2 Rackem Magazine - June 2010

March 2011 - Rackem Magazine 3

About RackemRackem is a monthly publ icat ion, dedicated to the advancement of the sport of pool and to promoting enthusiasm and encouragement among the players at all levels, regardless o f t h e i r l e a g u e affiliation, in addition t o r e c o g n i z i n g those businesses who support them all . Covering the midwest. Look for Rackem by the 10th of each month.T h e o p i n i o n s expressed are those o f the au thor o r 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. © 2011 Rackem

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These schedules have been provided by ESPN.

These are tentative dates and are subject to change

Publisher

Do

n “

Ch

eese

” A

ker

low

Rackem StaffPUBLISHER/EDITORDon “Cheese” Akerlow

MARKETING DIRECTORMary Akerlow

LAYOUTS & DESIGNWendy Swenson

Mary AkerlowDon Akerlow

DISTRIBUTIONSheila Papke

All times are Central time.03/02/2011 9:00 AM 2007 Skins Billiards Championship Johnny Archer & Jennifer Barretta vs. George Breedlove & Jeanette Lee 03/05/2011 6:00 AM 2001 Sudden Death 7-Ball 03/09/2011 9:00 AM 2007 Int’l Challenge of Champions03/13/2011 7:00 AM 2001 BCA Open 9-Ball Championship Corey Deuel vs Jose Parica

presents

Streaming ScheduleWatch on www.OTBnTV.com ustream.tv/channel/otbntv-livewww.facebook.com/otbntv

Mar 16-20, 2011SD State 8-Ball Rapid City, SD

Apr 1-3, 2011Platte ValleyOpen - WY

Apr 8-10, 2011MCMOA Montana State 8-Ball

Sponsored by:www.tigerproducts.comwww.delta-13.comwww.simoniscloth.comwww.lucasihybrid.comwww.kamuitips.com

4 Rackem Magazine - March 2011

Read more articles by Samm Diep at www.onthebreaknews.com

By Samm Diep © March 2011

Samm Diep

4 Reasons to RegroupIt’s always good practice to take a deep breath and relax before you shoot. However, there are certain times when it’s especially important to take a moment to regroup and calm yourself before your next shot. High pressure situations can get your adrenaline pumping, which can ultimately result in an assortment of bad outcomes. Though adrenal hormones help the body cope with stress, among other vital bodily functions, they are also known for increasing your heart rate and constricting blood vessels. Too much adrenaline can cause you to miss a shot or over or under stroke a ball and miss position. When

your palms are sweaty, your hands are shaking, and your heart is beating faster than normal, you are feeling the effects of the adrenaline and it’s a good idea to take a moment to regroup and settle down.Here are four instances of when it’s important to regroup prior to shooting again:After a lucky shotLuck happens. Maybe you caught a lucky roll or slopped something in playing 9-ball. Whatever the case may be, the surprise of the unexpected fortune might be just enough to raise the adrenaline level. When this happens there’s no need to feel guilty. It’s part of the game. Luck happens to you and it will happen to your opponent as well. Accept the shot, regroup, and focus on the next shot.After a great shotHave you ever come with the shot of your life, only to turn around and miss the easy one that follows up? This happens to everyone. It’s very common that when so much focus and energy was needed for a heroic effort, the subsequent shot is taken for granted. A fantastic shot can cause excitement and elevate your heart rate. In these cases, step away from the table and take a sip of water or do something to break the tension. Refocus and approach the next shot.After your opponent’s lock up safetyNot getting a shot, alone can be frustrating, but when you finally receive an opportunity and your opponent just put you in jail, it can be quite discouraging. When your opponent is not giving an inch and the only chance you’re getting is not even a chance at all, it might seem easier to throw in the towel and just give up. This is one time when it’s critical to regroup and do your very best with what you’re faced with. Do not give up or rush your decision. Your opponent can sense your weakness and it only makes them stronger.

After your opponent sits you for a whileA similar circumstance occurs if your opponent is dominating the match and you’ve been sitting in your chair for some time. The anticipation of finally getting a shot after your opponent puts a five-pack on you can cause some restlessness. But, unless you have Ralf Souquet’s nerves of steel, don’t expect to return the favor with a package of your own. As much as you may want to, do not charge the table. It’s good to be eager but racing to the table right now can elevate the excitement and again, your adrenaline level. Calmly approach the table with a clear plan of attack.These are four examples of when it’s easy to get overexcited and allow your enthusiasm or impatience to take over. Don’t let your adrenaline get the best of you.

