I just don't get it...

Blackjack said:
Glad you noticed.

FWIW, stuff likes this gets attention. Speed pool & trick shots - catch the eyes of people who don't normally watch pool. It adds excitement to a game that many in this world believe is played best in a tavern after too many beers.

Stuff like this will grab their attention and it is a platform for presenting our game - more so than 9 ball or 10 ball, or even one pocket and straight pool. You can put all of the top players in the world in the same room playing against each other - then you can put Tommy Kennedy alone at a table juggling the pool balls with a smile on his face - who are the masses going to watch?

That was the spirit of my post - and yes, I believe in that format I am one of the best in the world. Silly or not, it takes a lot of skill and a lot of work to achieve the level of play that you will see on TV. I think knocking it or saying its silly is a slap in the face to me and others that work hard to promote it. I apologize if my response to being offended actually offended the original offenders.
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I wish you could give Brian Jones lessons.
 
The first time I saw speed pool, I thought wow they have pool at the special olympics? Then Im like what is Luc Salvas doing there? Oh wait this is for real.
 
Klopek said:
The producers of these shows usually ask the players to be on their best behavior or the players are afraid to make their sport look bad and suffer more humiliation.

Earl Strickland is the biggest ratings draw 9-ball has ever seen, because people like his "trainwreck" persona. Other players like Pagulayan and Rodney Morris are fan favorites because they wear their hearts on their sleeves.

The very nature of pool is very introspective, don't give any tells. You don't get a lot of talking out of boxers either, people who enjoy the sport like watching for the skill and tactical battles.

Over the years, people have enjoyed Johnny Archer's game, and he's not giving up much. Maybe, just maybe his skill is entertaining enough.

It really is a shame that people in North America need a dog and pony show to hold their attention for a few minutes.:(
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I agree with you on the Archer skill level holding OUR attention. The savey player loves to se Johnny or Rodney among others make their way through a rack. Thats because we understand what they are doing, if we want more people who are not the enthusiasts that we are then we need to get their attention. Maybe once the industry has their attention then they will want to see how it is really played. To ne honest if I were a professional with the skill of JA, RM, SVB etc I would be all over the speed pool. Like it or not it is a good payday for them. If one person gets hooked on speed pool in every town due to this being on TV and then learns the other games we will have made an advancement.
 
RunoutalloverU said:
The first time I saw speed pool, I thought wow they have pool at the special olympics? Then Im like what is Luc Salvas doing there? Oh wait this is for real.
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LOL, I think that is funny. A bunch of people with ADD or anxiety issus playing pool. I would have thought the same thing man.
 
Actually Speed Pool is cloer to a "sport" than normal pool is.

We run a speed pool contest at the booth each year and it's very popular. Once I did a ball-in-hand every shot version to see if we could run out in less than 30 seconds.

I guarantee you all that 10 racks this way per day is enough cardio excercise for just about anyone.

There are two ways to lose weight playing pool - play speed pool all the time or become a champion. :-)
 
Jason Robichaud said:
You keep seeing these new games pop up. People that can't win at the regular games might play fast, have loads of spin or can play one hand so they get to have a hustle. You can make loads of money challenging someones ego over their skill level.

For the rest of us that can't do any of the above, maybe some day AZ chat will be covered on ESPN. I think JAM will win the speed challenge, not sure if we have any artistic winners yet, and we have a few skilled posters in the hunt.
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I wouldn't necessarliy say the kid who won "can't win at regular games"....he is the current vnea 9ball singles national champ, and won the apa regional (mid-west held in INDY) singles 8ball just last weekend. He did get knocked out in 9ball last weekend though, so maybe he can't play....:cool:
 
I dunno... I play speed pool from time to time.....noting official but me and a friend break the racks on a count of three and the first one to sink all his balls wins..shape is decided in the most simplistic terms... as in I'm sending the cueball up table...

as an everyday game... eh...not so much...

as an exercise its fantastic... find the line and shoot... it forces you to play by instinct you don't have a chance to overthink and you don't miss in favor of shape... you just line up and shoot and move to the next shot..


I believe speed pool has a place it forces you to just shoot your first instinct and that alone is a valuable lesson as you are generally right.


running 15 balls in under 2 minutes it a noteworthy accomplishment both for shooting skill and instant pattern recognition.

it has its place..
 
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