The fast and loose player vs the slow and controlled type of player.

As spectators, I'm sure fast and loose would win by a wide margin.

As players..do the speed that works best for you. Your first instinct of what is the best shot is usually right, but not always.

the slow and controleed player to me will prevail in the long run
jmho
icbw

Just two totally different styles of play, so can't say one is better than the other.
From a spectator's point of view though, the fast and loose style wins hands down.

Rather than fast and loose, I find the players who are fast and controlled are both great to watch and also the most intimidating to play against. Players like Ko Pin Yi or Dennis Orcollo would fall into that category I think.

Almost all really great players were more fast type than slow. Efren younger, Earl, Archer younger, Mika is fast also. Shane is fast when he gets gear going.. only slow really great player i know is Ralf Souquet but he plays best matches under shot clock..
Also Niels Feijen used to be boring and reaaallly slow but his game went up when he fastened his pace somewhat.

Also fan entertaiment value is a much more with fast style play. That´s all said ...i used to be fast but not so much anymore because lack of routine. I´m not slow but not so fast..
You really have to have huge routine confidence and experience to play fast and high gear.

bbb said:

the slow and controleed player to me will prevail in the long run
jmho
icbw

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You are making the assumption that the fast player is just freewheeling and will start missing and screwing up after a while. Not so.

Some players like Keith just play fast and will keep it up all night. Earl when he was gambling looked like he could not wait for the balls to stop so he could shoot again.

It can be hard for a fast player against a slow player. I once played a $200. game of straight pool with Freddy the beard. I didn't really know he could play straight pool and I liked the game.

First inning I ran like 70 and missed a ball. It took me maybe 20 minutes or so. Freddy started shooting and it was awful. I sat there waiting.

I ordered and ate lunch. I went outside for a while. 90 balls and an hour and 15 minutes later he finally ended his run with a safety leaving me nothing.

I lost the game and had no interest in playing another. It is just too brutal playing someone so slow if you don't have to. He bearley averaged a ball a minute.

everyone has a different natural tempo....

when you get into the top players - slower players, and faster players play that way for a reason (it is suited to their play, and would likely not play nearly as well if they tried playing the opposite way).

I believe this to be much of the reason behind the thinking of "play the table, not your opponent". If the two of you have vastly different speeds of play; don't let it affect your time at the table (meaning don't speed up or slow down depending on how your opponent plays). :thumbup:

Yep, it all depends on which style is more natural to you.

I'm going to have to disagree..,

Poolmanis said:

Almost all really great players were more fast type than slow. Efren younger, Earl, Archer younger, Mika is fast also. Shane is fast when he gets gear going.. only slow really great player i know is Ralf Souquet but he plays best matches under shot clock..
Also Niels Feijen used to be boring and reaaallly slow but his game went up when he fastened his pace somewhat.

Also fan entertaiment value is a much more with fast style play. That´s all said ...i used to be fast but not so much anymore because lack of routine. I´m not slow but not so fast..
You really have to have huge routine confidence and experience to play fast and high gear.

Click to expand...

Archer IS NOT FAST!!! Nick Varner, Luat, Adam and BUDDY HALL whom seldom lost MONEY matches..., Jeremy Jones plays pretty sporty, Hill Billy aint to bad and all those guys play painfully slow.

I like to watch the run and gun guys too, but I understand the slow pace because I play slow most of the time, not by preference, but by necessity, I don't pocket balls if I don't really look at what I'm doing.

Fast looks cool, but if a guy can grind and that's his style, he can get there just the same.

I can't stand when someone take 5min a shot I like a player that plays smart steady speed but I've seen guys just take way too long

It cracks me up when the slow guys stare an easy shot into the rail and miss the hole by a diamond. To me they never reach dead stroke. That is something reserved for those that know the power of the subconscious mind.

If you learn to fall into a rhythm it can be very strong. It is much more intimidating. You win more sets in less time. You can always slow it so down on a tough out but the turtles can never be hares.

bbb said:

the slow and controleed player to me will prevail in the long run
jmho
icbw

Click to expand...