The Wagon Wheel SystemBy: Bob Jewett

San Francisco Billiard Academywww.sfbilliards.com

Read more articles by Bob Jewett at www.onthebreaknews.com

If you were around the Sacramento pool scene in the 1970s and 80s, you probably saw a distinguished gentlemen by the name of Ted Brown. He was one of the game’s greatest fans, a very good player and also the author of booklet on position play. The full title of the booklet is “Wagon Wheel System: Secrets of Fine Position Play” and it was published about 1990. In the introduction, Ted mentions that his inspiration came from a solo

game called “One-Pocket Points” in which you get a free smash break and then try to run as many balls as you can into one pocket. A miss or foul ends the try. Your score is the total number of balls pocketed in five racks.What Ted discovered with this game was that he had to perfect his position play, and in particular get to exactly the spot he needed rather than leave the cue ball in the general neighborhood of position. The tool he developed to help him progress is the subject of the booklet.

In the diagram is an overview of the main idea. You set up an easy shot into the side pocket with position targets set up on the rails to give you very specific goals for position. For example, to pocket the 15 and have the cue ball just touch the 1 ball, you would set up for a nearly straightshot and hit the cue ball well above center. How “nearly straight?” That’s what the practice is for.How far above center? You’ve probably caught on that the answer will be found on the table. Since the cue ball is in hand for each shot, you can make things easy or hard for yourself. Try to do both. That is, at first find out where the cue ball needs to be to make each position play as easyas possible. For example, to get to the 1 ball you need a nearly straight shot, but if you are trying to go straight up the table to the 5 or 6 balls, a larger cut angle is preferred but

not actually needed.Some details: Don’t cheat the side pocket; try to put the 15 straight into the middle of the side. There is no need for left or right english. You are not using the cushions, so there is nothing useful for the side spin to do. Work hard to just get the cue ball to the target position, so on a “good” shot, the cue ball will end up within one ball diameter of the target ball. Try the drill to both sides of the table.The advanced form of this drill is to place the cue ball at the limits of where the position is possible. For example, when going to the 5 or 6, try both nearly straight shots and very thin cuts. For the former, you will have more trouble getting exactly the right small amount of draw or follow on the cue ball, while for the thin cut, you will need to find the angle at which the both the cue ball and object ball barely reach their goals. In this part of the drill, it’s OK to cheat the pocket, but then you have to make the shot even harder.Master the Wagon Wheel and you’ll be on the road to success.

Bob Jewett

March 2011 - Rackem Magazine 5

White Launches www.LoneStarOfTexas.comWPBA Touring Pro Kim “Lone Star” White has launched a new pool website that dives in to her 20 year love affair with billiards and shares a personal glimpse into her past and present. Www.LoneStarOfTexas.com includes an array of client services found in the “Appearances” Section and also lists Kim’s “Events Schedule”. The “News” page offers an inside look at her private exhibitions and projects in the works, soon to include the Comcast Network reality show film project, “Playing with Sharks” produced by Adam Taylor of Imaging Studios. White hired www.PoolWebSites.com to produce the site which includes photography by Kim Coffman www.KimCoffmanPhoto.com and Melinda Bailey. For several weeks she collaborated with owner and operator Jeff Montigny on site design and content before going with a soft but energetic palate of colors and shapes. “I love this company because they cater to the customer’s vision for their site. They provide punctual updating, I.T. support, and a great peace of mind for your online business”, Kim says. PoolWebSites.com is based in Austin, Texas and offers online solutions for everyone in the billiards industry. Visit www.PoolWebSites.com and get your site up today!

12th (2011) U.S. Open One pOcket champiOnShip Field Size and dateS expandedDue to extensive player interest, CueSports International (CSI) announces they are expanding the field size and dates for the 12th (2011) U.S. Open One Pocket Championship being held this May at the Riviera Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The expanded field size will now be a maximum of 64 players (up from the initially announced 48). The tournament is also now a 4 day event instead of a 3 day event, starting on Thursday, May 12th (instead of the initially announced Friday, May 13th). The event is still scheduled to conclude Sunday evening, May 15th. Due to the start date being moved ahead to the 12th, the Mandatory Player’s Meeting is now scheduled for 8 pm, Wednesday, May 11th. The U.S. Open One Pocket Championship is being held the four days preceding the 3rd (2011) U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship and in conjunction with the BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships. For more information about the U.S. Open One Pocket Championship and the U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship visit www.playcsipool.com. For more information about the BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships visit www.playbca.com. Long time event host, the Riviera Hotel & Casino has lowered their room rates for the BCAPL 2011 nationals with a three tier pricing structure ($60 - $80 per night). To receive these great new rates (with no resort fee), you must book through the BCAPL online Riviera booking link or call the Riviera toll-free number (800) 634-6753 Group Code BCAPCPP. Go to: BOOK MY ROOM AT THE RIV

U S OpenOne Pocket

6 Rackem Magazine - March 2011

January 29th-30th weekend was the 1st Tour stop for the OB Cues Ladies Tour and 40 ladies were anxious to start the New Year with some high spirited competition, fun and as some players call it, OBCLT therapy. Rusty’s in Arlington, Texas was our host site for this weekend and it was indeed a welcome to have their fantastic staff and management host us once again. Special thanks to Jeff, Traci, Box, Sara and all the other Rusty’s staff and organization for a job well done.

