I'm a pretty good thread handicapper. :wink:
This thread reminds me of a story about Little Pete, a local pool regular in my neck of the woods.
When I first met Keith McCready, we were hanging out in a pool room in Baltimore called Hot Shots which, like so many pool rooms in recent times, is no longer in existence.
I was sweating some action one night at Hot Shots, and a local friend of mine, Little Pete, came over and sat next to me. The conversation soon went to action spots where I could take Keith to make a score. He said he'd steer me to some action spots, if I'd cut him in on 10 percent of our winnings. Me being out of pool for a decade or two, I said sure.
As an side but an important part of this story, I had not realized that Keith had just traveled to Maryland from the Derby City Classic with Cliff Joyner and Jose Parica by car.
One of the spots Little Pete told me about was an unnamed place in West Virginia. When I told Keith about this West Virginia joint, Keith told me that Jose, Cliff, and he had just shot pool there en route to Maryland. In fact, Keith said he and the owner got down, with Keith winning a dime or two, if my memory serves me right. :wink:
So a month or two later, when time allowed, we went on the road for a weekend trip. Keith wanted to go back to West Virginia because he thought the owner would give him a game again. He got along well with the owner, and the owner would bet big, if he got the right spot. Getting the spot right was tough because the owner wanted a lot of weight, especially since Keith had already defeated him with a spot previously.
Action men, though, sometimes get this nostrils wide open to get in action and don't evaluate their chances properly. After a back-and-forth colloquy, the two men played some one-hole for $100 a game. A nickel later, the owner pulled up, realizing he just couldn't play up to par this day. We stayed the rest of the weekend, partying at the joint with the regulars and the owner. Even though he got beat, he still treated us like welcome guests. :smile:
Well, fast forward a month or so later, and I found myself back at Hot Shots in Baltimore. Little Pete came over and sat with me again. I told him about a few scores Keith made, some good, some bad, and then Little Pete said, "Well, where's my cut?" I said, "What cut?" He said, "I want my 10 percent, 50 bucks, for the West Virginia spot I steered you to." I said, "Pete, Keith had already been there and played the guy before. When we spoke, I didn't know that." Pete demanded his money and began to get irate with me.
Herein lies a story where, upon first blush, you may think Pete is entitled to his dough, hearing Pete's side of the story. What do you think? Should he have gotten paid, or was I right to think he didn't deserve a 10-percent steer fee? What say you, my august readers of this pool forum? :grin:
