My Summary of the first annual event

cincy_kid

Verified Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2015
Messages
7,794
From
Cincinnati, OH
I just wanted to post a huge thank you to everyone who made the first annual onepocket.org members only tournament a great success! Although I wish I would have played better, it was a lot of fun and great to meet some of the members so I could put a face to some of the names.

Here is a personal summary from cincy_kid's perspective:

Arrived Thursday late afternoon and after checking into the hotel I hung out with my wife and showed up to Lacy's Friday around 3 PM. Most of the tables were taken with members but there was one open so I hopped on and started hitting some balls waiting for the first shark to come over and play. It was our very own Steve Booth who was the first to strike and we played a couple of long games that could have went either way. By the end of the 2nd game we had to stop playing so they could run the calcutta.

I thought I would get to just bid $25 on myself but Mr. Newkirk decided to bid $50 on me and unfortunately for both of us, I was dead money ;)

My first round match I drew crabcatjohn. Ironic that we are both from Kentucky and traveled to New Orleans to face off against each other but we had never played before so I was still excited to match up. After a few bad rolls for him, I managed to advance to round 2. Everyone in the tourney was there Friday except for 2 (Cory from DC and Dick P) who both showed up late Friday. My 2nd round match was to play the winner of Hardmix vs Cory from DC so I did not have to play again until Saturday afternoon. Before leaving, however, my buddy Mitch talked me into playing a little bit so I took the bait after offering me a spot I thought was fair. We only played 2 games and we each won one so I escaped even in that battle, thanks again Mitch! :)

I also grabbed my shirt, thanks again Matt, they turned out great!

Fast forward to Saturday, I get to the room around Noon and all tables are going with whatever matches are ready to play. Hardmix and Cory had a hill-hill battle that ran super long (great match guys!) and Hardmix ended up winning so he was my next opponent.

We both were playing pretty bad missing a lot of balls but in the end I ended up winning the first game and then losing the next 3 in a row which knocked me to the loser's bracket and he advanced to round 3 of the winners.

My next match was vs Steve Booth and again, a great battle! It actually went hill-hill and down to the last ball on the table!! Again, I think the match could have gone either way but after a bad shot by me at the end, I left him straight in for the win. Good match again sir! It was way past dinner for me so I ended up driving back to the hotel and my wife and I had dinner and walked the French Quarter a little while before retiring to our room.

It's now Sunday, getting ready for some brunch/lunch and plan to do some tourist things today with my better half as I have never been here before and she wants to grab some souvenirs for some of our family members back home.

Our rental car has to be back by 5 PM so I probably wont be back at the room but I will be checking in for updates to see how everyone is doing.

Again, I wish I would have played better so that I could have ended up on the main stream table to watch my match back later ans critique myself but there's always next time!

Thanks again to everyone who made this possible (Dave, John, Steve, Joey, Zach, Lacy's and probably a lot I am forgetting to name). I look forward to our next gathering at the DCC in January, see you all then!!
 
Last edited:

cuesmith

Verified Member
Joined
May 24, 2004
Messages
138
I was looking for you on the stream and thought I saw you in the background at one point. I went to a couple of internet pool tournament/get togethers in the past and had a great time meeting online friends from RSB (rec.sport.billiards newsgroup). Hope your experience was also fun. My Diamond is finally ready for play with new Simonis and new cushions but I seem to have lost my game somewhere. Give me a week or so to hit balls so I'm not too embarrassed and you'll be welcome to come over and flex your "one-pocket muscles" on my home court!

Sherm
 

lll

Verified Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
19,057
From
vero beach fl
great report cincy
sounds like the purpose of the event was fullfilled
play some onepocket /meet the guys/have a great time
:)
 

Goldy

Verified Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2015
Messages
94
Thanks again to everyone who made this possible (Dave, John, Steve, Joey, Zach, Lacy's and probably a lot I am forgetting to name). I look forward to our next gathering at the DCC in January, see you all then!!

Thank you cincy_kid! :) :):D
 

cincy_kid

Verified Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2015
Messages
7,794
From
Cincinnati, OH
I was looking for you on the stream and thought I saw you in the background at one point. I went to a couple of internet pool tournament/get togethers in the past and had a great time meeting online friends from RSB (rec.sport.billiards newsgroup). Hope your experience was also fun. My Diamond is finally ready for play with new Simonis and new cushions but I seem to have lost my game somewhere. Give me a week or so to hit balls so I'm not too embarrassed and you'll be welcome to come over and flex your "one-pocket muscles" on my home court!

