Who would you rather have on your team?

[D-Rock]

Ok, so if you only had 2 guys to choose from, who would you want on an 8-ball team?

The Shot maker who, if he has a shot, will more then likely make it but has no clue where the rock is going.

or.....

The position player, who can control the rock so he rarely has to shoot a harder shot, but if he does, he'll probably miss it.

 

[muddawg]

position player hands down

 

[the420trooper]

I voted for the pure shotmaker.

You've gotta pocket balls to win pool games...Guys who get a little out of line and then miss aren't of much value.

That said, guys who have absolutely NO IDEA where the CB is going aren't very useful, either.

My choice is probably based on the fact that I've sat through an endless amount of league nights, watching my teammates play perfect shape on a ball, and miss badly for no apparent reason.

Position play is useless if you can't make any balls, while shotmaking still has some worth, even in the absence of CB control.

 

[Drew]

I voted for the pure shotmaker.

You've gotta pocket balls to win pool games...Guys who get a little out of line and then miss aren't of much value.

That said, guys who have absolutely NO IDEA where the CB is going aren't very useful, either.

My choice is probably based on the fact that I've sat through an endless amount of league nights, watching my teammates play perfect shape on a ball, and miss badly for no apparent reason.

Position play is useless if you can't make any balls, while shotmaking still has some worth, even in the absence of CB control.

Yeah my APA team is the same way...but then again, I'm not there for the pool if ya know what I mean.

This question is unrealistic. Somebody who can make balls like crazy will obviously know a little bit about cue ball control. Similarly, somebody who can play perfect shape probably knows a thing or two about making balls.

Q: Which player would I back?
A: The better player

 

[D-Rock]

Its meant to be more geneal...the guy that can pocket balls but hasn't really learned what english does what and isn't able to control ball speed vs a player that has all that, but may worry too much about where the cue ball is going and likely to flub a shot.

 

[JAW725]

I voted for the pure shotmaker.

You've gotta pocket balls to win pool games...Guys who get a little out of line and then miss aren't of much value.

That said, guys who have absolutely NO IDEA where the CB is going aren't very useful, either.

My choice is probably based on the fact that I've sat through an endless amount of league nights, watching my teammates play perfect shape on a ball, and miss badly for no apparent reason.

Position play is useless if you can't make any balls, while shotmaking still has some worth, even in the absence of CB control.

My teammate Brad has both! His butter is in his patterns and speed control. We play 8ball and he really does play the game properly, makes it easy for himself. If he has to make a tough one to gain favorable position to run out, it's usually down, he will never take the easy shot to run 6 or 7 and then stall out due to improper pattern play. However if I could improve between the two mentioned skills it would be shotmaking, next would be pattern play.

 

[Drew]

Its meant to be more geneal...the guy that can pocket balls but hasn't really learned what english does what and isn't able to control ball speed vs a player that has all that, but may worry too much about where the cue ball is going and likely to flub a shot.

You shouldn't be worrying about the skill of a player that novice. I would pick the player who is more dedicated to the game. It won't be long before the shot maker is playing some basic position and the position player is making shots more consistently.

 

[JAM]

EXCELLENT thread. In fact, this is one topic that I think, by golly, has never been discussed on this forum before. And it's a good one for sure.

I choose the shotmaker over the position player. Players must be willing to play offensive; thus, have an abundance of shots in their arsenal.

There is nothing more boring than watching a game fully of safeties.

The players who can execute those difficult shots may take chances sometimes, but to be successful in pool, you have to take chances in some situations.

I will never forget a tournament that we were at in Laurel, MD at USA Billiards. Freddy Boggs, a local one-pocket player and Scotty Boggs' older brother, was well known in our pool community. He loved action. :wink:

My partner at the time ended up drawing him in the middle of a tournament, and the game went hill-hill in a 9-ball match. It was my partner's break, and he ran out until he had a tough shot on the game ball for the win.

He studied the layout of the table, the crowd was quiet as a mouse. After all, this shot was for the almighty win, a might fine accomplishment if you can beat Freddy Boggs to boot.

So he made an tough slice on the 9-rock, and it rolled slowly and hung in the pocket, like duck soup for Freddy. However, the pool gods must have been on his side for a brief moment because the cue-ball rolled right into the jaws of a corner pocket at the opposite end of the table, and it was blocked by the tit. [hate that term "tit"] :frown:

Freddy, who has always been a slow player, walked around the table several times, bent down, stood up, bent down, stood up. You could cut the air with a knife, the tension was so thick. Freddy finally pulled the trigger and shot a magnificent five-railer, with the cue-ball making contact with duck, thus knocking it in for the win. It was incredible. I thought my eyeballs were going to drop out of my sockets watching that cueball hit five rails. Everybody was standing on their feet, cheering, clapping, whooping and hollering, except, of course, my partner. :grin-square:

I saw Freddy in Vegas a few years ago. He moved out there from Virginia about 7 or 8 years ago. It was good to see him, after so many years. I've known him my entire adult life. We chatted and reminisced. Man, it was felt good talking about the good ol' days with Freddy. And then I asked him, "Freddy, do you remember that five-rail shot in Laurel?" He replied, "I'll never forget it. It was one of my best shots ever."

Now, that's a shotmaker. :wink:

 

[OneinaRow]

Thanks JAM

Cool story, thanks. I always enjoy your posts.

 

[MVPCues]

Whichever one can run out.

Kelly

 

[the420trooper]

EXCELLENT thread. In fact, this is one topic that I think, by golly, has never been discussed on this forum before. And it's a good one for sure.

I choose the shotmaker over the position player. Players must be willing to play offensive; thus, have an abundance of shots in their arsenal.