Special Thanks to our main tour sponsor OB Cues and new co-sponsor Pool300. The tour is now starting our 17th year in existence and we are proud to claim the status as the largest women’s amateur regional tour in the world. Thank you OB Cues and Pool300 for all that you do for us. Thank you for allowing us to continue to pursue our pool dreams and seeing our tour friends, fans, supporters and sharing in our journey along the way. Be sure to check out our sponsors at www.obcues.com and www.pool300.com

Many top ranked players from 2010 were part of the action this weekend. Some marquee names included Lisa Marr, Jennifer Kraber, Amanda Lampert, Tara Williams, Ashley Nandrasy and Orietta Strickland, to name a few. And by the end of play on Saturday, these marquee names were still in the running for the $750 guaranteed 1st place prize money, along with some new faces. Top 8 players continuing in the Main Event on Sunday were winner side matches featuring Amanda Lampert vs. Jennifer Kraber and Belinda Lee vs. Lisa Marr. On the one loss side, it was Ashley Nandrasy vs. Corina Campbell and Orietta Strickland vs. Tara Williams.

Finishing 7th/8th was Corina and Tara. In 5th/6th it was Ashley and Orietta, and Jennifer with a nice 4th place finish. Great shooting, as always, ladies!

In 3rd place, it was Belinda Lee. This was Belinda’s highest finish ever on the tour. Belinda

defeated Lisa Marr to earn a spot to play for the hot seat against Amanda. But Amanda, as she has done so many times in the past, would not go down undefeated and earned her spot in the finals match. Then it was down to Lisa to avenge her earlier loss to Belinda, which she did to earn her spot in the finals as well. But we are sure that we will see Belinda with her strong playmaking skills and hammer-solid break in many future tour events. Excellent Tournament and fantastic finish, Belinda!

The finals match between Amanda and Lisa was exciting as ever. As these two ladies have paired up in many previous OBCLT finals matches, this time was no surprise as many fans and spectators assumed before the start of the tournament, the eventual winner would be either one. In true double elimination format, Lisa would have to up-end Amanda twice and that is exactly what she did. Both sets were hill-hill matches. In the final set, Lisa, scoring her only break and run all weekend, did so for the final game to earn 1st place. Both Amanda and Lisa are true champions and have a great deal of respect for each other’s games; they are truly inspiring and fun to watch. Fantastic event ladies and congratulations to you both!

In the second chance event on Sunday, 15 ladies participated in the $200 added event. In

the end, Lisa Henderson-Major took first place honors against Kim Mills in the finals. Board member Julie Stephenson finished in 3rd.

Next Tour Stop: April 16-17 – Casper’s Billiards, San Leon, Texas

Visit www.obcuestour.com for more information.

Lisa Marr Continues Streak

MAIN EVENT TOURNAMENT PAYOUTS - $2000 ADDED MONIES

1st $150 Lisa Marr2nd $550 Amanda Lampert3rd $400 Belinda Lee4th $270 Jennifer Kraber5th/6th $155 Ashley Nandrasy, Orietta Strickland7th/8th $100 Corina Campbell, Tara Williams9th/12th $70 Julie Stephenson, Christy Powell, Lisa Henderson-Major, Michelle Prince 13th/16th $30 Shayla Neris, Natalie Mans, Tera Saunders, Kim Mills17th/24th $15 Janea Taylor, Amber Stone, Rebecca Riley, Jennifer Sherman, Angela Garza, Michelle Abernathy, Barbara Wisdom, Becky Smith

SECOND CHANCE EVENT - $200 ADDED1st $125 Lisa Henderson- Major2nd $95 Kim Mills3rd $60 Julie Stephenson4th $30 Jennifer Pavlovick5th/6th $10 Jennifer Sherman, Tracie Voelkering

OTHER TOURNAMENT WINNERS:Free tournament entry - $30 refund –

Rachel BachelderBox of Godiva Chocolates – Jennifer

ShermanStarbucks Gift Cards (2) – Tera Saunders,

Amber StoneRusty’s Billiards T-Shirt – Dana McGuirePoolDawg Chalk & 9-ball Key Chain –

Deedra TrammellPoolDawg Glove & 9-ball Key Chain –

Monica AndersonPoolDawg Towel – Rebecca RileyOB Cues Raffle Winners – Two local Rusty’s customers

Amanda Lampert and Lisa Marr

March 2011 - Rackem Magazine 7

O C H OA P U N I S H E S I N P O RT A RT H U R

Sylver Ochoa, Brent Thomas Belinda Lee, Ming Ng

Mar12th Houston’s Billiards Houston, TXApr 9th Q-Stix Billiards Houston, TXMay 7thBogies BilliardsHouston, TXJun 11th Crazy 8’s Port Arthur, TX

$1350-$3000 added each event4-Divisions: Main Event, Ladies, One Pocket and JuniorsContact Kim White 713-825-1411

