Rackem Magazine January Issue 2010 by Rackem Magazine

2 Rackem Magazine - January 2010

What’s Inside www.RackemMag.com

Cover Photo Don “Cheese” Akerlow

DEADLINE: 30th of each Month CALL IF LATE

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Rackem Staff PUBLISHER/EDITOR Don “Cheese” Akerlow

MARKETING DIRECTOR Mary Akerlow

LAYOUTS & DESIGN Wendy Swenson Sunshine Ross Mary Akerlow Don Akerlow

DISTRIBUTION Sheila Papke

About Rackem

Rackem is a monthly publication, dedicated to the advancement of the sport of pool and to promoting enthusiasm and encouragement among the players at all levels, regardless of their league affiliation, in addition to recognizing those businesses who support them all. Covering the midwest. Look for Rackem by the 10th of each month. The opinions expressed are those of the author or advertiser and do not necessarily reflect the views of Rackem or its staff. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher. © 2010 Rackem

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January 2010 - Rackem Magazine 3

It’s Not A Resolution. It’s A Movement. By Samm Diep, PoolTipJar.com © January 2010

Samm Diep

It’s that time of year again! It’s our chance to turn over a new leaf and start the year with a fresh, clean slate. Blah, blah, blah… Unfortunately, over 90% of New Year’s resolutions are not kept each year. This year will be no different. That’s why I’m not asking you to make a resolution. I’m pleading with you to start a movement. Let’s work together to rebuild our dying pool community, one player at a time, one pool room at a time. Will you please join me?

10 ways to make our billiard world a better place for everyone:

#10)

Have a sense of humor. Miss a shot? Don’t get

pissed off. Laugh it off. Have a better attitude for yourself and your peers. Believe me, if Efren can do it, so can you. No one wants to play with a whiner or a jerk. Work on having a more positive, productive outlook. You’ll be amazed at how it can attract better outcomes. #9) Introduce outside friends to pool. Our sport can only grow if the participation grows. We have the power to influence our friends and neighbors to also enjoy the game. Bring new people to your favorite pool room and make it a positive experience for them. Bonus points for every new friend that gets addicted! #8) Take up writing. If you don’t already have one, start a journal or a blog. Tracak your progress and measure your improvement. What better way to document your development? Blogs are free. You can pick up a small notebook and a pen for under a buck. It’s never too late to start and there’s no excuse not to. #7) Respect your opponent. Done shooting? Get out of the way. Miss position? Oh well, deal with it. The whole world doesn’t need to know where you meant to leave the cue ball. Lose a match? Shake your opponent’s hand and move on. It’s not necessary to tell them how lucky they got. None of that matters. The match is over. Now prepare for your next one. Win a match? Shake hands and go check the board. You don’t need to tell your opponent what they did wrong. I’m sure they already know. Stay in your seat when it’s not your turn and give the same respect that you would expect.

World 9-Ball The World Pool Association is pleased to announce that the World 9-Ball Championship will be conducted in Doha, Qatar from June 25 until July 5, 2010. Qualifiers for this event will be held in Doha from June 25 until June 27 and the main event will be conducted from June 28 until a champion is crowned on July 5. The prize fund for this initial appearance and in 2011 in Qatar is $250,000 and will increase to $300,000 for both 2012 and 2013. More details will be forthcoming shortly but the WPA wishes to take this opportunity to thank the organizers in Qatar who have worked so diligently to make this event a reality and it is their efforts who have made this possible.

4 Rackem Magazine - January 2010

#6)

Share your knowledge. Don’t keep it to yourself. If you learned something that worked for you, pass it on. You don’t need to be “that guy” that goes around telling everybody what they should do, but tell a story about how a change helped you improve. It may work for your friends too. #5) Take better care of the equipment. The next time you’re at the pool hall, set the chalk blue side up, don’t set food or drinks (or cigarettes in some towns) on the table, don’t sit on the pool table, do not shoot object balls with your cue (only the cue ball), treat the equipment as if it were your own. Room owners are reluctant to spend money maintaining equipment because they think pool players can’t respect it. Let’s show them we can. Be aware of your actions and don’t be afraid to remind others to do the same. #4) Pay it forward. I don’t care how cliché this phrase gets. I enjoyed the movie and I love the concept. Be a better person and be kind to others, not because you expect something in return but because we want to make the world a more pleasant place to live. Let’s start with our own pool world. #3) Spend money. Do your part to help replenish our struggling billiard economy. Support your local pool room. Practice for hours. Eat lunch there. Buy a drink or two. Tip your server. Find ways to cut corners without cutting out pool. #2) Improve your pool game. If you can’t afford to take a pool lesson, buy a book, borrow a video, surf the net. Billiard resources are becoming more widely available each and every day. There is absolutely no excuse for anyone to not be able to learn more and improve if they really want to. That’s the key, you must want it. Feel free to contact me personally if you need help locating free or close-to-free pool tips. #1) Remember why we’re here. Last, and definitely not least, we’re playing this game because we love it. Don’t ever let that slip your mind. Appreciate every single opportunity we have at the table. Make it a pleasant experience for you and for those around you. Have fun! If you enjoyed this article, take it with you and share it with at least one other person. Let’s start a movement! Let’s work together to improve our pool community!

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BRYANT CROWNED TOUR CHAMPION Bogies Billiards & Games played host to the Lone Star Billiards Tour Championships on December 12th-13th, 2009 and wrapped up a very successful first year for the not- so- fledgling Tour. A whopping 75 players came from all over Texas to compete for almost 9k in tournament money along with a free entry into the Derby City 9-Ball Event and TWO qualifier spots for next year’s first stop on the Predator World 10-Ball Tour in January. Resident Tour favorites Sylver Ochoa, Raul Escobedo, Charlie Bryant, Nick Hood, Dennis Strickland, James Davis Jr., and Andy Jethwa showed up in full force but it turned out to be two “unusual” suspects playing for the hot seat match on Sunday. After a grueling day of match play on Saturday, players such as Viet Do (Asst. TD), Mike Alonzo and Jason Bacon found themselves among those on the final eight winner’s side and in the money! After one round the final four was produced: Ochoa vs. Jethwa and Alonzo vs. Bacon. Earlier, Jethwa plowed through Bryant 9-4 and then steam rolled Ochoa 9-1 to reach

HILLBILLY, KYU YI, Kim White, ANDY JETHWA

Mike Alonzo who previously sent James Davis Jr. & Aaron Springs to the one-loss side. Two players who hadn’t seen the hot seat all year finally had their chance. Alonzo vs. Jethwa was a real nail biter, but Jethwa pulled through 9-7. On the west side of the chart, Davis Jr. was fighting his way back as well as Bryant. The final four on the one loss side pitted Bryant vs. Davis Jr. and Springs vs. Raul

Bowman Takes Billiards on Main

The eighteenth stop on the 2009-2010 Lucasi Hybrid All American Tour (produced by the American CueSports Alliance – ACS) stopped off in Galesburg, IL on Saturday, December 5. The $500 added event featured a full 32-player field in a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot Valley bar boxes. Jesse Bowman qualified for a free 9-Ball singles entry into the 2010 ACS Nationals in Las Vegas – courtesy of the ACS. The ACS wishes to thank sponsors Lucasi Hybrid Cues, Championship Billiard Fabric, Nick Varner Signature Cases, Ozone Billiards, Pool Cue Guru and Billiard Gods Productions for their support. All entries in the Tour are also entered into a drawing in January for a $1,000 Lucasi Hybrid Cue, courtesy of Ozone Billiards. Further information, entry details and schedules are available at www.americancuesports.org.

