Poker Tell-Tale Signs and Pool

When I am playing poker, it's very natural for me to start flipping the chips in front of me.  I can flip them over each other between my fingers (called the "Thumb Flip"), either one handed or both hands at the same time. I can also merge two stacks of poker chips together with one hand (called "The Shuffle"). 

Here is the "Thumb Flip":



And here is the "Shuffle":



I know how to do this because around 2011 I played poker about twice a month for two years straight at Winstar (a very large casino on the border of Texas and Oklahoma). I saw players flip chips and stack chips with one hand all the time. So, as I would sit there waiting in-between rounds, I practiced those moves.  I got better at flipping chips than playing poker, lol!  But, it's still something that's pretty cool I can do.

I went to Vegas in February for my 50th birthday (yes I turned 50!), and every time I played the carnival-type table table games (like deuces wild, crazy 4 poker, ultimate Texas hold'em, high card flush, etc), I would flip the chips or stack my chips in front of me with one hand, strictly out of habit.

However, when I played live poker in the poker room on the last night I was in Vegas, I stopped myself from flipping or stacking chips, like I would normally do.  Instead, I just left them all alone (poor things!). A few times throughout the three hours I would catch myself about to flip the chips, then stop and set them back down casually in front of me.

The reason I did this is because I did not want my table mates (i.e. opponents/enemy) to know I knew how to play poker. I know, flipping chips isn't a sign I'm good at poker, lol, but it IS an indication I've been around poker a lot.

While this isn't something us pool players would normally do (hide our talent as we play pool), it IS something a hustler would do in the pool room who is trying to get action. 

"Melinda, what could possibly be similar in pool to flipping chips that gives you away?"

Good question!

If you are going to a bar or pool room trying to hustle, you don't want to give away that you can play good pool, right?  What's the point of hustling then?  lol. 

So little things like, you don't keep your hand flat when you're on the rail (tell-tale sign you aren't a top player), or maybe you don't stay down on your shots, or maybe you ask stupid questions to make you look naive:  "Hey, what is that thing?" (when they are using a magic rack). 

While I'm not trying to hustle poker players, I also don't want to give away immediately that I actually know how to play poker.  Give yourself a small advantage - legally and within the rules. Albeit I don't play poker very well, but I still do know the game and can play smart, and I don't want to give that away just by the way I flip or stack the chips one handed.

(My chip stack last year at Winstar Casino for my berday)

Giving the Last Two - Danielson Series

Danielson mentioned the other day that he was gambling a few guys in the city he lives in, to help him stay in stroke.

He told me he gave a couple of his opponents "the last two." I thought it was kinda weird, as all the guys he played were about even, but he brought up a really good point I hadn't though of, and wanted to share.

Because I don't gamble, this hadn't really crossed my mind before I guess.

He shared with me, "They wouldn't play even, so I figured I would offer the last two because I really wanted to play. Plus, the way I see it, if I can't win giving the last two, I probably can't win even."

And what Danielson learned was, "If I'm playing good, they have no chance. But I really have to play smart at the end of the rack to not give away games. That's how I lost one of the sets."

And he's right - giving the last two will help him focus more because the end of the rack is crucial when giving up the last two. And in turn, all of this experience will carry over when he competes in tournaments.

After a few weeks of doing this, he was kinda giddy, lol. He shared, "These guys really think getting the last two is a spot...lol."

Then he got serious and reflected, "But giving those guys the last two really makes me bear down. I still need to work on my 3 ball patterns to stay on the correct side of the ball... but I feel like I played well and these matches are really helpful." 

Love hearing good news!

Publicizing Local Gambling Matches

I noticed that a pool room (Putters) in Las Vegas advertises matches on Facebook.  You might think, so what?  So do other people.  Well, what I find more interesting is their matches are showcased.

You see, sometimes matches are "announced" on Facebook, but no details are given.  I am sure there is a good reason for this.  But it never fails - people will ask who is playing, for how much, etc?  And instead of responses, we are Ghosted.

(damn, I hate being ghosted!)

"Ghosting. While this term is relatively new, the act of ghosting existed long before the dawn of the Internet. But what does it mean? Ghosting occurs when someone you're seeing suddenly stops making any contact, giving no signs at all that they're no longer interested."

And we aren't told who is playing or any details.  Just "big names" and "you don't want to miss it" so "come on out."  Well, crap, just tell me who is playing for how much and what is the race??

However!  Check out alternatively what Putters does: they create graphics for their match ups that contains photos, times, race, game, how much they are playing for, etc:

Now honestly, which advertising gets you more interested in the match ups?

I know - it all depends on who is playing if you want to traverse to the pool room to watch them gamble.  But at least we know who is gambling at Putters!  lol

Gamblers Choice

One of the benefits to gambling (in lieu of playing in tournaments), is you get to choose who you want to play, or not play.

There is always some who gets on our nerves that we run into at tournaments.  Some players complain, some shark, some whine, some throw temper tantrums, etc.  In a tournament, we have to deal with them.

