Old matches on video becoming a novelty and not as fun to watch, at least for me.

[straightline]

But what does this have to do with having a personality or lack of one? I do not see how having easier access to training tools should equal to being a lifeless robot.

The detail and depth of skill is more than most can manage. It would take a psychotically gifted individual to be able to shred that at an entertain (ing/ment) level.

 

[336Robin]

I think a lot of it was that the players didn't have structured resources and coaching to learn from. You had to get out and play and put money down. Guys like Earl, who started on the road when he was 14 or so. And Keith McCready, and so many others. Now the players, as capable and talented as they are, can follow a path similar to tennis players.

I never understood the machismo drive some of those guys had to go play another world beater when there was so much money to be made playing non world beaters.

 

[couldnthinkof01]

I have to be honest, as much as I love watching all the old videos of the players of years ago, I really have stopped enjoying them quite as much.

Some of the tables they played on the pockets are so generous as the almost spoil the game. I think the new generation of tables with the tougher playing conditions have advanced the sport.

I agree. I enjoy the commentary more most of the time. It's a trade off.

 

[tomatoshooter]

I always think though, when your really young, you want to play like your favourite player Strickland, archer fast and loose. Then someone says your doing it wrong. I bet no one told Strickland that, when he was a young player

Yeah, I tried to give Earl a couple of pointers, but he's set in his ways. Just because it's worked for several world championships doesn't mean it's going to work again.

But what does this have to do with having a personality or lack of one? I do not see how having easier access to training tools should equal to being a lifeless robot.

I was thinking more of the mechanics but I imagine spending a lot of time in pool halls from a very young age may either appeal to less straight laced people or help loosen someone up. I don't think the structured training hurts the personality, just that they don't get the experiences of working through pool halls. Then again they don't get as many guns drawn on them either, dead people have NO personality. I did think it was pretty hilarious when Joshua Filler faced his wife Pia in the European open, watch the first 6 seconds:

 

[Fatboy]

I’m a straight laced guy as far as drugs, drinking goes. But I’m not a milk drinker either. Personality traits in people in general are changing. Being PC is important to some-I make it a point to NOT be PC. If I can piss someone off or make them laugh I will, why? It’s fun. I’m not dry, vanilla or boring.

As long as someone isn’t harming anyone, let it go. But as overly sensitive as people have became it’s safer to be vanilla. So maybe guys who are playing real good don’t want to risk pissing off MR and losing their job. Appleton comes to mind because he showed emotion and said fuck when he lost. Oh how quick people forget……


Fatboy, nobody’s bitch

 

[Cue Alchemist]

Yeah, I tried to give Earl a couple of pointers, but he's set in his ways. Just because it's worked for several world championships doesn't mean it's going to work again.

I was thinking more of the mechanics but I imagine spending a lot of time in pool halls from a very young age may either appeal to less straight laced people or help loosen someone up. I don't think the structured training hurts the personality, just that they don't get the experiences of working through pool halls. Then again they don't get as many guns drawn on them either, dead people have NO personality. I did think it was pretty hilarious when Joshua Filler faced his wife Pia in the European open, watch the first 6 seconds:

I think your more on the money than you know. Experiences shape how you develop as a person. If your being thought to do everything in a certain way. And not show emotion, or you feel you have to be, like every body else. Maybe this is what thay need to be, to win or be successful.it tends to be the same guys we see, wining at the moment. Thay are proven winners. I would love to see more players play with a smile.

 

[336Robin]

I think your more on the money than you know. Experiences shape how you develop as a person. If your being thought to do everything in a certain way. And not show emotion, or you feel you have to be, like every body else. Maybe this is what thay need to be, to win or be successful.it tends to be the same guys we see, wining at the moment. Thay are proven winners. I would love to see more players play with a smile.

Several of my playing friends got so caught up in the game they acted out like Earl and I didn't like that one bit, so we would get divorces
every so often because I don't have time for it. I at least like to see folks act like they are civilized and be professional even when they lose.

 

[pwd72s]

The stone face deal is fine when you are talking about the other guy, I agree 98.37%! As a spectator I would much prefer to watch Keith or Alex to most of the europeans that make you want to reach out and take a pulse now and then to see if they are alive. Then I compete: Stone face, can't tell how I am doing. My riding partners weren't watching the score sheet at an event and since I hadn't given any indication good or bad since I bitched about dropping a point to ringrust early on it wasn't until the standings were called out that they or anyone else except me realized that the one point due to being a year out of practice was the only one I dropped. A first place that left almost everyone there asking who's Hu? Sounded like a comedy routine except they weren't laughing!

When it comes to the equipment it is a tough call. I remember I shot with three lanes into the pocket plus rubbing either inner rail. The good players differentiated five lanes! As you know, the old players were rarely aiming just to make a ball. Today's players are more like me playing three lanes than five I believe due to a couple of those lanes are physically gone! I don't think what a player was aiming at was a bit bigger back then than it is now. Of course, those that were just happy to make a ball or those getting paid by happy customers liked the larger pockets for slop and less than great skill sets.