FINAL RESULTS: 1st $400 2nd $300 3rd $200 4th $150 5-6th $75 7-8th $50

Escobedo. Bryant escaped Davis 7-6 and Ochoa bested Springs 7-1. It was Bryant vs. Ochoa battling it out for a chance at Alonzo. Bryant took out Ochoa 7-1 and overcame Alonzo 7-1 to play for top honors. The scene became a bit more familiar; Hillbilly vs. Jethwa. It was a great battle of skill, but in the end, Bryant closed out both sets by scores of 9-6 and 7-4. Congratulations to Andy Jethwa for his best finish to date. Twelve women came out to play in the $350 added ladies event, thanks to our sponsor for that event, Mr. James Barnett. Top Tour favorites Kyu Yi, Terry Petrosino, Courtney Peters, and Yvette Reyes all finished in the top four respectively, and earned $275, $175, $90 and $50 for their efforts. Well done ladies!!! For his exceptional play throughout the year and at our final event, Charlie Bryant takes home Top Points Honors along with a Delta-13 Rack and a Delta-13

Elite. He also received a $100 bonus along with the other top 3 point leaders; Sylver Ochoa, Dennis Strickland & Lanny Herrin. Charlie also received the Derby City 9-Ball Entry along with one qualifier spot to the Predator World Tour Stop in January. Raffle winners include Mike Payne who won the fabulous AR6 Poison Cue and Jeff Gardner who took home a beautiful Delta 13 Rack. Honorable mentions go out to players Blain Barcus, TJ Ortiz, and Jim Henry for their increasingly good finishes throughout the year. The Lone Star Tour would like to extend its deepest thanks to our sponsors; Official Cue, Poison Cues & Official Rack, the Delta-13 Rack. The Billiard Factory graciously donated $1000 in product for the PREDATOR 10-BALL WORLD TOUR qualifier spots and Diamond Tables’ own Greg Sullivan offered up a spot in the Derby City Classic! Our 2009 host rooms were spectacular and we send “Big Love” out to “Big Truck” aka Ray Hansen, President of Cue & A Promotions, who broadcasted our tour for the world to see! Our resident referee Bob McFerren called every shot with accuracy and Eugene Lee, our wonderful Website Host at www. lonestarbilliardstour.com gave us a great internet presence. Lastly, Special Thanks to Carl Miller for his behind the scenes work on our tour. We love you Carl! Our next stop is January 16th17th, 2010 at Bobby Rone’s “ Q Stix Billiards” on FM 1960 East in Houston, Texas. It will be our first 10-Ball Event! Happy Holidays, God Bless You, and God Bless Texas.

Jesse Bowman (E. Moline, IL) Bob Nodine (Streator, IL) Ryan Murphy (Burlington, IA) Randy Tenley (Galesburg, IL) Brad Simpson (Galesburg, IL) Rich Bideaux (Moline, IL) Jon Kucharo (Bettendorf, IA) Scott Laird (Galesburg, IL) January 2010 - Rackem Magazine 5

AMERICA RECLAIMS MOSCONI CUP Story and photos courtesy of: matchroom.com

TEAM USA have won the PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup outright for the first time since By Staff. 2005 as they took the required two points on Sunday to defeat defending champions Europe by a four point margin. A win for Dennis Hatch, who took ‘Most Valuable Player’ honours as the winning team’s biggest point scorer, took the team to the hill and then Shane Van Boening snatched the trophy clincher as he defeated Ralf Souquet. It was a proud moment for American captain Nick Varner after last year’s disastrous trip to Malta; “This has been the best five days of my life and they all just played so well and I’m so proud of them,” he said. “I feel really good and I think I’m going to be like Dennis and probably start crying. The whole team - Dennis, Johnny, Corey, Oscar and Shane - have played so well and I am so happy.” Making his Mosconi Cup debut, Buffalobased Hatch was the star of the show throughout as his ebullient presence from start to finish as well as his outstanding play, drove his side on. Clutching his glass MVP Award, a tearful Hatch said, “I can’t explain how I feel; this is the best moment of my life. “I want to thank all the fans for being here and if it was not for those guys we wouldn’t have won. It’s the best feeling I’ve ever had and this team is just amazing. “Nothing can compare to this. I’m already thinking about the Turning Stone Classic which I have to play in three days but I won’t care if I win or lose because it won’t be as good as this. How can it compare to this?” he added. For Europe it was a tough defeat after two consecutive victories; "We came here very motivated but from day one we felt we were swimming upstream,” said Alex Lely. “Today we got going but hats off the Americans, they played really well. Oscar and Dennis played really strong and the old schoolers did well and they deserved it. "But I'm proud of my team. We've been swimming upstream and we had to fight for it and it didn't happen for us. But hanging around these guys is great and a lot of fun and we will be back next year in Europe." Trailing 9-5 at the start of the day, Europe needed the biggest comeback in Mosconi Cup history to retain the trophy and Ralf Souquet was the reliable choice for skipper Alex Lely and he delivered a solid performance to defeat Shane Van Boening by 6-3. Van Boening hasn’t been at the top of his game at this year’s event and Souquet had a 6 Rackem Magazine - January 2010

