HENRY'S BLOG

[Hilton]

Henry, fix your avatar FFS! Or I will fix it for you..

What avatar you goose stay on topic

[Dallas Hershell]

Yeah, what avatar, like, what $10 you owe me for the World Championship Sweep.. It's all good, no credit for you next year..

[Hilton]

Yeah, what avatar, like, what $10 you owe me for the World Championship Sweep.. It's all good, no credit for you next year..

So I owe you 10 I'm sure I will bump into you at some tourny in the near future

[Dallas Hershell]

Sorry, someone by the name of "Hilton" bumped into me at Kings. I thought it was you..

[Henry Lau]

Henry, fix your avatar FFS! Or I will fix it for you..

yeah can you do it for me, cbf'd.
pick something nice please.

[Hilton]

Sorry, someone by the name of "Hilton" bumped into me at Kings. I thought it was you..

Okay how long did we chat for 2 secs,of memory you where still getting whipped from Mr Tan

[Micky Cafarella]

Sorry, someone by the name of "Hilton" bumped into me at Kings. I thought it was you..

Okay how long did we chat for 2 secs,of memory you where still getting whipped from Mr Tan

TAN POWA!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dallas Hershell]

That's 2 "secs" of my life you waisted instead of handing me my $10..

[Henry Lau]

Went up to princes last night to practice and had a quick chat to roger leighton. He doesn't have a computer and didn't know there was an internet cafe at princes.

Then I played Rudy with my new technique, he won the 1st 2 frames easily (think he made 40 and 50) and during those 2 frames many times I thought "should I go back to my old technique?"
But some dicipline kicked in and I persisted and made a 42 clearance to win the 3rd on the pink. In the 4th I made a 60 something to go 2-2.
Then Rudy played a lot more carefully in the 5th and didn't give me much, when I did have a chance I had lost my rythym and he took that frame easily.

[Hilton]

That's 2 "secs" of my life you waisted instead of handing me my $10..

Atleast I did the decent thing and introduced myself,it's not about the money

[Ray Taaffe]

I would of said "hi dallas Im hilton and here's the 10 bucks I owe you for the forum sweep", and we wouldn't be talking about it now.

[Hilton]

I would of said "hi dallas Im hilton and here's the 10 bucks I owe you for the forum sweep", and we wouldn't be talking about it now.

Ray no one is taliking to you Gimpy

[Dallas Hershell]

I agree with Ray (for once)

It's all good, the cat did not eat last week, but she is still kicking (just)

[Henry Lau]

gee the forum's a bit dead???

Had a hit with roger leighton a couple nights ago, 1st frame I knock in a 60, and won the next easily and I'm thinking I'll whitewash him 5-0 Then he reels off the next 5 to win 5-2 including a 96 clearance. We both played pretty ordinary though as it was late at night. But his breakbuilding and safety is top notch.

Bryan, I'll bring your book back whne I come up for aust open, I've never played in that so I'm looking forward to it.
I've read a few books since then:
- Jennifer Fallon (your ones)
- Anne Bishop (daughter of the blood trilogy)
- now I'm reading Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman's "death gate cycle"

[Bryan]

Haven't read Anne Bishop before, might give her a try soon.

The Deathgate Cycle was good! I read it about 15 years ago. "bond" lol

The Australian is paid markers right? If so I might play in that too.

[david liu]

yes. it is. i reckon it is the only proper comp in sydney at the moment.

[Dallas Hershell]

I haven't had an "Official" Ref all year. Not one in sight for the NSW State open, had 3 refs for my final of the NSW Minor, and didn't even get one at Kings..

Another easy fix, but I guess no one is smart enough to know how..

Apparently NSW has 80 registered refs..

[Henry Lau]

had pennant last night and played my best snooker for the year but still lost to paul tommo 2-1. I made a couple of good 40 breaks, was very happy with my safety play which has been rubbish as of late, so that was very pleasing. But credit to tommo, although he had most of the luck, he still needed to pot crucial balls and he did that.

