Knoxville Bear....Ronnie Allen & Efren.
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The most naturally talented pool players that you have ever known?
- Thread starter justinb386
- Start date
And I hate hearing about the proper instruction thing.
Some people have lessons for 20 years and still can't shoot....:lol:
Wow, can't believe nobody has mentioned Willie ... he started playing with potatoes and a broomstick standing on a milk crate! Then went on to playing and touring with the best of the day, Ralph Greenleaf. Fast forward ... Effren and Earl. Fast forward again and it would have to be Shane.
I believe Corey, Ginky, and Schmidt in the modern era all became pro level within 2 years of picking up a cue. This is 3rd hand info...
I didn't say talent and ability wasn't necessary.
I didn't say talent and ability aren't necessary, they just don't mean as much as many people would like to think by themselves.
Jaden
And I hate hearing about the proper instruction thing.
Some people have lessons for 20 years and still can't shoot....:lol:
I didn't say talent and ability aren't necessary, they just don't mean as much as many people would like to think by themselves.
Jaden
Without a doubt my vote goes to Danny Harriman.
Danny started playing pool when he was eight years old. His dad would drop him off at the pool hall, on his way to his office, where Danny would play and learn.
Not only is he very talented, but he has the look of a professional pool player, as well. Tall, thin, dark features, and long fingers that can make one of the best bridges I've seen.
After Danny, I would have say that Tramp Steamer would be my second choice. Handsome, articulate, generous, and someone who can appreciate low-cost car insurance.
Danny started playing pool when he was eight years old. His dad would drop him off at the pool hall, on his way to his office, where Danny would play and learn.
Not only is he very talented, but he has the look of a professional pool player, as well. Tall, thin, dark features, and long fingers that can make one of the best bridges I've seen.
After Danny, I would have say that Tramp Steamer would be my second choice. Handsome, articulate, generous, and someone who can appreciate low-cost car insurance.
Teacherjohn
Registered
Kim Davenport...
I played kim when he was 14 and i was 27. took me three hours to beat him out of $30 at 3 bucks a game. he never missed a ball. he just didn't know what he was doing. at that time 1969 i was the best bar box player in the area.
I played kim when he was 14 and i was 27. took me three hours to beat him out of $30 at 3 bucks a game. he never missed a ball. he just didn't know what he was doing. at that time 1969 i was the best bar box player in the area.
When people think or say "naturally talented", it may bring different ideas to different people.
When I think of naturally talented, I think of somebody who could do something "correctly" or "almost correctly" from the very first time they tried it. Lots of people can stand like somebody without too much trouble. Lots of people can pick up a cue and maybe hit a ball in a somewhat presentable manner if they have played other sports. But those things are not necessarily "talent" in my book...those are fundamentals. You can argue talent comes from fundamentals, but not too many people argue fundamentals come from talent. Look at the way Keith McCready holds his cue and stands. His fundamentals aren't the greatest (according to what the masses will tell you), but he sure can play pool.
I think the BIG differential (in my mind) is the people who "can see the line and angles" and "stroke" the ball (somewhat) from the very beginning. It is easier to fix the fundamentals of a guy who can make balls and run racks, than it is to fix the guy who can stand straight and maneuver a cue back and forth in his hand, but can't make a ball or get position.
I can't count the number of times people (and many people I didn't even know) have told me that "you are the most talented natural player I've ever seen". I am not saying that to "toot my own horn", I'm just repeating what I've been told. I think the reason is because I learned to play pool at a very young age and I may see angles and how to get out of situations that other people can't see or figure out. That doesn't mean I'm smarter or a better player than anybody, it just may mean that I "see" the game better and therefore get out when a lot of people wouldn't expect someone to get out.
I'm quite sure there are lots of people who may "see" the game better than others, but do not pursue pool as something serious and therefore never become world class players because they found better things to do.
Aloha.
When I think of naturally talented, I think of somebody who could do something "correctly" or "almost correctly" from the very first time they tried it. Lots of people can stand like somebody without too much trouble. Lots of people can pick up a cue and maybe hit a ball in a somewhat presentable manner if they have played other sports. But those things are not necessarily "talent" in my book...those are fundamentals. You can argue talent comes from fundamentals, but not too many people argue fundamentals come from talent. Look at the way Keith McCready holds his cue and stands. His fundamentals aren't the greatest (according to what the masses will tell you), but he sure can play pool.
I think the BIG differential (in my mind) is the people who "can see the line and angles" and "stroke" the ball (somewhat) from the very beginning. It is easier to fix the fundamentals of a guy who can make balls and run racks, than it is to fix the guy who can stand straight and maneuver a cue back and forth in his hand, but can't make a ball or get position.
I can't count the number of times people (and many people I didn't even know) have told me that "you are the most talented natural player I've ever seen". I am not saying that to "toot my own horn", I'm just repeating what I've been told. I think the reason is because I learned to play pool at a very young age and I may see angles and how to get out of situations that other people can't see or figure out. That doesn't mean I'm smarter or a better player than anybody, it just may mean that I "see" the game better and therefore get out when a lot of people wouldn't expect someone to get out.
I'm quite sure there are lots of people who may "see" the game better than others, but do not pursue pool as something serious and therefore never become world class players because they found better things to do.
Aloha.
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the totally unknown Jackjaw
I had known a guy a year or two, even banged pool balls around together a few times, he never showed any real speed and neither did I.
