Shorty vs. the MachineGun...................
- Thread starter garczar
- Start date
Magoo's in Tulsa had a Senior event that Shorty attended. He was wanting to play some 3c and was directed to the BilliardPalace down the street. When told all they offered was beer he said to hell with that, if they didn't sell scotch he was OUT. Funny. Good times.
Thanks! Boston Shorty had a very good stroke. Lou was kind of like Alan Hopkins- they added just enough at the ends of their strokes to gain enough cue ball action to reach the next position zone. When you watch some of the old timers play while they still had something left in the tank, they still look OK, but comparing their brand of pool to what Europe and Asia brought us; you can see how far the game has gone in terms of precision - 50 to 75% of their shots would not go on a Diamond pro cut table.
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I was thinking the same thing but like a lot of us they would have adjusted to a Diamond.
The room I play in swapped out GC's for Diamonds and I adjusted.
And they shimmed 2 tables a bit.
If you watch closely Lou also used the chalk to help form his bridge which I think these days is against the rules.
Agreed- Shorty I think would have adjusted better to today's playing conditions because of his great stroke. Lou might struggle more today because his tempo was just too fast and stroke too lacking to get the precise cue positions to make those shots a higher percentage make on pro cut pockets.
I don't know if Lou could adjust his tempo, I think that his playing speed was something he worked out to be able to keep his mind from having too many negatives during competition. He learned to race around and focus for split seconds over the shot, compensating for whatever a more thought inducing pace would have brought to his mind. The tighter the pockets get, the tougher that pace is to maintain and stay focused enough to split the hairs.
The biggest adjustment from GC's to Diamonds for me was hitting a shot clean and not hitting a rail-rattle city with the long shelf.
So many balls hung up in the pockets on the Diamonds that I got better playing position off a hanging ball because I get to shoot so many more now.
Thanks for the post, The Machine gun came by his name honestly I might add, there was no let up in him, very deliberate, to say the least.
Saw what needed done and made it happen,,if he had made some of the breaks work his way there could have been many racks strung together.
Saw what needed done and made it happen,,if he had made some of the breaks work his way there could have been many racks strung together.
Agreed with that for sure- I play on the pro cuts once a week just to stay sharp - I like 14.1 - but it is a huge challenge on fast pro cut Diamonds - hitting those break shots with some authority requires razor sharp ball pocketing - so close position is needed- hard to do with a cue ball rolling on Diamonds that seem like an ice rink off those cushions.
Yes, a great player for sure in his time. the only Italian I know named Machine Gun who did not actually carry one
- I can say that - I am one too!