That's how snooker goes, you can play great and still lose, or play bad and still win. Can be very frustrating but that's all part of the game.

Looking forward to City of Melbourne on Saturday

[Henry Lau]

well City of melbourne day 1 was today.
I topped my round robin group going undefeated which was flattering. MAde 1 50 break today and about 5 or 6 40's.

Last 32 I came up against David Collins and I started really well winning the 1st frame in 2 visits without dave potting a ball. Soon I was up 2-1 feeling like I was in full control with a 30 point lead in the 4th. Then he made a frame winning 70 break to go 2-2 and I started to get very worried
But I still went for my shots in the decider but found myself trailing most of the frame. It came down to the colours and after potting the last red I needed to get from blue to yellow. I got a kick on the blue, it still went in but now the yellow wasn't pottable. I fluked it and dished out to blue for dave to need a snooker which he couldn't get.

So I'm through to the last 16 to play James Mifsud. A match I probably won't win but I still feel I'm playing well so we'll see what happens.

[Dallas Hershell]

A 150 break! Your Awesome!

[Henry Lau]

lol

damn, lost to james 3-2 after I led 2-1.
I won the 1st, james made 60 to win the 2nd, I made 53 to win the 3rd to go 2-1 up. The 4th had some good safety, I had a chance but didn't make the most of it and it became 2-2. Then james won the decider with a 20 and a 70 and that was it.
It's always disappointing to lose but there's many positives to take out of the match and I'm starting to believe in myself again.

Neil beat roger 3-1, then I watched him play ridley and in the 1st he made an excellent 70 odd. He just makes it looks so easy. But I'm sure as good as he is, that he would have put so much practice and devotion into his game. So all credit to him for taking his game to such a high level.

I think Steve Mifsud is the only one left who can score well enough to beat him.

[Henry Lau]

Hmmm... I've been playing pretty decent recently, quite a few 60's and 70's in tournaments.
In Albury I had a good match with Joe minici, was down 2-0 playing rubbish but kept fighting, won a scrappy 3rd and then made a 60 something to force a decider. But Joe was too good in the decider and didn't give me a chance.

After Albury was the nationals, had a good match with Tad Babiak, he was scoring well but I was solid and won 4-2. Then I came up against Ben Judge, played hte best snooker I've ever played in a tournament to lead 3-0, making 60, 50 and 40 breaks. But then I started to tense up and back he came to tie it at 3-3. In the decider we had chances but I made a crucial 30 something and Ben needed snookers which he got, I eventually won 4-3 on the colours. In the quarters I lost to Thorpy 4-2 in a very scrappy match.

And just recently was the South Pacific. HAd a good match against Grant and I Was lucky to win 3-1. Then played Glen for the 1st time and I must say he's a master tactician. I didn't do much wrong but found myself down 2-0. I took the next with a 73 but in the 4th I split hte pack off the blue and a red went in as well and Glen sealed hte match with a 50 something.

SO yeah, I haven't made any techinical changes for a long time now, doing an hour solo at home most nights and it seems to be doing my game good. I find it hard to keep motivating myself to practice though. But there's only Princes Cup and Aus Open left next month and then a long break till the next comp, so I'll try to push myself to practice for these 2 remaining comps.

[Nathan Reese]

I haven't had an "Official" Ref all year. Not one in sight for the NSW State open, had 3 refs for my final of the NSW Minor, and didn't even get one at Kings..

Another easy fix, but I guess no one is smart enough to know how..

Apparently NSW has 80 registered refs..

You had a great Ref last weekend, they don't get any more professional than that lol

[Grant Meadley]

Thats not what I heard Nathan....

[Dallas Hershell]

Yep, NSW is pretty Disgusting when it comes to Refs. Mine even had a 30 second phone call in the 1st frame at South Pacific

[Alex Render]

To put things in perspective, out of all the official referees in NSW, we only have 4 for the Australian Open in October. The rest have to be sourced from interstate there fore there are extra costs in accommodation which could be going to prize money.

