How to survive on an OFF night in this APA 8-ball League Match SL-7 vs SL-5

[@JamesPlaysPool]

Unlucky, mate. Just didn't have your stroke with you.

[@drewvonporte]

Its true… I hesitated making this one (these videos take around 8-10 hours with all the added stuff!)… just because it may not be very entertaining to watch. But alas, he deserved this win, and I don’t want to keep his victory sealed away! Would hate to just hide my losses 😅 but I hope it was at least enjoyable a little!

[@Lemmonhead423]

We all have nights like this. We analyze, rush shots and just get in our own head. What works best for me is focus on following through the shot, once you get a ball or 2 down it can change the whole match for me. Everyone has their own process. Great video to show it doesn't always go our way.

[@drewvonporte]

I had a match last night (it is on tape ! Coming eventually!), where I was down like a mofo, and had to find a way back and mentally bring it together (several beers in 😅)... This game is insanely mental. Which is why "pool hustling" is such a thing! They play the mental game way more than the pool game.....

[@kennethstavig7033]

Indeed...slowing down....taking a few breaths...and keeping it simple...for me going to center ball game is the remedy

[@lewismetzger5622]

@@kennethstavig7033 ... and concentrate on doing your same preshot routine on every shot.

[@ClutchCarson]

Late night exhausted pool is good practice for being in the end parts of a tournament. At that point also you are up against the best players so you have to pull out your inner ninja to bring home the trophy. Lately I have been putting in a lot of time just trying to always have a consistent, smooth, straight stroke. Doing the same pre-shot routine for each and every shot, hard or easy. It really helps when tired, cause the muscle memory does a lot of the work. Great video, having to work through all the cogested balls is draining.

[@drewvonporte]

Clutch, man, you couldn’t be more right about the end of a tournament. That is 100% the truth!! I will now look at it that way anytime we’re running late! Thanks for stopping in. Big update in quality of film coming, hope you enjoy it 👊🏼

[@alkimsey1201]

Enjoy your vids Drew.

[@drewvonporte]

Thanks Al!

[@lewismetzger5622]

I feel your pain - tough match. I nominate the shot at 4:56 as one of America’s 2nd favorite scratch shots. 37:20 is another nomination no matter what kind of spin you put on the white ball unless you smash whitey with some kind of bottom which drops the make percentage a lot. The shot at 50:48 is down a tier and nominated for 3rd favorite scratch shot. I am proficient at potting whitey on all 3 and am working on reducing my cue ball make percentage.

[@drewvonporte]

Ha! Lewis! I am with you on ALL THREE of those nominations !!! 🤣🤣🤣 I shoot that 4:56 crossbank sooo infrequently… but if I make it, I can almost guarantee the white is gonna be close to scratching ha 37:20 I actually feel MUCH better at not scratching on (despite the video evidence). This was 6 months ago, and I know my games gotten a lot better since. The quality of this video/audio almost hurts to see lol let alone making me watch that shot again! The channels come a long way! 50:48 shot is actually one I call out almost everytime I see others in league shoot it. I haven’t scratched on this one in a while I feel like, but THIS is my 2nd AFS if you ask me!! See it ALL the time!! Sometimes you NEED a particular spin/speed in order for the bank to go, and you have to accept that you CAN’T shoot it because of the scratch! That rule doesn’t apply to non-bank shots, mind you…. My 2 🪙🪙… Cheers man! Thanks for making me re-live a few moments of bad pool 😅😭

[@lewismetzger5622]

@@drewvonporte That crossbank is one of my favorite shots. I usually shoot the crossbank with low center on the cue ball to avoid the scratch, but unfortunately my make percentage of the object ball goes down. If there is a blocker ball on the scratch corner, I shoot vertical center or slightly above vertical center on the cue ball.

[@cabpro23]

Drew..Love your vids and comments, thoughts and strategy...Great Channel!! Appreciate you

[@drewvonporte]

Wow thanks a lot!!!! 👊🏼👊🏼👊🏼

[@magnusderwagnus]

Good that you can look back at such matches with a positive mood.

[@drewvonporte]

I can’t tell you how much I just wanted to delete this footage… I wasn’t sure how “entertaining” it is to see terrible pool 😂 but I don’t wanna just delete my losses! It’s only fair I show the bad nights too! …… I also waited like 2-3 weeks to do this one to let the wound heal 🤕 thanks for the feedback!

[@magnusderwagnus]

@@drewvonporte Glad you shared it with some humor in the end! The entertaining part comes from your commentary, which along with the full length gameplay is relaxing to watch. And concerning the education part if I want to watch 'perfect' pool there are enough top notch tournaments streams out there, for me actually seeing and having critical discussed also 'less optimal' gameplay get's me better understand the better choices.