BUT!  When a player gambles, they get to choose who they want to play against and who they want to put up with.

A friend of mine told me the other day, "This guy is the WORST in the area about complaining while he plays pool.  But, I don't want to play him anymore or deal with him.  I have too many choices of who I want to gamble with, so I just don't deal with him."

I thought it was a really great point.  Because again, in a tournament we have no choice who the bracket Gods bring our way.  But when you gamble, you get to decide, "Do I want to deal with their antics today or not?"

However, I do want to point out that playing players with some sort of attitude is a great test for us in our pool journey.  We have to run into people like them anyway in many different type of tournaments, might as well make it a learning experience instead of being so pissed at them that you can't even play pool.

Follow-Up about Nancy

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about a friend who asked my opinion if he should play his Nancy gambling anymore or not.

If you don't know who Nancy is - read about her here.  Real quick though, Nancy is the generic name of players we all have who we think we can beat, but we can't for some reason.

So, I suggested to my friend he should NOT continue to gamble with his Nancy.  At first I said he should because his opponent is a good gambler and he can learn from the guy.  But when he told me his confidence goes way down after he loses, and then he plays badly for days, I suggested he shouldn't play him after all.  To me, that's a no-brainer and you stop playing the guy.  My friend said another player gave him the same advice.

But... HE DIDN'T LISTEN TO US!

"Don't play him, not worth it if it lowers your confidence."

"Oh, hey, I'll do the exact opposite!"

Omg people, then why ask if you are going to be a rebel and go against suggestions?!?

Just kidding!  He can keep losing money and confidence - no skin off my back.

However, his report was pretty awesome:  He beat the guy!

Being nosey, I asked him what the difference was this time.  Why could he beat the guy now and he couldn't just literally days before?

"I knew I was supposed to win that game getting that spot.  I was so frustrated with myself for how I played against him that I had to overcome it." He added, "So, I just grinded it out."

He played the guy for two days straight (one day it was a 14-hour marathon).  

Although he didn't listen me at all or his other friend, lol, I am so glad he still played the guy!  He overcame a huge mental block/obstacle.  AND!  His opponent now wants weight!  My friend lost over 4 times to him and he never asked to adjust.  And now this guy is whining and wants to adjust the weight.  Btw, I warned my friend the guy would want to adjust if he finally lost (so, hey, I was right about something!).

Congrats to my friend on the wins!

That One Player We Can't Beat - Nancy

When you play on a tour or often in weekly tournaments, you find yourself always running into Nancy.

Who is Nancy?  Well, Nancy is the generic name my friends and I gave to a player who always beat us.  ALWAYS.  We thought we were better than Nancy, but she still would beat us.  It was VERY frustrating!

Everyone's Nancy is different for each of us.  And Nancy isn't the top player on the tour or someone who is well above our level - she is just an average player we think we are better than.  But for whatever reason, she always freaking beats us!

I remember being at a tournament in Austin and one of my friends left the table, then came back and said, "Dammit."  I asked, "What?"  She said, "I have to play Nancy next!"  (again, the players name wasn't Nancy, it was the generic name we gave to each of our own nemesis's)  I asked her, "Why did you even check the chart, you know you aren't suppose to look ahead."  "I know," she replied, "But I was curious."

I would remind my friend to play the table, not the opponent, but let's face it - we can do that all day long but this Nancy person will still beat us.  Damn you, Nancy!

And Nancy never even knew she was a nemesis.  She was just enjoying the tournament and playing pool.

Several years would go by and our game would sharply improve and eventually we would beat Nancy!  Highlight of any tournament is when one would finally beat her.  The devil herself who always seemed to somehow beat us - except that day!  And then we'd beat Nancy again.  And eventually, some of us didn't have a Nancy anymore.  We improved.  We conquered.  We kicked Nancy's butt!

But why couldn't we beat each of our Nancy's?  We knew we were better than her, had better finishes (if we didn't run into her lol) and worked on our game more.  Normally, anyone with a Nancy is because we have a mental block of some sort with certain players.  And it normally happens by accident.  We don't go through our pool journey trying to find our Nancy.  We just happen to keep getting beat by the same player for a long time.  Until we finally don't!  And then she's gone.  No more Nancy.

But what if Nancy is a person you gamble with?  A friend of mine reached out to me about his Nancy.  And wondered, "Since I can't beat the guy, should I continue to gamble with him?" 

To be honest, the guy had TWO Nancy's he was asking about.  Poor fella.  Hell, one Nancy is enough!

Here's the difference, in leagues our tournaments, you have no choice to play your Nancy.  The bracket Gods set it up that way.  But when you gamble, you have the choice to play Nancy or not.  So, what should you do?

Here is my take on his question if he should keep playing his Nancy or not:  My friend had two Nancy's that he thought he should beat.  One was a tough, dug-deep kinda gambler who knew a lot about the game.  The other was just an average player.  My friend kept getting beat by both of them, even though he felt he had the advantage.  My opinion was there is no reason to play the average player.  What can you gain?  Broader shoulders if you beat him?  That's about it.  They weren't gambling for enough to even brag if he beat the guy.  The real gambler on the other hand, his other Nancy, my friend could learn a TON from him.  The guy has been gambling for decades, and really knows the game well.  I suggested to keep playing that Nancy, even though it will be tough.  But at least he'll be getting something out of the beatings lol.

