How Did You Learn to Play Pool?

In the 60s when I learned, there wasn't exactly a whole bunch of people running around willing to give you lessons.

So, having said that, I am self taught in my earlier years. I started watching the good players in Charlottesville and Roanoke Va, and honed my skills on the bar table while drinking free beers.
 
Mr. Wiggles said:
Defense was considered chickenshit. Started league pool when it came to town and they told me to hook people and they would say good shot! They actually said good shot when I hooked them. Very uncomfortable with that whole thing.
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I like that. When I started playing league my teammates begged my to play defense. My and my non-league buddies always thought it was chicken shit too. I lost my share of games and matches to poorer shot makers by going for it all the time. I have finally started learning how and when to play some defense because I had to, to compete with the better league players, but it still goes against my grain.
 
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I learned to play at the Student Center at SMU in Dallas.
I bought a copy of the orange Mosconi book for one dollar and put it on the rail.
I practiced from 10:00am in the morning until 12:00 pm every day for 3 years during the summer and all I could after school. I started at 14.

If I came across a shot that I missed I would practice it until I could make it 100 times. 100 spot shots in a row or start over.

A few better players would help me but I was soon the best player in Dallas.
One day I went from playing 9 ball for 10 cents a game to 10 dollars a game and never turned back.

Curiosity and practice are the keys to becoming a better player.
Lessons are a waste of time. You must learn every shot yourself. That way you own it.

Bill Stroud
 
I grew up in Everett, Massachusetts.

The room I played in had a bunch of quality players. I would sit and watch the better players for hours upon hours. Sure enough, situations would come up that I hadn't faced or knew the answer to in the process. I would wacth to see what the player would do. If he showed me something I should add to my game I made a mental note of it.

When they stopped play. I would recreate the situation and do what they did until I did it at least as well as they did it and possibly better.
 
My Dad and I would play wherever we saw a table (bowling alley, bar/restaurant). He then brought me to my first pool hall, Q-Masters in Norfolk, VA. We would go up and grab lunch and get the hour free (but usually play a lot longer lol). I was hooked ever since. He eventually bought me my first cue. He taught me the basics, I even mimicked his stroke -- I am right handed but play pool lefty because that's how he plays. I then started going up on the weekends with a buddy of mine during high school and that's when I started taking it a bit more serious. He got burned out but I never stopped.
 
I used to go to a nickel arcade in Des Moines when I was about 17-18 called Loco Joes to play several of my favorite video games. One day I was there with a buddy and we decided to play some pool. We were horrible. A guy came up and asked to play a game to which I said sure. After he beat the snot out of me on the table he told me I seemed to have a natural eye and asked me if I was interested in joining a league (Junior APA League). I said sure.

I met several people that became great friends of mine. The first week I lost to a gal 3-0 in close to 40 innings. Her friend and her kind of got a laugh because I was beyond bad. I moved down to a 2 the next week (back when males could be 2s). I set a goal of wanting to move up one handicap each session for a year. With some very cheap gambling of race to 3 for $5 with my buddy Big H and a couple of other people, some help with friends, and cheap nickel pool (about $0.35-40 a game) I got better. Within one year I accomplished my goal from 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, and then 5-6 in four sessions right before it was time to go to college. I met some great people along with the way.

4 years in college I didn't play that much because in Maryville, MO almost nobody knew what pool was minus one townie named Butch who used to be semi pro I heard after he beat me out of some money. He told me I played well but play too defensive. I think he was right. I also had a buddy from a small town nearby who played well so we challenged each other in the dorm halls, but that was about it.

I came back from college and starting playing a lot and got my confidence at an all time high playing in tournaments, gambling, league etc....I lost that after I took some lessons that changed my game completely as I had absolutely no fundamentals. Still trying to get the swagger and confidence back without going back to my old habits. It is funny how confidence can make someone play so much better then when you are not confident. The no fear thing does wonders...I need to find that again.
 
I hounded the good players to play cheap pool, took a spot when I could but donated a good bit to the Players' Fund too.

I have always been pretty good about maintaining interest while playing with myself too, so I could redo situations on my own.

And I still suck!
 
