Billiard Coach – Mike Fieldhammer

Is anyone going to stay at the Riv?

Posted on 29. Mar, 2009 by Fieldhammer.

It must be the economy. I can’t even remember how many years in a row I’ve played in the BCA National Championships in Las Vegas.  Every May, the Riviera is teaming with pool players.  In past years when I decided to stay at the host hotel, I had to make my reservations in early January.  Any later that that and it was sold out. Not so this year. You can smell the desperation in the following email from the BCAPL.  Or maybe it is just player retaliation to the removal of the splash bar.

The Riviera Hotel & Casino has $85 rooms … for up to 4 people per room!

Reserve Now!

YES, the rate is the same whether you reserve the room for 1, 2, 3, or 4 people.

… And the same on weekends.

Don’t fall into any of the “cheap room” traps when booking Vegas.  Most Las Vegas hotels charge extra for more than two adults in a room, and more on weekends.  In fact, the two hotels closest to the Riviera are charging $15 and $35 (EACH!) right now for the 3^rd and 4^th person in a room.

So, we suggest that you get the accommodations you need at the Riviera, and DO IT NOW while your accommodations are still available. You just can’t beat being able to go upstairs for something you forgot, or for a quick break between matches.

The Riviera Hotel & Casino has done more for pool and pool players than any other hotel in the world.  They know and love pool and pool players, and they leave no stone unturned to help build better pool tournaments.

AND, that is why they deserve your patronage…

To make your reservations for The Greatest Pool Tournament in the World! … at the Riviera Hotel & Casino … CLICK HERE!

The Riviera has spent millions renovating the casino and the guest towers since last year.  Their new ”Signature Rooms” (example below) have flat screen TVs, new bathrooms, and pillow top Euro beds.  … See you in May!

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C-Notes for Billiard Players? A cash saving plan?

Posted on 27. Mar, 2009 by Fieldhammer.

Economy-schmonomy! I ran across this seemingly strange advice. Carry large bills to spend less. Say what? How do you think this works with pool players and gamblers?

Only one barrel?

I have a friend who’s a banker and I had to break a hundred in his lobby a year ago to pay him a debt. He chuckled and said, “Hah! The only two groups of people I know who carry hundred dollar bills all the time: Bankers and Pool Players!”

Article

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Anger Management

Posted on 25. Mar, 2009 by Fieldhammer.

As I was just about shoot in the match-winning 8 ball during league tonight, I was startled by a thunderous crash. Evidently, a player lost a match and decided to break his cue stick on the side of the table. Years ago, countermen, managers, or owners of pool rooms would keep a sharp eye out for any kind of abuse behavior, especially when the billiard equipment was mistreated. Back in the day, players were ejected for less. I miss those days.

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Tip question

Posted on 15. Mar, 2009 by admin.

Yesterday, I received the following message from a reader:

If you break with your shooter and the tip becomes mushroomed, does that actually compact the tip and make that tip harder? (First of all, I would never break hard with my shooter) My friend Robert has a shaft that I am going to try out and when he handed it to me, the tip was mushroomed because he used to break with it and it’s a medium tip. So is that tip likely to be more like medium hard or should I just reshape the tip and it should still react as normal?

Chris R.
Dallas, TX

It’s going to be the same hardness whether he re-shapes it or leaves it mushroomed. The process of mushrooming makes it play a little harder, although very slightly. The tip is more likely to get/play harder as the height is sanded off the tip as it ages. The thickness of the tip is the important thing in the tip hardness. By mushrooming, it is getting slightly less tall. Same thing with sanding, scuffing, and shaping. This is the problem with non-laminated tips. They play very different when tall and brand new, and at the end of their life at the thickness of a dime. Layered tips offer several advantages: Consistent hardness through the life of the tip, Extreme resistance to mushrooming, Harder in general than non-layered tips.

Mike

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