Larry, You are mistaken...Most top players know the shot they will probably shoot before they get up out of their chair ! They may look around just to double check, but thats it ! If they don't have that 'sixth sense', they are either NOT a top player, or they are stalling, and trying to act like the weaker player has them in trouble ! (my favorite move, with a guy who tries to "slow play" me)

Gambling at pool, should not be a contest to see which one can 'pick the most lint' or stare at the table longest, or put the sweaters to sleep first !..Thats why I'm pretty sure, slow players, like Artie or the Ghost, would have been in even more trouble playing me, than John H !...But, I guess we'll never know, will we ?

All I know is, I would have sat in the 'electric chair', for 20 mins., on full power, just for a chance to get to play them ! ROTF-LMAO

Your Bud, SJD

King T said:

Archer IS NOT FAST!!! Nick Varner, Luat, Adam and BUDDY HALL whom seldom lost MONEY matches..., Jeremy Jones plays pretty sporty, Hill Billy aint to bad and all those guys play painfully slow.

I like to watch the run and gun guys too, but I understand the slow pace because I play slow most of the time, not by preference, but by necessity, I don't pocket balls if I don't really look at what I'm doing.

Fast looks cool, but if a guy can grind and that's his style, he can get there just the same.

Click to expand...

Archer WAS a lot faster when he was young. 1993 matches he is fast. This century he is really slow and boring to watch even he played strong early 2000+

Fast and controlled. See the shot, do the shot - result.
CJ comes to mind - he is real fun to see I think.
Keith - great to watch


Would love to see some more from them, not that much out there.
One thing I really appreciate about there game is they always seem to look for the shot to runout, "there is no difficult shot" approach. Much more fun than watching safeties (I can acknowledge a good safety battle also - "when needed" ) even though I understand the approach and the necessity for them in todays rules.


I actually think most players would benefit from playing faster, maybe not at first but with some training imo. You got to set a new PSR.
Much easier to get into the flow and you don´t spend so much time to second-guess your choice of shot. However I must say that Ralf S does it with honors, what a focus!! Fun to watch for a long time, no imo.

Chrippa

I recently had a conversation similar on a Phillip Capelle post on Facebook.

Here is what I wrote...

I don't believe in playing slow as long as you're not careless. Earl Strickland sights shots and patterns very quickly and it has worked well for him in his prime. I have had the luxury to practice with Danny Hewitt a lot during my first steps of learning pool and I strongly believe that having practiced with that kind of caliber early on taught me to sight what needs to be done quickly or maybe should I say "commit to a shot". The key here is to give each shot the respect it deserves and not take anything for granted.

I have huge respect for Ralf Souquet's game and demeanor and it would be an honor for me if I could meet him one day but he's one of those slow players that take it to a next level sometimes and it just baffles me to see him take more than 30 seconds (when there is no shot clock) on a stop shot when he already knew what needed to be done as soon as he got up from his chair. I assume its part of his pre-shot routine.

I also think that some players demand perfection from themselves and want to land on a dime whereas in reality a small range of angle and zone-position is just as good. Of course there are exceptions where you need to land on ONE specific spot on the table like when you need to land straight-in for your next shot for example. By watching a lot of players over the years I have realized that the more confident you are the looser you can become in your position zones (I'm not advocating to play bad shape out of carelessness, I would never do that) but I feel the slower players are trying to be too perfect and it can either make you a super player or make you realize that its virtually impossible to be perfect and that can be very taxing on one's energy during a match let alone confidence can take a hit if you never land exactly where you want.

Fast and loose is more entertaining, but each player must play at the pace that suits them.

Players process information and move at different speeds. Conceptualize, visualize, execute. However long it takes to plan and dog all three with sufficient passion and attention to detail, you are not playing too slow. Of course, if you compete at the top level, you need to be prepared to play on the shot clock.

Everybody has a certain amount of mental stamina. Play too slow and think too much, and you will burn yourself out quicker.