When I was a little kid 8-10 years old, we would vacation at a resort that had a pool room, mostly 3 cushion, my sister and I played our own version of 3 cushion. Later, my mother joined a bowling league which played in the afternoons at the Bergen Mall in NJ. When I had a half day at school she would drag me and a friend to bowl, they had a couple GC III's my friend and I would play a version of straight pool. But I was fascinated watching these older guys use this funny little diamond shaped rack, and see money change hands and lingo like "you've gotta give me the seven and the break" I was hooked, I started playing at a friends basement even when he wasn't there his mother would let me play by myself. Later when I got my drivers liscense I discovered Plaza Billiards at the intersection of Rt 17 and Rt 4 in NJ, now long gone, its always been a part of my life, so I guess I'm self taught but lately I've taking lessons....I love pool PERIOD
 
The Story of My Pool Game

I learned at the school of hard knocks....

"The Tulsa Billiard Palace"

Actually, I started playing at a place called "Sir Billiards" here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I began under the tutelage of Sir John Novak. He is a member here and goes by 'Libra'. He showed me the basic shots and how to use english. I learned many shots during that time, and learned a lot of wrong shots and didn't embrace the game as a whole until later on. I progressed rather quickly but stayed at a 5 speed for many years. I played in California at Hard Times for a little while, and I paid my dues there and also at Hollywood Billiards where the action was plentiful. You could say I more than paid my dues there.

When I came back to Tulsa, the main center for action was the Palace. There, I was intrigued by the likes of James Walden, 'Fat' Randy Wallace, Danny Harriman, John Gabriel, Mike 'Silky' Betts, David Matlock, Gabe Owen, Shane McMinn, and many others. I matched up with some of the lesser players and that is where I ultimately learned how not to gamble. The Palace was a real shark tank and if you weren't careful, you would walk out broke, hurt, and wishing you never picked up a cue.

During that time, ESPN was featuring Earl, Johnny, Nick, Busti, and that is where I fell in love with those guys. After watching their videos over and over, I migrated towards the stroke of Bustamante. It wasn't the smartest thing in the world for me to do, because what I was doing and what I thought I was doing was definitely not the same thing. Stubbornly, I proceeded in trying to master the Filipino stroke and I did so in arrogant fashion.

The level of my play remained stagnant for many years and just a few years ago, I was set straight by a good friend, Cracker John Reynolds. He is the one who sat me down, slapped me right in the face and said, "All that whippy shit you do is totally unnecessary! Slow down and try and act like a pool player." He had me making shots using center ball and rolling them in at minimal speed. My game improved by a ball.

Another superb player, Brian Jones also took me under his wing and shed light upon the game like no other person ever could. His knowledge of the game is so intricate and so simple that I absorbed every bit of loathsome goodness that the game had to offer. I practiced some of the key drills and straightened out my stroke once and for all. Ultimately, under those two guys direction, I learned what was important about the game. I had learned that what is important is finesse and control, not power.

I must mention that also during the recent years, I had the chance to get some instruction from Buddy Hall. I spent several months with him and he did teach me a few useful things, but overall, what I gained from being around him was the confidence to play anyone in the world. I couldn't say that I can beat Buddy Hall, but I am definitely not afraid to post something with the skills I now have. I am not saying I am the best in world, but I feel like I have the ability to step up and play anyone without feeling like a chump.

A few months back, I had the chance to play Corey Deuel. He was literally a surgeon at the table. I have a deep respect for his game, and because of that, my sac shrunk up a bit, but I did manage to win 20-30% of the time playing 10-ball. I know that if we were matched up, he would've opened up another level of play, but I was happy with how I played regardless.

Now that I am a cue maker, I ironically have no time to play. All my time is dedicated to working and making cues. The little time I do have to play is spent hitting balls and enjoying the craftsmanship of my own cues and discovering the 'hit' that I am after. I must say that it does take a real player to know how to make a good cue that performs correctly. I think this is why all the best cue makers have a respectable game.... Dennis Searing is a perfect example of what I am talking about. I started making cues to be more intimate with the game. I don't make cues for money. I make cues because I know what I am after and I also enjoy a good challenge and besides, there is no reason for good players to be playing with a crappy cue.

The game of pool to me, very much resembles the solitary path of a warrior. Brian Jones once put it to me in a poetic way. "A good pool player must embrace the 'Spirit of the Samurai' and demonstrate that same fighting spirit on the pool table. If you can attain that fighting spirit others will fear you because they know your sword is sharp." The spirit of a warrior has been long forgotten especially in a culture as fat, weak and lazy as the one represented in our culture today; however, there are those who uphold and renew that same fighting spirit of the Samurai as once displayed on the ancient battlefields long ago. This to me is the true beauty of pool as portrayed through Fast Eddie Felson, and why I sought out to become a good player over the years.
 
