2nd Annual Hague 5 One Pocket event

[NH Steve]

What a great thing, Steve. Way to go! And I bet a lot of the guys were happy to see you win it.

Yes, it was fun to win — and sure was a surprise! They treat any of us that make the trip over very well — I think all that have come so far would say the same. But you’re right they give me mot credit than I deserve — like I’m the second coming of Hayden Lingo lol.

It’s interesting, because the game of One Pocket over there is so much younger than back in the US. In Europe if they held a “Senior One Pocket” there would be no one to play in it lol, whereas in the US they describe it sometimes as an “old man’s game”. Of course we know that’s not true even in the US, but there are tons of seniors in the US that do play the game, and play it well. That’s just 100% not the case over here, and won’t be for about another 20 years until the 40 and 50 year olds playing now age up!

You can see it clearly — the game over here is at least 20 years younger than in the US — but it is reall growing fast! Just next month there is a Finland 1P tournament coming up that already has 32 players.

 

[NH Steve]

Btw, in this Hague crowd they also love them some banks! Every day I was asked to play banks, and if I had more time and energy I could have played about non-stop. That goes even to “by the rail”. It seems to be just behind One Pocket in terms of their interest.

So any of you banks guys that might contemplate venturing over, you will find banks too! There would be good interest for a Banks mini along with this tournament for sure. I wonder if they could hold one mini Thursday night and the other Saturday night.

For a while they had a DCC inspired all around somewhere over here — not sure where exactly, but it wasn’t here in The Hague.

 

[BRLongArm]

He's not lying about the banks. They put me in a by the rail bank ring game last night, my first ever. I knew enough to shoot at the muti rails and was able to win the 8 handed ring game.

 

[BRLongArm]

If our job is to grow the sport of one pocket, then mission accomplished in europe. Their hunger for knowledge is very noticeable and they were all soaking it up, including 8 Germans who made the event. Already plans next month for an event in Finland then later in Germany. It'vs an epidemic, and there ain"t no cure.

 

[BRLongArm]

Four americans, eight germans, one dane and forty dutch. 53 total.

 

[lfigueroa]

Btw, in this Hague crowd they also love them some banks! Every day I was asked to play banks, and if I had more time and energy I could have played about non-stop. That goes even to “by the rail”. It seems to be just behind One Pocket in terms of their interest.

So any of you banks guys that might contemplate venturing over, you will find banks too! There would be good interest for a Banks mini along with this tournament for sure. I wonder if they could hold one mini Thursday night and the other Saturday night.

For a while they had a DCC inspired all around somewhere over here — not sure where exactly, but it wasn’t here in The Hague.

Deurne City Classic, about half a dozen years ago -- I tried to get scheduling info so I could go but never got a response despite multiple attempts.

Lou Figueroa

 

[Mkbtank]

He's not lying about the banks. They put me in a by the rail bank ring game last night, my first ever. I knew enough to shoot at the muti rails and was able to win the 8 handed ring game.

I watched this live and can verify this statement. You were hitting them sporty Joe!

 

[Mkbtank]

Had a few hour layover on the way home in Dublin so jumped in a taxi, bolted from the airport, and had lunch at a local Pub!

 

[cincy_kid]

View attachment 441374
Had a few hour layover on the way home in Dublin so jumped in a taxi, bolted from the airport, and had lunch at a local Pub!

looking forward to your trip report, sounds like you were playing well yourself!

 

[Mkbtank]

looking forward to your trip report, sounds like you were playing well yourself!

Thanks Chris. Tried hard.

 

[BRLongArm]

Trip Report: Hague 5

I have the best wife a man could ask for. "Honey, do you want to go to Europe for a one pocket tournament? Sure." So we go to the Netherlands for the first time and Sven, one of the regulars, drives an hour to pick us up in Amsterdam, courtesy of Alex Lely. We stay at the Corona hotel, which is literally two or three blocks from the room in the heart of the Governmental sector of Hague. Beautiful open air cafes all up and down the streets, but who cares about that? On to the one pocket.

