blonde poker forum

Use this thread for snooker reports or for telling us about your snooker based adventures.

For starters, here's Jimmy & his hair.


(http://i.imgur.com/HhuHXbt.jpg) (https://imgur.com/HhuHXbt)

Snooker syrups are featured here, too, in "Golden Syrup"


http://spotthejoin.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/

And to balance out the levity for a moment, how about this for a sad photo?

Ugh.


(http://i.imgur.com/lM9GYtA.jpg) (https://imgur.com/lM9GYtA)

Most of my snooker was played at a former cinema in Nottingham, Lenton Abbey Snooker Club.

It's selling point was the hidden car park round the back, which meant I & others could bunk off work during the day & hide the car round the back, out of sight from the main A52 which went past the front entrance..


(http://i.imgur.com/sq6S4dB.jpg) (https://imgur.com/sq6S4dB)

Just when I found a reason to open tft you divert me off down a branch line.

I missed the snooker yesterday cos I had to go down the smoke. This morning someone on radio 5 said that O'sullivan had been knocked out, thereby missing the chance to collect 1 million. What's that about?

Also, was any of White's matches televised? I didn't see any.

O'Sullivan, 41, won the English Open last month and triumphs in the Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh Opens would have earned him the £1m bonus.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/42099709


I think they were on the Eurosport Player platform (£5 1 day, £30 year)

Cheers Mr Jeans.

I hope this Slessor character loses. The cue banging, head-shaking mardy arsed bugger.

Changed me mind now I've seen his winners interview. Good luck to him.

A few days ago, Red commented that suddenly, there are a lot of female referees in snooker.

Very true, no idea why the sudden change in policy. We just had Michaela Tabb for many years, then she fell out with the snooker Authorities over sexism or equal opportunities or whatever & resigned.

Now, there are female refs galore.

Got no problem with it all, quite like it in fact, though they had one young lady refereeing a few weeks ago who had a little tiny high-pitched voice, & did not attempt to project her voice. The result was a complete lack of authority in her voice.

Not her fault, of course. The Refereeing association, or whatever they call themselves, just need to give them one session with a voice coach. One session is all it needs. (Remember Lady Thatcher before & after voice coaching).

Blame Tal Bloke.

I can't get over the totally disproportionate number of lefties in professional snooker. It must be something like 1/3.

I think If I had been cack-handed I would have made it.

She doesn't need a voice coach for authority. She is the referee. That's it. Nothing else to be said on the matter. Authority all hers.

Players respect the ref because decisions are considered and sometimes even the product of an adult conversation. She could talk like Larry Grayson, Marilyn Munroe or Brian Blessed and it won't alter her authority an iota of jottage.

It's a lovely sport for discipline.

I was looking for a photo of Michaela and stumbled across this one of me & Big Bill. (that's me on the top)


(http://fs1.directupload.net/images/171124/bb2vmsz3.jpg) (http://www.directupload.net)

Remember when he did an exhibiition at Dad's...

Drank 18 pints of Carlsberg Export in ~ 4hours.

Was so pissed he couldn't do his trick shots, and then almost killed the magician's pigeons :D

Quite right.

That's you told, Grumpay ;)

Yes but they need to announce stuff so that everyone is clear about what's happening.

i.e. player nominates green. Ref calls loudly, "Green ball".

Audience know what's happening, opponent knows what's happening, player striking knows that the ref knows what's happening.

Sometimes the voice does matter, though.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beN7FftWNCM

With Barry in charge, that information will be on the big flashing screen soon and there will be the accompanying music and dancing girl to signify it to the audience, who can sing along before the player finishes chalking his cue.

Anyway, Tony told me to ask why you got me chucked off the tft thread.  :'(

You were promoted to having your own thread. You rightly chose not to put it on your diary, after all, so you knew it deserved separate acclaim.

I'm expecting some snooker bets to appear in TfT in the fullness of time, mind. Some of us have holes to get out of.

Looks like you had considerably less timber in those days Tom.

And you can piss right off.

I'm not sure I agree with that Mr Tal. Delivery (of voice) is very important in helping to establish authority.

I do agree as to discipline in snooker generally though. Does anyone know if Judd Trump got fined for his ill-mannered petulance earlier this week?

I have to admit that I'm a crap tipster. If I think someone is going to win at 5/1 I still think they're going to win at 2/1.
What's not to like?

Does that make me a Cornetto?

 :D :-*

He definitely should be fined. Poor sportsmanship and he is doing a paying audience out of the match they deserve. i.e. one where he tries his best until there is no reasonable possibility of winning.

I used to park my car on a bit of waste ground behind a school every day while I played a 10/12 hour session. The doors didn't lock so I just left it open.

Nothing was ever touched, I bet you wouldn't get away with that these days.

The thing about the lefties that perplexes me is that half of them use the rest as right-hander would.

I've never seen a right-handed player use the rest as a leftie so what is that all about?

I reckon there's something sinister going on..

Perhaps they've been at the port..

Well played.

;hattip;

I can wait.

Good but a clear silver behind sinister.

(https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/sport-fence-fencer-fencing_competition-podium-win-jcen239_low.jpg)

Pundit, showing Jimmy White a Pot Black magazine pic of himself from 1985.

"You were a handsome devil back then".

"What do you mean, was?"

Huge frame for Slessor to go 3/2 behind rather than 4/1.

Williams looks a bit rocky now to be honest. Slessor almost fave now.

And as I type Slesor lets Williams in  ::)

FFS! Joe Johnson talks more than a drunken fish wife.

It's usually a good contest between Joe and Mike Hallett.

Williams has had loads of chances to wrap this frame up.

lol What a great frame this is.

I've fallen off the seat twice. Imagine if I'd had a bet.

Joe- "This is a tough one....."

Fek off, my granny could have potted that.

No way back for Slasher now.

I really like the look of Yan Bingtao - already a complete player at eighteen years old - and reckon he might well be a world champion in waiting.

Colin Murray has turned being toe-curlingly grating into an art-form.

+1

Why did Mrs Referee not pick up that piece of fallen debris from the lighting gantry?

Eventually, Yan picked it up, but the ref should have dealt with it earlier, and also checked that the lighting rig was safe.

Agreed.

Gotta love his shoes, too. I have an identical pair.

I'm sure he'll be overjoyed if he ever discovers that ;D

In fact we also own identical whistles.



(http://i.imgur.com/iAeSAPz.jpg) (https://imgur.com/iAeSAPz)

I need to see you bowling around the Rio in that next summer.

By a strange coincidence I used to have an almost identical(but considerably less expensive)pair of golf shoes when I was his age.

I couldn't afford the whistle.

Is it me or do the pockets seem generous?

Very.

My sort of table, that.

It's weird, I think he's really good on the radio.

Put him front of a tv camera and he turns into a twat.

I love the 'White's lies' section. The dognap story was hilarious.

He was unbelievable yesterday interviewing Yan Bingtao after his win against the other Chinese lad in the semi-final.

The interview was being conducted via an interpreter and Yan was a little hyper to say the least and was yammering away nineteen to the dozen in Chinese - all the while Colin was looking at him and nodding like one of those annoying nodding-dogs in the back of cars as though he understood every word - clearly if Colin Murray speaks fluent Cantonese I am doing him a disservice.

He has an unfortunate manner, as my diplomatic and much missed old man might have said.

Good shout Ralph, it's rare to see such talent in one so young. Love his tempo, too, strolls around the table like a veteran.

Currently 33/1 for the World's, and 2018 may be a tad soon, but I've seen worse bets. He played it this year, and was narrowly edged out 10-8 by a somewhat lucky Shaun Murphy, so he has some Crucible experience.

What a lovely thing it is to see youngsters with such exceptional talent.

Similar to what Steve Davis said when I played him when I was a teenager... That sure turned out well :D

These bags are huge. I've never seen so many balls go in off the near knuckle.

Tell us more about you snooker career Marky I know you pretty much grew up in a snooker hall - did you actually make a 147?

I remember that your dad was Micky147 way back when on laddies and clearly a good player too so did he make any maximums?

I think my best was 118 although I was playing a fairly decent player level for $20 a game and I was 2/3 games up at the time in Times Square Billiards in Toronto during the 1970's in the week or so when I was totally in the zone - it felt like I couldn't miss when I was in the balls and was on a table clearance with a couple of reds left and he started putting the balls back on the table to rack up for the next game without letting me finish my break - the bastard - so I might have beaten it. I guess he thought I was making 100+ breaks all the time and it was a mere bagatelle!

I was on 91 and has just got down to pot the black with the intention of leaving the white ball in the same position for the last red when someone walked past in my line of sight.

I got up from the shot, went to the ledge under the scoreboard where the ashtray was and had a drag on my cigarette, then went back to the table and somehow forgot that I hadn't potted the black yet and shot at the red.

