An amazing John Schmidt shot few players would've seen (or dared)

arnaldo

arnaldo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yeah, I know he had couple of logical, far less risky *safety shots* available, but he was just feeling his oats, had been playing very well, itching to get a run underway, and simply couldn’t resist it once he saw it. He knew it would dazzle the railbirds.

You might correctly say that it was over-the-top-risky, especially being a finals match, and was even dismissive of who his opponent was (top-runner Hohmann), but it’s very likely a shot he’s successfully attempted many times when he got himself stuck in the middle of a relatively unimportant practice-session run.

Even Johnny Archer who was co-commentating with Shaun Wilkie was moved to almost bewilderedly exclaim, “What a shot!”

Watch how John beams with a huge, properly self-satisfied grin, knowing what a dazzler he’s pulled off in front of an audience.

John comes with this great kick-carom shot out of the pack -- that no one expected, including the commentators -- a few seconds after he starts eyeing it around the 4:15 point:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PidSnEgR07w

Arnaldo
 
VERY sporty!

JoeyA

arnaldo said:
Yeah, I know he had couple of logical, far less risky *safety shots* available, but he was just feeling his oats, had been playing very well, itching to get a run underway, and simply couldn’t resist it once he saw it. He knew it would dazzle the railbirds.

You might correctly say that it was over-the-top-risky, especially being a finals match, and was even dismissive of who his opponent was (top-runner Hohmann), but it’s very likely a shot he’s successfully attempted many times when he got himself stuck in the middle of a relatively unimportant practice-session run.

Even Johnny Archer who was co-commentating with Shaun Wilkie was moved to almost bewilderedly exclaim, “What a shot!”

Watch how John beams with a huge, properly self-satisfied grin, knowing what a dazzler he’s pulled off in front of an audience.

John comes with this great kick-carom shot out of the pack -- that no one expected, including the commentators -- a few seconds after he starts eyeing it around the 4:15 point:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PidSnEgR07w

Arnaldo
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The best pool advice I was ever given was given to me by my Dad when I was 13 years old.

He simply said, 'There's always a shot. You've just got to find it.'

I've added this to it, 'If you don't look for them, you will never find them. If you don't find them, you'll never shoot them...& if you never shoot them, you'll never make one of them.'

I've made many of them because I've looked for them.

I've miss my share too but, all in all, I'd say I'm well ahead as I won't shoot a truly 'impossible' shot. If it's possible it's makeable.

Best 2 All,
Rick
 
i remember the first time i saw the shot you're referring to. my jaw hit the floor, and i had to watch it like three or four times before i could even come up with words. there's a reason he's a world champ.
 
BRussell said:
He made it, but what a terrible stroke on that shot!
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Great response to what he accomplished. We can logically then be highly impressed and quite certain your stroke would have been far more beautiful and enviable were you in his place in the finals.

You fail to recognize and allow for the fact that, that exact stroke was his own time-tested personal way of applying maximum spin while retaining the intended degree of power. Your way may be different, but realistically who's silly enough to argue with what works for a highly-experienced world-class player doing what he thinks will best achieve his intended result.

Arnaldo
 
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arnaldo said:
Great response to what he accomplished. We can logically then be highly impressed and quite certain your stroke would have been far more beautiful and enviable were you in his place in the finals.

You fail to recognize and allow for the fact that, that exact stroke was his own time-tested personal way of applying maximum spin while retain the intended degree of power. Your way may be different, but realistically who's silly enough to argue with what works for a highly-experienced world-class player doing what he thinks will best achieve his intended result.

Arnaldo
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I thought someone might get offended by my post, but it's the truth. And John has terrific fundamentals and I'm sure would acknowledge that he twitched and then twisted during his follow-through. And yes we all do it, it's caused by stress, and I don't believe for a second it was his intended and time-tested stroke lol.
 
Why are the announcers so busy talking instead of listening? They don't even know what ball John called ? Man, less is sometimes more, we don't need every possible scenario of what he might do, lets just follow what he is doing.

How could they NOT know what ball he was shooting till after he shot it ???
 
BRussell said:
I thought someone might get offended by my post, but it's the truth. And John has terrific fundamentals and I'm sure would acknowledge that he twitched and then twisted during his follow-through. And yes we all do it, it's caused by stress, and I don't believe for a second it was his intended and time-tested stroke lol.
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I’d assert -- perhaps way more than bit hyperbolically -- that I agree with Al E’s notable statement towards the end of his life, “I continue to affirm that it’s only rationale to predict that it will someday be proven with mathematical certainty that *all* laws relating to the operation of the Universe exist entirely independent of what we choose to observe and believe."

Forget his self-perceived antagonists (the quantum physicists of his early days) I know he specifically had John Schmidt’s stroke in mind when he said that. :wink:

Arnaldo
 
It wasn't that great a shot - all he had to do was hit the right side of the ball.

But it was probably risky enough to be a bad 14.1 decision - especially for Mr. 400, who's supposed to know something about the game.

pj
chgo
 
PoolBum said:
There is always a shot, it's just not always an offensive shot.
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Sometimes that's true, as discretion can certainly at times be the better part of Valor.

But... I look a whole lot before I admit that to myself.

One can't win sitting in the chair, but I've seen quite a few win after being in what their opponent put them into what they thought was a lock tight safety because they found that shot that is always there & they shot it & they made it & then they ran out from there.

It's all about how one feels in any given situation but sometimes there's no other way out but to shoot the shot or...make your opponent shoot the shot.

Either way, there always a shot.

Best to Ya,
Rick
 
Great shot .. and I think I've seen a similar video where Thorsten also kick in the ball behind the stack and run out (straight pool).
 
Colin Colenso said:
He played a right to left swoop to apply right english. That's very unusual. Most players will swoop in the other direction when trying to put heavy side english on the CB.
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Maybe not. I tried pausing and starting a bunch of times right as he stroked (4:48). It looked to me like he stroked pretty straight into the CB with lower right, then swooped the tip to the left after the CB was already on its way. Kind of odd, regardless.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
It wasn't that great a shot - all he had to do was hit the right side of the ball.

But it was probably risky enough to be a bad 14.1 decision - especially for Mr. 400, who's supposed to know something about the game.

pj
chgo
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What Patrick said,
Straight pool 101, find dead balls in the pack.
He came out a hero, could of been a zero.
 
This is the kind of shot you see a lesser 14.1 player try. Anyone can find this shot if they take the time to walk over to the pack and inspect it, but I cant imagine my self ever going for it unless I was playing a very very weak player. Trying this against a truly world class opponent so soon into the match means he either has the biggest balls imaginable, he saw it as a 100% shot, or he was drunk. I'm leaning towards the first 2.

The stroke did look very odd. But the shot he made on the 1 ball (?) he jumped and twisted his way through that shot too. Id take stroking like that over my stroke any day if I could play like John.
 
AtLarge said:
Maybe not. I tried pausing and starting a bunch of times right as he stroked (4:48). It looked to me like he stroked pretty straight into the CB with lower right, then swooped the tip to the left after the CB was already on its way. Kind of odd, regardless.
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You might be right. Could have just been steering immediately after impact. I sometimes do this deliberately just to rub it into a buddy as they expect a miss on such a terrible looking follow through.
 
Colin Colenso said:
You might be right. Could have just been steering immediately after impact. I sometimes do this deliberately just to rub it into a buddy as they expect a miss on such a terrible looking follow through.
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I thought he was just imitating John Barton playing one pocket. :wink:
 
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