The first thing I notice is that all the Germans want to gamble with the Americans. There are eight there if my memory serves, and I played Jurgen (owns a carpentry business), Michael (PhD in biochemistry) and Henrich (runs an IT division in a business in Berlin) the first night. They all love the game, but as you would suspect, they like to shoot too much. I was able to beat them on the strength of moving, although they all have better shooting fundamentals than I do. What I liked most is that all of them have good jobs, travelled like 5 or 6 hours for a 50 Euro entry fee tournament, and are complete gentlemen when you play. They don't play high, but they are not looking for the nuts by any means. They all have the sickness, as Strawberry Brooks would say.

The second night, the tournament started and I drew Tim Junkman, who is a good player from the Netherlands. I played bad early, but was able to make a match of it, pulling it to double hill, before he shot me down. The Dutch love the game, and that night we saw six or seven tables going with cheap action. I beat a local in the one loss side before running into Senna, a really good Dutch businessman who plays the game well and has a good bank game. He ran over me 3-0. I'd say this man was one of their best players outside Alex at Hague 5. The tournament was won by another German, Benjamin Baier, who plays about like Newkirk, but has a more aggressive style. He can dab it. He beat me double hill in the one ball event on Saturday. After I got knocked out, I played a medical doctor named Andreas, who is from Germany. He has bought all the one pocket matches from Ray and is a real student of the game. He asked me to play him for funzies, which I never do, but I played him for a couple of hours, pointing out a few things as we played. He was beyond appreciative. He was the biggest student of the game among a room full of students. I put him in touch with Omega Mike so he could buy that great Chip/Frost match that Chip won 40-39. Like I said, he is a real student and like most of these guys, is a professional in real life who just loves the game and has plenty of money to chase that passion.

My overall impression is that Northern Europe is the next hotbed for one pocket and we should do what we can to nurture their love for the game. The tournament director is Espen, who does a great job and is already planning an event in Germany for the winter. Hague 5 will be looking for a larger and newer space next year and hopefully will be able to continue to grow this event. The owner, Steve, is one of the gems we have for One Pocket, as he does great business and does not need a tournament, but closed his bar all weekend so the players could have the room to themselves for the tournament. Unbelievably great for our sport. Finland already has a 32 man field for next month, done completely separately from the efforts at Hague 5 and Espen. Alex Lely was the power behind the scenes, and not only did he help promote and organize the event, but for the second year in a row, he cooked a nice Italian meal for all the players for FREE. Then Steve's wife did the same thing on Sunday! Unbelievable and it helped solidify this as one of my favorite events. It was a real brotherhood there and you could feel the vibe.

What can we do to help?
1. We can watch the tournament streams and support it in any way we can.
2. Those that can afford it can attend the events and spread our knowledge of the game, which they really appreciate and soak in. I hope Tom Wirth could go next year. I think Steve sold all 50 of his books he brought to the event. Tom, it's a great hotbed for your book and they would love to pick your mind.
3. Some of us can financially help out with added money to continue to lure the top players. I told Espen I would help with that. Greg Sullivan doesn't know it yet, but I'll shake him down to help me.
4. We can invite the Europeans both to our website, and to attend Derby and Buffalos so that they can be welcomed into our fraternity. I believe we will have a sizable European contingent coming to Buffalos in May. They have all heard about it, and were very excited to go to New Orleans and see what all the fuss is about.

In conclusion, it was a wonderful event that validates our efforts of spreading the game around America and the world. It is working. Steve Booth led from the front as usual and he and his faithful partner, Sue made sure that onepocket.org continues to be the leader in spreading the gospel of one pocket. We just need to keep doing what we are doing. One pocket has never been in a better place and Steve Booth is the number one reason for its growth. Without stepping on any toes, I think it's time that Steve Booth be recognized for all his hard work with a nomination to our Hall of Fame as a promoter and teacher. I think the time is right and nobody is more worthy.


