One Pocket handbook?

[HawaiianEye]

"

Then the ultimate: the guy who had started out giving me 10-7, refused to play a couple of years later when I offered him 11-7.

 I really like this game now




Lou Figueroa

Do you think you can give John Barton 11-7 and win?

If not, are you saying the "ultimate" guy plays worse than John?

 

[bbb]

I agree Larry, Tom's book is a great step up to learning the game..So is joining One Pocket.org, and soaking up the WWYD's..However, there is really NO substitute for learning the game, than matching up and playing a really good, knowledgable 1P player, like Frost, for a few $$$, or all you can afford! (key words, match up.)

I think a person can learn more, in just a very few sessions, than all the DVD's and books you can buy!.. Also, I'm sure you know, that with the exception of TW, very few quality instructors are really geared exclusively for one pocket..(in fact, I only know of one)

PS..Case in point, Bernie Pettipiece..My favorite protege..He was a sponge! :wink:

dick i agree what you learn from matching up you cannot learn from an instructor
ie pressure and consequences and the more you match up the more comfotable you get with the pressure and learn to learn from the consequences
if you read the stories of legends they all talk about a mentor who helped them learn the game
so they had instructors too ...imho
however to play well you have to play
but to be prepared to play an instructor can help you to get better results
i dont think the 2 parts ie matching up and instruction are or should be mutually exclusive
jmho
hope all is well wih you...

 

[BmoreMoney]

I was gonna also recommend Tom Wirth's book just as the others have. I have not actually read the book myself but I do know Tom from way back in the day and he is just awesomeness. Tom Tom was ALWAYS one of the best in our area, and thats an area with MANY truly great players. He also is able to convey things very well ( which many can not do regardless how good they play. I can also recommend it because of the probably hundreds of great reviews right here on AZB.

 

[GoldCrown]

These are some of the most helpful and well thought post I have seen. Thanks everyone you all went above and beyond to give me what I wanted and more. Cannot wait to start playing this weekend.

Thanks! Sandfox

Have fun. 1p is a specialty game. Its Chess. It's a puzzle. Get started. Learn the break. Return the break. Come back with your questions. Its a lifetime of fun. It never gets old.

 

[lfigueroa]

I might try 3c someday. Have no idea what and where to start.... Maybe I'll take lessons.
Regardless everyone had good points on this thread, Everyone's physical and mental game level is different. I am in no way telling anyone How To Get Rolling. Only suggesting the route I took. Everything I learned was from instructors. I have no "A" playing friends or anyone that can spell things out. I do play with a run out shooter...he cannot teach a dog to beg. If I had to start over again the only thing I would do differently would have been to start years ago...but it's never too late to learn.

For 3C you *must* watch some high level play to grasp how the shots are supposed to be played. After that you can go ahead and struggle trying to do the same for the next 50 years

Lou Figueroa

 

[lfigueroa]

You were fortunate to be in a OnePocket setting. You could only get better in that environment. Glad your wife is ok.

Yes, St. Louis is a great 1pocket town and if you play around here, generally speaking, you will learn the right way to play the game. And I'm glad about the wife too.

Lou Figueroa

 

[lfigueroa]

dick i agree what you learn from matching up you cannot learn from an instructor
ie pressure and consequences and the more you match up the more comfotable you get with the pressure and learn to learn from the consequences
if you read the stories of legends they all talk about a mentor who helped them learn the game
so they had instructors too ...imho
however to play well you have to play
but to be prepared to play an instructor can help you to get better results
i dont think the 2 parts ie matching up and instruction are or should be mutually exclusive
jmho
hope all is well wih you...

Well, SJD has forgotten more about 1pocket than I ever knew but he's an odd duck in some of his thinking (like practice is a waste of time).

Matching up (and practice) should be an integral part of anyone's routine trying to learn 1pocket. But what's the point of matching up with someone if you're shooting the wrong shots or keep passing up opportunities? You can learn by osmosis and figuring stuff out on your own but you also need to have someone explain the thought process behind shot selection. I've done that with a couple of guys and I think it's helped them tremendously in becoming better 1pocket players. The next best thing of course is to watch Accu-Stats and listen to knowledgable guys offer their commentary or what's happening on the the table.

Lou Figueroa

 

[bbb]

Well, SJD has forgotten more about 1pocket than I ever knew but he's an odd duck in some of his thinking (like practice is a waste of time).

Matching up (and practice) should be an integral part of anyone's routine trying to learn 1pocket. But what's the point of matching up with someone if you're shooting the wrong shots or keep passing up opportunities? You can learn by osmosis and figuring stuff out on your own but you also need to have someone explain the thought process behind shot selection. I've done that with a couple of guys and I think it's helped them tremendously in becoming better 1pocket players. The next best thing of course is to watch Accu-Stats and listen to knowledgable guys offer their commentary or what's happening on the the table.

Lou Figueroa

i think we agree lou.....:smile:

 

[Tramp Steamer]

Well, SJD has forgotten more about 1pocket than I ever knew but he's an odd duck in some of his thinking (like practice is a waste of time).

