APA 8-ball featuring Greg Cordero

As I have mentioned before, I am a member of the Guys & Dolls APA 8-ball and 9-ball pool teams. Since I joined the teams we have won every season (except 1), and qualified to go to Las Vegas for the national competition. But that is because of the team effort.

While I have plenty of videos showing how I play pool, and explaining defensive shots, I am continuing to detail the other players on each on my teams. It is the combination of all our skills that have allowed us to dominate the Central New York region.

Today I will be focusing on Greg Cordero. Long-time readers will recall Greg from the interview I did with him back in 2008, discussing the mortgage and home buying markets. Greg is a real estate broker.

{Yes I know the audio is missing. Youtube pulled the music I had set. I will fix that soon.}



I still love that triple bank shot he does in the video. Greg is a 5 ranked pool player in 8 and 9-ball.

There are plenty of other pool videos, and others, at my youtube channel. Check them out if you have the chance.

Also, please remember to check out the online store World of Vass and my latest online store Alchemy at World of Vass. You might find something you like, and I appreciate the support.

Defensive shots in APA 8-ball

In 8-ball making shots always feels good. But when you are playing in the APA league there are times when making a crazy 4 bank or more shot is not the best answer. In fact, regardless of skill level, there are times when a properly place defensive shot will be the key to winning any game.

The following video is of an actual game. Michael Vass, in the red, is a skill level 5 APA pool player. The opponent is a skill level 6. Both can make difficult shots with a decent level of assurance that it will work. But rather than making the extremely hard shot, and thus opening the table for the opponent to win, defensive shots were used.



This is just one case where defensive shots can be critical. I have seen many matches decided by a well place defensive shot. Especially in Las Vegas during the National competition. Never underestimate the usefulness of this technique.

Planning for APA Las Vegas Nationals in 2010

I really haven't posted any of my APA pool league videos in a while. Actually since I got back from Las Vegas and the tournament there. So for those that follow how my teams and I are doing, a quick update. (I'm still ranked a 5 for the time being in both 8 and 9 ball)

So far my 8-ball pool team, Guys & Dolls, is leading the league. It's the same team of guys, minus one and added a woman, that went with me to Las Vegas. Currently we are already qualified for the competition match in 2010 to earn a spot back at Las Vegas. Our plan is to get back there and take first place this next time, now that we know what to expect.

As for 9-ball, my team is in 2nd place. I am captain of this team, so I feel good about that news. This team also has qualified for a try to get the Las Vegas trip. I admit my game is off the mark just a bit lately (I dropped from 4th in the entire league to 25th recently), but the team is a solid group and winning big.

The following runs gives you an idea of where I am right now. My shots are decent, with a couple of harder difficulty shots going well (ie the shot at the 43 second and 1:38). Just not finishing off as much as I should be. No doubt my concentration is off due to the economy and its impact.

Fun in the sun

In case any of my readers thought that the time in Las Vegas was all work, or pool tournament, and no fun - I offer the following. Just me and some friends goofing off.



Plus here are a few pictures of us just relaxing.











Just a couple of the photos from the trip. It was a great time and both Endicott teams are great people. But more photos of the actual competition are soon to come. Just need time to edit it all.

Preview of 8-ball tournament play in Las Vegas

I'm still in Las Vegas for a while more, but I decided to put together a quick little video of the Endicott team (playing for the Guys & Dolls pool hall) arriving at Circus Circus, and playing at the APA National 8-ball Pool Tournament held in the Riviera.

This is a quick video, I will have several more once I have a chance to edit all the videos and pictures I have taken.

This video features several members of the team, including:

Gregg Cordero
Bob 'Panama' Grabow
Gary Hinckley
Gage Majka
Zachary Majka
John Miller
Robert 'Coty' Miller
Michael Vass

Video highlights - Team arriving in a stretch limo, Zach Majka finishing off a game, Panama in a match. (video taken by Claudia Miller in visitor stands)

Video of APA Las Vegas National Pool Tournament

Here is the promised video of Round 2 of the Guys and Dolls 8-ball team at the Las Vegas 2009 APA National Pool Tournament. The quality is not perfect but it is the best that we could make without disrupting the other teams.



Vegas has been fun so far. The tournament is still going forward. More videos, soon.