Then he shared, "Well, when I play the better gambler and then lose, my confidence goes way down and then I play badly for days."

Well, that sealed it, "Then don't play him," I stated firmly.  No reason to get your confidence beat down imho.  There are a ton more guys he could be gambling with.

So, who is your Nancy?  And have you beat them yet?  If not, don't fret!  You will.  Just give yourself patience and time.  Nancy eventually is just a bump in the road.


P.S.  I have friend named Nancy and this is no relation to her at all.

Sick Pool Players Still Want to Play

A couple of different situations came up over the last year I wanted to share.

It's about people who are very sick, who still want to play pool and gamble, and how that affects them and others.

My friend Dave Faver, who had esophageal cancer last year and now has brain cancer, is a genuine pool player. By that I mean he has no day job, and makes his money either gambling or playing in tournaments. He's 62 and has been living like this for over 20 years or more. Because he's had cancer the last couple of years, his pool playing hasn't been as active as it used to be. However, he SO loves the game still, it helps him stay moving around, he gets to hang out with his friends, and he also needs the extra money. We are talking cheap action, even $5 a game one pocket or $10 a game one pocket.

However, he shared something I had never heard of or thought of. He said that it's super tough for him to get a game. He says that players feel bad taking his money, and if players lose to him, then they get mad about it lol.

He says people go out of their way to avoid him and they don't want to play him because he's sick. But what people don't realize is, he really loves the game and WANTS to play badly, but it's too tough to get even a $5 game anymore because players just don't want to play a guy who is so sick.

A situation came up in the Fall with a friend who was battling colon cancer. He was literally begging to play a certain player (I'll call him JM) and barking at him badly to play $1,000 sets all over Facebook. JM really didn't want to play the guy, not just because he was sick, but because he wasn't playing like he used to because he was sick. JM knew it wasn't a good game for the guy.

The guy was being backed, but that still didn't matter to JM, he didn't want to play him.

JM eventually gave in from all the ongoing egging. And what I found interesting was that some people were really upset at JM for playing him. Like, really upset. They thought he was taking advantage of the guy, but what they didn't know was in reality JM didn't want to play him at all.

JM adjusted in the two sets, but still won both sets.  I can imagine even though the guy was upset he lost, he was prolly still elated to gamble so high and be competitive!  Pool was his passion; he was glad to be put "back in the box."

These situations show how much players want to still gamble and play even if they are sick. Sometimes, pool is the thing they love the most, and they want to still gamble and play. And may not have long to do the thing they love.

So, while players are avoiding Dave Faver, look at it as someone who wants to play the game they love, not that you are taking advantage of a sick person.  Think about it - if you were sick, wouldn't you want to still do what you love for as long as you could?

Betting on a Roomba

A lot of pool players are your typical gamblers, and as such they will find anything to bet on.

During tournaments, many players will match up and gamble on the open 9-foot tables or bar tables either in ring games or one-on-one matches.  For those pool rooms who don't have open tables, players will match up and bet on darts, shuffleboard or foosball if they have those.

Players will also side bet on matches or bet on a football game on tv.  You know, anything for a sweat bet.

Other times players will flip a coin for $100.  Or see who can make (or can't make) a certain tough shot rail to rail.  Players gather around, wads of bills in their fists, ready to bet.

It's kinda of unheard of for no bets to be taking place during tournaments.  There's always some type of action/betting going on.

So, this should not have surprised me at all when Heather Bryant posted a video of people betting on a Roomba!!  

Talk about being creative, lol!

Her and Charlie "Hillbilly" Bryant were at the Rocket City Open in Huntsville, Alabama at Good Timez Billiards over the weekend. 

She posted a video of what was being bet on, and it was shared over 1,250 times!  

Whatever ball the Roomba makes, the person who bought that ball wins the money.  Check out the video for yourself:  Like I said, gamblers will bet on anything!

$1,000 Sets in Dallas/Fort Worth

I mentioned back in April that there is a player in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex who has played numerous $1,000 sets the last few months.

Well, I sat down with him to talk about this "situation" lol.  Before I share his responses, let's give some background and also why I'm bringing this up again:

As I said in April:

You might think this is no big deal - people gamble all the time, right?  Well, this is a cool/different thing because the matches are advertised ahead of time on Facebook.  So, we know "when, where, and with who" several weeks in advance.  And people can side bet and/or plan to come out to watch. And usually more than one set is played. 

Further, because players are already there sweating the action, of course it's natural for other players to match up too, so I've heard several matches end up being played those afternoons/evenings.

