Some Kind of Gambling Etiquette, Please!

[cincyman]

Like they say, I feel your pain. I think the only answer is to play a longer race for more $$, and then you probably won't get played at all. I have been trying to drum up some action on another thread, and the only legitimate response that I received was frrom an out of state player and I have to wait a few weeks to play. I have always been some of the best action in any pool room I played at. Won't lose a fortune, but will gamble and not quit after a few games. I played a world beater with some weight for $50 a game and he quit after losing two games. So now I'm giving odds on the money too, so the next few times we played, we played races to 4 (one pocket) for more $$. I didn't end up winning, but at least I was getting a better gamble for my $$. Just my chance to join the rant about the action out there these days. John Henderson

Ok OK OK i understand your some kind of great guy, but all i can say is if you want to whine about gambling dont gamble. I gamble and i have gambled high and gambled low and guess what one thing i did every time when finished was shake the guys hand afterward. I didnt complain and say "oh now i gotta give odds on the money" if you dont like it dont gamble. You especially have to know most and i mean not all but most pool players gamblers are for lack of a better term "dishonest" so my question is why would you even put yourself in that position. I am not being rude but sooooooooo tired of hearing all these old timers and young people cry about gambling and whine when someone quits or when they will only play a certain game or certain place. You fly to cincy and i will play even one pocket for a hundred or 2 a game on a saturday or friday night and play all night and lose or win and i will do it quietly and i will shake your hand after and buy you a beer and talk about pool. I just literally get so tired of the same old s##t.

 

[easy-e]

They were playing races to seven for three hundred, and I have to say it was pretty exciting to watch. These guys both play very offensive run and gun style. I couldn't believe the guy pulled up after losing the eighth set (after winning seven in a row). He just said, "you're getting into stroke, time for me to quit." I thought the guy would kill him. His face turned red and he just sat down. The guy didn't even catch his $17 pool time. Wild, huh?

Now that is a bad move. If I quit winner, I will always cover the table time, and usually offer to buy the guy a beer. I like people way more than money.

 

[Craig Fales]

They were playing races to seven for three hundred, and I have to say it was pretty exciting to watch. These guys both play very offensive run and gun style. I couldn't believe the guy pulled up after losing the eighth set (after winning seven in a row). He just said, "you're getting into stroke, time for me to quit." I thought the guy would kill him. His face turned red and he just sat down. The guy didn't even catch his $17 pool time. Wild, huh?

That's someone who won't be getting much more action...

 

[oncepkt]

UP front. It went into three different pockets, also. Brutal.

Yeah, I'd say that was brutal. I've rarely played 9 ball the past few years (onepkt now) but I recall moving the spot ball(s) around when he broke it in.

 

[AZE]

I don't see the big deal. He might have just noticed that he had to go.
I've quit on a bunch of cheap sets, up or down, because I had to leave, or just plan didn't feel like playing anymore. Usually I'll offer a quick way for them to win their money back, or lose double (i.e. one game).
Don't sweat it, let the kid feel like he's robbing you - now you can give less weight. Or if it's that much of a hassle, then just don't play him. No need to get upset over it...

On to your question, I do think that the whole 'give me weight' has killed the game a little. And I'm sure it keeps a lot of players from getting better - but it might also add more interest in the game.. people who can't run 4 balls like the game a whole lot more because they can make a score and get hooked on the game by getting the 6-out.. so it, like most things in life, has it's goods and bads.

 

[crawfish]

excellent point

I don't see the big deal. He might have just noticed that he had to go.
I've quit on a bunch of cheap sets, up or down, because I had to leave, or just plan didn't feel like playing anymore. Usually I'll offer a quick way for them to win their money back, or lose double (i.e. one game).
Don't sweat it, let the kid feel like he's robbing you - now you can give less weight. Or if it's that much of a hassle, then just don't play him. No need to get upset over it...

On to your question, I do think that the whole 'give me weight' has killed the game a little. And I'm sure it keeps a lot of players from getting better - but it might also add more interest in the game.. people who can't run 4 balls like the game a whole lot more because they can make a score and get hooked on the game by getting the 6-out.. so it, like most things in life, has it's goods and bads.

It does make more people, that otherwise wouldn't, play. I wasn't inflamed by this isolated incident, just what pool action has become.

 

[crawfish]

Then why are you reading this?

Ok OK OK i understand your some kind of great guy, but all i can say is if you want to whine about gambling dont gamble. I gamble and i have gambled high and gambled low and guess what one thing i did every time when finished was shake the guys hand afterward. I didnt complain and say "oh now i gotta give odds on the money" if you dont like it dont gamble. You especially have to know most and i mean not all but most pool players gamblers are for lack of a better term "dishonest" so my question is why would you even put yourself in that position. I am not being rude but sooooooooo tired of hearing all these old timers and young people cry about gambling and whine when someone quits or when they will only play a certain game or certain place. You fly to cincy and i will play even one pocket for a hundred or 2 a game on a saturday or friday night and play all night and lose or win and i will do it quietly and i will shake your hand after and buy you a beer and talk about pool. I just literally get so tired of the same old s##t.

