i tried some snooker

john schmidt

john schmidt

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
well since i had a woofing contest with quintenn hahn ive tried some snooker.there is a dufferin 6by12 in 9mile in pensacola.in the last 4-5 months ive played under 100 frames in my spare time.ive ran 145,130,116,106,105,105,103 ,103,101 with many witnesses and several more runs in the mid to high 90s.anyway i bring this up to show with some practice i could be good at snooker and the snooker players could be good at pool.now by no means do i think im world class at snooker, just saying with a couple weeks of playing everyday for a few hours i was running 70-100 points every other frame or so.in closing i think snooker is super hard .but if you think if i played it my whole life i could not have played pro snooker you are kidding yourself.as to the snooker verses pool debate i dont know what else to say.by the way i did those runs with an ob1 pool shaft 12.75 mm.also im greatly looking forward to my 10ball and 14.1 match with quintenn hahn.
 
john schmidt said:
well since i had a woofing contest with quintenn hahn ive tried some snooker.there is a dufferin 6by12 in 9mile in pensacola.in the last 4-5 months ive played under 100 frames in my spare time.ive ran 145,130,116,106,105,105,103 ,103,101 with many witnesses and several more runs in the mid to high 90s.anyway i bring this up to show with some practice i could be good at snooker and the snooker players could be good at pool.now by no means do i think im world class at snooker, just saying with a couple weeks of playing everyday for a few hours i was running 70-100 points every other frame or so.in closing i think snooker is super hard .but if you think if i played it my whole life i could not have played pro snooker you are kidding yourself.as to the snooker verses pool debate i dont know what else to say.by the way i did those runs with an ob1 pool shaft 12.75 mm.also im greatly looking forward to my 10ball and 14.1 match with quintenn hahn.
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This doesn't shock me at all. I think if you learned the defensive aspects of the game you could go make some serious cash in England. Anyone who can run 400+ in 14.1 is a worthy cueist in any discipline. Oh by the way, when and where is the match with Hahn? Is it going to be on dvd? What kind of weight are you going to have to give this guy? I am looking forward to it.

Best,
Marcus
 
john could you go into more detail about some of the differences you found between pool and snooker? obviously the strategy and tactics, but i was thinking more about mechanics, playing style, etc. how does the different equipment affect the game? what did you find the most challenging coming from a pool background?
that's funny you did your runs with a 12.75mm ob-1. think you'll invest in a snooker cue anytime soon? or maybe you could get the ob-1 guys to make a low deflection snooker shaft :)
 
was these breaks done in matches, or line-ups?

Anyway, nice breaks!

Wish you all the best against Q. Hann. He will have no chance in 10-ball and 14-1, but my guess is he will win in snooker against you... (But hope you win in snooker too)
 
john schmidt said:
well since i had a woofing contest with quintenn hahn ive tried some snooker.there is a dufferin 6by12 in 9mile in pensacola.in the last 4-5 months ive played under 100 frames in my spare time.ive ran 145,130,116,106,105,105,103 ,103,101 with many witnesses and several more runs in the mid to high 90s.anyway i bring this up to show with some practice i could be good at snooker and the snooker players could be good at pool.now by no means do i think im world class at snooker, just saying with a couple weeks of playing everyday for a few hours i was running 70-100 points every other frame or so.in closing i think snooker is super hard .but if you think if i played it my whole life i could not have played pro snooker you are kidding yourself.as to the snooker verses pool debate i dont know what else to say.by the way i did those runs with an ob1 pool shaft 12.75 mm.also im greatly looking forward to my 10ball and 14.1 match with quintenn hahn.
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I would expect you to score heavily with your fundamentals. If you are going to do what you talked about in the PM it would be great for you to play under the gun, although this is tough as you will have to find somebody capable of punishing every mistake you make. Nice job though John, I will talk to some more about it at the Expo.
 
I have to ask how you played. did you start with a snooker break and shoot red, color running off all the balls? if you can get a century break better than 10% of time with many other runs in the 70-90's move to the UK. You are probably top 2-4 in the world. Your 400 run pays $0 your 145 would give about $14,000.
 