Sherm

Yes indeed buddy!! I am looking forward to it, see you soon ~

You probably did see me in the background because my wife said she did as well. In fact she said I was on the stream when I was playing Hardmix on table 4 for a period of time but I can't confirm that yet ;)

Which by the way, just a quick shout out to Ben (Hardmix) - I dont know how he ended up finishing but I was pretty impressed with his game, nice playing man!
 
Last edited:

Hardmix

Verified Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
1,158
From
Cumming Ga
Cindy Kid, it was great playing with you in New Orleans, you have a good game. Hopefully we can play some more at the Derby.

Hardmix
 

NH Steve

Administrator
Joined
Apr 25, 2004
Messages
12,283
From
New Hampshire
My Summary of the first annual event

Yes, I believe I really dodged one with you -- our match could have been a coin flip!!
 

JoeyA

Verified Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2004
Messages
318
From
Metairie, LA
Instead of starting another thread on my trip report, I'll use this one since I've already seen a couple of other reports. Hopefully everyone will put their report in this thread so we can get some good feedback from one another.

I live in the suburbs of New Orleans (30 minutes from Lacy's) so it wasn't a hard trip for me, EXCEPT my last Saturday night match lasted until after 10:00 pm and I was required to be back to play Bill Rowsey at 10:00 am rather than 12:00 PM like the rest of the players. Two hours of extra rest or simply relaxing, eating or anything but playing pool is very nice but it wasn't to be.

My first match on Friday night was against John Rizzo and I was fresh and had never seen John play before and I came out blazing, playing far better than I usually do and managed to win the match. John Rizzo was gracious and a perfect gentleman. In fact, that statement goes for everyone that I played in this event.

My next match on Saturday at noon was against Mitch and I came out the gate with flame throwers and some good safety play 2 games ahead, but Mitch fought back hard and won 3 games in a row putting me on the one loss side. Mitch and I played a very long match and it took the wind out of my sail.

My next match was against LS John who gave me all I could stand. I squeaked out another win. But what I hadn't realized is that I played 3 matches in row without resting between matches. I was getting tired. I hadn't eaten anything and the day was moving on.

Steve Booth told me I had another match and I could take a "short break" and forced my self to wolf down a quick, but delicious salad that the Chef at Lacy's had prepared for me. I didn't want to hold up the tournament so I ate like I was in boot camp.

My next match was against Phil M and we had a GREAT tactical match with me edging out another victory. He and I seem to play a similar style and I have great respect for his game. In fact, my overall opinion of the caliber of play for everyone that I played is very high. I thought I was the only one who knew how to play a tactical match at a high level.::lol

Bill Rowsey showed up late for the match and I was looking for the tournament director but he was no where around. It was two minutes after ten AM which was the starting time of our match. Later I found out that Bill had sent me a FB message and said that the door to Lacy's was locked. Someone must have locked the door on him. Maybe it was the guy that bought me in the Calcutta. IDK. L S John told me he was walking in the door and sure enough he came in looking ready for action and he was. We both played hard and I caught some good rolls and managed to squeak out a victory.

So now without another break, I was forced to play Robert "BobWire" Newkirk and he spanked me 3-0. In our second game I had "BobWire" 5 balls to -3 and I finally realized why they call him "BobWire" when he managed to perform at such a high level that he won that game as well. He roughed me up pretty bad and then afterwards, he turned on that "BobWire" charm and softened the loss for me.

So in essence, I never had VERY LITTLE time to sit in the booth or meet with some of the other players except for a couple like James Christopher who has some GREAT stories which I always love hearing.

Because the equipment was so tough (the pockets being 4 1/8") the games and matches too longer than they might take on looser pockets, I had to play non-stop my entire tournament. When I did take a break at the end of my tournament, I sat in the booth with Nick P and we had a fine time discussing a couple of matches and remarking about Lacy's Cue.

It seems that everyone had nice things to say about Lacy's, including the food, equipment and staff.

