Billiards Digest — Pooldawg Stroke of Genius, Pool Videos

Player: Louis Ulrich
Event: 2007 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
Date: Oct. 14-20, 2007

The 2007 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship was something of a trial by fire for Louis Ulrich, a 33-year-old real estate broker who decided in 2007 to see just how far his considerable talent for pool could take him on the pro circuit. He devoted himself to improving his game and started racking up impressive finishes at major events.

The U.S. Open is the ultimate test, and Ulrich was tested quickly. He beat 2003 champion Jeremy Jones in the second round, and then met 2005 champ Alex Pagulayan in the third. Ulrich was on the hill, 10-7, when Pagulayan inadvertently hooked him on the 2 ball, as shown in the diagram. What followed was a fascinating analysis of a tight position and no-win situation.

“I looked at the kick, but the 5 ball was in the way of making a straight kick, so I would have had to use English,” Ulrich said. “And after looking at that, I though that even if I hit the 2, it would go back and forth across the table, the cue ball would go up table, and the best result possible is that I was leaving him a long shot. I didn’t see how the kick was going to benefit me unless I slopped it in.”

So, he reached for his jump cue. “I figured I was going to lose that game, so at least at that point I could try to make the 2 ball,” he said. “I had maybe a 40 percent chance — probably more like 30 percent.”

Ironically, he couldn’t have attempted the shot without bridging off the rail, which gave him the extreme loft required to jump the 3, just a couple inches away. Ulrich nailed the jump shot and ran out for the match, en route to an impressive fifth-place finish.

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