Who is the greatest straight pool player alive?

bruin70 said:
why not.
the "common general public"(i think you mean the demographic that doesn't watch pool, right?) doesn't care about pool anyway.
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the whole point is to get them to care about pool, otherwise its doomed. and the easiest way to get to them is by using familar equipment and games.

VAP
 
bruin70 said:
why not.
the "common general public"(i think you mean the demographic that doesn't watch pool, right?) doesn't care about pool anyway. if you mean the common pool playing demographic, you and me, I prefer to see the pro players tested. i would respect their ability to negotiate on a 5x10, even if i played on a 4.5x9, as i would respect them playing on tight pockets while i play with buckets.
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Why is it everyone always tries to change something?
Running 100+ is still not ordinary enough to justify making it harder to do.
Especially changing something like the table size.
 
BazookaJoe said:
Why is it everyone always tries to change something?
Running 100+ is still not ordinary enough to justify making it harder to do.
Especially changing something like the table size.
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but they DID play on 5x10 before.

i would like to see tougher tables because the entry level for pool is too easy.
 
Earl Strickland said:
We were just sitting around the pool room wondering who is the greatest straight pool player alive today,any thoughts?I believe you have to play a 250 point match on tight equipment,and play total offense,and there should also be a 30 second shot clock to keep pressure on the player.I think this would be exciting for people to watch.
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Earl, you are flat out the greatest player ever. With a 408 ball run in a game you don't even play on top of dominating the world of 9 ball since you were a kid.That is why I travel all over the country just to watch you play. EARL THE PEARL FOR PREZ
 
vapoolplayer said:
the whole point is to get them to care about pool, otherwise its doomed. and the easiest way to get to them is by using familar equipment and games.

VAP
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well, we're sliding into "that" subject, but my opinion has always been that the target audience (the general public) will NEVER care about pool, and there's nothing on the horizon that says i'm wrong. pool has been done in for a long time now.
 
Homann

henho said:
I would have to say Hohmann, he plays at a good clip so the shot clock shouldn't faze him, and once he gets going he just doesn't make mistakes. He doesn't move the cb around alot, and once he gets going his runs don't end.

Of course, like 9-ball, among players of a certain caliber anyone can be the best on a given day.
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I watched Hohmann play the semi final and final this week at the European Championships and he just ran rack after rack after rack! I think for the whole tournament he made 750 balls and all his opponents combined had 58 balls. Total domination on his way to the gold!!!

NO-SHO
 
bruin70 said:
but they DID play on 5x10 before.

i would like to see tougher tables because the entry level for pool is too easy.
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You can make it tougher without increasing the table size. Increasing the table size could have effects other than just making it more difficult. For example.... One thing that I think is great about pool it that age isn't as big a factor as a lot of other sports. You start making a pool table bigger and that is just like saying, 'lets start making this a young persons game'. My eyes are still pretty good, but they are falling off a little. I don't think it will be to many years till the other end of a 9' table is going to get a little blurry. I'm pretty sure that a 10' table would be a little blurry right now.
 
bruin70 said:
why not.
the "common general public"(i think you mean the demographic that doesn't watch pool, right?) doesn't care about pool anyway. if you mean the common pool playing demographic, you and me, I prefer to see the pro players tested. i would respect their ability to negotiate on a 5x10, even if i played on a 4.5x9, as i would respect them playing on tight pockets while i play with buckets.
Click to expand...
Since I cannot think of one, is there another professional sport that "tests" its players on tougher equipment than the general playing public? I don't think so in the major ones (nfl, nba, etc). I guess MLB could be considered but I don't really remember ever seeing a casual pick up game of baseball, mostly just softball, played on softball fields.

eg8r
 
Nobody has mentioned Mike Zuglan and from what I hear his straight pool game far exceeds his 9 ball game.
I guess as far as todays players are concerned I would have to say my top 3 would be:
Engert
Hohmann
Schmidt
 
eg8r said:
Since I cannot think of one, is there another professional sport that "tests" its players on tougher equipment than the general playing public? I don't think so in the major ones (nfl, nba, etc). I guess MLB could be considered but I don't really remember ever seeing a casual pick up game of baseball, mostly just softball, played on softball fields.

eg8r
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Professional golf courses (especially the majors) are generally set up tougher than the average Joe plays on. They are definitely longer. Although some knucklehead amateurs try to "play from the tips" when they have no business doing so.

I haven't seen most of the younger players mentioned above, and I'm assuming the question relates to who played the best "in their day". So, my votes go to #1 Mizerak, #2 Sigel, #3 Ray Martin.

Scott
 
Well here a group that would make for an interesting tourney.


Reyes
Strickland
Archer
Sigel
Parica (plays all games well)
Souquet
Grady (the man's forgotten more about 14.1)
Mike Zuglan (good call Koop)
Robles
Hohmann
Buddy Hall
and for a dark horse in the group.... Corey Duel (just convince him he's really playing golf)
 
bruin70 said:
well, we're sliding into "that" subject, but my opinion has always been that the target audience (the general public) will NEVER care about pool, and there's nothing on the horizon that says i'm wrong. pool has been done in for a long time now.
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You know what the farmer said when his cow died?..."She never did that before."

Jeff Livingston
 
Jose Garcia is a top 14.1 player. Mika has run 267 so he's right in there,too.

I don't think you could have a 30 sec shot clock without having timeouts, or make a change to 10 footers at this point, but I like the idea of actually getting these guys together to find out.

You can tighten a nine footer up enough to make it special when even top players break 100. Once pockets get to 4.5 inches or less, hi-runs start to die pretty quick.

How about challenge matches to 500 points? This way if someone gets rolling, they can maybe break Mosconi's record of 526 if they keep going and get some press coverage that might breathe some life into the game.
 
Earl Strickland said:
We were just sitting around the pool room wondering who is the greatest straight pool player alive today,any thoughts?I believe you have to play a 250 point match on tight equipment,and play total offense,and there should also be a 30 second shot clock to keep pressure on the player.I think this would be exciting for people to watch.
Click to expand...

My current picks would be Ralf Souquet, John Schmidt, and Tony Robles. And might as well throw Efren in there, even though his 14.1 game doesn't resemble any text book.

We need more straight pool tournaments. I wonder if Greg Sullivan has any interest in having a straight pool jamboree?

Fred
 
There's a great way to find the answer to your question...have more straight pool tournaments. Hell Earl...YOU might be the best one out there. Your high run is right up there with the best. But how much time and focus do you even put toward the game any more?

The question that rolls around in my mind is...who MIGHT, COULD, or WOULD be the top straight pool player if everything wasn't 9-ball and there was time put into the game. Out of the current crop of young players, I'd like to know how many couldn't even run 100, even with big pockets or an 8' table. I tend to think it might be more than expected. But, I could be wrong.
 
I don't think anyone has mentioned Alex. He beat J Schmidt twice 2 DCC's ago for the cash. He ran 2 120+'s in the second match. I missed the first match.
 
IMO, straight pool is the only way pool players can gauge their game. Just think, if pool players had cards like baseball, their average run and high run can be on the back. This gives us a benchmark on how well aspiring pool players stack up against the top shooters.

Bring back straight pool.

ghost
 
ghost ball said:
IMO, straight pool is the only way pool players can gauge their game. Just think, if pool players had cards like baseball, their average run and high run can be on the back. This gives us a benchmark on how well aspiring pool players stack up against the top shooters.

Bring back straight pool.

ghost
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HEAR, HEAR!!!
 
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