Jason Robichaud said:
I have to ask how you played. did you start with a snooker break and shoot red, color running off all the balls? if you can get a century break better than 10% of time with many other runs in the 70-90's move to the UK. You are probably top 2-4 in the world. Your 400 run pays $0 your 145 would give about $14,000.
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My thoughts exactly. Move to the UK and make a ton of cash. You have nothing more to prove in pool and it pays nothing. Snooker is as big as golf is here. There is bound to be a rich snooker sponsar out there that would back an American invasion of snooker.
 
i would love to see americans become competitve in snooker. the chinese are certainly making a big push. imagine an american world snooker champion one day, wouldn't that be a sight?
 
mnorwood said:
My thoughts exactly. Move to the UK and make a ton of cash. You have nothing more to prove in pool and it pays nothing. Snooker is as big as golf is here. There is bound to be a rich snooker sponsar out there that would back an American invasion of snooker.
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Any suggestion that snooker in Uk is as big as golf in USA is an exaggeration of gargantuan proportions and it's hard to imagine that you can have meant that as anything other than a tongue in cheek joke. Snooker isn't even anywhere remotely near as big as golf in Uk let alone golf in USA.

Many would argue that the golden years of snooker in Uk are a long time gone and are highly unlikely ever to return. Many factors brought about the decline of snooker to the pretty sorry state by comparison that it is in now, including the problems over tobacco and alcohol sponsorships which started the downhill slide several years ago. In real terms the prize money has got worse and worse whilst at the same the standard of play has risen remarkably in terms of strength in depth and it's never been harder to climb the ranks from scratch.

Americans in general have proved markedly unwilling to travel to even play pool tournaments outside America so the Uk probably wouldn't be holding their breath for any invasion of snooker players.

As regards John, he is obviously a world class absolutely outstanding cue sport professional with oodles of natural talent........but he would defy almost all known experience and accepted snooker industry wisdom if he were ever able to break into the world's top 64 snooker players after taking the sport up at his age.

Despite that, no doubt most of us on here would wish him the very best of luck on such a hard road were he to go down it.
 
John go do what you told me you were going to do, you have nothing to lose. I will talk to you tomorrow at the expo and if you have some time we can go and play a few games of snooker at the club that's 15 minutes from the expo. I am really glad you took the time to try snooker out as I believe that pool players are just as talented as snooker players but there is no reason for them to put time into a game that hardly exists here. By the way John I hit a 133 here in PA which as far as I know is the highest break ever hit in this state so now is your chance to beat that, but you will have to do it against me.
 
let me know if this happens Ray I'd love to see it!...I"ll be the guy who spots the balls and calls out the score.....just remember I'm a plumber,....I might have my shoes off doing the counting my toes!:D
 
John-

Glad to see some American pool pros willing to try their hand at the snooker table, even if only to practice. Snooker requires great potting abilities, and you're one of the best and natural shot makers on tour. I remember seeing an older video of one of your matches, where Grady Mathews was commenting that you were one of the straightest shooters he's ever seen.

I'm glad you tried your hand at it, if at least it will stop the argument that pool players can't play snooker.
 
thats great!

if you can really run those breaks as consistently as you say you can in a match situation then u shouldnt have any problems getting into the top 16. my one question would be about the table u played on. i dont know if you have ever played on a match table, but it is usually nothing like the normal club tables out there, pockets are much tighter and it is very very difficult to hit anything in along the cushion with force for instance. put a table like that in a normal poolhall and noones gonna play it cause its frustrating. i looked at some of the videos on youtube of you playing, and uve deffo got a good head for breakbuilding, no problems there - its the cue delivery that i wonder about, whether accidental side would affect you on a match table or not. anyway, would be exciting to see a video of you running in a 100, after only 100 games of snooker ever played. that would definitely dispell a myth or too.

good luck!

Oliver
 
Olive said:
............would be exciting to see a video of you running in a 100, after only 100 games of snooker ever played. that would definitely dispell a myth or too.....
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He did rather better than that. In the first 100 frames of snooker he's played he ran in 9 centuries and 'several' (?maybe 6/7/8 or so?) in the mid/high 90's.

If that scoring rate was established playing from 'match' type starting positions with the reds racked and without him or a practice opponent widely scattering the balls for him first it is way beyond being exciting........for an experienced high ranking snooker player such a scoring rate would be quite exciting......but for someone who's never played snooker before, make no mistake about it, it marks him out as almost certainly one of the biggest natural talents ever to pick up a snooker cue in the history of the sport.

