Am I wrong for not playing for more cheese?

Wazuela

Wazuela

Future World Beater
Silver Member
I was practicing tonight at my local pool hall when I was approached by Tom Selleck. Well, he resembled him a lot, a little chubbier though. But anyways he asked me if I wanted to play for $1 or $5 a game. We agreed on $5 a game playing 8-ball of which I win the first 2. The whole time were playing he is constantly talking-- about how drunk he is, how he doesn't play on 9 footers only barboxes, how this is his first time in Orlando, and was even trying to persuade random people to bet money on me.

So I win the first 2 and he wants to up the wager. I'm a little leery when playing people I don't know, simply because their speed is unknown. He wants to play race to 5 for $50. I told him no, same bet. After all he approached me-- I was busy working on drills, not looking for a money game! Plus the fact he was running his mouth so much made me not want to play him.
Anyways he gets mad because I don't want to play a race for $50. That it's no fun for him, that I whooped his ass the first 2 games therefore it makes no sense for me not to play him. I tell him my table, my bet, and if he doesn't like it to go elsewhere like Jimmys Billiards where there's always action.

He walks off, talks to his buddies, returns and wants to play race to 5 for $20. I don't really want to play him at all, but proper etiquette is to allow him a chance to win his money back, right? So I agree. The whole time he's still jackin his jaws. I win the first 2 and now he wants to raise the bet. I told him no, finish the set first and then we'll talk. Again he gets mad saying this sucks, that we're playing for $4 a game and he's not having fun. I ignore it and go on to win the set 5-0.

I figured now he was going to raise the stakes, but surprisingly he said double or nothing. I agree, but we didn't finish; it was closing time. He goes on to tell me he was waiting on me to agree to a large bet so he could grab his cue from his car and that he makes over $100,000 a year so he doesn't care about losing to me.

As I finish typing this I realize now that I should have played for more $. The thing is the guy played pretty good. Made most shots, played decent shape, but then he dogged a couple 8-balls. So I was uncertain if he was missing on purpose and whether or not he was playing his true speed.

So am I wrong for not playing for more cheese?
Does this mean I have no heart?
 
remember The Wizard of Oz??

Best I recall the Tin Man was looking for a heart, the Scarecrow was looking for a brain. It's a good idea to have and use both.

Most guys like him are talking out their butt and when he tightened up you would have still beaten him. However, it is always a bad idea to let someone take you outside your comfort zone. You were already out your zone just to play him when he seemed annoying to play with. I think at that particular time you called it right. You will almost certainly beat him with your head in a different place though.

Hu


Wazuela said:
I was practicing tonight at my local pool hall when I was approached by Tom Selleck. Well, he resembled him a lot, a little chubbier though. But anyways he asked me if I wanted to play for $1 or $5 a game. We agreed on $5 a game playing 8-ball of which I win the first 2. The whole time were playing he is constantly talking-- about how drunk he is, how he doesn't play on 9 footers only barboxes, how this is his first time in Orlando, and was even trying to persuade random people to bet money on me.

So I win the first 2 and he wants to up the wager. I'm a little leery when playing people I don't know, simply because their speed is unknown. He wants to play race to 5 for $50. I told him no, same bet. After all he approached me-- I was busy working on drills, not looking for a money game! Plus the fact he was running his mouth so much made me not want to play him.
Anyways he gets mad because I don't want to play a race for $50. That it's no fun for him, that I whooped his ass the first 2 games therefore it makes no sense for me not to play him. I tell him my table, my bet, and if he doesn't like it to go elsewhere like Jimmys Billiards where there's always action.

He walks off, talks to his buddies, returns and wants to play race to 5 for $20. I don't really want to play him at all, but proper etiquette is to allow him a chance to win his money back, right? So I agree. The whole time he's still jackin his jaws. I win the first 2 and now he wants to raise the bet. I told him no, finish the set first and then we'll talk. Again he gets mad saying this sucks, that we're playing for $4 a game and he's not having fun. I ignore it and go on to win the set 5-0.

I figured now he was going to raise the stakes, but surprisingly he said double or nothing. I agree, but we didn't finish; it was closing time. He goes on to tell me he was waiting on me to agree to a large bet so he could grab his cue from his car and that he makes over $100,000 a year so he doesn't care about losing to me.

As I finish typing this I realize now that I should have played for more $. The thing is the guy played pretty good. Made most shots, played decent shape, but then he dogged a couple 8-balls. So I was uncertain if he was missing on purpose and whether or not he was playing his true speed.

So am I wrong for not playing for more cheese?
Does this mean I have no heart?
Click to expand...
 
right chouce

when a player is in a money game and losing if he is giving u his best game he will ask for some weight.not to increase the bet.it seems to me
that when a player starts a set then wants to stop set and double the bet,that is a good sign that player knows that he has a big edge in the game. I say you for sure made the right choice and saved the cheese for
a later game.
 