Hatch MVP in Storming Sunday

little bit too much in all departments. He ended the match with a confident 3/9 combination to put his side within three of the Americans. "It was very important for us to win. We were down 9-5 and with the US only two games away from victory so we went into today as playing a regular tournament,” said Souquet. “Even though it's still a double elimination where we can lose once, we want to win every match. "The first one was very important and I'm really looking forward to every match. But we have to take it one step at a time and that was only the first step." People’s Champion Dennis Hatch, who was selected by a fan vote, took America to the brink of Mosconi Cup glory as he pounded Niels Feijen 6-0 to take the score 10-6. As ever, Hatch was fired up as he strode into the arena and his aggressive play was too much for the Dutchman who suffered the first whitewash of the competition and his second

reverse to the Hatchetman in two days. "I've lived for this moment all my life. It's all about enjoying it while you're there, having fun and living the moment,” said Hatch. "No words can say how proud I am to win for my fans, my family and myself. It's just the best environment ever and the best player format I've seen in my life and I'm loving it. "We couldn't have a better story for me to beat Niels 6-0 and then Johnny to beat Thorsten to win the cup." It was not to be though as Thorsten Hohmann played a blinder as he upset Archer 6-1 to keep the Euro comeback dream alive. The American, who was undefeated up to this point, succumbed to Hohmann’s doggedness as he played to keep his team in the competition. That left it to Shane Van Boening to win his first Mosconi Cup in three attempts, as he reversed his earlier defeat to Ralf Souquet with a historic 6-2 victory. ‘This is the third year I have been in it and I’ve lost the last two so there was no way I wanted to lose again,” said Van Boening. “Before that match with Ralf started I was thinking ‘how the hell did he beat me?’ so I said to a friend that he is never going to beat me again. “He had my number in the first match and I couldn’t let him beat me again so I just put him away. I played perfectly in that match and didn’t make a single mistake.” Making a record-equalling 13th appearance in the competition, veteran Johnny Archer put the disappointments of ’08 behind him, and delivered a series of outstanding performances to help his team over the line. “It’s easy to say we’ve had a good time when you’ve won but the whole experience has been fantastic,” said Archer. “Losing the last two years wasn’t an inspiration but we really wanted to redeem ourselves but I was just so excited to be on the first team without any negativity.” THE SCORES Ralf Souquet 6 – 3 Shane Van Boening Niels Feijen 0 – 6 Dennis Hatch Thorsten Hohmann 6 – 1 Johnny Archer Ralf Souquet 2 – 6 Shane Van Boening Live in its entirety on Sky Sports in the UK, the PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup features two five-man teams representing Europe and the USA doing battle in a series of singles and doubles matches.

Team CSI – American Grand Masters Heads to the Heartland CueSports International (CSI), in partnership with promoter Mark Cantrill, would like to announce that Team CSI – American Grand Masters is heading to the U.S. Midwest for the first leg of the Team CSI Tour. The team is comprised of: BCA Hall of Fame inductee and 5 time U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion Earl “The Pearl” Strickland, 2009 Texas Open winner Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant, 2006 U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion and 2009 Derby City Classic One Pocket winner John “Mr. 400” Schmidt, and 2001 U.S. Open 9-Ball Champion Corey Deuel who has also served on the U.S. Mosconi Cup Team 6 times. Each of the four members of Team CSI still actively compete in both U.S. and international events, thus two members of the team travel together for each leg of the tour. The Midwest Tour, which is scheduled January 8-17, will feature Earl Strickland and John Schmidt. “I have always enjoyed teaching and passing on knowledge in person. I also enjoy meeting new people and so this is going to be a great experience and can’t wait.” said John Schmidt. Strickland and Schmidt will perform a series of exciting exhibitions and hold pool schools throughout Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Nebraska and Iowa. The pool school is 4 hours in length with a maximum of 12 students per school. Each student will have an opportunity for individual instruction with both Strickland and Schmidt addressing the student’s personal needs to progress in their respective games. The total cost to attend the pool school is $200 per student.

What’s Happening

in the Little Wooden Shed

The Midwest Tour schedule dates and locations are:

• Friday, January 8th Open to Public Exhibition: 7:30 pm, The Rack, Livonia, MI • Saturday, January 9th Pool School: 11 am – 4 pm, The Rack, Livonia, MI • Saturday, January 9th Exhibition: The University of Michigan Student Union, Ann Arbor, MI • Sunday, January 10th Pool School: 1 pm – 5 pm, Big Shot Billiards, Muncie, IN • Sunday, January 10th Open to Public Exhibition: 7:30 pm, Big Shot Billiards, Muncie, IN • Tuesday, January 12th Private Exhibition: 7:30 pm, Springfield, IL • Wednesday, January 13th Private Pool School: 4 pm – 8 pm, Springfield, IL • Thursday, January 14th Pool School: 4 pm – 8 pm, Big Dog’s Billiards, Des Moines, IA • Friday, January 15th Exhibition: 7:30 pm, Big Dog’s Billiards, Des Moines, IA • Saturday, January 16th Exhibition: 7:30 pm, Heidelberg’s, Lincoln, NE • Sunday, January 17th Pool School: 11 am – 3 pm, Heidelberg’s, Lincoln, NE

Strickland started working with Cantrill in 2008 with the Legends and Champions Tour. With Cantrill’s partnership with CSI, as Team CSI – American Grand Master’s will be able to expand the team and offer more opportunity to bring these accomplished professionals to area pool communities to broaden the sport and help expand the skills of local pool enthusiasts. “I am really excited that we are heading to the Midwest, the people are always welcoming and friendly whenever I have been there,” said Strickland. For information about Team CSI visit the CSI website at www.playcsipool. com. For more information about the tour, to schedule an exhibition or pool school in your area, and to register to attend a pool school contact Mark Cantrill at (480) 612-7732 or email him at markc@playcsipool.com In addition to CSI, Team CSI – American Grand Masters 2010 Midwest Tour is sponsored by, Mueller Recreational Products, Cornhuskers Billiards, Sterling Gaming, and Nielsen’s Billiards.

In 2009, we sponsored quite a few live streams. Our goal is to help live streams, such as OTBnTV or ontherailtv.com to remain free to the viewers. We want everyone to be able to watch pool tournaments on live stream, because not everyone can be there to watch their son, brother, friend, etc.. We were honored to be sponsors of two major streams, this past year. One was the Olhausen 3 Cushion Open tournament, streamed by Steven Elzinga and the other was the Dr. Cue Classic Artistic Pool Cup III and Search for Cue-Dean-E, streamed by Ray Hansen. This was the very first artistic pool event ever to be streamed and it was a great success! In the Dr. Cue Classic Artistic Pool Cup III, Nick Nikolaidis won first place and Jamey Gray defeated Andy “The Magic Man” Segal to take 2nd place. A Crown Cue was won by Rodney “The Preacher” Fontaine and Jason “The Michigan Kid” Lynch received the title of Cue-Dean-E. We’d like to thank all the other sponsors of live streams. We could not win this battle alone. Remember to support the stream sponsors, so they can continue to keep the streams free for all to view. Watch for our articles in the next couple of issues for inside information about the players we sponsor and where to find them (and us) at the 2010 Super Billiards Expo, in March. Have a safe and happy New Year!

January 2010 - Rackem Magazine 7

This article is the first of a series of posts written in coordination with other pool bloggers on the topic of strategy. Pool stories. I love to hear them. I find the more players I talk to, the more little gems of information fall into my lap. This month, I’d like to highlight small tidbits from four of the best players in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. I struggled to select one great and memorable story that made a major impact on me that elevated my game, so I decided to pass on four small tips gleaned from great players.