Vegas bound

Well in just a few short hours My 8-ball pool team will be off to the APA 8-ball National Pool Tournament. I will strive to provide updates and video through out the week.

More as soon as possible

Going to Las Vegas for the APA National 8-ball competition

Written by Black Entertainment USA

So some of my readers may be wondering where I was over the weekend. The source of my silence was linked to my American Poolplayer's Association pool league. As I have mentioned in the past, I play in the Central New York APA. My team in 8-ball and 9-ball represent the Guys & Dolls pool hall in Endicott NY.

Since my team has been formed, we have won the 2007, 2008, and 2009 season playoffs, which gave us the opportunity to play in the regional matches against all the season winners from the leagues in Binghamton, Ithaca, and the other surrounding areas for Central New York. The winner of this Championship Playoff gets a trip to Las Vegas to play in the National APA Pool Tournament. That takes place in August, and has some several hundred teams from across the nation competing for cash and pride.

Sadly, while my teams have always made the regional competition and gone to the final match, we had not won. Which is a tough feeling, as we have become odds on favorites to win every time we arrive. There is nothing like having to battle through multiple teams and hours of matches, to arrive at the key game and then not get to move forward.

That completely changed this year, as the Pandemic team out of Guys & Dolls for 8-ball won the Championship and will be going to Las Vegas this year, along with Dysfunctional Fighters who also qualified. I must admit that there was a good chance for the team to spend 10 days in Las Vegas and play both the 9-ball and 8-ball Nationals. But the week prior we had again played thru the pack right up to the final and missed the critical win.

Still I have no complaints. It was a long weekend, with massive competition. There were several very good teams, each with multiple great players, that we had to defeat. I commend every one of them. This was no cake walk, and any one of the teams could have gone to Vegas and represented our area with pride.

How well did our team do? Well we had one player moved up a rank before the final match. 3 out of 8 of team were at 67% in the competition, with another 3 that went 100%. So that gave the entire team an 83.5% win percentage over the competition.

So for a little heads up to our competition in Las Vegas, I give you the members of my team. [Yes we all look tired, it was a long weekend.]

Team Captian - Gregg Cordero




"Panama" Grabow




Gary Hinkley




Gauge Majka




Zachary Majka




John Miller




Robert Miller




Michael Vass


Oh, I am working on the video as we speak. It’s a lot to edit, and may wind up being several videos. But give me a little time for that.

Again I salute all the other teams we played. They gave it their all and we had a great time playing them all. I am sure that in next year’s competition we will see them all again.

Pool League or bar pool?

As I mentioned in another post (at my political blog) Monday is my APA 8-ball pool league. There is nothing more rewarding than playing a match that is hard fought and challenging.

Normally I have video of these matches, but today I was behind the 8 ball (bad pun I know). The election had me a bit off balance. But what I can say is that I am now 12 out of 12 matches, and leading my league in individual performance. Of course I have also been raised by a level too (now a skill level 5 and just beat a skill level 7 tonight).

Now I have been asked what is the attraction of playing in a pool league, and why the American Poolplayers Association? Good question.

I have been playing pool for about 26 years now, on and off. So I enjoy being challenged in my matches. Often playing on a regular bar table is less than enjoyable since these tables are generally not kept up. Add to that the problem with drunk players and by-standers and the joy quickly evaporates. And if you are good, or on a winning streak you can get branded a pool shark – which never has positive results.

So a pool league cuts out many of the problems. And it provides players that can have a fun time, and still be very serious about their game. Thus you get to be around like-minded people, have competition, and no one ends up with broken thumbs.

As for which pool league, well that depends on where you are. In my area there are only 2 options. APA or Southern Tier. In Southern Tier there are teams and only 4 players play a match. The games are split between partner play and singles matches. There are a total of 17 games with each player guaranteed to play 3 times with at least 2 partner matches. One player gets the extra game, first team to 10 wins.

Sounds fine except there is a catch. The games are preset. By that I mean the matches go like follows:

Team 1 players 1 & 2 vs Team 2 players 1 & 2
Team 1 players 3 & 4 vs Team 2 players 3 & 4
Team 1 player 2 vs Team 2 player 2
And so on

Thus no one player gets to play consecutive games, nor more than 1 game versus any individual player. And you might get a match where horrible teammate #3 is your partner against the best 2 players of the opposing team. It can be a mess and takes forever. There is no momentum, and after the season ends you might get a bit of money back as a prize. That’s it.

