Thank you.this thread is about who plays best for the cash under the pressure.
not who won the most money or tournaments.
or who made the best games and won all the time.
Mike Dooley showed him his double kiss challenge at the 211 back in the '80s. A pastime challenge for $100. Six balls placed an inch off the rails at each of the lower side rail diamonds. Taking ball in hand on the first, double kiss them to the pockets counting the strokes required. Mike went first and did it in 6 strokes. Nick just gave him the money!There wasn’t a game that Nick wasn’t the strongest at some point in his career. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, he would have been one of the favorites at any discipline for American Pool.
here's how strong Alex is.Of current people Alex is arguably the strongest. I’ve played him 50-60-70+ hours of high stakes backgammon and he’s a monster. I’ve had big leads on him more than once, he handles pressure good as anyone I ever gambled with. I couldn’t imagine playing pool with him-his Backgammon is strong but it’s not his best game.
Pool being his best game-God only knows how strong he is. I felt it playing backgammon plenty of times. Looking forward to the next time we play. He’s a gentleman to play as well. Class top to bottom. We never have a argument or disagreement he’s a great guy and has all my respect.
Best
Fatboy
The story as I remember:how would you gauge success? I would guess something around an overall 75% win rate, a near impossibility if you're in action against players at your level
I can only see Efren and Earl in their primes hitting 75%
If Buddy hit that number against top guys then he's likely the best gambler and pool player ever, alot of what I've read and heard about him supports that statement, I suspect that he was extemeley proficient at handicapping which is the key to all of this
I find it interesting, just from a pure pool playing perspective that Alex and Alan Hopkins' names come up a lot when talking about consistency under high pressure money situations. They both exhibit strokes that really minimize cue stick movement Prior to actually contacting the cue ball; however the both exhibit enough follow through on their short stroke to move the cue ball to the next desired location.I would pick Alex Pagulayan
You just brought the biggest thing we may be over looking, playing style. Some styles may be less pron to break down under pressure.I find it interesting, just from a pure pool playing perspective that Alex and Alan Hopkins' names come up a lot when talking about consistency under high pressure money situations. They both exhibit strokes that really minimize cue stick movement Prior to actually contacting the cue ball; however the both exhibit enough follow through on their short stroke to move the cue ball to the next desired location.
To me, there is something to be said about certain players who, through trial and error, realize that they can best stay ON the desired cue ball and object ball contact points with a minimum of cue stick movement - it works best for them, even though their stroke looks "different" than the classic longer flowing back and forth cue stick movement.
Somehow I have to also believe that the least amount of moving parts helped these guys keep " on the mark" for very long durations when playing for high stakes - less areas for the stroke to break down under pressure or exhaustion. I'll add Buddy's name as it came up a lot too- more flowing in stroke, but a very noticeable pause prior to the final stroke- again seems to hold up well for many great players under pressure.
I don't know much about Harold Worst's pool stroke- I wonder?
I think I followed that criteria in post # 60....comments?Thank you.
Maybe I should have had you ask the question.
would love to see that video if you ever get around to posting ithere's how strong Alex is.
I have a minor rep for carnival type games and the 5 rail kick shot into a spotted ball with a penny on top of it is a main one I do.
Last year Alex was brought to a friends house and this shot came up (of course). Alex shoots it using his foot. WHAT??? That's right, he carefully hoisted his foot up and over the rail gave whitey a firm push sending it 5 rails around the table brushing the spotted ball without dislodging the penny.
We got it on video.
Hilarious & Amazing!
I don't know about doing it with your foot, but it's a gaff shot pretty much anybody can do once you show them how.would love to see that video if you ever get around to posting it
it probablt deserves its own thread
a gaff shot perhaps but the skill side of it is how consistently you can make successful shots.I don't know about doing it with your foot, but it's a gaff shot pretty much anybody can do once you show them how.
Bill Lawson was an under cover player that could play with anyone.Lots of threads and talk about who was the GOAT.
But who was the best for the cash?
Action not tournament playing.
Wimpy said Don Willis was but that was a long time ago.
I always heard that Hopkins didn't wilt for the cash no matter the amount.
What say you?
Buddy not only won a set he beat ER pretty good. Dick Lane told ER's handlers that they could bet up to a MILLION DOLLARS if they wanted some more of Buddy in Dallas. Pretty stout. As for Lawson, i know a guy that traveled with him some back in the day. He said if Bill was sober he could beat anybody.The story as I remember:
On Efrens first trip to the U.S. after the tournament Efren was playing sets to 10 for $1,000. He was giving the 8 ball and since 9 ball was new to him he had no break so they got it too. The challenge was accepted by many and Efren dispatched them back to back, with Buddy being the only one to win a set.