Ross Keith Thompson
Verified Member
Most players, gamblers, fans etc. will never know the intense mind game you have to endure to compete in say The Johnston city al-around.
That was the toughest thing to do! You’re playing the best players on the planet and you have to play them reasonably long sessions at all 3 major games.
Each match you had to adjust your thought process from 14-1 to nine ball and then to one hole then back to 9 ball and back again to 14-1.
That’s incredibly hard to do people, I’m not saying I couldn’t do it because I did but I had to do it one thought better than both my opponents and that was challenge I had to win, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done by far.
I could pocket balls as good as anybody but it was the cue ball I’m most proud of, I was very close to mastering it but the thought process in the al-around, a 12 hour plus marathon was exhausting. By the last Match against Ronnie Allen I was exhausted, spent, could not go anymore I had burnt up everything I had ever learned about pocket billiards.
I realize what Von Braun went thru everyday trying to put men on the moon with a rocket spacecraft, I had to do it all in 14 hours Lol.
Each match against a world beater at any game the thought process is the hardest part of the game. Any top player can pocket balls pretty dam good it’s the thought process that wins matches, not just running out!
I studied the stack every game every match and processed the information as good as I could, angles, frozen balls, combinations, bank shots, percentages and so on, it’s mind boggling how much thought process is in pocket billiards when played at the highest level.
That was the hardest thing in the Al-around in 1970 winning the thought process. What game should I choose after winning the flip for choice of game I would kick off against Lassiter to start the Al-around.
Each match had to be strategically chosen by the chooser to get an advantage over their opponent to set up his strongest chance for a win in the final matches. This particular Al-around it went to the final match, a race to 11 against Ronnie Allen a true warrior in every sense of the word.
When I won the lagg for first break by freezing my cue ball to the rail I felt I was gonna win the match, he never got off his stool the first five games he was done, I also won the thought process in that match, I snookered him when the run out wasn’t their utilizing my one pocket prowess.
Incardona, Tall Jeff, Rempe, Buddy Hall etc. understands what I mean about the thought process in matches of that magnitude. It is mind boggling but it was a challenge that I enjoyed very much even though I was 100% spent when it was over!
I hope everyone of you good people here at One hole dot com bahaha has some kind of understanding what it’s like having to play world beaters at all major games and think like they do at minimum just to have a chance to win! Just sayin think about it!
That was the toughest thing to do! You’re playing the best players on the planet and you have to play them reasonably long sessions at all 3 major games.
Each match you had to adjust your thought process from 14-1 to nine ball and then to one hole then back to 9 ball and back again to 14-1.
That’s incredibly hard to do people, I’m not saying I couldn’t do it because I did but I had to do it one thought better than both my opponents and that was challenge I had to win, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done by far.
I could pocket balls as good as anybody but it was the cue ball I’m most proud of, I was very close to mastering it but the thought process in the al-around, a 12 hour plus marathon was exhausting. By the last Match against Ronnie Allen I was exhausted, spent, could not go anymore I had burnt up everything I had ever learned about pocket billiards.
I realize what Von Braun went thru everyday trying to put men on the moon with a rocket spacecraft, I had to do it all in 14 hours Lol.
Each match against a world beater at any game the thought process is the hardest part of the game. Any top player can pocket balls pretty dam good it’s the thought process that wins matches, not just running out!
I studied the stack every game every match and processed the information as good as I could, angles, frozen balls, combinations, bank shots, percentages and so on, it’s mind boggling how much thought process is in pocket billiards when played at the highest level.
That was the hardest thing in the Al-around in 1970 winning the thought process. What game should I choose after winning the flip for choice of game I would kick off against Lassiter to start the Al-around.
Each match had to be strategically chosen by the chooser to get an advantage over their opponent to set up his strongest chance for a win in the final matches. This particular Al-around it went to the final match, a race to 11 against Ronnie Allen a true warrior in every sense of the word.
When I won the lagg for first break by freezing my cue ball to the rail I felt I was gonna win the match, he never got off his stool the first five games he was done, I also won the thought process in that match, I snookered him when the run out wasn’t their utilizing my one pocket prowess.
Incardona, Tall Jeff, Rempe, Buddy Hall etc. understands what I mean about the thought process in matches of that magnitude. It is mind boggling but it was a challenge that I enjoyed very much even though I was 100% spent when it was over!
I hope everyone of you good people here at One hole dot com bahaha has some kind of understanding what it’s like having to play world beaters at all major games and think like they do at minimum just to have a chance to win! Just sayin think about it!