It's conversation that is normally in the poolroom;but, since we're not in the poolroom, we're having it online. When we leave work, we'll have this same conversation in the pool rooms. It's just talk. A way to vent. A way to pass the time. Whatever it is, it's just a thought on the differences of today and the past. By the way, nobody's really crying here any more than you'll hear at a local ranked tournament. Hey, since you're from Cincy, whatever happened to Tony Mougey? I played him a couple of times down South.

 

[DawgAndy]

My comments were that the pool world is entirely different.

It ain't just the pool world man. Just play the next set for what he is up, win one set and quit. And never think about him again.

Andy

 

[cincyman]

tony mougey was not from cincy but from toledo or cleveland about four hours north of cincy,, but i know him fairly well and saw him at a tourny in cincy about 5 months ago.. He still plays and is a great guy but plays no where near the speed he used to. He used to be a threat to beat any champion in a tournament and occaisionally did but know i would say he plays about a shortstop speed maybe worse. I also saw him at the derby and he finished pretty well in the bank after losing his very first match. Know any west virginia guys by chance i have played alot of them

 

[crawfish]

Yeah, I played in a poolroom in Weston

tony mougey was not from cincy but from toledo or cleveland about four hours north of cincy,, but i know him fairly well and saw him at a tourny in cincy about 5 months ago.. He still plays and is a great guy but plays no where near the speed he used to. He used to be a threat to beat any champion in a tournament and occaisionally did but know i would say he plays about a shortstop speed maybe worse. I also saw him at the derby and he finished pretty well in the bank after losing his very first match. Know any west virginia guys by chance i have played alot of them

I played one of the guys in Weston (outside of Phillippi) some hundred a game nineball. Scott? Maybe. He owned or ran one of the mines. It was pretty sweet. Not any others I can think of right off hand. Yeah, that Tony used to hit'em pretty sporty. We went in on some eight handed $50 roller ball, once.

 

[ironman]

Maybe I'm just old or something. This kind of sh#$ just pisses me off. Last night I played one of these league kids and gave up the nuts. He always talks about getting better and working hard, etc. After being talked into playing APA ( and I do mean talked into), I came on this kid in the match. I beat him. Played horrible, but still beat him. So.... he's over there "high fivin'" his girl and buddies about how close he came to knocking me off. Also, let's say that I am 4-0 giving this kid the six and the break. I've been down four sets and came back before with this guy. Anyway... I offered the kid the four and the break for some cheap sets. Of course he jumps up. He beats me 5-1 and has me 4-0 in the second set, and says, "I can only play until 10:30." It's 10:18 when this comes out. Man, I know I'm forty, but if I'd have done that back in the day, getting the four and the break, I'd have been laughed out of the poolroom. By the way, I had missed only one makeable ball, so let's say that the kid can play. When I've been down, I kept plugging away with him plenty of times. Maybe he needed to look good in front of his friends or something. I don't know. But, how can you look good in this situation. Plus, I'd have let him win at least four sets, and to be honest, I'd have had to outrun a losing game. This whole scenario just reminded me of why the older generation had more respect for the gambling. You'd never see someone get up on someone and just say, "I'm done." You'd get your a@@ kicked. I guess the times are a changin'. Pool is different, now. Money. Period. You hardly ever see someone want to be moved to an "A" player position. I wish some of these young kids could have seen pool in it's prime, 70's and 80's, early nineties. Okay, I'm done. I got the move put on me. I'm just plain old getting too old for this.

You know, I guess you are right, WE are getting too old for this. Things have changed andd they are not going back.

I stopped by a local 9-ball tournament Saturday night and they all were out and chirping like a bunch of coo koo birds. Give me this, give me that. I'll bet high when one asked for the 6 and the break. I asked what high was and he 10 ahead for a hundred. I hadn't played my first match and wanted to leave. Instead I simply said no thank you and he turned to his nit buddy and said, pops is scared.

They are eveerywhere and absolutely clueless as to where anyone has been. They talk the talk and pee their pants when it comes time to walk the walk. Whats funny is I never, never ask any of these guys to do anything. Things went to hell in a hand basket when i quit doing dope.

 

[Eddie4269]

You know, I guess you are right, WE are getting too old for this. Things have changed andd they are not going back.

I stopped by a local 9-ball tournament Saturday night and they all were out and chirping like a bunch of coo koo birds. Give me this, give me that. I'll bet high when one asked for the 6 and the break. I asked what high was and he 10 ahead for a hundred. I hadn't played my first match and wanted to leave. Instead I simply said no thank you and he turned to his nit buddy and said, pops is scared.

They are eveerywhere and absolutely clueless as to where anyone has been. They talk the talk and pee their pants when it comes time to walk the walk. Whats funny is I never, never ask any of these guys to do anything. Things went to hell in a hand basket when i quit doing dope.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but you guys need to man-up and quit being whiney gamblers. Step up to the plate and take responsibility for your own actions.

