Let's Make Sure There's a One Pocket Hall of Fame Dinner This Year @ DCC!!

[kollegedave]

Dave, like they say in legal circles, in full disclosure (do they really say that, lol), aren't you and Lou basically both from St. Louis, so you're sticking up for a long time pool bud that you know well from real life, as opposed to the internet? I probably would too if I were in your shoes.

Making a decision to ban someone is not easy -- especially in a small kind of tight knit community like One Pocket players, who have always been a minority among pool players. Anyone who has followed onepocket.org knows I have a long leash for members, and very, very few banned members over the 12 years we have been up. Also, I have NO corporate sponsorship so I don't have to worry about them getting turned off, so that makes it even easier for me to be extra lenient, which I am in comparison to most forums.

But what happens eventually if certain trouble generating posters persist hard enough, is that I get way too many other regular members telling me that they're out of there unless the tenor changes. And I'm not even talking about the victims of the digs and "fun" that are often the source of the conflicts -- you expect victims to complain lol. I'm talking about just average unaligned readers who get turned off by the bickering and attacks and counterattacks when they get too bad. And you know that for every person I get a PM or a phone call from, there are a bunch of others that don't like what they are reading but they aren't the type to speak up. And then there are the lurkers and perspective new members -- yes, I care about them too.

The recurrent perpetrators presumably have fairly thick skins or they wouldn't stomach flame wars they way they obviously do. But most readers at least by my anecdotal reckoning, do not. But thankfully, genuine cyber bullies -- as opposed to posters who are simply passionate, opinionated, misguided, impulsive or over reactive in the heat of an argument -- are few and far between.

I agree with you that both Lou and Dick actually have a lot to offer. It's just that unfortunately they often seem to prefer a good flame war over sharing interesting information. So I guess it's a mistake I will have to live with rather than living with the stress of the trail of flames that they bring with them. But I agree with you, it's a damn shame.

One thing I did not bring up in my post here, but I did in the post on Onepocket.org, is this (and this is brought up in "legal circles"): Where there is a punishment in our law, there is some public notice that a, b, c, will cause some corresponding x,y,z punishment. All of these punishments have an end...except for capital punishment.

EVEN IF LOU and SJD were NEVER right about anything in life, I think principles of fairness weigh in favor of letting them back in after the length of time they have been gone.

kollegedave

 

[SJDinPHX]

Yeah that's why Cooney spent over 6 months here at least twice and was here countless other times. Oh wait, he's a real HOF one pocket player.

Cooney spent several months in Phoenix too..but he couldn't quite overcome a drunk 'mediocre' HOF player like moi!..We played
several times, and he did not leave town winner!..(witnesses on demand..Barb for one)..So I say again, whats your point?

PS..Also, you'd be wise to find another example...I know Jack and Barb real well, and they are way too smart to waste that much time in 'deadsville' St Louis, unless theres a rich whale lurking nearby!..He sure ain't gonna be hangin' around the pool hall, BSing with you!

 

[HawaiianEye]

I wondered when you going to bless us with your extremely opinionated 'pool wisdom'?..As usual, you missed the whole point about Balsis and Vivus, and recognition..but no matter!..Also, we are all well aware that people will gravitate toward watching gamblers, like Scooter or Viffer, moreso than the average good pool player, as gambling is what makes our little world go round ....What is your point?

And once again, your inbred distaste for one pocket, comes shining through!..No one ever said it was a 'mainstream game', but ever since its inception, its been very popular with top players!..Are you forgetting Fats, LA Richie, and RA?..Or more currently, Alex P., Frost, Chohan and many others, who have made it the game they most prefer to gamble at?.. Can you deny that?

I have often admitted, that 1P may never overcome 8/9/10 ball, for popularity..Those games will always be the first choice for 'non-playing spectators' to watch!..Are you saying you are a 'non-playing spectator', who knows nothing about the finer points of the game, and only wants to watch Earl make tough shots?

I'm sorry Mr.Eye..It just pains me to see you constantly bad mouth the game of 1P...What other game demands banking, speed control, safety play and ball running skills, better than 1P?..I am shocked, that with the years of experience you say have, that you still appear blind to this fact!

PS..And Mr.Eye, please step up your redundant rhetoric, if you'd care for any further discussion from moi!..I would much rather drink, and play with the girls!

I have nothing against one pocket, like I have nothing against hockey. I've played one-pocket for hundreds of dollars, but it excites me as much playing it as it does watching it...and that isn't much.

Some people like soccer...it is the most watched and played sport in the world, I think. I have never watched a game of it in my life. Same for hockey. To each, their own.