On February 12-13, Crazy 8’s Family Pool Room in Port Arthur, Texas hosted its fourth Lone Star 9-Ball event which drew a 48 player, all-star cast. The room added an impressive $1,000 to the main event while Kim White added a generous $350 to the ladies event. David Gutierrez, Steve Lenz, Sylver Ochoa, Brent Thomas, Ming Ng, Teresa Garland, Rebecca Riley, Ricki Casper, and Kim Pierce were just a few of the lone “stars” who competed for over $4,000 in prize money. In the main event, the final four winners’ side saw Sylver Ochoa defeat Steve Lenz 9-7 while Brent Thomas took down David Gutierrez 9-7. This staged a first time hot-seat match between Ochoa and Thomas. The match was tight, but Thomas pulled through with his first hot-seat match win, 9-8. On the west side, Danny Lee fell to Gutierrez 7-3 and young gun Zach Marguardt from Wisconsin was defeated by Lenz 7-5. Gutierrez bested Lenz 7-3 and met Ochoa for the first semi-final match-up. Ochoa eliminated Gutierrez 7-3 and earned a rematch with Thomas. The first set went to Ochoa 9-7 as did the second set, 7-6. Congratulations to Brent Thomas on his best finish to date and Sylver Ochoa on his first win for 2011. Belinda Lee came on strong in the ladies’ 9-Ball division, winning her first 3 consecutive matches, but was ousted from the hot seat by Ming Ng 7-6. Kim Pierce won 5 consecutive matches after her first round loss to Marie Chhuon, before she was eliminated by

Loretta Lindgren 5-1. Lee then defeated Lindgren for a rematch with Ng. Lee returned with a vengeance and a 7-6 victory in the first set, but Ng closed the second set 5-2. The Tour would like to thank Poison Cues, Delta-13 Rack, LeagueShirts.com, PoolWebsites.com, and the APA of North Harris County for their continued support. The next stop is April 9th at Q-Stix Billiards in Houston. The Lone Star Tour looks forward to 3 new stops for 2011 at its newest venues. Big Tyme Billiards in Spring, Texas will host events on April 16th and July 23rd, and The Grand in Austin, Texas will host an event on June 25th. Press Releases will be out soon announcing these exciting new additions to the Lone Star Tour. Challenge Yourself. Test Your Skill. Improve Your Game.

OPEN PAYOUTS1st $650 Sylver Ochoa2nd $450 Brent Thomas3rd $300 David Gutierrez4th $200 Steve Lenz5th-6th $120 Danny Lee, Zach Marguardt7th-8th $60 Ernesto Bayaua, Brian Rosenbaum

AUCTION1st $8002nd $6003rd $4004th $185

LADIES PAYOUTS1st $235 Ming Ng2nd $175 Belinda Lee3rd $115 Loretta Lindgren4th $65 Kim Pierce

AUCTION1st $1252nd $75

8 Rackem Magazine - March 2011

Hot on the heels of his stellar performance at this year’s Derby City Classic, Alex “the Lion” Pagulayan continued his winning streak by taking first place at the 15th Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament. The event was held at the legendary Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, California February 12-13th under the tournament direction of Mark Griffin, Sunny Griffin and Bill Stock of CueSports International (CSI). With the move to the Hard Times location, the event was live streamed for the first time by the rock and roll high tech team from TAR (www.theactionreport.com). The largest two day 9’ table event in the United States, the $4000 added tournament with 192 players on 28 tables is not for the faint of heart. It is a test of skill, concentration and stamina. The event celebrates the much loved Southern, CA player Jay Swanson, who passed away June 1996. He was known as “the Gentle Giant” who demonstrated all that the Swanee event still stands for today. The Swanee event has a history of

a full field. However with CSI’s recently launched online registration function on its CueSports Tournament System (CTS) (www.ctsondemand.com), it was sold out for the first time the week before the tournament. In addition to Pagulayan, the Swanee field was a literal who’s who of western U.S. players. Arizona monster Mitch Ellerman took second place. Ellerman won the event in 2009, then after a one year hiatus came

back strong to narrowly lose in the finals 11-6 to Pagulayan. A d d i t i o n a l players included “Mad Max” Eberle. Eberle was shuttled to the loser’s side by Pagulayan in a nail biter quarter final match. With the score hill-hill Eberle dead hooked Pagulayan on the 5-Ball. It seemed Eberle pretty much had the match in the bag, but you never can count “the Lion” out. Imparting a little right spin, Pagulayan one-rail kicked in the 5 getting perfect on the 6 and calling it game, set and match. The next CSI produced event is the $25,250 Added 18th U.S. Bar Table Championships, being held February 21-27th

at the Terrible’s Sands Regency in Reno, Nevada. For more information visit: www.playcsipool.com. Coming up for TAR, in March is “TAR20”, a 10-Ball, race to 100 challenge match between Earl Strickland and Shane Van Boening. Then in May TAR will be with the CSI team at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas live streaming the 12th U.S. Open One Pocket Championship and the 3rd U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship.

