I thought the older the better in pool?

original palmer

original palmer

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I always thought the more aged, the better at pool.

I did see an episode of mike sigel beating john schmidt in a game of straight pool. but besides that, it seems most pros are young.
To me pool Is mental. The visual isnt that big once you have mastered your geometry on the table. you barely have to see the ball or pocket to know where to put it.
It also seemed that back in the day, the best were the older guys 45-65

Is this not the case?
 
Johnny Archer said recently that his skill level hasn't diminished as he has aged, but his ability to remain focused for long periods of time has dropped off dramatically, and without focus, you will lose games in great numbers at his level.
 
No so much like fine wine, but more like cheddar cheese.
The razor's edge, hallmark of a younger player, tends to dull and diminish as we age. Balls become more difficult to see. Women won't give you the time of day. And Viagra only keeps you from rolling out of bed at night.
All these things conspire to rob us of our youth and our ability for keen play. :)
 
I say BS!! I think the care or eagerness to win dies down. i say if it was a matter of life or death, the best pool shooter in the world is about 50-55 years old
 
Doc gave me a seditive too take before having my MRI done (clastraphobic I am) Afterwards he asked if the pill helped in calming me down--told him I took a Viagra instead--He just looked at me an asked--Wwwhy in the world did you do that--told him I really just needed something to hold on too

On getting older--it's hard to keep the focus on what your doing--seeing that in myself
 
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I think the main problem is the eyes. And the primary eye-problem is loss of depth of field. When you're young you can focus sharply on both the cue ball and the object ball that is seven feet away at the same time or in quick succession.

As you age you can focus sharply on one or the other, but not both at the same time.

Also, your endurance for tournaments begins to diminish. You get tired...and that effects everything, especially your eyes. Earl Strickland has done a great job of staying in shape to keep his endurance. Runs a couple of miles a day, eats healthy food, etc.
 
original palmer said:
I say BS!! I think the care or eagerness to win dies down. i say if it was a matter of life or death, the best pool shooter in the world is about 50-55 years old
Click to expand...

BS, you say?
Fifty to fifty-five isn't particularly old, although it could seem that way to you, especially if you are a youngster.
Fifty-five to a hundred and five? That's old. :)
 
Not sure what you mean?

Most of the good players are young????

Busta just won White Diamonds, James Waldon just won Big Tymes, Rodney Morris is on the best run of his life, he's come in 2nd, 3rd, 3rd 5-6 and no one is asking him to gamble!

Lots of young guns, but Johnny, Rodney, Busta, Warren K, James Waldon, Hatch and Earl on a good day all play as good as anybody...,

Three best american players..., SVB, Archer and Rodney. 2 of the 3 are 40
 
The older players have figured out that there are easier ways to make a buck than by being a professional pool player.

JMO.
 
ok, 50

I think its the money, there aernt that many top pro american players anyway! The game is way off, so the ranks are thin. If the money comes back, the number of players goes up..., if the money comes back??

ESPN where are you..., darts? bull riding?? Poker?? bmx?? WTF!!!
 
Maybe the older guys just don't like today's games. Their generation played straight pool in blocks of 500 or 1000, had balkline runs in the thousands, had rollout 9 ball rules that meant a short race might take hours.

Now the games they grew up with are hardly played while 9 and 10b remain popular, and those games just don't ignite their drive to compete.

There's something to be said too about declining stamina and eyesight, even if some of them still show flashes of brilliance. It's one thing to make a tester every once in a while in a game of straight pool. It's another to be making them every 5 minutes in a 9 ball set. That's just mentally exhausting.

Plus you're expected to bring a sledgehammer break to every rack.
 
original palmer said:
I always thought the more aged, the better at pool.

I did see an episode of mike sigel beating john schmidt in a game of straight pool. but besides that, it seems most pros are young.
To me pool Is mental. The visual isnt that big once you have mastered your geometry on the table. you barely have to see the ball or pocket to know where to put it.
It also seemed that back in the day, the best were the older guys 45-65

Is this not the case?
Click to expand...

One also must look at the types of games played now and then. 9 ball vs 14.1 etc...
 
i keep telling myself age don'tmatter, but something keeps me from getting where i want to be.
i'll let you know when i figure it out.
steve 08/28/1956
 
Some people age a lot better than others. Young people have much better odds of being 100% healthy. Older people start having issues and it affects their game. It's just a matter of percentages. What percentage of people over 60 are in excellent physical shape compared to say, those under 30?
 
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I'm 66 and I don't play as good as I did 25 years ago. Probably at about 75% of back then.
Couple reasons why.
I used to play everyday for hours,now I play once a week.
I used to bear down and focus on every shot,it's harder to do that now.
If I really force myself to bear down and focus on every shot I am drained mentally and physically after about 4 or 5 hours.
Just getting old I guess.
 
And i understand that!! that makes perfect sense. bending over having a bad back, or fatigue much faster. 4-5 hours of play, not much money in pro playing.... all understandable!
But a game to 150 in straight pool. put a great 25 year old against a great 50+ player. One game. My money goes to the 50+

I think someone made a good point when they mentioned the money.
Maybe the biggest money players in pool around the world ARE actually 50+
 
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