However, these $1,000 matches are being planned MUCH more often that I or others ever imagined or expected!  Here are some dates I am aware of that shows the true gravity of how often these $1,000 matches are being planned:

May 28th

May 29th

June 4th

June 5th

June 7th

June 9th

June 10th

July 8th

July 9th
July 15th 

Every one of these matches has a common theme: Alberto Nieto is one of the players in each set. Each match is a race to 18, 9-ball, for $1,000.  (well, one match is 8-ball and race to 13, but yes, still for $1,000.)

Alberto has won about 80% of all the $1,000 matches he's played this year so far.

So, let's find out more about how this got started and if it's helped him in any way with his pool game.

Alberto does not put up the $1,000 by himself.  There are about 4-5 guys who put up the money.  And it's normally the same guys every time.

How did this get started? Well, Alberto used to gamble with an owner at a certain pool room.  It was the same situation:  several guys put their money together for the set.  However, after the owner beat Alberto several times, for some reason the owner didn't want to play him anymore (didn't even give him a chance to win his money back).  So, Alberto had an idea to offer Omega Tour players of his same speed (the Tour is a handicapped Tour) to play a set for $1,000, and to have a mutual friend (Jay, nicknamed, "The Promoter") to announce the matches and offers on Facebook.

I also asked him why $1,000, why at only certain pool rooms, and why races to 18?

He said that he lives and works in a certain area and so he plays at pool rooms easiest to get to after work and still close to home.  (DFW is a large area.  Driving an hour to play a long set and then having to go to work early the next morning, Alberto figured if he offered the game and location, he would see if players would be interested.)

He didn't want the race too low for $1,000, so he set it at 18 games.  That has turned out to be a good race for $1,000 and also for focus.  I must add that there are a ton of side betting going on.  Just last weekend the rumor was about $5,000 was on the line between betters for that particular match up. Further, usually it's not just that one set played.... sometimes two to three sets are played in succession between the two players.

His (of course, as we all would expect) concentration and focus has improved these last few months. He also shared these matches have helped his nerves.  He was already a good player, but he is now more consistent on the Tour, in his matches, and also in weekly tournaments.

He said he used to gamble all the time 5-6 years ago, and wanted to start it back up.  He tried with that owner, and has now moved on and opened up the "action door" (so to speak) to almost any player in the DFW-area that is his speed.  There are a few matches where he gets the 8-ball, but normally he plays players his speed.

Just recently he announced he is looking to play $100-$200 sets, race to 9 / 11 during the week.  He wants to gamble more, but knows not everyone has $1,000 nor has time to race to 18 during the week on work days.

I personally think it's a great thing going on!  It supports pool rooms, gets players competing more, talking more crap (lol), helps their game, etc.  Many people are venturing out to watch the matches, too, which is cool (one day I'll go sweat a match - maybe the 8ball one!).  I think this is good for pool all around.  Drumming up new and exciting business is a good thing in the pool industry.

Gambling or Fun?

Lately in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, there have been several $1,000 match-ups occurring across the metroplex.

It's usually been the same guy playing each time (I'm presuming he has a backer), and he matches up with different players more than once a month.  I believe it's happened 4-5 times in the last 2-3 months.  It's a fairly new thing.

You might think this is no big deal - people gamble all the time, right?  Well, this is a cool/different thing because the matches are advertised ahead of time on Facebook.  So, we know "when, where, and with who" several weeks in advance.  And people can side bet and/or plan to come out to watch. And usually more than one set is played.

Further, because players are already there sweating the action, of course it's natural for other players to match up too, so I've heard several matches end up being played those afternoons.

On Saturday morning, I walked in to the local pool room to spar with a girlfriend.  She's going to Vegas for Nationals and she wanted to talk about 8-ball.  One of my friends happened to already be there and he hadn't seen me at this location so early on a Saturday, even tho I had been doing this for several weekends in the Fall.

So, to him it was a shock to see us: two chicks walking in with our pool cues, obviously ready to play.

And his reaction was priceless.

"Hey, uh, what are you two doing?  What's going on?"  he asked me all interested and excited.

He wanted the inside scoop and to find out what the bet was.  I told him we were just sparing for fun and talking about shots.  He seemed to get deflated lol.

I think because of all the recent match ups going on, he thought this was one as well and was all excited at first about it!

But, alas, just two friends playing the game we love.  No money being exchanged.

Poor guy - broke his heart!

Bring in Cue or Not?

I have mentioned that I am helping raise money for local pool player, Dave Faver, who has throat cancer.  The funds have helped him stay in a hotel while he gets treatment.

I talk to him usually once a day to see how he's doing, and sometimes he shares pool stories.

Here is one of them:

He's been playing pool on the road since the 80s.  He said that back then and even 20 years later, he figured out it's just best when you get in a game while on the road, to play pool using the cuestick from the wall.

While he had his own cue stick in the car, obviously if you walk in with a cue, everyone thinks this stranger can play.  If you get a game, and then go outside to get your cue, then you'd be labeled a hustler before you even hit a ball.

It's kinda crazy all the things you had to think about and consider to get games back then (heck, maybe even today in some locations, right?) when you try to gamble in a town no one knows you, huh?

