What Defines Heart?

MBTaylor said:
Especially because you laid the beat down on someone who thought he had the N-U-T-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z!!!!!!!!!!

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

And there you have it, folks: "heart".


Eric
 
MBTaylor said:
I started this thread because gunn_slinger suggested a thread about it in another thread.

IMHO, heart is,
1) You will play anyone anytime. Not scared of competition or a challenge, but in an intelligent way.
2) You will gut it out. Even if you are way down in a set or not shooting your greatest, you grit your teeth and fight through it to the bitter end and not tucking your tail and giving up. As we all know, anything can happen in pool. All it takes is one bad roll and things can change.
Alex.jpg
 
MBTaylor said:
I started this thread because gunn_slinger suggested a thread about it in another thread.

IMHO, heart is,
1) You will play anyone anytime. Not scared of competition or a challenge, but in an intelligent way.
2) You will gut it out. Even if you are way down in a set or not shooting your greatest, you grit your teeth and fight through it to the bitter end and not tucking your tail and giving up. As we all know, anything can happen in pool. All it takes is one bad roll and things can change.

My definition is number (2) never give up (fight)
 
From a post I made in another thread:

Heart is defined as a never give up, can do attitude under heavy or extreme pressure - playing up to or even beyond your actual capabilities. Pressure can come from level of competition of your opponent, magnitude of an event, or financial risk/award of the situation. It is also defined as a willingness to put yourself in this situation.

TAR - feel free to use this on your next T-shirt.
 
> The best story I can come up with to describe it isn't one of mine,but the Dalai Lama of pool writers,George Fels,in a late 80's BD. He tells the story about Luther Lassiter that is also told in Hustler Days. Luther is playing a Norfolk local 100-60 in 14.1,and is down 58-8 for 5k,during THE DEPRESSION,and runs 92-out.

Imagine running 92-out first,even playing for fun.

Now,add 5k in Depression era currency,probably 40-50k now.

Every decision you make,every time your cue ball runs into the stack or a smaller cluster,every shot you line up,if not executed perfectly,could cost you EVERYTHING.

You still got there. That's heart.

George correctly noted that heart was nearly impossible to describe,and also noted that MOST players will be accused of not having any by someone at some point. No one that knows me has done so. Tommy D.
 
Matching up against better players is one way to show it.

But I think it really shows when a player is getting all the worst rolls, and is maybe a little off his game on top of it, but remains unflappable and doesn't go into give-up mode. It's a positive attitude when the pool table seems to be sticking its middle finger up at you. Attitude-wise, You shoot the same whether you just got nice position, or the opponent left you hooked, or your own lousy shape left you hooked.
 
Heart

Heart is taking on something difficult, dangerous, or something that can result in a lot of pain without fear, and with an unbroken spirit.
 
as good a definition as any posted

wincardona said:
Heart is taking on something difficult, dangerous, or something that can result in a lot of pain without fear, and with an unbroken spirit.

As good a definition as any posted and posted by someone that has shown a lot of heart and a lot of smarts over the years. Add a generous dose of humor and skills and that is pretty much Billy in a nutshell.

Hu
 
I think heart is being able to keep your focus, your brains, your creativity and your fundamentals going when it's all on the line. Alex is a great example. For a lot of us, these things have a way of shutting down, like when you get the concrete elbow or the brain cramp ...
 
Heart is when you can shoot the nine ball in from off the end rail, and the score is 10-10 going to eleven, and your case money is on the line. THAT'S HEART!
P.S. Been there, done that. :)
 
jay helfert said:
Heart is when you can shoot the nine ball in from off the end rail, and the score is 10-10 going to eleven, and your case money is on the line. THAT'S HEART!
P.S. Been there, done that. :)

Done this in One Pocket, 7-7, two days in a row, on one of our first trips back to NY.
So, been there, done that;) and I probably play the 6 under Jay.
 
MBTaylor said:
I started this thread because gunn_slinger suggested a thread about it in another thread.

IMHO, heart is,
1) You will play anyone anytime. Not scared of competition or a challenge, but in an intelligent way.
2) You will gut it out. Even if you are way down in a set or not shooting your greatest, you grit your teeth and fight through it to the bitter end and not tucking your tail and giving up. As we all know, anything can happen in pool. All it takes is one bad roll and things can change.


Heart is being able to play your ordinary game under extraordinary circumstances.

Lou Figueroa
didn't we just have
this conversation
a year ago?
 
Heart is the substance that separates the winners and losers in any game. It's even more evident in the game of pool. I look at the way people perform when they are facing elimination or playing, a player, that any miss at a crucial juncture of the game will probably cost them the match. When they execute consistently under those circumstances, to me, they have heart.
 
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