thwaitesinfo

25th Annual Music City Open (Madison, TN)

admin — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:52:58 PST

After a 4 1/2 hour drive, I was checked into my hotel. I relaxed a bit, had a shower, then took the quick five minute drive to JOB Billiards to register for the Music City Open. The event drew 80 players from all over the US. The entry was $100 with $7000 added; played on 7ft Diamond Smart Tables, race to 11, double elimination format, with nine breaks not counting in the back two pockets. Most of the hall was smoking, but the tournament was played in a non-smoking section, which was a great relief. I got a table for an hour and practiced. The tables were very quick, since they installed brand new Simonis, but I got used to the speed pretty quickly. Buddy Hall was practicing on the TV table next to me. He was playing some guy for a bit and then took a break. I met up with Ray from the BigTruck Show and we hit some balls for a bit, but he got called away, so Buddy Hall stepped in for a few games. This was great sent he’s a hall of famer. I ended up winning most of the games, since he was Ray’s cue, but this changed quickly when he grabbed his cue. Soon the room filled up, since they were about to start the calcutta. The calcutta took about an hour to complete with some of the top pros going for $1300 a piece, such as Hennessy, Johnny Archer, and Larry Nevel. They started play around 9pm. I did not get a bye and played my first match at 10pm. I drew Tim Boisseaeu who actually bought most of the top players in the calcutta. I started off strong and got ahead 4-1, with a break and run in my third game. However, I got a headache from the smoke, which made concentrating difficult. He battled back to 4-3, but then I pulled ahead again to 7-3. He got the score up to 7-5, but I pushed ahead again and sat one game away from the hill at 9-5. Then he did something odd. He took a break when it was my turn at the table; I was about to break. I didn’t take objection to this, since I grabbed a beer, but you should only be able to take a break when its you’re turn at the table, so you don’t break your opponents groove if they are in stroke. Ironically, this worked in my favor. I broke the nine in, but since it was in the back two pockets, it got spotted. I took advantage of the table and ran out. On the hill, I broke and made the nine in the front corner pocket to win the match. I won 11-5. It was a good match, but I knew it would get tougher based on my draw. I stuck around till midnight and had a few beers. Tim ended up playing in a bank ring game and took down some cash from four other players. I could see where his knowledge of the game came in.
The next day, I had a match at 1:30pm against Jerry Clayman. This match did not go in my favor. My break was off and he kept on running out. I googled him later and found out that he won a past event here. I think he put a three pack on me followed by a couple double packs, after I broke dry or scratched. I lost 3-11. Later that night, I got two byes and ended up playing Buddy Hall on the TV streaming table at 9:00pm. OMG! I was so nervous. I was able to win the first game, but was not breathing during my match and kept on making silly mistakes which turned the table back to Buddy. I had a couple good kicks and won two more games, but lost again 3-11. This was the end of my tournament. Buddy played so well, but did get a couple nice rolls to dominate the table. It was quite the experience. My wife even watched me play via the streaming, which was pretty cool. I haven’t been under that type of pressure in a long time and it was a really good learning experience.
The next day, I showed up to watch some evening matches and the start of the Bad Boy 8 person single elimination tournament with a $500 entry. Johnny Archer ended up winning the whole event, plus the Bad Boy tourney. All in all, I really enjoyed the event, but need to find someone to go on the road with. If I’m not playing, I just don’t have the drive to stick around and watch. For events outside of Atlanta, I will strive to find someone to travel with to share the costs, but to have someone to practice and hang out.

2nd Annual Druid Hills Golf Club 8-Ball Doubles Tournament (Atlanta, GA)

admin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:15:09 PST

Participated in the second member and non-member doubles 8-Ball tourney at the Druid Hills Golf Club. My buddy Bryan asked me if I was available to defend our title and I was ready and willing! Just like last time, we won our first two matches with no problem, but lost the A-Side final again. We had a great chance to win the A-Side final, but just didn’t capitalize on the opportunities. We had to play two more matches to get back into the final, which were won easily, but the ex Irish snooker champ and his partner took down the prize. We took 2nd and won our entry fee back. We had a great time, drank much less than last time, enjoyed the camaraderie, and played much better as a team. Next time, they may switch the format to scotch doubles to even out the lopsided strong players in the tournament.

thwaitesinfo is officially re-launched!

admin — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:45:26 PST

After months of experimenting with different templates and tweaking the “one” that matched the feel and flow I was looking for, thwaitesinfo is officially re-launched. thwaitesinfo is now powered by WordPress and can be easily updated. The family tree page, is the only page with flash animation, so pages load extremely quickly and can be viewed with updated browsers or mobile smart phones, including the iPhone/iPad. New features include a billiards blog, which tracks my tournament results and pool exploits dating back to 2008 and 2009, a search button to find a related term, comment or media, content specific wallpapers, direct links to my social media connections, and the ability to comment and share content on multiple platforms. New galleries and videos have also been uploaded under the billiards and family sections. One of the most dramatic changes is my web-hoster. Since 1and1.com increased their rates, I looked for a better option. To cut costs, I tried several free hosting companies, but I ran into restrictions and problems. Finally, I came across x10hosting.com and found a good fit. They do limit the amount of bandwidth used within an hour, but with the aid of plugins and API coding, I’ve been able to pull all videos/galleries from YouTube and Facebook to avoid this issue. Please feel free to drop me an email and share feedback. I should be able to load content more often, since its so easy now.
Cheers, Mark