COLES PLAYS VARSITY

(L-R) Jeff Carter (3rd), Dave Coles Jr. (1st) and John Fields (2nd)

Jimmy Wetch. Jimmy and I were at a major tournament watching a race to eleven between two players. One a legitimate pro and one with loads of talent and the ability to beat anyone, but not as seasoned in the pro circuit. The rookie played hard and happened to get down 7-2. From the bleachers, Jimmy and I could see the player losing steam and not playing with the same determination as the first part of the match. Jimmy said to me, “That’s the worst thing he can do. Now he’s gonna get punished by that guy for a long time.” I asked Jimmy to explain further. The upshot is that by giving up he was letting his opponent gain confidence and knowledge for the next time they drew each other. He would have an edge on that player by knowing that he only had to get halfway to the finish line and his foe would ease up and he could coast in for the win. The trailing player should have fought harder with every turn at the table and made the match a hard fought victory for the other guy no matter what the score was. Showing no give up, sometimes even in an un-winnable situation, the player will have a twinge of respect for showing determination and fighting to the end. That type of reputation might be more useful for the next match up than the alternative.

The seventeenth stop of the 2009-2010 Lucasi Hybrid All American Tour (produced by the American CueSports Alliance – ACS) moved to the Varsity Club in Oshkosh WI. The $1,000 added event featured a 40-player field in a double-elimination 9-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes. By virtue of Scott Kugel being the highest-finishing ACS member in the event, he qualified for a free 9-Ball singles entry into the 2010 ACS Nationals in Las Vegas – courtesy of the ACS. The ACS wishes to thank sponsors Lucasi Hybrid Cues, Championship Billiard Fabric, Nick Varner Signature Cases, Ozone Billiards, Pool Cue Guru and Billiard Gods Productions for their support in donating “Value-In-Kind” product for this and all stops on the Lucasi Hybrid All American Tour. All entries in the Tour are also entered into a drawing in January for a $1,000 Lucasi Hybrid Cue, courtesy of Ozone Billiards. Sponsorship opportunities and tour stop openings are still available for the 2009/2010 All American Tour by contacting the ACS. The Tour stays in Wisconsin on Saturday, December 12, 2009, with the annual $500 added “Weston Cue Club 8-Ball Open” at Dale’s Weston Lanes inWausau, WI (contact Jon Kent at 715-845-4129). Further information, entry details and schedules for the 2009/2010 Lucasi Hybrid All American Tour are available at www.americancuesports.org.

Lee Heuwagon. Years ago, Lee saw the frustration in my eyes after getting bounced out of a tournament earlier than I had hoped. We started to discuss my disappointing performance and he suspected that I was putting too much pressure on myself. It is true that I felt I should have done very well in that particular tournament. I went in with high hopes. My preparation for the tournament was as good as it could have been. I had been practicing and the field was one that I really felt I had a chance to win. Maybe all these factors took me out of my best game because the high bar I’d set was exerting undue pressure. His advice was that when it is time to win, it will happen. He suggested that I focus on playing the great pool I was capable of and that winning would come easier if I relaxed and let it happen. The magical blend of high level play, confidence, and determination is still a complicated equation. Learning from every experience but not beating yourself up about it is a more productive and pleasant way to deal with an early exit from a tournament.

1st $1,500 2nd $1,050 3rd $650 4th $375 5-6th $205 7-8th $50 9-12th $30 13-16th $15

Demetrius Jelatis. Demi is a real student of the game. Every serious player would benefit from watching Accu-Stats matches. Demi has found inspiration in some matches so compelling, he’s able to commentate matches from memory from seeing them so many times. His unusual advice about the DVDs is that you should watch some subpar matches too. Pat Flemming’s company denotes recommended matches in their catalog with an asterisk to help customers select great discs, and they are great. Many of them are semi-finals or finals matches with an incredible level of play. The players who win tournaments are usually on a roll, playing tremendous pool and shooing in the high 900’s according to the Accu-Stats rating system. Demi says that continued on page 17

8 Rackem Magazine - January 2010

FINAL RESULTS:

Dave Coles Jr. (Beloit, WI) John Fields (Neenah, WI) Jeff Carter (Delavan, WI) Duncan Kaufman (Sauk City, WI) Tom McCluskey (Chicago, IL) Bobby Hunter (Chicago, IL) Jordan Jenquin (Green Bay, WI) Chad Elston (Beloit, WI) Dave Leverenz (Wisconsin) Jason Blom (Kaukauna, WI) Kendal Koch (Oshkosh, WI) Carlos McGill (Beloit, WI) John Pfeffer (Oshkosh, WI) Jeremy West (Oshkosh, WI) Gene Albrecht (Chippewa Falls, WI) Billy Lassee (Antigo, WI)

Scott Kugel (Mequon, WI)

Free Singles entry to ACS Nationals

January 2010 - Rackem Magazine 9

Northern Lights Shootout l a nu n

11th A

Felix Beardy

10 Rackem Magazine - January 2010

By: Don “Cheese” Akerlow We started off December 8th heading for Rugby, North Dakota. It was minus 18 when we left, by the time we got to the Bozeman Pass, some 40 miles down the road, it was minus 25. We stayed in Glendive, Montana and headed out the next day at 21 below zero. Got into Rugby around 4:30 pm Central time. The first thing I noticed were signs announcing the tournament all along the highway and in town. The local weekly newspaper had done a story about the Northern Lights Shootout the Saturday before. The Chamber of Commerce, Sports Boosters and local cue maker extraordinaire Jim Stadum of Samsara Cues and pretty much the whole town got together and put on this tournament of the Lights from the North. We set up our OTBnTV booth, brought in our computer, monitors, boom, cameras and with only one thing left to do that would start the following day, “ACTION”. The Rugby Armory was to host the 20 Valley 7’ pool tables for the 11th year. It was a pleasure to meet everyone that we have talked to on the phone for years. The players started coming in on Thursday and play was to start with the International Cup and the game was 9 Ball. OTBnTV filmed all the matches that night and finished up around 12:30 am. It was decided that we would Live Stream the finals just before the start of the 8 Ball competition on Friday in Prime Time with Marc Oelslager and Tony Weert in the finals (http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2963548) marked NLS-11A. Saturday’s Live Streaming was also to be in Prime Time starting at 6 pm. The Live Streaming would prove to be a record setting number of viewers with over 74,000 unique viewers watching the Northern Lights Shootout in Prime Time. This was in large part due to Ustream featuring OTBnTV’s Live Stream on it’s home page and we maintained viewers consistently throughout the Prime Time event. Throughout the tournament we were treated to food and drink that was made available by the sponsors. I even experienced an unusual combination that I had never seen before, “uffda”, a perennial favorite. Simply put this was “taco in a bag”, tortilla chips in a bag that was cut open lengthwise on one side. You could either crush the chips or leave them whole, taco meat, lettuce and cheese. You could add onions, black olives, pretty much anything you would put on a taco. It was excellent! Sunday the Live Streaming started at noon. We had matches from 7th place, 5th place, as well as 4th, 3rd and the Championship match. We also have a Northern Lights Video Magazine Page that will have all of the 25 matches that we streamed. Here is the link http://www.otbntv.com/NLS12-09.html or you can watch all the matches labeled NLS-1 through NLS-27 directly on our showpage on Ustream at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/otbntv-live We at OTBnTV would like to thank the Northern Lights Shootout, Rugby Chamber, Northern Lights Inn and all the players and fans that helped to make this Live Streaming event the best ever! We would also like to thank our sponsors: Lucasi Hybrid, Delta-13, Crown Cues, Rackem Magazine and On The Break News.