I was absolutely gutted. I never did make a century.

That's a bit moody, so I guess you regularly relieved him of his dough!


Wasn't much of a career, I was just a good club player as a kid, and the only time I made a 147 was doing line-up :D

I had a few tons messing about, but never practiced that much, and was in the weekend cardschools by the time I was 14, lol.

I got stuck into rugby when I hit 6th form, so that was 4 days a week with school & town, and then joined the mob at 18.

Why did Mark Williams play those (attempted) snooker escapes one-handed?

Because he needs his arse smacking.

Great match though. You wouldn't rule out a one frame decider would you?

Oh dear, lol.

I've not had a bet, and I'm not greatly fussed who wins, and yet I'm really enjoying it.

Was neutral, but now kind of funking for Williams. He's been under it all through this match and he's hung in there.

Strangely enough that was the one and only time I played him.

He was an odd chap with a good cue-action but usually practised alone and was forever sanding his cue looking for the perfect hit.

Unlucky bugger decided to take me on for money during the week I was playing the best snooker of my life!

I'm not sure if you know the full story but Mark Williams' missus is quite ill and has been in and out of hospital this last week and had to go back to hossie yesterday.

He was touch and go whether to concede the final and go home but decided to stay and play clearly feeling a little unsettled.

No, I didn't know that Ralph.

"He's absolutely foaming" quips Joe Johnson as Williams misses a tricky red to the middle pocket.

He may have meant fuming...

Suspected viral meningitis apparently.

Probably not.

£70,000 to the winner, £30,000 to the runner-up, and a one frame decider.

Do they ever do business in these spots, or agree a "saver"?

Let's hope foaming isn't a symptom

Ralph!

Does anyone remember those old metal tubes that used to hang in rows on the walls of billiard halls for regulars and club members to keep their cues in?

I've searched the interned and I can't find a picture of one.

Don't think they do because they would both want to 'lose' to avoid the tax man.  I have often thought this myself.  They could lose on purpose the last frame and lay themselves on betfair at evens to win £40k.  That £40k on bf is tax free legally (albeit it involves match fixing).  If they play properly and win they win £40k but pay 45% income tax on it.

Slightly different to a poker MTT final table for similar money.  Would deals still be done in the same way on big poker mtt's if it was taxed as income and so publicly known to the tax man what each player earned each year via worldsnooker.com or similar sites for poker?

They still have a few hanging near the snooker table at my golf club - I often wonder if anyone has checked out the contents in the last fifty years.

After placing an advertisement for a hand-spliced ash cue in the local paper I bought my snooker cue from a bloke who extracted it from one of those very same metal tubes at a working-man's club in Nottingham around thirty years ago. He was pulling the cue out so roughly that I thought he was going to scar it for life but fortunately I managed to stop him in time.

I took it out of it's case and had a look at it the other day - it is still as straight as the proverbial die.

Back in the day, most snooker clubs were just places were the majority of the members were recreational players who who neither knew nor cared that they were playing on badly fitted tables with dead cushions and cloths that were either like great hairy horse-blankets or totally slick and bereft of any kind of nap at all.

The North Midland Snooker club was an exception though. It was owned by three businessmen. two of whom were very accomplished amateur players which meant that the tables were in good nick, fitted properly, had good quality cloths and cushions, and were brushed and ironed daily.

There were nine tables in rows of three and they were separated from the distractions of the bar area by a glass partition. All the tables were good, but the three nearest the glass were the 'match' tables.

The club opened daily at 10am and by 11 every table was busy and every match in progress would be a money match with the players either betting on themselves or being staked by one of the many gamblers from the 'Little Room'.

The Little Room was behind a closed, windowless door. It was where some of the most fascinating (and dangerous) men you are ever likely to meet spent their days wreathed in clouds of smoke, playing cards and watching horse racing on the telly.

These men were gangsters, loan sharks, drug dealers and pimps mixed with local business men who knew which palms to grease and policemen who knew when to look the other way.

No one was allowed inside the Little Room without permission. I was one of the privileged few who could pop in now and then because I was a friend of Stan Smith, a dodgy but wealthy timber merchant who made his fortune selling reclaimed timber and corrugated metal sheets to farmers across the country, and Ray Stringfellow, a retired but still very capable prize fighter.

Although none of these men played snooker and almost never ventured out from behind the closed door of the Little Room, they made the whole place buzz. They dealt and gambled amongst themselves constantly, throwing large amounts of money around like confetti.

Inevitably, because they needed people to put bets on at the bookies, fetch takeaways, deliver a motor to somewhere, or do do any one of a hundred other 'small jobs', (some of which paid better than others, if you know what I mean) a small amount of confetti always managed to drift out of the little room and into the pockets of the rest of us. It was like a little ecosystem.

Now due to it's popularity, it was decided that the Little Room would be fitted with an extension.
On the back wall (which was now to be demolished) there hung a row of those metal cue cases, each one with a tiny padlock on it's rusty hasp. No one knew who they belonged to or how long they had been there but estimates ranged from 20 to 50 years. These, it was decided, would have to go.

Until now, no one had ever given the row of old cue cases a second thought, now, everyone, players and non players alike, were desperate to open them up.

Perfectly logical, but these are snooker players not Pro gamblers, & I'm not convinced they know enough about betting to work all that out.

Also, if we took Mark Williams as a (purely hypothetical) case in point, I'd be very surprised if he could ever lay his hands on £40k cash. I seem to recall he was busto - proper busto - a few years back.

Plus, of course, betting on a game he is involved in would be a very serious offence in the eyes of the snooker authorities. I'm not saying snooker players are angels - we know that's far from true - but (I believe) most of them bet - relatively - small sums. Betting a biggish 5 figure sum would come out on top eventually. (Was it Bingham who got caught punting on his games recently? Don't recall the exact details, but seem to recall it was very small beer).

Presumably, you'd argue the same logic in professional Darts?   

I agree poker is a different scenario. When we play in Las Vegas, the tax situation makes a HUGE difference to final table chops & business, as I'm sure you know. It's very much to our advantage to be Brits in a Vegas final table chop. Just ask Chompy, who cashes there almost every MTT he plays, 90 player chops & all sorts.

What a great thread this is becoming, love those tales from the 2 old boys.

Further episodes eagerly awaited.

I used to handle my cue as if it were a new-born baby, & woe betide anyone who so much as touched it.

I was not up to the Ralph/Red standard as a player though. Bad eyesight, poor hand-eye co-ordination, & a world class snatch were too much to overcome.

My snatch on the impact stroke was incred. I visited coach after coach trying to cure it, but never succeeded.

I could feather the cue like a pro, smooth, gentle & slow, & would practice by doing that for hours, just feathering an imaginery cue ball. Then, with a cue ball, & on a real shot, even after telling myself DON'T SNATCH my left arm would sort of explode, & the final stroke of the cue would be about 100 mph. Think I've got trophies for "Worst Cue Action".

Tom where exactly was The North Midlands Snooker Club and was that where you knew Dave Smith from before poker?

I remember you saying that he used to back several snooker players in the old days.

It was, (Still is) in Worksop Ralph.

Dave Smith used to visit occasionally to do some business in the Little Room or to bring the odd player over for a money match.

I was no great shakes ability wise, (the pro's used to give me 50) but I had a strong tactical game (Developed through years of playing people that were capable of winning a frame at one visit) and was a good money player. Lots of players who could beat me for a fiver would lose to me for £100, even if we both had only a small % of the total stake.

 

The UK Open started a day or two ago, runs until December 10th, & will be extensively covered on TV, starting this Saturday.

Mark Williams is through to Round 2, but says he may withdraw as his wife remains ill;


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/42182393

News from the early rounds of the UK Open, (TV coverage starts tomorrow).

Ronnie got through 6-3, but not without quite a fight from Jackson Page, who is described as a "Welsh Schoolboy". Not sure I'm buying "schoolboy", he's got a beard, schoolboys don't have beards. They'll be telling us schoolgirl wear bras next.


(http://i.imgur.com/mv5eRzB.jpg) (https://imgur.com/mv5eRzB)

There was one eye-opening result, though, when Ali Carter, ranked in the Top 16 I believe, was beaten by this 55 year old.


 (http://i.imgur.com/NZNICOD.jpg) (https://imgur.com/NZNICOD)

 
Stumbled across this post in Tikay's diary from December 2007.

The wild Western, eh? I'll never forget seeing Doyle Brunson there, in support of one of the mega comps they ran in their latter days. Physically, he looked very frail (despite his size), but mentally as sharp as ever, I suspect.

Blimey, how did you find that?

10 years ago, seemingly, I wrote that.

