Rosales from Mexico and Sean Park from Los Angeles. Shooni lost 3 matches, one to Almaraz, one to Sosa and an upset to Sean Park. Guillermo Sosa lost to Almaraz and was upset by Carlos Alvarez. Almaraz wins the flight going 6-1 with his only loss being an upset to Carlos Alvarez who finished 2nd, also at 6-1. Sosa finished in 3rd and Shooni finished in 4th. Flight D: Carlos Francisco Palafox from Los Angeles wins the flight going 6-1 and Hugo Patino from New York finishes in 2nd, also at 6-1. Flight E: This was also a very difficult flight with Pedro Piedrabuena from San Diego (College Billiards owner), Luis Avila from Mexico, Roberto Rojas from Mexico, Salvador Diaz from Los Angeles and Juan Delgadillo from Hayward, California. Roberto Rojas defeated Piedrabuena 25-10 in just 7 innings, but Rojas lost a match to Delgadillo. Avila wins the flight at 6-1 with Piedrabuena finishing 2nd, also at 6-1.

Finals With the 10 players already decided for the finals, there was an auction and a lottery held for the 2 additional positions in the finals. The auction was won by Sonny Cho who paid $1,600.00 to play in the finals. Then there was a lottery where tickets were sold for just $20.00 apiece and there was no limit to the amount of tickets you could purchase. The lottery brought in an additional $ 1,900.00 for the prize fund. A local patron won the lottery (not a player) so the patron decided to have us auction his winning ticket. Michael Kang won that auction, paying the man $ 1,450.00. The 12 finalists were then divided into 2 groups of 6 players each (Flights F and G). The flights were determined exclusively by the players’ performance in the preliminaries, meaning “Wins and Losses”, “Total Points Scored” and “Total Points Against”. Flight F: Javier Teran, Pedro Piedrabuena, Miguel Almaraz, Rodolfo Covarrubias, Sonny Cho and Miguel Torres. Wow! I wouldn’t want to be in THIS flight! After 3 rounds of play, Javier Teran, Miguel Almaraz and Pedro Piedrabuena were all averaging over 1.500!!! Javier Teran wins the flight going 5-0 and averaging 1.579. Pedro Piedrabuena finishes 2nd going 3-2 and averaging 1.545. Miguel Almaraz finishes 3rd going 3-2 PQB 28 August/September

and averaging 1.320. Rodolfo Covarrubias finishes 4th going 2-3 and averaging 1.245. Sonny Cho finishes 5th going 2-3 and averaging 1.042. Miguel Torres finishes 6th going 0-5 and averaging .970. The average for the entire flight was an amazing 1.267! Flight G: Luis Avila, Hugo Patino, Michael Kang, Carlos Palafox, Aruro Velasquez (“Carnitas”) and Carlos Alvarez. Arturo Velasquez defeats Avila 30-21. Hugo Patino wins the flight going 4-1 with a 1.333 average. Luis Avila finishes in 2nd also going 4-1 with a 1.306 average. Grand average was the tie-breaker if there was a tie in Wins and Losses. Avila just misses winning the flight by 3 additional points or 3 less innings. Michael Kang finishes 3rd going 3-2 with a 1.198 average. Carlos Palafox finishes 4th going 2-3 with a .763 average. Arturo Velasquez finishes 5th going 1-4 with a .793 average and Carlos Alvarez finishes 5th going 1-4 with a .739 average.

Final Matches Player Pts Inns Avg High Run 1st & 2nd Javier Teran 35 40 .875 4 Hugo Patino 33 39 .846 5 3rd & 4th Place: Pedro Piedrabuena 35 21 1.667 5 Luis Avila 34 21 1.619 6 5th & 6th Place: Miguel Almaraz 18 25 .720 4 Michael Kang 35 25 1.400 8 7th & 8th Place: Rodolfo Covarrubias 35 31 1.129 8 Carlos Palafox 30 30 1.000 8 9th & 10th Place: Sonny Cho 34 40 .850 3 Arturo Velasquez 35 41 .854 5 11th & 12th Place: Miguel Torres 35 19 1.842 8 Carlos Alvarez 25 18 1.389 9 Pedro Piedrabuena had the tournament high run of 13. Javier Teran and Miguel Almaraz both had the best game of the tournament: 30 points in 14 innings (2.143 average) Congratulations to Javier Teran and all that participated in this fabulous tournament! Right after the award ceremony, a raffle was held where Raye Raskin won a cue case and a local patron won a donated cue. The crowd was treated to a display of trick-shot wizardry by World Champion trick-shot artist, Roberto Rojas.

We would like to thank the following: Pedro Piedrabuena and Timoteo Moreno, owners of College Billiards for putting up their room, for adding money to the prize fund and overall making it a fun time for all. Luis Castro who practically ran the whole tournament, cleaned tables and did whatever was necessary. Great job, Luis. Those that were score keepers for the finals. We really appreciate it.

Final Rankings Player Prize 1) Javier Teran $ 4,500.00 3) Pedro Piedrabuena $ 2,500.00 5) Michael Kang $ 1,500.00 7) Rodolfo Covarrubias $ 1,000.00 9) Arturo Velasquez $ 800.00 11) Miguel Torres $ 600.00 High Run: $ 150.00 Best Game: $ 150.00 30 Points in 14 innings: 2.143 average

2) Hugo Patino $ 3,000.00 4) Luis Avila $ 2,000.00 6) Miguel Almaraz $ 1,200.00 8) Carlos Palafox $ 900.00 9) Sonny Cho $ 700.00 12) Carlos Alvarez $ 500.00 Pedro Piedrabuena: 13 Javier Teran/Miguel Almaraz

USBA Election Candidates Being Sought In a few months we will be having our 4-year election cycle which includes the positions for 9 Regional Directors along with the office of President and Secretary/Treasurer. If you are interested in becoming a Regional Director or an officer for the USBA, kindly let me know. All interested candidates’ names will be brought to the current Board of Directors. If a Board of Director nominates someone and the nomination is seconded by a director, then the name will appear on the ballot. Please contact Jim Shovak as soon as possible if anyone is interested. JimShovak@USBA.net

The 2010 USBA National Championship Tournament will be held at the Elks Lodge in Tacoma, WA. Expected dates are February 17-21, 2010. More details will be forthcoming.

We are accepting bids to hold a USBA Tour Event in your room If you are interested, please go to www.USBA.net and click “Running USBA Tournaments, USBA National Championships, USBA TOUR Events, Regional Qualifiers & Shot Contests” on the left side menu. Then click “Holding a USBA Tour Event” for complete information.