Started playing at age 18 in the Marine Corps. Stopped playing at 21 when I left. Picked the game back up at 27, self taught, watched others, discovered 99 Critical Shots and Byrnes first book at 30.

No other training.
 
My Father had two famous (or infamous) friends that I spent time with as a kid. One was Vince Lombardi, which explains my obsession with football and The Green Bay Packers. The other was Willie Mosconi, which explains my obsession with Straight Pool.

My Dad and Willie knew each other from a very young age, both growing up in Philly. My Dad was a legitimate 100 ball runner in his own right, although he never pursued a career of it.

Christmas of '63, one of my presents was a small pool table at my Father's wish's. My Dad taught me the game and after some years had gone by, he turned me over to Willie's tutelage. This lasted most of my teens, at which point my music career put a significant hold on my pool playing.

I still love the game, still play one day a week for about 4 hours, and although I'll probably never have the time in the near future to get "back in stroke", I'll continue to play. Who knows? Some day I may have the time to re-dedicate to the game, and get back on stroke.
But, until then, I'll always have the great memories of those early experiences, and that will last a lifetime.

I sure do miss them both.
 
I loved the game when I was a kid. I only had the opportunity to play a few games a year when I happened to be visiting someone who had a table. I joined a league when I was 23 and got addicted. I soon quit leagues and became a pool hall junkie donating to all the players who were better than I was. As I improved I slowly climbed the ladder until I was able to compete with most anyone there. I probably lost $3k coming up that way but it was invaluable experience. I've since gotten out of the red and into the black but marriage and other interests have caused me to retire and come back to the game many times over the last five or more years. I'm back now but our last pool hall is closing its doors at the end of the month so I'm sure I'll fade from the scene again.
Honestly, if I could get back the thousands of hours I spent around a pool table and put them toward something else, I would.
 
Like you Lou, in our era there just wasn't much info around. Tried to learn to play as in self-taught. For several years I thought I was pretty damn good. Hooked up with Jerry Briesath and found out different, my World changed. It took me about three years to re-learn the stroke and the moves.

I have an annual goal, "visit a new Instructor every year".

Great thread.
Thanks Lou
randyg
 
$2-5 a game at the Strathcona Hotel back when a glass of beer was $.25.

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Had to get good or I wouldn't have money for beer. (at that time I thought I was good. I know better now.)
 
Like a lot of others on here...

The old man had me in the local bowling alley at an early age. By the time I was 9, I boasted a high-run of 17 in 14.1. Haven't improved much since then, though.
 
lfigueroa said:
A related thread started me wondering how most folks learned to play pool.

I know that in my day there were no Accu-Stats and only the occasional ABC Wide World of Sports episode to watch. I also recall that I voraciously read and re-read whatever meager literature I could pick up, to include both Mosconi's books, Caras' book, Lassiter's and Mizeraks "Sunset Press" style editions, and Cottingham. I even bought Willie Hoppe's green hard cover.

But nowadays there is a bounty of riches with DVDs and streaming and everything from the fundamentals in the "For Dummies..." series, to works on more in-depth topics like strategy, physics, small motions, and even eye placement. You can't swing a dead cat without someone claiming to be an instructor with hundreds (thousands) of students who (post lessons) have gone on to do everything but win the US Open. And don't even get me started with all the "systems" (for sale :-)

But really, Joe Average Pool Player: how did you learn?

What I've seen in my days and travels is that most often folks have a tendency to emulate the best player in the room, right down to how they stand at the table, shot selection, equipment preference, that even that little pinkie moving up and down like a worm on opening day on their bridge hand during their warm up strokes.

So. How did you learn the game? Books, videos, copying an admired player, lessons? Or just on your own?

Lou Figueroa
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Simply put, trial and error. No books, no one to show me, no good player to watch.

No one I knew or in my family had a pool table. All I knew of pool was from Wide World of Sports. There were and, as far as I know, still no pool rooms in the town I grew up in.

Being bore the summer before I got my driver license and the town just opening a new rec center with 4x8 GC, I joined. I rode the ole bicycle there, grab the balls and stick and had at it.

After I got my driver license, I would drive over to the next town that had a pool room and played there. It fit the line from the Huslter, just pool, nothing more. The time was kept by stamping a card with the time you started and stamping the time you stopped and figureing from there. But I was not there enough ever to learn from anyone.

This is how I learned the concepts of shot making that still hold true to this day. What I read about shot making now days only has conformed what I already learned from trail and error.

But then again, I have always been good at figuring things out on my own and not more times than not, I figured right.

FWIW
 
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