Aiming/Sighting Consistency

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

The game is certainly not about potting balls - that's a given and the easy bit. The difficult bit is navigating a large CB through lots of traffic for single ball position. That is why players 'cheat' the pocket, to create angles. No nice fat margins of error at 9 ball (except for those enormous pockets). No choice of reds or colours to choose from, or large empty spaces to play through. Hurdles and sandtraps everywhere.

Really, pot a couple of balls from the break and you have a 9 X 4 1/2 foot playing surface with only 7 object balls on it. Break off at snooker and you have a 12 X 6 foot playing surface with 21 object balls on the table with the six colours fiendishly positioned to always be in the way.

Tony Drago was world 10 ball pool champion and 9 ball world master within a few years of giving it a go and he never won anything at snooker. Appleton wasn't good enough for the pro snooker circuit, Mark Gray simply a journeyman snooker pro and they're both in the upper echelons of the 9 ball rankings.

How much more evidence do you need. I'm not putting 9 ball down, it's ok for those who enjoy it but stop bigging it up to be as difficult as snooker because it simply isn't. The americans with their wobbly cue actions took yet another pasting this year from the snooker boys in the europe team. Lessons to be learned there, as I'm sure everyone will agree with except you.

Appleton was an english pool player, drago has never been a top class pool player, you obviously missed my point about positional play being more difficult than potting balls, the colours in snooker are hardly fiendishly placed, Gray is nowhere near the upper echelons of pool but he did beat Jimmy White at the UK Champs if Im not mistaken, and nobody believes americans can play american pool anymore, even the americans themselves.

Aside from all that, spot on, as per usual. Bravo.

[RoryM147]

I think the difference when comparing their talent is:

If ROS gave 9-ball his full attention, within a year I would expect him to be the top player in the discipline.
If SVB gave snooker his full attention, within a year he still wouldn't be good enough to get through Q-school.

Couldn't of said it any better my friend. Spot on.

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

I think the difference when comparing their talent is:

If ROS gave 9-ball his full attention, within a year I would expect him to be the top player in the discipline.
If SVB gave snooker his full attention, within a year he still wouldn't be good enough to get through Q-school.

I would agree with this. Main reason being that Ronnie would not have to change one little bit of his cue action. It is perfect for any pocket game.
Shane would need to make big changes to his basic technique in order to tackle pro level snooker. Unlike many 9ballers, he does have nice rythm and pause(s), but his cue simply wobbles too much.
Pagulayan got very close in Q-school this year. But his cue action is far more snooker like, i.e. no wobble.

Don't forget; ronnie took a year's break from snooker to concentrate on playing pool, and got nowhere.

Don't let a few wobbly strokes mislead you into thinking playing top class american pool is any easier than playing top class snooker.

[aucott80]

Aiming/Sighting Consistency

Perhaps a better example, Chris Melling a well known top English and American pool player only just qualified for the snooker tour this year (2014) after coming through q school 4-3 in the final round. Chris played professional before belive it was early 2000s but struggled to make an impact on the world of snooks. This is as unbiased as you can get cause I only play pool! ... Until I start snooker next year

[jrc750]

Don't forget; ronnie took a year's break from snooker to concentrate on playing pool, and got nowhere....

When was this ?? i must of missed it

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Perhaps a better example, Chris Melling a well known top English and American pool player only just qualified for the snooker tour this year (2014) after coming through q school 4-3 in the final round. Chris played professional before belive it was early 2000s but struggled to make an impact on the world of snooks. This is as unbiased as you can get cause I only play pool! ... Until I start snooker next year

As you mention chris, it is his opinion 9 ball is harder to master than snooker. Having played a fair bit of both, although to nowhere near the same level, i concur. Snooker is relatively easy once you learn how to cue a ball, with repetition and consistency paramount.

[aucott80]

Aiming/Sighting Consistency

Yes I read that to...
I think 10 ball is the hardest game to win consistently as u need a lot of luck and also a good safety game

[RoryM147]

Don't forget; ronnie took a year's break from snooker to concentrate on playing pool, and got nowhere.

Don't let a few wobbly strokes mislead you into thinking playing top class american pool is any easier than playing top class snooker.

This is a load of ill-informed nonsense. Which year was this exactly ?

[DG GIBERT]

Hi Mr Big shot
When you speak of VB's break Is it simply the amount of power?

[Leo]

Mr big nuts where does it say Ronnie took a year out to concentrate on pool?

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Don't forget; ronnie took a year's break from snooker to concentrate on playing pool, and got nowhere.

Don't let a few wobbly strokes mislead you into thinking playing top class american pool is any easier than playing top class snooker.

This is a load of ill-informed nonsense. Which year was this exactly ?

From wiki...

In September 2005, he (o'sullivan) announced that he would play a truncated 2005/2006 season, spending some time playing*eight-ball*pool in the United States, having been chosen to compete on the elite*International Pool Tour.[97][98]

Maybe not a full year, I was mistaken about that. Full report here, plenty of others on the interweb if you care to search. One or two of his matches are also on youtube, where you can see he was outclassed by the likes of quintin hann. He also, rightly, identifies his break as his major weakness. Breaking is not something you master quickly.

http://www.pro9.co.uk/html/print.php?sid=151

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Hi Mr Big shot
When you speak of VB's break Is it simply the amount of power?

Absolutely not. It is timing and technique (and knowledge). It is high art.

Put it this way, i break with more power than SVB, yet get nowhere near the action in the balls. It really does need to be seen to be believed. It is as impressive as any shot in cue sports IMO.

[Byrom]

As you mention chris, it is his opinion 9 ball is harder to master than snooker. Having played a fair bit of both, although to nowhere near the same level, i concur. Snooker is relatively easy once you learn how to cue a ball, with repetition and consistency paramount.

I don't think Chris would say that - are you trying to wind us all up = 9 ball is hard and snooker relatively easy?


You are a either a bit deluded or you have never played snooker - which is it?

If Ronnie O Sullivan played pool and snooker 100 frames each against your best pool player the winner on frames would be Ronnie every single time and even you admit it - same would be the case out of most of the top 128 pro's and beyond probably - you are the only person I have ever heard to argue otherwise.

Though you are good at maths and geometry so let me put it like this - More frames won = better overall player?

[DG GIBERT]

Absolutely not. It is timing and technique (and knowledge). It is high art.

Put it this way, i break with more power than SVB, yet get nowhere near the action in the balls. It really does need to be seen to be believed. It is as impressive as any shot in cue sports IMO.

Do you mean he able to get the pack to split better than most with less power?

[DG GIBERT]

It is interesting, for most snooker players watching nine ball, it seems very much on luck on how the balls split.
I guess there must be more ti it if SVB is able to win a higher percentage of games due to his breaking technique.