Pool, Poker and Pain is Coming!

Blair's concept of bringing pool, poker and MMA into a single reality show just moved one step closer to reality.  Blair now was two Emmy-award-winning producers on his team, working feverishly to make this show a reality.  Based on the format, it makes you wonder if a super strong pool player with OK poker and OK fighting skills will win, or if an OK pool player (who is a card wizard) with moderate fighting skills will win--- or will a moderate pool player slop in a few 9's, suck-out in a few hands and then MOW OVER their out-of-shape opponents in the ring? 

In a world full of Storage Wars, American Pickers, and Ice Road Truckers one thing is for sure:  PPP is a breath of fresh air when it comes to excitement and getting pool on television for once.

Before the uber-conservative traditionalists start chirping about how this is the worst thing ever to associate pool with two billion-dollar industries such as poker and MMA, let me tell you this:  pool hasn't been on TV for decades.  Pool has no chance of EVER getting on TV and there's no relief in sight otherwise.  I think a few of us might come around after seeing some loud mouth short-stop get his teeth knocked so far down his throat they have to pick them out of his liver.

In a sport polluted with fat-ass APA-7s who can't walk around a table without huffing and puffing, PPP is sure to raise the excitement bar in terms of running out, managing your chips and putting-up or shutting-up.

Here's the press release in case you guys haven't seen....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Emmy Award Winning Host Jay Adams Joins the Cast of Pool, Poker and Pain

Tampa, FL – August 14, 2012 – Blair Thein, a veteran pool player, has brought together three of the hottest sports around — Pool, Poker and MMA — and is developing a reality TV show around it called Pool, Poker & Pain (PPP).  Thein announced today that Emmy Award winning Jordan “Jay” Adams will join the cast of PPP. Adams has been appointed as Host and Executive Producer of the MMA portion of the show.

Adams has over 25 years of hosting and production experience and currently hosts two popular combat sports television shows, United Fight Alliance and Jay’s Brawl Call. He is a passionate television pro who has received two Emmy Nominations and an Emmy win.  Throughout his career Adam’s has worked with some of the top companies in the world, including FOX Sports Network, ABC-Miami, Disney, and CNBC.

 “This is a very exciting opportunity,” stated Adams.  “Blair has clearly worked very hard to bring Pool, Poker and Pain to where it is today. With the right push in a few key areas, PPP will be a huge success in a short amount of time.”

According to Thein, “Jay Adams was the missing link to Pool, Poker & Pain. We are thrilled to have him on the team leading the MMA portion of the show. PPP is a very unique reality show concept and we have stellar team in place to make it a reality. PPP is going to make sports and entertainment history.”

While Thein has been working for nearly a decade to make the show a reality, he recently made inroads within the various industries “I have been working on PPP for eight years. In addition to bringing Adams on board, I also recently partnered with two-time Emmy award winner Doug Stanley from Deadliest Catch,” Thein stated. The concept of PPP is simple: contestants will compete in all three sports, but to be crowned the winner they will have to thrive in each discipline. Sixteen contestants will travel from Florida to Las Vegas while competing in games of high-stakes poker and pool, and going head-to-head in the MMA ring. Along the way, coaches from each discipline will tutor the contestants. Take a bad beat in a poker hand? No problem, just take them on in the “Circle of Truth” — a 32-foot fighting cage. PPP contestants will be trained by world-class pool, poker, and MMA coaches to bring credibility to the show.

It has been a long and arduous development process for PPP, and there is still a long way to go, but according to Thein he is getting close. "We all see the market for an exciting, gambling reality show given TV has no real gambling shows except for poker. I do believe I am very close to having PPP in a media explosion and my goal is to drive a network, sponsors, and investors to this show.”

For more on Pool, Poker & Pain, be sure to visit their website (http://www.poolpokerandpain). You can also like them on Facebook.

About UFA and Brawl Call

United Fight Alliance, a one hour MMA television program, is an affiliation of MMA promotions working together to bring you the best MMA from around the world and to build awareness for the sport.  UFA is an integrated sports, media and entertainment company.  Watch as some of the biggest names in MMA fight toe to toe in the cage and you’ll see exclusive footage, interviews and fighter profiles.  United Fight Alliance features top ranked fighters, women’s fights, intense action and more.

Brawl Call is a half hour MMA talk show and entertainment program.  Join host Jay Adams as he breaks down all the action in the world of MMA.  Brawl Call features exclusive interviews, news, highlights, and everything else MMA.  Brawl Call is the first ever total cross-promotion, Combat Sports Television Show where you can get the inside track on fighters and go behind the scenes with the best athletes and promotions from around the world.

Jay Adams is an Emmy award winning TV host and producer.  He has worked in TV in the Combat Sports industry for over seven years.  As a business owner, executive, syndicator, distributor, producer and host he brings decades of TV experience to every project he undertakes.  For more information on Jay Adams, please click on the following link to view his demo reel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afi9xxxG9eA

Brawl Call and UFA are now broadcast to over 88 million homes, airing on ROOT SPORTS (10 million), Comcast Sports Net – Chicago (8.5 million) Tuff TV (30 million) and nationally (39 million) on DIRECTV, Dish Network and ATT U-Verse. You can also find us at your favorite sports bars throughout the nation.  Check your local listings for ROOT SPORTS and TUFF TV.  Tune in on DIRECTV to channel 658, 683 or 687, on Dish Network to channel 414, 426 or 428 and on ATT U-Verse to channel 1730, 1760 or 1764.

See some highlights of our shows at http://www.youtube.com/BrawlCallTV. For more information, please email info@brawlcall.com or visit us on Facebook.

Ball Pocketing Using Reflections

I see the question coming up once every 6 months or so:  "How do I aim/bank using light reflections?"  I seem to be posting the same stuff over and over so I thought I'd make a blog post (man, it's been a LONG time since my last post!).

The main thing is knowing how to determine the shape of your reflection (since all lights have a different shape and configuration/location, etc).  The image above shows multiple bulbs.

Fluorescent lighting will create a crescent(s) on the balls.  Something like this:

So, depending on the shot/bank, you have to do one of the following:


[*]Align the edge of the CB shape to the edge of the OB shape
[*]Align the edge of the CB shape to the center of the OB shape
[*]Align the edge of the CB shape to the opposite edge of the OB shape


Now, which edge of the CB shape to which edge/center of the OB shape depends on the shot.  This only really works if there is one single light source and it should be centered over the table.  I used to think it didn't matter if the lights were centered until I played on a table where the lights REALLY weren't centered--- and then you can see the difference big time in results.

When you're aligning the CB shape to the OB shape, you have to do so on the same vertical plane... something like this:

I think if you're on a particular table / equipment where this works well, I think you can swear by it.  Coming from someone who has put a TON of time into this system, I can say it "works" really well --- but only under certain conditions.  Therefore, I've come to the conclusion:  "Why base your game on a technique that can't be used ANYWHERE/ANYTIME?"

Banking w/ reflections is a great baseline for your body alignment.  If you're not using a systematic psr method for aligning shots and/or banks, this is worth exploring.  There are, however, much stronger systems/methods such as CTE, Pro1, 90/90 or SEE that work under any lighting conditions.

In conclusion, this is great information to have and another tool in your toolbox.  You can also use the shadows under the balls--- and that's an entirely different method.