In the APA you get a bit more. You have teams with no more than 8 players. Each player has a skill level between 2 – 9 (higher is better). New players get assigned a 4 for men and 3 for women. You can play any opponent and play a seires of games.

Ie.
Team 1 player 5, level 4 vs Team 2 player 2, level 2
This would be a match with a race to first to 4 games for player 5 or 2 games for player 2.

This goes on for 5 matches (in 8-ball), each worth 2 points. If you get to within 1 game of winning you get 1 point, winning is worth 2 (you can’t get more than 2). The team with the most points wins.

Now this is great because you get to play several games at once. You get to play against the same opponent. And you get a fair chance to win even against great players. In fact you might very well want to put a 2 up against a 7 because the 2 would need to win 2 games before the 7 won 5.

Now at the end of the season, the top teams have a playoff. The winner of that goes on to play a regional match, like the say the Central New York State finals. If you win that, you win a full paid for trip to Las Vegas to compete for the National Competition. And that means lots of money, depending on how high you finish there as a team.

Now which would you prefer, bar pool with the drunk guy that thinks you are a shark, Southern Tier where you play maybe 4 games over 5 hours, or APA where you can get in maybe 3 – 5 games depending on skill levels in maybe 3 – 4 hours for the entire team, and you might get the chance to go to Vegas.

So now you can see my enthusiasm and consistency for my pool league. My teams only problem is that we are all good enough that we are all getting moved up slowly and thus harder to win games.

Oh well. Video from 9-ball after my match on Wednesday.

The joy of black felt pool tables in a tournament

So Saturday I was at an American Poolplayers Association tournament. The showdown was for single 8-ball matches, with the winner of each level division going on to the national trials in Las Vegas. Obviously I was looking to win.

The tournament was in a town called Yorkville, in New York. It was held at Hippo’s pool hall. The start time was stated as 9am for registration. 82 players from the central New York area had qualified and 25 of them were in my division, the level 4. (Levels of players go from 2 – 9 with 9 being highest).

That all sounds simple enough, but some 9+ hours after the start I finished my day. That wasn’t because I won, that was just for me to finish my games and lose. Suffice to say it was a long and less than pleasant experience. The worst of which were the tables we had to play on.

My big gripe about the competition, besides the fact that it took me 5 hours before I played my first match, was that several games were to be played on black felt tables. All the tables were even and 3.5’x7’. The pool hall does have 20 tables that are 4.5’x9’, but according to rules, since there were 8 smaller tables all the matches had to be played on them instead.

Now I don’t know if you have ever played on a black felt pool table. They were created, as I am told, back in the 70’s so you could use a blacklight and play in the dark. Which might be great with glow in the dark balls and a few friends over. But in a pool hall, with regular lights and balls, in a competition, it sucks.

Black felt, with black felt on the bumper rails, means that there is no depth in the table. It is almost impossible to get a solid bead on the corners of the pockets. And shooting the 8-ball is pure hell. A black ball on a black table going into a pocket on even the best lit table would be a challenge, and the lighting was just ok.

But I have to ask, is there anyone who actually owns a pool table with black felt? I’ve played on blue and green, even red once. But black was a miserable first. I have to say that combined with the lethargy of sitting around, and practicing on and off, for 5 hours and then having to play on that table really killed my spirits. I’ve never had to play such an awful tournament, and I’ve been playing in pool tournaments for some 20 years now.

I have no doubt that the national tournament in Las Vegas is better. I have no doubt that even on these smaller tables the felts will be green, maybe blue at worst. But would you bother to go through this kind of pain just to get to Vegas? Would you want to play on a black felt table?

If anyone prefers this, without a blacklight, I really would love to hear your thoughts why. But if anyone is waiting to see me play in Vegas, it won’t be in the singles finals this year. But the team competition is still open. We shall see.

8-ball poolshot dilema

Hey there fellow pool players. I have a bit of a question for you.



The scenario is that you are playing APA rules 8-ball. You are in the final shots of your match and if you win the game you win the match.

Your opponent is a decent player, and is in a potion where they can run the table if you miss. They have just taken a shot that was meant to drop a ball, but also will leave you in a difficult position if they missed. And they have missed.

