Kids of today are taught that its wrong to play 9ball fast & loose .
They are taught never to play combinations because they are 'low-percentage shots' .
They are told to try and run out , ignoring the kiss shot .
The kids don't know better because they've never seen anyone who plays the game fast & loose.
Lots of the 80's style of play was owed to The Color of Money.
All the kids , and some of the grown-ups , wanted to be Vincent.
They wanted it "On the snap, Vincent!"
They wanted the kiss shot off the 1 , or the 2 . . .
So that's how they played.
There was very little pool being played on TV
The "9ball Classic @ Resorts International" didn't exist.
So where were the going to learn to play it differently ?
There was no internet , and there were precious few pool instructional videos available for the BetaMax . . .
And of course the top players ( hustlers , back then , and they weren't afraid to say it . . ) who had the knowledge didn't want to pass it on , less it be used against them !
There weren't even that many good books on the subject back then .
Of course , the other difference , part of the reality ( and I'm gonna be jumped for saying this !) is that in the 80's way more players were jacked up on coke or speed (or speedballs . . . ) . . . .
The drug-induced high made them feel invincible , and that feeling inspired some of the wild-ass plays which met with occasional success , which made the players that shot them seem like heroes.
So today they buy the instructional video , that teaches them fundamentals far beyond what anyone was using in the 80's , but at the same time it teaches them to play safe instead of running out.
They go on forums like AzB , where they are told that a strategy of kissing out early will "lose you more games than you'll win" , and the BCA certified instructors openly mock those of us who try to relate what it was like being a Road Player then (or now . . . )
Oh , and about that cue we were juicing back then ? 90% of the time it was BIG MUDDY on a coin-op , and todays players think it's hopeless even trying to draw that big b_stard . Masse' with MuddyBuddy? Unthinkable !
Ridinda9>>>>old enough to remember playing in the 80's (and the 70's !!):shakehead: