Heart vs Skill

IamCalvin06

IamCalvin06

Yang "The Son of Pool"
Silver Member
I was playing a guy the other day for a cheap set and afterwards we got to talking and catching up. He said, "man u still got it, I never could beat you before and ur skills still the same."

I told him my skills have actually improved since the last time we played but yet the match was still close. I got to wondering and it came to me like a flash. He said," then how come u didn't run right over me?"

I told him that I just haven't been shooting with as much heart as before. I've let my improvement as a player take over my heart. And that's been the missing link. This whole time I just thought that it was still the learning curve and getting adjusted with my new skills. But it's not. I've become too reliant on new and improved skills. Expecting them to win the game or help me get out more often.

We talked about gambling and we both agreed that I would take a less skilled player with more heart than a skilled player with no heart. I used to call it "a guy sh!ting on himself" but it's just heartless now. A heartless player with all the skill is worthless bc at the first sign of adversity will lay down, crumble, fold under pressure, etc.

I'm extremely analytical when it comes to pool but one thing I realized is that. When a guys leading and all of a sudden the other guy starts firing back? That's when u see what kinda heart the guy with the lead has! Perfect example recently Carlo Biado vs Dennis Hatch. Carlo pulled it together but u could see the wheels wobbling and I am a HUGE Biado fan.

On the Flip side of this. Mike dechaine has been playing great winning and finishing high in most events. What makes ppl dislike him? A lot of things but the underlying truth might be bc they have seen him play without a whole lot of heart. Until that changes he won't be able to convert the publics opinion. Again NOT a fan of his but I understand the reasons why I'm not.

I saw a billboard of Allen Iverson today that said Sixer forever. Despite all the neg things he's said or done the ppl of Philly and around the world still love him. Why? Bc he played with a BiG heart! It's something that when ur watching him, u can feel what he's doing, the pain, the effort, the will to win. Always carry a special place in my heart!

In the last TAR podcast they asked Efren why he thinks SVB is the best right now. He said "he got good pocketing, good breaking, and he got good thinking, but sometimes he lose his mind"

(Now this next statement is NOT a comparison or knock on SVB so don't get twisted)

The they asked who Efren thinks is the best money player. Efren says "Alex Pagulyan" they ask why.? He just points to his chest with that efren smile.

I know this post was long and bounced around like a plinko chip on Price is Right but just thought I'd share my thoughts. You never know what new pool players are out there trying to get better and forgetting the most important thing. Or what players are out there and can't figure out why no one likes them even though they are undefeated.

Thanks for reading
 
And Barton in 5-4-3-2-1...

People talk in extremes here, I think. Someone with no skill cannot beat anyone, period. Take your pick where you think you fit into it and go from there. Personally, a little skill and NO heart.
 
I agree too be a great player u must have heart but u must also have skill in my eyes my buddy justin bergman has tons of heart it don't matter how far down he is that dude will buckle down and make the come back but he also has all the skills in the world to make that come back
 
Busboy said:
I agree too be a great player u must have heart but u must also have skill in my eyes my buddy justin bergman has tons of heart it don't matter how far down he is that dude will buckle down and make the come back but he also has all the skills in the world to make that come back
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Skills giveyou heart - heart cannot give you skill.
 
TheThaiger said:
Skills giveyou heart - heart cannot give you skill.
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You know I hate agreeing with you....but I agree,
I've seen some great players that have honed their skills to such a high
degree....that their game went beyond heart.

maybe it's just a different kind of heart?
 
Personally for me I'd say it's about 50/50. I have some of both. I have won some matches I wasn't supposed to, but at the same time sometimes after I shoot a match, I scratch my head afterwards wondering how I could shoot so bad. I could be playing with friends dinking around and put together a 2-3 pack with minimal effort...however I don't do that very consistently on the table in a match.
 
Heart?

Busboy said:
I also agree skills come first then comes heart
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From what I've seen over the past six decades, "heart" seems often to be confused with ego, arrogance and high stakes gambling.

I have a friend who is known for having "heart". Never afraid to bet. But his story is a history of winning lots and then losing it all back and more because of ego and foolish betting.

What I'm saying, I guess, is that there's a fine line between heart and reckless gambling. My friend has won many thousands playing pool, yet is currently homeless, despite having an actual job for the past 20 years. He's constantly broke, and every month he borrows from "friends" who charge him 50% interest.

But the boy sure has heart.
 
