What I've Noticed About The Worlds Best Players

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DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
As some of you know i have been watching all of my old tapes and dvds of the pro matches that i have. And logging some of the shots and practicing them later. These matches include the World Championships, US Open, Challenge of the Champions, Mosconi Cup, some European tournaments, etc, etc.

And there's one thing i have noticed - THESE PLAYERS MISS! and sometimes they miss somewhat easy shots!

I am talking about players like Pagulayan, Hohman, Souquet, Strickland, Archer, Reyes, Bustamante, Fong Pang Chao, etc, etc. It makes me shake my head sometimes. I see them miss with ball in hand. And i see them miss shots that Helen Keller could make easily.

Maybe i shouldnt be too hard on myself when i miss a shot and hose up a runout....:thumbup:

Mike
 
i thought u were going to say

Most sleep in their cars LOL
:smile::smile::smile::smile:



DrCue'sProtege said:
As some of you know i have been watching all of my old tapes and dvds of the pro matches that i have. And logging some of the shots and practicing them later. These matches include the World Championships, US Open, Challenge of the Champions, Mosconi Cup, some European tournaments, etc, etc.

And there's one thing i have noticed - THESE PLAYERS MISS! and sometimes they miss somewhat easy shots!

I am talking about players like Pagulayan, Hohman, Souquet, Strickland, Archer, Reyes, Bustamante, Fong Pang Chao, etc, etc. It makes me shake my head sometimes. I see them miss with ball in hand. And i see them miss shots that Helen Keller could make easily.

Maybe i shouldnt be too hard on myself when i miss a shot and hose up a runout....:thumbup:

Mike
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Keep watching those tapes and you will begin to see something else. They know HOW to win! The correct safety at just the right time, the professional miss, the tough leave for their opponent, the great shot under pressure and much, much more. The very best players know a few things about game winning strategy that the rest of us don't, and that's what makes them winners and champions.

It is true that EVERYONE misses, some just handle it better than others. A great player turns a miss into an opportunity to play even better on his next turn(s). Watch how often they shoot the "correct" shot for the situation, and it turns into another game won. Sometimes this is shot that looks very simple, but another player might not recognize the best option and the correct shot. Keep watching and keep learning.

A winning player knows how to put games on the wire! It isn't as easy as it looks sometimes.
 
Before your ban you used to post daily about a shot and missing it or not running out.

Now you post everyday about a tip, a wrap, a shaft, a color of cloth, a type of cloth, where to put a table, lessons, and the biggest CC type post.

Pros Miss...

You now have a table, u have a new shaft and a new tip and the right balls and are diagraming your shots, Hit the board up in like 3 months and let everyone know how you are coming along with your shots.
 
Neil said:
cough, cough...... seems like a number of people have already told you that..... cough, cough;)
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True.

But i thought they were referring to tough shots, not shots that Helen Keller could make. Nor did i think they were referring to shots where a professional has ball in hand - and misses.

Mike
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
True.

But i thought they were referring to tough shots, not shots that Helen Keller could make. Nor did i think they were referring to shots where a professional has ball in hand - and misses.

Mike
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Any of those BIH misses appear to be strategic?

Did the miss shift the disadvantage to the other player, to invite him to work thru a tough table layout?

Some of these guys are sneaky.

Hit it so bad, it was good?
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
True.

But i thought they were referring to tough shots, not shots that Helen Keller could make. Nor did i think they were referring to shots where a professional has ball in hand - and misses.

Mike
Click to expand...

I'm not sure you got the right lesson here. Yes, everyone misses but count out how many of those easy shots top players miss on individual rather than a collective basis and it's quite small. It happens, every screws up their shots and even more so against top competition under pressur. Put them against an Amateur and their playing level goes up with the lack of pressure.

What I would keep in mind is that the players always make the easy - medium hard shots. Where they miss is the hard - very hard shots. If you miss the latter, don't worry about it. Keep working on your stroke, but dont' worry about it.

I find Snooker and 14.1 should help cure you of any tendencies towards missing easy - medium difficulty pots.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
As some of you know i have been watching all of my old tapes and dvds of the pro matches that i have. And logging some of the shots and practicing them later. These matches include the World Championships, US Open, Challenge of the Champions, Mosconi Cup, some European tournaments, etc, etc.

And there's one thing i have noticed - THESE PLAYERS MISS! and sometimes they miss somewhat easy shots!

I am talking about players like Pagulayan, Hohman, Souquet, Strickland, Archer, Reyes, Bustamante, Fong Pang Chao, etc, etc. It makes me shake my head sometimes. I see them miss with ball in hand. And i see them miss shots that Helen Keller could make easily.

Maybe i shouldnt be too hard on myself when i miss a shot and hose up a runout....:thumbup:

Mike
Click to expand...