Wazuela said:
I was practicing tonight at my local pool hall when I was approached by Tom Selleck. Well, he resembled him a lot, a little chubbier though. But anyways he asked me if I wanted to play for $1 or $5 a game. We agreed on $5 a game playing 8-ball of which I win the first 2. The whole time were playing he is constantly talking-- about how drunk he is, how he doesn't play on 9 footers only barboxes, how this is his first time in Orlando, and was even trying to persuade random people to bet money on me.

So I win the first 2 and he wants to up the wager. I'm a little leery when playing people I don't know, simply because their speed is unknown. He wants to play race to 5 for $50. I told him no, same bet. After all he approached me-- I was busy working on drills, not looking for a money game! Plus the fact he was running his mouth so much made me not want to play him.
Anyways he gets mad because I don't want to play a race for $50. That it's no fun for him, that I whooped his ass the first 2 games therefore it makes no sense for me not to play him. I tell him my table, my bet, and if he doesn't like it to go elsewhere like Jimmys Billiards where there's always action.

He walks off, talks to his buddies, returns and wants to play race to 5 for $20. I don't really want to play him at all, but proper etiquette is to allow him a chance to win his money back, right? So I agree. The whole time he's still jackin his jaws. I win the first 2 and now he wants to raise the bet. I told him no, finish the set first and then we'll talk. Again he gets mad saying this sucks, that we're playing for $4 a game and he's not having fun. I ignore it and go on to win the set 5-0.

I figured now he was going to raise the stakes, but surprisingly he said double or nothing. I agree, but we didn't finish; it was closing time. He goes on to tell me he was waiting on me to agree to a large bet so he could grab his cue from his car and that he makes over $100,000 a year so he doesn't care about losing to me.

As I finish typing this I realize now that I should have played for more $. The thing is the guy played pretty good. Made most shots, played decent shape, but then he dogged a couple 8-balls. So I was uncertain if he was missing on purpose and whether or not he was playing his true speed.

So am I wrong for not playing for more cheese?
Does this mean I have no heart?
Click to expand...

I'd say you made the right call. That whole business of him wanting to raise the bet during the middle of the set would set off some warning alarms in my head. Sounds like you used your head to me.
 
This guy was either a "tool" or a really bad hustler as he should have been keeping track of the time and realized the place would close soon so i better get the money now! Im leaning more towards him being a tool though. And definitaly full of sh&^ sayin he makes 100,000 a yr hustlin $20 sets! LOL!
 
you win

Don't fret about lost opportunities. You played, you won. End of story.
Celebrate.:wink:
 
you blew it,if you don't play for more when you are winning ,when will you.what you view as discretion is not,quit looking out for what might happen,Play,if you lose a bet or two so what ,but what if you win $20,000 or $100,000.Chances like this only come along so often

You won what $50,the worst you could have don is lose what $50 back,or $100 more,but now you will never know.

The truth is very few hustlers are out there who will let a stranger win a few games in order to jack the bet,and those few have the line on the sucker beforehand.In other words they know that the intended score has a history of big losses.Do you have such a history?No,then the chances are about 100 to 1 you let a good oppportunity get away and if you continue with your present philosophy how will you ever win a big score?

I suggest you either quit gambling or get some more heart,gamble,aggressiveness.

If it continues to disturb you,what might have been?then next time find out,now there will be different opinions but I have been in this position hundreds of times,won thousands,and yes lost a few hundred when I ran into Mike Massey 30 years ago and Louie Roberts and such ,but if you win thousands and lose hundreds you come out ahead in the long run.I suggest that everyone who thinks you did the right thing has never won a big score and certainly not many
 
Last edited:
CocoboloCowboy said:
Maybe you have for love for Pool, than Gambling in Pool. nothing wrong with that IMHO.:wink:
Click to expand...

Yes my son this means you have no heart. You must pack up your cues and case and tip tools, extra chalk, pool videos, accustats videos, instructional books, and ship them to me now. It's ok stuff like this happens all the time. LOL! only kidding of course! The question just struck me funny, i pictured someone laying on the operating table lookin up at the doc, and asking does this mean i ain't gonna make it doc?
 
stay in your comfort zone

if i am gambling with my money i would play what i want to play , not what someone else wants me to play. i think you did the right thing. he may have been whining 'cause it wasn't going his way. either his hustle didn't work or he may have been trying to "throw" your game off by playing for what you didn't want to. or he may have been whining 'cause he was a punk *****.
 
BigDaddyInc. said:
Yes my son this means you have no heart. You must pack up your cues and case and tip tools, extra chalk, pool videos, accustats videos, instructional books, and ship them to me now. It's ok stuff like this happens all the time. LOL! only kidding of course!
Click to expand...

Here is mine,
Heart.gif
 
BigDaddyInc. said:
This guy was either a "tool" or a really bad hustler as he should have been keeping track of the time and realized the place would close soon so i better get the money now! Im leaning more towards him being a tool though. And definitaly full of sh&^ sayin he makes 100,000 a yr hustlin $20 sets! LOL!
Click to expand...

I go for "tool". No hustler waits til closing time to make any kind of a move. I suppose he could conceivably have fully intended from the beginning to leave as a loser that night but he wouldn't have done that unless he had very good reason to expect he can make his score the next day or the day after. It doesn't sound like he could have had any reasonable cause to think that his opponent or any spectators in this case were ripe for future bigger pickings. As Wazuela explained there's a busier other gambling room not too far away.