Joe Long

 

[12squared]

Trip Report: Hague 5

I have the best wife a man could ask for. "Honey, do you want to go to Europe for a one pocket tournament? Sure." So we go to the Netherlands for the first time and Sven, one of the regulars, drives an hour to pick us up in Amsterdam, courtesy of Alex Lely. We stay at the Corona hotel, which is literally two or three blocks from the room in the heart of the Governmental sector of Hague. Beautiful open air cafes all up and down the streets, but who cares about that? On to the one pocket.

The first thing I notice is that all the Germans want to gamble with the Americans. There are eight there if my memory serves, and I played Jurgen (owns a carpentry business), Michael (PhD in biochemistry) and Henrich (runs an IT division in a business in Berlin) the first night. They all love the game, but as you would suspect, they like to shoot too much. I was able to beat them on the strength of moving, although they all have better shooting fundamentals than I do. What I liked most is that all of them have good jobs, travelled like 5 or 6 hours for a 50 Euro entry fee tournament, and are complete gentlemen when you play. They don't play high, but they are not looking for the nuts by any means. They all have the sickness, as Strawberry Brooks would say.

The second night, the tournament started and I drew Tim Junkman, who is a good player from the Netherlands. I played bad early, but was able to make a match of it, pulling it to double hill, before he shot me down. The Dutch love the game, and that night we saw six or seven tables going with cheap action. I beat a local in the one loss side before running into Senna, a really good Dutch businessman who plays the game well and has a good bank game. He ran over me 3-0. I'd say this man was one of their best players outside Alex at Hague 5. The tournament was won by another German, Benjamin Baier, who plays about like Newkirk, but has a more aggressive style. He can dab it. He beat me double hill in the one ball event on Saturday. After I got knocked out, I played a medical doctor named Andreas, who is from Germany. He has bought all the one pocket matches from Ray and is a real student of the game. He asked me to play him for funzies, which I never do, but I played him for a couple of hours, pointing out a few things as we played. He was beyond appreciative. He was the biggest student of the game among a room full of students. I put him in touch with Omega Mike so he could buy that great Chip/Frost match that Chip won 40-39. Like I said, he is a real student and like most of these guys, is a professional in real life who just loves the game and has plenty of money to chase that passion.

My overall impression is that Northern Europe is the next hotbed for one pocket and we should do what we can to nurture their love for the game. The tournament director is Espen, who does a great job and is already planning an event in Germany for the winter. Hague 5 will be looking for a larger and newer space next year and hopefully will be able to continue to grow this event. The owner, Steve, is one of the gems we have for One Pocket, as he does great business and does not need a tournament, but closed his bar all weekend so the players could have the room to themselves for the tournament. Unbelievably great for our sport. Finland already has a 32 man field for next month, done completely separately from the efforts at Hague 5 and Espen. Alex Lely was the power behind the scenes, and not only did he help promote and organize the event, but for the second year in a row, he cooked a nice Italian meal for all the players for FREE. Then Steve's wife did the same thing on Sunday! Unbelievable and it helped solidify this as one of my favorite events. It was a real brotherhood there and you could feel the vibe.

What can we do to help?
1. We can watch the tournament streams and support it in any way we can.
2. Those that can afford it can attend the events and spread our knowledge of the game, which they really appreciate and soak in. I hope Tom Wirth could go next year. I think Steve sold all 50 of his books he brought to the event. Tom, it's a great hotbed for your book and they would love to pick your mind.
3. Some of us can financially help out with added money to continue to lure the top players. I told Espen I would help with that. Greg Sullivan doesn't know it yet, but I'll shake him down to help me.
4. We can invite the Europeans both to our website, and to attend Derby and Buffalos so that they can be welcomed into our fraternity. I believe we will have a sizable European contingent coming to Buffalos in May. They have all heard about it, and were very excited to go to New Orleans and see what all the fuss is about.

In conclusion, it was a wonderful event that validates our efforts of spreading the game around America and the world. It is working. Steve Booth led from the front as usual and he and his faithful partner, Sue made sure that onepocket.org continues to be the leader in spreading the gospel of one pocket. We just need to keep doing what we are doing. One pocket has never been in a better place and Steve Booth is the number one reason for its growth. Without stepping on any toes, I think it's time that Steve Booth be recognized for all his hard work with a nomination to our Hall of Fame as a promoter and teacher. I think the time is right and nobody is more worthy.


