jay helfert said:
not had, he still has a very powerful stroke, sure his game has fallen off some over the years but he's still got some thunda
Billiards greatest strokes
- Thread starter Barboxlegend21
- Start date
not had, he still has a very powerful stroke, sure his game has fallen off some over the years but he's still got some thunda
On my list the Vietnamese player Luong would be up near the top of ugly strokes, along with McCready, and Mike Davis. Bustamante might get honorable mention.
I'd have to add a mention for Mike Sigel in the prettiest category. He has such a perfect pendulum, perfectly aligned, with such a simple back-and-forth lower arm swing, with the elbow staying steady as a ROCK at least until the end of the follow-through. Watching the first shot of his famous 150-and-out (a 9'+ slight cut into the corner at speed, breaking the pack to start the 150 run) on youtube made me decide I needed to build a better stroke for myself that was as simple and effortless as his.
-Andrew
I'd have to add a mention for Mike Sigel in the prettiest category. He has such a perfect pendulum, perfectly aligned, with such a simple back-and-forth lower arm swing, with the elbow staying steady as a ROCK at least until the end of the follow-through. Watching the first shot of his famous 150-and-out (a 9'+ slight cut into the corner at speed, breaking the pack to start the 150 run) on youtube made me decide I needed to build a better stroke for myself that was as simple and effortless as his.
-Andrew
selftaut said:
One of the hardest breaks ever. He attributed it to his karate background.
dardusm said:
George had a beautiful game. May he rest in peace. He was another great guy, with a nice dry sense of humor. And a VERY successful Pot Limit (high stakes) poker player. He just got way too fat.
Powerfull Stroke With Beauty
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Jay "Swanee" Swanson. He could draw the ball back with 1/2 the effort anybody else could. His stroke was also the most beautifull one I have ever seen.
I thnk Jay Helfert will agree with this!
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Jay "Swanee" Swanson. He could draw the ball back with 1/2 the effort anybody else could. His stroke was also the most beautifull one I have ever seen.
I thnk Jay Helfert will agree with this!
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viva
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Jackie Gleeson has a realy pretty stroke! dont you guys agree?
Earl Stricklands stroke, so powerful and confident, so pretty to watch.
pagulayan, so precise, love that long bridge.
Reyes & Django, classic filipino strokes, rythmic, flowery, fluid and flamboyant, millions of people around the world have tried to copy these strokes atleast once in their lives. Not to mention Bustamantes break style, probably the most copied in the world!
All of these guys make the game look so rythematic, like federers backhand or tigers swing, they make it look good.
Earl Stricklands stroke, so powerful and confident, so pretty to watch.
pagulayan, so precise, love that long bridge.
Reyes & Django, classic filipino strokes, rythmic, flowery, fluid and flamboyant, millions of people around the world have tried to copy these strokes atleast once in their lives. Not to mention Bustamantes break style, probably the most copied in the world!
All of these guys make the game look so rythematic, like federers backhand or tigers swing, they make it look good.
JAM said:Prettiest strokes ever -- Buddy Hall, Miz, Cole Dixon, Luther Lassiter, Ed Kelly. JMSO's O, of course.
JAM
Keith dosent have the prettist stroke, but the way he floats around the table when he is in gear is amazing he the whole package, 2 nd to none. He is so fluid when he is playing runout 9B for example, in contrast Danny Harriman resets for each shot. Where keith makes his inning in one smooth move(like an ice skater) and poof all the balls are gone, his head dosent move-he did it great in the movie too. it aint easy to do either and looks so cool, i have to re-set for every shot. I love to watch Keith play more than most of the top pro's when he is in gear.
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viva said:
yes I have seen him on other shows hit the ball and it is nice, Or I should say "How Sweet it Is" for a big man, he stands upright a bit, i often wondered just how good he really played? JAY?
and yes when Earl is "playing pool" and 2 stroking everything it looks effortless, he almost floats around the table like Keith but not quite as smooth- he too is one of my favorite pros to watch when he is in control of himself-I feel bad for him when he loses it, its a chemical imbalance i'm sure of it, thus I dont blame him.
I think the beauty of Keith's stroke is his follow through. He takes a very short backstroke, but then pushes right through the cueball. Tommy Kennedy has similar stroke mechanics. I've tried to emulate that type of stroke, and when it works, it seems to make shooting effortless. All the effort goes into the "push through", almost like a dart player.Fatboy said:
Another mechanically perfect stroke is George San Souci's. I was sitting with Hal Mix out at the Reno Open in the late 90's, and I asked him who had the best stroke. He said in his opinion is was San Souci's. I don't know if Ginky plays anymore, but he had a lovely stroke.
My all time favorite? "The Rifleman", Buddy Hall.
Doc
gulfportdoc said:
I just started reading this thread, and I was looking to see if anyone mentioned the Ginkster. Watching him practice was just a constant delight for me. His stroke was silkly smooth, precise and confident, and his speed control was simply magical. If he gets everything together he'll once again be a force to be reckoned with.
Fatboy said:
Keith does have an unorthodox side-armed stroke, distinctive to players like Irving Crane. His "double-fulcrum" is also unique. Efren's got the "double fulcrum" style in his stroke, but not every good pool player has the double fulcrum.
Allen Hopkin's short punch stroke is amazing. Like Keith, he began playing pool at a young age. At 7 years old, after watching many tournaments on television, Allen began to play pool on a small table his parents bought for him. As an amateur at the age of 12, Hopkins ran 110 balls. At 17, he came in fifth at the U.S. Open, and later ended up winning the U.S. Open twice.
If you ever see Keith floating around the table, he is unstoppable. When I see this happen, I usually don't worry about the outcome of the match. It's what I call "rhythm." Keith is a rhythm player.
JAM
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MrLucky said:made his living as a money player, he wasn't until later in his career allowed into most of the money (at that time White only) tournaments.
Thanks Phil, I was going to delve there, but I waited for you to mention that fact first. Cisero was probably the most feared money player in NYC for most of the 1950's and 1960's. He never backed down from any challenge. Mosconi absolutely refused to play Cisero Murphy under any circumstances, and it was not because he was black, it was because Mosconi knew that Cisero had the ability to beat him.
Unable to play in tournaments, and sometimes not allowed into most pool halls, Cisero Murphy survived day to day by playing in some of the roughest places that you could imagine for the highest and lowest of stakes. There wasn't always a lot of money out there for him to play for. He told me that he would play this one guy for S&H green stamps. lol - that's a true story.
I will always believe that "the powers that were" kept him out of the World Championships because they knew he was going to beat everybody and beat them bad. When they finally let him play, Cisero just proved to everybody what he already knew and believed in his heart: That he was the best.