It’s back to the drawing board! Last night was my first official night back to the table in 2008. I met Bob on Saturday morning for a five hour practice at Table Steaks West. It was there that he introduced me to a game that I can not believe I hadn’t heard of before. It’s called Equal Offense, created by BCA Master Instructor Jerry Briesath in 1977 (game rules courtesy of Internet Equal Offense). We only played two rounds, but I am totally hooked!

I didn’t score too hot, but I feel I’ve been hitting the ball pretty well since I’ve been back. We also worked on some positional exercises and ran some scotch straight pool together. That was fun.

Last night, I couldn’t wait to play some more Equal Offense. Bob said I could only allow myself one or two attempts per session and just accept the score that I got until the next time.

I’m sad to report that I only scored a 45 and a 27. The second round’s breaks were horrible. Clusters everywhere. There is so much more to this game than just making the shot. Obviously, that’s very important, but in the first round, with all the balls spread wide open, there should be absolutely no excuse not to complete the rack! I shot a 13, 4, 7, 12, and 9 and every run was ended with a missed shot; not because it was a difficult one, but mainly because I lost focus. GGGGGRRRR!!! Can’t wait to take my next whack at it.

Next, I worked on the L Drill for a little bit before tackling Fast Mikie’s Sorto String:

Run all 9 balls, in sequence,
into the corner pocket directly (no banks).
The cue ball must hit
the bottom cushion on every shot,
and can not hit any other cushion or any other ball
than the lowest numbered ball.

This drill has single-handedly taught me more about the abilities of my new predator shaft than any other drill I’ve worked on. The opening shots require some low inside which I struggled with, with my other shaft. I could shoot it, but it was just not as easy.

It’s funny though, Day 21 is right around the corner. Shouldn’t I have “developed a habit” by now? Isn’t that what “they” say??? Shouldn’t I have trained myself to aim properly with my new shaft by now? It still blows me away that after all this time, my brain will still revert back to how I used to aim for this shot, and some others, with my old shaft. I kept under cutting the ball.

Next, I worked on a 10 Ball One Pocket exercise that my coach showed me. I don’t even play one pocket, but this is a fun one!

With ball-in-hand, gently break the rack to pocket the end ball. Ideally, draw the cue ball back so you have a shot to run all the balls into the same pocket. Just like One Pocket, banks and kicks are allowed in this exercise.

So there you have it. At this current moment, these are my new favorite things to practice.

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