Secretary’s Desk We are looking for good people who wish to become a USBA Regional Director or run for the positions of President and/or Secretary/Treasurer. Please contact me as soon as possible if you are interested at JimShovak@USBA.net. There are still positions open for USBA Tour Events. If you are interested in hosting one, please contact me for further instructions. Four of our top players are being sent to compete in the CPB Championships in Buenos Aires. The best 8 finishers will be sent to the World Championship in November. Your membership dues make this possible. Without you, we would be nowhere and we would not be able to send our top players to compete internationally. They are very appreciative. Please spend some time on the USBA website. There is so much information available. There is a Member Directory, there is an online Forum to discuss things with other players, you can create and save your own shot diagrams or share them with others, and you can buy and sell billiard-related items. If you have any questions, you can contact me and I will help you. Please volunteer to run some local tournaments, or hold a pool player “Shot Contest” which will get more pool players interested in 3-cushion. There is so much that can be done, but we need more volunteers if we want to promote this beautiful game. I am very proud and grateful to have served as your Secretary/Treasurer for the past 2 ½ years and I hope to continue in that capacity if it is what our members want.

August/September 29 PQB

“B” Tournament (under .800 average) World Class Billiards, Peabody, MA

he 2009 USBA Tour continued with a great “B” tournament held at World Class Billiards in Peabody, Massachusetts. Room owners, Joe DeAmato and John Magulas added money to the prize fund and were extremely gracious hosts to all the players. Four Soren Sogaard tables were freshly covered with Simonis 300 rapide cloth and played beautifully throughout the tournament. The Tables were vacuumed daily and were cleaned thoroughly with a slightly damp microfiber cloth after every match. In all, there were 21 players competing for a first place prize of $ 2,000.00 with a total prize fund of $ 7,000.00. The players were divided into 3 flights with 7 players each. The top 2 finishers of each flight along with the two best 3rd place finishers would play an 8-player round robin in the finals. The prelims were to 20 points and the finals were to 25 points. Final placement was determined by wins/losses, total points scored, head-to-head and points-against. Averages were kept throughout the tournament by the players but it was not a determining factor in the placement. Flight A: Tony Ferrara goes undefeated, 6-0, to win the flight, averaging .659. Dave Van Lokeren finished 2nd with a 5-1 record and a .644 average. Dan Kolacz finishes 3rd with a 4-2 record, but misses out on the finals because he only scored 9 points in each of his losses. In one of those losses, Dave Van Lokeren scored 20 points in just 15 innings. Flight B: Joe DeAmato wins the flight going 5-1 and Jim Watson finishes 2nd, going 4-2. Ellis Lawrence, who was shooting great, had one more match against Rick McGuire. The winner would make the finals and the loser would not. Rick McGuire rose to the occasion, scoring 20 points in just 17 innings to earn the spot. Flight C: John Magulas shot great, going 5-1 to win the flight. Bob Page had a spot in the finals sewed up but had one match left against Jim Shovak. Shovak needed to win to make the finals. A loss would allow Leonard Collibee to enter the finals. Bob Page started the 20 point match with a bang, scoring 11 points in just 3 innings. With the score 13-2 in favor of Page, things didn’t look too good for Shovak. After a few more innings, it was 15-6. Both players started playing safety as Shovak started scoring. With the score at 18-16, Shovak ran a two to tie it, and then another 2, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with a 20-18 win. Finals: With the 8-player round robin to 25 points each, it was anyone’s tournament. All the players played admirably PQB 30 August/September

(l-r)Joe DeAmato (3rd), Dave Van Lokeren (1st), and Jim Watson (2nd). and many matches could have gone either way. After 3 rounds, the favorites were Dave Van Lokeren, Jim Watson and Jim Shovak, all with 3-0 records. Going into the final round, there were 3 players who could still win the tournament, Jim Watson, Dave Van Lokeren and Bob Page, all with 5-1 records. Dave Van Lokeren won his match, finishing 6-1. Bob Page lost to Joe DeAmato, 25-3, giving Page his 2nd loss and not a whole lot of points. Jim Watson needed to win against Jim Shovak to force a playoff match with Dave Van Lokeren, but lost 25-22. Watson settled for 2nd place. Joe DeAmato was 2-2 after 4 rounds, but won his last 3 matches to finish 5-2 and fought his way into 3rd place. Great comeback, Joe. Bob Page (5-2) settled for 4th place, Jim Shovak (4-3) finished in 5th place, Tony Ferrara (2-5) came in 6th, John Magulas (1-6) finished 7th and Rick McGuire (0-7) came in 8th place. Player Prize $ 7,000.00 Prize Fund 1) Dave Van Lokeren 2) Jim Watson 3) Joe DeAmato 4) Bob Page 5) Jim Shovak 6) Tony Ferrara 7) John Magulas 8) Rick McGuire Best Game: Dave Van Lokeren 20 points in 15 innings (1.333 average) High Run: Joe DeAmato 9

$ 2,000.00 $ 1,500.00 $ 1,100.00 $ 800.00 $ 600.00 $ 400.00 $ 300.00 $ 200.00 $ 50.00 $ 50.00

The Principle of Defense by Bob Byrne Contributing Writer • From Byrne’s “Advanced Technique in Pool & Billiards” with permission

ood defensive strategy, absolutely essential to winning in three-cushion billiards, is hardly ever mentioned in the scanty literature in a game. Defense in billiards consists of far more than simply playing “easy to the red” and its corollary, hard away to the white. It is a simple matter to leave your opponent’s cueball at one end of the table and two objects balls at the other. The trick is to still do that and make the point. Some general rules: Don’t die to close to the red or you’ll leave a decent bank. Forget safety play on “big ball” shots and standard naturals. Don’t

relax on shots that have a safe leave built into them-try to score. Early in the game, if you are hitting the ball well, ease off on the safety play and try to bury your opponent with points. The easiest way to make the shot in Diagram 103 is with a half-ball hit, which banks the white ball to the sellout end of the table. To avoid that, there are two hits to think about in positions of this type: thick and thin. A feather-thin hit, cutting the white toward point c with

maximum right english to put the cueball on a scoring path off the first rail, will leave your opponent far from his work if you miss. Or you can hit the to c. In both cases the cueball white full with follow and can be made to die near the slight right english, banking red ball. the white to point b and back