I had long forgotten that little private event we (Sky Poker) held there, but I vaguely recall it now you mention it. I have no idea who "Sky James" was though. So many staff come & go over the years.

The Western was, in truth, a bit of a dive. Compo (Dave Compton) & I went there several times, & I'm pretty sure we both knocked it in big time. Think it was run by Derek Baxter (?), after he got banned from The Vic? 

I do well remember they had a deal with Full Tilt, & had half a dozen computer stations perma-logged in to Full Tilt. I watched Dave Penly spin £100 up into £12,000 in under an hour one night. And then spin it down again. I was sort of pleading with him to cash out, but Dave loved a spin up & was actually very good at it.

I wonder if Neil Foulds still has any greyhounds?

I've not seen or heard of Roy the Boy in ages. He used to send me betting "tips", which were a bit left-field. He was always associated with Ladbrokes, though I doubt Ladbrokes Poker can justify an "Ambassador" these days, they've got virtually no traffic.

Doyle was over for the first WSOP-E up in London (the one Annette won), & I got the gig to interview him in his Hotel Suite in Leicester Square for some TV Show I was doing - might have been Wm Hill TV, for Phil, or Poker Week which Compo & I fronted. Doyle's wife was there, too, lovely kind lady. Doyle was OK, not exactly a sparkling personality, but full of interesting tales. In later years, I got to know Todd, his son, just by sharing tables with him occasionally in Vegas, including one all day session this year. Initially, I never took to Todd, I thought he was just a lucky boy, living off his Dad's name & rep. As it happens, we chatted a lot this year, & I found him quite affable & helpful. He always has a toothpick in his mouth, as so many dodgy sorts do, especially Americans. Maybe that was what put me off him originally.     

Mr Slack (Don, Dan?), who owned Fishers Snooker Club in Acton, also owned the club in Wimbledon (or was it Wandsworth?) that Karabiner mentioned a week or so back. I can recall his daughter, but I can't quite recall him now.

Meo & Jimmy always came across for the Friday Night Midnight Sweepstake. I played both of them many times, getting 7 blacks, & rarely troubled the judges. I do recall breaking off against Jimmy White, then he cleared up to the green in a single visit. Bloody bandit.

What a find, no idea how you find these things, but it's opened the memory floodgates. 

Anyway, best stop diverting the thread, or I'll be in trouble with Team Serious.

I enjoyed the Western,we choppeda comp there once tikay the Tuesday night £100er. Attracted some characters those Tuesdaynights did

I also had a fun seat draw in a Walsall festival comp once.

Seat 1 Mickey Wernick
Seat 2 Lucy Rokach
Seat 3 me
Seat 4 Matthew Stevens
Seat 5 Mark J Williams

I was staying in the Village and the next morning and,neither of us having made day 2,i stumbled into the bar area around 10am to find Mark J there surround by a coterie of advisors, hangers on and he was divvying up bundles of cash as i recall,like feeding the 5000.

this would have been around 2009 so only a few years after his peak

Yes, I recall you & I chopping that comp up at The Western. Pretty sure on one of the dealers was Tony Phillips. Wonder what happened to him?

I won another Comp there one night when the last 3 were Richard Gryko, Mickey Cook & me.

I fell out a bit with Richard Gryko that night - can't quite remember why - but later we became good muckers & rubbed along well for many years. He married a few years ago & lives somewhere dreadful now - Norfolk, Suffolk, somewhere out there. 

Mickey Cook was known as "The Clock", allegedly as he was a lookout man on robberies. (He was there to "clock" people). Or so the story goes. I'm sure it's completely untrue, & Mickey is a fine, upstanding pillar of society, obv. Last saw him in Vegas a few years ago. He's getting on a bit now, hope he's OK.

Tony Philips shacked up with Fran what's-her-name, aka Little Miss C. They had a baby together. Freddie, I think they called him. He must be 7 or 8 years old by now.

The last time I saw Tony he was card room manager at the Alea in Nottingham.

Get away? Well done him. I do recall he was Fran's partner, & they had a baby.

Which begs the question, is Rob Creed still around?

Now look what you've made me do.

Creed! That's it. (I wish I could remember names)

I think Tony turned out to be a bit of a bellend and things didn't work out well.

Mr Creed was working at the Alea last time i saw him.

Did any of you gentleman frequent the snooker hall in Sneinton ..........

So both Tony & Rob worked at Alea? (Red said Tony worked there).

Think we used to play at Sneinton in weekly League Games, but I have no real recollection of the place. 

Well that's where my beloved table #2(and the rest of them afaik) from the Victoria snooker hall in London ended up and by a strange quirk of coincidence Stuart Hopkin's dad used to own the Sneinton establishment. Unfortunately I never played there so was never able to revisit my old friend.

Re. The Western. George Crawley was Baxter's partner I believe and they used to run a very big weekly cash game in the back room.

I think I played there once against one of Mike Watterson's proteges. Was it called Top Spot or Spot On or something?

I never really got to fully appreciate it before my dad sold the club part of the building back in the early 90's, he kept the workshop there for another 7 or 8 years before he started working from home with 2 fitters out on the road.

I think it was when the people my father sold it to, sold it on again that it turned into part of the Spot On chain.

Did you ever confirm with him that the tables came from Victoria c1981/'82, assuming he was the one who opened the hall and put tables in there?

Just enquired, apparently half came from Goldsmith Street and the rest from Rapers in Manchester.

I opened my cue case today for the first time since ~ 2002.



 (http://fs1.directupload.net/images/171202/hyrs25pz.jpg) (http://www.directupload.net) (http://fs5.directupload.net/images/171202/o67cf5na.jpg) (http://www.directupload.net) (http://fs5.directupload.net/images/171202/hea6ksx5.jpg) (http://www.directupload.net) (http://fs5.directupload.net/images/171202/y47a4sno.jpg) (http://www.directupload.net)

What is that green thing - a joint protector?

Did you have an old cue made into a two-piece?

When I opened my case(Ray Reardon Classic) the other day I found that the lining - similar looking stuff to yours only red - was starting to perish too.

I hope the cue hasn't warped.

Yes, I had an old cue made into a two-piece, mostly so that I could use screw-on extensions.

That green thing behind the tip? That's the brass ferrule.

Ha! My eyes must be worse than yours - I thought the taper was going the other way.

Lovely straight grain at first glance. I'm not sure I would have trusted anyone to cut it and put a joint in a cue that I loved.

I had it done as soon as I got it, i.e. before I loved it.

The then owner of the Cue Craft factory, also based in Worksop, was my erstwhile mate Rob Manns, I was also friends with the blokes who made the cues, so I was fairly confident of a decent outcome.

Ok, I know it's easy to sit on the sidelines and scoff, but Andy Goldstein ffs! He's like sport's answer to David Dickinson.

Eurosport really seem to struggle with Presenters.

They've also added the "token pretty girl" to their team now.

Less waffle please, just show the bloody snooker.

It's on BBC2 now with Hazel Irvine.

Donaldson. yet another brilliant left hander. can't wait to see his next match

The young Chinese player with the Tikay hairdo who lost to Marco Fu last evening is another one - Zhao Xingtong - plays like an Oriental Jimmy White.

I take it were watching Beeb coverage today?

Watching Irish racing on the telly and BBC snooker on desktop.

Oxtail in the oven for the next several hours too..

Living the dream.

Just watched some replay footage of Donaldson and now he's not left handed.

WTF?

The men in white coats will be coming for me soon.

Just assumed you were watching in the barber's.

Lol, or the Twilight Zone.

The 11th & deciding frame between Murphy & Highfield is an absolute corker, swinging this way & that.

Still continuing.

Brilliant! Shame someone had to lose.

Loving the Higgins match. Give me these 'players struggling, no idea what will happen next' over a potting fest any time.

This lad Cao has a lovely safety game on him, got the weight of the tables spot on.

Would love to see him beat Higgins.

;)

And the bok machine rolls on.

Salvaged my cue, still as straight a die. (ash see, with good grain)

Needs a tip though. I have a box of Elk Masters, but it's a long time since I've put one on.



(http://fs5.directupload.net/images/171204/vc7bbqta.jpg) (http://www.directupload.net) (http://fs1.directupload.net/images/171204/9rhydg68.jpg) (http://www.directupload.net)

New tip on.


(http://fs5.directupload.net/images/171204/ca6xpj3n.jpg) (http://www.directupload.net)

Be nice to see Dott beat mardy arse Trump.

The girly ref of the Williams/Day match is wearing sparkly heels.

Do you think all this snooker on telly will cause another boom?

What a fabulous clearance by Dott to steal frame 5 and go 3-2 ahead.

Oh Mr Red!

That old tip was a thing of perfection, it will take you 2 years to get the new one back into that shape!