There is nothing more boring than watching a game fully of safeties.

The players who can execute those difficult shots may take chances sometimes, but to be successful in pool, you have to take chances in some situations.

I will never forget a tournament that we were at in Laurel, MD at USA Billiards. Freddy Boggs, a local one-pocket player and Scotty Boggs' older brother, was well known in our pool community. He loved action. :wink:

My partner at the time ended up drawing him in the middle of a tournament, and the game went hill-hill in a 9-ball match. It was my partner's break, and he ran out until he had a tough shot on the game ball for the win.

He studied the layout of the table, the crowd was quiet as a mouse. After all, this shot was for the almighty win, a might fine accomplishment if you can beat Freddy Boggs to boot.

So he made an tough slice on the 9-rock, and it rolled slowly and hung in the pocket, like duck soup for Freddy. However, the pool gods must have been on his side for a brief moment because the cue-ball rolled right into the jaws of a corner pocket at the opposite end of the table, and it was blocked by the tit. [hate that term "tit"] :frown:

Freddy, who has always been a slow player, walked around the table several times, bent down, stood up, bent down, stood up. You could cut the air with a knife, the tension was so thick. Freddy finally pulled the trigger and shot a magnificent five-railer, with the cue-ball making contact with duck, thus knocking it in for the win. It was incredible. I thought my eyeballs were going to drop out of my sockets watching that cueball hit five rails. Everybody was standing on their feet, cheering, clapping, whooping and hollering, except, of course, my partner. :grin-square:

I saw Freddy in Vegas a few years ago. He moved out there from Virginia about 7 or 8 years ago. It was good to see him, after so many years. I've known him my entire adult life. We chatted and reminisced. Man, it was felt good talking about the good ol' days with Freddy. And then I asked him, "Freddy, do you remember that five-rail shot in Laurel?" He replied, "I'll never forget it. It was one of my best shots ever."

Now, that's a shotmaker. :wink:

Cool story. I can actually visualize the kick you're talking about.

I refer to the ends of the pocket facings as "points", and I scowl at people who call them anything else.

 

[ShootingArts]

gotta choose position player

Ok, so if you only had 2 guys to choose from, who would you want on an 8-ball team?

The Shot maker who, if he has a shot, will more then likely make it but has no clue where the rock is going.

or.....

The position player, who can control the rock so he rarely has to shoot a harder shot, but if he does, he'll probably miss it.

I have to choose the position player. Not as entertaining it is true but when I'm trying to win I don't want the cowboy that sends the cue ball flying every shot wrecking patterns and hooking himself or others on the team.

When I was out of work I made a living off of the cowboys by playing shape. I kept them playing by hooking myself when I chose to and giving them a few balls here and there when they were headed for a mess that took a lot more skills than they had to sort out. Shape players are plodders. Not nearly as much fun to watch as the sprinters but in the long race bet on the plodder every time.

Hu

 

[Andrew Manning]

No question if the game is 8-ball. The shot maker should never win a game against a decent player.

He'll start making shots (it's what he's good for), but there's no way he'll get all the way out without decent position play. When he fails to get all the way out, he can't play safe, because a safety always involves controlling the cue ball. So rack after rack, he'll clear up the traffic a little bit before handing the rack to the other guy on a silver platter.

I could also point out that the position player, if he's really controlling the CB well, knows how to hit the object ball with extreme accuracy as well, since this is the first step in good position play. Your english and speed can be perfect, but if you hit the shot a little on the thin side or thick side, it's totally going to change your CB path. So nobody is a good position player without also being a good ball pocketer. I take it the "position player" you had in mind probably just chokes from time to time.

-Andrew

 

[JAM]

Cool story. I can actually visualize the kick you're talking about.

I refer to the ends of the pocket facings as "points", and I scowl at people who call them anything else.

Points, points, point. I love that term MUCH BETTER than "tits."

 

[JAM]

Cool story, thanks. I always enjoy your posts.

Thank you for the kind words. I enjoy remembering them. I'm working on a conference right now about Alzheimer's. It's scary.

I better keeping writing down my memories before I forget them. :grin-square:

 

[JAW725]

No question if the game is 8-ball. The shot maker should never win a game against a decent player.

He'll start making shots (it's what he's good for), but there's no way he'll get all the way out without decent position play. When he fails to get all the way out, he can't play safe, because a safety always involves controlling the cue ball. So rack after rack, he'll clear up the traffic a little bit before handing the rack to the other guy on a silver platter.

I could also point out that the position player, if he's really controlling the CB well, knows how to hit the object ball with extreme accuracy as well, since this is the first step in good position play. Your english and speed can be perfect, but if you hit the shot a little on the thin side or thick side, it's totally going to change your CB path. So nobody is a good position player without also being a good ball pocketer. I take it the "position player" you had in mind probably just chokes from time to time.

-Andrew

I absolutely agree 100%

 

[Ponytail]

Can we just play short handed?

All kidding aside.. I don't know of many position players that can't make a shot when need be.

 

[supergreenman]

I'm going to say I prefer the postition player. If he's not making shots right now, all it requires is a bit of practice. The shotmaker on the other hand could be a totally new player with no understanding of tangent lines, spin and strategy.


I say give me the whip and I'll make sure that position player starts making balls.

 

[alstl]

In my experience by the time a guy learns how to control the cue ball he has already learned how to pocket balls.

 

[Drew]

I'm going to say I prefer the postition player. If he's not making shots right now, all it requires is a bit of practice. The shotmaker on the other hand could be a totally new player with no understanding of tangent lines, spin and strategy.


I say give me the whip and I'll make sure that position player starts making balls.

Then I'll offer you the challenge of teaching me to make balls...