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Skill is what allowed Earl Strickland to get 17 games ahead of Efren Reyes in a race to 120. Heart is what allowed Efren to win the race from being down 104 to 87. I think the final score was 120 to 117.
 
gregcantrall said:
Skill is what allowed Earl Strickland to get 17 games ahead of Efren Reyes in a race to 120. Heart is what allowed Efren to win the race from being down 104 to 87. I think the final score was 120 to 117.
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That's heart at its best
 
Mental game is arguably the most important part of playing pool, and heart makes up most of it. Sure, you do need a certain amount of skill or you're doomed, but when your heart is big enough your skill is worth three times. I've seen novices do wonders when they were ready to do anything to beat someone just as much as I've witnessed some good players lacking the spirit and losing their concentration, ending up utterly crushed. I'd say the heart:skill ratio is at least 60:40, maybe even 70:30. Entering a match without the fight burning inside you gives a big advantage to your opponent.
 
Push&Pool said:
Mental game is arguably the most important part of playing pool, and heart makes up most of it. Sure, you do need a certain amount of skill or you're doomed, but when your heart is big enough your skill is worth three times. I've seen novices do wonders when they were ready to do anything to beat someone just as much as I've witnessed some good players lacking the spirit and losing their concentration, ending up utterly crushed. I'd say the heart:skill ratio is at least 60:40, maybe even 70:30. Entering a match without the fight burning inside you gives a big advantage to your opponent.
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He gets it...
 
Depends what level you are playing at. Don't confuse heart with skill. Don't confuse heart with focus and concentration.
 
Difficult to define heart, easy to define skill.

I was playing Dave Hemmah in the Swanee this year and he had me down and I started to come back.

One of the games I got he had left me really tough on the seven. This was the tournament side tables and the seven was next to the rail all the way up table with the eight leaving just enough room to let the seven by. The cueball had me jacked up a little over the nine and was a sharp angle of about 60 degrees.

I cut the seven all the way down the rail past the eight and it went in without even touching the facings and then I had a tough shot on the eight and a thin cut on the nine but I got out.

Afterwards, Dave told me I had a lot of heart making the seven and getting out like I did...

Honestly, I didn't know what to think. I had never thought of making a great out like that as having heart, but in retrospect, I guess it did take heart to bear down in that situation and get out.

However, without skill too, that heart wouldn't have done me much good...lol


Jaden
 
When two players are relatively even matched in skill then heart wins most of the time.

When the player with more heart is slightly less skilled the player with more heart wins some of the time.

Heart can also be called grit. The willingness to stick to it and get through it no matter what. People say in pool that there is a fine line between heart and stupidity. This is often true, it takes a lot of heart and stupidity for someone my speed to play Shane Van Boening even. That's just suicide for my bankroll. But sometimes you go up against people who "on paper" are supposed to be better than you and everyone BUT you knows that and somehow you beat them. Because even though they and everyone else thought you were falling on the stupid side of the line you actually stood on the heart side and came with the shots when you needed to.

I have been having a very good conversation with a successful handicapper about my upcoming match. One of the things he said is that people are not generally very good at understanding probabilities. They don't understand he said how MUCH the probability of a certain outcome changes when the situation changes. By the game it could be huge if the underdog happens to come with a miracle shot that moves all the balls to his side, by the set when the underdog manages to win a few games he "shouldn't have" then it changes the dynamic.

This is where heart comes in. No heart cannot replace skill, being the BRAVEST pool player on earth will never make me the best. But being willing to step up and go for it augments whatever skill I do have and supplies me with a never-give-up attitude that can sometimes overcome those who are not that much better than me.

As John Schmidt recently said to me, if you give a guy six months to train and motivation then don't be surprised when he knocks you out. The way I look at it is that if it's me against a guy who trains every single day for the past 20 years and I have six months to get in fighting shape, I am bound to be more hungry and more ready and equipped with more new skills to go with my heart. When it comes to crunch time then I feel like I will be the one who comes with the shots because of A. heart and B. skill to actually make them.
 
gregcantrall said:
Skill is what allowed Earl Strickland to get 17 games ahead of Efren Reyes in a race to 120. Heart is what allowed Efren to win the race from being down 104 to 87. I think the final score was 120 to 117.
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Exactly.

Heart is what allowed Alex to come back on Shane the first time they played on TAR.

Heart is all about overcoming the odds against you. Using all the skills you possess PLUS the extra dose of grit to stay in the game and BEAR DOWN.

Efren and Alex could have thrown in the towel and started playing with their give up stroke. Instead they reached deep down and found an extra gear.
 
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