I really can only say how I feel, meaning I do not say any of this in a disrespecful way, I fully admit I may well be dead wrong, I just do not believe in the lore.
Surely he did not have better cueball control that many of the top players. All this "never get a shot" stiff seems like nonsense to me. You can be an inch off in a game of pool and sell out. What, a table toll never got Artie?!
So, if we can stipulate that, are people nowadays just stupid?! They can't fugure out a game and move like someone like him even when they are playing for rent?
I just don't believe that. I mean, why isn't there an artie type protege player who robs all the pro one hole tournaments? It is because it would not even matter if someone did have that knowledge. All that really matters
It's very difficult for the average shooter to understand Artie's mindset. The reason I know? Because his mentality was counter-intuitive to my own thinking. Artie had (has) two attributes that are rare in pool players: an unshakable iron will, and the total unwavering discipline to maintain his strategy. Most of us will try something for awhile, then move to something else-- not only within each game, but in our pool methods. Artie never changed his approach. Ever.
There are many guys who witnessed and attested to Artie's prowess in his day: Bugs, Freddy B., Ghost, Varner, etc. When Freddy originally proposed Artie for 1P HOF induction, I presumed that Freddy was simply biased towards one of his Chicago cronies. Freddy's posts here, as well as in his wonderful books document Artie's unique abilities. But it was only after I met him, and had a couple of learning sessions, that I was able to comprehend Artie's play. I witnessed a whole new world, a completely different approach to table management and shot selection. The expression, "You don't know what you don't know" is apt here.
When Artie practiced, he didn't run balls or practice bank shots. He practiced CB and OB speed. He practiced "gathering" balls, as in 3C. His overall admonishment in 1P (or 8 ball) is, "Know
precisely where each ball is going to end up", whether it's the CB and OB, or several balls involved in a shot. Artie didn't bunt balls, he didn't play safeties, he didn't "squeeze", he wasn't conservative. He played total game management. You weren't merely left in a tricky position, you were put into a trap in which usually there was no air at all. Imagine playing someone who you not only never get a shot, but you're left in a position that you will sell out. How long would you last against a player with such superhuman inflexibility?
He had deathly unshakable concentration. He never sat down, he never ate or drank, he never went to the bathroom; he was just there-- increasing the pressure on you as the game went on. Another gift he had was the ability to see exactly how the table would lay at the end of his proposed shot. And he would never play anyone unless he knew how to beat them. He once went an entire year without losing a single match. Wimpy Lassiter said that he felt sorry for him, that with that record the pressure to continue it would be too much. Artie never changed.
Freddy always won money with Artie, but he couldn't stand to watch him play. He stated that Artie's stubbornness made Freddy want to throw him down a flight of stairs. Two guys literally fell dead while playing Artie, the pressure was so bad! Artie would never pull the trigger until he decided on the most lethal move that was available in any given layout.
I've seen most of the great players play since the 1960s, but I've never seen anyone as completely suited to the complete game of one-pocket as was Artie B.