Intimidating players

T

tom

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have read many times about intimidating players. I understand players like Dennis Hatch or Earl Strickland (when he is/was on) have intimidation as an additional weapon and it works most of the time, especially when the opponent is not very experienced, even if skilled.

What, in your opinion, makes an "intimidating" player? Fast pace, the way they "own" the table, showing self confidence, the way they talk, and/or what more?

Then, if you're not that kind of player, how do you deal with it when you play them?
If you are one of them, is it something natural or did you become one? I know very nice and quiet guys that change totally their behavior once their match starts.

Btw, I'm not making difference between tournament play or gambling, and I'm not talking about sharking. A dominating class act, when he's on, is Oliver Ortmann imo, especially before his back surgery.

What's your opinion?
 
High gear

I think when you play a person such as Earl or hatch who at anytime could run the set out that really throws everything off beginning with your mental game. And as we all have learned once your mental game is gone, all your doing then is waiting to get beat
 
The ones that don't have two clues how to play and just bang balls in like nothing... hard pots, loads of spin, bank everything and no shape.

I find these guys hard to play for a few reasons. 1. If he ever learns the game, what am I going to do then. 2. Can't leave them hard cause they are pounding the ball and probably getting the 9, lucking a safe or tie up balls.

I would sooner play a pro than the guy above.
 
If you are playing someone who is less skilled or inexperienced they are probably intimidated anyway. Players that do have this intimidating demenour most of the time it's just their nature , but being fair it's their competitiveness, wanting to win. Like boxers use their weapons in the square ring , outside of it are usually very pleasant. Same with Hatch, Strickland, Hillbilly , I could go on and on...would not want them on my bad side though..lol
 
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The most intimidating guy I ever saw was a road player who dropped by our local poolroom, when I was a kid. He was a good player alright, but that wasn't the intimidating part. It was his girlfriend sitting behind him with the handle of a loaded .38 sticking out of her purse. What drama! :wink:
 
Tramp Steamer said:
The most intimidating guy I ever saw was a road player who dropped by our local poolroom, when I was a kid. He was a good player alright, but that wasn't the intimidating part. It was his girlfriend sitting behind him with the handle of a loaded .38 sticking out of her purse. What drama! :wink:
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Well... I didn't mean THAT intimidating lol.
I don't think it depends on the players' skill, I mean you can be intimidated by a player's strength (even if you shouldn't as long as you are playing) and if you get it right you can be even more focused if you know he can string a six pack on you anytime you miss.
Players, champions or not, have different characters and behaviors around the table. I mean, Souquet, Hatch, Immonen, Ortmann, Feijen (just to name some I had the pleasure to play in tournament) are all great players, and all of them can run the set out anytime. But, when you play them you have different feelings if you're not mentally ok. Ralf and Niels, i.e., look like they don't even know who their opponent is (of course Mosconi cup is different...), while some others look like they hate their opponent (whoever he is), some act like they want to be hated, some look like don't caring at all and I could go on and on....

And most of them are great guys when the game is over.

(it's so hard to get to the point speaking a "foreign" language...:sorry:)
 
When Shannon Daulton was an up and coming player he was intimidating..At least to me, he was so cocky and confident and had a boat load of fire power..He told me when we were negotiating a game that I will play a robot if you can program one to play pool..That is confidence and it had me nervous when we matched up...
 
I've heard of Efren dozing off in the middle of a game. He's had to be woken up for his turn to shoot more than a few times. Running out and then realizing your opponent doesn't even care, or in Efren's case conscious, that can be quite intimidating haha. Same with Jose Parica eating a sammich not paying attention lol.
 
To me a guy like Irving Crane is the intimidating type because of his skill level and demeanor. A guy who is making a lot of noise strikes me as insecure. Efren is another guy who looks all business at the table.
 
Archer hits Django with a 13 pack. Django doesnt flinch and asks to double the bet. Johnny declines and loses the next set. Both are stone cold killers but I wonder if either one was intimidated by the other. Just to add, Django in his younger days looked menacing with his Filipino mullet lol.
 
An intimidating player is someone that make everything look extremely easy. Someone who exudes such confidence that they run out from everywhere and fire in tough shots you may have trouble over. And then when you are at the table, they act as if they do not care what is going on (i.e. eating, sleeping, watching other players, etc...).

