New Respect For Snooker Players.

[jay helfert]

for me thats the bottom line with the snooker players winning a few games. look at drago for example in the mosconi. not taking anything away from him he played well and i love to watch him. but would he stand a chance in a race to 50 against corey, earl, svb, archer, etc? i dont think so. race to 6 it's anybody's game. corey said a similar thing in an interview and he came accross as a bitter loser. maybe he was, but factually he is right.

Everybody wants to knock Tony and his great playing at the Mosconi, and call it a freak. I for one am not so sure he couldn't beat some of these guys in a longer race. He has a pretty high gear when he gets zeroed in on a table. I wouldn't count him out against anyone, except maybe SVB in a longer race.

Typical tournament Race To Eleven, Tony might beat ANYONE!

 

[miha]

Typical tournament Race To Eleven, Tony might beat ANYONE!

I saw Drago beat Souquet in the finals, race to 13, a couple of months ago. It wasn't just converting cosmos, he beat Ralph at his own game, safeties, tying up balls, etc. He was up 9-2 at some point. His pace is incredible, I just can't imagine playing someone like that a race to 50, because you can never get him out of that gear! After three days of competition, he walked over to the snooker table, where he fooled around with Majid, and knocked in a 120+ total table clearance like it was nothing.

 

[jay helfert]

I saw Drago beat Souquet in the finals, race to 13, a couple of months ago. It wasn't just converting cosmos, he beat Ralph at his own game, safeties, tying up balls, etc. He was up 9-2 at some point. His pace is incredible, I just can't imagine playing someone like that a race to 50, because you can never get him out of that gear! After three days of competition, he walked over to the snooker table, where he fooled around with Majid, and knocked in a 120+ total table clearance like it was nothing.

I look at it this way. Tony Drago may be the best in the world today in a challenge match featuring pool and snooker. Who's going to beat him? You tell me. I'm betting on the big dog!

 

[smashmouth]

Typical tournament Race To Eleven, Tony might beat ANYONE!

any top amatuer can beat a pro in a race to 11

as touched on earlier, short races are why a lesser player can beat a better one, why no one player can dominate anymore, and why the general state of pro pool sucks

seriously, the length of our pro matches are often shorter than 2 frames of snooker, it's akin to the world's top snooker players playing races to 2, completely absurd

the catch 22 as I see it is straight pool isn't popular enough, and nine ball races to 30 are too impractical without some serious funding

first promoter to figure out this dilema is gonna make some money

 

[smashmouth]

as far as Drago, I might take him in a pool/snooker challange match against any pool player also, but I'd take Steve Davis in such a match against Drago

Davis owns Drago on the snooker table and would be about even at nine ball

 

[john schmidt]

hi

here we go again.of course they can beat us at snooker and 9ball.9ball is a complete joke on easy tables short race etcetc.what about 14.1 and snooker thats real pool.none of those snooker pros could win and i could not win at the snooker.so it would be a push just like its supposed to be.what if i played the snooker guys and we just racked up the colors in a six ball rack with no reds and played 9ball rules and played short races to 6.i would still be a big underdog but i would win some sets.if we played full rack snooker it would be like them playing me 14.1.they would kill me at snooker and vice versa.anyone that cant understand that i just dont know what to say.there is many variations of pool and 9ball is what we happen to play.it is so much easier and luckier than 14.1 or 1pocket that its not fair to say the snooker players are great at pool also.they are great at 9ball though ,but who the hell isnt the game is so easy and lucky compared to 14.1 its a joke.maybe we can play 3ball on a bartable and then say the snooker players would rob us at pool and snooker.

 

[Jaden]

easy.....

any top amatuer can beat a pro in a race to 11

as touched on earlier, short races are why a lesser player can beat a better one, why no one player can dominate anymore, and why the general state of pro pool sucks

seriously, the length of our pro matches are often shorter than 2 frames of snooker, it's akin to the world's top snooker players playing races to 2, completely absurd

the catch 22 as I see it is straight pool isn't popular enough, and nine ball races to 30 are too impractical without some serious funding

first promoter to figure out this dilema is gonna make some money

You setup a World tour with multiple teams spread out from all over the world over in a mosconi cup like format with longer races and each tournament is tiered to get to the finals at the end of the year. I had been thinking about this since the mosconi cup this last year and wondering why it's only between Europe and the US... There should be a world wide year long tournament that has smaller individual tournies that culminate toward the end of the year final between the two countries teams who do the best. First you have individual country qualifiers to get the teams, no more oh we'll just choose whoever we want to play... and then you have those teams play each other, kind of a privately funded olympics...