We had been working on diesel ten wheelers in a gravel parking lot, brutally hard work changing transmissions with a piece of plywood and a floor jack. Excellent way to get killed balancing a thousand pound plus transmission that doesn't balance on a six inch plate!
Anyway, we had been straining and fighting with these trucks all day, definitely the thing to screw a stroke up in a big way when your muscles are knotted and tired from this plus we were just exhausted since this had been going on for several days.
We stopped for a beer and as I went to stick some quarters in a seven foot bar box a couple guys asked if we wanted to play partners for a beer. "Sure".
Playing eightball, Jackjaw grabbed a stick off the wall, no warm up at all and ran out from their dry break, then he ran another seven racks before I got up to shoot. I shot twice in thirteen games. All things considered this ranks very high on amazing things I have seen on a pool table and screams natural talent. Oh yeah, I talked to Jackjaw as soon as we stepped out the door. That was the last of the diesel mechanic on gravel crap. Took care of a little business the next day and hit the road the day after.
As I have said many times, I was perhaps the least naturally talented player to ever pick up a cue. To say I stunk is putting it very mildly. Took me two years to play pretty good, another two to reach shortstop level, meaning nobody had to beat me on my own turf on any given night. I could lose, but I could win too. At the end of four years I could make the cue ball do everything but sit up and beg. There were nights when I played six or eight hours and controlled every shot on the table, only letting my opponent shoot when I chose and what I chose.
Many routes to becoming a decent player. Hitting a million balls or so with intent is one of them. A shorter path for most is getting a little instruction or training. Li'l Joe Villalpando's DVD's would have shortened my learning curve years!
Hu
I had known a guy a year or two, even banged pool balls around together a few times, he never showed any real speed and neither did I.
We had been working on diesel ten wheelers in a gravel parking lot, brutally hard work changing transmissions with a piece of plywood and a floor jack. Excellent way to get killed balancing a thousand pound plus transmission that doesn't balance on a six inch plate!
Anyway, we had been straining and fighting with these trucks all day, definitely the thing to screw a stroke up in a big way when your muscles are knotted and tired from this plus we were just exhausted since this had been going on for several days.
We stopped for a beer and as I went to stick some quarters in a seven foot bar box a couple guys asked if we wanted to play partners for a beer. "Sure".
Playing eightball, Jackjaw grabbed a stick off the wall, no warm up at all and ran out from their dry break, then he ran another seven racks before I got up to shoot. I shot twice in thirteen games. All things considered this ranks very high on amazing things I have seen on a pool table and screams natural talent. Oh yeah, I talked to Jackjaw as soon as we stepped out the door. That was the last of the diesel mechanic on gravel crap. Took care of a little business the next day and hit the road the day after.
As I have said many times, I was perhaps the least naturally talented player to ever pick up a cue. To say I stunk is putting it very mildly. Took me two years to play pretty good, another two to reach shortstop level, meaning nobody had to beat me on my own turf on any given night. I could lose, but I could win too. At the end of four years I could make the cue ball do everything but sit up and beg. There were nights when I played six or eight hours and controlled every shot on the table, only letting my opponent shoot when I chose and what I chose.
Many routes to becoming a decent player. Hitting a million balls or so with intent is one of them. A shorter path for most is getting a little instruction or training. Li'l Joe Villalpando's DVD's would have shortened my learning curve years!
Hu
Ron Swanson
Banned
Come the uk, then. You'll find thousands of em.
ok whatever you say...
Ok... I get it, UK rocks, US sucks... lol...
your posting gets more pathetic day by day.
Jaden
Ok... I get it, UK rocks, US sucks... lol...
your posting gets more pathetic day by day.
Jaden
The only other name I can add to this is Luca Brecel. When he gets going on a snooker table, he makes it look impossibly easy.
I wouldn't get too discouraged when people say they have only been playing X amount of time. I've found that a lot (not all) of them spent a fair amount of time playing before they "officially" started playing. For example, I knew a guy who swore he'd only been playing for 4 months, but I distinctly remember seeing him come in to practice on a consistent basis well over year before that. He later admitted that he counted his official start date when he got lessons for the first time and bought a proper cue.
I wouldn't get too discouraged when people say they have only been playing X amount of time. I've found that a lot (not all) of them spent a fair amount of time playing before they "officially" started playing. For example, I knew a guy who swore he'd only been playing for 4 months, but I distinctly remember seeing him come in to practice on a consistent basis well over year before that. He later admitted that he counted his official start date when he got lessons for the first time and bought a proper cue.
Yea you are right, I should not have thrown in 3-C. He rarely played but when he did he could play although not world class by any means. I remember him playing one day at the Congress, he was playing one of the best local players for like 15 points for a $100.00 a game.
They were see-sawing around and Mike was not paying attention to the game talking sports on the side. The guy he was playing got angry and told him to play or quit he was tired of all the talking.
Mike didn't say another word and the guy he was playing never won another game. Mike always seemed to have another gear when he needed it especially when the game was tough.
Now Golf that I mentioned, Mike may have been the best in the country at a one point. In the long run though, even if he had lived he would probably have never have been one of the greatest, because he didn't really care. Pool was just something he did and it came easy to him.
Ron Swanson
Banned
Truth hurts, huh? I could be much, much more truthful if i felt like it.
hahaha...
You wouldn't know truth, if you died and became the truth fairy...
Jaden
You wouldn't know truth, if you died and became the truth fairy...
Jaden
Ron Swanson
Banned
I know what i see with my own eyes. Others, perhaps less so.