Barking Gets Games

The other day, I heard about this player that was barking so much at another guy, it pissed him off so badly, he finally couldn't take it anymore and HAD to play the guy.

Normally he should get the 8ball, but he was so hot at all the barking that went on towards him for too long, his temper won and he gave in and just played even.

While the match ended up being close in the end, the player who /had/ to play because he was so riled up, ended up losing.

Days later I heard that the guy who was barking a lot told a friend of the situation.  He shared something like, "even tho I was prolly rude.... see?  He played; it works."

Interesting ploy.

There is so much to gambling and barking I don't understand, lol.

Interesting Gambling Story from 1961

I wrote a couple of days ago about someone who saw her first pool room at 4 years old, and how enamored she was by the event.

I Google the owner of the pool room, Matranga, to see what I could find about the family, and this little gem popped up:

http://www.cuke.com/dchad/writ/misc/120213-gambling.html

I am going to paste the long story here in case it disappears some day from the URL above, because it's quite a story to read about gambling in 1961:


2-13-12 - Breaking a Fifty Year Old Vow

On the next to last day of my recent stay in Fort Worth, I broke a vow fifty years old, a vow never again to gamble. Since that time five decades ago until the fifth of February this year, I have not wagered any money on a bet, on a flip of a coin, on a card game, on one of many brief stays at Reno, Tahoe, or Las Vegas, not bought a lottery ticket. I can remember one member of the poker game at David Cohen's getting angry at me when I wouldn't join in one night I'd dropped by to say hello. I have never taken advantage of sure thing bets or those I know of that are easy ways to make money because they're counter-intuitive. It's not just because of the vow. I've broken many vows. It's also because I don't have the urge to bet. I don't like competitive games. I don't like to lose but I also don't like that much to win, don't like to get the better of others, would rather not get into that whole thing. But there's also an experience behind the vow that lead me not to gamble since back then, not a penny ever - till Super Bowl Sunday this year.

I made that vow in Henry Matranga's pool hall on a hot day in the summer of 1961. I was sixteen and on the way to my grandmother's house mid afternoon. Since I was going there or by there my mother had given me five dollars to give to her mother - don't remember why - a donation, dues, debt to a yardman. On the way, rather out of the way, I dropped by the pool hall. It was a smoky old place, maybe eight tables all standard, no snooker or billiards, cold drinks and cigarettes available from machines, bad coffee, a couple of pin ball machines, bare walls, hanging florescent lights, a few chairs.

Henry sat on a stool when he wasn't up and around, was bespectacled, looked to be in his seventies, short, welterweight, strict, quiet, but not unfriendly. I remember his son Frank knew my aunt Eleanor in high school, maybe even dated. Henry knew my grandfather to say hello. Maybe that's why he let me and my friends play there even though we were under eighteen. The other customers were always older.

Matranga is an Italian name and there was a small Mafia presence in Fort Worth which at one time I'd heard had earned the nickname Little Chicago - for gambling and prostitution. Even when I was a teenager I'd hear about such things going on in town. The only thing I remember organized crime being involved with in Fort Worth was pinball and vending machines. I didn't understand why. It was hinted that some people in this pool hall were involved with the Mafia. Maybe that was all imagined ambiance but I know I never had to worry about being hassled by toughs there or even near there. I loved going to Henry's to play eight ball, rotation, and smoke.

"One quick game of rotation," I told him. "Just got a dime."

Henry racked the balls himself, quickly and tightly. A man at the next table asked if I wanted to play. I said sure.

"How about eight ball?" he said.

"OK."

Henry heard and re-racked for eight ball.

"Play for a dollar?" the man asked.

I'd seen him play there before. He was a salesman from the neighboring Montgomery Wards headquarters building. He was better than me. I've never been very good at pool.  "Loser pays," I said.

We played a game of eight ball. He won. I reached into my pocket for the dime, handed it to Henry.

"Eight ball's fifteen," he reminded me.

"Oh yeah." I reached in some more. Nothing. "Play you for a nickel," I said to the man who'd just beat me and handed Henry the five dollar bill. He gave me $4.95 in change.

It was very important that I give this five dollar bill to my grandmother. I had to win this game. My mother would not approve of me giving Granny four ones and ninety-five cents in change. Granny wouldn't like it either. This guy wasn't that much better than me. I'd almost won the game before. I lost that next game badly though. I gave Henry another fifteen cents.

I calculated. "Play you for a quarter," I said. Loser pays was understood. Needed that fiver back.
He won again. Darn. Gave Henry another fifteen cents. That left me with $4.65 and a 30 cent debt. "Play you for 65," I said. He nodded.

I almost won that game. "That's ninety-five," he said. "Wanna quit?"

"No."

Gave Henry another fifteen cents. Counted my change while he racked. Darn. If I don't get that five back Mother will kill me I thought. Granny will scold but mother might get irrational, out of hand. She's really very nice but, little things like this sometimes can ignite her (back then). Hmm. Got $4.50 and so that's 50 plus 95 equals 145. "Play you for a dollar forty-five."