Attention Room Owners A room owner that has only one or two 3-cushion tables can now have competition and give their customers a chance to learn the game. All paperwork and diagrammed shots are sent to the room owners ahead of time giving their players a chance to learn the shots, giving room owners some revenue on their 3-cushion tables while the players practice the shots. The quickest way to get new players to play the game of 3-Cushion is to reach out to pool players. A small recap of how the 3Cushion Billiards Challenge Shot Contest works: FORMAT: This is for POOL PLAYERS ONLY. Players will shoot 8-diagrammed shots. Each player will shoot each of the 8 shots three times. Each shot is worth 2 points. After each shot , a player will also attempt a straight-rail carom shot (no rails necessary) after the balls come to rest. If they make it, it will be worth 1 point. So for each shot, a player actually makes a total of 6 attempts to score. This means that the maximum possible score for the whole tournament will be 72 points. Three small, round stick-ons will be placed on the table, which will represent the exact placement of the diagrammed shots. All players will have the same shot and same placement of the 3 balls. After all players have completed their 3 attempts for a shot (plus the 3 straight-rail carom attempts), the dots

will be removed and replaced for the next shot selection. With a maximum of 16 players and entry fee being only $5, players will enter and have fun while they also have a chance to win some cash.The room owner should add $ 100 plus The USBA TOUR sponsors will add $255 making it a total of $355. The payouts, regardless of the number of players (8 player minimum) would then be: 1st: $ 200 2nd: $100 3rd: $ 55 Whatever amount is received in entry fees goes to the room owner or tournament director. The minimum number of players is 8 and the maximum is 16.For more information call Paul Frankel, (Professor-Q-Ball) at 901 756-2594 Diagramed is one of the 3-Cushion billiard challenge shot for you to try. August/September 31 PQB

“ USBA Membership” To become a USBA member and receive the PQB publication for free, ﬁll out and return this form.

USBA Membership • Dues $50 New Member______________Renewal __________ PRINT PLEASE Name: ___________________________________________

Rip’s Tips Around the table shot 1st object ball is frozen in the corner. Hit cue ball with moderate stroke. Will hit 3-4 or 5 rails to complete the billiard. Good test of accuracy of hit on first object ball. Level cue follow through medium stroke.

Address: __________________________________________ City, ____________________State ____ Zip: __________ Home Phone:______________________________________

“George Rippe is a former billiard room proprietor and artistic billiard enthusiast,” He can be reached at978 975-9985

Cell Phone: _______________________________________ E-Mail Address: ____________________________________ Referred by _______________________________________

Send completed form and check or money order payable to USBA to Jim Shovak/USBA Secretary 58 Hawthorne Ave. • East Islip, NY 11730.

Upcoming Tournaments for 2009 August 17-23: USBA TOUR - $ 40,000.00 Carom Cafe Int’l Open Flushing, NY Contact: Charles Brown or Min Jae Pak: 718-358-8585 August 21-23: Mike Fahey Memorial- Tacoma Elks, WA Contact: Ken Higgins: 206-355-5498 September 11: National Qualifier – World Classic – Moody Gardens,Gavaleston, TX Contact: Paul Frankel - 901 756-2594 September 11: Shot Contest -Amy’s Billiards - Stuart, FL Contact Amy Poulter 772 232-9966 September 18-20: Minneapolis Billiard Club Fall Classic Open, MN Contact Fred Lamers: Fred.lamers@yahoo.com - 763-300-6370 September : USBA TOUR- “B” Tournament – Undetermined Check www.USBA.net for updates. Click “Tournaments-Calendar”.

PQB 32 August/September

Hillbilly Earns Another “Star” on The Lone Star Tour

n July 18th & 19th it was another huge success for the Lone Star Billiards Tour as 89 players turned out for the Rose Country Club 9-Ball Bar Table Open III in Houston, Texas . Top players battled it out for two days and for over 20k in cash. Lone Star regulars included Charlie Bryant, Sylver Ochoa, Raul Escobedo, Lanny Herrin, Nick Hood, Cliff Joyner, Manuel Ayala, Bobby Pacheco and defending champ Dennis Strickland. Newcomers on the scene were Barry Emerson, Sparky Ferrell, David Gutierrez, Rene Rendon, and Gary Abood. In the hot seat match we had Charlie Bryant vs. Bobby Pacheco. It was a real thriller with Charlie and Bobby trading games until it was hill-hill. On the final rack Bobby broke, made two balls, and had a road map to glory. Unfortunately after pocketing the one ball, he nearly froze himself on the two which led to a short lived shot trade off where ultimately Charlie gained ball in hand with five balls left on the table. As Hillbilly waited in the wings, the one loss side produced Dennis Strickland vs. Sparky Ferrell, after both suffering a defeat at the hands of Hillbilly. Ferrell defeated Strickland to earn a match up with Bobby Pacheco. Bobby succumbed to Sparky’s unwavering consistency 7-3. In the final match, Sparky’s exceptional play was put to the test after Charlie hit him with seven games in a row during the first race to nine in this true double elimination format. Sparky answered back with four in a row, but it just wasn’t going to be enough to shake the Hillbilly as he put him away 9-4. Congratulations to Charlie and also Christina De La Garza

Bobby Pacheco,Minh Hammonds,Charlie Bryant,Sparky Ferrell who earned $195 for the top lady finisher in the main event. It was such an exciting tour event and we would like to thank Rose Country Club and our sponsors Cue Reach, McDermott Cues, and the Delta 13 Rack for their support of the new Lone Star Tour. We can now look forward to hosting an added money ladies event at each tour stop in addition to Live Streaming by Cue & A Promotions.

Payouts • Bar Table Open III 89 Players, 32 Places PaidAuction Tournament 1.Charlie Bryant 4,680 2.Sparky Ferrell 3,200 3.Bobby Pacheco 2,500 4.Dennis Strickland 1,700 5.Gary Abood 350 6.Manuel Ayala 7.Cliff Joyner 8.Barry Emerson 9.David Gutierrez 10.Sonny Bosshamer 11.Nick Hood 12.Ishmael Ramirez

1,280 750 550 400 325 325 160 160 100ea

Shooters • Olathe, Kansas • Midwest Tour Tournament Results: July 16-19, 2009 Ladies - 15 players 1st Brittany Colbert 2nd Michelle McDermott 3rd Jessica Frideres 4th Julia Gabriel Hot seat: Brittany def Jessica 7-2, semi: Michelle def Jessica 7-6 1st set of finals: Brittany defeats Michelle 7-6 Open - 128 players 1st Chip Compton 2nd Jr. Davis 3rd James Baraks 4th Gabe Owen 5-6th Dustin Gunia, Jeremy Jones 7-8th John Gabriel, Joe Johnson

l-r, Brittany Colbert, Evelyn Dysart, and Michelle McDermott

l-r, Chip Compton, Evelyn Dysart, Mike Durbin (sponsor)and Jr. Davis August/September 33 PQB

What Matters? by Tom Simpson • PoolClinics.com Contributing Writer

et’s look at some of the vital qualities of better players. What does it take to get better? Beyond knowledge, technique, and experience, what matters? What might you change or improve that will raise your game or at least raise your enjoyment of the game?