What you see on the table is your last object ball at the 2nd diamond (length-wise) about half an inch from the cushion. The cue ball is near the center of the table, about ½ inch to the center of the table from your object ball.

Behind the cue ball, centered at the side pocket is the 8-ball. About 1/4 inch away and even with it is one of your opponents balls. You opponent has two other object balls that are positioned at near opposing corner pockets.

So what is the shot you take?

It is highly probable that a shot straight on will result in a bank shot that will miss all pockets. With top right English, which will bank the object ball into the cross corner pocket, you will have the cue strike the 8 and lose. If you go for a double bank shot to the corner pocket closest to the object ball you have the lowest percentage chance to make the shot, and still risk the cue striking the 8-ball. And a cut shot is severely improbable. Oh, and a scratch or missing the object ball gives the opponent ball in hand, and assures you will lose.

My choice was a reverse bank (or kick shot) to the corner which then leaves the cue perfectly positioned for the 8-ball. But the problem is that this would also leave the opponent in a prime position to run the table.

Now several of my teammates prefer a defensive stance, looking to get themselves into a prime position for the win. I am far more aggressive in my game play (perhaps the most aggressive on my team). Which do you think was the best choice?

I present the video so you can see exactly what happened, but I’d love to hear your opinions.

[Yes, I know part of the video is shaky. I wasn’t filming so please bear with me on this.]

8-ball or 9-ball: which is the harder pool game?

Now I was at my 8-ball pool league game yesterday and yet another question was brought up. This time it had nothing to do with the size of the table (which I continue to assert that playing on bar pool tables is an advantage vs. a full table) but the game in and of itself.

Which is harder, 8-ball or 9-ball?

That’s a tough question as both are games that require a lot of skill and strategy. And the size of the pool table does make a big impact. The larger the table, the less balls are likely to bunch together and the more shots that are likely to be made. But let’s assume the table size is not a factor.

With 8-ball you have potentially double the number of balls to navigate around off the break. That means you must be more accurate with the initial shot and control of the cue ball is vital. A bad Cue ball placement can end a run faster than anything else.



Additionally there is the question of shot order. This is something that 9-ball players really have no concept of. Unlike in 9-ball you can hit any of your balls in any order. Thus if you go for the duck in the corner rather than taking the harder cut shot to the side pocket you may lock yourself behind the opponents ball or leave yourself a lower percentage follow-up shot – like say a double bank.

At the same time you must be concerned with the percentage, or confidence you have, in the shot you are making. If you are attempting a low percentage shot, you must factor in where you will leave the cue ball for your opponent. The ideal placement would involve placing your object ball in to control of a pocket while hiding the cue in a place on the table to negate a clean shot or mandate your opponent to take a low percentage shot – hopefully leading to a run for you.

These are just a few of the things to consider in 8-ball.

For 9-ball life is much easier. The table is essentially wide open. A run is much more doable for players of most any skill level. Dropping the 9-ball off the break is dramatically easier than the 8 in 8-ball. You have far less worry about ball in the way, and any combination that leads to the 9 dropping is a winning shot – as opposed to in 8-ball where the 8 dropping early is an instant loss.



Of course it is harder to force an opponent into making low percentage shots. Thus control of the cue is perhaps more important than in 8-ball. But you have some 25-50% more space on the table to work with.

For me the choice is obvious. 8-ball is the harder game. There are more factors to deal with and more outcomes based on each strike of the cue to an object ball.

There is one caveat though. If you play 8-ball consistently, switching to 9-ball will take practice.

If you are accustomed to 8-ball and switch often what happens is that you will play mid-percentage shots for position. In 8-ball this is a smart move and allows you to control pockets, or arrange for future runs in the game. In 9-ball this means you will be slaughtered.

By playing to arrange future shots you are placing the object ball into position for your opponent to take the run you hope for in the future. A ball that is capturing the pocket will become a duck for the opponent. A run is as easy for you as them, and moreso if you are setting it there for them.

Plus the 8-ball player loses the advantage of more balls potentially in the way or to create a need for low percentage shots. And as I mentioned, shot order is out the window.

This is how I feel about playing pool. I am in both an 8-ball and 9-ball pool league. But what do you feel?