Just a couple weeks ago I posted that we would carry on with the PoolStudents project into a second year.

Unfortunately, that was just a lot of wishing and hoping. There just isn’t enough volunteer support to carry the idea to where it needs to go. There’s no value for anyone in limping along the way we currently are.

Despite having lots of potential content the time resources needed to put it into play is just beyond our reach for a project that doesn’t have revenue. I hope to find a home for some of our original material on YouTube.

I continue to find the mental part of the game of pool fascinating if not downright exasperating.

I went to Las Vegas a couple weeks ago to watch a challenge match between two of the greatest players ever to compete in pool – Shane Van Boening and Francisco Bustamante.

They played sets of 10-ball over three days for a large sum of money. The contest took place in a small studio and was streamed around the world by The Action Report (TAR).

I’m not one that is a big fan of what some people call professional pool. To me it’s, well, shady. But here were two men who are the best of the best in all aspects of pool. And I could sit within 10 feet of the table and see what they did up close.

What did I see?

1) The old saying in pool that everyone misses applies even at this level. The match was played on a table with extremely tight pockets. And sometimes these two great players missed – and not by a little bit. Francisco would yell, “OIY” before the object ball even banged into the rail. Shane would lean on the table with both hands looking with disbelieve at what just happened.

It’s hard to reconcile while watching a good player in your pool room run out every time. Why don’t the top players in the world run out every time. That’s because the old pool saying needs to be revised.

It should be “Everyone Misses Under Pressure.” When the pool room hero runs out on you every time he’s not feeling any real pressure. But if he’s playing a big match he’s going to miss.

There are a lot of pressure points. The brain. The elbow. The grip. The follow through. The aim point. The spot where you hit the cue ball. On and On. Any one of those pressure points being a little off can cause a miss.

2) The champions don’t take flyers in a big match. You and me might say during a match, “What the hell,” and let a Hail Mary go. The professionals don’t. If they aren’t sure what’s about to happen they play safe. We might let it fly on a 50-50 proposition but they won’t on a tight tournament table. They play a much tighter game than we do. If they are stuck, trapped or in desperate straights they might shoot up in the air but not unless they have absolutely nothing else. That’s one of the dangers of trapping a great player. They might just have to shoot and you don’t have to like it.

3) Great players can beat themselves just like we do sometimes. In my assessment, Shane was the better player of the two players that weekend in Vegas. Francisco sort of fluked out the first day and won the first set. Shane won comfortably the next day. As comfortably as you can against one of the greatest 10-ball players ever. So all the cash was riding on day 3.

Bustamante, who is 50 plus, had a flash back to start day 3. People who say Shane has the best 10-ball break may have forgotten Francisco’s break. He dominated early with the break and by running out. He had more run outs than Shane during the three-day event. Shane wasn’t getting his break to work. All the great players want a chance to get a shot after the break that hopefully allows them to run the rack. Shane wasn’t getting that and he wasn’t happy.

In my opinion Shane lost the match because he got so unhappy about his break it took him out of his game. Just because they’re great players doesn’t mean they don’t whine just like us. Shane whined all the way in from there. It was too bad. He beat himself as much as Francisco did.

Shane bounced back two weeks later by dominating the Derby City Classic but that one time, at least, he lost just like you and me lose.

There was a lot of other little lessons learned from those two great players but time is short. There was one hilarious thing that happened at the end of the match.

The Filipinos are very competitive with each other. Especially those from different generations. The greatest pool player to ever live – Efren Reyes – was in the house at the end of match. He and Francisco have been rivals for decades. Efren is almost 60. He’s half snoozing in the back of the room as Francisco wins. The younger Filipino is pretty giddy about beating Shane. He yells over to Efren. “How you like my game now Efren?” Efren acts like he’s only half paying attention. Turns his head away and calls out, “It’s Sheeet.”

Pool players.