Dave and Buster’s 10-Ball Ghost Tournament : BTRT (Duluth, GA)

admin — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:58:32 PST

Played in my third Behind the Rock event at Dave and Buster’s. I played worse than last week and could not get into stroke. I kept on getting my three ball tied up. Not only did I score a 39 my first match, but thought I would play better the next match and scored 30 points. I took some action with David Vaughn to see who would get the best score the next match, but he finished with a 47. I then tried to play a short set with him to break even, but lost 1-5. It was not my day and should have quit when I scored the 39. Cost me $40 for tournament fees and action, but I doubt I will make any cash this week. I guess this will bring my average down, which will help when I move from the scratch division into the open.

Dave and Buster’s 10-Ball Ghost Tournament : BTRT (Duluth, GA)

admin — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 21:31:26 PDT

Played in my second Behind the Rock event at Dave and Buster’s. I was suffering from a hangover and could not get into stroke. I had a better feel for controlling my cue ball, but just missed shots or played bad position and scored a 42 in my first match. I played better in my next match and score a 49, with a snap and cut game, but had too many two or three point games. I’m on track to end up in the “Open” to division, and should win some money with this score, but I still haven’t had a good match and think I should be scoring in the 70′s.

Update Nov 12th, 2011 : Took 3rd place and won $24. Cost me $20 to play; not a bad pay day for being hungover.

Dave and Buster’s 10-Ball Ghost Tournament : BTRT (Duluth, GA)

admin — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:38:25 PDT

Played in my first Behind the Rock event at Dave and Buster’s today. I haven’t played on a 9ft for quite some time and had a hard time controlling the cue ball. I practiced at home for bit before going to the event and scored high 50′s to low 70′s, but was unsure how I would fare in this format. I still did okay. In my first match, I scored a 50. I played another match and scored 52, but played better and should have scored mid 60′s. I think it was a good start and will probably play again next week, but I will only play two matches if I score less than 50 points. I think I should end up in the “Open” division which is scored between 30 – 70 points on average, but time will tell. Hopefully my score is strong enough to win some cash? I will post an update of how I fared across the country, when I find out.

Update Nov 5th, 2011 : Tied for 4th place and won $13. Cost me $20 to play, but can see how a really good score can take down some cash.

1st Annual Druid Hills Golf Club 8-Ball Doubles Tournament (Atlanta, GA)

admin — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:13:22 PDT

Participated in the first member and non-member doubles 8-Ball tourney at the Druid Hills Golf Club. Lost the A-Side Final and had to beat the team who beat us twice to win the title. Played with my buddy Bryan who’s a member. Since eight doubles teams took all night to play on one table, I got way too drunk and quickly turned over my winnings back to one of the teammates who beat us. Played a quick race for 4 for $100.00. In hindsight, I should have played a longer race of 9-Ball, since I can’t stand 8-Ball, but I was not in the correct state of mind. On a great note, it was a great event to go to, so I hope the opportunity comes up again.

Almost Ran a 5-Pack!

admin — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:04:45 PDT

Was two balls short of a 5-Pack playing 9-Ball today. Rattled the eight ball! Granted I broke in two 9-Balls, but that’s some good shooting for me. Guess I’m getting used to my new Mezz Hybrid Pro II shaft.

Time and Money Wasted Changing Tips (Part 2)

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 02:19:36 PDT

After getting back from BCA Vegas, I picked up a new Mezz Hybrid Pro II shaft. I was looking for a shaft which was stiffer and had better feedback. The tip was a stock Morri medium. It played great for the first three weeks, but then mushroomed out and became unplayable. I ordered a couple more Morri’s (medium and soft) and installed them, thinking they would fair better, but they both went the same route. I keep the Morri soft for a while, trimmed it with my lathe, but soon it felt spongy. I did some research and ordered a couple Wizard tips (medium and soft). These tips were supposed to play like the old Morri’s, but don’t suffer from the mushrooming affect. On a good note, neither of them mushroomed, but they both had a odd hit, as if the tip was not consistent and soft in the middle? The next day, I ordered a package of ten Everest tips to get back to normality. Looking forward, the tip I want to try next is a Thomas Tip. They look like a Morri and Kamui had a baby, without the mushrooming or glazing issue. I will probably do that next year; Part 3 of this tip saga continues.

Classic Billiards 9-Ball Tournament : GSBT (Conyers, GA)

admin — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 15:53:39 PDT

Back to Conyers for another GSBT 9-Ball tournament. I was hopping to get into the money this time but fell short again! I started off well. Won 7-0 against Jeremy Holder. I then had to wait for three hours. ‎There were 41 players. Larry Price was playing. My next match was against Josh Roberts; AA. Lost 10-1. Josh ran ever break he had except one. He missed one ball, which was the game I won. I could not make a ball on the break. Waited another two hours and lost 7-5. Was sweating too death and need to invest in a billiard glove. Left to a poker tourney at a buddies house, where I lost some more.