Best gamblers vs the best tournament players? Who has more skill?

[softshot]

A Tournament Champion has to play well when the schedule says to play well. If that's 8AM Monday then you will play well at 8am Monday.

a gambler can just keep throwing money on the table until he catches a gear. he sets the time, he sets the place... and blames losing on everything from the cueball to the humidity or the movement of someone across the room..

a gambler has nothing but time and excuses

A Tournament Champion doesn't have those luxuries.. he has to win right now and then sit for hours and then win again when the schedule says so..

no contest

have a nice day

 

[Banks]

A Tournament Champion has to play well when the schedule says to play well. If that's 8AM Monday then you will play well at 8am Monday.

a gambler can just keep throwing money on the table until he catches a gear. he sets the time, he sets the place... and blames losing on everything from the cueball to the humidity or the movement of someone across the room..

a gambler has nothing but time and excuses

A Tournament Champion doesn't have those luxuries.. he has to win right now and then sit for hours and then win again when the schedule says so..

no contest

have a nice day

I agree with the first part.

Unless a gambler has unlimited funds or bets a tiny fraction of what's available, there's immediate pressure to perform. Many sets are for more than the entry fee, too. Action doesn't just happen when you want - often, it begins near midnight at the tournament and can go until it starts back up the next morning.

Not sure where you're getting the excuse thing from either. I've heard more excuses in the tournament room than i have in the action room. Maybe our area is the exception to the rule or I've just been lucky.

My game has traditionally gone up playing for cash, but ive been running a small tournament the last few months and hope that helps me focus a bit more in our regional. We'll see how it goes.

 

[softshot]

Not sure where you're getting the excuse thing from either.

I'm kinda tired, didn't get my 8 hours sleep, and I've been fighting this cold... my good cue is in the shop.. I'll play but I don't need to make as many balls to win as you do, tell you what lets negotiate until I feel like playing.. tell you what...we will set random arbitrary rules so I can call fouls out of thin air and make them stick since no one wrote down what we negotiated.....

vs.

you play whoever shows up EVEN all by the same rules... at 8AM monday

no contest

Have a nice day

 

[Banks]

I'm kinda tired, didn't get my 8 hours sleep, and I've been fighting this cold... my good cue is in the shop.. I'll play but I don't need to make as many balls to win as you do, tell you what lets negotiate until I feel like playing.. tell you what...we will set random arbitrary rules so I can call fouls out of thin air and make them stick since no one wrote down what we negotiated.....

vs.

you play whoever shows up EVEN all by the same rules... at 8AM monday

no contest

Have a nice day

Tournament players don't have excuses or pull moves? Well there's something new.

I've heard all of those and more in a tournament.

 

[Bank it]

A tourney player must bring it when their match is scheduled. If they don't it's the B bracket, if they fail there then they're out of the tourney and anywhere from $50- to a couple hundred bucks, not a great loss considering they had 2 sets. Gambling, used to be you could negotiate a fair game and play anywhere from a few hours or it could turn into a 3 day grind fest. Nowadays real gamblers are few and far between. Most won't negotiate a fair game. They are most of the time lock artists or what I call old time shotguns. They'll fire 2 barrels at the most and if they don't hit something with at least one of those 2 barrels they're empty making gambling even tougher now then it was when real gamblers were everywhere.

 

[softshot]

Tournament players don't have excuses or pull moves? Well there's something new.

I've heard all of those and more in a tournament.

But only the gambler starts whining before the balls are even racked lol

 

[Banks]

But only the gambler starts whining before the balls are even racked lol

Not true. Pool is filled with whiners and they play in both. The only complaint I've had is a complete disregard for the shot clock by tournament officials. Other than that, i either play well enough or i don't. Poo happens.

 

[RiverCity]

Not true. Pool is filled with whiners and they play in both. The only complaint I've had is a complete disregard for the shot clock by tournament officials. Other than that, i either play well enough or i don't. Poo happens.

But will it happen in my garage soon....... That is the question. :thumbup:

 

[pdcue]

When I think of the best gamblers in the world, I think of players that can play their best under any type of pressure, and maybe even better when money is on the line.

And then there are the greatest tournament players (like probably the Europeans for example) that may not play as strong when big money is being bet, or some that do not ever gamble (maybe it is against their religion).

I have heard the names Rodney Morris and Dennis Orcollo mentioned when people talk about who the best gamblers in the world are.

This may be a really silly question, but do you consider the best gamblers in the world to be the best, or are the best tournament players in the world really the best (with the most skill), in your opinion?

One other thing I am curious about, is why is the pressure of a cash game all that much different then the pressure of a tournament match?

There is some very big money on the line in some of these big tournaments, so I wonder why the greatest tournament player in the world might not have much of a chance against the greatest gambler in the world?

Are there other factors that I am not thinking of (other then skill level of the player and the pressure of the cash that is on the line)?

Thanks for any thoughts about this.

IMHO - the best answer was provided by legendary Golfer(but I'll forgive him)
Lee Trevino -who hustled his way to Pro status.

When asked by some random interviewer about the pressure of putting where making
it meant the difference between winning $50,000 or not, his reply was:

"Pressure isn't putting for a $50,000 win, pressure is putting for $100 skins
when you only have $20 in your pocket."

Dale

 

[Johnnyt]

IMO the guy that is usually a front runner and very hard to catch once ahead are very good in both. Johnnyt

 

[mjantti]

In tournaments you need to bring your solid A game in every single match. Admitted, in double elimination tournaments you have the luxury to lose a match, but then you'll have to work a longer route, longer hours and more opponents to finish on the top. In gambling it's about matching up, which is about a whole lot of different things combined. Being cunning, misleading, manipulative and calculating with a good bankroll/backer are huge assets in gambling. In tournaments, you just need to play really well, simple as that. And still you might not win. As a pure pool enthusiastic, I tend to value tournament players much more as I don't value the gambling shenanigans that much.