I doubt there will be another boom but I do think there should be a Blonde Snooker Bash!

The old tip had gone spongey Stuart.

Back in the day, I used to sit with a snooker ball in by hand, hammering away at a new tip, it reduces the playing-in period tenfold.

I always preferred an Elk to a blue diamond. Bit softer and gave me more grip

The Canadians used to use red tips that were as hard as iron. I think they were made out of old brake linings. I tried one once but I was terrified of it. When you hit the cue ball with it it made a sound like a bullet ricochetting off a bolder in a box canyon.

I bet not many of you remember when we had to put tips on using 'wafers' and having to wait 24 hours for then to dry.

(https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/360/0711/19/vintage-cue-tip-wafers-box_360_4821c998316fc525de5451f90b5555fa.jpg)


(http://www.snookerheritage.co.uk/media/44953/wafersTcoInst.JPG)

They were known as "French tips" and although having a much harder feel they had terrific grip once you got used to them.

Canadian cues were almost all made of maple and that might have been a reason why those harder tips performed better.

French tips eh? I didn't know that. You're right about the Maple cues, all the foreigners had them.

I can find a picture of them now I know what they're called.

(https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB17lBNMXXXXXcDXFXXq6xXFXXX4/Free-shipping-10pcs-lot-font-b-Original-b-font-Le-Professional-11mm-Snooker-Cue-font-b.jpg)



This is what colour they went when you sanded them.


(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1390/7761/products/IMG_7475_large.JPG?v=1505538492)

I have yet to encounter a finer exponent of stating the obvious than the nonetheless likeable Mike Hallett.

I reckon he'd be perfect for radio commentary.

Robertson v Joyce is another great match.

So many terrific performances from the underdogs.

Yo, snookerati:

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=56581.msg2211979#msg2211979

Let's hear your views on this tip, please.

Now old Willy Thorne his hair's all gone
And his mates all take the rise
His opponent said cover up his head
Cos it's shining in my eyes
When the light shines down on his bare crown
It's a cert he's gonna walk it
It's just not fair giving off that glare
'Perhaps I ought to chalk it

I'm not very good at this photo malarkey but here's my cue - the tip seems okay despite not hitting a ball for a good fifteen years.

That reminds me of one of Tikay's early heron pics.

No need, no need at all.

Tough one really.  He hasn't played at all well recently and I don't see him suddenly "finding" it again.  His long game has left him and he was always one who relies on his long game to get in and make frame winning contributions.  In my opinion his safety game isn't up there with some of the top top guys which is why he always went for the long pots to get in and score.  Without that at his disposal he becomes a very weak player.  Some of the misses I saw him making he was no where near to potting.  Almost as bad as some of Trump's misses the other day

What a fabulous clearance by Murphy to beat Robertson. One of the best you will ever see.

Proper Houdini job that.

The blue into the middle with the cue ball tight on the baulk cushion was sublime.

You make a good argument Mr T and you could very well be right but I have a sneaky feeling that Robertson has past his best and will continue to slide down the rankings.

What price a Chinese world champion within 3 years?

So Ralph and I are having a game of snooker today.

It's probably a good job that I don't mind making a fool of myself. Even so, I'm pretty nervous. I don't think I can say the same for Ralph though, he seems pretty confident.

When we were making arrangements I messaged him to say that I would pick him up at 2pm.

'Make it 2:30,' came the reply, 'then I can play a round of golf before we start.'

^^^^^

Excellent news.

Photos of the occasion please.

I have recently joined the local 'club' and have been playing a fair bit. Can occasionally know in a 30 break but can't seem to get higher

Playing against the old man today and am after revenge fkr the last time we played.

Can't be losing again

Where will this extravagant exhibition match take place?

I'm not sure yet. We'll come up with something.

Meanwhile, in the UK Championships, Higgins is OUT, losing 5-6 to King.

One set each, 2/0 2/0.

3 black ball games.

I absolutely loved playing snooker with Ralph yesterday. Even though we both played miles below the standard we played at when we were younger, it was, for me at least still a tremendous buzz.

Ralph has undoubtedly been a serious snooker player. The physical ability might wane, (we both kept missing absolute sitters) but the competitive spirit is still strong, even though we were playing for 'fun'

Ralph won the first set 2-0 and I was desperate to win the second set, which I did manage to do, again the score was 2-0, so that's where we left it, honours even.

The psychological side of snooker has always fascinated me, and playing with someone like Ralph who still remembers games he played, balls that he potted (or missed) and snippets of his opponents conversation from 40 years ago brought my love for the game flooding back.

Even with my vastly diminished ability, I could still enjoy snooker again, but, even if we were just playing for the cost of the light, I would have to be playing against someone who, like me, was desperate to win.

Higgins after losing to mark King.

"This is the beginning of the end"

Took it well then.

Where did you play in the end Tom?

Somewhere near where Ralph lives, he'll tell you what it was called, I can't remember.

I'll be up around Nottingham over xmas possibly. I'll put my cue in the car if anyone fancies a game. And trust me, I will be trying to win!

It might, yes.

I was reminded of your question when I saw Peter Ebdon doing his punditry, & it took me back to the era when he was playing. Jeez, he may have been a great player, but he was really painful to watch, or I thought so anyway. Viewers must have turned off in their millions. Now, if we know Ronnie (or several others) are playing, we make an effort to watch.

The standard of play, both in attack & defence, has improved beyond recognition, & there are some interesting characters making a name for themselves, especially the Chinese kids.

The quality of TV coverage is better, too, though I wish they dispense with the gimmicky & un-necessary stuff. Watching & listening to Colin Murphy chat with Jimmy White & Neil Foulds does not exactly set the pulse racing. Eurosport have introduced their "token pretty female" now too. (Sexism alert....). She's undoubtedly a lovely girl, but she knows nothing about snooker, & every single one of her questions is banal, she's snooker's answer to Derek Thompson.

"You've got through, winning 6-0 Ronnie, how does it feel?"



"You only had to pot that simple red to win, but you missed it. Were you disappointed?"


FFS.

I hate the "his shot time has come down by almost a second" bollocks.

Stadium Snooker in New Basford.

I used to play for them in the Nottingham inter-club super league about twenty years ago and yesterday was the first time I'd been back since. I think it's fair to say that my game has deteriorated considerably during my hiatus, in fact it took a few games before I could even get down on the cue properly and today I have a cracked rib, backache and a stiff neck.

Well worth making the effort though as spending a few hours in Tom's company reminiscing about our old snooker days is absolutely priceless.

Anyone care to venture a guess as to how long it took us to play four frames of snooker?

They have a "clever" graphic, & a stopwatch. So they feel obliged to use it, on the assumption that we are all stupid.

We don't need gimmick graphics, & most of the time, we don't need commentary. We can SEE he missed the shot.

To be fair, many of the current crop of commentators are very good. McManus is excellent, & Parrott has still got it. Steve Davis was my snooker idol for many years, but he's not a commentator or pundit I'm afraid.

What's with Walden's stance? He looks like he's about to lay an egg. (Seems to work aright though)

I used to play League games there back in the day. At the time, a young lad in their team was unbeatable, he was about 14 & wore a bloody waistcoat & everything. His name was Anthony Hamilton.

Yesterday's 4 frames? I'd be disappointed if they took less than 3.5 hours.

Well done the both of you. Wish my eyes had not gone, I'm distinctly jealous.

Recovering from a serious back injury

Ah yes, been there a few times.

I would guess 122 minutes

Wow! I'm surprised he can play at all, let alone to this standard. Good luck to him.

160 mins to allow for waffle time

Being of an age that can remember when they were downing pints, are they now forced to drink only water? None of them fancy a coke or orange juice? Although Google suggests the WPBSA now have an official water partner so maybe that's why.

No booze, fags or pies to be consumed at the table. Sets the kids a bad example.

Just to come back to this, why didn't you like watching Ebdon Tone?

I just thought he never had any zing or pep about him.

I suspect he's one of those people who wait for the pedestrian lights to go green before he crosses the road, even though no vehicles are in sight.

I couldn't stand watching Ebdon play either probably because he came across as the dour polar-opposite of the dashing Stephen Hendry.

I have changed my mind about him since he started commentating though as I find him surprisingly excellent.

I interviewed Peter Ebdon once. I guess about 15 years ago. He was way more interested in talking about race horse breeding to me than talking about snooker or himself. Seemed like a nice guy though from my short time chatting to him. I rooted for him after that!

Think he bred Staffies for a while.

Edit: here's him in 2005. Might just be owner, rather than breeder:

(https://www.ourdogs.co.uk/News/2005/July2005/News010705/images/p2news1.jpg)

It took us exactly three hours to play four frames of snooker with liberal amounts of waffle and a cup of tea each served at the table.