from Rugby, North Dakota We look forward to seeing everyone next year! Story by Matt Mullally, Pierce County Tribune Tournament field down ‘Shootout’ organizers go back to one men’s draw due to fewer players Organizers with the Northern Lights Shootout were planning to feature two men’s divisions this year for the 11th annual eight-ball tournament in Rugby, but before the first break elected to go back to one division due to a smaller-than-anticipated field. “We didn’t have as many master-level players that we normally get and we didn’t have as many open-level players as we were hoping to attract,’ said Mark Hamilton, tournament organizers. So two divisions went back to one, however, a provision was put in place. Whenever a master-level player faced an amateur in a match, the master player had to spot the amateur a one-game lead in the race to six. All totaled, there were 74 players in the men’s draw which was just three less players than last year, Hamilton pointed out. However, the field didn’t feature as many high-end players. Hamilton suspects the smaller top prize payout because of the planned two divisions likely kept some from coming to compete. The plan next year is to go back to an open division and increase the payout. The women’s draw had just nine players, which was also disappointing. “It’s not just our tournament, but other larger ones are struggling to get a lot of women to play,’ Hamilton said. “For our tournament I don’t know if being this close to Christmas is a factor in keeping some from coming.” However, of the nine women who did compete there were a few newcomers. One came from as far as Aberdeen, S.D. Live webcast This tournament also was shown via webcast by “OTBnTV” - a Montana firm. Over 135,000 Internet hits went to the site to watch the tournament live. “That was a nice addition and they did a good job of also visiting with our sponsors on their broadcast as well as showing the matches,’ Hamilton said. “We’re hoping to work something out to get them to come back next year.” The Geographical Center Chamber of Commerce coordinated the tournament and itwas run with volunteers. Hamilton said the support of the businesses and organizations is what makes it possible for the community to host this tournament.

Rachel Wentz

Men’s tourney This year’s champion was again from north of the border. Felix Beardy of Winnipeg, MB became the seventh Canadian to win the title. He had been runner-up on one occasion. Three-time ‘Shootout’ champion Marc Oelslager, of Fargo, won the 9-ball International Cup held on Dec. 10 prior to the start of the eight-ball tournament. It features 16 players from U.S. and Canada. He also placed in the nine-12 range in the men’s division. There was a payout for the top 32. Three area players also finished in the top 32. Travis Hamilton of Rugby placed in the 13-16 range; Layne Opstedal placed in the 17-24 range; and Curt Roerick placed in the 24-32 range. Jeff Claire of Winnipeg won the consolation title. Wentz wins women’s title (Northern Lights continued on page 16)

Inside OTBnTV behind the scenes

January 2010 - Rackem Magazine 11

Midwest 9-Ball at Magooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tulsa, Ok December 3-6, 2009

Joey Gray, Michelle McDermott, Brian Jones

ONE-POCKET - 18 PLAYERS - $1000 ADDED 1st $700 Joey Gray, OKC, Ok 2nd $500 Brian Jones, Tulsa, Ok 3rd $340 Gabe Owen, Tulsa, Ok 4th $180 Chip Compton, OKC, Ok Hot seat: Gray def Jones 3-2, QF: Jones def Compton 3-0, SF: Jones def Owen 3-0 1st set of finals: Gray def Jones 3-0

Chip Compton, Michelle McDermott, James Baraks

5-6th $200 Joey Gray, OKC, Ok John Gabriel, Talala, Ok 7-8th $150 Chad Vilmont, Clinton, IA 7-8th $150 Steve Rector, Wichita, Ks 9-12th $125 David Weaver, Shawnee, Ok Chris Siefken, Lincoln, Ne Jim Weast, Inola, Ok Daniel Neldner, Catoosa, Ok 13-16th $100 Richard Pierce, Tulsa, Ok Duane Remick, Tulsa, Ok Gabe Owen, Tulsa, Ok David Strawn, Tulsa, Ok Hot seat: Compton def Baraks 9-7, QF Walden def McMinn 9-3, SF Baraks def Walden 9-7 1st set of finals: Baraks def Compton 9-5, 2nd set of finals Compton def Baraks 9-5

Rhonda Pierce, Michelle McDermott, Julia Gabriel

LADIES: 12 PLAYERS - $350 ADDED 1st $300 Rhonda Pierce, Tulsa, Ok 2nd $200 Julia Gabriel, St. Charles, Mo 3rd $150 Ramona Biddle, Albuquerque, NM Hot seat: Gabriel def Pierce 7-5, QF: Biddle def Michelle McDermott 7-5, SF: Pierce def Biddle 7-5 1st set of finals: Pierce def Gabriel 7-3, 2nd set of finals Pierce def Gabriel 7-3 OPEN: 70 PLAYERS - $2150 ADDED 1st $1200 Chip Compton, OKC, Ok 2nd $900 James Baraks, Rock Island, IL 3rd $550 James Walden, OKC, Ok 4th $350 Shane McMinn, Tulsa, Ok Chip Compton and Rhonda Pierce

12 Rackem Magazine - January 2010

Owning the Shot

“I’ve recently hit a wall as far as improving my game. Do you have any advice on how to take my game to the next level (i.e.: books, drills) and what’s your opinion on private lessons?”