[Dallas Hershell]

Yet apparently we have more registered refs than any other state..

[Nathan Reese]

Yet apparently we have more registered refs than any other state..

Confused, So do we or do we not have more than 4 registered refs in NSW? If we have more than 4 any reason why they are sourcing more from interstate ??

[Alex Render]

I can't quote how many registered referees there in NSW or Sydney but i do know that the numbers in Sydney are low so refs out of Sydney still need to travel and need accommodation.

[Henry Lau]

why do we have to pay for their accommodation?

[Dallas Hershell]

Are you really that thick Henry?

Why is it that people think anyone that puts their time into Snooker is not entitled to be paid?

I would prefer the refs to be paid more, and the winner get $1000 less..

These refs are a dying breed, and without them, you will have to deal with some complete imbecile marking you match like I have had to in the past.

In all the year I have been playing, I would much prefer the worst qualified ref in Australia, than some disrespectful goose!!

[Henry Lau]

I'm not disagreeing, I just didn't know that ref's get free accommodation.

Now that I have given it some thought, we do need refs, they make the sport look so much more professional. From past experience, when players ref, they are only doing it cos they have to and most don't really wnat to be there. Hence they put wrong scores up or even forget to, and then don't know how to cal foul & misses properly. Can be very frustrating.

[Bryan]

Are you really that thick Henry?

Why is it that people think anyone that puts their time into Snooker is not entitled to be paid?

oh yeah, forgot to collect my 25 from south pacific for marking adrian's first match on sunday...

[Henry Lau]

Well, the 2 remaining comps which have finished now was princes cup and aus open.

For some reason I lost my form just before princes and struggled big time with my cue action. Just couldn't pot the long ones and that really damaged my confidence.

The night before princes cup I had a hit with alex render and he hammered me. So I wasn't expecting much for princes and as it turns out I never played well but got good results. I grinded out a 3-2 win on the pink against Ben Nunan. And against Glen Wilko in the quarters I missed a pink off the spot to beat him 3-1 and he dished out to tie 2-2 and he went on to win the decider.

Aus open my form was still poor and wayne brown gave me a big scare leading 2-0 but I tightened up my safety and got past him 4-2. NExt was a big challenge coming up against Charlie Chafe as I wathced his previous match and he looked to be playing well. Anyway we played on a tough table 1, tight pockets and quite dead. Again I grinded out another 4-2 win. Then I came up against Glen Wilko again but this time I really played bad. I couldn't adapt to the 'faster' table at all and controlled the cue ball poorly. Glen on the other hand had a good feel for the table from the start so basically I lost 50% of my game and Glen didn't ease up at all to give me enough chances to find my groove.

So overall this year I've done well. Seem to have found a way to win when I'm not playing well. The self belief is there, just need to keep working on my skill level to score better when i get in. Watching the top players like Glen, Steve, Rudy, etc. They can play so many good recovery shots and I just watch and envy. Something I hope to be able to do as well in the near future.

[Tim Banfield]

All the best Henry. It's good to hear that somebody is keen to improve their game and think that they can even reach the heights of others currently better than their own.

[Hilton]

Well, the 2 remaining comps which have finished now was princes cup and aus open.

For some reason I lost my form just before princes and struggled big time with my cue action. Just couldn't pot the long ones and that really damaged my confidence.

The night before princes cup I had a hit with alex render and he hammered me. So I wasn't expecting much for princes and as it turns out I never played well but got good results. I grinded out a 3-2 win on the pink against Ben Nunan. And against Glen Wilko in the quarters I missed a pink off the spot to beat him 3-1 and he dished out to tie 2-2 and he went on to win the decider.