The only problem is finding someone willing to fund it, but with the popularity of mosconi cup, I wonder if that's possible.

 

[raybo147]

here we go again.of course they can beat us at snooker and 9ball.9ball is a complete joke on easy tables short race etcetc.what about 14.1 and snooker thats real pool.none of those snooker pros could win and i could not win at the snooker.so it would be a push just like its supposed to be.what if i played the snooker guys and we just racked up the colors in a six ball rack with no reds and played 9ball rules and played short races to 6.i would still be a big underdog but i would win some sets.if we played full rack snooker it would be like them playing me 14.1.they would kill me at snooker and vice versa.anyone that cant understand that i just dont know what to say.there is many variations of pool and 9ball is what we happen to play.it is so much easier and luckier than 14.1 or 1pocket that its not fair to say the snooker players are great at pool also.they are great at 9ball though ,but who the hell isnt the game is so easy and lucky compared to 14.1 its a joke.maybe we can play 3ball on a bartable and then say the snooker players would rob us at pool and snooker.

John you are a patient man. Every time you have tried to make the same point on this thread about straight pool and 9-ball being completely different tests of skill, somebody else comes on and brings it back to 9-ball again! Straight pool is every bit a difficult as snooker and it has a long learning curve, just like snooker. I certainly would not back any snooker player on earth against you in a long race. The problem is that straight pool is not prominent enough for a of these top snooker players to ever put any time into it. It's kinda like english billiards, it's a beautiful game that not a lot of people play.

 

[Heckler]

I would love to see you guys get this on and make it happen...maybe The Action Challenge guys can help....I for one would think it would be great and certainly settle an age old arguement.

 

[raybo147]

I would love to see you guys get this on and make it happen...maybe The Action Challenge guys can help....I for one would think it would be great and certainly settle an age old arguement.

As an experiment I am going to play sraight pool for an hour and record my highest score and then I am going to play straight pool on a snooker table with snooker balls also for an hour just to see how hard it is for me to match my score on the pool table. I would like to know what you guys think I could hit on the snooker table(10,20,30?)???

 

[Heckler]

Jus play snooker and record ur highest breaks...

 

[raybo147]

Jus play snooker and record ur highest breaks...

I have been playing snooker for 20 years. My highest break is 144 and I have hit every number under that. I thought this might be interesting to try what is already a tough game on an even tougher table. I have also hit 147 several times doing lineups but I only count breaks in competitive games.

 

[Heckler]

fair point....lol.....I grew up playing snooker in UK....I can see it would be interesting to mix games....I actually think their should be a global event that encompasses both sports...not sure of a way it could really work though

 

[Blackjack]

As an experiment I am going to play sraight pool for an hour and record my highest score and then I am going to play straight pool on a snooker table with snooker balls also for an hour just to see how hard it is for me to match my score on the pool table. I would like to know what you guys think I could hit on the snooker table(10,20,30?)???

Use the pool balls and see if you can break 42. That is my high run practicing 14.1 on a 5 X 10 snooker table with xxxsmall pockets - shooting standard sized 2 1/4 Aramith Pro Tournament balls. IMO, it's a completely different game with the smaller balls.



PS: Keep your break ball closer to the stack and stay away from steep angled break shots. They won't go.

 

[Scaramouche]

The table, not the player, changes the difficulty of the game. Table size and pocket size alter the the choice of shots. Russian billiards is the extreme example.

Last time I looked, straight pool and 14.1 are played with 15 balls.

Snooker is also played with 15 SMALLER red balls, on a significantly LARGER table, with significantly SMALLER pockets, with the additional provision, that, after pocketing a red you must shoot one of six other colours on the table. A further stategic decision must be made because different colous have different point values (and penalties if missed, or pocketed at other times)

In both straight pool and 14.1. the break is offensive.

In snooker the break is defensive. The objective in snooker is, usually, to keep the traffic problems to a minimum so that the colours are avaliable. Normally the rack is gradually developed by sending the cue ball into the reds either off the blue or the black. This may happen several times during the frame. This shot is similar to the 14.1 break off the 15th ball.