He laughed. "OK."

I choked bad on that game. Was ahead and missed a super easy shot. My hand was shaking. "That's two hundred and forty pennies my friend," said the salesman. He was enjoying it. Gave Henry another fifteen cents. I had $4.35 left and owed $2.40. Sixty-five and 240 is... is 305. "How about three bucks and a nickel?" We were on.

"Rotation?" I said. Maybe another game would change my luck. Henry looked up. The salesman nodded.

He broke. He'd broken every game except the first. Winner breaks. I was sweating. I still had enough to pay up if I lost this game, But then I'd have to face the consequences at Granny's and then at home. Sounds like no big deal now. But remember inflation. According to the Inflation Calculator on DollarTimes.com, five dollars in 1961 was worth $36.77 in 2011. So it's like you gave your kid or friend or whatever forty bucks to pay a debt and they gambled it away en route. Add that to the uh... importance of attending to details and the value placed on property and money in my family, and that sweat on my brow is more understandable. Don't get me wrong. My mother was generous and not a penny pincher. She just wasn't cool with wanton waste and household misdemeanors.
Only the fifteen ball remained. I had a shot. Missed. He missed. I had a better shot. Missed. He had a difficult shot. Banked it in.

Moment of decision.

"I gotta get back to work," he said as I gave Henry a dime. The salesman was waiting for his money.

"Three o five," I said.

"No," he said. "Three o five plus the 240 from before." That's five and... forty-five."

Uh oh. Forgot to add that. I counted my change. Owed $5.45. Only had a quarter and the four bills. No. Damnit. No. Let's see. Wow. No. I don't have it. What to do. Mind blank then spinning, grasping at mental straws. Pretend I think it's in the car then come back in and apologize and bring it to him tomorrow. Embarrassing. He'll be okay. Dread to do that. And then there's still no five dollar bill for Granny. I paused looking down. Looking for excuses to bring instead of the five dollar bill, finding none.

"One more game."

"OK. One more. Then I really gotta go."

"Rotation?"

"Rack 'em Henry," he said.

Henry was already taking the balls from the wall  and placing them in the triangular rack.

"Play you for six twenty."

"Six twenty," he laughed and nodded. "You've sure got some system."

Henry looked at me and shook his head a little. I think he knew what was up.

These old tables of course weren't the type that swallow balls. In eight ball we'd leave the balls in the leather netted pockets, moving one to another pocket if it got too full. With rotation we'd line them up on the wall on narrow shelves scooped to match the form of the balls so they wouldn't roll off. His balls were on the top shelf and mine on the next. Henry had  been looking at these rows of balls for decades and could tell you the sum of your row in a glance. Naturally in rotation the player whose balls add up to the highest number wins.

I was not doing well in this game. The salesman had a bunch of balls on his shelf  I hardly had any. There were five balls left on the table, mostly the highest number balls. I was getting numb all over with fear. Fear of two women in my family and now fear of the salesman and Henry too. He didn't like any funny business in his establishment. If I lost this I'd be over eleven dollars short. A lot of money back then.

I was wishing I could walk back in the room and redo this whole scenario. If I'd just played rotation instead of eight ball the first game, I could have paid with my dime and driven off care free but no, now I'm anything but care free. I'm the polar opposite of care free. More like polar bear opposite, polar bears that can rip your face off and suck the marrow out of your bones.

"Your shot," the salesman reminded me looking at his watch.

I looked at the table. Henry walked by and looked at the balls in the rack. "Which are you?" he asked.
"I'm the lower shelf," I said.

He looked at the table. "You've got to sink every ball on the table to win," he said and walked off.
I looked at the five balls on the table. I was stuck on a cliff and they were the rocks below. I heard the winds of panic rustling. I felt the like crying, like collapsing. But I didn't. I gathered myself. I pulled in all my forces. I spoke directly then to the highest on high mind of mind, and I prayed sincerely.
When most people think of prayer, I gather they think it's something you do to some other being somewhere that has power, usually a supreme being that has all the power and one asks that supreme being for whatever one wants. Please let me live, I don't want to die, for instance. I had a comparable feeling, but I wasn't raised on that type of prayer. I was raised on prayer being rooted in one's oneness with absolute perfect mind that was the one core truth of life, life beyond the material universe. So I didn't say, please god, let me win. I just directed a most sincere request as high, as deep, as subtle, as intimate as I could, and said silently in my mind, "If I sink all five of these balls, I will never gamble again."

Without pausing to reflect on the significance of the moment, I rubbed the green chalk cube on the round leather cue tip,  put my left hand on the white chalk cone and shook off the excess, placed that hand on the table with the business tip of the cue stick slid through the ring created by index finger and thumb resting on middle finger splayed out with the other two, sighted the ball with the lowest number, and pulled back my right hand which gripped the butt of the cue. All the fear and trembling dropped away. Just about everything dropped away except for my ability to stand, hold the pool cue and shoot.