Anyone care to guess what the high break was for each of us?

<30 both

I liked watching Ebdon. His sheer effort, dedication and dour determination just appealed to me.

Having been on the receiving end of your relentless safety-game yesterday I completely understand.

Correct  ;topman;

I'm going to have a tenner on Stephen Maguire to win it outright. I think he's 12/1

Had a fiver on this kid to beat O'sulivan too.

Not sure I've ever seen anyone use the rest the way he does.

Seems to work for him though.

Yes.

 I like him, seems well grounded and has a good temperament. 

Wow! What a shot. Needs to go in and win the frame from it now.

He's a left-hander by the way.

What price did you get Tom?

He was 10/1 pre-match with slybet I wonder who their snooker odds-compiler might be...

Only 6/1 Ralph, but I did put it on halfway through frame 1.

I don't have many accounts to pick and choose from, just those I happen to have poker accounts with.

Blimey, Ronnie looks scary now.

Those 4 frames were a bit quicker than our 4 Ralph.

I was just thinking that Tom - they'll be paying a lot less for the lights.

I bet they don't know about the train with the observation car or Les Redballs though.

Jimmy could do with either one of those hair-grips or a possibly a syrup trim.

Interesting rest-tekkers from the Thai leftie which actually makes a lot of sense and I'd wager might well become mainstream in a year or two.

Come on Sunny. Why deny the obvious child?

What a match this is.

Oh wow.......

I've fallen off the settee twice.

Holy moly whatever next?

OMG!

So unfortunate....

In snooker halls around the country tomorrow, hundreds of players will be doing robot impressions.

Fuck it, I'm just going to stay on the floor.

Sport at its very best, that.

Wonderful TV too.

The kid was so unlucky to kick that blue in - if it rattles in the jaws he probably wins the match.

I'm pretty sure Martin Gould used to be a dealer - was it Walsall?

He was a croupier no idea which casinos he worked in. 

The combination of Gould running so bad and Ronnie running well has stopped this game being much closer.  Gould has played some incredible stuff.  That last red he potted was amazing.

Mark King is another one with the laying an egg stance.

Sean Murphy is a world-class gurner.

He does a great Stan Laurel impression.

(http://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2011/cc717ecd-9e53-4fef-a030-29b128f40644.jpg)



(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CvLMlUUXYAERtlE.jpg)

I reckon we could beat Day and Joyce Ralph.

It's been a painful watch.

Win or lose, that was an amazing pink under pressure.

Speaking of painful my rib is still killing me - I reckon I've torn an intercostal - fancy getting injured playing snooker.

I could have got a great photograph if you had been stretchered off.

I couldn't believe Joyce turned down a cut back red from near the black spot in the final frame. The cue ball was going to baulk as well. He got very defensive and I think that gave Day a boost tp try and win it as opposed to Joyce not going for the win.
I took a photo of the cue tubes when I played on Thursday, will post later.
Great thread btw.

Yup, agree.

A few more threads like this & blonde would be just fine.

Yes. Day was trying to win it while Joyce was trying not to lose it.

I fancy Maguire will make a Match of it today. I would have a little tenner on him if I could get 4/1

The only way you'll get 4/1 is if Ronnie wins the first frame.

What does Jimmy keep looking at?

While he's punditing he keeps glancing at something that's up near the ceiling on the other side of the studio.

Is there a telly with racing on or something?

Who the fudge is Rachel Stringer, what does she have to do with snooker and why doesn't she have a wiki page?

This first frame is such a biggie.

 :P

What a frame!

Ronnie = sheer genius.

[imgcues]http://snooker cues.JPG[/img]

well that hasn't worked, how do I upload the photo?

I am a rank amateur at this sort of thing but just stick mine in "my photos" then open additional options bottom left and browse then open the file.

Commentator - He's brilliant with his right hand, he's brilliant with his left hand and he's brilliant with the rest.

Mrs Red, (totally serious) "How many hands has he got?"

God bless Mrs Red.

File too large. Will try again when on laptop.

Is Dennis Taylor becoming the Peter Alliss of snooker comms?

I just discovered that Willie Thorne was recently axed by auntie after thirty-odd years on the firm.

"Back in my day it was one foot in the D".

I forgot to mention that after our snooker match Ralph fed me in ox tail and taters followed by ice cream. Delicious!

I bet they don't get that at the Barbican.

If O'Sullivan wins the first frame, what price should Murphy be?

Murphy is 7/4 or 15/8 pre match, so not much different - maybe 2/1?

7/4 looks like a good price now.

Ooh! Missing that black could be a huge mistake.

After Murphy took the first and looked like winning the 2nd, he was in to 13/10, and when it went 1-1 he was 13/8.

Backed Murphy at 2/1

I know they've just started but every frame seems to have exaggerated importance.

How much bottle did Murphy show on that last black?

I think Ronnie told Dennis Taylor in no uncertain terms where to stick his circle.

Anyone watching Trump/Cao?

What a great frame this 5th one is, Cao's tactical ability is astonishing for one so young.

Wow! What a pot on that pressure black. I did a round of applause.

Yet another great young Chinese player.

Cao v Robertson should be a great final.

Cao has an amazing temperament & ability for one so young.

And as Methuselah mentioned, Tal's WC tip, Robertson, seems to be on his A game again, & looks formidable.

Well worth watching.

Been watching 3 sporting events.

1) Ashes Test.

Terrible effort by England, but Australia are a joy to watch, & cricket has such rich tradition. Trying to think of another top level sport where both teams wear the same colours. Any Americans who stumbles across cricket must get very confused. One of the world's great sporting events though.

2) Scottish Open Snooker. 

Love to see the etiquette of snooker. Players declare fouls against themselves, dress nice & smart, the Referee is all formal & proper, the scores are announced on the assumption that we are grown-ups, & the audience are wonderfully respectful, keeping perfectly quiet when players are on a shot. 

3) World Darts.

........

To be fair, I'm sure dart players foul themselves too.

Have you seen that mark on Chew Your Pen's cue? Apparently it's there to show him where to put his bridge hand.

Yes. Never seen such a thing before.

And after he seemed to have stolen the frame in spectacular fashion, coming back from 0-65, he somehow misses the simplest black ever.

Yes, he missed one in almost identical circumstances against Trump (I think it was) yesterday.

With yesterdays one he stayed down on the shot for so long before striking I thought I had inadvertently paused the telly.

It all stemmed from missing position on the brown as he never regained perfect shape after that and all those tough shots finally took their toll on the black.

....and suddenly, just like that, he switches from right handed to left handed.

I have a feeling he was sticking it in Robertson's eye, after the Aussie celebrated nicking the previous frame with that unseemly and inappropriate yelp. It's snooker, not darts.

I went from neutral to pro Cao at that very moment.

That was one of the things that put me off Ebdon as a player - those constant "come on"'s at maximum volume.

Yes, we don't want snooker devalued by that nonsense.

Maybe a bit of a celebration after winning the final, but not at 1-1.

Give it 5 years and snooker will be totally inscrutable.

If Cao loses this match he will never recover from it.

Go Cao, hold your nerve mate.

'' hes not going to miss this black''
''hes got it''
''hes missed''

Just got 2/1 Cau for a couple of shekels on betty for this decider.

Massive price - come on Cau.

(http://worldwide-web.com/JeffreyBabad/Simpsons/Apu/apu2.gif)





Oh my various Gods.....

Robertson making a good case for a shot-clock..

yeah.....not like its 8 all in a final or anything  :)

I agree with Ade. Cao should never have taken that red to centre.

Good match, shame to watch the young lad crumble like that, but Robertson still had to do it.

Jeez, these interviewers.

"You just lost, how does it feel?"

What is the point in these interviews straight after, fookin retard questions. 8-4 uplost 9-8....''how do u feel''

The Masters Snooker had started, usually an enjoyable watch.

Luca Brecel turned up in the arena with TWO cues - one for potting, the other for defensive shots. Not sure I've ever seen that before.

A recording of the game is currently being shown on BBC2. Virgo is commentating though.

Williams v Selby was a classic.
The kick that Selby got when the score was 5-3 undoubtedly cost him the match. He must have been gutted but didn't bat an outward eyelid.

I loved it when Williams stole the cue ball. Everyone knew except the referee.

Didn't catch the Brecel match but I'll have to see it now. Two cues sounds like a load of bollocks to me.

Don't bother, nothing of note, just watch the intro, as he walks into the arena, holding 2 cues.


https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/even-with-two-cues-luca-brecel-couldnt-beat-mark-allen-at-the-masters


A very odd thing indeed, don't think I've ever seen that before.

Oh, & in case Marky147 is reading this, he only used 1 at a time.

Tremendous entertainment, & a lovely spirit between the 2 players, with plenty of dry humour on display.