[@procrastinator6902]

Man, those hurt so bad especially when you know you had chances to close it out! 58:43 I did this a while back and the error that I discovered I was making honestly transformed my game. Every time I would go to shoot, something just felt "off" but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. Filmed myself shooting and spotted it immediately...my stance and alignment was bad, too closed and compact. I was more centering myself behind the shot instead of getting a proper line. Afterwards I placed a small table in front of a mirror with a cue ball on it and adjusted until my head, bridge hand, cue, cue arm, back foot, the cue ball were all in one line. Stood up and got back down a few times until I got the muscle memory of what that position should feel and look like...the very next time that I went to play, it was like I was a completely different player. Stroke was much straighter, I was consistently hitting what I was aiming for, and I felt more confident when down on my shots. I honestly should probably record more and look for other mistakes to work on!

[@drewvonporte]

Wow thats actually a nice little training method??…. I should maybe give that a go. Man, I looked so uncomfortable in so many shots looking back 🤦🏻‍♂️ and Ryan was good enough to make me pay for those mistakes!!! Thanks for watching. I’ll get back in the next one 💪🏼

[@procrastinator6902]

@@drewvonporte For sure, we always get back into the swing of things. Do you ever watch any of Bob Keller's ShortStopOnPool videos? He has one called "How to Shoot Straight" or something like that and he gives an excellent explanation and demonstration on stance and alignment in it. After watching that, I just realized that I wouldn't know if I had it right without being able to see myself so the mirror thing is what I did. It seems pretty efficient, I also fixed my tendency to chicken wing my arm on the break shot the same way.

[@drewvonporte]

@@procrastinator6902 no but i will definitely check it out!

[@urangthetang]

Hey mate, Like your videos. I have a rules question. @ 26:00 min mark, you play a shot on the black (he still has 5 balls) You go off the rail for a DBL it missed but hits off the back rail into the 8ball and you give him Ball In Hand? I thought that would be a legal shot as you made contact with the 8 regardless?Penalty loss of turn, play Cue Ball where it lies?

[@drewvonporte]

In order for it to be a legal shot, you must: A. Make contact with the object ball (YOUR suit, or the 8-ball if you’re on it) B. SOMETHING has to hit a rail (your ball, opponents ball, cue ball, 8-ball, anything). I know in snooker it’s different, and you are able to just play defense by softly pushing the white into the stack, or onto a ball, but in pool you usually need to make contact with a rail AFTER contacting your ball. That’s standard for most pool games, at least in the states. I watch ultimate pool, not sure what that and blackball’s rules are about legal hits. But 8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball, one pocket…. All need to hit a rail after contact. Thanks for the feedback too! 👊🏼

[@urangthetang]

@@drewvonporte AHHHH! Contact with the Rail AFTER contact, makes sense. Cheers mate. Thankyou. One more question; With your League, on Break, if you sink a Stripe or a Solid do you have to take that Solid or Stripe or is it still open table?

[@drewvonporte]

@@urangthetang unfortunately, yes. If you make a solid, you must be solid. Its one of the least favorite rules in the league 😔

[@lewismetzger5622]

@@urangthetang In the US there are several different amateur leagues. In APA (American Poolplayers Association) where Drew plays,if you make only one type of ball on the break you 'play what you make'. If you make one or more of each type the table is still open. The purpose is to give less skilled players an advantage. Most other US leagues use rules very similar to WPA (World Pool Association) rules where the table is always open on the shot immediately after the break.

[@MrBlackguy1219]

What hall you shooting in

[@drewvonporte]

Not really a hall. It’s an axe throwing bar with 4 brand new 💎 Diamonds in it, right by my pad 🤙🏼

[@jeremiahschultz3723]

What area do you play in?

[@drewvonporte]

Phoenix, AZ man. You lookin for a game?? 🫨🫨

[@georgepotter353]

I think you said that you were going to do a video on the Hill Hill Card Game. That will be a really interesting one to watch. I'm interested in your take on how to play it as well as how it helps your game. I'm a 5-6 that's constantly bouncing between the two skill levels. I'm coming back from a 4 year layoff from league play (and just playing in general as life got in the way for a while) but I'm back where I can play quite a bit again. Looking for some structured way of practicing other than just shooting rack after rack with no guidance, thus cementing in bad habit. I'm a pretty good shot maker, but my whitey control is where I need to work in order to get to a solid 6 standing. Thanks for the vids.

[@drewvonporte]

George you sound like me when it comes to actual practice and training. I’m SURE there better regimens than just running the runouts in the HillHill card game… but they are just colorful enough and engaging enough to keep my attention. I will absolutely make that video my next priority for you! If you are having trouble with the white ball, these run cards will start teaching you some restraint/control

[@Banjobaby]

couple months late on this video but is this a 7foot table?