1. You can't engage in "friendly gambling" with people who aren't your friends.

2. It's YOUR responsibility to let your opponent know exactly what YOU expect of him. In the example you give this is especially true since you were a) the person who woofed and b) the more experienced gambler.

3. The only rules are a) play fair b) pay if you lose and c) collect if you win.

If you're going to complain about the "kids" today not acting like they did back in the "old" days, then you too had better act like a gambler with some heart would have acted back then. What is with the "no thank you" to the nit wanting to bet "high" at 10 ahead for a Cecil? You walk away? Show some heart man! Throw a G on the table and tell him to come up with some bank or shut up when grown men are in the pool room. You won't get the game, but at least after that the little nit bastards will leave you alone.

 

[VIProfessor]

I guess some people will never be able to understand that hustler or not, there is a certain code of conduct that goes along with being a player. Such, I suppose, is the sad state of the world that we live in.

 

[whitey2]

great thread

This is a great thread. I remember reading McGoorty where there is a part where a friend comes
up to him and says that there is a player that just walked in, and if you lose the first game for
$2, you can win at least $10 from him. Well, the guy of course wins the first game and quits.

Yes, there are many types of folks out there, and they all have their own values and beliefs about
what is fair or expected.

 

[bigdaddygerald]

honorable thing to do

I had hyperextended my elbow about a week before my buddy backed me in a game with a fellow from a couple of towns over. the game wasnt my idea but i agreed to play on a backers dime.
i was up 4 sets and was breaking when my elbow "popped". it hurt some thing fierce and i new i was done. i had never played this guy before so i explained the situation and told him he had 4 sets to go.
he suggested we do 2 sets for double and i agreed , i lost both bad and he paid time. my backer just nodded and said i did the right thing giving him the chance to get even.
i would never quit up short notice without a good personal reason or the opponent was an a$$.

p.s. im a seven in the apa and will take the 4 and the breaks from any body in the world....thats way to much weight

 

[jrhendy]

Ok OK OK i understand your some kind of great guy, but all i can say is if you want to whine about gambling dont gamble. I gamble and i have gambled high and gambled low and guess what one thing i did every time when finished was shake the guys hand afterward. I didnt complain and say "oh now i gotta give odds on the money" if you dont like it dont gamble. You especially have to know most and i mean not all but most pool players gamblers are for lack of a better term "dishonest" so my question is why would you even put yourself in that position. I am not being rude but sooooooooo tired of hearing all these old timers and young people cry about gambling and whine when someone quits or when they will only play a certain game or certain place. You fly to cincy and i will play even one pocket for a hundred or 2 a game on a saturday or friday night and play all night and lose or win and i will do it quietly and i will shake your hand after and buy you a beer and talk about pool. I just literally get so tired of the same old s##t.

I was going to make a long response to your thread, but it would sound too much like whining. If you do gamble, you don't quite get it and I'll never be able to explain it to you. The oldtimer.

 

[Deadon]

Crawfish...

While I feel your pain, and somewhat agree with you, I have to note a couple of things.

1. As an offical member of the old pool players club, I have to say you haven't been playing long enough to use "back in the day". If you were playing the 60's or 70s, when there was real action, I would give you the cred.

2. I always considered losing money to someone that I saw on a regular basis was like putting it in the bank regardless of when they, or I quit. Shake their hand, tell them how good they play now and wait for the next time you see them. Get your money back and more. Local guys for cheaps sets should always be friendly, so who cares when someone quits. Regular gambling rules do not always apply. Someone else, maybe a different case.

Cincyman;

I heard John was at Southwest buying a ticket earlier today.... Just kidding. I think he was only adding to the thread, I have never heard him whine, unlike many others. He's a classy guy and a sporty player. But I do agree with you about that, but disagree about the dishonesty part.

Mike

 

[vagabond]

tony mougey was not from cincy but from toledo or cleveland about four hours north of cincy,, but i know him fairly well and saw him at a tourny in cincy about 5 months ago.. He still plays and is a great guy but plays no where near the speed he used to. He used to be a threat to beat any champion in a tournament and occaisionally did but know i would say he plays about a shortstop speed maybe worse. I also saw him at the derby and he finished pretty well in the bank after losing his very first match. Know any west virginia guys by chance i have played alot of them

In the yester years he won a big tournament in chatanooga, TN and after that he did not win any biggies.He was not a short stop and he played pro speed.

 

[justnum]

As a newbie in the pool hall I still do not understand this idea of gambling.

I play in a pool league. And I do not want to gamble. I just want to enjoy my free time. If you don't gamble its like you have a disease and no one wants to be around you.

 

[Pushout]

This is a great thread. I remember reading McGoorty where there is a part where a friend comes
up to him and says that there is a player that just walked in, and if you lose the first game for
$2, you can win at least $10 from him. Well, the guy of course wins the first game and quits.

Yes, there are many types of folks out there, and they all have their own values and beliefs about
what is fair or expected.

"He's in the can! He's in the can!"