Aus open my form was still poor and wayne brown gave me a big scare leading 2-0 but I tightened up my safety and got past him 4-2. NExt was a big challenge coming up against Charlie Chafe as I wathced his previous match and he looked to be playing well. Anyway we played on a tough table 1, tight pockets and quite dead. Again I grinded out another 4-2 win. Then I came up against Glen Wilko again but this time I really played bad. I couldn't adapt to the 'faster' table at all and controlled the cue ball poorly. Glen on the other hand had a good feel for the table from the start so basically I lost 50% of my game and Glen didn't ease up at all to give me enough chances to find my groove.

So overall this year I've done well. Seem to have found a way to win when I'm not playing well. The self belief is there, just need to keep working on my skill level to score better when i get in. Watching the top players like Glen, Steve, Rudy, etc. They can play so many good recovery shots and I just watch and envy. Something I hope to be able to do as well in the near future.

Good on ya Henry why all the other jargon last paragraph would have been ample

[Henry Lau]

Thanks Tim.

Sometimes I wonder why I do it, why don't I just give up and go and do something else more enjoyable. We all know how frustrating snooker can be.

But we all do it because snooker is our passion, no matter how frustrating the game is, we can never stop playing it. There's also ego as well, no one likes getting beat all the time so the only way to change that is to practice hard and improve.

But it's not all about winning, a lot of it has to do with competing and not giving up. I always say that you can tell a snooker player's character and personality by the way they play snooker. Hence, if you want to improve your life and maybe even improve yourself as a person, you need to play more snooker! That;s what I tell the missus anyway

[Henry Lau]

had my first practice this year last night, first hit since early december.

lol, 1st 10 minutes I couldn't string 2 pots together.
The white just didn't seem to want to stop. Then the more I played the slower the table seemed to get.

Matchroom tournament is less than 3 weeks away, got a lot of work to do.

[Tim Banfield]

Sounds like a good break from the game. Just like anything in life you can get jaded.

Allthe best for the upcoming tourney.

Keep cueing!

Cheers

Tim

[Henry Lau]

thanks for the encouragement!

I forgot to mention I've also changed my grip and stance!
after 2 months off, my technique that i was using at the end of last year felt very unnatural.
So I've opted for a more natural grip and stance which feels great even though I hadn't touched a cue for 2 months.

We'll see how it goes as my old technique brought me good results last year.

[Luke Hough]

did you fix up the speed of your game???? i dont want to be bored out of my mind while reading the newspaper next weekend while it takes you 10 mins per shot

[SeaNy.]

Luke i have not seen him play in a while but i dont think there is any danger at all, he is probably even slower and it will take him a couple of extra seconds to remember which technique he is using this month.....

[Luke Hough]

Yeah true that he is always changing

Ah well cant teach an old dog new tricks

[Henry Lau]

Luke i have not seen him play in a while but i dont think there is any danger at all, he is probably even slower and it will take him a couple of extra seconds to remember which technique he is using this month.....

you guys know me too well!
I have been doing about an 1 hr solo for the past 4 nights and so far just been mucking around with my technique, I dunno if I am going backwards or forwards!

I don't like being labelled a slow player though, tonight I'll develop a new tecnique so I can play super fast.

[Dallas Hershell]

Well, it will be even longer with Luke bashing all the colours on the rails..

[Henry Lau]

did you fix up the speed of your game???? i dont want to be bored out of my mind while reading the newspaper next weekend while it takes you 10 mins per shot

as for you luke, I've said this before. You run around the table quick enough but once you get down, you aim/feather for ages before you actually hit the ball.

[Adam Wyard]

Hmm, it sounds like we'll have to reschedule that match to Friday just so it can be finished in time!

[Luke Hough]

Pfft i aim and strike in under 10 seconds

if im under the pump i may take 20 seconds

not 2 mins pershot like you

and no adam it will be over quick while he is sitting down doing nothing

[SeaNy.]

anyone laying odds on this match???

[Luke Hough]

For me to win id be at 5 to 1
Henry to win 2 - 1