Butera's Billiards

A wise player once told me, “The only ball you want to be straight-in on is the 9-ball” (or 8-ball). At the time I was a beginner so the advice was a bit startling to me. I had always tried to make my shots as easy as possible, so what could be better than a straight-in shot? But as my knowledge grew I came to realize that the easier way to move the cue ball is to have a little angle on your shot. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come to the later part of my run out only to stumble when I accidentally get straight-in on the last ball before the 9-ball.  In fact, there was a period of time where this was happening over and over again in key games. I had to decide between forcing some angle and playing a really big draw shot to get back down table or not moving the cue ball very much, just make the ball and take a long, tough shot on the 9-ball.

When I felt like I had fallen into this habit of landing too straight on the second to last ball, I went to my instructor at the time for some advice. He pointed out that most players instinctively see an “area” where they’re trying to put the cue ball for their next shot and this is exactly what I was doing. For instance, in the shot below, I would usually get down and shoot the 3-ball assuming I was just trying to place the cue ball somewhere in that blue area.

In theory, anywhere in that blue area gives me a “good” shot on the 5-ball. But that only gives me a good shot to make the 5-ball. The danger with this is that your target is big and it’s easy to get straight-in if you’re too careless—then it’s hard to play shape for the 6-ball. So my instructor told me to walk around the table to look at my next shot, ON EVERY SHOT, and pick a specific spot for the cue ball, not an area. By doing this, you’ll be surprised at how many times you’ll hit that specific spot when you actually have a spot in mind. When I started doing this on every shot, there was another great result that occurred. Looking at the next shot became part of my pre-shot routine and I developed a good rhythm at the table. Building that rhythm instantly increased my shot making consistency!

While it’s important to look at every shot and pick a spot to move the cue ball to, it’s equally as important to know how to pick that spot. In every shot, there’s always one angle that gives you the easiest shot to move the cue ball to your next shot. Having some angle is great, but having the RIGHT angle is better. When you have some degree of angle on a shot, there’s almost always at least one possible path for you to play shape to your next ball, in theory. But why make things harder than it needs to be? You can guarantee yourself easier run-outs by identifying the correct side of the ball to place your cue ball. For instance, in the previous example, the cue ball could be on either side of the 5-ball and you would still have some option to get the cue ball back down table for the 6-ball. However, placing the cue ball where you have to cut the 5-ball to the right will give you easier natural shape to the 6-ball than if your cue ball were in an area where you had to cut the 5-ball to the left. So, the most ideal spot to play shape to is actually somewhere near the spot marked with an “X”.

Being on the other side of the ball would work as well, but by playing this shot, if you miss your target spot, there would be less room for error and your shot would become much harder very quickly if you’re not accurate. So the right, or correct, side of the ball in this case is the side I’ve identified. Pool is all about playing the percentages and your chances are always better when you don’t fight the natural path of the cue ball and play shots that allow for a greater degree of error.

The “right” side of the ball or the right spot can be a matter of personal preference so there is no definite right answer on any shot. You have to pick the spots that give you a shot that you’re most comfortable with while still keeping in mind the possible shots you’ll have if you don’t get the cue ball to the exact spot you’re aiming. And of course there are exceptions to the rule so sometimes the spot you’re aiming for might be a straight-in shot, but more often than not you’ll need some angle to make your run-out as easy as possible.

Terra Becker of Haughton, La., joined the Marine Corps just a month after graduating high school. In June 2001, she left her home in Plain Dealing, La., and went to Parris Island, S.C., for basic training. After completing basic training, Terra headed to Camp Pendleton in California where she spent the next four years working as a personnel administrator for the Headquarters and Service Battalion of 1st Force Service Group. Throughout her four years of service she maintained the status of Expert with the M16A2 service rifle and Marksman with the M9 service pistol.

In February 2004, Terra’s unit flew to Kuwait in support of OIF/OEF II. Once in Kuwait, they prepared for a four day convoy to Camp Taqaddum, Iraq, where they spent the next seven months. In September 2004, Terra’s tour in Iraq was complete and she flew back to finish her last year in the Marines at Camp Pendleton. Throughout her Marine Corps career, Terra was awarded the Navy Unit Citation, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Medal.

In October 2005, Terra’s Marine career came to an honorable end and she moved back to Louisiana in February 2006. Not long after moving back, she became a part of the Shreveport-Bossier APA. She’s been playing ever since.  Terra is currently a skill level 3 in 8-Ball and 9-Ball.

“I look forward to moving up in the ranks of the APA, just as I moved up the ranks while in the Marine Corps,” Terra said.

She actually began playing pool in 2001, at the age of 18. She continued to play pool on base while in the Marines. Although they didn’t have pool tables while she was deployed, Terra was able to watch a lot of instructional videos online in Iraq.

“What I most enjoy about the APA is the pool family in general,” Terra said. “League is a huge part of our community and it seems no matter where you go, you will always run into someone who is a member of the League.”

