I Got Efren Out Of His Comfort Zone Yesterday - Yeah Right!

Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

Kick Shot Aficionado
Silver Member
Yeah Right, Indeed!

Efren is doing a couple of VIP farewell tour shows and a challenge match against Jeremy Sossei this week and he wasn't scheduled to be at our room yesterday but he showed up around noon.

I wanted to trap him in a carnival game that I'm pretty good at so I offered The Magician an opportunity to get a piece of The Kickin Chicken at the infamous 5 rail kick, whitey must land on a ball placed on the footspot with a penny balanced on top *without* knocking the penny off. Sounds easy, right? :D

It's rare in life that we can get a chance to have an edge on someone who is considered to be the best of all time and here I was with such an opportunity.

I shot first, came up maybe 3 inches short of the ball with the penny.

Efren takes his first shot at it using way too much speed and draw - why is he shooting it like that? Each rail is taking steam out of whitey and especially the last one releasing straight toward the spotted ball with barely enough speed to nestle up against it for a hit - but it did. The speed so perfect that the penny was never in danger of sliding off. WTH; Efren made my specialty shot on the first try. All the guys standing around spectating went bananas.

So, obviously this wasn't gonna work out for me. We changed over to a race to 5, 9 ball. I was fairly certain he would have a slight edge in this game. :rolleyes: Yes, he spanked me pretty hard. He did say "you break very good", so I'll let that be my victory.

Actually, he gave me another shot at a few more 5 rail kick games afterward and I somehow managed to break even with him so that felt like a win, too.

I'm not one bit ashamed to admit that I felt like a kid on cloud 9 getting a chance to have some fun with their sports idol. :thumbup:

Efren is humble, gracious and the Greatest Of All Time. :yeah:

What a pleasure and honor it was to hit a few balls with him.

best,
brian kc
 
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Icon of Sin

Icon of Sin

I can't fold, I need gold. I re-up and reload...
Silver Member
Wow man. That's an awesome story and must have been a hell of an experience. Good stuff.
 
pt109

pt109

WO double hemlock
Silver Member
Brian sets the hook....Efren will give you more action at 9-ball now....
...he might even get trapped into playing you one pocket.
 
Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

Kick Shot Aficionado
Silver Member
pt109 said:
Brian sets the hook....Efren will give you more action at 9-ball now....
...he might even get trapped into playing you one pocket.
Click to expand...

obv pt has been around the block a few times.

he recognizes how I was masterfully setting the trap. :yeah: :thud:
 
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alstl

alstl

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Kickin' Chicken said:
Yeah Right, Indeed!

Efren is doing a couple of VIP farewell tour shows and a challenge match against Jeremy Sossei this week and he wasn't scheduled to be at our room yesterday but he showed up around noon.

I wanted to trap him in a carnival game that I'm pretty good at so I offered The Magician an opportunity to get a piece of The Kickin Chicken at the infamous 5 rail kick, whitey must land on a ball placed on the footspot with a penny balanced on top *without* knocking the penny off. Sounds easy, right? :D

It's rare in life that we can get a chance to have an edge on someone who is considered to be the best of all time and here I was with such an opportunity.

I shot first, came up maybe 3 inches short of the ball with the penny.

Efren takes his first shot at it using way too much speed and draw - why is he shooting it like that? Each rail is taking steam out of whitey and especially the last one releasing straight toward the spotted ball with barely enough speed to nestle up against it for a hit - but it did. The speed so perfect that the penny was never in danger of sliding off. WTH; Efren made my specialty shot on the first try. All the guys standing around spectating went bananas.

So, obviously this wasn't gonna work out. We changed over to a race to 5, 9 ball. I was fairly certain he would have a slight edge in this game. :rolleyes: Yes, he spanked me pretty hard. He did say "you break very good", so I'll let that be my victory.

Actually, he gave me another shot at a few more 5 rail kick games afterward and I somehow managed to break even with him so that felt like a win, too.

I'm not one bit ashamed to admit that I felt like a kid on cloud 9 getting a chance to have some fun with their sports idol. :thumbup:

Efren is humble, gracious and the Greatest Of All Time.

What a pleasure and honor it was to hit a few balls with him.

best,
brian kc
Click to expand...

Good for you. That will be a day to remember.

Regarding Efren's comfort zone - his comfort zone is at a pool table. Whether it is a packed "street" game in the PI or a televised game with thousands watching he is in his comfort zone.
 