By: Bob Jewett

San Francisco Billiard Academy www.sfbilliards.com Bob Jewett

Do you ever come up against a shot which is easy enough to make but you have no feel for how you’re going to get position? When that happens to you, it’s a great clue as to what you have to practice. Here’s an example. The 15 ball is one diamond from the side cushion and one diamond down the table from the Get to each of the object side pocket.The cue ball balls after making the 15. is on a line such that your cue stick passes over There are two ways to get the second diamond on to the 5, 6 and 7. the other side cushion as shown. The goal of each shot is to pocket the 15 in the side and take the cue ball to just touch the target ball. How close the cue ball is to the 15 is up to you -- move it farther 7 15 away for more challenge, especially for draw shots. First, try to park 6 the cue ball by the one ball with plain draw. This is 5 about at the limit for this angle of cut into the side, 2 1 3 4 and will be impossible with a heavy bar cue ball or if the cloth is old and sticky. Shot 2 is easier and should be possible under all conditions. On each shot, you should try to get both the speed and direction just right. For the 3 and 4, go one rail off the side cushion. There are two ways to adjust the angle from the cushion -- draw or side spin. If I don’t know the table well, I’ll use a rolling cue ball and adjust the side spin to fix the angle. Draw position will be more affected by how new the cloth is. For shots 5, 6 and 7, you can get there two ways, as shown for the 6 ball. If you go two rails, get the 3 ball out of the way -- it’s not supposed to be a blocker on this drill. You can also get the last three balls with follow and one cushion. The 5 ball will probably need a little right english, while the 7 ball will need left english. Can you take the cue ball to the other side pocket using either one or two rails? I think this is nearly impossible on some tables. Try each position until you leave the cue ball “close enough” to the object ball, which might be to end up within a ball’s diameter or within a hand span. If you want to keep score, consider three tries for each shot as par, so a total of 20 would be good. This is just one example of how to “own” a shot you might stumble over during play. Note any such shots in your own competition and spend some time with them on the practice table. REJ

By Mellissa Little, Ask the Viper

Melissa Little

Everyone’s learning curve is different- but it seems like eventually all players hit some sort of plateau. My advice is to always be a student of the game and to be open-minded on advice. Sometimes you can learn the smallest thing from some random person that helped you immensely. If you can learn something new everyday-your game will elevate quickly. When I was younger a lot of different people helped me with my game. Mostly guys friends in the poolroom, and when people noticed I had some natural talent everyone wanted to put there two-cents in. I am very grateful to EVERYONE that helped me get to where I am today. Eventually, I had a great player come out of retirement to help me get to the next level and the others stepped aside to watch my progress and patiently wait for me to win the big one. Pool is like an investment- I recommend reading books, magazines, player’s blogs, and invest in private lessons from a professional. Take a moment to explore all of your possibilities- if you see a professional that inspires you, and then ask if they offer lessons. Over the years I have given hundreds of lessons and down the road they have come back and said how much I made a difference in their games. When people share information, listen to them. Its up to you to take what they have to offer and use it and its also your choice to throw it away, but give them the respect of listening. You never know, it might a great piece of information that you could use in the future? Most importantly, I can give you all the advice to improve but it is up to you to use that information and transform your own game. Practice everyday that you can and believe me it is a necessity for improvement. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and practice. Practice makes perfect, and preparation brings bliss!! If you have a question for “The Viper” please e-mail them to otbnews@aol.com

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Fri & Sat Pool Tournaments January 2010 - Rackem Magazine 13

KAUFMAN CLIPS HOVICK The twentieth stop of the for a free 9-Ball singles entry 2009-2010 Lucasi Hybri All into the 2010 ACS Nationals American Tour (produced by the in Las Vegas – courtesy of the American CueSports Alliance – ACS. The ACS wishes to thank ACS) was hosted in Wausau, sponsors Lucasi Hybrid Cues, WI, at Weston Cue Club. The Championship Billiard Fabric, $500 added event featured Nick Varner Signature Cases, an 18-player field in a doubleOzone Billiards, Pool Cue Guru elimination 8-ball format on and Billiard Gods Productions for 7-foot Valley bar boxes. Rob their support in donating “ValueHovick (Marshfield, WI) captured In-Kind” product for this and all the hot seat with featured wins stops on the Lucasi Hybrid All over Bill Sorensen (Medford, American Tour. All entries in WI) in the A-side semifinals 5-0 the Tour are also entered into a and Duncan Kaufman (Sauk drawing in January for a $1,000 (L-R) Andy Nikolai (3rd), Rob Hovick (2nd) and Duncan Kaufman (1st) City, WI) 5-3 in the A-side finals. Lucasi Hybrid Cue, courtesy of Kaufman had earlier knocked Ozone Billiards. Sponsorship off Andy Nikolai (Merrill, WI) to make the A-side FINAL RESULTS: opportunities and tour stop openings are still finals. available for the 2009/2010 All American Tour 1st $400 Duncan Kaufman On the B-side Andy Nikolai eliminated Larry by contacting the ACS. (Sauk City, WI) Bezotte (Tigerton, WI) at 5th place on the hill The Tour showcases two stops in Illinois 2nd $260 Rob Hovick (Marshfield, WI) 5-4, and Bill Sorensen tied Bezotte by losing on Saturday, December 19, 2009, with the $160 Andy Nikolai (Merrill, WI) at the hands of John Lewis (Suamico, WI) 5-3 3rd annual $500 added “King of the Pyramid 8-Ball in the same round. Nikolai then ousted Lewis 4th Tournament” at the Pyramid Club in Addison, $100 John Lewis (Suamico, WI) at 4th place by a 5-3 margin, setting up a IL (contact Wally Bogdanski at 630-688-1719); Bill Sorensen (Medford, WI) return match in the B-side finals with Duncan 5-6th $60 and the $500 added “1st Annual Holiday 8-Ball Larry Bezotte (Tigerton, WI) Kaufman. Kaufman escaped a 5-4 scare to end Special” at Ride the Nine inBloomington, IL Andy Nikolai’s event at 3rd place and then had (contact Codi Morrow at 309-261-6790). Further the unenviable task of trying to defeat A-side information, entry details and schedules for the Hovick in two sets – 5-3 and 5-4 – for the title. champion, Rob Hovick for the crown. In the 2009/2010 Lucasi Hybrid All American Tour are By virtue of Andy Nikolai being the highesttourney finals, Kaufman did just that – clipping available at www.americancuesports.org. finishing ACS member in the event, he qualified