This recent Super Bowl Sunday a few friends came over to mother's house in Fort Worth. Carl brought fajitas he'd made at home. Warren brought a salad and chips. Jackie brought a raw vegetable assortment with dip. John showed up - I told him not to bring anything. Jerry dropped by. Mother sat with us. We talked. Warren was in the kitchen getting the salad tossed and tortilla chips with cheese heated. Carl got out a piece of paper and drew horizontal and vertical lines. It was a Super Bowl pool. Each square represented a meeting place of two different scores. Each square cost a dime. There were lots of empty squares. To heck with it. I didn't want to be a Super Bowl pool pooper. I went to my room and got eight dimes, threw them in the hat and marked eight squares with DC. I lost it all.
It's been a good vow. I'm still thankful for it.

Staying Under the Radar

I got a call from Billiards Digest (well, the magazine itself didn't call me lol), and they wondered if I had a recommendation for their Spotlight Player of the Month.

I immediately thought of someone and they contacted him to set up an interview. 

The interview date and time came and went, and next you know I'm getting called because they can't get a hold of the guy anymore. 

Turns out the guy chickened out.  Although he appreciated the opportunity and that he was chosen, he wants to remain under the radar for future potential gambling purposes.

While part of me understands this, the other part of me doesn't.  I think it's a huge compliment and how COOL is it to be interviewed and then printed in a magazine! 

But, I suppose if you play pool for a living and gamble at tournaments, you wouldn't want your name in lights. 

I Gambled

I gambled the other night. 

Yes, I'm just as surprised as you all are, lol.

I met a friend at a local pool room and while I was sitting there, an ex league mate was egging on this guy to play me. 

I don't know who the guy was, he didn't know me.  I offered him the breaks and he offered me the 8 ball playing 9-ball on a diamond bar table.  I heard he was good on the bar table, but I happen to love diamond bar tables.  :)

He asked, "since we don't know each other, do you want to play for $5 or $10 a game?"

I reply, "$10 is fine."

I had $50 on me and I decided that amount would be my limit to try to play this guy.

I had to borrow a cue!  I had no idea I'd be playing pool, or even be in a pool room this night, much less gambling lol.

We went back and forth for a long time, and even my league mate made fun of me because I wasn't pulling ahead or he saw that I was down a game a lot, lol.

Eventually, a few hours later, I pulled six games ahead and he quit, and I won $60.

But what's more important about this story is how GOOD it felt to play because I played really good.  A few people watching said to me, "I had no idea you played that well."  LOL. 

Sometimes I think that is the coolest thing to hear.  :)

No Love for Pool

Boy pool is definitely not mainstream like golf, tennis or basketball, is it?

Because pool is not on TV it's very easy for even pros to walk into a pool room or bar or even a league event and gamble with not many people recognizing them.

This could never happen with basketball players or golfers or even tennis stars.

Last year one of my friends, a pro, who actually played on the Mosconi Cup, was able to walk into an APA event in Vegas and gamble because not many people recognized him and knew who he was.  A couple of times some people would walk by and say, "hey, hi xxxxx!"  Even with players hearing his first name and seeing people be excited, they still didn't realize or recognize who they were playing or who they were watching.

Pool is very popular in Asia and Europe.   It's on TV more there and the players are even written up in local gossip magazines if they do something crazy or whatever, but here in the US the idea that pros can walk into a venue without anyone knowing or recognizing who they are and be able to gamble is really kind of sad.

I'm sure this happens with golfers on small courses or with semi- famous tennis players on some remote tennis court, but because this can happen with pro pool players at a national league event, really tells the state of the sport, imo.

I wonder if in my lifetime pool will be mainstream. I don't know if many of you know that pool used to be on ABC Wide World of Sports pretty regularly. I would love to be able to talk to someone at ABC and ask them why did y'all stop covering pool?  I'd be very interested to see what the reason was.

The Mind of a Gambler

Last night during league, this guy walks up to one of my teammates and asks, "Is this a tournament?"

My teammate responds with, "No, this is league.  We'll be done in about 30 minutes."

I immediately say under my breathe, "You're suppose to ask if he wants to gamble.  Uh,hello."

Funny how I see things differently now after spending time with someone who gambles and gets games lol.

Here's the deal:

If a guy is asking if it's a tourney or league, then he doesn't really know what is going on and prolly LOVES the game and would maybe want to shoot a little bit for $20 or maybe even $50.  Who knows if you don't ask!

Perfect opportunity lost. 

And why didn't I ask the guy to play some?  Because I'm shy and an introvert with people I don't know.  But if I was a hungry for a game to gamble, I would have asked and stepped out of my shell.

Put In The Box

Last week I was out of town for work and my Partner In Crime (PIC) and I went to the local pool room.  The town was very small and so there was only one pool room.

League was just about over and my PIC was able to get a game with one of the league players.  After he won (one set for $200), somehow scotch doubles came up and it was agreed we would do a race to 5 for $200.  But then right before we started, they wanted to raise the bet to $300.

Okay.  We're game.

I was trying to impress my PIC and so I didn't play too well.  What sucked it, coaching was allowed, but I wanted to impress him so instead of asking what I should do, I went for some shots and got him bad shape a few times.  Ooops.