[@drewvonporte]

It is 🤙🏼

[@birdmun]

When I had to get a breaker, I ended up picking up a Predator BK2. I even shot a handful of matches with it alone, spin, draw, etc.

[@drewvonporte]

I want a BK… I’m a predator fanboy 😔…

[@birdmun]

@@drewvonporte of course the reason I was able to afford it was because my vehicle got totaled in an accident, so, there's that.

[@drewvonporte]

@@birdmun hey man great investment!!!

[@jimrussell1246]

@@drewvonporte I have a BK 4 that was only a few months old when I decided I wanted a Rush, I bought a BK rush shaft and viola BK rush. It is a beast!

[@reecelewis6377]

❤️❤️❤️

[@drewvonporte]

😂😂 Im glad you approve, Reece! 😂

[@3vilplayer433]

at 101 looks like a good old case of tunnel vision but we dont get the angles so could have been the proper shot lol I get the same way.. I get the run out in my mind and dont adjust to the layout after each shot.. remember folks its ok to play a different shot after each shot... Something i'm working on also.

[@jonmassey4008]

Youre a decent pool player, just simply not a 7. Im curious if you play in either a very small league grouping with limited talent? I play very similar to you and Im a 5 in the KC area. Your innings should be dictating your skill level. A 7 should have an average inning count between 1-2. Nothing above that

[@drewvonporte]

Oh, I’m a 4 at best in this match, I assure you. I will say, yes, this is a small league. In my division here, I am the highest fargo rank (560, albeit robustness 34 🤷🏻‍♂️). The other 7’s are around 450 I believe. So I know I’m small fish when we go to vegas, but in our bubble of a small league, it’s fair(ish). I promise you I’m just putting up whatever I film on YT, these aren’t my best matches, and this one is downright embarrassing… seriously. I 100% agree with you that a 7 should average 2 or less innings. I have been a 7 in the APA since 2011-2012, I hear you, and the innings have always been my argument for SL. It is incredibly frustrating not to play as good as you know you can, something I deal with constantly. I’d like to say it is just complacency in playing opponents I KNOW I can beat (playing down). Not gonna argue with you that this is not a 7 playing here lol. Some of my videos, I do actually play fairly well. And newer videos I actually count innings out and do the math at the end of the match. …. But I wish I could say “let’s just put that to the test” and play you heads up for a stack of cash 😎 cheers man, still appreciate the feedback! 👊🏼

[@3vilplayer433]

practice the 2nd ball break its so good on a 7 foot table

[@drewvonporte]

…. I’ll think about it 😂

[@davidbuffone1940]

Wow that was both fun and painful to watch. I like how you critique yourself in the commentary. At the end of the night all you can do is laugh about it. Honestly when I looked at the scoreboard I thought it was skill level 5 against 3 and after watching the match I probably wasn't far off. This was a case of "playing down" to your opponents skill level. Mentally you're saying "I know I'm gonna get extra chances" and it causes you to lose focus and play timidly. It's not easy being a 7. You have to be aggressive, deliberate, strategic and patient all in one package. Starting at 11pm can certainly put a damper on any of these.

[@drewvonporte]

That whole match was going sideways for me!! We were having a good time. Funny that I was shooting the 8 for the win, a back cut I rarely miss, honestly, and next thing I know we’re playing a 7th rack 🤦🏻‍♂️ Regarding critique, I really do feel that my shot choices and patterns have grown a lot in the last few weeks. I can tell by watching this, which is exciting because it’s hard to see progress after you’ve been playing for awhile. Cheers! Thanks for hanging out!

[@jimrussell1246]

what is RNG?

[@drewvonporte]

Oh it’s nerd talk, meaning “randomness”. Random Number Generator

[@jamesstaton9013]

I've considered recording myself playing but I'm not su8re how it'll be received. Particularly by my league operator. If I had to go on this match I'd say you're the worst 7 I've ever seen but I've had many bad nights as a 5.

[@drewvonporte]

Thanks for letting me know! I appreciate that!

[@longshooter457]

Sorry...but I laughed at least ten times through this one. At your reactions that is.

[@drewvonporte]

Dude it was ridiculous …!!!!!

[@davegreen1104]

at 50;44 you could hav

[@drewvonporte]

You’re probably right, honestly

[@davegreen1104]

At 50.50 you could have drawn back after breaking out your problem balls, sinking his 4 ball and solving your cluster. With a little luck it could have turned the rack around. You can out shoot him so any breakout is better leaving yourself handcuffed..

[@drewvonporte]

You’re totally right… clearly I wasn’t trusting myself. Thats a cool shot, and def didn’t see that as an option, thanks for pointing it out!!!