Terrifying Uncertainty
David Sapolis

It was 1987. I was playing in a tournament in Akron, Ohio. I was playing the number one player in the world, Mike Sigel. He had me down 4-2, and I caught up and tied it 4-4. Neither of us had our breaks working, so we traded games until the we were notched at the hill 8-8. He broke and nothing fell. I came to the table with my heart racing a million miles an hour. I started to see headlines in my mind, I started to see my opponent walking away from the table with his head slumped in defeat. I was a sure winner! All I had to do was run the rack and I was out. I ran the first few balls with ease. Then it happened.

I remember being unsure of which position route to take in my way to the five ball. The four was on the top rail, the five was on the bottom rail. I could have used three or four different routes. I decided to follow the ball three rails. I made the four, but the cue ball inadvertantly crashed into the seven ball which was in its path. The excitement that came with impending victory had now switched to the feeling you get before an impending rectal exam. The cue ball was in the center of the table, and the five was frozen to the center of the bottom rail.

I had no shot.

The balls were spread open well, so I had no safety opportunity.

I knew that if Sigel could see the ball, he could make the ball. I felt all the blood in my body rush to my head. Even if there was a safety option, my mental state would not allow me to find it. I was dead. I got down in my stance, and wobbly hit the five with little or no purpose. It flew two or three rails, finally coming to rest in front of one of the corner pockets. Sigel came to the table and routinely ran out the rack. GAME OVER. DEPOSIT ANOTHER 25 CENTS IF YOU WISH TO CONTUINUE.

I was devastated. The biggest victory of my young career had just slipped through my hands. I had obviously made the wrong choice in my position route from the 4 to the 5. I had lost the match due what I call "Terrifying Uncertainty".

As I said in the passage above, I had three or four different position options to get on the five. In my opinion, I used the wrong one. In all honesty, I decided to use the more colorful follow position instead of the easier, more reliable one rail and up position. In other words, I wanted to show off in front of Mike Sigel. Well, I paid for it. I have said before that I learn slow but I learn good, and what I learn best I learn the hard way. What did I learn?

I learned many lessons that day. The first lesson I learned was that the best players play the precentages. Jay Swanson pulled me aside after the match and told me that if I had played the percentages, I would have walked away a winner. This means that the pros and great players know what works best, and they stick with it. You very rarely will see pros divert from their comfort zone when it comes to position and shot selection. This is why the pros are so consistent. Mike Sigel probably knew that I had chosen the wrong route before I had even shot the ball. The top pros do not go two or three rails when one rail will work just fine. They do not draw a ball back and forth across the table if stopping it will do the job. Many younger players get caught up in using great amounts of english on all of their shots. This produces erratic inconsistencies in their game. I once met a player who could draw the ball the length of the table, but couldn't stop the cue ball if his life depended on it. We should always do what is easiest. This is why the pros make the game look so easy.

Another lesson I learned was to make my decisions before I get down in my stance. When I am analyzing the table, I should not be shooting the cue ball. The rule I follow today is this: When I am down in my stance, it is time to execute, not time time to plan. I plan and THEN execute. If I am still thinking about my plan when I am down and doing my practice strokes, I run the risk of being indecisive, second guessing myself, or even adopting a new plan without first standing up and analyzing the table again. Before I get into my stance, I should already know what I am going to do. Once I choose a plan, I stick with it. I also stay with the first choice that pops into my head. I was once famous for wandering around the table aimlessly with this "Committee Meeting" going on in my head.

"Go ahead, shoot it in the side, go two rails around for the eight." One says.

"Come on, that's stupid! put it in the corner, stop the cue ball and cut in the eight." The other argues.

"Ah! Both of you are wrong! Play safe on the seven. Send the cue ball up and down the table sticking him behind the nine!" The third voice says.

We are all guilty of these "Committee Meetings" and grant these little voices free room and board up there. All that does is confuse us. We have to find a way to rid our mind of the arguing, and fill it up with agreement. If the thoughts in your mind are not in agreement with each other, how do you expect your mind to be in agreement with your body so that you can properly execute the shot?

Being uncertain leads us to fear. Fear leads us to panic. Panic leads us to havoc. Havoc leads us to destruction. It is a chain reaction.

Being certain leads us to being confident. Confidence leads us to consistency. Consistency leads us to harmony. Harmony leads us to victory. This is also a chain reaction.

Is your game wreaking harmony or havoc? Are those committe meetings causing the uncertainty? Being indecisive is a sign of inexperience. It is a weakness. A weakness needs to be strengthened. Try to imagine yourself as a player who has the ability to make sound, correct decisions on a consistent basis. Role modeling works great in this exercise. Picture in your mind's eye yourself, making the decisions just as Efren Reyes or Buddy Hall might do. At first it will be alittle fuzzy, but the more you practice it the clearer the picture becomes. Always remember that what the mind sees and believes, it can also achieve.

Blackjack
David Sapolis
El Paso, TX

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