But we still won 5-2. 

After that match, one of the scotch doubles players of the other team came up to my PIC and offered to play me for $160 for a race to 5, again in 9 ball.

I agreed to play and I think I surprised my opponent because I played much much better sparring with him, than when I played scotch doubles.  He didn't know I played decent because it didn't show up in doubles.

I felt pretty good being put in the box and having the faith from my PIC.  He can read players well and even though we didn't know our opponents, he knew it would be a good match up for me.

A few days later I was put in the box again, this time in another state on a nine foot table playing 8 ball. I won the first game for $50 but then lost the next two and was down $50.  My PIC suggested I not play anymore because it was too tough of a game, but it was still cool again to be put in the box. Especially since I hardly ever gamble;  much less gamble strangers.

Gambling Versus Tournament Play

We have all heard how gambling and tournament play differ. 

I'm sure you have heard of the gambler who gambled for years and then decided to play in tournaments?   Well, they may be one the best gamblers, but then they enter a tourney and they don't place too high.

At first.

It takes time to see the difference and feel the difference and deal with the differences.  Not many gamblers went straight to tourneys and won.   It takes time figure it all out.

Races are shorter in tournament play.  You don't get a second chance if you lose a match.  You can't just say, "flip it" and play another set in tournament play.  You also can't just keep playing all night and try to get your money back.  Further, you also don't decide ahead of time who you get to/want to play.

And the reverse is true.   Going from tourney play to gambling.  When you do this, you suddenly see you may HAVE to play all night.  Or, you are pinned to play another set. In tournament play, it's one match.  Not so in gambling. 

Gambling also involves many outside factors.   Tourney play is scheduled and under certain conditions, time restraints, and most of the time professionalism.   Gambling can lead to big arguments,  people stiffing you, people watching and being rude, your opponent acting up, not getting paid, and long nights.

It's a whole different mind frame and going from one to the another (if you have not experienced one or the other before) takes time and patience.

I'm not saying one is better.  I know several guys who ONLY play high stakes, long sets gambling and could care less about ever playing in a tournament again.  Whereas I know another guy who LOVEs tourneys and will never gamble, even though he's asked all the time.

Gambling Details

I mentioned I had gambled earlier in January and wanted to provide more details, just in case you wondered how it went, since I didn't say how the night ended up in my previous blog entry.  I mostly talked about one aspect - dealing with negativity.

Per our contract, my opponent and I (a guy) were suppose to play $300 sets, 6 ahead, 9-ball on a 9-foot table. 

However, I didn't come to the pool room this particular night to gamble.  Since I was so unprepared and hadn't even thought I would be gambling, I knew my chances would be better on the Diamond bar table.

He finally agreed to play on the Diamond bar table and he came up with the wager:  $25 a game.  I said yes.

Long story short, we broke even after about 2 1/2 hours.

If you don't want the details, go ahead and stop reading now, lol.

I had just finished eating with friends before I walked in the poolroom, so my tummy was full.  I could tell I was also a little dehydrated, so I drank a lot of water, as we played.

I could feel my heart racing from the blood focusing on digesting my food, and me drinking a lot of water.

But, I played well.

Well, I played good.

HOWEVER - I'm the first to admit I got a lot of rolls.

We went back and forth for many many games and I never even got above 2 ahead in an hour.  Nor did he, though.

He played real good safes, but I also kick well.

It was actually a joy to play!  I LOVE me some Diamond bar tables and I play good on them because I know their speed (fast).

I noticed I was taking my time and REALLY focusing on 3-ball shape.  He prolly thought I took too long walking around the table, actually, but honestly, it's helps me to look ahead where I need to be on that bright blue, lovely canvas.  :)

I made a few really great outs (the one I wrote about before), and with some rolls, I found myself ahead by 4 after about an hour and a half.  I honestly thought he was going to quit when he got down $100, but he kept on.

I also though he should quit because I was getting so many rolls in this match up.  It would have been different another day and I thought he should stop playing.  I asked when we got to even again did he want to quit and he said no.  So, we kept playing.

I was too hot to play anymore and recognized that I needed to quit.

It was also VERY smokey in the room.

There were a lot of factors that led me to wanting to quit, even though I was playing well and enjoying playing on the Diamond bar table.

At one point, he played a good safe on the 9-ball (trying to freeze the cueball to it and the rail) and my safe back was not good and I sold out.  Afterwards, he told me how I should have played safe back.  I was thinking, "Are you kidding me?  Giving me advice?"  lol.

At one point later in the night, he got up two games, and I got nervous about it, but I got it back to even.  You see, I could tell I was losing focus, tired, and too hot to play.  I needed to quit soon at even, or else I would find MYSELF down $100 because I was getting tired and may not be able to get back to even.

I finally told him when we got back to even again I had to quit.

I hadn't really gambled that long in many months (well, I hardly ever gamble anyway), and so it was a tester for sure.

I am glad I got good play in, though!  It felt great!