"Good" Left Handed Pool Players

[Tom In Cincy]

I have no idea what the satistics SHOULD be, but what I have found in the short time I've been out in California...

There are a lot of really good LEFT handed Players.

Back East... maybe, and just maybe, there are 2 or 3 good players out of 100,

Here, there seems to be 15 out of 100.

Unofficial as it is, I still see more "good" left handed players on a regular basis than I ever did 'BACK East'

Any ideas why?

 

[thebigdog]

its the left coast

 

[hemicudas]

its the left coast

Nice shot DOG. Left in more ways than one.

I have also wondered about why you see so many good lefties Tom. The % of left handed people in the world is only 10%. Yet for many years 2 of the top 5 pool players on earth were Miz and Segal, lefties.

Arguably, the greatest 3 hitters in baseball history are Ruth, Cobb and Williams. All lefties.

I have heard some psychological explanation of the, right part of the brain & right eye dominant theory but I don't know. Any other explanations out there?

 

[cheesemouse]

I've heard this explaination which seems logical: Lefties live in a right hand world and spend a high percentage of their time adjusting to this world fashioned for righties, therefore, lefties adapt to what they see quickly and creatively both qualitys of great value in pocket billiards. An added benefit of being lefty is that right handed players have less experience defencing lefties whereas the opposite is true for the lefty. Even small advantages can be the difference in pool at the professional level. Of course, what do I know I'm using a right handed computer...LOL

 

[manlyshot]

A left-handed pool player wouldn't pose the same obstacle as, for instance, a left-handed boxer would to an opponent.

It is advantageous to learn to shoot both-handed. Although slow-going when learning, there are occasions when being ambidextrous in pool gives one extra shooting capabilities.

I write left-handed, play pool right-handed, shoot archery left-handed, and swing in baseball right-handed. Relatives still laugh at family reunions and enjoy reminding me that I crawled backwards as a baby. (Please laugh among yourselves!)

There are shots on the table that shooting opposite-handed would be of benefit. Sometimes the rake don't get it, and forget about shooting behind your back or one-handed.

ManlyShot