Did you see the safety shot that Williams made a mess of, but somehow ended up perfect? Some wry smiles were exchanged.

I think Williams is playing the best snooker of his career relative to his current opponents. The game has moved on since his glory days, but so has his ability.  

Do you remember when he used to turn up with the likes of Hendry & Docherty at those £200 freezeouts in Cardiff & Swansea?

I like him a lot.

9-ball pool players regularly bring three cues with them to the table but they all have specific jobs.

A breaking cue which is usually heavier and has a very hard tip, a jump-cue which is half the size of a normal cue, and the playing cue.

I've never seen a snooker player bring more than one and I have come across many eccentric and odd-ball players over the years.

I can't imagine what type of shot you would use a different cue for at snooker.

*Moves Brecel slightly closer to the 'pretentious tosser' box. *

Just saw a great t shirt slogan in the crowd.


           Trump

Make snooker great again.

Ronnie O'Sullivan though.

I wonder how many mute buttons are pressed each time Colin Murray opens his yap.

Mine certainly is. He drives me abso nuts.

He doesn't seem to be on my telly.

It's also being shown on Eurosport as well as BBC

Geo

I know Geo. I was pulling the leg of the people who watch the channel that they have to mute.

Haha, showing my age being whooshed by the Dog.

Geo

So you've got Virgo then?

Rock &  hard place, that.

Life is full of trade offs.

I open this thread to see what Ralph has put and...  Well, you get my drift. 

How very dare you!

I always think Virgo missed his calling as a ventriloquist as his lips never seem to move.

What a laconic, almost careless cue action mark Allen has.

Ronnie seems to have vowed to express every thought through facial expressions.

Huge under achiever for me in his career.  Lovely to watch on his day.

john parrots eyebrows are strange

If he dyed them yellow he could get sponsored by McDonald's.

Comparatively low standard of snooker this week with more than it's fair share of complete dross.

The long swan-neck rest which bore a passing resemblance to Robin Hood's bow rejected by Mark Allen in favour of the old rest stacked on spider tecnique was a highlight.

With Higgins comfortably despatched, should now be a good final between Wilson and Allen?

I actually enjoy the low standard matches when players are struggling. For me it adds to the tension & drama. Lots of ooh and ahh moments.

Yep. I wouldn't like to call it.

I think Allen will win it though.

I've been toying with this idea for a while.

What if they were to make the foul shot penalty 16 points?

My instinct was bad idea, then I thought and thought some more, I quite like it. Can we revert to 4 on the colours?

Hmm... I'm not sure lol.

There are pros and cons to reverting to 4 points on the colours.

What a canny old bird Barry Hearn is. I would vote him in as PM.

I like the "ball in hand" rule for any foul that they use in 9-ball pool.

I reckon that would work for snooker too.

Yes, that would be interesting too.

Interesting match this - I think Wilson is the better player(more finesse than Allen) but he needs to hold his nerve to show it.

When Wilson delivers the cue he does it in two stages. He pushes it forward the first couple of inches really slowly and then accelerates to the required speed.

What's so unusual about a 40-minute frame?

They've obviously never seen us play Ralph.

Looks like his head has gone.

Here's a quiz question for you. Why so many wasps and flies at Ally Pally at this time of year?

What looked to me like an absurd fluke snooker behind the yellow gives Wilson a chance to get his head back in gear, and he took his chance well, so that might settle him down.

Not really fussed who wins, two smashing players. Think Wilson has a terrific future.

I don't think I've ever seen a better, more consistent long ball potter than Wilson.

Just as I read that he missed that red by a mile.

Bloody noisy crowd these Ally Pallyans.

I fancy the gritty Graeme Dott to give Sean Murphy a very tough match in their semi-final today.

If Murphy has one of his not infrequent careless days 9/4 Dotty looks like decent value to me.

"Anything but straight..  Oh, it's just off straight, it would have been better if it was straight"


"He can only leave the one he's playing.... He's left a choice of reds."

Great shout Ralphy boy.

Graeme Dott. Like a snooker player, only smaller.

Mark Williams sauntered to a 9-1 victory over Dott in the German Masters - what an absolute delight he is to watch.

He has such delicate touch, rarely using power shots, & can "dolly" long balls in from the baulk area without any action whatsoever on the cue ball, a remarkable skill.

He has two extraordinary party tricks, too - the "under body" shot, and the one handed shot, mainly used to escape from snookers. Not sure too many others do both.

He did the one handed thing yesterday - other hand braced against his right knee - to escape from a very tricky snooker, trying to glance the red on the way back from the top cushion. He missed narrowly twice, & was adjudged to have missed a third time, but Ronnie - on commentary duties, & very good at it too - squeaked "he hit that, he hit that".

Slow motion replays apparently showed it had glanced the red so finely that I could not see the red move even in slow mo. In fact I don't think it did move, it was that fine.   

Mark is an absolute joy to watch, not sure any televised sports suit TV better, & Mark is a real cool guy.

If his head is in the right place come April, he'd not be the worst bet if reasonable odds are available.

He has huge feet, too.


(http://i.imgur.com/VFWfFtC.jpg) (https://imgur.com/VFWfFtC)


(http://i.imgur.com/9uBUCxg.jpg) (https://imgur.com/9uBUCxg)

I've stumbled upon something called snooker shootout.

Timers, gongs, whistles, players running, people shouting....

What?

Had a cob on when he came to my old man's tournament with Iwan, and Sealey bashed him up in the cash game :D

I've watched it for a while now and it's tolerable except for the audience shouting and whistling.

I think I can manage without it.

I cant stand the shoot out. It's not the noise i dislike, its the fact the crowd arnt funny at all.

I tried to watch it, but, for me, it was unbearable.

Some ingredients of snooker - proper snooker - are so important, & without them, the game is nothing.

Here we had players - & referees - wearing silly football-style shirts, disrespect from the crowd, & the game played at a ridiculous pace with no time or room for thinking or delicate shots.

It's like No Limit Omaha compared to Pot Limit. All the beauty of the game is removed.

I suppose it's a generation thing, but they'll have to manage without my interest or patronage.

Such a shame that so many beautiful, pure sports are being ruined.  

I grew up watching 5 day Test Cricket - few things are more enthralling - but the game is now all about mass appeal & dumbing down. Any time now you can expect to see cricketers playing under floodlights, wearing coloured pyjamas, & - you wont believe this, but it'll happen - exploding bails that light up.

It's all shite.  



(http://i.imgur.com/GLHHycc.png) (https://imgur.com/GLHHycc)

They'll be having shot clocks in poker next.

Now you are being silly Tal.

I watch it, in part because i am convinced the strategy and tactics of the players is all wrong (much more time to be defensive and not thrash around than they think)

but watch it with the sound down, the boorish audience is a real turn off bit like the plonkers at the darts

Yes, it amuses that the players sort of rush around the table in the comedic manner they do. As for the audience, no comment, for fear I may further upset Darts fans.

Bye the bye, wrong place to post this, but not sure where the right place is.

Tighty writes the 6 Nations Reviews & suggestions over on B-E, & it's completely free to view.

His knowledge of RU never ceases to amaze, & he writes so beautifully. 

Go look at this weekend's write-ups, they are unbelievably good. I suppose, to some, all that matters is whether the tips win or not, but for me, I really don't care, I just love to see high quality stuff. Ambo has stuck up a nice 12/1 shot (or was 12/1) in the weekly Free Tip, too. Last week's free tip was a Tighty football bet which hosed up at 9/4/. oioi

Agree with everything, especially strategy shortcomings, Mark Williams who professes to hate the format, always seemed closest to getting it right. The fans are horrible, really dreadful and racist. Kind of like "look I'm making fun of someone from an ethnici minority but it's OK because everyone (including them) is laughing."

Unless I massively misunderstood something, the "hosed up bet" actually lost. Unimportant with regard to whether it was a good bet but seems reasonable to correct. Let me know if I misunderstood. The weekly free bet is in my view a very generous and valuable resource, many thanks to all concerned.

 :goodpost: ;iagree;

The hosed up bet - correct, it was 2 weeks ago, (5/2), Coventry in the FA cup away at MK Dons, not last week, as I stated. Apologies.

Today's free tip just won comfortably at 12/1, too. Not bad for a free tip.

The overall record of that column must be massively in profit. They should change the name of that Newbury race to the 'Betting Emporium Benefit Hurdle'.

Even better for those who snaffled a little 14/1  ;sexybanana;

Grand Prix. O'Sullivan vs Milkins, Clive Everton commentating. Clive does well considering he's 80. Still, I think he'll be in bed early tonight.

Clive Everton used to practice in Herbert Holt's club on the corner of Great Windmill St and Shaftsbury avenue in the late 1960's when I was busy misspending my youth.