Just curious, how many of them missed shots were directed at tables with 4" pockets?..or where they playing on tables with 4 1/2" ProCut pockets? Because I've always said that when a "Pro" misses...it has nothing to do with the pocket size....because the miss would have happend on a table with 5" pockets;)
 
Cameron Smith said:
I'm not sure you got the right lesson here. Yes, everyone misses but count out how many of those easy shots top players miss on individual rather than a collective basis and it's quite small. It happens, every screws up their shots and even more so against top competition under pressur. Put them against an Amateur and their playing level goes up with the lack of pressure.

What I would keep in mind is that the players always make the easy - medium hard shots. Where they miss is the hard - very hard shots. If you miss the latter, don't worry about it. Keep working on your stroke, but dont' worry about it.

I find Snooker and 14.1 should help cure you of any tendencies towards missing easy - medium difficulty pots.
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True. I didnt see Earl missing a bunch of shots, just 2-3. Chao only missed a couple, as did Pagulayan, etc, etc.

I agree about Snooker. I sure wish i could play on a snooker table on a regular basis.

Mike
 
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realkingcobra said:
Just curious, how many of them missed shots were directed at tables with 4" pockets?..or where they playing on tables with 4 1/2" ProCut pockets? Because I've always said that when a "Pro" misses...it has nothing to do with the pocket size....because the miss would have happend on a table with 5" pockets;)
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Dont know about this. I do remember hearing Allen Hopkins saying the tables had 4.5" pockets. I think this was the Olhausen at the Intl CofC.

Mike
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
True.

But i thought they were referring to tough shots, not shots that Helen Keller could make. Nor did i think they were referring to shots where a professional has ball in hand - and misses.

Mike
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Dude we all miss....Lassiter missed, keith missed, mosconi missed......

HELL DID YOU SEE GABE WHIFF AT THAT BALL AGAINST EFFREN WHEN HE WON THE US OPEN!

Gabes shot was one of the easiest ever in the history of pool and EPIC FAIL lol....but he shrugged it off and snapped off the tournament.

If we didn't miss then pool would suck horribly as there would be no real challenge.

we miss so we can learn my friend.

best wishes,
-Grey Ghost-
 
I wouldn't use pros missing as an accurate gauge to compare you missing. They have a ton on the line with pressure that not many people who post here could say they have on themselves when down on a shot.

You just dog it in your house by yourself... there is a really big difference here.

Just saying...
 
Icon of Sin said:
I wouldn't use pros missing as an accurate gauge to compare you missing. They have a ton on the line with pressure that not many people who post here could say they have on themselves when down on a shot.

You just dog it in your house by yourself... there is a really big difference here.

Just saying...
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NO THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE..........everyone handles pressure diff.

there are some pros who can't handle gambling and some that are the best gamblers and can't do squat in the big tourneys......

to the 5 speed league player getting down on a difficult case ball to go to vegas I'd say is no diff than a top player doing the same thing for a win in a major.......

the feeling the first time I played for $50 a game was just like the first time I played 500 a game......

nerves are nerves.........doesn't matter the level of excellence the player has
achieved

How you think a 4 feels playing a 9 trying to go for a league championship.....the 4 is probably crapping their pants.....same pressure.......just as you progress your pressure tolerance for "X" situation becomes greater......but when you feel pressure it is the same feeling it just may take more of it for you to start trembling.


pressure is pressure, skill level is arbitrary to it
-Grey Ghost-
 
greyghost said:
NO THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE..........everyone handles pressure diff.

there are some pros who can't handle gambling and some that are the best gamblers and can't do squat in the big tourneys......

to the 5 speed league player getting down on a difficult case ball to go to vegas I'd say is no diff than a top player doing the same thing for a win in a major.......

the feeling the first time I played for $50 a game was just like the first time I played 500 a game......

nerves are nerves.........doesn't matter the level of excellence the player has
achieved

How you think a 4 feels playing a 9 trying to go for a league championship.....the 4 is probably crapping their pants.....same pressure.......just as you progress your pressure tolerance for "X" situation becomes greater......but when you feel pressure it is the same feeling it just may take more of it for you to start trembling.


pressure is pressure, skill level is arbitrary to it
-Grey Ghost-
Click to expand...


Tap tap tap..... couldn't agree more Ghost. Also, this thread reminds me a phrase we use in business:
E+R=O
Event + Response = Outcome
And you are in total controll of the response piece of this equation.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
Maybe i shouldnt be too hard on myself when i miss a shot and hose up a runout....:thumbup:

Mike
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Maybe you should have read all the responses people have given you over the years. You've been told this same thing over a hundred times.

Fred <~~~ #47
 
Besides the pressure another reason that everyone misses is lack of focus. The champions seem to stay focused more than everyone else but even they take a shot for granted occasionally.
 
I think Nick Varner said it best, all pro's miss, just not as much as non-pro's! I use to know some funzy champions who could give themselfs the 7 out gambling.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
True.

But i thought they were referring to tough shots, not shots that Helen Keller could make. Nor did i think they were referring to shots where a professional has ball in hand - and misses.

Mike
Click to expand...

You've posted a few shots in the ASK THE INSTRUCTOR section that Helen Keller could make -- asking how they're made.
 
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