Echelon

Echelon

The hill hill thrilla
Silver Member
That's awesome! I can't tell you how many skill and gaff shots I have watched while thinking, I'll bet against that all day, only to see it go off on the first try LOL. Even as I read your story I would have bet against him doing on the first try. Its clear now my best bet is to never bet on these shots haha. Thanks for sharing, hope he comes around my parts or he shows up to derby this year.
 
C

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Kickin' Chicken said:
Yeah Right, Indeed!

Efren is doing a couple of VIP farewell tour shows and a challenge match against Jeremy Sossei this week and he wasn't scheduled to be at our room yesterday but he showed up around noon.

I wanted to trap him in a carnival game that I'm pretty good at so I offered The Magician an opportunity to get a piece of The Kickin Chicken at the infamous 5 rail kick, whitey must land on a ball placed on the footspot with a penny balanced on top *without* knocking the penny off. Sounds easy, right? :D

It's rare in life that we can get a chance to have an edge on someone who is considered to be the best of all time and here I was with such an opportunity.

I shot first, came up maybe 3 inches short of the ball with the penny.

Efren takes his first shot at it using way too much speed and draw - why is he shooting it like that? Each rail is taking steam out of whitey and especially the last one releasing straight toward the spotted ball with barely enough speed to nestle up against it for a hit - but it did. The speed so perfect that the penny was never in danger of sliding off. WTH; Efren made my specialty shot on the first try. All the guys standing around spectating went bananas.

So, obviously this wasn't gonna work out for me. We changed over to a race to 5, 9 ball. I was fairly certain he would have a slight edge in this game. :rolleyes: Yes, he spanked me pretty hard. He did say "you break very good", so I'll let that be my victory.

Actually, he gave me another shot at a few more 5 rail kick games afterward and I somehow managed to break even with him so that felt like a win, too.

I'm not one bit ashamed to admit that I felt like a kid on cloud 9 getting a chance to have some fun with their sports idol. :thumbup:

Efren is humble, gracious and the Greatest Of All Time. :yeah:

What a pleasure and honor it was to hit a few balls with him.

best,
brian kc
Click to expand...
So if you're playing 9-ball race to 5, winner breaks and he spanks you pretty hard, exactly how many breaks did he get to see you hit?
 
Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

Kick Shot Aficionado
Silver Member
ChrisinNC said:
So if you're playing 9-ball race to 5, winner breaks and he spanks you pretty hard, exactly how many breaks did he get to see you hit?
Click to expand...

7

he gave me all the breaks then after the race to 5 he had a few extra minutes to kill so we played 2 more racks.
 
Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

Kick Shot Aficionado
Silver Member
Echelon said:
That's awesome! I can't tell you how many skill and gaff shots I have watched while thinking, I'll bet against that all day, only to see it go off on the first try LOL. Even as I read your story I would have bet against him doing on the first try. Its clear now my best bet is to never bet on these shots haha. Thanks for sharing, hope he comes around my parts or he shows up to derby this year.
Click to expand...

the 5 rail penny shot I'll bet against anyone making it on their first try - well; anyone except Efren. :embarrassed2: :D :embarrassed2:

reading your comment made me think of the story about a guy down in Louisiana who would take bets saying he could knock down a bowling pin by throwing a playing card at it then after getting enough action on it they all went to the local bowling alley where he proceeded to do exactly what he said he could.

I suppose the takeaway lesson is that when people claim to be able to do outrageous seemingly impossible things and are wanting to bet you that they can - they most likely can. :thumbup:

best,
brian kc
 
PoolRookie

PoolRookie

Minnesota
Silver Member
Awesome. Go Magician. I never got to play him in my 30 yrs of playing. I don’t play any longer but would start back to play Efren cheap sets or donation sets. So humble and grateful to the game. Promoters at big events should get sponsors to pay him to show up. He draws a crowd at all events kinda like Earl but for positive reasons.
 
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Echelon

Echelon

The hill hill thrilla
Silver Member
Kickin' Chicken said:
the 5 rail penny shot I'll bet against anyone making it on their first try - well; anyone except Efren. :embarrassed2: :D :embarrassed2:

reading your comment made me think of the story about a guy down in Louisiana who would take bets saying he could knock down a bowling pin by throwing a playing card at it then after getting enough action on it they all went to the local bowling alley where he proceeded to do exactly what he said he could.

I suppose the takeaway lesson is that when people claim to be able to do outrageous seemingly impossible things and are wanting to bet you that they can - they most likely can. :thumbup:

best,
brian kc
Click to expand...

Yeah I have heard of that one, tossing the cards down the alley and they wedge under the head pin, one by one until it topples over. Haven't seen it but I know better. One trip to Derby will teach you what you need to know about gaff shots/bets haha.
 
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