He was a billiards player and practiced alone for hours but his wife sat watching and recording every shot he played prompted by him.

Describe Milkins in one word.

I'm going for lackadaisical.

That's a nice Post, Ralph.

Clive Everton has always been my favourite Snooker commentator, just ahead of the late Jack Karnehm, the 2 of them streets ahead of any others.

He speaks so well, uses unusual & inventive language, & always refers to the players by their surname.

Multi-talented, too, author of many books, & at one time he was the coach of Jonah Barrington, the famous Squash Bloke.

He fell out with the BBC over something, not sure what, & TV coverage of snooker was never quite the same for me since. 

This World Grand Prix thing - best of 7, ugh - is much enhanced by listening to Clive, God bless him. I'd not be watching it were it not for Clive's commentary.

Incredibly, he is 80 years old.

(http://i.imgur.com/ufbxlZZ.jpg) (https://imgur.com/ufbxlZZ)

You've got me wondering now Tony - it might well have been Jack Karnehm practicing billiards at Herbert Holt's.

It was definitely one of them..

^^^^

I fancy it is more likely to be Jack, though I'm just guessing.

Jack was a far better billiards player than Clive (by all accounts) & lived most of his life in North London.

Ronnie's post match interview.

"There's only 4 or 5 players with any bottle, the rest of them...  what boat did they come on? They might as well get a job".

Classy Ron, classy.

I don't like this girly ref's noisy shoes clumping about. 

Leaving matters of such inconsequence aside, it's a great match, and hard to call a winner.

It's a fabulous match, the best of the competition so far IMO. The standard might not be as high as some of the others but I love the tension and drama of these tactical battles.

Yup. The quality of the safety play has been a joy to watch.

When Ding gets in amongst the balls, he has such deft and subtle touch.

Very enjoyable that.

Not much between the two of them, but Ding probably just about deserved the win.

Selby's safety was inch perfect all match, he seemed to be able to lay it tight on the baulk cushion time after time.

I've always admired Ronnie's ability but I don't like his personality.

Following his interviews during the Grand Prix, I've really tekn agin im. He's a tosser and I hope he loses.

Talented tosser, though.

(https://media3.giphy.com/media/Yr4tj2ZFe40Sc/giphy.gif)

I hope he wasn't looking towards the girlie ref with the clumpy shoes at the time.

I also wish I could unsee that..

No idea when it was, but at least it will take your mind off the football ;)

 I'm already dreading O'Sullivans post match interview.

"No yeah, I didn't care if I won or lost y know what I mean. I'm not bovvered. I could av ad a nice rest"

I curtailed my poker session so I could sit and watch an evening of quality snooker.

Turned on at 7.50pm and it was 9-3 and frame ball to Ronnie.

Tosser.

Nope, none of that.

Thought he was very gracious in victory, said nice things about Ding, never even asked the name of the boat he came over in or told him to get a job.

:D

He's after all Hendry's records.

Fergal Sharkey, Runrig, Gerry Rafferty etc.?

Mr Tetchy Tosspot Tom will doubtless be pleased to know that in the Welsh Open match between Bingham and Zhe, the lady referee is wearing stiletto heels.

If she could include a nice knee length skirt and some stockings with a seam up the back I will withdraw my objections.

What price is King to beat Williams?

At 0-3 down he's 14/1. Or 1/150 Williams.

[  ] value there.

Amazing frame in progress right now (Mark Williams v Mehta, Eurosport) which is well worth a watch.

No need to rush though.

Fascinating.Thanks for the heads up.

How long have they been in this state?

45 minutes.

Noôooooooooo

Don't think I've seen anything quite like that before. Williams has had a funny week Hasn't he?

It was really weird, wasn't it?

Those 5 reds & the black were stuck like that for 45 minutes.

One red got freed, but Williams, 71 behind & needing 1 snooker, could not pot it as every colour was tied up, & the black & pink were both stuck by the pocket where the 5 reds were.

I actually enjoyed every minute, but Neil Foulds & Ronnie were chuntering something shocking, & said the Ref needed to "do something". What, & why?

He's had a funny week, yes. Thought he kept his cool pretty well in this;



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/wales/43217734

I was really surprised to see several incidents following a "miss", where the balls needed replacing in their original position.

The camera cut to the lady "Marker", who had several monitors & freeze frames available to her so she could see where the balls originally were.

She was beckoning with her hand in the air to the referee.....

Up a bit...but more, left a bit - no, your left not my left ....that's it - up a bit - no down a bit.....bit more, whoa, too much....

Ugh, this is 2018 & they were faffing about like it was 1950. It was an embarrassment.

Just juxtapose 2 freeze-frames on top of each other & have a white circle where the ball should be, job done.

I reckon he's on the all time in all sports list for keeping his cool. Scandalous that Ronnie left him out of the 4 people in the history of snooker who had "bottle" list. He did it on purpose, of course.

In one of the tournament's I was watching that took place in China they had a screen with flashing white crosses for when the ball was in correct position. So all the ref did was ask for it to be brought up on screen and he simply nurdled the balls until all the little crosses were flashing. Makes loads more sense and took half the amount of time to get it right

Exactly that, & it worked perfectly, & everyone could see it was correct.

Instead, we had some lady with a blue rinse waving her hands about, up a bit, down a bit. Reminded me of Bernie the Bolt.


(http://i.imgur.com/g63iqx1.jpg) (https://imgur.com/g63iqx1)

I bet she had clumpy shoes too.

Nah, she struck me as the sensible flat heeled type. You can always tell.

Settled in to watch the snooker, hoping mardy arse Ronnie gets beaten.

Who is that he's playin? He looks like Booder but with less fingers.

I think Booder looky likey needs about 60 start.

And there he was, gone .

I like this ref.

Whilst Martin Gould was beating Mark Williams yesterday (Gould played as well as I can ever recall him playing), the commentator, might have been Mr Foulds, mentioned that both had performed better since they had their "sight right" experience.

It sounded like a hint or sneaky bit of spam to me, & it was, but I thought it was quite interesting.

http://www.sightrightuk.com/snooker.php

They do Darts & Golf, too.

Bet they'd struggle with me though.

Old mardy arse is a gonner then.

The referee with the clumpy shoes?

Lost to old cheating arse.

Exactly.

Haha.

They keep going on about the 'personal issues' that almost made Barry Hawking quit snooker last year. Anyone know what this all about?

Also, can we move the darts thread? It keeps getting too close to this one.

Old mardy arse

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-43273127

Proper ledge, Ronnie.

The idiot TV Producer who came up with the ridiculous idea of putting a TV camera on a cue wants shooting. If a single viewer thinks that good I'll eat my hat.

It's bad enough having to watch Higgins on a Saturday night without adding insult to injury.

Tezzer.

Why do they keep referring to 'Hawkins horrible year' and 'Hawkins personal issues'?

https://www.rte.ie/sport/snooker/2018/0304/944875-hawkins-opens-on-family-tragedy-after-making-final/

Cheers Daz.

Frame 3. What a steal by Hawkins.

I thought he must have been being bullied by his older brother Keith.

I would argue that Higgins is playing better now than Hendry did in his pomp. He's certainly potting a higher percentage of really difficult opening reds and treating them as commonplace shots.

Has anyone ever seen Ryan Day and Mad Marty Wilson in the same room?

Who is the new (or new to my ears) commentator?

No idea but he got me to switch channels fairly quickly - utterly dreadful !!!

Joe Perry?

No idea, but he's been replaced in the commentary box by McManus now.

Yup, Joe Perry.

Not sure if this is new as I found it on reddit but wth

https://gfycat.com/DapperNeatFossa

It was at the weekend in the Players Championship.

I think he intended to hit the pack.

Absolutely amazing that ball went through that gap twice, the odds against that happening must be huge.

Never intentional, surely?

Meant to go the other side of that red and finish on the one by the pink spot into the bottom left, but hit if with too much right hand side.

Massively unnecessary risk otherwise.

As the red goes back through the gap, ronnie shakes his head slightly.

Yeah, 100% accidental.

Good viewing, though :)

Luca Brecel made a 147 in this week's Championship League:

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5VgeuRYyok

Not a textbook example, but some terrific shots.

Who is this commentating on the Selby Wilson game?

"He likes potting these when he's at the table"

I wonder how many he pots when he's not at the table?

The World Snooker Championships begin tomorrow.

Here's the 1st round draw.

