I never did play him again, so I am, indeed, undefeated against him. With both of us in our 60's now, it looks unlikely that Captain Hook will ever get his revenge.
Your greatest pool shot/moment
- Thread starter u12armresl
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I never did play him again, so I am, indeed, undefeated against him. With both of us in our 60's now, it looks unlikely that Captain Hook will ever get his revenge.
And you went undefeated the week of the U.S. Open too!
Oddly enough, I feel I didn't. Let me explain.
At that same benefit, their was an auction of several items, with the proceeds gong to the National Leukemia Society. The New York Yankees had contributed a baseball signed by their entire roster and, even though I'm a Met fan, I really wanted that baseball.
Loree Jon Jones was at the benefit, too, as was her then-husband Sammy Jones. Although Loree Jon and I would one day become close friends, we didn't yet know each other. The bidding for this baseball turned into a bidding war between me and Sammy Jones and when I bid $400, I thought he'd bow out, but when he bid $450, I bowed out. Just three years ago, during the 2017 Mosconi Cup, I reminded Loree Jon of the occasion. To my astonishment, she related that she still had that baseball. Go figure!
... so I guess you'd have to say that I was defeated by Sammy Jones that week.
League match... 8 ball... Guy has been talking shit all night...
I end up in one ball hell.. he plays safe a puts the cueball nearly frozen to the long rail with my ball frozen to the other rail directly across the table..and 4 or 5 of his balls in between.. and struts off talking smack...
I have no safe.. no jump... I play a hail mary in my head I'm kicking 3 rails begging god for a hit... Outwardly I call the 5 in the corner .. kick 3 rails and slice my frozen 5 ball over 2 diamonds down the rail into the pocket clean.. cb bounces out perfectly and leaves me the 8 damn near straight In to the opposite corner...
There were actual cheers.. from people NOT on my team... Half the place went wild
Best pool moment so far...:thumbup::thumbup:
I end up in one ball hell.. he plays safe a puts the cueball nearly frozen to the long rail with my ball frozen to the other rail directly across the table..and 4 or 5 of his balls in between.. and struts off talking smack...
I have no safe.. no jump... I play a hail mary in my head I'm kicking 3 rails begging god for a hit... Outwardly I call the 5 in the corner .. kick 3 rails and slice my frozen 5 ball over 2 diamonds down the rail into the pocket clean.. cb bounces out perfectly and leaves me the 8 damn near straight In to the opposite corner...
There were actual cheers.. from people NOT on my team... Half the place went wild
Best pool moment so far...:thumbup::thumbup:
Yeah, when you do something really special and there are many who witness it, that make it twice as special. Well done!
I think I went high enough, but Sammy Jones was the better man on that occasion.
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
Late Saturday night/early Sunday morning at Boot’s Hat & Cane on McDowell Road in Jackson, Mississippi, in ‘81 or ‘82. I had been playing 8 ball and holding the table pretty good -- playing for beers and giving them away.
I was down to the 8 ball, which was in the kitchen, positioned about a foot from the corner pocket. My opponent, who had 3 or 4 balls left, deliberately scratched (thinking he was a pool genius and running his mouth to prove it) giving me ball in hand, in the kitchen, with no direct shot on the 8. I call and make the 8 on a 3 rail kick shot. I always loved the rails, I always loved kicking, but above everything, I always loved luck.
I was down to the 8 ball, which was in the kitchen, positioned about a foot from the corner pocket. My opponent, who had 3 or 4 balls left, deliberately scratched (thinking he was a pool genius and running his mouth to prove it) giving me ball in hand, in the kitchen, with no direct shot on the 8. I call and make the 8 on a 3 rail kick shot. I always loved the rails, I always loved kicking, but above everything, I always loved luck.
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Wow, are you Efren Reyes by any chance?
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
No. He is always good. I am sometimes lucky. There's a big difference, and it is an important distinction to be able to recognize -- especially in conducting self examination.
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Great story. Sometimes we just amaze those around us as well as ourselves.
Remember 2001 well. I was in London during the Cardiff event, so I got to watch it on TV. I watched the final with the late Steve Knight, who was setting and resetting the odds for UK bookmaker Stan James for that event.
