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Thanks justadub. There are always extreme cases. If one player is slower than everyone else, interfering with league and tournament schedules, and causing tangible negative impacts to groups of people, then yes, this needs to be dealt with. But OP didn't say any of this. It seems to be you...

OK, I have an unpopular opinion. Play the speed that you shoot at when you play your best. If it is slow, let it be slow. I know there is a lot of hate for slower players but I don't care. As impatient as they are with slow players, I am equally impatient for players who hate on other...

Pattern play is a crucial part of the game, but it is easy to lose sight and think it is everything. I tell my students that the second best plan executed with confidence will always outperform the best plan executed tentatively. I'm curious about one thing. When you are at your best, what...

I'm skeptical of the sample size of Jean Balukas. I'm guessing she would have been the equivalent of a 720-750 Fargo Rated player today. Her high run in straight pool shows as 134 whereas all the top players today that play the game run multiple hundereds. I can see how she might have towered...

Good point. But if we go too far down that road though things get messy. For instance, if this were actually to be constructed, are there viable Native American lands that could be commandeered?

One person making a statement doesn't make it true, regardless of their authority level. I think it is very well established that the vast majority of players look at the object ball last before their stroke, and as they stroke forward. Keep in mind that when Mark said that it's possible he...

So tough to narrow it down to four players. You'd really need to highlight players who transcended all of their peers for an extended period of time, and maybe changed the game by taking it to a level that hadn't been seen before. Mosconi certainly would be a good candidate. After that...

Awesome! Great job developing your game! The size of your target is not constant. I have a theory of pattern play I call "Gun vs Target". The target is the area I have to hit on the table to be in good position. The 'gun' is the cue ball move that I am using to hit that target. I came up...

I should also add tomato, you are right that people need strong cue ball tools. Pattern play is limited by cue ball control. A musician that knows three notes won't be able to play many songs, and a pool player who is only comfortable shooting really thick hit stop shots, rolls, and stuns...

There are four levels of position play. Level one is none. Just shoot a ball in, rub your eyes, then see where you land. Level two is to play to a large, vague area. Somewhere out here (waving your hands over a third of the table). Level three is a point. "I am going to stop right HERE for...

I think this post is really speaking about being aware of your opponent's weaknesses and use them to your advantage. For example, a lot of players never pass a push if they have a legal hit, so pushing out to shots with difficult to execute low reward defensive plays is a winning strategy. So...

Times are changing. Two big things that have changed are the number of players signing up for these events and the skill levels of those players. 20 years ago it was a mostly US event. Jeremy Jones, Gabe Owen, and John Schmidt won the event between 2003-2005. Out of the final 64 players...

No obligation. Player certainly isn't obliged to buy half or discuss this ahead of time. As for not being 100% or planning on withdrawing, this is a total trap. It opens the door to players spreading false information to lower their price. Buyer beware. For every time you get screwed in a...

Fargorate tells how good a player is based on results that actually happened. You are a 602 because you have performed as a 602. You can say "Well I could play better than that if I tried harder". OK. But you didn't try harder. So you are a 602. I don't really understand the discrepancy...

It's like a kid playing a made up game. "My shot was worth infinity points!"

Sometimes you have to get out in front of something to avoid setting a precedent that turns into a problem, one that could have been prevented easier than fixed later. Other times you can shrug and figure we'll deal with it if it becomes an issue. Right now Fedor is a net positive. He's not...

This would put them even with Mike Dechaine and Justin Bergman. That doesn't feel quite right to me.

At the US Open last year when it was in the final 64 but before there was a shot clock, every player was playing very deliberate. Including people who generally play quickly. Sanchez-Ruiz. Wiktor Zielinski. Filler. And so on. If you guys want to go play for a living and spend 10 seconds a...

I can play in tournaments again! 🤣

I believe there were 42. I am positive there were 40, but I remember seeing a room that said "Table 41 and 42, tournament overflow". I may have even had a match in that room, I remember it had a weird echo. So pretty sure 42. Meaning of life.