A couple of people remarked that we should have two tournaments a year but make Lacy's Cue a permanent event. Their non-smoking environment was very nice and the new chef was cooking up some fine vittles the whole week. I didn't hear any complaing about equipment except maybe me whining "those pockets are tight". The other event might be moved around the country with Mark Griffin's new pool room "Griff's" in Las Vegas being a top consideration for a one pocket.org event as well as other locations around the country.

I'm afraid that all future tournaments should be limited to 32 players due to the length of time that it took to complete this event. Some of the players complained that they didn't get a chance to savor some of New Orleans's delights which was definitely the case because of the time constraints. For that reason, I would like for the group to consider making the event a FULL 3 day tournament. On Saturday, I had to play a NON-STOP 10 hour session of pool. That's too hard on ole JoeyA. I get to thank BobWire for putting me out of my misery. :rolleyes:

Seriously though, I had a great time competing against so many good one pocket players. I hadn't seen Cory in DC for almost 10 years and didn't even have time to talk with him nor most of the other players in the event.

I'm not too sure about holding two One Pocket.org events a year but will listen to what everyone has to say. I think we have to keep in mind that there is a Senior's One Pocket event AND a SUPER SENIOR'S one pocket event that go on every year and it is many of the same players. I fear that too many one pocket events will dampen many of the player's desire to compete.

I enjoyed the fact that the event paid rather deep and all of the players acted like gentlemen. I did hear a loud but brief caterwauling when someone missed a shot or something but that was about it. I heard that the person in question was ready to jump off the Huey P Long Bridge.:D


Anyway, I would like to thank Frank Haines of Lacy's cue, Disco Dave, LS John, Steve Booth and the rest of the players for making this a fun weekend.

I think one of my regrets is that I didn't spend more time with the rest of the players and have the chance to show them around the city. I'm resting up at home now with just having to replace a bathroom lavatory since it failed just after I got knocked out of the tournament by BobWire.

I'd like to hear more about your matches and your New Orleans experience and your opinion of Lacy's Cue.

Hopefully I will get a chance to see some of my matches in the near future to determine some of my weaknesses. I understand that OnePocket.org will have all of the tv matches made available to anyone who to see them in a rebroadcast for an economical subscription fee.

JoeyA
 
Last edited:

Miller

Verified Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2010
Messages
5,524
From
East St. Louis Area
The Miller Report

The Miller Report

Sitting down thinking about some kind of write-up, I came up with a list of 28 names I’d ideally like to incorporate in some way. So, I’ll just say this…..what a neat and unique group of people…..my personal observation is that it was the perfect balance between fierce competition and cordial fellowship.

It was great to see old friends and make new ones. Had some real New Orleans food and experienced Bourbon Street on Saturday night.

I had the unique opportunity (or maybe it was “enjoyable torture” ;)) to draw Bill Rowsey and Robert Newkirk. That in and of itself is a unique experience I’ll always remember.

It was cool to see a couple of the other “young guys” Mitch Brown and Ben Smith go deep in a very talented field.

Thank you for the guys here in cyberspace who did the thankless job of getting this organized: Steve Booth, Dave Kurjan, and John Nevin. Thank you to the local guys who coordinated things with Lacy’s: Joey Aguzen and Jim Tomassoni. Thank you to Zach Goldsmith for doing the stream.

A very special thanks to our host, Frank Haines.

I hope this is able to gain traction as an annual event. It was a great time.

Dustin Miller
:)
 

youngstown

Verified Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2015
Messages
1,748
My Summary of the first annual event

Thanks for the write ups, guys. I really wanted to come, but had a prior commitment. I hope to meet you all next time!
 

Jeff sparks

Verified Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
3,317
From
Houston, Texas
Ok,
Where to start...hmmmmm....
The truth is a good spot...
Got to the pool room Thursday evening at 4:00 PM and started playing Nick P. a few games on table # 4...

I completely lost all confidence in playing in the tournament... Nick pounded me into submission. I quit, telling Nick that playing was pointless, the table had me intimidated so bad, I just wanted to go back to the motel, pack my bags and head home before I embarrassed myself in front of the entire forum...