Mark Selby v Joe Perry

Mark Allen v Liam Highfield

Kyren Wilson v Matthew Stevens

Shaun Murphy v Jamie Jones

John Higgins v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Stuart Bingham v Jack Lisowski

Luca Brecel v Ricky Walden

Judd Trump v Chris Wakelin

Ding Junhui v Xiao Guodong

Anthony McGill v Ryan Day

Marco Fu v Lyu Haotian

Barry Hawkins v Stuart Carrington

Mark Williams v Jimmy Robertson

Neil Robertson v Robert Milkins

Ali Carter v Graeme Dott

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Stephen Maguire

The bottom quarter looks horrible

For the first time, World Snooker have announced a dress code for spectators with tickets entering the arena.

They said: "Sorry football fans. The event promoter requests that no sportswear or team sport shirts a worn."

Fans will be refused entry and they will have to find alternative clothing if something is deemed unsuitable.

Brian Talbot, who has been attending the Crucible since 1989 and is usually seen sat in the front row, told the Coventry Telegraph the decision was "a load of rubbish".

He said: "[World Snooker chairman] Barry Hearn is an absolute disgrace, he wants to bring the sport in line with the darts. I may as well go in dressed as Snow White or a Smurf.

"He's a dinosaur and he's ruining the sport that I love."

O'Sullivan said it was "laughable" and added: "You pay the money for your ticket, you should be allowed to wear what you want.

"At the darts they seem to be walking around in Superman outfits."



(http://i.imgur.com/zBrIcgj.png) (https://imgur.com/zBrIcgj)

Snooker is one of the last bastions of reasonable, respectful, civilised fan behaviour. Maintaining a sensible dress code will only serve to preserve and enhance that IMO.

The shot clock tournament is totally alien to everything the game stands for, garish spectators jumping about and calling out, players in t shirts running around the table. You may argue that it's what people want to watch, well fair enough, but I would argue that they don't want to watch snooker.

Amen to all that Tom.

Love to see the players well-dressed, the spectators orderly and respectful.

Spectators dressed in replica football shirts - snooker or anywhere - should all be shot. I went to breakfast at The Lux in Las Vegas one year and one of my dining companions turned up in a football shirt. Never been so embarrassed in my life. To add insult to injury it was a Peterborough FC shirt. No shame.

I bet it was a crap team too.

All major snooker finals should be black tie/lounge suits dress code like the old masters finals at Wembley used to be imo.

- Collared shirts in the morning and afternoon sessions.
- Lounge suit for the evening sessions
- Black tie for the evening sessions in the final.

It's not an incumbrance to dress well.

Don't get me started on poker!

Too right. Peterborough FC, rofl.

Even better.

Bloody love the formality of (proper) snooker.

Seems a very acceptable balance across all sessions.

He seems to be wearing a shirt in the coventry style

Looks pissed of as well

His other half always looks terribly bored

His other half is wearing the same top as last year, too. I saw the same top in Dorothy Perkins last week.

Selby not started well but can be his want

Not sure Perry could have played a lot worse and he is 3-0 up!

+1

This frame has not been the best

4-0 it is

Now Ronnie's at it 0-4 at the break.

Was listening to 5Live earlier today and they had Murphy and Allen on. Allen’s step-son, who is just 13, made a 147 last week. What’s more it only took him 5m20s!

If Maguire can beat Ronnie today, good luck to him, but with Selby already on his way home, it'd take some of the shine off the next 2 weeks if Ronnie goes busto.

The thing with Ronnie is he reminds me of when I used to go watch, say, George Best, Alex Higgins  or Ian Botham. You never quite knew what to expect, but sometimes, they'd do that magic thing, & we'd be enthralled. And Ronnie, almost alone amongst snooker players, can do that.

PS - Don't forget, 10am start.

What a start in the snooker.

Ronnie took the opener to go 4-6, then after a protracted safety battle at the start of the next, Ronnie makes a mistake and let's Maguire in. With the balls open and the frame at his mercy, he runs in a simple 49 before making an unforced error on a simple chance. Despite two Red's and a yellow being tied up or on cushions, Ronnie clears up with an immaculate 84.

Plenty of play in this yet.

Wow, frame 12 was a real topsy turvy cliff-hanger.

Thanks for the update.

Chores done now, snooker on, waiting for me dinner.

Pressure blue to the middle. Most missed shot in the game.

Maguire has been very unlucky with "kicks", that's 4 or 5 now.

Does Maguire look constantly unwell to anyone else?

Nice warm up for Ronnie :)

Does anyone else think Dotty appeared to be rushing his shots in the last couple of sessions v Carter?

I only half-watched it Ralph, but got the impression he did not want to be there. He's a big Rangers fan, maybe that was on his mind.

Worth looking at his wiki page (can't link right now), he has had problems over the years with depression. Quite a life story, one way and another.

Current prices for the World Championships;


https://www.oddschecker.com/snooker/world-championship/winner

Most go half odds 1, 2.

Not sure I'd want to back Ronnie at 6/4, but there must be some value, perhaps EW, down the field.

I thought Kyren Wilson (16/1) looked good yesterday, whilst Shaun Murphy (16/1) & Mark Williams (20/1) have some appeal. Even Higgins at 8/1 must be of interest & Ryan Day a lively 40/1 shot.

Think Trump (8/1) is the only one who is poor value. Guess he'll win it, then. 

Mark Allen looks the bet at the prices to me ew in the other half of the draw to Ronnie. 18/1 ew currently looks more than fair with Selby out of the way in his half of the draw and Perry up next.

Not my bag but the 6s on just about left on Ronnie looks value against Carter.

He sounded beat in the post match interview yesterday. All credit to him amazing physical and mental strength to recover well enough from stomach surgery less than a week before the match.

I think most Rangers fans stopped getting distracted by them a few years ago.

As for not wanting to be there - I'm not sure I'm buying into that as he was leading 8-7 - just seemed to be rushing his shots unduly*.


*<edit> This was epecially noticeable during the safety duels.

Is this the most tilting phrase in sport 'he has hit that too well'

If you have hit it too well you have over hit it right?

You've explained that too well.

;D

'He took his eye off the pot'

Followed by slow motion replay of player with his eyes firmly on the pot but missing it.

He's a great player and he never says anything out of place but I just instinctively don't trust Shaun Murphy.

Jones has impressed me here gutsy player

They only ever mention good rest players

I agree. I'd like to see him have a decent run.

We have a decider superb stuff

Thought Brecel v Waldon might be a good game, but Brecel has been abject so far.  Dreadful performance.

Brecel been a lot more down than up since his cue got damaged in China I think

I thought he got his cue back having lost it in China then won a ranking event - didn't know it was damaged.

" Brecel lately after the potter lost his cue during the International Championship. “I lost it in Daqing and they couldn't find it so it's gone,” he added."

Then a later article stating he found it and was damaged and using it in rotation with a new one some matches playing with either at any one time....

all a bit strange

I remember Methuselah senior mentioning something about Brecel using two cues a little while back.

Hi Methuselah the Elder,

Weirdest thing ever.

Think it was based on this;


http://www.worldsnooker.com/allen-sees-off-two-cue-brecel/


(http://i.imgur.com/15a02lP.jpg) (https://imgur.com/15a02lP)




 

what a suit for Williams.  Mid life crisis suit.  Still thinks its 1996.

Looks in decent nick physically certainly best for a while anyway

agree re the suit

Brecel Walden game is tense already and still a way to go both look shaky

I like this Thai kid's game - the dodgepot of Wishall will have to play well to win this now.

The Thai kid will have to eat a few more green curries if he wants to grow into that waistcoat.

I agree though, excellent young prospect.

I seem to have Tikayed him or tko'd him in blonde parlance.

FFS! Joe Johnson comments on, or during every shot.

better than Dennis "weak joke" Taylor or John "same old schtick" Virgo

actually,just as bad

Edbon, McManus, Foulds with a smattering of Davis are where it is at nowadays for snooker comms

Johnson is worse

With respect he often doesn't realise a frame is won for example

Ebdon is very good

Cant have Mohammed as a presenter of any sport let alone snooker

"he has got the momentum now so he will win" every match rinse repeat

yep its that easy Jason

Alan Mcmanus been a sad loss in the comms box this week.

he commentated on a first round game.

what happened then?

he is excellent on the ITV stuff through the season. very tactically astute

he has done bits and pieces since the first round

Agreed very good, only slight annoyance is Parrot etc not being able to respond to him without calling him "Angles"

meanwhile

Ryan Day has absolutely imploded from 8-5 up

A very tough watch

I'm a Eurosport man so that explains why Ive missed him.

this is awful

Judd Trump = no concentration!

what an incredible tournament

Wakelin a superb story

great mix of a smile and fierce concentration on his face when he is playing here

92% pot success is some going really hitting it beautifully here

The decision to take that green under the circumstances was probably the shot of the tourney so far

quite something this

What a match!

Yep, really enjoyed that

fantastic game wasn't it and so much better now I know Alan Mc is on the BBC