Matching up (and practice) should be an integral part of anyone's routine trying to learn 1pocket. But what's the point of matching up with someone if you're shooting the wrong shots or keep passing up opportunities? You can learn by osmosis and figuring stuff out on your own but you also need to have someone explain the thought process behind shot selection. I've done that with a couple of guys and I think it's helped them tremendously in becoming better 1pocket players. The next best thing of course is to watch Accu-Stats and listen to knowledgable guys offer their commentary or what's happening on the the table.
Lou Figueroa

Just to be clear, Lou, does this include paying someone to explain the thought process behind a selected shot? And, if it does, have you ever paid someone to teach you One Pocket? Or, has Dick, for that matter?
And, if you do pay a person for their instruction how long would you conceivably retain them. I would hardly think a couple of three hours would be enough, do you?
But, what the hell do I know. I guess I just don't have the 'passion' it takes to understand how it all works.
I always thought passion was what ran down the side of your leg after a night with a hooker and a half a bottle of Tequila. :smile:

 

[lfigueroa]

i think we agree lou.....:smile:

Gonna faint.

Lou Figueroa

 

[lfigueroa]

Just to be clear, Lou, does this include paying someone to explain the thought process behind a selected shot? And, if it does, have you ever paid someone to teach you One Pocket? Or, has Dick, for that matter?
And, if you do pay a person for their instruction how long would you conceivably retain them. I would hardly think a couple of three hours would be enough, do you?
But, what the hell do I know. I guess I just don't have the 'passion' it takes to understand how it all works.
I always thought passion was what ran down the side of your leg after a night with a hooker and a half a bottle of Tequila. :smile:

I've paid two guys to learn 1pocket stuff. One was Steve "Cookie Monster" Cook. The other shall remain nameless but everyone would recognize his name. That one didn't go so well and it's why I say you can't just sign up with anyone, "pro" or not.

I spent something like four hours with Cook and if I had lived around Dayton I would have spent several more sessions with him. It was several years ago when Gail's mother was suffering through the advanced stages of Alzheimer's and we were making frequent trips to Dayton. I met him on one of our trips, at Airway Billiards, and he gave me his home phone number in case I was ever in town and wanted to play.

He offered lessons at $25 an hour but if you went for two hours, he'd go three. In all honesty, the lessons weren't much in terms of a formal structure. It was more of an opportunity to play the man -- a bona fide 1pocket legend -- and ask him anything I wanted. So I tried to take advantage of the opportunity and pick his brain: why did you choose that shot instead of that one; what would you do here; is it better to go behind the stack, or up table in this situation; how do you hit that shot...

In between games of 1pocket and my endless stream of questions, he told me road stories, talked about other players he'd known, and lamented that he'd lost the knack of playing straight pool, "Can't see the patterns anymore." I would say hello to him each year at the US Open One Pocket Tournament, when that event was running up in Kalamazoo, MI, and one year we warmed up, playing for small stakes. He was a soft spoken gentleman who had moved back to Lima, OH (from FL?) to take care of his mother. He was one of the greatest pool players of all time. And when I told Gail that "the Cookie Monster" had passed, she knew who I was speaking of and said, "Oh no. How sad."

Yes, it was.

Lou Figueroa

 

[GoldCrown]

But, what the hell do I know. I guess I just don't have the 'passion' it takes to understand how it all works.
I always thought passion was what ran down the side of your leg after a night with a hooker and a half a bottle of Tequila. :smile:

You obviously have the passion. You were fortunate to learn by playing and being around the right people. Most of us do not have that. If a person has no one to play, or explain or play cheap sets to learn how do they get started.
How do you rate your game? Do you compete, gamble?

Hookers, Tequila.......not related to 1P. Time goes too fast...... But One Pocket lasts for a while.....it's so slow...oh never mind wrong thread.

 

[Tramp Steamer]

I've paid two guys to learn 1pocket stuff. One was Steve "Cookie Monster" Cook. The other shall remain nameless but everyone would recognize his name. That one didn't go so well and it's why I say you can't just sign up with anyone, "pro" or not.

I spent something like four hours with Cook and if I had lived around Dayton I would have spent several more sessions with him. It was several years ago when Gail's mother was suffering through the advanced stages of Alzheimer's and we were making frequent trips to Dayton. I met him on one of our trips, at Airway Billiards, and he gave me his home phone number in case I was ever in town and wanted to play.

He offered lessons at $25 an hour but if you went for two hours, he'd go three. In all honesty, the lessons weren't much in terms of a formal structure. It was more of an opportunity to play the man -- a bona fide 1pocket legend -- and ask him anything I wanted. So I tried to take advantage of the opportunity and pick his brain: why did you choose that shot instead of that one; what would you do here; is it better to go behind the stack, or up table in this situation; how do you hit that shot...

