Great Amphibious Players

Cannonball55

Cannonball55

This is cool
Silver Member
Hi,

I just want to say that i really envy these guys . Hell, i can't even eat a bowl of chicken soup lefty, much less write . And my lefty pool stroke looks like something out of a horror movie! A friend of mine and i were just talking about this and we seemed to differ in opinion on who were the best switch hitters in pool history. I do believe that a lot of your old timers and hustlers could play both handed pretty sporty because they had to in some cases to get action ....

Here's my take ...

Wade Crane - I think he's the best right/left player i have ever seen, he's able to play effortlessly with either with maybe only a ball in speed drop off, years ago when he'd make a game and tell the poor sucker that he'd play him lefty for the dough, you might as well bet the bank that Billy Johnson would take the cheese ...

I know of several other guys that play left handed but they are actually right handed, Mike Sigel comes to mind, and these people i am really jealous of :D Maybe someone can fill me in on how mike sigel played/plays right handed because i've never seen him do it. Steve Mizerak (RIP) is another player that was ambidextrous and he was an incredible player that was also a gentleman and a true statesman of this great game of ours ...

So, help me out guys, who else out there were jam up switch hitters?
 
oh, man your post really got me. I think you might have meant ambidextrous. Amphibious is something that can live on both land and water. Ambidextrous means being able to use either hand equally well. I was very curious who the Great Amphibious Players of all time might be. (spell check mess you up with that one? LOL). Oh well, have a nice day anyway.
 
Amphibious????

I'm thinking you meant 'ambidextrous'.....

I'm getting ready to be Amphibious in a couple hrs....diving in Mexico.
 
Maybe it refers to Players who can play under water and on land ... ?

In all honesty, I have never been worth a crap right-handed and it really hurts my game ...
 
ScottW said:
"Ambidextrous" is being able to use both hands equally well.

"Amphibious" means being able to travel on both land and water. :P
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I know, it's just a play on words:grin:
 

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I think he is alluding to Diliberto who used to say "amphibious." No you're not smarter it's a joke guys.
 
ScottW said:
"Ambidextrous" is being able to use both hands equally well.

"Amphibious" means being able to travel on both land and water. :P
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did you think he wasn't kidding ?
they've been quite a few pool players named charlie jones, i first saw this one in the 60's, it was like looking in a mirror whether he shot right or left.
i asked Jersey Red if he had played him, he said they played in atlanta for about an hour before closing time. the guy shot righty till he came to a left hand shot, then continued to shoot lefty (including the break) till he needed to switch to right again. Red was loser and the guy asked to play some tomorrow.Red said oh yeah, but you gotta pick a hand and not change! Red said the guy had him sharked more than anyone ever had.
 
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technically probably the best player ever with his 'non-natural' arm has got to be mike sigel - because he played primarillywith his non natural hand i believe. naturally he was a right hander.

anyway probably the best player excluding sigel would be ronnie o'sullivan.

although i've never quite understood the point in putting so much effort and practice into your opposite hand, except if it's just for the personal challenge and satisfaction (it does feel damn cool to be able to switch hands). it isn't really that nessecary though - there is only a small part of the table where one can't reach with his normal hand - just know that spot and play position properly by moving the cue ball a few extra inches!

and also a high degree of competence with the bridge can be attained with only a fraction of the time and effort of practicing with your other arm.

unless it's something you actually want to be able to do, learning your other arm simply isn't worth it.
 
androd said:
did you think he wasn't kidding ?
they've been quite a few pool players named charlie jones, i first saw this one in the 60's, it was like looking in a mirror whether he shot right or left.
i asked Jersey Red if he had played him, he said they played in atlanta for about an hour before closing time. the guy shot righty till he came to a left hand shot, then continued to shoot lefty (including the break) till he needed to switch to right again. Red was loser and the guy asked to play some tomorrow.Red said oh yeah, but you gotta pick a hand and not change! Red said the guy had him sharked more than anyone ever had.
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That Jersey Red had more stories than you could shake a stick at. Thanx for sharing, that is hilarious!:thumbup:
 
Any diehard Accu-Stats fan knows that what he is referring to is Diliberto made a joke onetime about a player being "amphibious" instead of ambidextrous. He was just being funny; obviously Danny is a very bright guy who knows the meanings of the two words.

Another pro later told ESPN that Danny wouldn't be a good commentator for them because he didn't know the difference between the two words.

Danny lost a potentially good commentating job, the rest of us have been stuck with inferior commentary ever since.

I really think Danny is rightfully still a little bitter about the whole episode.
 
Ronnie O'Sullivan is probably the best switch-hitter in cue sports history

I would have to agree with worriedbeef -- Ronnie O'Sullivan's probably the greatest switch hitter in cue sports history. He's a natural right-hander, but this guy is just as comfortable shooting lefty. In fact, after having shot left-handed (because he needed to on a certain shot), he sometimes "forgets" which hand he was shooting with, and sometimes will shoot a series of shots left-handed, before "remembering" he's a right-hander, and then switches. Remember folks, this is snooker -- 12-foot table with itty-bitty balls and pockets. Here's a video of Ronnie switch-hitting a century in a championship snooker match, and making it look preposterously easy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95YZw4HgcS4
(Yep, in this one, Ronnie's clean-shaven of that mane of hair he's known for.)

Oh, and let's not forget another great switch-hitter -- the great Efren Reyes! Efren doesn't hesitate to shoot lefty. In many of his Derby City Classic One Pocket matches, Efren can be seen switching to his port side a couple times during the same game, albeit not as often or as comfortable as Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Hope this is helpful/enjoyable!
-Sean

worriedbeef said:
[...]
anyway probably the best player excluding sigel would be ronnie o'sullivan.
[...]
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In pool today, I'd go with Efren.
Luat and Keith are pretty sporty opposite handed too.
 
Keith maybe played the eight ball left handed under his right handed speed. He was still a run out player. Buddy is another very good switch hitter not being mentioned on here. I'd rate Keith and Sigel the two best I ever saw at playing with either hand.
 
jay helfert said:
Keith maybe played the eight ball left handed under his right handed speed. He was still a run out player. Buddy is another very good switch hitter not being mentioned on here. I'd rate Keith and Sigel the two best I ever saw at playing with either hand.
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buddy played very good, and used an awkard upside down bridge with his off hand.
 
sfleinen said:
I would have to agree with worriedbeef -- Ronnie O'Sullivan's probably the greatest switch hitter in cue sports history. He's a natural right-hander, but this guy is just as comfortable shooting lefty. In fact, after having shot left-handed (because he needed to on a certain shot), he sometimes "forgets" which hand he was shooting with, and sometimes will shoot a series of shots left-handed, before "remembering" he's a right-hander, and then switches. Remember folks, this is snooker -- 12-foot table with itty-bitty balls and pockets. Here's a video of Ronnie switch-hitting a century in a championship snooker match, and making it look preposterously easy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95YZw4HgcS4
(Yep, in this one, Ronnie's clean-shaven of that mane of hair he's known for.)

Oh, and let's not forget another great switch-hitter -- the great Efren Reyes! Efren doesn't hesitate to shoot lefty. In many of his Derby City Classic One Pocket matches, Efren can be seen switching to his port side a couple times during the same game, albeit not as often or as comfortable as Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Hope this is helpful/enjoyable!
-Sean
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that's the most amazing thing i've seen. WOW !
like a mirror. rep for the link, thanks.
 
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