Footage of Jay Helfert in some serious pool action
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watching the remainder of the match...wow those racks were loose. Varner snaps the 9 twice in a row. Each time the 9 is moving right off the break. The first time it then gets kicked into the side, and the second time it just goes straight into the corner pocket with nothing touching it.
Thanks! I had to make on the first try. They didn't have time for me to set it up again. No indented rack or special pool balls. All regular equipment! It truly was a balancing act just to get it set up.
Now this is a trip down memory lane. Jay Helfert having shooting trick shots between games, a 23-year-old, single Earl Strickland, a gum-chewing Nick Varner whom the commentators said weighed all of 112 pounds, and a very dapper Allen Hopkins. Earl said Allen was his idol.
I’ve been told by people who were there that the tournament in Tahoe was one of the best tournaments ever. And you even had a new rule at the time: push-out after the break.
But what really makes this special is the commentary along with pool-related commercials, e.g., Corner Pocket. It’s solid gold., little stories, observations, and cool pool nuggets sprinkled throughout. You just don’t get that same feel anymore. This is more than an old pool match. It’s a little piece of pool history. Vintage pool. Vintage characters. Vintage memories.
Good stuff.
Oh, the places we've been and the things we've done for...what?! Knocking balls around a table?!
Madness!!
Oh, the places we've been and the things we've done for...what?! Knocking balls around a table?!
Madness!!
Jay was that your real stroke or your stroke for suckers? hahahah.
Yep, and still some people say the triangle is better than the template rack. In order for the 9 NOT to be dead in the corner, we have to watch someone's ass-crack bent over for 3 minutes trying to get it tight behind the 9, and the 3 head balls somewhat tight, and the rest leave to the ball gods.
You're most welcome Jay
!
Nice job Buddy!
The best finals I’ve ever seen in my life was between Allen Hopkins and George “Ginky” San Souci at the 2005 Ocean State Championship at Snooker's (the old Snooker's) in Providence, Rhode Island. Oh, man, Regina's homemade meatballs at Snooker's. Yum!
It came down to the break in the finals. Neither one of them missed a ball. I have never seen two players shoot with such precision in a finals match. It was incredible. To this day, I still remember it as the best finals I’ve ever seen.
And it proves something about pool. It doesn’t matter how you stroke a ball as long as you pocket balls. What works for one player may not work for another. There’s no single “right” way to play.
Allen Hopkins was incredibly strong in his prime and was still strong even after retiring. By the time he played Ginky in this match, he was well past his prime, but he still loved competing. And that old champion was still in there.
What a match! What a memory! Ginky wins, Allen comes second, and Joe Tucker was third.
Photo credit: Me!
Isn't the replacement shot where the cue ball rolls forward a ball diameter so it ends up sitting where the object ball originally was?? This looked like a standard stop shot to me, of course with an elevated rack and balls on top of it.
That big white square in the middle of the table is horrible from a viewer standpoint.
So the 9 can be manipulated with racking tricks?? A few years back I was playing in the 5-6 finishing position round of our state tournament on barboxes and my opponent had the 9 traveling towards one of the upper 2 corner pockets on every break. I don't remember if he sank any on the break but he had an easy early combo on every rack he broke, it was rack your own. I got him back on the later rounds of 8 ball though.
Yes.
I guess you're right - I assumed the object ball was under the corner of the rack (like the other two OBs), but after looking again I see it's just far enough away to leave room for the CB to stop under the corner - I can see it stop without rolling forward, now that I look for that. I wonder if the OB position needs to be "cheated" like that (no offense, Jay).
pj
chgo
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I would guess trying to make the cue ball roll under a "weighted" rack could be difficult then add that you are asking the cue ball to roll a little constantly straight under that rack would add many degrees of difficulty. Or not. Probably a 50/50 chance of either. Or not.
i've seen these matches before, but never understood what the heck that is?