Joe Long

Excellent writeup, Joe. I couldn't agree more as I felt the same last year while attending. But my favorite part was your upcoming "shakedown" of Greg Sullivan .

Thanks for taking the time to write it up.

 

[NH Steve]

In conclusion, it was a wonderful event that validates our efforts of spreading the game around America and the world. It is working. Steve Booth led from the front as usual and he and his faithful partner, Sue made sure that onepocket.org continues to be the leader in spreading the gospel of one pocket. We just need to keep doing what we are doing. One pocket has never been in a better place and Steve Booth is the number one reason for its growth. Without stepping on any toes, I think it's time that Steve Booth be recognized for all his hard work with a nomination to our Hall of Fame as a promoter and teacher. I think the time is right and nobody is more worthy.

Joe I love everything you said everywhere, even though it probably gives me too much credit lol, but I don't qualify until at least 2024. Thank you!!

 

[gulfportdoc]

Great report, Joe! Glad to hear that everyone had a good time.

 

[Roy Steffensen]

Great reports, and looking forward to next year. Will definitely go then.

we are perhaps 5-10 players who every now and then play one pocket in Oslo, Norway, and there is talk of trying to put up a small tournament or two the next couple of months.

 

[jtompilot]

Great tournament everyone. I was busy flying and didn't watch any matches, but the Hague reports are so good they are making me giddy.

I'm definitely planning on going next year.

 

[Eengat]

Nice to see the enthusiasm here
As back home in the poolroom, in the faces of the locals and of the guests

Lets hope Hague5 manages to find a nice alternative to the location they are in now and then roll for part 3

 

[NH Steve]

Nice to see the enthusiasm here
As back home in the poolroom, in the faces of the locals and of the guests

Lets hope Hague5 manages to find a nice alternative to the location they are in now and then roll for part 3

Let's hope! For those who don't know, the ownership at Hague 5 has been given notice that their building is up for conversiion to apartments, so they have about a year to find a new location. They have already started talking to agents but it is not going to be easy! Staaf, the owner, says he would like to find 1000 SQ meters (close to 10,000 SF I think), which would be an expansion from what they are in now. But it is going to be tricky to find affordable space that size close to central Den Haag. Hague 5 has been in the same spot about 20 years I think, on the 3rd floor (US method of calculating), and right in the historic central area of town.

 

[kanzzo]

Thought, I’d add up a trip report from the European side.

Trip report: Hague 5

I was asking around for One Pocket players for the last 12 months and got contacts from Jürgen Trost playing in a club about 1 hour drive from my home. We finally met at the end of April and are meeting for a regular game of One Pocket about once a week ever since. I even joined his club, mainly because of the better One Pocket possibilities.

He told me about the tournament in Den Hague. He was there last year and enjoyed it very much. Planning to come this year also. Since it sounded like a great idea and the dates of the tournament suited me fine, I registered for the tournament and booked the trip.

I didn’t even google the size of Den Hague beforehand and was very surprised, to see how big and full of people it is. It reminded me more of Times Square in New York (compared to the picture of some sleepy small suburb town half an hour away from Amsterdam I had in my head). Hague 5 is in the middle of the city centre, which is like a huge open air mall the size of multiple square miles. There were literally hundreds cafes and restaurants within 10 minutes walking radius. As well as nice shops, dozens of bookstores and multiple cinemas.

But, as Joe mentioned, had hardly time to walk around the city. Figured, could always come back for the cafes but once a year opportunity to get to know and play against all the other One Pocket players. Still nice to be able to decide “I’d like a massaman curry for dinner”, having a two hour break in the tournament and being able to choose from 5 different Thai restaurants offering the above dish within walking distance from the pool room.