Intention: To me, this is the number one ingredient in getting better at pool (or anything). You have to want to get better, and clearly intend it to happen. The more clear your intention, the more clear your results. Expect to improve and to play well. Plan for it. Doubt is the enemy.

Improvement in pool can come from deepening knowledge of ball behavior, pattern play, position play, and strategy. Great pool players are always learning, always exploring new ideas, always curious. Why did those balls do that? How did that guy make that shot? Why did that world-class player play that safety? If pool isn’t intrinsically interesting to you, why are you doing it?

Tenacity: You have to be willing and eager to tackle a problem and not let go. If you give up easily, you won’t improve. If you don’t believe you can do it, you’re right. I know a player who is a Acceptance: If you are de- “grinder”. Mike never gives up. luding yourself about how well You can have him 99 to 3, but you’d better not let up. He you play and how much you know, you won’t be as open to will make one ball and play safe – whatever it takes for change. When new informahowever long it takes. I introtion appears, you “already know”, so you don’t pay close duced Mike to one of my students, explaining that he is attention. To get better, it the master of never giving up. helps to seek the truth about Mike opened his wallet and where you are, and accept it. If you don’t accept where you fished out an old, frayed scrap of paper. It said, “Never, never, are, you won’t work on the never give up.”. Perseverance right things. Face your flaws. pays. Belief: It’s vital to believe Patience: Pool is an inyou can make the improvements, that you really can get sanely precise game. Better players seek out ever more defrom where you are to where you want to be. If you, in your manding conditions, such as tight pockets, fast cloth, tough heart of hearts, don’t believe competition, gambling. With it, it won’t happen. Believe these types of challenges, and while you achieve. Curiosity: In all sports, arts, the difficulty of pool in and intellectual pursuits, there general, it’s wise to be patient with yourself. You’re going to is always far more to know, understand, and embody than make lots of mistakes, progress in fits & starts, and frequently outsiders would ever suspect. PQB 34 August/September

confidence were once scary and doubtful. This is our growth process. Fear tells us there is someAnger: We’ve all seen thing afoot that is a bit players who get so mad at outside of our comfort zone. themselves that it’s no fun to Courage is our personal willplay with them. Their anger can put everyone else on edge, ingness to stand up and face our fears. Courage comes from and may even scare other players. It’s the proverbial bad “feeling the fear and doing it anyway.” Recognize fear, build vibe. Sure, we all have occacourage. This process never sion to be very disappointed ends. with our results at the table, or disturbed by something our Recovery: We all miss. A opponent is doing. We all get lot. It’s embarrassing. It’s “robbed” by imperfect table conditions or “no love” leaves. costly. It’s frustrating. But that’s the nature of our sport. Let it go, let it go. Anger Like golf, pool is a game of recreates tension in our bodies. And tension, of course, inter- covery. We often are out of line, on the wrong side of the feres with the beautiful fluid ball, too far away, etc. We are motion we need to play well. constantly trying to recover When you have a flash of and get closer to perfection. It anger, breathe, smile, take a helps to understand that, at bathroom break, loosen up. Get past it before you shoot. If every level, this is the case. The pros are working to you have to shoot and you’re angry, try to use the energy of recover also, but their errors are typically much smaller. the anger to sharpen your Accept that it’s about recovfocus and intent. ery. Think before you shoot. Fear & Courage: I see fear Confidence: When we put and courage as stimulation for it all together, confidence is growth. We all have fear. We the state of mind we’re after. may not see it as fear if we’re Confidence arises when we’ve not quaking in the fetal position, but fear has many levels. been honest with ourselves, done the work, have clear We may have fear when intent, pay full attention, and shooting the money ball, have the calm determination when playing a better player, to fully engage in the game. when faced with a shot we frePlaying with confidence leads quently miss. A productive approach to dealing with fear to real enjoyment of the game. is to embrace it, to see it as an Muster your confidence. opportunity for growth. As we You’re a player. See difficult shots as opportunities for grow in our game, the things we now face with courage and greatness. have days when you’re just not performing like you know you can. Don’t beat yourself up so much. It doesn’t help.

Wes Burden Billiard Table Service & Cue Work Commerical & Residential Tables Gabriel & Diamond Factory Authorized Mechanic Tampa Florida

Wes Burden Cell â&#x20AC;˘ (813) 416-2255

Service Directory Place Your Business Card Ad in the Billiard Industry Service Directory call (901)756-2594 for details and rates. August/September 39 PQB

Places to Play Across the U.S.A. Receive 20 issues of PQB’s National Pool & 3-Cushion News, and your listing in Places to Play for $95/year. Call us at (901)756-2594. CALIFORNIA BURBANK • Burbank's Elks Lodge #1497 818 848-5508 2232 N. Hollywood Way,5 Verhovens, 1 snooker 1 Pool table

MAYOOD • Eight Ball Billiards 323-562-9092 5250 S. Atlantic Blvd 14 Billiard tables (Verhovens) 21 Gold Crown pool tablesFull Restaurant, Dominos, 5 TV’s

MILPITAS • Edgie's Billiards. 408 942-9500 235. S.Milpitas Bvld. 6 Chevilliottes, 23Brunswicks, 1 Snooker

SACRAMENTO Hard Times Billiards 916 332-8793 5536 Garfield Ave 33-Pool Tables 6 Dart boards, 2 Fooseball 8 TV,s, Videos, Ltd food

SAN DIEGO • College Billiards 5303 El Cajon Blvd 619 582-4550 6–Verhoeven Billiard tables,13 Pool Tables, 1Snooker 6x1,Beer & Wine full Restaurant

CONNeCtICut MANCHESTER • World Championship Billiard 860-647-1711 171 G. Spencer St 15-9’Gold Crowns, 2- 5x10 Billiard tables Beer & Wine, Snacks

FLORIDA ATAMONTE SPRINGS Trick Shots. 407 869-5118• 280 E. Hwy 434 4-9' Proline, 10-8Proline, Darts, Videos, Big Screen Full Bar & Food,Pro Shop

CAPE CORAL Diamond Billiards Sports Bar 239 573-7665 1242 Pine Island Rd 21 Diamond tables Full Liquor & Food, 22Flat TV’s

Old Winter Garden Rd 16- 8' Black Crowns, Huge Screen, Darts, Full Bar/Food-Pro Shop