Pagulayan RoaRs into 1st Place at swanee

Alex Pagulayan. Photo courtesy of Andy Chen

15TH JAY SWANSON MEMORIAL 9-BALL TOURNAMENT RESULTS / PAYOUT: 1st ($3,000) Alex Pagulayan2nd ($1,500) Mitch Ellerman3rd ($1,000) Max Eberle4th ($750) Tommy Tokoph5th-6th ($535) Oscar Dominguez and Amar Kang7th-8th ($400) Josh Ulrich and Santos Sambajon Jr.9th-12th ($300) Brian Parks, Chris Fangre, Deo Alpajora, and Fach Garcia13th-16th ($200) Johnny Kang, Ernesto Dominguez, Yuutaro Yamaguchi, Lori Deleon17th-24th ($175) Louis Ulrich, Morro Paez, Nick Spano, Walter Glass, Larry Bohn, Brandon Shuff, Manuel Herrera, Jose Parica25th-32nd ($150) Corey Harper, Tyler Van Wulven, Chris Tate, Dave Hemmah, Bob Lees, Bruce Choyce, Chris Wedekind, Ron Marshall33rd-48th ($100) Ray Lorenzo, Greg Harada, Ernie Rivas, Scott Slayton, Ross Fregoso, Asgar Shroff, Joseph Courvrette, Sean Lane, Wayne Pullen, Don McClelland, Branch Talley, Marshall Anonby, Abe Lim, Gus Luna, Doug Wu, El Callado49th-64th ($75) Will Hathcock, Frank Almanza, David Blevins, Issac Wooten, Steve Eakins, Aaron Aragon, Damian Alishan, Rigo Pena, Joey Chin, Vince Vidaurre, Dan Boone, Ronnie Tompkins, Gerardo Jamito, Stan Oda, Andrew Karhur, Mark Tui

March 2011 - Rackem Magazine 9

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cabilliardclub@yahoo.com www.californiabilliardclub.com

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APRIL 29, 30, MAY 1

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STARTING MARCH 1STGO TO: CALIFORNIABILLIARDCLUB.COM

LIMITED TO 64 PLAYERSDOUBLE ELEMINATION - RACE TO 3

$100 ENTRY REGISTRATION OPENS MARCH 1ST

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2011 Seminole Pro Tour

First the Seminole Pro Tour would like to thank all of the players, fans and sponsors who have supported the Seminole Pro Tour in the past. The Tour is about to embark on its 6th year and hopes that this year can be the best yet. In years past the Tour has done a series of 10-ball events, mainly in Florida, with about 8 events per year with an average of $7,500 added to each event. The Tour has also organized the Steve Mizerak Championship for three years with last year’s tournament having $50,000 added. This year, after much deliberation and thought was put in the decision, the Seminole Pro Tour has come up with what we think is the best schedule the Tour has ever had. Four of the five events will be $25,000 or more added and will be BCA ranking events. The amount of events was reduced, but the prize money was significantly increased. Three of our events (California Billiard Club, Snookers Billiards and The Mizerak Championship) will be regular double elimination tournaments with the same rules the Tour has always used. Two of our events (Capone’s Billiards & Fiddlestix Billiards) will be using a round robin style scoring system. This system may be new to some, but many of the players who have used this format in the past have truly enjoyed it. Some of the benefits are that players will play, guaranteed, for two full days and a minimum of 40 matches (4 rounds). In most tournaments, you are only guaranteed two matches. Here players are able to play their way to the money and not be eliminated by losing two unfortunate matches early. A loss is not the end of the road in this style. It does make it more difficult to win if you lose early, but players are not eliminated like in the regular format. This style will also make it better for the spectators. Fans will get to see their favorite players play for at least two full days. The Seminole Pro Tour website will also be going through some major changes this year. The site will soon have an archive of all of the matches from years past. DVDs and other Seminole Pro Tour merchandise will be for sale as well. Real time scoring and brackets will be available this year too. The biggest change will be that all 5 of our events will be streamed live. Registration for these events (except the Mizerak Championship) will begin on Monday February 28, 2011 via the telephone at 954-985-5701 ext 10724. Each event (except California) is limited to 64 players. Events are expected to fill up very quickly, so do not delay in registering. The Seminole Pro Tour would also like to thank their current sponsors that made this all possible: The Seminole Tribe of Florida, Seminole Media Productions, the Universal Pool League and Delta-13, the official rack of the 2011 Seminole Pro Tour. Plenty of sponsorship opportunities are still available for this year’s Tour. For more information on sponsorship opportunities or on the Tour please call 954-985-5701 ext 10724

Event 1: April 29-May 1, 2011California Billiard Club Mountain View, CA$12,000 added$115 entry fee10-ball double elimination Event 2: July 8-10, 2011Capone’s Billiards Spring Hill, FL$25,000 added$300 entry fee10-Ball round robin format Event 3: August 5-7, 2011Snookers Billiards Providence, RI$25,000 Added$300 entry fee10-ball double elimination