The U.S. Amateur Championship entry window is now open! The U.S. Amateur Championship is intended for the finest amateur players. Preliminary Rounds will be held around the country in late-September. Final Rounds will take place at Stroker's in Tampa, Fla., and Crooked Cue in Clearwater, Fla., Nov. 9-11.

The U.S. Amateur Championship offers both a Mens and Womens Division. The winner in each division receives paid travel, lodging and entry into a 2013 pro event. In addition, champions take home a magnificent marble and bronze trophy and event jacket. If you think you’ve got what it takes to become the next U.S. Amateur Champion, enter today to find out! Deadline for entries is June 15. For more information, or to enter, visit http://www.usamateurchampionship.com.

Joseph Tersigni of Latham, N.Y., is currently in the New York National Guard; he also spent five years in the United States Marine Corps. As a marine, Joseph was stationed in San Diego, Okinawa, Japan and Iraq. As a guardsman, he was also deployed to Iraq for one year. Joseph first started playing pool as a teenager, but really started to understand the game in 2003 while stationed in Japan. Pool helped fill in the time and gave him something to look forward to on the weekends.

“I really started playing in Japan,” Tersigni said. “I was lucky enough to have an older friend that taught me the basics. We had a pool table in our barracks and my dad sent me my first cue as a Christmas present.”

Joseph joined APA in 2011. A friend decided to form a team and asked him to join. He’s currently a skill level 3 in 8-Ball. Joseph says what he most enjoys about APA Leagues is meeting new people and seeing how everyone has their own style in regards to the way they shoot.

“I would love to thank Marine Sgt Jeff Weamire for his pool advice and personal mentorship while stationed in Japan,” Tersigni said.

Players often ask me, “What does it take to become a pro player?” It’s a broad question with no simple answer because most people want a checklist of what they can do to get there. The truth is, what sets apart the good players from the truly GREAT players, is having a killer instinct. And the frustrating part is this is not something that can be taught; most people either have it or they don’t. It’s not a diagram you can study or a drill you can practice. It’s a state of mind or a personality trait that takes a long time to build.

Being a woman in the pool world is a tough thing to do. It’s traditionally a man’s game but have you ever wondered why men, on average, are stronger players than women even though the sport is not reliant on strength? Pool is not a gender bias sport and yet guys seem to excel or progress at a more rapid pace than women. I believe it all goes back to that concept of a killer instinct. Women by nature are more compassionate and emotional. I feel bad when I play my friends and they miss a shot after a tough run, or scratch on the 8-ball. A small part of me feels like I didn’t earn the win and I don’t like winning that way. But to be at the top level in pool, you have to take your chances when you get them and make the most of it. Don’t feel remorse for your opponent or have less confidence in yourself because you won after your opponent’s mistake.

This is something I’ve always struggled with. There are many times in matches where I know all the right shots, I control the table, and once I have my opening, I just can’t bear down and finish. At some tournaments I seem to have it and then at other tournaments I just can’t find it. So this month I went to the experts and polled several top level pros to share their advice.

World Pool Masters Champion Raj Hundal says, “It’s a jungle out there and you have to choose whether you want to be hunted or be the hunter.” You have to take out your opponent before they take you out. Don’t hesitate to take your opportunity to win. This quote speaks more to the players that feel sympathy for their opponents or are timid at the table. But having a killer instinct doesn’t just mean being competitive. Some players do possess that competitive edge but don’t have the focus when it counts.

WPBA Touring Professional, Sarah Rousey, describes a killer instinct as, “being able to play a match against your best friend in the world and mentally turn them into an enemy for the length of the match. Put aside all emotions and friendship and play to win. Of course, be a good friend when the match is over!” She goes on to explain, “Killer instinct is incredibly hard to obtain. You have to be able to block out everything going on, both on and off the table. You have to become completely relaxed and focused under pressure. On top of that, pool being such a mental and emotional game, you have to make your opponent your enemy without bringing in the angry emotions you might have towards an enemy. After you reach that point (which may be often or few and far between) you’ll realize what you’re capable of in the future." Sarah touches on a great point: the enemy. In many matches, you know your opponent or know who they are. But to be truly successful, you have to put aside any relationship, connection or preconceived ideas of who that person is and just defeat that person by making them your enemy in that moment. When the match is over everyone is back to being friends, but you can’t be afraid to want to crush your opponent.

Swiss Champion, Marco Tschudi, shared his secret to gaining a killer instinct by referring to lyrics from an Eminem song, “You only get one shot, don’t miss your chance…This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.” He went on to say, “What changed my game is when I started thinking about this lyric for every shot. I learned that if I treat each shot with equal importance I was no longer concerned about the score in a match because THAT shot was the only thing that mattered at that time.”

Many pro players in all sports will tell you that they have a ritual before a big game. For some it’s a certain song or type of music that gets them focused, for others it’s reading something inspirational. For me, I like to watch the movie “Wimbledon” because it has some great quotes about competition. The one that I keep in the back of my mind is this…

Lizzie: "That’s why I gave up having girlfriends in tennis. You have to dig extra deep to kill your friends."
Peter: "Now I have to kill him?"
Lizzie: "Without thinking twice."

