Recent content by sjm

Absolutely right! An amateur player will learn nothing in this situation. The only thing you get for your $100 is the chance to meet Fedor and a chance to say "I played pool against Fedor Gorst" for the rest of your life. To many, that's worth $100, and to many it is not. Each must make...

Absolutely brilliant!

Yes. Back then, you often saw "no gambling" and "no masse shots" signs. I don't think either was strictly enforced by many room owners.

Agreed. I think the change in equipment has been good for women's pro pool but possibly not so for men's pro pool. The reliance on power is far less today than it was in the pre-Simonis days. Now, it seems that everybody has the firepower to run the table, and it comes down to having the...

Tricky topic. Still, this is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison. Thirty years ago, there was no break box, the one ball was on the spot, and the wing ball was dead, so players had a better chance to control the cue ball off of the break. As you note, they liked to squat the cue ball...

Adding to Jazznpool's excellent reply to your post, this type of thinking just doesn't work. Yes, give a Filler or a Shane bucket pockets, Simonis cloth, rails and balls with today's quality, jump cues, screw-on extensions, and the better pool tables in use today and they would run a whole lot...

Thanks for a truly exceptional post.

Condolences to those living in the most frigid regions. Here In New York City, we got about 4" of snow a few weeks ago and it was the biggest snowstorm in four years. I actually enjoy winter and I like snow, but it's the frigid temperatures that I can do without. Still, I don't think the...

Really good thread here. What we have seen is that some interpret pool as the serious tournament scene, others interpret it as the action scene, and yet others interpret it as the culture in the poolroom itself. In fact, in this respect, this thread has been what AZB is all about. Most of us...

Couldn't be further from the truth. The quality of instruction has skyrocketed and the online resources available for learning the game's underlying theory is leaps and bounds above what the old masters had available to them. Yes, the players of today have a huge edge over those of yesteryear...

Read the thread title.

Thanks so much for this! As I've confessed before on AZB, most of my knowledge about Keith's past exploits comes from your posts and you have enlightened me once again. The truth is that, although I saw pool up close fifty years ago and still get to do so, I loved it then and I love it now. I...

Thanks for your input. Mike Sigel was my favorite player in the early 1980s. I was glad to be present for his first world championship. I knew him just a little back then, but now he's a close friend. I had breakfast with him as recently as November 2025. I have suggested on this forum that...

Sorry, but these were not the visible players of fifty years ago. Fifty years ago today, the US Open 9ball was having its very first edition and pro pool was still mostly straight pool. Sigel was still primarily an action player that had just turned pro at the time who would hit the...

Much truth in this. I have often commented on this very forum that the switch to four-inch pockets, an overcompensation for the amazing cueing skills of this generation of players has, at least to a point, robbed 9ball of its fast and loose nature. Nonetheless, the in-match interaction to...