Event 4: August 19-21, 2011Fiddlestix Billiards Canton, OH$25,000 Added$300 entry fee10-ball round robin format Event 5: September 16-18, 2011Steve Mizerak ChampionshipSeminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, FL$50,000 added$500 entry fee10-ball double elimination

10 Rackem Magazine - March 2011

Story & photo courtesy of Jerry Forsyth-AZBilliards.comOur final day in Fujairah began with a playoff for third place between Darren Appleton and David Alcaide. Alcaide dominated the match as Appleton only came to the table sparingly. Alcaide won 9-2.Then it was time for the Championship match between Dennis Orcullo of the Philippines and Niels Feijen of the Netherlands. Orcullo won the lag and broke and ran the first rack. It then became the Orcullo break ad run show as repeated this performance ever and over until the score stood at 5-0. Orcullo had to play in local qualifiers to get into the tournament and he was making the most of the opportunity. When he broke the rack in game 6 he scratched

in the side pocket and Feijen had his first opportunity.Feijen polished off that rack to put his first mark on the board at 5-1 down. He then suffered a dry break but left a tough run of balls for Orcullo. Orcullo had to bank the three ball cross corner to get his run begun and then had a very tough lay of the land to navigate. He took his time surveying each shot and did a simply marvelous job of getting through the rack with one tough position after another. But he left himself long on the 8 ball and it rattled in the jaws, returning Feijen to the table.Feijen had a big problem with the 14 ball. Everything else had a pocket but the 14 was blocked from the corner by the 8 ball. He would need to slide into a narrow window between the two to play t he 14 up-table, attempt a bank, or try to move the 14 with another shot. Or he could play a safe and try to get ball in hand. He chose the safe, locking Orcullo behind the 13 ball way up-table. Orcullo called the 8 in the corner and measured his kick shot. He missed the 8 ball and scratched, again awarding ball in hand to Feijen. Feijen positioned the cue between the 8 and the 12 ball which he had moved next to the 14 on his safety, made the shot and finished off the table to bring our score to 5-2.Feijen made two balls on the next snap and had an easy layout. He very quickly made it 5-3. He was running throughout he next rack with ease when he got what appeared to be a skid on the 4 ball and it stayed up between the corner jaws. Orcullo was back at the table. He cleared up and the score became 6-3 in our race to ten games. Orcullo made a great spread of the balls on the next break and finished that rack easily to lead 7-3.The outlook began to truly dim for Feijen when Orcullo made three balls on the next break and faced an open table of well-spread balls. It was soon 8-3 Orcullo. But Orcullo scratched in the side pocket on the break to bring some light to Feijen’s chances. But he missed a long shot to the corner early on and Orcullo finished off the balls to claim his spot on the hill.Orcullo now stood one rack away from his first World title. He made two balls on the break but the table was not an easy one to finish off. But he made it look easy and sank the final 8 ball to a celebration of fans in the arena. FInal score 10-3.Thanks again must go out to the organizers and sponsors such as Etisalat, Dubai SPorts, the Chantoot Group, Fujairah International Airport and all the others who made this event such a great success.

Dennis Orcullo

Dennis Orcullo on Top of the World

March 2011 - Rackem Magazine 11

Lucky

Andrew Monstis

“The Beginning of the Road” The day we left for the road was an adventure. It was early and cooo old. Bet is was 35 degrees. I was jacked! So was Lucky. We decided into taking the sedan instead of the truck. The truck was too unsecured. Bustling around the ranch trying not to forget anything was a bit stress full. We kept running into each other at every junction, on the stairways in the kitchen at the garage. The favorite expression when we met up was “ops, pardon me! Scooter Libby” Given that Valerie Plane ordeal a few years ago, we were “scooting” around the house and it also the phrase rhymes. We packed cloths bags, made sure twice, three times we had the right maps, auto tools and gear. Very importantly was the laptop with all the information in it. The data on it had where to go and what players we knew were in the areas. That research took weeks. It was a lot of calling friends and looking on the net for tournaments and checking the action report on AZBilliards. We learned a lot of STUFF. We were prepared on where the action was and all the tournaments even the unpublished ones. We had a virtual road map. Every town had names of players, stake horses and skill levels of many players. Unlike many Road players, who fly by the seat of their pants, Lucky was prepared. The car had a secret compartment behind the back seat where we could keep our best pool cues. We kept the plain two-piece bar cues in trunk. Planed to use them mostly. The car had a cutoff switch so no one could steel the car. I had to remember to turn it on when we stopped. We were only taking a certain amount of cash and only keeping a certain amount in our pockets. Anything we won went into bank as soon as possible. If we needed money we would go to the ATM. Didn’t want to carry too much, we could be a targets for being robbed. Man, Lucky thought of everything. I am continually reminded just how smart the man is. He is constantly reading magazines, journals and newspapers. He has a huge vocabulary but only uses simple language. He is up on all the politics and the drama they create. He especially knows about human nature. He reads people well. Seems like he’s known them for years. He might as well be a psychologist. When we started out we were easily clearing $150 a day on average just on small local area action no known player types. On a couple days we made around $40-50 and some days $500. That seems to me to be not a lot of money, but Lucky said he made more last time out on the road. He thinks we could be making three times that on the average and we will. After 3 1/2 weeks and after expenses, we were pumped