Even if it was done from 'scattered' ball positions it is still very very good.
 
snooker is about more than running balls, just look at the name of the game. there are many players who cant even qualify for a pro event that would have a higher average over 100 frames in a no pressure situation or practice session. give it a try though, it might work out and would be great for the game
 
Maybe he is like a lot of other people that don't play snooker or know what a 100 break means. Maybe his total points for the game was 100+. That would be more believable. They might have pool table rails on the snooker table, that would sure help, except for the side shots. thats one of those, I would have to be there stories to me. With the stroke and power used by pool players I don't see that quick of an adjustment. Snooker players can win some 9 ball matches because of their great potting, but the spins and position will have them finish short of a tournament win. I think, over spin and potting will do the same for most 9 ball players and their quest for a 100 break.

I know the dufferin snooker tables can be tight... and if he played on one with tight pockets and made those breaks. MOVE TO UK ASAP. Money is down, but still way better than pool.
 
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Jason Robichaud said:
Maybe he is like a lot of other people that don't play snooker or know what a 100 break means. Maybe his total points for the game was 100+. That would be more believable. They might have pool table rails on the snooker table, that would sure help, except for the side shots. thats one of those, I would have to be there stories to me. With the stroke and power used by pool players I don't see that quick of an adjustment. Snooker players can win some 9 ball matches because of their great potting, but the spins and position will have them finish short of a tournament win. I think, over spin and potting will do the same for most 9 ball players and their quest for a 100 break.

I know the dufferin snooker tables can be tight... and if he played on one with tight pockets and made those breaks. MOVE TO UK ASAP. Money is down, but still way better than pool.
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It was a proper snooker table and he was making breaks, not just running points. John is only doing this as an experiment, he is a pool player and I don't think he is looking for a career change. If he can bring a little bit of attention to snooker in the USA then I think that is great. John is a monster player with a very straight stroke, in fact just yesterday we were comparing my stance to his at the OB-1 booth. He was a little bit surprised at the weight shift difference but that is mainly down to the table height. Also he hit all those breaks with a 12.75mm tip using his OB-1. I am bringing my Jon Parris to the Expo today so he can have a go with it.
 
john schmidt said:
well since i had a woofing contest with quintenn hahn ive tried some snooker.there is a dufferin 6by12 in 9mile in pensacola.in the last 4-5 months ive played under 100 frames in my spare time.ive ran 145,130,116,106,105,105,103 ,103,101 with many witnesses and several more runs in the mid to high 90s.anyway i bring this up to show with some practice i could be good at snooker and the snooker players could be good at pool.now by no means do i think im world class at snooker, just saying with a couple weeks of playing everyday for a few hours i was running 70-100 points every other frame or so.in closing i think snooker is super hard .but if you think if i played it my whole life i could not have played pro snooker you are kidding yourself.as to the snooker verses pool debate i dont know what else to say.by the way i did those runs with an ob1 pool shaft 12.75 mm.also im greatly looking forward to my 10ball and 14.1 match with quintenn hahn.
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John, those numbers are just amazing. Like someone else said If sall the conditions were legit 12 x 6 table that shows alot of talent and you should really look at the snooker biz. Someone said that snooker is a shadow of it's former self back in the UK and that maybe so but it is still more money that you make here. Are you playing with eperienced opponents when you have made these breaks? If not you need to to find out that you will be left very few opportunities against a pro snooker player. Obviously I am just making comments here BUT if you can make a 145 break, you can be at top pro in the UK. Just like pool you do have to be consistant though. When you made your 145 break, How did that happen? I am guessing that you misses one black obviously so what diod you take in it's place? It must have been the blue on one or 2 pinks. Let me know, I also have a snooker cure that I will not be using anymore, ash, 9mm tip, hand spliced ebony butt, 18oz. You can have it if you need a cue to play with. However it sems like you are doing ok with the pool bat. Let me know,
 
hi

thanks for the kind words.believe me im nowhere near pro caliber .i just know that if i grew up in the uk and had 10 years experience that i would have been a professional player.because ive ran around ten centuries means nothing.those pros can run maybe a century ten or more times a day.i think its a great game and requires as much ability and work as pool.same goes for pool.
 
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