Can't watch pool anymore, Snooker is so much nicer

trob

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Nonsense.

Steve Davis played in a handful of 9 Ball World Championships. He made the quarter finals and the last 16 despite not practising the game. In one of those World Championships in Manila, he only played because he got knocked out of a snooker tournament - turned up completely jet lagged and looking like death but still did well. Tony Drago won the World Pool Masters. Mark Selby won world Championships in Snooker and English 8 Ball and was runner- up in Chinese 8 Ball. Neil Robertson went deep in Chinese 8 Ball and cut his gambling teeth playing pool in Australia. Ronnie O’Sullivan played the IPT because there was money in it - watch this space, he will win a major pool tournament one day not because of the money but because he can.

Exactly.. our best American players can’t even get on the tour let alone compete at that level in snooker. Our players make crap money. Snooker players make rock star money. If American players could play snooker they would. Plenty of snooker players have proven they would have no problem moving over to our game.
 

Low500

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Exactly.. our best American players can’t even get on the tour let alone compete at that level in snooker. Our players make crap money. Snooker players make rock star money. If American players could play snooker they would. Plenty of snooker players have proven they would have no problem moving over to our game.
This is why, in my opinion, most American pool players seem to ignore the obvious benefits of learning to be a big time snooker player. This picture says it all.
Pool Room Bum with caption.jpg
 
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hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
-- snip --

Also I was making a comment on skills: please watch the players on the video I linked. Their cues are wobbling about, the are by far striking too much down on the ball, use too much force, have funky alignment... it's no fun.

The Canada team was better on that, but still the level is noticeable worse.
Honorable mention: CHILE was actually nice to watch.

On a more personal level I'd recommend to not read, let alone write, youtube comments. It's precious life time wasted.

Cheerio,
M

So funny thing, this "perfect technique" is one of the reasons I am not a big fan of snooker or of robotic pool players. I don't want to see 20 players line up the same way and execute the same pre-shot routine with the same stroke. The new crop of players from Asia and Russia were bred to pool in basically factories standing in line 10 at a time, learning from the same instructor doing the same drills. Pretty much what they do in the snooker schools. It's like watching a robot doing free throws instead of watching humans play a basketball game. I don't WANT perfection in my sports, humans are not assembly line products. That is why players that learned on the road will always be more entertaining.
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
It's like watching a robot doing free throws instead of watching humans play a basketball game. I don't WANT perfection in my sports, humans are not assembly line products.

i agree

balkline 1 cushion and 3c and you dont have these issues
they are endlessly fluid
 

KRJ

Support UKRAINE
Silver Member
So funny thing, this "perfect technique" is one of the reasons I am not a big fan of snooker or of robotic pool players. I don't want to see 20 players line up the same way and execute the same pre-shot routine with the same stroke. The new crop of players from Asia and Russia were bred to pool in basically factories standing in line 10 at a time, learning from the same instructor doing the same drills. Pretty much what they do in the snooker schools. It's like watching a robot doing free throws instead of watching humans play a basketball game. I don't WANT perfection in my sports, humans are not assembly line products. That is why players that learned on the road will always be more entertaining.

tap, tap, tap. I can watch a baseball game and they don't all have the same swing. I don't get as excited as the baseball announcers when they keep harping on so and so player's lack of head movement during his swing, and that is why he hit that pitch, blah, blah, blah.

Guess what, they NEVER mention his steady mechanics when he strikes out 3 times in a game, or hits in an game ending double play. But, lucky for me we have 2 great TV announcers in baseball for the White Sox.... when I watch any other game it's like fingernails on a chalk board. And Joe Buck, .. just horrible.
 

Cameron Smith

is kind of hungry...
Silver Member
I like watching both. The production values of snooker is great for sure but I have to admit I enjoy the intimate experience of many pool matches and tournaments. Honesty, it would be really cool to see a Neil Robertson vs Judd Trump match in a TAR studio environment. So although I would like to see pool get some similar measure of success and get the big production values, it would be sad to lose some of those quiet matches in small environments.
 

DecentShot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I want to see American games played on a snooker table by snooker pros.I'd be into that over tiny tip robot straight pool.
 

M.G.

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So funny thing, this "perfect technique" is one of the reasons I am not a big fan of snooker or of robotic pool player.

Nowhere near are they robotic and execute the same way.
And how they do shots and which ones and all that, highly different! There is a definitive style to each of em.

Even the Chinese players (Fu, Ding) that kind of started out identical - now that they are succesful - have diverged vastly and individual styles.
Robertson is so much different from a Trump and let alone O'Sullivan and Bingham.
And then look at the new talents, oh boy - Wilson and Brecel.

And then the old classics, Davis and Higgins.

To me, the American pool players play robotic and monotonic, because it's always the same angle and no no no, never interesting shots.

Cheerio!
 

vjmehra

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball played on a snooker table

I’ve tried...it’s painful! Gave up very quickly!

That said (apparently) some players (I mean top level players not bangers like me) practice for Chinese 8-Ball that way as they don’t have access to Chinese 8-Ball tables!
 

mark187

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So funny thing, this "perfect technique" is one of the reasons I am not a big fan of snooker or of robotic pool players. I don't want to see 20 players line up the same way and execute the same pre-shot routine with the same stroke. The new crop of players from Asia and Russia were bred to pool in basically factories standing in line 10 at a time, learning from the same instructor doing the same drills. Pretty much what they do in the snooker schools. It's like watching a robot doing free throws instead of watching humans play a basketball game. I don't WANT perfection in my sports, humans are not assembly line products. That is why players that learned on the road will always be more entertaining.

Most snooker players aren't like that. Judd Trump's stroke isn't straight, he cues up off centre and straightens as he delivers. Ronnie and Mark Selby move all over the place. Steve Davis, Hendry and John Higgins are pretty text book, but most the other top players over the passed 40 odd years weren't/aren't. I don't really know about 'snooker schools'. Other than some of the young Chinese players, most are self taught.
 

skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
To me, the American pool players play robotic and monotonic, because it's always the same angle and no no no, never interesting shots.

maybe true about rotation pool. but go watch some one pocket matches with efren, chohan or rafael martinez and come back and say you didn't see any interesting shots
 
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