JAM said:Keith said that him and Denny played lots of times. They played a lot of snooker together, and he said that Denny, pound for pound, was probably one of the best shotmakers for the money that he's ever seen on a snooker table.
Denny goes back in the era of Cole Dixon, Larry Liscotti, Eddie Burton, just to name a few.
As far as playing Denny, they played one-pocket, nine-ball, and a game called "pink ball," which is a game you rack up six balls on a very tight snooker table and pay on every ball.
When Keith was about 15 or thereabouts, he said he would have needed like the 8 and 9 playing 9-ball from Denny, but within a year or a year and a half after that, Keith's game shot up like a cannon. Then Keith started spotting Denny the last two. It sounds like it's not much, but it was to Keith.
So it was in Reno that Keith one fine day was playing a guy named John Shupet (sp) for about 16 hours straight. He was about 18, he thinks, about this time. He was scheduled for his tournament match, had to go in and play that, and when he returned after the tournament, John Shupet brought in a bigger cue-ball than what they were playing with previously. Keith lost the set to Shupet, and he was "hotter than hell," so he says. :angry:
So in Keith-like fashion, he began making a couple of loud speeches, and the crowd drew near, listening to Keith chirping in his bare feet. It was really something to witness, I am told.
So it came down to where all the New Yorkers began to bark right back at Keith. So he told all of them to pool their monies together, whatever they could raise, and pick them a man. They pooled their money together and put Louie Roberts in the box for an 8-ahead set. Keith drilled him. :grin-square:
Then lurking in the weeds was Denny Searcy. Mind you, about 24 hours of solid play had transpired at this juncture. Denny and Keith ended up matching up playing some one-pocket. He was giving Denny 9 to 8, which was a real tough game for Keith back then. They played for hours and hours, drinking, carrying on, and even though Keith did beat him in the end, the two of them became good friends thereafter.
But they were never friends when it came to gambling with each other in the pit. It is important to note here that Denny's prime was before Keith's, and anybody who knows Denny Searcy is well aware of how strong he played. According to Keith, Wade Crane, Billy Incardona, and Jay Helfert might be some of the very few left who really know how well Denny Searcy played.
Poker Paul knows how good Denny played. He has told me several stories of Denny. If you ever get the chance, ask him about it.
~rc