When Mika won, I called his home in Finland a couple of days later in order to congratulate him. When I got a voice mail in Finnish with a voice I didn't recognize, I was a bit perturbed and left no message, but the next day, his father, who speaks English, picked up and I had a brief chat with him in which he indicated that Mika would return to his home in Finland the next day, so I called again and finally got to congratulate him.
Of course, had you played in the event, maybe Mika doesn't win ... or maybe he does anyway. History can turn on a dime.
djoverboard
Registered
greatest pool /shot moment
one of my favorite games / moments etc was playing the recently deceased NBA player Cliff Robinson. I posted the story in another thread here. Here is the short version.
Cliff was back in Buffalo and at my local bar playing. he and I got into a game. We ended up gambling. starting at $50 a rack 8 ball going to $100 a rack. only played a few games. cliff was a decent shot but didn't win a game. The best part was talking smack to him the whole time.
one of my favorite games / moments etc was playing the recently deceased NBA player Cliff Robinson. I posted the story in another thread here. Here is the short version.
Cliff was back in Buffalo and at my local bar playing. he and I got into a game. We ended up gambling. starting at $50 a rack 8 ball going to $100 a rack. only played a few games. cliff was a decent shot but didn't win a game. The best part was talking smack to him the whole time.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
I'm going to do one more, this time I'm not the hero. So I'm playing this guy I work with, had no idea if he was any good. I figured I'd go a bit easy on him as it was just a friendly game and just socializing and kind of wanted to test his speed. He comes to the table with the cue jacked up like how a kid does, almost chest height, kind of side armed. I figure, ah, he must have played as a kid and never learned proper techniques. You've probably seen novices play like this when they haven't learned about stroke/mechanics and used to play as a kid. I think he's probably not going to be very good. He proceeds to just destroy me and I can't grab high gear after being in slow mode to observe. I try my damnedest but he beat me badly. This is the day that I learnt that if a short guy (he's just under 5') jacks his cue up to shoot, it's not cause he shoots like he did when a kid, it's because of body mechanics. This dude is a monster player, he didn't catch much height growing up so he'd been using the same stroke since he was a kid without having to adapt to getting taller.
Great dude and a good friend at work. The "greatness" of the moment came from the lesson it taught me, don't get too caught up with how someone's stance/stroke looks, it's not an indication of what's about to go down on the table. Watch what they do with the cue ball even if it's happening in an odd manner.
Great dude and a good friend at work. The "greatness" of the moment came from the lesson it taught me, don't get too caught up with how someone's stance/stroke looks, it's not an indication of what's about to go down on the table. Watch what they do with the cue ball even if it's happening in an odd manner.
That's why you play at your level all the time, it's hard to come out of the stall sometimes.
OneHandedBreak
No handed breaks too
That is a great story! I bet the crowd was tired of seeing him troll them and stoked to see you take him down. Awesome.
OneHandedBreak
No handed breaks too
Haha, that is classic! And yeah, what would have happened if the cue ball had just sat there? Reminds me of trying to hit a golf ball out of a tree!
I was about 25 and a guy about the same age named Fat Frank came in from New York. He bet small but always seemed to win. After he cleaned out our local players for chump change (at our pool hall and the bar next to it) I waited and waited and he finally asked me for a game. He would only play me in stright pool (his specialty) . We agreed to straight pool game to 100 for $20 and time.
We started off and it was pretty even. I had an open table and one of his friends walked in while I was approaching the table and asked me loudly "Want to bet $50 on the side?". I said "OK".
I ran 55 and out. Fat Frank took his buddy off to the side and said "Never Jack the bet when it's HIS turn dummy!". Last time he played me too.
We started off and it was pretty even. I had an open table and one of his friends walked in while I was approaching the table and asked me loudly "Want to bet $50 on the side?". I said "OK".
I ran 55 and out. Fat Frank took his buddy off to the side and said "Never Jack the bet when it's HIS turn dummy!". Last time he played me too.
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OneHandedBreak
No handed breaks too
Three kick shots and a one handed break
I just can't narrow this down to one shot, so here are my top 3:
3. It's a Saturday night and I am playing just for fun at the Break Room in San Diego and holding the table against some 5s and 6s on their middle table nearest the bar, one of whom is named Larry Thompson. Having played there casually for a couple years but never in league play I have gained a measure of respect and Larry and I have become pretty friendly.