Trick Shots

407 292-9840 5860 N. Orange Blossom Trail FORT PIERCE 2- 9' pool tables, 9 -8' • Ultimate Billiards Pool tables TV's, Darts, Big Screen, 4112 Okeechobee Rd Full Bar & Food-Pro 1-Gabriel 3-cushion table 11 – 9’ Diamonds,9 Shop – 9’ Gold Crowns, 1 – 6 x 12 Snooker 4 - bar dia- Trick Shots monds, 2 - valleys,Beer 407 737-6606 & wine , Sandwiches 11351 Lake Underhill HIALEAH Two 9’ Brunswicks in VIP area Room 7 Dart • New Wave Boards, Full Bar, Deli Billiards # 2 Food Big Screen & 174410 W 16 Ave # G28 TV’s, 8,000 Sq ft &Patio 305-557-4222 6 - 3-Cushion heated Wilhelminas,29-9’ Pool tables,Beer & Wine / Kitchen

MIAMI • Doral Billiards Sports Bar 7800 NW 25th St #1 305-592-8486 6-3-cushion Chevillotte tables, 17-Pool tables, Beer, Wine & Food,14 Flat TV’s

• New Wave Billiards 305 220-4790 1403 S.W. 107 Ave 6-3-Cushion tables – Wilterminas, 3-9’ pool tables, Full Bar/ltd menu

NORTH TAMPA Strokers Tampa 813 814-2277 11236 W. Hillsborough 23 - 9’ Tables, 10 – Dart Boards, HD Flat Screens,Full Bar/Food

PALM HARBOR Strokers Billiards, 727-786-6683• 30901 US 19 N, 14- 4 1/2X9 Tables 8Dart boards, 5 Big screens Full bar & big menu

ORLANDO Trick Shots 407 298-5112

PQB 40 August/September

STUART • Amy’s Billiards

772 232-9966 1600 NW Federal Hwy 8- 9 –OLHAUSEN, 19- BRUNSWICK, 4-Bar tables, 1-Gabriel 3Cushion heated Beer & Wine amysbilliards.com

SOUTH DAYTONA • Uncle Waldo's Billiards. 386 760-7006 2454 S. Nova Rd. 10-8' tables, 5-9' foot, 2 bar tables, 1-Brunswick Billiard table, 1-snooker table, Darts, Hockey, fooseball, Beer & wine, snacks

WILTON Corner Pockets 518 E. Oakland Park Blvd 954 566-3556 3-Verhovens, 7-Gold Crowns, Big Screen TV

WINTER PARK Trick Shots 407 671-7797 7644 University Blvd. 4-9' pool tables, 12-8' tables, Darts, Full Bar & Food Pro Shop on premises

Room Owners Sign Up Now Increase your customer base 3 Cushion available at rooms with a “•” www.professorqball.com

GeORGIA DULUTH • The Pool Room

EAST MOLINE KeNtuCKY Lesure Time Billiards PADUCAH &Sports Bar Side Pocket

770-418-9086 3550 Mall Blvd 23 pool tables,1 6x12 Snooker, 1 billiard table heated , Full bar & restaurant steel & soft tip darts

309 752-9559 845 Ave of the City 5-9 foot pool tables,16Bar tables, 2 sports bars, 11 Dart boards Full Kitchen

LAGRANE Chaulk It Up 1872 Vernon Rd 706-882-9798 4 - 4 1/2X9 Diamonds, 9 – 3 1/2x7 Diamonds, Videos, Full Kitchen

SAVANNAH Southside Billiards 13051 Abercorn St 912-925-5398 8-8 Foot, 9-9’tables,big screen TV, 2-7’Diamonds,1-5x10 Snooker 3 Dart boards, Full bar and food

WINDER Murphy’s Brass Rail 243 North Broad St. 678 963-0794 7 - 9’ Pool tables,Darts, Golden Tee & Videos, 4-Big screens, Full Bar & Kitchen

ILLINOIS DES PLAINES • Chris ll 847 299-8801• 1128 Lee St 2-Kim Steel billiard tables,19-9 foot tables, 3 bar tables, Restaurant & 5 TV's

DOWNERS GROVE • The Green Room 630-960-1111 224 W. Ogden Avenue 16 9’ Kim-Steel Pool Tables, 2 10’ KimSteel/Sam Billiards Billiard Tables,Open Noon-3AM Sun-Thurs Noon-4AM Fri-Sat

GALESBURG Billiards On Main 309-342-7665 156 East Main St. 8 Gold Crowns , 6 Bar tables, 2 Dart boards, Full bar/ Restaurant

RIVERGROVE • Cue Phoria Billiards 708 452-9105 8917 W. Grand Ave 22-9’ Diamond ‘Vintage pool tables 3-7’ Diamond Smart tables 1-3-Cushion Gabriel heated, 7-electronic dart games, 22 HD TV’S & 2 Large screens, Full Bar & Food, Proshop/ Repairs

ROCKFORD Rockford Billiards Café 1436 N. Main 815 962-0957 6- 9ft Gold Crowns 11- 7ft Valleys, 2 Dart boards, Full Bar & Food

IOWA CLINTION Legend’s Sports Bar 563 243-4266 2118 Harrison Dr 9-7’ Valley’s 1-9’ Gold Crown,Full Kitchen ,Sports Bar,13-42” TVs, Darts, Video’s

DES MOINES Big Dog Billiards 515-262-6523 2200 E. Euclid Ave 14 - 9 foot Diamonds, 18 – 7 foot Diamonds,1 – 3Cushion 5x10, 4- Fooseball table,3- Big Screens & Full liquor bar

KANSAS OLATHE • Shooters 913-780-5740 810 W. Hwy 56 22- 7ft Valley,10-9ft Gold Crowns,2 – 9ft Diamonds & 4 -7ft ,2- 3Cushion 5x10, Brunswick,Full Bar & Grill

270-443-1159• 301 Murray St 9 & 8 Foot Gold Crowns & 2 Bar Boxes Just

Pool Mister… JUST POOL

LOuISIANA BOSSIER CITY Fast Eddie’s 318 741-0010 1701 Old Minden. Rd. 27 8’ Pool Tables, 2 7’ Pool Tables, 3 9’ Pool Tables, 6 Big ScreensDirect tn sports

LAFAYETTE FAST EDDIE’S 337 237 6577 2431 West Congress 4-41/2x9 , 20 4x8 tables and TV’s

METAIRE Buffalo Billiards 504-279-2137 3624 Airline Dr 13-9’Diamond, 3-Bar tables, Darts,7 TV’s,Full bar, 24 hrs

MARYLAND GLEN BURNIE • Big Daddy’s Billiards,410-760-1332 7954 B &A Blvd. Ste 2-G 8- 9’Diamonds, 3-7’ Diamonds, 7-9’ Gold Crowns, 1-6x12 Snooker, 1` 5x10 3cushion Soren Sogard,Tv’s, ltd. menu