Obviously, the tale that 14.1 or straight pool have equal to or greater difficulty compared to snooker is best told to small children at bedtime

 

[raybo147]

Use the pool balls and see if you can break 42. That is my high run practicing 14.1 on a 5 X 10 snooker table with xxxsmall pockets - shooting standard sized 2 1/4 Aramith Pro Tournament balls. IMO, it's a completely different game with the smaller balls.



PS: Keep your break ball closer to the stack and stay away from steep angled break shots. They won't go.

Ok I will try that. You know it might actually be easier with the pool balls because they don't throw off as much as snooker balls but I could be way off in that assesment. I will try with both and if I beat 42 with either I will be over the moon. This is the 6x12 at Rackemup in Frazer PA. I don't think the table is at Drexeline anymore. If anybody wants to participate PM me. 42-you could have given me an easier target! I know this is going to be tough.

 

[Russ Chewning]

In both straight pool and 14.1. the break is offensive.

In "both" D ) of these games, the break is defensive, not offensive.

In snooker the break is defensive.

As opposed to straight pool "and" 14.1, eh?

Obviously, the tale that 14.1 or straight pool have equal to or greater difficulty compared to snooker is best told to small children at bedtime

Methinks that unless you can run 100 at both disciplines, you haven't much room to make blanket judgements. Especially since you seem to think that straight pool and 14.1 are two different games, and you think that the straight pool break is offensive.

Russ

 

[Jaden]

are you smoking crack????

The table, not the player, changes the difficulty of the game. Table size and pocket size alter the the choice of shots. Russian billiards is the extreme example.

Last time I looked, straight pool and 14.1 are played with 15 balls.

Snooker is also played with 15 SMALLER red balls, on a significantly LARGER table, with significantly SMALLER pockets, with the additional provision, that, after pocketing a red you must shoot one of six other colours on the table. A further stategic decision must be made because different colous have different point values (and penalties if missed, or pocketed at other times)

In both straight pool and 14.1. the break is offensive.

In snooker the break is defensive. The objective in snooker is, usually, to keep the traffic problems to a minimum so that the colours are avaliable. Normally the rack is gradually developed by sending the cue ball into the reds either off the blue or the black. This may happen several times during the frame. This shot is similar to the 14.1 break off the 15th ball.

Obviously, the tale that 14.1 or straight pool have equal to or greater difficulty compared to snooker is best told to small children at bedtime

The break in 14.1 is offensive????? You obviously don't know the game... In fact the opening break in a 14.1 game is often played the same way that it is in snooker, clipping the corner ball and taking the cue two to four rails up table for a safe... you should probably go to bed yourself if you think that the break shot is offensive in straight pool... Sure after you run out the first rack, you CAN play offensively if you are good enough, but the opening break and the first few shots can often determine the winner of the game based on skill and knowledge and the ability to exceute perfectly.....by playing safe.....

 

[Blackjack]

The table, not the player, changes the difficulty of the game. Table size and pocket size alter the the choice of shots. Russian billiards is the extreme example.

Last time I looked, straight pool and 14.1 are played with 15 balls.

Snooker is also played with 15 SMALLER red balls, on a significantly LARGER table, with significantly SMALLER pockets, with the additional provision, that, after pocketing a red you must shoot one of six other colours on the table. A further stategic decision must be made because different colous have different point values (and penalties if missed, or pocketed at other times)

In both straight pool and 14.1. the break is offensive.

In snooker the break is defensive. The objective in snooker is, usually, to keep the traffic problems to a minimum so that the colours are avaliable. Normally the rack is gradually developed by sending the cue ball into the reds either off the blue or the black. This may happen several times during the frame. This shot is similar to the 14.1 break off the 15th ball.

Obviously, the tale that 14.1 or straight pool have equal to or greater difficulty compared to snooker is best told to small children at bedtime

You do of course realize that 14.1 and straight pool are the same game right?

 

[Blackjack]

Im not barking but your obviously a great 14-1 player if I come over and played you what start would you give me to say 1000 points, I mean I would really really have to love it to start practicing and fly there so why don?t you try and intice me a little?

I play a notch (or two) below John's speed in 14.1, and I just by hearing your disrespect for the complexity of straight pool, I'd spot you 250 in a race to 1000.

I don't have a $100,000 to toss around, but I'd happily drill your nuts to prove John's point.

Jump if you feel you have a chance. You have as much chance of beating me at 14.1 as I have at beating you at snooker. That's life.