top pro that keeps is basic

C

champ2107

Banned
what top pro would you say has the simplest game and does not make it look to fancy or complex. Opposite of earl i guess with his spinning the balls and going three rails for shape, etc?
 
Buddy Hall comes to mind as a player who keeps everything simple. Nothing fancy, no unnecessary spin, just pure rack-running efficiency.
In his prime, you would wonder if he'd ever miss because he always had an easy shot.
 
Ralf Souquet

I think Ralf Souquet is almost mechanical, and he keeps it so simple.
He also almost never loses, and in the last 10 years has been one of the most consistent winners.
 
Right now I'd say Shane, although he's got the stroke and know-how to get the it anywhere he needs to go. One big thing though is I noticed alot of the older players like Buddy or Jim Rempe tended to play simpler patterns more often, at least from what I've noticed. Maybe because of the slower cloth, maybe because they grew up seeing more simplicity styled patterns from the straight pool era. Just my .02 :rolleyes:
 
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ga9ball said:
I think Ralf Souquet is almost mechanical, and he keeps it so simple.
He also almost never loses, and in the last 10 years has been one of the most consistent winners.
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He plays the flattest cueball of any of the current professionals and his shot selection almost never waivers... He knows what he shouldn't be shooting at automatically....... Makes him hard to handle unless you happen to have the moon and stars aligned......
 
Some guys keep it simple in the pattern play department, others in the defense department, still others in the kicking department, and still others in two way shot design and execution.

Only two guys come to mind when I think of who keeps it simple in all four of these phases of the game, and that would be Ralf Souquet and Dennis Orcullo.

PS If the runout portion of the game is considered in isolation, I'll echo the sentiments of the poster that mentioned Buddy Hall, with Souquet a close second.
 
I immediately think of Ralf as well, and Buddy from back in the day. Although Buddy wasn't afraid of using some extreme spin to get where he needed, he was very methodical in his approach.

I actually think of Earl on this too. Obviously he will stroke the ball and might use more spin, but whenever I watch him, especially when he's playing well, it helps me simplify the game. He just shoots the shots like they are routine - 1 rail out for shape, 2 rails, etc., just making the ball and letting the cue ball get on the next shot, making it look so easy, which it is when we don't f@#k it up by trying too hard or tensing up over shots.

Scott
 
macneilb said:
One big thing though is I noticed alot of the older players like Buddy or Jim Rempe tended to play simpler patterns more often, at least from what I've noticed. Maybe because of the slower cloth, maybe because they grew up seeing more from the straight pool era. Just my .02 :rolleyes:
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Playing on the road had an impact on those guys as well. After you get burned a few times on gaffy tables, letting the cueball do laps and slow rolling balls becomes a lot less appetizing - you tend to take some slack out of the leash. One or two bad experiences, and "Run, whitey, run!" turns into "Sit, whitey, sit!", LOL.

Aaron
 
sjm said:
Some guys keep it simple in the pattern play department, others in the defense department, still others in the kicking department, and still others in two way shot design and execution.

Only two guys come to mind when I think of who keeps it simple in all four of these phases of the game, and that would be Ralf Souquet and Dennis Orcullo.

PS If the runout portion of the game is considered in isolation, I'll echo the sentiments of the poster that mentioned Buddy Hall, with Souquet a close second.
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You and I think very much alike. The first guy that came to my mind was Orcullo. He makes the game look so simple that it makes me feel like it shouldn't be hard to run out. Subsequently, this makes me feel like I suck for not getting out on some of these "easy" patterns like he is, lol.

Souqet works very hard to always have the best percentage shot. I appreciate his work ethic and pattern play, but it is hard to watch sometimes.
 
My two favorites for employing the 'law of parsimony'.
Alex Pagulayan and Buddy Hall.

Most players, including some mentioned in this thread, over-stroke.
Buddy and Alex are almost ideal in only doing what they have to do....
...and nothing more.

Shane often uses the same length of back-stroke on a soft shot or a
power shot.
Ralf, who I think is an admirable player, overly uses 'rote'.
Earl over-strokes everything.
 
All Taiwanese top 5 players.
They are so robotic, they look boring unless you really know the game.
 
Others have said it, but I'll confirm...

Ralf Souquet and Buddy Hall...

Watching either one of them play on video is like watching a machine keep it simple...

Completely devastating...
 
Mitchxout said:
Allison Fisher, by far. She will play short side shape rather than force anything unnatural.
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Totally Agree Allison does not do anything she she doesnt have to. Most players from a snooker background fall into this mindset but Allison is an extreme.
 
champ2107 said:
what top pro would you say has the simplest game and does not make it look to fancy or complex. Opposite of earl i guess with his spinning the balls and going three rails for shape, etc?
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Agree with all the modern pros thus far listed, except that I haven't watched Allison Fisher enough to tell.

As to Earl Strickland, he doesn't play fancy stuff unnecessarily: he does it so well, and knows the risks of allowing his opponents to the table, he won't let go of it if he can help it, that's all. I'm a no-nonsense player myself, and am very aware of the fact that even the best safety is no guarantee that my opponent, whether thanks to expertise or luck, is going to give me ball in hand, or anything better than what I was last looking at before I handed the table over to him.

Also, back in Buddy Hall's era, there would be several more with a no-nonsense approach, as well as today. Basically, you're looking for players who excel at cue ball control - those who rarely get out of line make it look as if their game was "simple". It's not. It's worth admiring. The devil's in the details. There's nothing more difficult than to make it look easy.

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti
 
champ2107 said:
what top pro would you say has the simplest game and does not make it look to fancy or complex. Opposite of earl i guess with his spinning the balls and going three rails for shape, etc?
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I would have to say it would have to be, Buddy Hall, and Nick Varner and Chris Bartram.
Many Regards,
Lock N Load.
 
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