MASS. PEABODY • World Class Billiards & Pub 978 535-7000• Rte 1 South W. 12-Diamond Tables, 4-3Cushion Billiard Tables, Darts,Videos, Snack Bar Beer & Wine,16 TV’s

ST WOBURN Silver Cue Billiard Club 435 Main St 781-933-9771

13 Gold Crown 3 tables ,7 days a week noon-1 am,Weekly Tournaments

SOUTHAVEN Southaven Recreational

WAREHAM The Fan Club

662 342-0230 987 Town & Country 16- Big Tables. 5- Bar Tables,5-TV’s, Darts, Bumper Pool, Food & Beer

508 295-6773 2859 Cranberry Hwy 10-Gold Crowns, 2Dart boards, 1-Big screen, 8-Tv’s, Full Bar D.J. Fri/Sat

MICHIGAN NILES Roundtable Bar 269-683-9738 3024 N. US 31 6 – 7ft Diamonds,Full Bar & Food

WARREN • Hall of Fame Billiards 5775 E.13 Mile RD. 586-939-8880 17-Gold Crown IV 6-Bar Box,1-6X12 & 5X10 Snooker,5-Dart Boards,4 Mega Touch,Golden Tee,Full service Rest. & Bar,Pro Shop on premises, 2heated Verhoven 3 cushion tables

MINNeSOtA MINNEAPOLIS • Minneapolis Billiards Club 1101 Stinson Blvd. N.E. 763-300-6370 2-Verhoven 3-cushion tables,1- 9 ft Diamond , TV snacks, All out of towners play free Full service Rest. & Bar Pro shop on premises

ROSEVILLE Al’s Billiards 1319 Larpenteur Ave 651 646-9508 16 – Gold Crowns 1 – 5x10 Brunswick Anniversary, 1-5x10 Snooker, 1-6x12 Snooker, 2-7’ Bar tables, Darts & Foosball

MISSISSIPPI GRENADA The Sports Center 662-226-1322 893 Springhill Rd 7- Pool tables, 3 Bar tables, Video’s, Beer & Food

MISSOuRI BRANSON Lovings 417-334-9449 4260 Gretna Rd 9 Pool tables 4x, Coffee shop & Café,WI-FI, Video & Game rental

CAPE GIRARDEAU The Billiard Center

10 Gold Crown Pool Tables, 2 Chevillotte Billiard Tables, Full Bar,Online Video Games, Darts

SOMERSWORTH Busters Billiards 603 692-7926 369 Route 108 16- Nine foot pool tables,Beer, Wine, Service pool tables Cue repair on premises

NeW jeRSeY ATLANTIC CITY Atlantic City Billiards

573 335-9955 26 N. Main 21-Valleys, 3-9- foot tables, 1-Snooker, Full bar & Kitchen Darts,Big Screen

609 645-7576 6701 Black Horse Pike Egg Harbor Twp 22 -9’Cold Crowns, 1 Snooker 6x12. 5x10 Carom Verhoven heated, 7-TV’s, Pro shop, Hot Food & Snacks

OVERLAND • Cue & Cushion

BELLEVILLE • Guys & Dolls

314 427-9267 2425 Woodson Rd 3-3 Cushion table 11 – 9 foot pool tables, 1-Snooker, 2-bar tables, Pro shop/ showroom on premises

2- New Gabriels 3cushion billiard tables. 34 – 9 foot pool tables, 6 –Big Screens

POPLAR BLUFF Westwood Billiards

101 Towsley Rd 732 632-9277 18 – 9’ Tables, Card table lounge, PingPong. Pro-shop on premises

2207 S. Westwoo Blvd 573 686-4880 11- Bar tables, 1 – 41/2x9, Darts, Big Screen Tv,Video games.Full Bar and great food

ST CHARLES Side Pocket 636-724-9300 1439 Bass Pro Drive 18-Valley Black Cats,4Gold Crowns,Full Restaruant

ST. PETERS Rada’s Sports Bar 4270 North Service Rd 636 477-8430 14 – Bar tables,1- 9 foot, Full Bar & Kitchen

NH HOOKSETT • Cue & Cushion Billiards 1271 Hooksett Rd 603 623-5330

EDISON Sandcastle Billiards

PARSIPPANY Comet Billiards 973-334-7429 233 Littleton Rd 20 -Gold Crowns 4’s, 1-Snooker, Juke box, TV’s Snack Bar

WAYNE Shooters Family Billiards 2230 Hamburg Tpke 973 248-0800 10- 9 foot Brunswick 1-Bar table, Video games, 4-Screen TV’s, Internet Juke box, Pro shop on premises

NeW YORK BAYSHORE • Doc’s Billiard Emporium 631 665-9783 253 W. Main Street 20-Gold Crowns 1-Gabriel 3-Cushion

heated table, Beer & Wine

BROOKLYN • Gotham City Billiards Club 93 Ave U 718 714-1002 14 Brunswick tables,1 heated billiard table, 10 TV’s inc.large screen HDTV, Finger food, burgers, pizza and large pro shop.

FLUSHING • Carom Cafe 718 358-8585 34-02 Linden Pl 10-5x10 New Verhoven 3-Cushion Billiard tables, 10 4 x 8 carom, 22 Brunswick pool tables,Full Bar & Restaurant

HEMSTEAD Raxx Bar & Grill 516 538-9896 510 West Hempstead 29- 4 1/2 x9 pool tables, 1 dart board, 542’ TV’s, 1-Big Screen, Full Bar & Food

L.I.C. • Master Billiards & Café 718 706-6789 39-01 Queens Blvd 7- Chevilotts 3Cushion 3-SnookerTables, 22-Pool Tables, Food & Beer

NEW YORK CITY Eastside Billiards 212 831-7665 163 E 86 ST 16-9ft Pool tables 1-Coin op Darts, Fooseball, Full Bar with food Internet Juke Box and Lounge

WOODSIDE • Gabriel Billiards 6 New 5x10 Gabriel 3Cushion, Imperator tables, 5-Gold Crowns 9’, Full liquor and food

YORKVILLE • Hippo's 315 768-0218 5160 Commercial Dr. E 12-4 1/2x9 Gabriels, 15x10 3-cushion table, 8-3 1/2 7 Valleys, Beer, Wine, Full menu, 8TV’s

N. CAROLINA FAYETTEVILE King Street Billiards 910-425-7665 128 South King St 20-9’ Tables, 5 Bar Tables, Darts, Full Bar & Kitchen

GOLDSBORO Fast Eddies Sport Bar 1308 Parkway Dr 919 759-0071 13 – 9 Gold Crowns Dart boards, Full Bar & Food

MONROE Burrkats Billiards & Grill 1615 Lynn St 704 226-0948 14-9’ Tables, 6-Bar table,Full liquor & Kitchen, Pro-Shop on premise

ROCKY MOUNT Dot’s Cue Club 252 972-9220 14268 US64 Alt W Hwy 1 - Snooker 5x10 , 12 9 foot Brunswicks, Beer & Food

SANFORD Speakeazy Billiards 919 775-1166 1221 D.North Horner Blvd. 14 - 4 1/2 X 9 Gold Crowns, 1 - 3 1/2 X 7 Valley, Video games & fooseball table, Very unique poolroom with a large billiards memorabila collection.

