EARL'S WIEW ON NORFOLK THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HELLO EVERYONE IN THE POOL WORLD. THE REASON I AM NOT ON NORFOLK THIS WEEK IS BECAUSE I DO NOT THINK I CAN FINISH HIGH ENOUGH IN THE TOURNAMENT BECAUSE OF THE RULES THEY USE. FIRST OF ALL, THE BREAK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SHOT IN THE GAME. I THINK THEY SHOULD BREAK FROM THE BOX TO MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT. THE NINE SHOULD BE RACKED ON THE SPOT SO THERE ARE NO DEAD BALLS. THIS ENABLES ME TO PLAY MORE WHEN I PLAY A MATCH BECAUSE IT SLOWS THE OTHER PLAYER DOWN ON THE BREAK. IT FORCES MORE ERRORS LIKE SCRATCHING ON THE BREAK AND JUMPING THE TABLE. BUT THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY OF PLAYING POOL IS THAT YOU ARE NOT GUARANTEED TO MAKE A BALL ON THE BREAK OR HAVE A SHOT. ALSO A RACE TO NINE IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL MATCH. IT SHOULD BE AT LEAST ELEVEN OR HIGHER, WINNER BREAKS. ALTERNATE BREAK WILL KILL THE GAME COMPLETELY, I THINK. WHEN YOU BREAK FROM THE MIDDLE YOU CANT RUN A LOT OF RACKS ANYWAY. AND IF THE GUY RUNS 4 OR 5 RACKS FROM THE MIDDLE WITHOUT MAKING THE CORNER BALL YOU WILL NOT BE MAD AT ALL. YOU WILL JUST CONGRATULATE HIM. THESE PLAYERS HAVE BEEN LIVING OFF THE CORNER BALL SINCE 1984 WHEN THEY INTRODUCED SEMONIS CLOTH. IT'S TIME TO STOP MAKING TOY PLAYERS. I WANT TO PLAY REAL POOL. AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO PLAY REAL POOL, LET'S START PLAYING ON 5 BY 10'S AND I WILL MAKE CAB DRIVERS OUT OF MOST OF THESE PLAYERS.
I AM GOING TO GO BACK ON LINE AT 6:00 PM TODAY, PLEASE RESPOND. I WOULD LOVE TO ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS.

I may be a little late in discovering this forum but one thing I would love to know your thoughts on would be mental consistency. Please do not take this the wrong way as you are the reason I got involved in this game. I saw you play 9 Ball on television for the first time on Sky Sports here in the UK and was immediately attracted to wanting to play the way you do. I still have a long way to go but if I keep working hard I feel I can hit a similar standard one day. I have played for not even two years but made my World Stage debut here in the UK playing in the World 8 Ball Pool Masters on 6 x 3ft. The thing was, I never even played close to how I know I can play. I felt disinterested in the match as it became slow and dull. The quality of play dropped and I found myself not wanting to be there. I lost the match 3 - 7 to an inferior player I would have beaten had I played 50% of my best game, it was horrible. The question then:

How on Earth do you deal with some of the things I see you put up with playing on TV?

Also Earl, I hear you invested in a Gulyassy just recently. I was very impressed with some of the designs on the frontpage but I could never afford the better ones. What equipment do you see as essential to somebody wanting to compete with the best the world has to offer. Please be as honest as you can and do not feed me any lies. The playing cue, what specifications do you like for tip, tip size and weight. How about cue length and jointing. I know very little about break cues as I have never used one but the sledgehammer sounds great. These cues, can seperate shafts be shaped to hold smaller cue tips as I would like to use one for UK 8 Ball. Tip size in this game is typically 7mm - 10mm but extremes have been used in the past.

Cheers Earl

P. Hughes

Hi,
I'm new to this site in partic so...obviously I'm replying to an old post but that point of view was valid and refreshing. Hysterically funny because you think there goes Earl again but I'm in agreement. I've enjoyed playing pool for the last few years and done tournaments that are NOT on a professional basis but it is amazing how many things are in place to make it easier for the weaker players. The mindset is strengthen the weak by weakening the strong I guess.?! So between
playing fewer games on simonis cloth,alternate breaks and making it easier to make a ball on the break what next? The Special Olympics???

I think Earl has forgotten more than these "toy players" know and as someone still wet behind the ears I like hearing someone that has this much experience in the pool world point out the old verses the new. I'm hoping Earl Strickland would put out a book at some point. It could be how to and a how to not type of book. I'd buy it.

Can't wait to see the new cues excited
Thanks Deanna