The greatest pool trick ever
- Thread starter jay helfert
- Start date
I saw Mike Massey do that trick several times and loved it every time!
I'm with this theory... when he's throwing out the balls, he's seeing the COLORS, not the numbers... orange, yellow stripe, etc. BUT that's pretty quick addition to call out the number total within seconds!
OR it's mis-direction, which is what magic tricks are mainly based on.
pretty clear to me he is putting silicone on the balls before he rolls them out
Looks to me like he's adding up values, but it's possible that he uses some sort of algorithm to simplify things. The first one to jump to my mind would be multiplying the number of stripes (and possibly the 8 ball) by 8, then adding the balls as if they are all solids to that result. With a little practice and having memorized the multiplication table for 8 (up to 8 x 8 = 64), I think you could get that down to a few seconds pretty easily.
For example, say the balls were:
Solids: green, blue, orange
Stripes: red, purple, green
Maybe he saw that in his head as 6 + 2 + 5 + 3 + 4 + 6 + (3 x 8) = 26 + 24 = 50
Now I'm going to have to go try it at home...
Wouldn't it be easier and faster to multiply the number of stripes by 10 and add the second digits?
If you train yourself to recognize the stripes according to their second digits, I imagine the math could be done quickly.
If I were to hazard a guess, I would say it was possibly a skill learned from playing a lot of 61 point rotation. Notice, he does it in 2 groups ie 32 and 24 etc. A good skill to have, being able to look at each players pocketed balls and quickly know where the game stands.
Or it coulda been voodoo. :thumbup:
Or it coulda been voodoo. :thumbup:
Possibly. The reason I suggested 8 was so that you could use the same color/number association for both stripes and solids.
Going back to my previous example:
Solids: green, blue, orange
Stripes: red, purple, green
Another way to visualize that might be to group them in order by color, like so:
(0 x yellow) + (1 x blue) + (1 x red) + (1 x purple) + (1 x orange) + (2 x green) + (3 x stripes) =
2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 12 + (3 x 8) = 26 + 24 = 50
Why would Staton have to back Jimmy?
I always saw Moore betting his own money.
:boring2:
Doing those things with a blindfold on is a very old magician routine.....(some made a lot of money with the routine of driving a car down the main street blindfolded.) Of course they had to let the local police know how it was done so the law would stay out of things.
Just let ME tie the blindfold on, using my blindfold, and nobody will make a ball or accomplish any of those great "miracles" under those controlled conditions.
Man, pool players in general are gullible.
Life goes on...
:grin:
they sure are... lol
The last group when he rolled 9 I suspect he looked down and added the 6 he didn't roll and subtracted the number from 108.
I used to count cards. With enough practice and money as a motivating factor it can be done.
Then you didn't see him play that much. He had backers lined up to help him in almost all his big money games. He did back himself in the Ring games and small money action (anything under 100 a game). If you played him in New Mexico and he was betting his own, it was probably $10-20 9-Ball (or a $100 set) or $25-50 One Pocket. He did get a lot of that action and maybe that's what you're talking about.
I saw him play Danny Jones a $500 (each) set of 9-Ball in the late 60's (backer) and Richie Florence some Straight Pool in the 70's for $200 a game (backer). He also played Jones some high dollar (at the time) Snooker with a backer. To the best of my recollection, Moore won all three of these money games.
Last edited:
Check your arithmetic.
:rotflmao1:
I wonder if the Show Bar is still there, a couple of miles out of town.
I worked in the nuclear power industry for 30 years. I was one of the few that had a terrible memory. Must people who make it have excellent memories.
I’ve learned that there’s 2 factors involved in making a highly functional person. The first is IQ. That is the measure of ones ability to solve a problem that he’s never seen solved. It’s very hard to test because of the human memory. True IQ should be tested before 11 years old.
The second is working memory. This is the ability to rapidly remember items and then recall it as needed. Show someone 9 single digit numbers written on a sheet of paper for a brief period. Then ask him to recite them in reverse order. If the person can list 4 or more, that person would generally do very well in college.
What I believe we are watching is his ability to rapidly add numbers in his head due to possessing a fantastic working memory. It’s amazing when you see it it action. One on the VP’s where I currently work can multiply two, three digit numbers together in his head in seconds.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I’ve learned that there’s 2 factors involved in making a highly functional person. The first is IQ. That is the measure of ones ability to solve a problem that he’s never seen solved. It’s very hard to test because of the human memory. True IQ should be tested before 11 years old.
The second is working memory. This is the ability to rapidly remember items and then recall it as needed. Show someone 9 single digit numbers written on a sheet of paper for a brief period. Then ask him to recite them in reverse order. If the person can list 4 or more, that person would generally do very well in college.
What I believe we are watching is his ability to rapidly add numbers in his head due to possessing a fantastic working memory. It’s amazing when you see it it action. One on the VP’s where I currently work can multiply two, three digit numbers together in his head in seconds.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I was there the year the IRS raids came down.
The golf course is still there according to google.
There's a place out on Rt. 37 called "The Ranch"...don't know if it's the same spot as the J&J. Could be...according to the street view. Been a long long time.
Fats saved all the pool players and even got their money back with the eloquent speech he made on their behalf in the courtroom. Basically he told the judge that EVERYONE is hustler and gave all the reasons why and the judge bought it. :thumbup:
I think you guys are making it more complicated than it is. He's showing you how he does it. He adds the first 3 quickly and then the second 3 and then adds those two subtotals together. I think if you practice thinking of 3 numbers and adding them without thinking too hard you can do it quickly. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but for an easy example look at the following example 1, 3. Now I bet if you look at those two numbers you just know the total is 4 without even trying to add them. You just know. (It's like aiming to shoot a ball. You just know when it looks right, lol). I think the same can be done with 3 balls with practice and good math ability to boot. 5 8 11 is 24. Just look at the numbers and let your brain add them without consciously doing it. I think that's all it is. It's a great skill but you don't need some algorithm to make it happen.
There are math algorithms to help you add lots of large numbers more quickly, but IMO not necessary here. I learned a memory trick and memorized pi out to 2000 digits in a short amount of time just for kicks. I'm certainly no genius but you'd think I was if you didn't know how to train yourself to do that.
There is another video of Moore doing this trick out there somewhere and if I recall it is a better example. He is younger and the balls are rolling faster. Must've been on one of those televised events where they had Fats, Mosconi, Moore etc all together playing for Wide World of Sports type thing.