pool tricks
September 6, 2005 9:39 PM   Subscribe

 
I have a new definition of growing old: never ever planning on spending sufficient time to do something like this.

More power to him though, I guess. I'm sure it will impress the girls (provided he doesn't need 50 tries for each of those -- never know).
posted by dreamsign at 9:55 PM on September 6, 2005


Ah, but who among us can decide what is a worthy use of lots & lots & lots of practice? I frequently wished I could play guitar like Leo Kottke, but wasn't ever interested in putting in the time. Likewise, I'd personally LOVE to be able to regularly pull off any of these shots, let alone all of them. I don't begrudge either the guitarist nor the pool hall hustler the effort they put into their trade. nor, now that I think of it, the shotgun wizard, the quarter bouncer, the pen spinner, or even those who choose to carve small things into even smaller things...
posted by jonson at 10:04 PM on September 6, 2005


Hey, no begrudging from me. I just can't see myself doing it.

And lord knows I've spent enough time juggling and unicycling.
posted by dreamsign at 10:12 PM on September 6, 2005


There's an example of someone who spends entirely too much time in the basement.
posted by gottabefunky at 10:16 PM on September 6, 2005


I, for one, welcome our new pool cue bearing overlords.
posted by vagus at 10:42 PM on September 6, 2005


Augh, Van Hagar!
posted by ktoad at 11:31 PM on September 6, 2005


Oh come on. Yeah, some of those were ok. But the ones where the cue is lying on the table are easy. Christ, in the last video, you see once he gets the cue ball in the "basket" he starts to celebrate. Why? Because everything else is foregone conclusion. And the V bank with the eight ball (shot #11) is not, I repeat not a difficult shot. Shot #5 is Lesson 1 in "Pool is Cool" (recommended for children ages 10-15).

Like a Rube Goldberg aparatus, the hardest part is setting it up. It's not like any of these positions will ever appear in real life ( except the ones with the rack on the table... oh, I guess not those either). The shots where he demonstrated some nice English were pretty. I think there were two.

/pool curmudgeon
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:32 PM on September 6, 2005


How did he get the ball to balance on the cues? In a couple of tricks, the ball rolls right down the cue, like the stick had a groove in it. Does it?
posted by jiawen at 12:44 AM on September 7, 2005


Two sticks together, jiawen.
posted by salmacis at 12:54 AM on September 7, 2005


"These are 20 of the most awesome trick shots I have created and learned over this summer."

Yeah, if I hadn't already seen the exact same tricks on trick-shot billiards on ESPN 2 years ago.

Good skill, though. Some of those are duly complicated to pull off.
posted by Mach3avelli at 12:56 AM on September 7, 2005


Think he should have spent more time getting a better record clooection. My ears are still bleeding from the inanity of that tune.
posted by ciderwoman at 2:09 AM on September 7, 2005


And I should have spent more time spell checking. "collection", obv.
posted by ciderwoman at 2:10 AM on September 7, 2005


Living in your parents' basement is fucking rad. Also, isn't collegehumor one of those sites, like ebaumsworld, that steals content from other sites and brands it with their logo?
posted by sklero at 2:19 AM on September 7, 2005


Some of these are pretty damn good, others look difficult but are not, and can be taught to anyone who has played a little bit of pool. Of course, we don't know how many tries he got. In trick shot competitions, you usually get two or three tries.

FWIW, there are two types of pool and billiard "trick" shots: (1) Basic trick shots meant to wow regular folk. The key to these the placement of the balls and other props (such as cues which are often used a rails for the cue ball to travel on). With these shots, the skill of striking the cue ball is secondary. (2) What are called skill or artistic shots. These are extremely difficult and can only be executed by experts. These men (maybe women too, but I haven't seen a woman perform these) are as skilled as any music virtuoso. The billiard skill shots are especially wonderful to wonderful to watch.
posted by a_day_late at 3:52 AM on September 7, 2005


wonderful to wonderful to watch.
posted by a_day_late at 3:57 AM on September 7, 2005


Two sticks together

Ah, young grasshopper. Also one hand clapping.
posted by CynicalKnight at 6:37 AM on September 7, 2005


its good to see he spent his summer doing something worthwhile.
posted by crunchland at 6:59 AM on September 7, 2005


I've seen most of those done on a snooker table, which is even more impressive (snooker tables are 12' by 6', for our American friends). Of course, these shots are mostly achieved in the set-up, but even so...
posted by Decani at 8:36 AM on September 7, 2005


I'm with Civil Disobedient... only a few of these tricks are anything but a gimmick.
posted by mosch at 8:57 AM on September 7, 2005


Entertaining, but can the guy actually play pool?

Incidentally, I can do a few of those shots, and I'm only a medium-ranked 9-ball player.
posted by Specklet at 12:13 PM on September 7, 2005


How many legal shots have the rack, or extra cues to guide a ball to some pocket? But, I guess if you call it before hand, all trick shots turn cooler.
posted by Balisong at 5:32 PM on September 7, 2005


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