If all of the players aren't playing on the same equipment like can happen in small and regional tournaments I can see some reason to complain. When everyone is shooting on the same equipment, the same guys are going to find a way to win. The same complainers find reason to complain too!

The only thing I hate about a lot of the old video is production quality. A lot of reasons for that and it is what it is. Kinda like some great old movies in low quality, you have to decide if the spectacle is worth the aggravation. This was an issue even when the video was new. I was watching a rare major network pool broadcast in the early seventies. My mom came by to visit and I commented he was out, the table was a roadmap. He would run 2-6-4-7 and save the 12 for the break ball. She was astonished but not why I thought. "You can read the numbers on those balls!?!" I had to laugh even with my vision that let me be a smart ass when the eye doctor asked me to read the bottom line, "copyright 1968" I couldn't read the numbers on TV. The colors were right though, they weren't using something crazy for TV.

Hu

A very good point made here that is overlooked by many. Pocket cheating used to be an artform. and made the game interesting once you figured out that a "near miss" was actually good position play. Make the pockets too tight, that part of the game vanishes...perhaps it already has.

 

[hang-the-9]

Yeah, I tried to give Earl a couple of pointers, but he's set in his ways. Just because it's worked for several world championships doesn't mean it's going to work again.

I was thinking more of the mechanics but I imagine spending a lot of time in pool halls from a very young age may either appeal to less straight laced people or help loosen someone up. I don't think the structured training hurts the personality, just that they don't get the experiences of working through pool halls. Then again they don't get as many guns drawn on them either, dead people have NO personality. I did think it was pretty hilarious when Joshua Filler faced his wife Pia in the European open, watch the first 6 seconds:

That first shot by Josh, quite a hit on that.

 

[pt109]

The stone face deal is fine when you are talking about the other guy, I agree 98.37%! As a spectator I would much prefer to watch Keith or Alex to most of the europeans that make you want to reach out and take a pulse now and then to see if they are alive. Then I compete: Stone face, can't tell how I am doing. My riding partners weren't watching the score sheet at an event and since I hadn't given any indication good or bad since I bitched about dropping a point to ringrust early on it wasn't until the standings were called out that they or anyone else except me realized that the one point due to being a year out of practice was the only one I dropped. A first place that left almost everyone there asking who's Hu? Sounded like a comedy routine except they weren't laughing!

When it comes to the equipment it is a tough call. I remember I shot with three lanes into the pocket plus rubbing either inner rail. The good players differentiated five lanes! As you know, the old players were rarely aiming just to make a ball. Today's players are more like me playing three lanes than five I believe due to a couple of those lanes are physically gone! I don't think what a player was aiming at was a bit bigger back then than it is now. Of course, those that were just happy to make a ball or those getting paid by happy customers liked the larger pockets for slop and less than great skill sets.

If all of the players aren't playing on the same equipment like can happen in small and regional tournaments I can see some reason to complain. When everyone is shooting on the same equipment, the same guys are going to find a way to win. The same complainers find reason to complain too!

The only thing I hate about a lot of the old video is production quality. A lot of reasons for that and it is what it is. Kinda like some great old movies in low quality, you have to decide if the spectacle is worth the aggravation. This was an issue even when the video was new. I was watching a rare major network pool broadcast in the early seventies. My mom came by to visit and I commented he was out, the table was a roadmap. He would run 2-6-4-7 and save the 12 for the break ball. She was astonished but not why I thought. "You can read the numbers on those balls!?!" I had to laugh even with my vision that let me be a smart ass when the eye doctor asked me to read the bottom line, "copyright 1968" I couldn't read the numbers on TV. The colors were right though, they weren't using something crazy for TV.

Hu

 

[pt109]

The stone face deal is fine when you are talking about the other guy, I agree 98.37%! As a spectator I would much prefer to watch Keith or Alex to most of the europeans that make you want to reach out and take a pulse now and then to see if they are alive. Then I compete: Stone face, can't tell how I am doing. My riding partners weren't watching the score sheet at an event and since I hadn't given any indication good or bad since I bitched about dropping a point to ringrust early on it wasn't until the standings were called out that they or anyone else except me realized that the one point due to being a year out of practice was the only one I dropped. A first place that left almost everyone there asking who's Hu? Sounded like a comedy routine except they weren't laughing!

When it comes to the equipment it is a tough call. I remember I shot with three lanes into the pocket plus rubbing either inner rail. The good players differentiated five lanes! As you know, the old players were rarely aiming just to make a ball. Today's players are more like me playing three lanes than five I believe due to a couple of those lanes are physically gone! I don't think what a player was aiming at was a bit bigger back then than it is now. Of course, those that were just happy to make a ball or those getting paid by happy customers liked the larger pockets for slop and less than great skill sets.

If all of the players aren't playing on the same equipment like can happen in small and regional tournaments I can see some reason to complain. When everyone is shooting on the same equipment, the same guys are going to find a way to win. The same complainers find reason to complain too!

