Killer attitude

Refer to the Killer Instinct thread




How important is it to have a killer attitude?
How would you rate the top 10 one pocket players in the world in terms of having a "killer attitude" 1 to 10, 10 being the highest.

Reyes (7)
Frost (8)
Pagulayan (8)
Chohan (6)
Orcullo (9)
J. Hall (8)
D. Smith (8)
VanBoening (9)
J. Jones (10)
S.Daulton (9)
forgot Bergman and Roberts, from what I have seen they both have at least a 9


The players that come to mind that have the highest killer attitudes are.

Buddy Hall (10)
Nick Varner (10)
Richie Florence (10)
Jose Parica (10)
Mike Sigel (10)
Jim Rempe (10)
Steve Mizerak (10)
Allen Hopkins (10)
Darren Appleton (10)

I'm sure there are more can you name them? What is your rating?

Jeff Sparks (10):heh

Dr. Bill

bill incardona 10

Joyner 10
Frost 10
Hacker 10
Ghost 10
Richeson 10
Dechaine 10
McMinn 10 (rotation; 8 1P)
Orcullo 10
Ike 10

Bustamante 9
Santos 9
Bergman 9
Owen 9
Martinez 9
Saez 9

Efren ?
Roberts ?
Alex ?
Hall ?

I've always felt Efrens ability was on a Graph. As the money went UP, his mistakes went down. And when the money got HUGE, he would never lose.

I was looking at a chess board just yesterday and Effie came to mind, and I then counted how many chess pieces were on the board....16. How coincidental, there are also 16 balls on a pool table. Makes me think he looks at a full rack in a similar way.

Artie comes to mind....as a ten as does Cooney, and Cornbread. RA was another as was the Red Raider. Justin Bergman, and seeing him play during his youth at Magoos in the Jr. Nationals, was something....mini efren came to mind. One pocket tho I'll leave that up to you all, as I was a rotation/14.1/8ball player during you alls hey days. I did like Hawiian Brians game also VARNER/period.

LSJohn said:

Joyner 10


Efren ?
Roberts ?
Alex ?
Hall ?

Click to expand...

Efren 10 (i think underneath the "i got lucky " is an assassin)
Roberts 8/9
Alex 10
Hall 7
jmho

Do you mean killer attitude as projected to others, or killer attitude inside? There's a distinct difference. Also, the trait you point out, namely aggression, might serve you well in an all-out offensive game like 9-ball but be less useful in one pocket.

"I'm getting ready to take a TITANIC intentional, bro!"

i think billy i. and ed kelly had the most of it ive seen. both these guys would play every shot as if their life depended on it. that what i call killer attitude.

joey speath was about the toughest there was for the money although he wasnt the best player out there.


i dont think richie f. had it, maybe in tournaments, but i never watched him there but when he was stuck for the cash he fell apart. i have first hand experience with him. same with the miz. in tournaments he had it but for the cash although he didnt play that high he lost all focus when stuck.


those that play tough match-ups need it to win as the defining line is so close you cant weaken at any point and still win.

straightback said:

Do you mean killer attitude as projected to others, or killer attitude inside? There's a distinct difference. Also, the trait you point out, namely aggression, might serve you well in an all-out offensive game like 9-ball but be less useful in one pocket.

"I'm getting ready to take a TITANIC intentional, bro!"

Click to expand...

I read it as "killer instinct".

LSJohn said:

I read it as "killer instinct".

Click to expand...

I'm still not certain what we are talking about, exactly.

straightback said:

I'm still not certain what we are talking about, exactly.

Click to expand...

The way I read it:

Overpowering desire to win in an overpowering manner; hatred of losing; no sympathy for opponent. Ability to grind; never give an inch. It's a personality trait, not a learned behavior and has nothing to do with appearances, talent or skill.

If you HAD to bet on a player who was down 7-0 in a game, or with opponent on the hill for a match against zero, whom would you choose?

I choose Varner, but Daulton, Hall and Parica wouldn't be bad. (I don't know many of the older players, but my impression is that Mosconi might have been a pretty good choice.)

LSJohn said:

The way I read it:

Overpowering desire to win in an overpowering manner; hatred of losing; no sympathy for opponent. Ability to grind; never give an inch. It's a personality trait, not a learned behavior and has nothing to do with appearances, talent or skill.

If you HAD to bet on a player who was down 7-0 in a game, or with opponent on the hill for a match against zero, whom would you choose?

I choose Varner, but Daulton, Hall and Parica wouldn't be bad. (I don't know many of the older players, but my impression is that Mosconi might have been a pretty good choice.)

Click to expand...

If that is how we define it, Varner would murder most other players. Just listen to his commentary and you will get an insight into how powerful his "chair game" is.

In most matches throughout the history of gambling heads-up in any pool game, there comes a time when one player takes over the control of the match, and the player who takes that control, knows it. He just knows he's going to win, that the rolls will all favor him and that his opponent will find a way to dog it! Just ask any player who has been around for awhile, they have experienced what I'm talking about, from both perspectives! Matters not the skill level of the players involved, they can both be champions or both be hacks, what matters is the killer inside!

If you ever run into a player who can take your best, time and time again, and still keep firing back at you with heart and determination, well, it might be best to leave that guy alone in the future and find somebody who will cave in, someone with a lesser killer instinct/attitude.