Nick felt bad for me, he said to just give it a day and get used to the equipment, everything was going to be ok... I did as instructed... Thanks Nick, you not only play a very good game, you are also a really nice guy who gives sound advice... I want another shot at you.. :)

Hardmix ( Benjamin Smith ) came in and we started playing later that evening on table # 1 and WOW does he ever shoot straight! I asked him about the tight pockets and if they bothered him, and he said, " No, I've got a Diamond table at home with small pockets, so it's like playing at home." Well, this enforced what Nick had told me earlier, that all I had to do was put in some time playing on the tables and I would be ok... Well Ben and I ended up playing about 6 or 7 hours of one pocket on table # 1 on Thursday evening and also on Friday morning...
He is a fierce competitor, and he is also a converted 9 baller, who not unlike myself, has fallen in love with one pocket... Ben is a true gentleman in every sense of the word, and a joy to play with...

Friday evenings activity was put on hold for the players auction which a young man named Jason, I believe, took control of the room and did a very good job of getting the money for the Small Calcutta... Turned out to be about $4000.00, just as Casey had predicted in another thread prior to anyone's arrival... Smart man, that Fireman...

Then the names were drawn and computer jumbled and my 1st match was with Steve Booth, our commander-in-chief and also acting tournament director...we drew the dreaded table # 4, where things went so wrong for me on Thursday :(
Steve played the 1st game perfect... 8/0. He beat me to the shot in the second game and put a 6 on me, while I owed 2...

A shot came up with him leading 6/-2 where he could move balls up table and he was actually down on the shot to do exactly that when his duties as the TD were needed... When he came back to the table, he apologized profusely for the delay and I guess because of the delay, his heart wasn't into finishing me off by moving all the balls up table... He shot at something else and gave me hope and a new lease on life in that game... I ended up winning it in a long hard fought battle that came down to the last ball.. I think it broke his heart, and for that, I'm sorry, because I showed no mercy in the next two games...

Steve is a very good tactician and plays the game quite well.. Next year I'm betting we have a designated TD...:). Thanks for being softhearted Steve...
Hey, I like that, Softhearted Steve...:):)

Saturday at noon Jason Moran ( 1 hole nut ) and I faced off... I had heard from some of the locals about this guy being a force to reckon with, so before the match started I played on the 10 foot table for an hour or so, trying desperately to find my long lost stroke, so I could give this guy some competition. Well, after a few minutes of letting out my stroke on the 10 foot table, I discovered one of the flaws in my set-up that was causing me to miss balls... Hooray... Now I felt more comfortable about facing a really good player, I had some of my firepower back...

We drew table # 8, ahh, at last, a table with 4 1/4" pockets!!! I felt like they were as big as manholes!!!
I came out playing perfect, ( no brag, just fact :) ) never giving Jason a shot and lead in games 2/0...Then the bulldog in Jason took over as he fiercely fought back to tie it up at 2/2..I had the break on the hill/hill game and fortunately for me, I laid down a good one that Jason could not escape.. Jason is a good guy, and an even better player... If work and family (real life ) hadn't gotten in his way, he could very easily have been a monster!!! Enjoyed our talk later in the tournament young man, good on ya in all you try to do...:)

Next up for me was my good friend Tom Wirth. We draw table # 2, back to the tightest pockets in the USA...

Now I'm a decently educated man, and reasonable thinking leads me to the conclusion that I'm in over my head... This guy writes books on one pocket... I read them...

Well,
Tom knows that I'm a wild card, if I'm on, I could pose a problem, and I can see that he can be had in the first game of the match.. He misses several shots and losses his CB a couple of times and if I had fired back that first game, the outcome of the match could have been different.. Tom handled me easily 3/0...
Tom is a champion, he is a dedicated player who in my opinion was the odds on favorite to win this tournament... In life he is the consummate gentleman and at the pool table a fierce warrior... Hats off to you my friend, you got game...

On the 1 loss side now and I have to play Bill Meacham ( Island Drive ). I've watched this guy play at the Seniors in Houston and he can flat out play... Bill and I are just getting to know each other, we really didn't get to visit enough at the seniors or at the members either, but I'm sure we will be good friends... Bill has a great sense of humor and is a well educated man who has kept himself in great shape over the years...

I get the jump on Bill and get a quick 2 game lead, then Bill gets tough and finds his rhythm and wins the next 2 games and ties it up 2/2... Wow, this guy gets intense... When he decides to focus and concentrate, he is a formidable force to deal with... Game 5 I had the break and laid down a good one, Bill tried desperately to reverse it, but got unlucky with a double kiss and I managed to get a few and put the game on ice... I'm glad to have met this man and look forward to more conversations with him at the seniors next year...