In between games of 1pocket and my endless stream of questions, he told me road stories, talked about other players he'd known, and lamented that he'd lost the knack of playing straight pool, "Can't see the patterns anymore." I would say hello to him each year at the US Open One Pocket Tournament, when that event was running up in Kalamazoo, MI, and one year we warmed up, playing for small stakes. He was a soft spoken gentleman who had moved back to Lima, OH (from FL?) to take care of his mother. He was one of the greatest pool players of all time. And when I told Gail that "the Cookie Monster" had passed, she knew who I was speaking of and said, "Oh no. How sad."

Yes, it was.

Lou Figueroa

Thank you. I appreciate your candor, and I also appreciate what you, Dick, and many others have done for One Pocket. Great ambassadors. :smile:

 

[Bob Jewett]

I might try 3c someday. Have no idea what and where to start.... Maybe I'll take lessons. ...

I think the place to start is Byrne's "New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards" -- the second half is 3C. It will show you lots of shots and techniques. Then you have to try them on the table.

 

[GoldCrown]

I think the place to start is Byrne's "New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards" -- the second half is 3C. It will show you lots of shots and techniques. Then you have to try them on the table.

Thanks. Anything learned will help with 1P

 

[Tramp Steamer]

You obviously have the passion. You were fortunate to learn by playing and being around the right people. Most of us do not have that. If a person has no one to play, or explain or play cheap sets to learn how do they get started.
How do you rate your game? Do you compete, gamble?

Hookers, Tequila.......not related to 1P. Time goes too fast...... But One Pocket lasts for a while.....it's so slow...oh never mind wrong thread.

Hookers and Tequila not related to One Pocket? My. oh, my. You've got a lot to learn.
I consider myself an A player, but with health considerations being what they are, who knows.
I never paid for a lesson in my life. I've given a few, back in the day, to new players. Basic stuff. I gave a lesson once to a Chinese couple (elderly) who had recently bought a table for their home. Neither had ever picked up a pool cue, but their daughter was bringing her fiance and his parents over and they wanted at least a rudimentary understanding on making a ball go into a pocket.
By the end of an hour I had them both making one and a half foot shots into a corner pocket about fifty-percent of the time. They were tickled pink and forked over thirty bucks. Family rate, you know.
To me, and I know Dick and Lou feel the same way, One Pocket is the best game in town, bar none. It contains all the elements that make it great. It's challenging. There's drama galore. It's definitely entertaining. And, it's just fun to do.
Although I personally don't gamble, it's the best there is for gaming.
So, because of that, and other considerations, I tend to be a bit protective of the game, and I think a statue should be erected in Enid, Oklahoma, to honor the guy who invented it. (Maybe they already have.)
Anyway, 'nuff said.

 

[SJDinPHX]

Thank you Lou, I appreciate your candor, and I also appreciate what you, Dick, and many others have done for One Pocket. Great ambassadors. :smile:

Thank you Tramp..Just to clarify what Lou said, about my aversion to practice..Sure, when you are learning the game of pool, practice is a time consuming necessity..I would never have the patience required to teach an absolute beginner..I have always preferred working with players who had already developed an advanced set of general pool skills!

That is why, what teaching/instructing I have done, has always been specific to the game of one pocket..No amount of practice can prepare you for 1P..You either have creativity, imagination, and good execution skills, or you don't!..That is why I have always stressed, that matching up, and playing better players, (for the cash) will take you further than all the DVD's you can watch, or books you can read!

PS..Getting down in the mud, and slugging it out, will always be better than all the lessons you can take!..Lou should know that! Besides, there are very few people, like Tom Wirth or myself, who can competently explain such a complex game as one pocket!...........(and I ain't too sure about Tom :grin

 

[Tramp Steamer]

Thank you Tramp..Just to clarify what Lou said, about my aversion to practice..Sure, when you are learning the game of pool, practice is a time consuming necessity..I would never have the patience required to teach an absolute beginner..I have always preferred working with players who had already developed an advanced set of general pool skills!

That is why, what teaching/instructing I have done, has always been specific to the game of one pocket..No amount of practice can prepare you for 1P..You either have creativity, imagination, and good execution skills, or you don't!..That is why I've have always stressed, that matching up, and playing better players, (for the cash) will take you further than all the DVD's you can watch, or books you can read!

PS..Getting down in the mud, and slugging it out, will always be better than all the lessons you can take!..Lou should know that! Besides, there are very few people, like Tom Wirth, or myself, who can competently explain such a complex game as one pocket........(and I ain't too sure about Tom :grin

Well said.
I'm not sure about Tom, either. He called me Mr. Tramp Steamer, so I automatically covered my ass with my hands.

 

[TRWpool]

If I ain't what I say I am, I've sure been putting on a good act for a long time, and Hollywood missed out on a sure thing.

"It's so hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way".
I wouldn't know this personally, it's just what I've heard from most of the women I've known.
Sheesh!

Tom

 

[Tramp Steamer]

If I ain't what I say I am, I've sure been putting on a good act for a long time, and Hollywood missed out on a sure thing.

"It's so hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way".
I wouldn't know this personally, it's just what I've heard from most of the women I've known.
Sheesh!
Tom

I'll tell you, Tom. The first liar doesn't stand a chance around here, does he?