best slow and fast players

rexus31

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Didn't Lou Butera run a 125 or 150 in 28 minutes in a 14.1 tourney? I recall reading that somewhere.
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Didn't Lou Butera run a 125 or 150 in 28 minutes in a 14.1 tourney? I recall reading that somewhere.

In competition, I remember 150 in 21 1/2 minutes. In practice, who knows?

Lou was the fastest player of the straight pool era, but the nine ball era has produced several that play at a faster pace than Lou.

If we consider BCA HOFers only, the slowest of the straight pool era was Taberski and the fastest was Butera. In the nine ball era, the slowest is Souquet and the fastest is probably Earl Strickland.
 

Saturated Fats

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've seen Danny "Kid Delicious" Basavich take several minutes per shot, getting up again and again. Once in a 9B tournament I saw him pause in the middle of his turn, walk over to the juke box and select several songs before continuing. He always drove his opponents crazy with slow play, but if they put him on a clock, it didn't seem to affect his abilities at all.

I was forced to conclude that his slowness was probably only to torture his opponents... and it worked.
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
I've seen Danny "Kid Delicious" Basavich take several minutes per shot, getting up again and again. Once in a 9B tournament I saw him pause in the middle of his turn, walk over to the juke box and select several songs before continuing. He always drove his opponents crazy with slow play, but if they put him on a clock, it didn't seem to affect his abilities at all.

I was forced to conclude that his slowness was probably only to torture his opponents... and it worked.

Nice post. I've always been intrigued by players who are slow but can play well on the shot clock.

Basavich is a perfect example, but Ralf Souquet fits the mold perfectly, too. Ralf always thrived at the Mosconi Cup, in which a thirty second shot clock has traditionally been used.

A top player today has me watching closely, and that's Klenti Kaci, whom I'd rate a top twenty in the world player. He is one of the slowest pro players and I recall wondering a year ago whether the shot clock would affect him at the 2018 Mosconi Cup. Overall, Kaci had a pretty forgettable performance at the 2018 Mosconi, but he's on Team Europe again this year, and perhaps this is the year in which he becomes more comfortable on the thirty second clock. We shall see.
 

patmoran

Registered
Lou Butera was faster.

Luc Salvas was faster.

Im sure there are more that arent coming immediately to mind.

I watched Luc play charlie "hilllbilly" bryant at the BCA in vegas 2005 and he was breaking as soon as charlie had barely lifted the rack and running racks as if he was playing 'speed pool". Very entertaining to watch. Afterwards Charlie sat in the bleachers moaning and complaining. On the slow sider side I watched Ralf soquet at one of Jay's tournaments in L.A. and i almost fell asleep.
 

skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I watched Luc play charlie "hilllbilly" bryant at the BCA in vegas 2005 and he was breaking as soon as charlie had barely lifted the rack and running racks as if he was playing 'speed pool". Very entertaining to watch. Afterwards Charlie sat in the bleachers moaning and complaining. On the slow sider side I watched Ralf soquet at one of Jay's tournaments in L.A. and i almost fell asleep.

when in form he was absolutely brilliant to watch, luc salvas. i'd say he was as fast as tony drago, but maybe less consistent. both could leave their opponents feelin they'd been hit by a freight train
 

measureman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
i don't mind slow but i can't stand the getting up from the shot 3 times every other shot. orcollo, kaci, alex comes to mind

thats just nerves the up and down.
i hate it.
i watched a video of slow Jim Rempe run a 150 balls and after a couple racks i was yelling at the screen just shoot the hanger already.

The slowest player I ever saw was old Doc Hazzard (Hassard?) from N.J.
He played pre 1970's.
 

nibrobus

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've noticed that guys that play fast/very fast tend to be great shotmakers but their cueball control isn't as tight as some of the slower players. You have exceptions like John Schmidt who plays quick while playing straight pool and has the cueball on a leash, but other guys like Earl Strickland and Jayson Shaw that can fire anything in from anywhere but let the cueball get a little looser. The game can also dictate a player's pace, guys tend to play faster playing rotation games but a lot slower playing 8-ball and one pocket.
 

skins

Likes to draw
Silver Member
As for great local players, in the Chicagoland area one of the best SLOW players is Mark Pratico... Slow as molasses but can play with the best of them.
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Fast: Keith McCready, Luc Salvas, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Lou Butera

Slow: Dick Lane, Kid Delicious, Eklent Kaci, Nick Varner
 

terryhanna

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
When Jesse hits a gear on a bar table in a blink of an eye he can run the set.

When he starts free wheeling he plays like a runaway train lol
 

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J SCHWARZ

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Rocket Rodney Morris and Jessee Bowman for fastest players in rotation. Would be interesting to hear opinions if their stance/alignment fundanentals are above par compared to other pros. Its interesting that Rodney uses above average tip diamater and traditional shaft with lots of English, seems that would take more time to calculate. It seems Rodney just steps down and fires. Jessee mostly played bartable which would be easier to play fast on. Slowest rotation players ive seen would probably be jj and hillbilly. Not a knock though, both their pool IQs are way above average among their peers.
 
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Tooler

AhSheetMaDruars
Silver Member
Rocket Rodney Morris and Jessee Bowman for fastest players in rotation. Would be interesting to hear opinions if their stance/alignment fundanentals are above par compared to other pros. Its interesting that Rodney uses above average tip diamater and traditional shaft with lots of English, seems that would take more time to calculate. It seems Rodney just steps down and fires. Jessee mostly played bartable which would be easier to play fast on. Slowest rotation players ive seen would probably be jj and hillbilly. Not a knock though, both their pool IQs are way above average among their peers.

Let's not forget Micheal Wong..... he can make drying paint look fast.

Fast player I always enjoyed was Ismael "Morro" Paez..... fun to watch.;)
 
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