up to over $4,000. We had enough money to carry us on the road for a while. We even could take a few days off sitting in the sun or rain depending on where we were. Lucky and I have played every single day with someone or one another. Although playing every day his opponents have been polite and friendly gamblers, just waiting to take his money, or so they thought. Not one player yet has been a real run out player. Not one score was big, so far only a few hundred off any one guy. Lucky never pushed any game. We were staying away from any known players and bad action. “ you beat a good players the word gets around, fast” you play good players when the time is right. We started out and headed for Little Creek Casino until we heard the WBCA tournament got cancelled. I guess the Casino foolishly double booked some act that hardly anyone cares about. They jolted a whole bunch of pool players attending. Not bright! Oh well! Lucky was anxious to see some of these players, but we had action everywhere anyway. I was driving to our next location. The driving was easy and traffic was light. Tuning the radio we found the BCS football championship. We were listening to it for awhile. Lucky kept saying how the Ducks misfired 3 times in the first quarter and that will be the difference in the game. We had been driving about 4 hours when Lucky got a call on his cell phone. “Hello!” “well I’ll be a monkeys uncle” What you been doing”. They went into some sharing on what they both been doing and Lucky settled into a listening and a less animated discussion manner. Lucky ended the call by saying “it will take about a day” “ see you then” Lucky said “Slow down” I put my foot on the break and started to steered the car in to the turn out “turn left at that intersection up ahead” I said ‘aren’t we going straight” because we were headed to the next planned place and it was about a days drive too. Lucky said were going a new way. Lucky told me that a friend of his asked him to come to town where there was “this” action. This was not the quote normal action but a reprisal game. Lucky’s friend had played and lost to these guys and was treated badly and was totally intimidated by the behavior they exhibited. He knew Lucky could handle them easily. Lucky always said he will try to stay away from that type of action where it is more about getting

even then about the money. I quizzed him on it…Lucky said at the request of an old friend he had to go. Lucky painted a harsh view of these guys. We were driving most of the next day. Going through this town we stopped at this bar. We got out of the car stretched then went inside

hung around a while and just played a few locals. Surprisingly everyone liked to play pool for money. It wasn’t long before the characters came in. They made sure they were noticed, demanding drinks and food from the bar tender, Her name was Simona. She did a good job of biting her tongue. The one character is commercial building contractor who makes a lot of money doesn’t know how to spend it. He uses his money to make himself feel like a big shot, at the expense of other people mostly. He acts more like a leader of some weekend mercenaries, ordering people here and there. He buy’s his friends, and occasional buy’s dates. People put up with him and his so called best friend. Everyone one really enjoys when they lose. Them losing is better then watching a war in WWII movie where the Nazi’s get bombed to oblivion. This contractor has a real gambling jones and loves to play pool. Known to bet it up. The name they call him when he’s not around is Sugar Daddy. His best friend crony, a used car dealer, who thinks he’s a player and who seems to act like the mayor of the town. He would never get my vote. Doesn’t have anyone’s respect and there are plenty of names giving for him too. He has no clue. The people around have to be drunk to put up with him. I can’t really say his nickname here but it is a common name giving to a prison cellmate. They came in and started in on everyone. They saw we were playing pool with their pigeons. Like they had ownership of these games. They started in on the new guy, Lucky Car dealer tells everyone ”We have more money then anyone in this joint, I’ll bet on that. The car dealer might have $120 in his pocket while his contractor friend might have $10,000 in his. Convenient for the dealer to make that statement. The truth of it was they probably did have the most money in the place. Lucky was nervous because this kind of situation could escalate and we are not young bucks anymore. Lucky worked it well. Lucky let them dictate all