Also, someone that (when they are at the table) has a nonchalant look on his face, instead of the typical fierce/ serious look that most serious players have when they are at the table.
 
At Hollywood Billiards in the 90's I played a man named Shorty for $50/set of 9-ball, he had a .38 revolver in his back pocket. After losing the first set I kindly asked him why he was packing heat, he said simply "I sleep in my car, need to protect myself".........he won the 2nd set too.

Playing in large tournaments people turn into severe acting babies or bullies, sometimes they mean it and sometimes they don't. I protect myself by focusing on the table and not their antics, some even go as far as shoulder bumping into you while you are walking around the table after they miss so the next time I just walk around the other side.

If they are playing perfect pool then I stop watching them and just listen for my turn to shoot, it's easier than you think. Both situations you try to remove your opponent from affecting what you are doing, it's hard enough to focus on what you have to do without unwanted input.
 
PoolRookie said:
When Shannon Daulton was an up and coming player he was intimidating..At least to me, he was so cocky and confident and had a boat load of fire power..He told me when we were negotiating a game that I will play a robot if you can program one to play pool..That is confidence and it had me nervous when we matched up...
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Shannon told me that the top players have EARNED the fear they put into other people by what they've done in pool.
 
Intimidation is about confidence.

Either you have it or you don't.

The one who loses it first usually loses the match. :)
 
alstl said:
To me a guy like Irving Crane is the intimidating type because of his skill level and demeanor. A guy who is making a lot of noise strikes me as insecure. Efren is another guy who looks all business at the table.
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Definitely agreed. There's nothing intimidating about a player yapping. It's just an annoying move that can get under your skin - a shark move - but definitely not intimidating. In fact, when I see it, I almost feel sorry for the person because it's kind of pathetic...but I don't really feel sorry for them. ;)
 
hows this for intimidation

I was up at the SE open some 6-7 years ago up at the corner pocket in N.O.

I watched John Schmitt play some guy in the semis.

The guy left John locked up and john just tapped the cue ball and gave the guy BIH

John then walks aways from the table goes across the pool hall through the door to the pizza place and orders himself a slice and comes back and starts chowing down.

You should have seen how JARRED the guy was....it was classic

as if john was saying, I don't care what you do but right now I'm hungry so I'm going to eat this slice of pizza, so go ahead and shoot for a min and have fun before I bury you in this hole i have dug here.

PM Mnorwood and ask him about it....we still laugh our butts off when we talk about it.
 
Oh oh

The calmness of a master is intimidating.They bring it into the room
with them.Even rookies sense it before they take out their cue.
Players that are fierce,in your face agressive can be had.Sharkers
show weakness.Nonchalance is often bluffing.
Playing a master is like playing the ghost,if you miss you lose.
On the other hand sometimes it brings out the best in you.
Nobody wins from the chair.
 
Jimmy M. said:
Definitely agreed. There's nothing intimidating about a player yapping. It's just an annoying move that can get under your skin - a shark move - but definitely not intimidating. In fact, when I see it, I almost feel sorry for the person because it's kind of pathetic...but I don't really feel sorry for them. ;)
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That's a good post.
 
intimidation

I have to admit that I'm a victim of intimidation. It holds me back more that any other one thing. If there is someone who's game I have always held in high respect but over time I have grown in my game so I can compete I
fail to play well against them. Also , I tend to underrate my game (I have been told) thus subconsciously dooming myself against players that I should be able to at least match up well . I know, it's all in my head. Most of pool is.
 
Guys that can runout from everywhere, no matter how you leave em, and show no sign if leave themselves bad or get a bad roll....those guys are SCARY, and they know it! Watching Jesse Bowman this weekend on stream reminded me why EVERYONE holds him in such high regard. I've seen him play a number of times, yet each time I see him again, I can't get over how...almost detached he is at the table. Goes a little long for a leave, no change in demeanor, no staring at the table for 2 or 3 minutes, walk up bang in a bank and get perfect shape on the next one....in-freakin-credible!!!! ANYONE that has you thinking either DON'T MISS, don't EVER miss, or you have to come up with the lock of a lifetime to be safe IS plain SCARY. That's why I like playin those guys!! :p :cool:
 
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