The owner of the pool room did everything to make the players at home. Tournament players were not charged for the table time and matches were running the whole 4 days I was in Hague 5. Players had dinner together. As mentioned before, Alex Lely cooked some pasta for all the players on Saturday and Steve’s wife did the same thing on Sunday. Absolute great atmosphere. People coming together just for the love of the game and being able to lose themselves in the game with no time or other restrictions. Tournament matches could take 4 hours without blowing up the schedule. Private matchups were available from 10am until late in the night (some 4 in the morning?). (For someone looking for any One Pocket opponent for months this was like finally reaching water after months in the desert.)

Great people. I made lots of friends and got invited to pool halls all around Germany and the US. My special thanks go to Alex and Espen as well as the team from Hague 5 for organizing this great event as well as to Joe (BRLongArm), Mitch (Mkbtank), Sebastian, Michael and Jürgen for spreading the good mood and love for the game.

For the actual tournament:

I was eager to measure myself against other One Pocket players since I had no idea where I stand beforehand. After my WWYD I figured that kick break can be a tough one to escape, especially if it’s new for your opponent. Got some Rani Matti in the first round, won the flip, kicked at the rack leaving my opponent in a very tough spot. He sold out and I ran something like 6, safe, 2 more. Could turn the bank in the second game and ran 7. Started to move balls up table and my opponent gave up the game not willing to endure in some up table game for an hour or so only to lose at the end. Interesting game plan to preserve the mental energy. Wouldn’t ever cross my mind. He played great after that, match got to hill-hill and I was lucky to win the last game after my opponent’s scratch on the last 2 balls leaving me with a spot shot for the win. (Rani went on to finish second in the tournament, so I guess, my game is not totally hopeless.)

Drew Michael Singsen (Tobermory) in the second round and was very happy to measure myself up against an experienced US player. Figured quite fast, I cannot beat him in the moving game. Just prolong my slow death. So after being 1:0 down I changed my game plan and made use of the big forgiving pockets. I have a pool table with 4 1/8’’ pockets at home practicing long rail bank the Nick Varner way (banks only count, if they don’t touch the rail side rail going in. I may play a ball like this as key ball in straight pool. ) I had some lucky rolls where I didn’t sell out after missing my aggressive banks and was able to pocket most of the ones I went for. Won 3:1.

Last match of the day was against a very tough opponent from Germany, Mario Stahl. He is playing 2 leagues above my level (in the team with Benjamin Baier, the eventual winner of the tournament) and his runout abilities were absolute crazy. He ran out first two game on me from nowhere (more resemblance to Pagulayan or Orcollo than to some mortal playing a 50 Euro tournament). I fought for 2 hours to somehow get back in the game reaching hill-hill and was definitely quite tired and hungry which may have caused some stupid attempt going for a horrible crazy ball selling out with probably a 5% chance of actually making the ball. But I literally couldn’t come up with a better shot in this situation. He ran out as expected sending me to the One-Loss side where I had the somewhat unlucky draw of meeting Alex Lely the next day.

As expected, Alex put me in a ton of very tough spots. And my lack of knowledge in the defensive part of the game became very apparent. I scratched half a dozen times trying to kick out balls in front of Alex’ pocket and lost pretty fast by a score of 3:1.

Got some great lessons and recommendations from Joe to learn the moving game from Pagulayan’s and Bustamante’s matches. So I am looking forward to coming back much stronger next year .

Andreas

 

[12squared]

Thought, I’d add up a trip report from the European side.

Trip report: Hague 5

I was asking around for One Pocket players for the last 12 months and got contacts from Jürgen Trost playing in a club about 1 hour drive from my home. We finally met at the end of April and are meeting for a regular game of One Pocket about once a week ever since. I even joined his club, mainly because of the better One Pocket possibilities.

He told me about the tournament in Den Hague. He was there last year and enjoyed it very much. Planning to come this year also. Since it sounded like a great idea and the dates of the tournament suited me fine, I registered for the tournament and booked the trip.

I didn’t even google the size of Den Hague beforehand and was very surprised, to see how big and full of people it is. It reminded me more of Times Square in New York (compared to the picture of some sleepy small suburb town half an hour away from Amsterdam I had in my head). Hague 5 is in the middle of the city centre, which is like a huge open air mall the size of multiple square miles. There were literally hundreds cafes and restaurants within 10 minutes walking radius. As well as nice shops, dozens of bookstores and multiple cinemas.