Have you ever heard of the term (or book) “Winning Ugly”? Although the title of the book is more referring to the “ugly” looking form of a certain pro tennis player, the term is used in pool when you win despite your less than stellar performance. I’m always thankful for the matches I get away with when I should probably lose or I make a key mistake that allows my opponent a great opportunity to win but they fail to do so. However, the toughest matches to swallow are the matches that play out in the opposite manner—losing pretty. Nobody likes losing, but we’ve all had matches where we play beautifully up until that last ball and just can’t close the deal.  It can be a frustrating thing and most players think it’s a mental problem that they just need to get over. That’s easier said than done.

Is it a mental problem? Or a physical problem? The truth is that it’s both. If you’re playing beautifully the entire game until that all important shot on the 8-ball or 9-ball how can it be a physical thing? The mind controls the body and you’re most likely subconsciously tweaking your physical approach to the shot just enough to miss it. This is something that happens to all players but I find it to be a cyclical problem for me. It’s a phase I fall into when I feel like I’m in a rut; I noticed myself falling back into it recently. I was at a qualifier for the Swiss Championships two weeks ago. Although I felt a bit “off” most of the day, once I advanced to the single elimination rounds I felt myself getting in stroke and was more at ease at the table. That is until I missed six 9-balls in the final match to go out in 3rd Place. I was understandably frustrated but had only myself to blame. So, how do you fix this issue?

There are mental and physical components to everything in pool. To begin fixing this problem you need to remind yourself that consistency is key. Previously, I’ve talked about the importance of having a consistent pre-shot routine. Approach and set up for the shot in the same way on every shot—the easy ones and the hard ones. No shot is less important than the next. This is a concept that is very easy to notice when you see Allison Fisher and Karen Corr play. Because of their snooker background it’s more dramatic than most players when they step into the setup of their shot in the same way every time. Sometimes it’s easy to subconsciously relax too much at the end of a rack because you see the end in sight and you inevitably get a little lazy. But that “simple” almost straight 8-ball shot is just as important as the tough combination or tough cut shot you made earlier in the rack. So approach the shot with the same mentality, no less concentration or more pressure than the shots that got you to that point.

I’m a technical person so I need much more than just changing my thinking to make me feel that I’ve overcome this mental issue. So I practice variations of a couple of shots that come up quite often in 8-Ball and 9-Ball. The first shot is very common in 9-Ball because (when racked tightly) the 9-ball does not usually move too far from its original spot in the rack. Set the 9-ball up in various spots around the foot spot (yellow area in diagram below) and place the cue ball on varying spots near the rail (white area).

Shoot different versions of this shot over and over again, sometimes with the cue ball on the rail and sometimes a short distance off the rail. Practice bridging over the side pocket or off the rail and your mind will slowly overcome this mental fear of shooting in those awkward positions. You’ll also find certain shots in these regions where you might scratch in the side pocket. Make a mental note of which shots and angles do that so you’re more familiar with that when the shots come up in a match and practice varying the spin on the cue ball to prevent the scratch.

For 8-Ball, the common shots are a bit different because there are more balls in the 8-Ball rack so it’s more likely to get bumped around a bit on the break and throughout the match. The two diagrams below are good ones to practice.

Practice all of these shots from both sides of the table. You’ll notice that for some shots, especially the 9-Ball diagram, it’s easier to reach the shots from the left side of the table than the right side if you’re right handed—the opposite is true for left handers, of course. So, keep this in mind when you play shape for the 9-ball. Many of these shots seem quite simple but you might be surprised how many times you can barely miss the shot when the pressure is on. By putting in some time on the table and becoming more comfortable with these shots, you’ll gain more confidence for the next time that you have to shoot them and hopefully you’ll be more successful at closing the match.

Craig Bosse of Omaha, Neb., is in the United States Air Force, currently stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Neb. He’s been there since August 2009. Craig’s military career has now spanned 15 years— some of the bases he’s been stationed are Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, Mountain Home Air Force Base in Mountain Home, Idaho, Afghanistan from 2006-2007, then onto Ghedi Air Base in Italy. He plans on retiring in five years and traveling down another path. When deployed, Craig plays a lot of pool.

“Pool was and still is a great way for me to unwind and try to forget where I was as well as forget about being away from family,” Bosse said. “It has always been a great way to meet other people that are deployed with you as well. The recreation centers would have gift cards to the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) so folks that won could go buy something at the Base Exchange/Post Exchange (BX/PX).”

Most of Craig’s APA experiences came in his hometown of Highland, N.Y., in 1995-1996, just before joining the Air Force. He started back in the League in 2009 after arriving at his current station in Nebraska. He first got into the sport after shooting pool at the bars and clubs he would frequent with friends. Craig is currently a skill level 5 in both 8-Ball and 9-Ball and plays in the APA Omaha operated by League Operators Russ and Mary Reynolds-East.  

“What I enjoy most about being an APA member is the opportunity to play with others competitively from teams around the League,” Bosse said. “I also enjoy traveling to various pool halls and/or bars and meeting a unique and diverse group of players.”