WILMINGTON Break Time Billiards / Ten Pin Alley 127 S.College Rd. 910 395-6658 29 Pool Table,1Snooker table,1 coin opt, 24 Bowling Lanes 20-tv’s Arcades Videos, 2 Bars & Restaurants

WINSTON SALEM Breaktime Billiards & Sports Bar 336 765-7391 420N Jonestown Rd 15-9 foot Pool tables Darts, 1-big screen, fooseball,Full Bar&menu

Breaktime Billiards & Sports Bar 336 744-9404 5093 University Pkwy 14-Bar Tables, 8-9Pool tables, 1-8 foot table Darts, Game room, Big screen TV

OHIO COLUMBUS • Sportsmens Billiard Club 614-279-5888 3965 Sullivan Ave 2 3-Cushion (Gabriels) 4 9’ Diamonds, 5 8’Diamonds,11 7’ Diamonds, 12 TV’s, Full Bar & Food, Covered patio with 2 outdoor pool tables

PORT CLINTON Rack Attack Billiards Café 21-23 Madison St 419-732-7225 10- Diamond pro am’s Darts, TV’s Full bar and food

OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA CITY • AAA Billiards Supply 405 917-9300 4619 N. West 10th 6- Gold Crowns, 4-Bar tables, 2-5 x 10 Snooker table, 1-3Cushion Billiard table,Pro Shop & Cue & table repair

TULSA Magoo’s 918 663-3364 5002 S. Memorial 19 3 1/2 X 7 tables, 35 4 1/2X9, 1 Snooker Table Beer, Wine and Liquor, Full Restaurant

PueRtO RICO CAROLINA Billiard Palace 787-791-0039 9- Pool Tables, Big Screen & TV’s, Full Bar /food

PENNSYLVANIA BOOTHWYN Rileys Concord Billiards 610 859-8058 3601 Chichester Ave 15 Gold Crowns, Inter-

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Bar Box 8-Ball

Desert Classic Tour

Albrecht takes some Arizona cheese back to Wisconsin

By: Marty Kaczmarowski, APA 7 Contibuting Writer

Wisconsin’s Gene Albrecht came to Arizona to promote his new DVD on how to aim perfectly, and ended up showing everybody exactly how it works by winning the Desert Classic Tour’s bar box 9-Ball event held at Metro Sportz Bar in Phoenix. Despite there being three other bar box tournaments in the area on this same weekend, 33 players opted to shun the events and come out to play the DCT, where the action is the toughest for miles around. Besides Albrecht, there was one other out-of-state sharpshooter in attendance, and that person was Dan Madden from Pennsylvania. Most of the tour’s regular strongmen were on hand including,Pete Lhotka, Brett Huth, and current points leader, Gus Bresino. However, none of those names or reputations had any effect on Albrecht as he proceeded to cut up the competition like a Japanese grill chef. Two of the other surprises of the day were Gus Bresino’s finish out of the money, and Frank Robutz’s 2nd place finish. Honorable mention goes to “Preacher” , who is primarily known as a strong one-pocket player, and who runs Preacher Ronn’s World-Class Monthly One-Pocket Tournament at Kolbe’s in Tempe. The next stop on the DCT will be August 22-23 and will feature One-Pocket on 9-ft. tables at Kolby’s Corner Pocket in Tempe.

reaking out balls with ball-in-hand can often be more predictable and safe by using a stop shot behind a blocking ball. This will leave you an open rack and a painful kick for your opponent.

net, 1 Big Plasma screen, Pizza / Hot Dogs

PHILADELPHIA • Drexeline Billiard Club. 610 259-9144 5100 State Rd L-300 2- New Cheviotte 3cushion tables, 16- 4 1/2x 9 Gold Crowns.4 4x8 G.Crowns Full line of custom cues & accessories, Tournaments, Inst., Sr.citizen rates

David Van Lokeren 401-294-2988610 Ten Rod Road 1-Heated Verhoeven and is opened by appointment only

NORTH PROVIDENCE • Rhode Island Billiards Bar & Bistro

PHOENIXVILLE Classique Billiards

401 232-1331 2020-2026 Smith St 16 -9’ tables, 1 Billiard table,1 Bar table, 2Wide Screens, 20 TV’s Full bar & Food, retail

275 Schuykill Rd 610 935 2939 20 pro tables,11 Gold Crowns

S. CAROLINA GREENVILLE Palace Billiards

RHODe ISLAND PROVIDENCE Snookers 401 351-7665 145 Clifford St 14 - 41/2X9 pool tables,State of the art TV’s,3 Full liquor bars, Live music

NORTH KINGSTOWN

864-234-0428 • 56 Airview Dr 12- 9 foot, Beer, Video’s, Relaxing Atmosphere

teNNeSSee CHATTANOOGA Diamond Billiard Club 423 877-5882 3600 Hixson Pike ste K 8 - Diamond Bar tables,

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2- Diamond 9’,10 TV’s, 2 Golden T, Full Service Rest/ Bar

MEMPHIS HighPocket's 901 761-1583 12-4 1/2 x9 Gold Crowns, 1 Snooker table, 8- Bar Tables, Full menu & beer, 8TV’s, 1 big screen, Videos

Sharpshooters Billiards 901 386-1188 6959 Stage 18 Bar Tables 4-Gold Crowns, Snookers Table, 6 New Dart Boards, T.V’s Jukebox,Video games, food & Beer

• The Rack 901 369-9501 3622 Lamar Ave 12- 9 foot Pro Diamond tables, 1 Gabriel 3Cushion Table, 2 bar tables,Food & Beer, 2 dart boards, 6-TV's.