Next dude in line racks them up, and as is customary for me in that room I grab a bar cue and unleash my one handed break on the rack. I can tell by the sound that I've hit them real good, and in a flash five balls including the 8 find their way home. Dude had just grabbed a drink and he turned around right quick when he heard the impact. Larry looks at him and says something like "Sorry brother, you just lost!" "Next!" Haha!
2. Playing at home during Covid on our 8' table, I made two kick combos in the same game, full details here.
1. The best kick shot I ever made was at a bar called the Alibi in San Diego that had two pretty haggard 7' bar tables. My brother was a bartender there at the time and the place just jumped nearly seven nights a week back in the '90s. Not that anybody was that great at pool, but the booze flowed like water and the competition for bragging rights amongst the regulars on the front table was always fierce.
This shot happened when I wasn't even playing. All I remember is standing near the back table waiting my turn on the front table when someone sends the cue ball airborne from the front table, and it's coming straight at me from a distance of like 10-12'. As it's about to hit me in the left kneecap I instinctively kick my right foot out and catch it on top of my shoe in mid air and all in one motion flip it that same 10-12' with said foot back onto table one, where it lands safely without disturbing a single ball. Needless to say, the place went crazy! My best kick shot ever!!! Haha!
I just can't narrow this down to one shot, so here are my top 3:
3. It's a Saturday night and I am playing just for fun at the Break Room in San Diego and holding the table against some 5s and 6s on their middle table nearest the bar, one of whom is named Larry Thompson. Having played there casually for a couple years but never in league play I have gained a measure of respect and Larry and I have become pretty friendly.
Next dude in line racks them up, and as is customary for me in that room I grab a bar cue and unleash my one handed break on the rack. I can tell by the sound that I've hit them real good, and in a flash five balls including the 8 find their way home. Dude had just grabbed a drink and he turned around right quick when he heard the impact. Larry looks at him and says something like "Sorry brother, you just lost!" "Next!" Haha!
2. Playing at home during Covid on our 8' table, I made two kick combos in the same game, full details here.
1. The best kick shot I ever made was at a bar called the Alibi in San Diego that had two pretty haggard 7' bar tables. My brother was a bartender there at the time and the place just jumped nearly seven nights a week back in the '90s. Not that anybody was that great at pool, but the booze flowed like water and the competition for bragging rights amongst the regulars on the front table was always fierce.
This shot happened when I wasn't even playing. All I remember is standing near the back table waiting my turn on the front table when someone sends the cue ball airborne from the front table, and it's coming straight at me from a distance of like 10-12'. As it's about to hit me in the left kneecap I instinctively kick my right foot out and catch it on top of my shoe in mid air and all in one motion flip it that same 10-12' with said foot back onto table one, where it lands safely without disturbing a single ball. Needless to say, the place went crazy! My best kick shot ever!!! Haha!
Great Story
A great story! I can imagine how disgusted Fat Frank was when his buddy helped you focus.
I could almost always tighten up to make that one really tough shot. When people popped off wanting to bet I never did, preferred focusing on the main prize which was sometimes less but I was into taking care of business. A friend gone now, Mike Spears, was a big ol' oil field roughneck. Six-five and two-fifty or so. He liked to play pool, couldn't play at all. However, he was a friend and nice to have behind my back. I paid for his beer many a night while I was playing pool. He got to noticing that I would have won almost all of the bets on tough shots and he started covering all bets. Some nights he made more than I did!
Hu
A great story! I can imagine how disgusted Fat Frank was when his buddy helped you focus.
I could almost always tighten up to make that one really tough shot. When people popped off wanting to bet I never did, preferred focusing on the main prize which was sometimes less but I was into taking care of business. A friend gone now, Mike Spears, was a big ol' oil field roughneck. Six-five and two-fifty or so. He liked to play pool, couldn't play at all. However, he was a friend and nice to have behind my back. I paid for his beer many a night while I was playing pool. He got to noticing that I would have won almost all of the bets on tough shots and he started covering all bets. Some nights he made more than I did!
Hu
I did low ball it for sure-Probably more like 10,000-1