14 Rackem Magazine - January 2010

Going Thin, may Give You a WIN! By Bill Smith “Mr3Cushion”, Old School Pool.net

THIS IS THE era of increased aware¬ness of one's thickness around the mid¬dle; and billiards has its fullfigure problems, too, when it comes to hitting too much ball when playing certain shots for position. During the heyday of 3-cushion bil¬liards, in the '30s, '40s and into the '50s, the game tended to be bettersuit¬ed to players who hit the first ball fuller, and stroked the cue ball harder. There were several reasons for that: ivory balls were used, the rail rubber was a natural material, and the all-wool nap cloths of that time had long and short rolls to them. Also, the com¬bined techniques of fuller hit and hard¬er stroke kept the ivory balls from rolling off as much, and allowed for the slower cushions and cloth. But in the last three decades, with the advent of phenolic billiard balls, com¬position rubber, wool/nylon blend non-directional highspeed cloth, and, of course, heated European tables, bil¬liards has become a very different game. It's elevated to a very high-tech, precision game, almost totally deter¬mined by the correct use of proper cue techniques, and, even more important, the correct speed of the cue ball and first-ball contact. In other words, it's not a matter of driving through the first ball anymore; it's a precise, controlled positioning of the first ball by the least amount of speed needed. And one way to accomplish this is to strike the first ball thin. When you do that, the path of that first object ball is much simpler to determine. You can figure your cue ball path easily, too, because when you cut the first ball thin, the cue ball speeds up after contact; you therefore don't require as much force, which in turn leads to increased accuracy. You'll notice a common concept in three of the four examples I've selected: they have at least the first or second ball already in a prime position zone, sim-plifying your task. But even these sim¬ple position opportunities are often overlooked, by players using poor speed. Diagram 1 confronts us with he problem of landing on the scoring ball correctly to take full advantage of our position. You already know that we're striking the first ball thin in all of our examples; but here, we need to score on the third ball short — that is, as far away from the long rail- as we can — so as not to drive it away from the cor¬ner, besides defeating the purpose of leaving the first ball ahead near the long cushion. Use minimum 11 o'clock English; the reasons for that are to control the speed of the cue ball (the more English, the more quickly the ball rebounds off the cushions), and to lessen the risk of

driving the scored-upon ball farther, which added spin will do. Diagram 2 demonstrates a solution somewhat contrary to the first. Here we cut the first ball to the corner, to leave it there, and score again short on the third ball softly. Again, use very little 11 o'clock English, but for a dif¬ferent reason this time: your carom in this shot brings you very close to the corner, as shown. The cue ball devel¬ops more English and speed as a result of contacting those two rails almost simultaneously; keep that in mind when calculating your four examples, the cue ball and first ball to be contact¬ed have been close to one another, five or six inches, so the effect of the cue ball's swerving on the cloth in trying for a thin hit with English hasn't been a factor. In Diagram 3, we find our cue ball 3 to 4 four feet from the first ball, and it has to travel farther to the proper scoring zone than on the previous shots. To help keep the cue ball more on line, a short stroke serves better here — it results in less deflection and adds a little more speed to the first ball, which we need for this shot. Also, use 3 o'clock English to get a pure hit; since the third ball is close to the long rail, try to hit short on it to improve your position for the next shot. Diagram 4 is quite a bit different. It's a five rail position shot with little twist to it: you play six rails, not five, so as not to wind up behind the third ball. The main objective here is to bank the first ball cross table twice while the cue ball, with proper speed, travels to six cushions. Employ a rapid stroke and 2 o'clock English, and remember the element of timing; there's a slight chance of a kiss between rails five and six. Hitting the shot as diagrammed will solve this problem too. Bear in mind that these shots repre¬sent the simplest solutions to position opportunities. The final position of all three balls is fairly easy to visualize, because in most of the examples, the balls aren't traveling that far. But mas¬tery of these techniques should give you the confidence to examine tough situations this way too.

January 2010 - Rackem Magazine 15

Northern Lights Shootout (continued from page 11)

Minot’s Rachel Wentz, formerly of Rugby, has been competing in the Northern Lights Shootout since 2000, and now the 29-year-old can call herself a champion. She dropped her first match in the double elimination preliminary round, but battled to advance to the re-draw. Then, she finished undefeated, claiming the title with a win over Devils Lake’s Joan Jacobs in the finals, 5-4. “Both of us ran the table three times each,’ Wentz said. “Joann competes in the master’s league in Rugby, so she’s a good player.” So is Rachel, whose best finish prior to the title was third a year ago. She didn’t start playing pool until nine years ago. “I played at Opie’s Pool Parlour and the first time I picked up a cue I just loved the sport,’ she said. “It was a way for me to be competitive at sports.” Wentz practices every day to keep improving her game. “I have a pool table in the house,’ she said. Her victory marked the first time a local player has captured a ‘Shootout’ title. Wentz said the ‘Shootout’ is one of the best pool tournaments in the area and the organizers deserve a lot of credit for putting it on as do the local businesses who support it as well. **** Beardy wins elusive ‘Shootout’ title Winnipeg pool player takes $2,000 first prize by Matt Mullally, Pierce County Tribune Winnipeg, Manitoba pool player Felix Beady has many titles to his credit, including winning the 2008 Canadian Eight-ball championship. He can now add another to his growing resume. The 38-year-old captured his first Northern Lights Shootout title on Dec. 13 in Rugby. Beardy has participated in six other times and has reached the semifinals on four other occasions, but he could never quite capture the top prize. However, he would not be denied this time, winning seven matches en

16 Rackem Magazine - January 2010

route to taking home $2,000. The talented field and close proximity to Winnipeg is what has brought him back over the years. Beardy has been playing the game since he was a young boy growing up on the Garden Hill Reserve in northeastern Manitoba. “I lived right next to a pool hall and there wasn’t much to do growing up, so I spent a lot of time at the hall,” Beardy said. “I learned to play on a four by eight snooker table.” He moved to Winnipeg and there concentrated on mastering his game. “There is a lot of good players there and you learn by watching,’ he said. “You’re always a student.” He continues to play in pool leagues in Winnipeg and was part of a team that won a prestigious tournament in Las Vegas a few years ago that had 600 teams. His Canadian Eight-Ball title in Toronto included several professional players. Felix said what separates good players from great ones is the mental side of pool. “You need a short memory,’ he said. “You can’t let a bad shot linger in your mind, or get too excited about making a great shot. You have t o remain (calm).” That approach has served him well, and Beardy is now part of that prestigious list of champions at the Northern Lights Shootout.

9-BALL INTERNATIONAL CUP 1 $800 MARC OELSLAGER 2 $400 TONY WEERT 3 $200 BRUCE WHEELER 4 $100 CHAD BARBER 5/6 $50 JARED BAILEY, KEN AZURE MEN’S TOP 32 1 $2,000 Felix Beardy 2 $1,300 Carey Hafner 3 $900 Robert Pulver 4 $600 Clayton Enno 5/6 $400 Clarence Davis, Tony Weert 7/8 $300 Terry Daniels, Tyler Perry 9-12 $200 Mike Fieldhammer, Marc Oelslager, Brent Hanson, Chad Barber 13-16 $150 Bruno Nadeau, Travis Hamilton, Jared Bailey, Sheldon Haas 17-24 $80 Mike Frechette, Brent Donahue, Frank Howe, John Thorson Curt Roerick, Dusty Geller, Richard Martin, Kurt Hanson 25-32 $70 Layne Opstedal, Ed Herman, Chris Halkyard, Arden Smoke Ken Azure, Brad Arny, Bob Larson, Dave Strachen WOMEN’S TOP 4 1 $300 Rachel Wentz 2 $200 Joan Jacobs 3 $100 Claudia Martin 4 $75 Tammy Doerr CONSOLATION 1 $150 Jeff Clare 2 $100 Bob Flores 3 $80 Jared Steiner 4 $60 Jeff Nadeau 5/6 $40 Tim Markwart, Larry Lord 7/8 $20 Tom Komanski, Spencer Edwards