Wazuela didn't actually say the guy clamed to be making $100k per year from pool. I read that bit to just mean the guy was saying he was earning $100k in some job unconnected with pool and that pool gambling for $50's therefore didn't mean that much to him.....and even if he did mean it the way you read it no genuine hustler is going to volunteer information that he was earning good money from pool, so your instinct on "full of it" is possibly right though not necessarily for the right reasons lol.
 
No hustler in his right mind does ...

You can't be sure of that
,I remember being at the golf course one day with some of my salesmen,a man approached one and asked him to gamble,my friend said I don't but my friend,me,does
the guy says you want to gamble or some such thing.I said "sure" he asks how good do you play? I say"Iam about the best player who ever comes here ,but I have a $100 minimum bet"He says ok,and this old guy with him says I'll play for $100 also and i will only play with 5 clubs. So I take the bets and off we go.Now this was in 1973 and $100 was a fairly big bet ,about $1000 in todays money.

At the end of the day I had won every cent the guy had and his clubs and shoes,the other guy couldn't even make a bogey,absolutely terrible player.

The point is when I said "I am the best player to ever play here" it was too much for them ,they just knew I was a bragger and they had to show me up.So you never know what a good gambler might or might not do, I always prefer to act as if I think I am good,after i win,I can say"Well I told you"
 
deanoc said:
No hustler in his right mind does ...

You can't be sure of that
,I remember being at the golf course one day with some of my salesmen,a man approached one and asked him to gamble,my friend said I don't but my friend,me,does
the guy says you want to gamble or some such thing.I said "sure" he asks how good do you play? I say"Iam about the best player who ever comes here ,but I have a $100 minimum bet"He says ok,and this old guy with him says I'll play for $100 also and i will only play with 5 clubs. So I take the bets and off we go.Now this was in 1973 and $100 was a fairly big bet ,about $1000 in todays money.

At the end of the day I had won every cent the guy had and his clubs and shoes,the other guy couldn't even make a bogey,absolutely terrible player.

The point is when I said "I am the best player to ever play here" it was too much for them ,they just knew I was a bragger and they had to show me up.So you never know what a good gambler might or might not do, I always prefer to act as if I think I am good,after i win,I can say"Well I told you"
Click to expand...

I'll need two a side sir.... :grin: I'm easily 4 strokes worse than the BEST to play anywhere.
 
Last edited:
Nice thread....

To me this guy sounds like a headache... If you don't mind headaches you could have bet it up and seen his true speed and maybe made a score. But if you are not a seasoned gambler this guys annoying antics would have been very unsatisfying to play against.

Even if you have an edge sometimes some people just aren't worth it to play against. Especially if they want to play the double or nothing money chase...

Dud
 
Last edited:
Interesting thread. I myself have gambled in the past, typically $5 a game stuff or $20 sets, nothing too large. Most I've ever lost has been $80, most I've won is maybe $200 or so. Can't win much if you are not willing to lose much, right? I have played $100 a game in 3 cushion when I knew absolutely that I should win, but that was unusual.

I'm a pretty decent player, can hold my own against anyone. But like someone said, I'm usually playing my two times a week (no table at home) and minding my own business practicing, doing drills, etc. I know most players in the area, and don't mind playing for money to "make it interesting" and keep us from banging balls around. I travel for work, and have been approached several times in what are usually new pool halls for me by people wanting to play $5 or $10 a game, or "cheap" sets etc. I always struggle with this. Like I said, I can play, and the drills I do or when I'm doing a ghost drill anyone watching can see that I know what I'm doing I'm not trying to hide anything. But I don't know anything about them. What do people do in these situations? Maybe I just don't have the confidence to match up and get out of my comfort zone. I just naturally assume that if the person is watching and they want to gamble that they can beat me. But then I think maybe they just have that gamble in them and like to be in action and want to see how they do, or overestimate their own abilities.

Even though I get limited time to play, I think for my game to get to that next level I would need to start practicing with or playing against some of the better "A" level or shortstop level players in the area, and putting myself out there more when I travel, and I would have no idea how to match up, ask for weight if needed, etc. And while I make really good money, probably more than most, I also have a family and kids to take care of and while losing $200 or $300 wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things it's also not in my budget to lose on a regular basis. And I know my personality, if I lose I'll want to try again, and again, and pretty soon I'm down $1000 which could pop up on the radar with the wife... :)

I've thought about the next time I get a bonus or whatever to set aside $500 or $1000 and use it as a gambling fund, much like I've done for poker, and if I play bad enough or match up bad enough and roll through it all at $20 or $50 or $100 a pop or whatever then I regroup and allocate more money in the future and give it another shot. That would be the smart thing to do I guess and also take away some of the "pressure" of losing money that you don't expect to lose. I guess I'm not a "true" gambler and don't have an overwhelming need to gamble, but by doing so it helps you learn to play under pressure and play the same game you have on the practice table, which also helps you in tournament situations. And I'm certainly not adverse to winning money...

Thoughts?
Scott
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top