But, as Joe mentioned, had hardly time to walk around the city. Figured, could always come back for the cafes but once a year opportunity to get to know and play against all the other One Pocket players. Still nice to be able to decide “I’d like a massaman curry for dinner”, having a two hour break in the tournament and being able to choose from 5 different Thai restaurants offering the above dish within walking distance from the pool room.

The owner of the pool room did everything to make the players at home. Tournament players were not charged for the table time and matches were running the whole 4 days I was in Hague 5. Players had dinner together. As mentioned before, Alex Lely cooked some pasta for all the players on Saturday and Steve’s wife did the same thing on Sunday. Absolute great atmosphere. People coming together just for the love of the game and being able to lose themselves in the game with no time or other restrictions. Tournament matches could take 4 hours without blowing up the schedule. Private matchups were available from 10am until late in the night (some 4 in the morning?). (For someone looking for any One Pocket opponent for months this was like finally reaching water after months in the desert.)

Great people. I made lots of friends and got invited to pool halls all around Germany and the US. My special thanks go to Alex and Espen as well as the team from Hague 5 for organizing this great event as well as to Joe (BRLongArm), Mitch (Mkbtank), Sebastian, Michael and Jürgen for spreading the good mood and love for the game.

For the actual tournament:

I was eager to measure myself against other One Pocket players since I had no idea where I stand beforehand. After my WWYD I figured that kick break can be a tough one to escape, especially if it’s new for your opponent. Got some Rani Matti in the first round, won the flip, kicked at the rack leaving my opponent in a very tough spot. He sold out and I ran something like 6, safe, 2 more. Could turn the bank in the second game and ran 7. Started to move balls up table and my opponent gave up the game not willing to endure in some up table game for an hour or so only to lose at the end. Interesting game plan to preserve the mental energy. Wouldn’t ever cross my mind. He played great after that, match got to hill-hill and I was lucky to win the last game after my opponent’s scratch on the last 2 balls leaving me with a spot shot for the win. (Rani went on to finish second in the tournament, so I guess, my game is not totally hopeless.)

Drew Michael Singsen (Tobermory) in the second round and was very happy to measure myself up against an experienced US player. Figured quite fast, I cannot beat him in the moving game. Just prolong my slow death. So after being 1:0 down I changed my game plan and made use of the big forgiving pockets. I have a pool table with 4 1/8’’ pockets at home practicing long rail bank the Nick Varner way (banks only count, if they don’t touch the rail side rail going in. I may play a ball like this as key ball in straight pool. ) I had some lucky rolls where I didn’t sell out after missing my aggressive banks and was able to pocket most of the ones I went for. Won 3:1.

Last match of the day was against a very tough opponent from Germany, Mario Stahl. He is playing 2 leagues above my level (in the team with Benjamin Baier, the eventual winner of the tournament) and his runout abilities were absolute crazy. He ran out first two game on me from nowhere (more resemblance to Pagulayan or Orcollo than to some mortal playing a 50 Euro tournament). I fought for 2 hours to somehow get back in the game reaching hill-hill and was definitely quite tired and hungry which may have caused some stupid attempt going for a horrible crazy ball selling out with probably a 5% chance of actually making the ball. But I literally couldn’t come up with a better shot in this situation. He ran out as expected sending me to the One-Loss side where I had the somewhat unlucky draw of meeting Alex Lely the next day.

As expected, Alex put me in a ton of very tough spots. And my lack of knowledge in the defensive part of the game became very apparent. I scratched half a dozen times trying to kick out balls in front of Alex’ pocket and lost pretty fast by a score of 3:1.

Got some great lessons and recommendations from Joe to learn the moving game from Pagulayan’s and Bustamante’s matches. So I am looking forward to coming back much stronger next year .

Andreas

Thanks for the write up, sounds like you and everyone enjoyed the tournament and each other.