Call First - All Tournaments are subject to change without notice DATE

CITY Wednesdays Wright City, MO Oshkosh, WI Thursdays Oshkosh, WI Fridays Cape Girardeau, MO Galesburg, IL Tulsa, OK Oshkosh, WI Saturdays Midwest City, OK Tulsa, OK Sundays Fridley, MN

LOCATION Dano’s Hillbilly Heaven Varsity Club Varsity Club Billiard Center Billiards On Main Q-Spot Billiards Varsity Club Jamaica Joe’s Q-Spot Billiards Two Stooges

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EVENT / RULES ENTRY ADDED 8-Ball - pays top 3 places $10 $100 9-Ball Beginners $8 9-Ball Intermediate $10 9-Ball Handicap Call $200 8 Ball on 7’ Valleys $10 $$$ w/full field 8-Ball 7 & under $5 9-Ball Open - Break Pot $15 $5/player Guar. 9-Ball 8 & under Call 9-Ball 7 & under $10 (incl. g.f.) 9-Ball Open on 7’ DE Race to 5 $15 (incl g.f.) $75 w/16

TIME 7:30 PM Call Call 7 PM 7 PM 9 PM Call 7:30 PM 9 PM 6:30 PM

Perez Triumps Over Tough Field December 12th, 2009 One Pocket Tournament results...As usual a short, very experienced and tough field was the line-up in Saturday’s One Pocket Tournament at Red Shoes. Champion after champion was sent home (or to the gambling side of the room) early in Red Shoes final tournament of 2009. Even home town favorite Ike Runnels went 2 and out this time, not to mention Tom Karabatsos who came south of Madison avenue for only the third time in his life (LOL ...only kidding Tom) was eliminated early. The final match was a race to 4 (started at 2:00AM) between Sergio

Listen and Learn

Perez (Winners Side) vs. Riley “Jet” Johnson (“B” side) for the money. At 3:30 AM with the score 1-1, play was suspended until 7:00 PM Sunday (to allow players to attend “Church”). With play resumed Sunday evening Sergio Perez won three games in a row to claim the tournament’s top prize. 1st Sergio Perez 2nd Riley “Jet” Johnson 3rd Bobby Hunter

(continued from page 8)

players can be fooled and discouraged to see such high level pool. I think we have all seen a shot or a miraculous run-out that has made us groan and during the appreciation, thought, “I can’t believe how good that was. I don’t think I could do that in a million years.” This kind of blue sky thinking isn’t reality. Every top professional is human and they have bad matches, bad tournaments, and bad months. Demi suggested watching some early matches that didn’t have the Accustats asterisk. These matches sometimes show top professionals struggling to run out. They may show great exchanges where safeties and silly mistakes are made. These can be the types of games that happen to you and maybe you can see some familiar shots and learn from them. It also might just make the pros less intimidating and give you the confidence to know that you too can play with the pros. Beau Runningen. Beau means business. At only 25 years old, he has demonstrated the patience and wisdom of a player one might expect to see in a player twice his age. Local players talk about the guy who did nothing but break for 2 hours straight, or the guy who didn’t pocket a ball during an hour long practice session because he was working on safeties. Beau takes every part of a tournament seriously beginning with planning for a tournament months in advance. He’s got notebooks full of diagrams, drills, match notes, and the like. All this planning and preparation seems to be regurgitated on the pool table. Beau makes run out after run out look routine. In fact he makes them look boring, which is really a compliment. No nailbiting shots, no wild chances with the outcome unknown, just the facts. Taking inspiration from Beau’s attention to detail and serious approach to every aspect of the game can do wonders for your game. In fact, my New Year’s resolution is to make a plan, work that plan, and repeat. Repetition of good habits breeds good habits. January 2010 - Rackem Magazine 17

Call First - All Tournaments are subject to change without notice

DATE Jan 2 Jan 2-3 Jan 9 Jan 9 Jan 9-10 Jan 15-16 Jan 15 Jan 16-17 Jan 16-17 Jan 16 Jan 21-24 Jan 23 Jan 30 Jan 30 Jan 31 Feb 4-7 Feb 6 Feb 6 Feb 18-21 Feb 18-21 Feb 20 Feb 20 Feb 22-24 Feb 24-26 Feb 24-26 Feb 26-28 Feb 26-28 Feb 27 Mar 6 Mar 11-14 Mar 11-12 Mar 12-14 Mar 13-14 Mar 20 Apr 15-16 Apr 16-18 Apr 23-24 Jun 19-20

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EVENT / RULES ENTRY 10-Bal Ring Game $50 8-Ball $40 8-Ball $40 Straight Pool $15 (incl. g.f.) Valleu Bar Table $40 8-Ball Classic Limit 32 (A,AA,AAA) $50 9-Ball $40 8-Ball $60 8-Ball - 3 man King of the Mtn $150/team 8-Ball $35 8-Ball ACS Midwest Sgls/Team Varies 8-Ball $30 8-Ball Paul Morrison’s Tourny $25 (incl. g.f.) 8-Ball $40 Seniors (55+) 8-Ball $25 T-Town Classic One Pocket $200 One Pocket $50 8-Ball $30 Midwest 9-Ball - One Pocket $60 Midwest 9-Ball Open/Women $65/$50 9-Ball $50 8-Ball $30 10-Ball Bar Table Champ. $125 9-Ball Bar Table Champ. $125 9-Ball Bar Table Champ. Wms $75 8-Ball Bar Table Champ. $125 8-Ball Bar Table Champ. Wms $75 9-Ball $35 8-Ball $30 Six Arrows Amateur 8-Ball $65/$55 9-Ball Singles MN State ACS $50-70 8-Ball Singles MN State ACS $50-85 Midwest 9-Ball Open/Women $35 9-Ball $40 8-Ball Mx Sc Db MN State ACS $60/team 8-Ball Teams MN State ACS $150-250 Six Arrows Amateur 8 Ball $65/$55 8-Ball $30

ADDED $500 $500 $500 $200 w/16 $1,000 w/128 Call $500 $2,500 Call $500 $10,000 $500 $500 $500 $5/player $12,000 $500 w/full field $500 $1,000 $4,000 $500 w/full field $500 $6000 $6000 $1000 w/16 $7000 $1000 w/16 $500 $500 $6,000 Guar $2000 $10000 $2,500 $500 $2000 $10000 $4000 $500

TIME Call Call Call 1 PM 9 AM 7 PM 6 PM 11 AM 11 AM Call Call Call 10 AM Call 10 AM 6:30PM Call Call 8 PM 8 PM Call Call Noon Noon Noon Noon Noon Call Call 8 PM 7 PM 7 PM 11 AM Call 7 PM 7 PM 8 PM Call

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