I'm so sore and tired, so I'll post this and add Sundays matches later...

To be continued...

Finally at home and rested, so here is a recap of the matches i played on Sunday...
Next match was with Joe Long (BRlongarm ) and we hit it off immediately... He likes to talk and so do I so we just started playing our match... We commented on most of our screw ups and complimented each other on some of the good shots we made... I believe Joe to be a sincere student of the game and if there was a nicer more friendly guy at Lacy's, I didn't get to meet him...

Joe seemed a bit off in his game and he let me jump out to a 2/0 lead in games, then he said I'm gonna play you a little tougher this game, and he certainly did, beat me that game 8/2. I broke next and Joe shot at a bank he would make about 90 % of the time! but he hung it up and I got 4 from where he left me... I didn't ease up on him, because I knew if given a chance, he would come back and get me...

I think Joe let me win, he had me in the Calcutta! Thanks Joe, looking forward to seeing you again in Houston next month..

Benjamin Smith ( Hardmix ) got beat by Casey and was dispatched over to the 1 loss side where I was his next opponent... Now I gotta say something here about Ben, he is a phenomenal shotmaker, I mean he shoots balls into those tight pockets like they were huge... Well, he just didn't have the firepower he had exhibited earlier when we played for hours on end... It was almost like he handed me the match, and he later came to me an explained that he was tired and just wanted to get outta there, and that he wished he had played better... Ben started back about the same time as I did, in April of last year.. He was also a nine baller with absolutely no interest in playing one pocket. Now he is totally hooked by the game, and he's plenty young to learn it... Good luck Ben, I enjoyed our sessions of $20.00 one pocket, and can't wait until we meet again...

Robert ( Barbed Wire ) Newkirk has been laying em to waste for as long as I can remember... He has this uncanny way about him that is really rare in a pool room... He beats you up, but then he rubs some sort of lotion on you to ease the pain.. I think he is a real southern gentleman, trapped in a salesmans body that just so happens to play one hell of a game of one pocket...
I really like his sense of humor... He genuinely laughs at himself, and he gets a kick out of doing it...

All matches from here out were played on the main stream table, # 3. I cannot for the life of me remember how this match played out, I was totally into concentrating on every shot throughout the entire match. I know it came down to a hill/hill game and I believe we played down to 1 or 2 balls the last game. I do know how fortunate I was to end up on top playing this man..
Robert Newkirk knows the game better than most and is a great shotmaker with a ton of heart.. I was lucky to beat him..

Casey Killian ( firemankc ) has my vote as the best banker among those of us who played.. This guy is the most relaxed fellow you will ever play... He acts exactly like Fuzzy Zeoller used to act on the golf tour... Ho-hum I'm just gonna 4 rail this ball into my pocket and play three rail position on that ball while smiling and talking about the Saints last screw-up.

I only met Casey at the Super Seniors last year, but this guy leaves a lasting impression, he whupped Buddy Hall so bad Buddy didn't know what hit him... It was a clinic on banks, against one of the better bank pool players on the planet...all Casey did was shrug his shoulders and bank another one in...

This match was not typical of Casey.. He was not himself.. For whatever reason, us older guys have days like this, I don't know the reason behind it, but I do know that Casey will snap out of it and be a force to reckon with the next time he plays..
Casey helped me during a match by simply telling me I wasn't completing the stroke... Thank you Casey, you're a good man...
See ya soon in Houston, I'll be bidding on you in the Calcutta!!!

James Christopher (Sniper) ... What can you say about this man... I told him I was very tired so he graciously agreed to play a race to 3 for all the marbles, even though he was undefeated...

James and I go all the way back to our childhood days... We were bitter rivals the entire time I played pool and I was never in his class as a one pocket player... James played all games well, and he always came out of the gate like a quarter horse...
He would win that first game, or quit... Lol ergo his nickname... The Sniper...

Today, we are good friends... But the rivalry is still there, I believe I played my best match of the tournament against him, and I needed to, or I was toast...

James is a great player and I sure enjoyed getting the best of him this time... He will be out for blood at the Super Seniors... I can't wait...

I had a really good time meeting all the members and will be glad to travel back to Lacy's next year or to the west coast or anywhere else that the members decide upon... Thanks to everyone of you who came and I'm looking forward to next year...
 
Last edited:
Top