MURFREESBORO Fat Willies Billiards Sports

615 848-1801 244 River Rock Blvd. 10-Gold Crowns -29’foots, 1 Bar table, Big Screen, Wide selection of wine

NASHVILLE J.O.B Billiards Club. Home of Champions 615 868-4270 931 Gallatin Rd. Madison Square Mall 30 Pool Tables, (18 new smart tables) 18,000Sq. Ft.Full in house pro shop, Pool & Dart Leagues, Amat & Pro Tourn.

teXAS SAN ANTONIO Bradley’s Billiards 7743 Montego St. 210-520-5295 12-8 Ft. Tables Full Bar

Fast Eddie’s 210 520-3325 7616 Culebra Ste #103 20 8’ Pool Tables , 3 9’ Pool Tables, 3 Big Screens & 10 Regular TV’s

SAN LEON Casper’s Billiards 281 559-1400 37 21st St 18- 9ft Brunswicks Full Service Restaurant & Bar Balcony overlooking the Gulf Voted Top 10 Pool Rooms

HOUSTON Fast Eddie’s 713 947-0800 12344 Gulf Freeway 26 8’ Pool Tables , 4 9’ Pool Tables, 5 Big Screens, 15 Reg TV’s

Bogies Billiards 281-821-4544 3040 FM 1960 Rd Ste 101 18 4X8 tables, 5-Gold Crowns 9ft 1- 6x12 Snooker kitchen Open 24/7 Bogies is the only 24 hour pool room in Houston

VIRGINIA MIDLOTHIAN Diamond Billiards 804 794-8787

Midlothian Turnpike 14 – 9’Pool tables 4 – 42” Flat Screens Full Bar & Restaurant

WINCHESTER Blue Fox Billiards 1160 Millwood Pike 540 665-2114 14- 9ft Diamond Pro Full Bar & Food 3 dart boards Pro shop on premises

WISCONSIN BELOIT • Carom Room 608 365-1811 614 East Grand Ave 23 - Tables, 7- 9’ Gold Crowns, 14 Bar tables, 1 5x10 Snooker, 1-3cushion Verhoven Full bar and food

MILWAUKEE • Wisconsin Billiards 414 344-5666 2715 W. Wisconsin Ave 10- 9’ Gold Crowns, 4 Bar tables, 1-Snooker 5x10, 1-3-cushion Billiard,Full Bar, Pizza, Pro Shop

DPM Universal Pocket and Carom Billiard Systems Article 42 by Darrell Paul Martineau • www.3cushion.us/ WBIA Head Master Instructor

ll of my systems have a standardized {HIT} system. There are twelve {Hits} These hits, meaning how much object ball is hit by the cue ball, are numbered 0 through 12. 12 being the full ball. Numbers 3, 6, and 9 are one quarter, one half and three quarters respectfully. The “Hit“ values never change and can be used for every shot on the table. The system tells you what hit to use. This system segment is called

“ The Ten System Segment “ It will require you to learn Diamond angles and Cue Ball / Object Ball angles, but it is really worth your time. The graph shows that one corner is 10 the middle of the end rail is 9 and the other corner is 8. These are 4 to 5 rail shots starting with the end rail you wish to return to. The graph shows you one of the shot patterns. See article 41 in Professor Q Ball’s last edition for two more patterns. Check the cue ball/object ball angle then subtract that number from the number you wish to hit on the fifth rail. Some examples of Cue Ball / Object angles are straight up and down the table is a 12 angle. Corner to corner to corner is an 8 angle. Just measure through the two balls from rail to rail. Then draw a straight line across the table from the Object ball or Cue Ball and count the diamonds in between. Over the next several months I will show you all the aspects of this system segment. In the graph 42 the Cue ball / Object ball angle is 2. Now subtract that from 10. 10 -2 = 8 divided by 2 = 4. Make a four hit. [ one third of the object ball ] See cuing graph bottom of graph page. The stroke is down and use a short follow through. Use HARD speed. Some good practice on your part and you will be making this type of shot like Dick Jaspers. If you have any questions you can always e-mail me and I will answer you.If you would like articles 1 through 41 with their graphs please send $25.00 for a bound copy shipping is included. Darrell Paul Martineau, 5916 Bar Harbour Ct. Elk Grove CA 95758 For more information on this system and my books, tapes, DVDs or lessons on Pool or Carom Billiards please call me at 916-6844535 or e-mail dpmuniverse @ Comcast . net web page http://www.3cushion.us/

www.professorqball.com

August/September 43 PQB

PQB 44 August/September

August/September 45 PQB

Tournament News from Rooms Around the U.S.A. League Directors • Email results/pictures to paul@professorqbal.com Submissions become the property of Professor-Q-Ball National Pool & 3-Cushion News

Mike Gasper Wins Tri-State Tour by John Leyman Contributed Story

he twelveth annual Tri-State Tour Invitational took place July 11 - 12, at Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ bringing together highly skilled amateurs hoping to sharpen their game en route to the pro circuit and ambitious upstarts looking to advance in class. The weekend was a huge success with 14 A & A+ Players, 32 B & B+ Players, 32 C & C+ Players and 14 D & D+ Players showing up to play in their respective classes. Comet Billiards owner Bill Haley along with the staff were gracious hosts and provided a professional and engaging atmosphere. Their generosity and support is without equal. The room donated shirts to the event along with their room and all the table time. Not enough positive and complimentary things can be said about Bill or his establishment. As each day began, organizers John Leyman, Todd Fleitman and Bill Focaccia congratulated the players on reaching the top of their classes for the season and handed out awards to the top players of the year in each class. The Tri-State Tour added $4000 in cash prizes and the sponsors Viking Cues, Fury Cues, Stealth Cues, Sterling Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Wild Eyes Creations, Pool Tees.com, Jim Murnak Custom Cue Cases, Billiards

PQB 46 August/September

Digest, Pool & Billiards, Inside Pool, Professor-Q-Ball’s News, Blue Book Publications, Stroke, Human Kinetic, Amsterdam Billiards and Romer’s Trophies went out of their way to provide the event with some great equipment and prizes. All of the sponsors are owed a debt a gratitude for their dedication to the game and the players, their efforts and generosity are what made the event so special and such a great success. The awards went to the top 3 players in each class and to the Most Improved Players of the Year. The top players of the year in the their respective classes were Daniel Cintron, Gary Murgia, Tony Eglesias, George Osipovitch, Dave Fitzpatrick and Amy Triolo. The top female player of the year was awarded to Rhio Anne Flores. This year a stand out most improved player of the year could not be identified and so the 3 top contenders, Daniel Cintron, Rhio Anne Flores and Ben Sadowski were all awarded Most Improved Player awards. The Pro/Open class was won by Mika Immonen. (for a full list of winners for all the classes please see the web site www.thetristatetour.com). The tour each year gives out an award to a player we think exemplifies what is good about the sport and this year’s Sportsman of the Year award went to Dave Fitzpatrick.

Mike Gasper defeated Mike Poisler to claim Title

Sportsman of the Year Award went to Dave Fitzpatrick

Daniel Cintron, Rhio Anne Flores and Ben Sadowski Most Improved Players