the gambling by acting indecisive. Lucky had them like a cat chasing a string and they knew nothing. They thought they were getting everything their way and pulling the wool over our eyes on the betting moves. Lucky played a couple of short sets. They would play one short set to 5 for $100 then want to jack the bet to a thousand. Lucky hemmed and hawed. “I am not sure about that much money” so they came up with a lower bet amount like $200. Lucky said “that’s still a lot”, “Ok I guess”. Lucky would win some watching silently applauding. Then all over again “play for a thousand!” and settle on less. They were gleaming that they brilliantly got Lucky to keep playing. It wasn’t that Lucky didn’t want to play for higher stakes, he was managing the situation to avoid any problems. After about $3100 of their money Lucky finally talked them out of continuing to play. He made it seem that they were the ones quieting. The one ridiculous buddy said something like “well you bring all your money down here tomorrow and we’ll play for it all, all you got”. If you don’t believe me ask these folks in here. I know what Lucky was thinking, embarrass them but likely they would not show up the next day anyway. Nursing hangovers. Lucky said “ I have to be out of town working for a few weeks but I’ be back. The contractors eyes swirled around and around and so did his head. He said “ any time your, ah…. back in town, ah…. we’ll play, “I am going, ah….. bust you”. They were happy to be losing the money and having the action. I guess the locals that were watching hated seeing them in the bar always badgering games. They were glad they were losing their money. We left and Lucky said that’s how we get out of a bad situation and we will likely see this type thing again and likely them again. I asked Lucky “I thought you avoid jerks like this”. Lucky said, his long time friend and the people in town were really tired of their antics and wanted me to bust them because Lucky could do it in style. We went over to his friend and visited for awhile. They brought up some old pool players they both knew. They talked about Jimmy Caras. Lucky continually bring him up and always prefaces any conversation with he’s really the best players he’s never played. He had talent that most everyone has never seen. It was late and his friend offered for us to stay the night and we were always welcome to come and stay between travels. Lucky has friends all over the place for such a private man………

12 Rackem Magazine - March 2011

Scholarship OpportunitiesThe Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) is pleased to announce

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scholarships to high school seniors who have benefited from the sport of billiards and are pursuing a college education.

The BEF Academic Scholarship Program is divided into two categories: Excellence in Education scholarship (a single $2,000 award) and Aiming for Higher Education scholarships (three individual scholarships at $1,000 each). Each applicant will be considered in both categories; only one completed application is required and must be postmarked no later than April 18, 2011. Applications can be downloaded by going to the BEF website at www.BilliardEducation.org. Students must adhere to the following scholarship criteria: 1) hold a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale); 2) must have an ACT score of at least 23 or SAT combined score (critical reading + math) of 1050 or higher; 3) submit a 500-1000 word essay on how billiards has been an integral part of their life; 4) must be accepted to an accredited undergraduate academic program by June 1; 5) must attend an accredited undergraduate institution and carry at least 12 hours per semester. The final application must also include a letter from the applicant outlining academic achievements, leadership and/or community service work, a description of the applicant's background and career objectives plus personal and professional (academic) goals. Applicants must also submit an official High School Transcript and SAT/ACT scores.About Billiard Education FoundationThe Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profitcharitableorganizationcommittedtofurtheringthestandardofexcellenceand leadership within the billiard community by engaging in activitiesrelatedtotheeducationandculturaladvancementoftomorrow’sleaders.The BEF funds academic scholarships, produces the Junior National9-BallChampionships,sponsorsbilliardathletestoattendtheWPAWorldJunior9-BallChampionshipsandpromotes“PoolInSchool”programs.FormoreinformationabouttheBEFpleasevisitwww.BilliardEducation.org.

McDerMott AMAteur 8 bAll Shootout

New sharp shooters arise from the dust as Claws Billiards hosts the second BCW amateur event of the season known as the Mcdermott Amateur 8 ball Shootout. On the winners side of this double elimination tournament four players remained. These players were Mike Regan, Paul Repischak, Jose Rivas Jr., and Gary Pinnola. Regan was outmatched by Repischak and Jose Rivas Jr. proved to be too much for Gary Pinnola. This left Repischak and Jose in a hot seat match for king of the hill position. On the one loss side Tom Piehl made few errors winning four matches against Jerry Mikulanek 4-3, T.J. Brucker 4-2, Mike Regan 4-2, and Gary Pinnola 4-3 to get a chance at the finals. Jose and Repischak squared up toe to toe but Rivas took the winners side 5-1 awaiting an opponent. It was a tough match between Paul and Tom but Piehl remained hot, edging out Repischak 4-3. Rivas proved to be too skilled to remain an A player at the young age of 20 winning the final match against Piehl and $292 share of the purse 5-1.RESULTS1st $292 Jose Rivas Jr. 2nd $182 Tom Piehl 3rd $119 Paul Repischak 4th $71 Gary Pinnola 5th $40 Chris Gitzlaff 6th $40 Mike Regan 7th $24 T.J. Brucker 8th $24 Terry Nixon

Open Stats 2010-2011 - Top Ten1st Tommy Powaulski 2302nd Jonathan Demet 2273rd Gil Hernandez 1664th Marlon Angeles 1545th Bill Fowler 1376th Ike Runnels 1237th Eddie Balderez 938th Jon Giles 879th Henry Brodt 7610th Matt Daiber 75

Amateur Stats 2010-2011- Top Ten1st T.J. Brucker 1892nd Mike Regan 1643rd Walter Hayes Sr. 1534th Tom Piehl 1525th Chris Mason 1506th Chris Gitzlaff 1477th Jose Rivas Jr. 1308th Jonathan Stzezewski 1279th Gary Pinnola 10910th Dean Derge 109

March 2011 - Rackem Magazine 13

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14 Rackem Magazine - March 2011

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March 2011 - Rackem Magazine 15

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