The only thing I hate about a lot of the old video is production quality. A lot of reasons for that and it is what it is. Kinda like some great old movies in low quality, you have to decide if the spectacle is worth the aggravation. This was an issue even when the video was new. I was watching a rare major network pool broadcast in the early seventies. My mom came by to visit and I commented he was out, the table was a roadmap. He would run 2-6-4-7 and save the 12 for the break ball. She was astonished but not why I thought. "You can read the numbers on those balls!?!" I had to laugh even with my vision that let me be a smart ass when the eye doctor asked me to read the bottom line, "copyright 1968" I couldn't read the numbers on TV. The colors were right though, they weren't using something crazy for TV.

Hu

I think the title for your book should be “Who’s Hu”

 

[middleofnowhere]

Ok, I guess I have to take what I said back a little. I just watched the match just put up on YouTube from accustats with Buddy and Miz and I very much enjoyed it. Grady does comment though during the match just how easy the table is. It was an issue even 30 years ago.

 

[ShootingArts]

I never understood the machismo drive some of those guys had to go play another world beater when there was so much money to be made playing non world beaters.

Can't talk from the position of a world beater but I have taken the measure of some of the best. When you go head to head with the best at anything and beat them or even stay with them there is a feeling you can't get beating a thousand lesser players. I have long ago spent the money made from pool, some of the memories of fierce battles on the table I will take to the grave.

Hu

 

[336Robin]

Can't talk from the position of a world beater but I have taken the measure of some of the best. When you go head to head with the best at anything and beat them or even stay with them there is a feeling you can't get beating a thousand lesser players. I have long ago spent the money made from pool, some of the memories of fierce battles on the table I will take to the grave.

Hu

I've had a few myself over the years but I've never been busted over a match. I've been abused a few times but never busted.

I never had to be. I played well enough that "when I was playing" the local hotshots liked playing me.

That was good enough for me. Pool was always there just kinda low key, except for all of the road trips, weekend tournaments,
cheap gambling games and vices. It was always good to do a road trip with my road dawg when the stress was creeping up.

Lost my partner to covid, miss him.

 

[Freddy Fuzzmore]

I watched, well, tried to watch a Shane vs Fedor game the other day. Finally FF to the end to see who won. The commentators seemed to be struggling. What a yawner. Yesterday watched an old match, Mathews vs Zuglan playing straight pool. I like watching the old matches.

 

[336Robin]

I watched, well, tried to watch a Shane vs Fedor game the other day. Finally FF to the end to see who won. The commentators seemed to be struggling. What a yawner. Yesterday watched an old match, Mathews vs Zuglan playing straight pool. I like watching the old matches.

As far as Pool Viewing goes, the way they used to do it for TV skipping around to different matches really wasn't so bad.

In fact, it might be better for larger audiences.

 

[xX-Wizard-Xx]

damn he had no mercy lmao

 

[garczar]

A very good point made here that is overlooked by many. Pocket cheating used to be an artform. and made the game interesting once you figured out that a "near miss" was actually good position play. Make the pockets too tight, that part of the game vanishes...perhaps it already has.

agree big time on this. 'cinch pool' tends to be boring as hell.

 

[Cue Alchemist]

Several of my playing friends got so caught up in the game they acted out like Earl and I didn't like that one bit, so we would get divorces
every so often because I don't have time for it. I at least like to see folks act like they are civilized and be professional even when they lose.

Yeah I wasn't talking about his behaviour, so much. Just what he did on the table. Some one like Johnny archer as a role model, would have been, good example. He was serious but played with a smile In the 90s. reyes probably the ultimate, in being very likeable. For me, He played in the purist form, and he acted like... no big deal!!! Anyone can do that, with the right attitude.now thay May not play as good obviously that's what pool is, if you do it for long enough. It's like in the movie. fast eddie felson says...... It's about becoming something.

 

[ShootingArts]

I've had a few myself over the years but I've never been busted over a match. I've been abused a few times but never busted.

I never had to be. I played well enough that "when I was playing" the local hotshots liked playing me.

That was good enough for me. Pool was always there just kinda low key, except for all of the road trips, weekend tournaments,
cheap gambling games and vices. It was always good to do a road trip with my road dawg when the stress was creeping up.

Lost my partner to covid, miss him.

Sorry for your loss. I'm feeling a bit blue myself. Lost a friend and running partner to the straight life. Figured he was out there though. Just found out a month ago that he never made fifty. He died a long time ago, for me it just happened.

When things got stale around town I started heading out if it was for a night or a few weeks with just a twenty dollar bill in my pocket and a full tank of gas. Mostly it worked out but not always. There was a weekly Saturday afternoon rodeo right outside of New Orleans. A nearby bar would be packed after a rodeo and the small action was good! That is until I bumped into Scotty Townsend two trips running. Banging heads with Scotty on short funds was a recipe for disaster and both road trips ended in Bridge City.

A two hour drive and a cold stick wasn't the way to take on Scotty on a bar table! I made three or four more trips there specifically looking for Scotty with funds to stay with him awhile but he had moved on. It was years later until I learned how stout a player I was tackling but I wouldn't have cared. Ran into Mike Massey, was warned he was winning a few big time tournaments, jumped at the chance to play him.

Chopping wood was for making money but the fun was in tangling with tough action.

Hu