The Derby Classic is four days away and I have a decision to make.

Whether to play offensively or defensively is a decision I made at about this time last year as well. Back then I thought I'd play more offense, and only get conservative against the strongest players. During my pre-tournament practice sessions I was banking balls very well, and I reasoned that I'd have a better chance of advancing if I tried to outshoot my opponents instead of trying to outmaneuver them.

At least that was my reasoning going in. What ended up happening is that I played very conservatively throughout the tournament. I didn't really make a decision to switch strategy, it just happened.

As it turned out, I advanced quite a bit further in the tournament than I'd thought I would. That's the good news. The bad news is that I lost to two players that, had I been playing a more "normal" game, I would have killed.

The problem was that I didn't know that going in. I was concerned about getting blown away so I played a lot of safeties. Then by the time I figured out that these people couldn't bank as well as I could it was too late - I'd lost my alignment and so was FORCED to play a conservative game.

This year I'm not quite sure what my plan should be. My banking ability, except for the past few weeks, has slipped about 20% from last year. My strategic thinking has probably slipped about 20% as well. I blame lack of focused banking practice for the most part, though there have been a couple of injuries that certainly didn't help.

In a perfect world, I'd just bank 15 & out on all of my opponents and win the whole damn tournament. Here on Earth that probably won't happen. Here on Earth I'll probably win a couple then lose a couple just like last year. At some point some opponent will bank that fifteenth ball against me and eliminate me. I just have to decide how I want to go out - in a blaze of offensive stupidity, or a wimper of ineffective conservatism.

I have four days to decide. Maybe I'll just flip a coin.

Got an email from Hal Houle this morning. He's going to attempt one of his cross-country trips, and has promised to stop by here and give me some lessons.

I'm really looking forward to it, if for no other reason than to put a face behind the voice I've talked with on the phone.

My pool 'blog just got corrupted by an earlier post. I had to delete it to get my entries back.

Maybe I'll make an image of the chart that was screwing everything up.

Yes, that's what I'll do.

Today was another one of those days where I could do no wrong on the table. I've been practicing banks exclusively, and I bet I averaged fours all day long.

I just hope it's due to the new lights I bought, the new tip, the clean shaft, and my own talent and determination, and not the glove.

Please, don't be because of the glove.

I took my good shaft to Bryan Roberts for a new Moori tip today. My old tip wasn't really that worn, but I almost always get my tips replaced sooner than most people would.

After Bryan replaced the tip, I had him buff out a small ding and clean the shaft up really well.

So anyway, seeing my nice clean shaft, and knowing that it would quickly get dirty again, made me do something I thought I'd never do.

I bought one of those dorky pool gloves.

I figure that if I only wear the glove in the privacy of my own home my shaft will stay cleaner longer. I doubt that I'll ever get up the nerve to wear the thing in public.

At least I hope not.

For the last several days it's seemed that I couldn't miss any makeable shots.

That's not to say that I haven't been missing them - it just seems like I can't.

When I actually do miss a shot, like happened 2 or 3 times today alone, it's the most amazing thing. It seems just as likely that I'd crap my pants while shooting as miss a shot, but there it is. The missed shot, not the crap.

What I've recently gained in accuracy is often made up for by my lack of common sense. My runouts are very very impressive to watch I'm sure, but they're not quite what you'd call "textbook" pool. It's just so much fun to fire in a long shot and draw back 3 rails for shape. Shooting a stop shot for position is just so boooooring.

Something else I remember from the good old days - and that I rediscovered this weekend.

In a game where accuracy is most important, it's better to aim at something than not.

Even if what you're aiming at is wrong, you might learn something anyway.

This is all in stark contrast to back when I was young and played on bar tables. Back then aiming was a detriment, now that I'm blind and playing on tight-pocketed 9-foot tables it's pretty much a requirement.

That's for the accuracy games. For banks I still think aiming is a self-defeating activity.

A few weeks ago I wrote a little entry about respect, and in that entry I paid a few compliments to a player I know in Seattle.

So for those who've been wondering, that loud popping sound recently heard coming from the American Northwest was not Mt. Rainier awakening. It was actually YouKnowWhoYouAre's head exploding.

Now that my wrist seems to be healed, I'm back to banking balls at every opportunity.

Man, it's fun when they go in.

The severe shortage of entries in this 'blog lately are mostly caused by my wrist injury and the lack of practice it's caused, but when I do practice I'm having to deal with yet another problem - whether to play as Banks Dave or as Straight Shot Dave.

You see, Banks Dave and Straight Shot Dave have two completely different attitudes - attitudes forced upon them by the games that they play.

Most games, 9-ball, 8-ball, one-pocket, and the like share the same ultimate need of extreme accuracy. In these games missing is simply not an option. You play safe or you make the ball. Luckily, this accuracy can be obtained and maintained by the proper level of concentration.

In banks you simply have to accept that misses will occur. There are just too many variables in a bank shot to ever make much more than half the shots attempted. A banks player has to be able to accept these inevitable misses unconditionallly or he will soon go insane. A banks player's attitude is much more relaxed. It has to be, or the common cycle of safety, safety, safety, miss that repeats so frequently in banks would destroy any chance of an enjoyable experience.

As I continue to find myself on the verge of ending my long slump I've been trying to balance my time between practicing banks and practicing games like 8-ball and 9-ball. I need the banks practice as the Derby City Classic is less than two months away, and I need to practice the other games to maintain my resurgence.

The problem comes when switching back and forth. Banks Dave, when trying to play a game like 9-ball, looks like he's just whacking at balls. There seems to be no concern for cueball position. Easy shots are missed just as often as hard ones.

Straight Shot Dave, trying to play a game of banks, gets frustrated very quickly, failing to understand that all the accuracy in the world does no good if it's not properly blended with shot speed, cueball spin, equipment condition, and even a little luck.

I'd like to be able to blend the mindsets of these two pool personas into a single player but I haven't been able to do it yet. I'll have to ask Nick Varner and/or Shannon Daulton how they do it.

Perhaps then I'll start addressing the difference in the physical styles of the personas, but that's another subject.