It was exciting to be back out there playing in the U.S. Open in Atlantic City. It was a great event. But one of my takeaways from the tournament was that you could tell that there were a lot of players unprepared for the difference in equipment from what they normally play on. Even if they play on Diamond tables at home, they weren’t prepared for the huge difference that new cloth makes. “Ginky” San Souci used to call the promoters of events and ask which balls and which cloth they were going to use. And he would look for that equipment to practice on, even if it meant going to someone’s house and having new cloth put on.

If you’re serious about the event, you owe it to yourself to practice on the equipment you’re going to compete on. The difference between old cloth and new cloth and one ball set versus another is night and day.

You have to play position differently. A shot that you would normally use follow on at home, you find that you need to use stun or the ball will slide too much. If you have, say, a ball by the first diamond on the long rail and a 45-degree cut, you can’t use the same right draw that you use on old cloth to get past the side pocket. On new cloth, that cue ball is going right into the side pocket or it’s going to come short of the mark. Now, your entire thought process for position changes. Instead of playing for the 45-degree angle you use on a normal table, you would want to get straighter and hitting it fuller so that the ball follows a straighter line coming off the rail. It’s not going to be as wide.

In fact, overall, I don’t think most players realize or understand the amount of preparation that you need to put into an event like the U.S. Open to have any success. Buddy Hall once told me that to be at and stay at the elite level, you need to practice at least five hours a day. Then you see players come to the U.S. Open and shake their heads that they didn’t play better. I guarantee they just didn’t prepare properly. Stamina is a big thing if you’re going to be playing in an event that may force you to play two or three matches in a day. Are you physically ready for that? If not, your concentration and focus will not be as sharp when you start getting fatigued.

Even simple things, like the shot clock. You know going in that Matchroom uses a shot clock. Still, I watched players who lost racks and matches because they spent too much time looking over the table and chalking, and then rushing to get their shot off. So many of them said to me, “Man, that shot clock got me!” There is no way that should have happened.

The same is true of the Predator Series. If you go to one of those events and you’re not really prepared to shoot the spot shots, you’re not going to do well. Players should be practicing them until they’re dizzy. Know the rules and formats. Even if it’s just league play, know what to expect.