When I was playing 9-ball for $, I could win more money in an hour than most people could win playing one-pocket for ten times more per game. I'd be through 5 racks before the one-pocket players had made their first three balls in a one-pocket game. They were still busy trying to figure out how many balls one guy owed.

I like snooker, I like 9-ball, I like 10-ball, I like 15-ball rotation, I like bank pool, I just like one-pocket LESS. There is NOTHING WRONG WITH IT.

I used to run 3 miles every morning at 5 AM and the guys I ran with always said, "don't run so fast, slow down" and I said, "if I'm going to do it, I'm going to go as fast as I can". The same goes for pool, I like to do it, but I like to "get it on with", not sit on the bench and watch some guy take 20 minutes to figure out how to bounce a ball into a stack and play a safety. I don't mind sitting on the bench and watching some guy running a 100 balls or 10 straight racks of 9-ball. At least they are moving and doing something. I prefer shot clocks...even in one-pocket. Let's get a move on!

Some people like to play chess and they will take hours to play a game. I never learned to play it and never had a desire to even attempt to learn it. I like to play fast moving games.

If Scott Frost is such a world champion, why hasn't he won anything of note besides one-pocket. Nothing against him. It is just that he specializes in something that not many people spend their lives perfecting. Even though he is a "specialist", he gets beat by people who don't "concentrate" their entire focus on one-pocket.

As far as banks go, I'd take John Brumback over Scott if I had to pick one.

And, I thought you quit drinking.

 

[SJDinPHX]

One thing I did not bring up in my post here, but I did in the post on Onepocket.org, is this (and this is brought up in "legal circles"): Where there is a punishment in our law, there is some public notice that a, b, c, will cause some corresponding x,y,z punishment. All of these punishments have an end...except for capital punishment.

EVEN IF LOU and SJD were NEVER right about anything in life, I think principles of fairness weigh in favor of letting them back in after the length of time they have been gone.

kollegedave

Appreciate your sentiments Dave, but you are beating a dead horse!..As long as the powers that be remain in charge, I have no real desire to return!..Its actually more fun just lurking!

 

[wayne]

I have nothing against one pocket, like I have nothing against hockey. I've played one-pocket for hundreds of dollars, but it excites me as much playing it as it does watching it...and that isn't much.

Some people like soccer...it is the most watched and played sport in the world, I think. I have never watched a game of it in my life. Same for hockey. To each, their own.

When I was playing 9-ball for $, I could win more money in an hour than most people could win playing one-pocket for ten times more per game. I'd be through 5 racks before the one-pocket players had made their first three balls in a one-pocket game. They were still busy trying to figure out how many balls one guy owed.

I like snooker, I like 9-ball, I like 10-ball, I like 15-ball rotation, I like bank pool, I just like one-pocket LESS. There is NOTHING WRONG WITH IT.

I used to run 3 miles every morning at 5 AM and the guys I ran with always said, "don't run so fast, slow down" and I said, "if I'm going to do it, I'm going to go as fast as I can". The same goes for pool, I like to do it, but I like to "get it on with", not sit on the bench and watch some guy take 20 minutes to figure out how to bounce a ball into a stack and play a safety. I don't mind sitting on the bench and watching some guy running a 100 balls or 10 straight racks of 9-ball. At least they are moving and doing something. I prefer shot clocks...even in one-pocket. Let's get a move on!

Some people like to play chess and they will take hours to play a game. I never learned to play it and never had a desire to even attempt to learn it. I like to play fast moving games.

If Scott Frost is such a world champion, why hasn't he won anything of note besides one-pocket. Nothing against him. It is just that he specializes in something that not many people spend their lives perfecting. Even though he is a "specialist", he gets beat by people who don't "concentrate" their entire focus on one-pocket.

As far as banks go, I'd take John Brumback over Scott if I had to pick one.

And, I thought you quit drinking.

That's cool, 9 ball is like playing checkers, 1 pocket is like playing chess. A lot of people with brilliant minds like chess, probably more people like checkers (no brilliant mind required but it is much faster). To each their own.

 

[ribdoner]

that's cool, 9 ball is like playing checkers, 1 pocket is like playing chess. A lot of people with brilliant minds like chess, probably more people like checkers (no brilliant mind required but it is much faster). To each their own.

ouch..............

 

[HawaiianEye]

That's cool, 9 ball is like playing checkers, 1 pocket is like playing chess. A lot of people with brilliant minds like chess, probably more people like checkers (no brilliant mind required but it is much faster). To each their own.

I predicted somebody would say that while I was typing it.

Chess and one-pocket are two different animals. In chess you can only make one play at a time and there are only a few moves that are possible, depending upon the layout and number of pieces still on the board. In pool, you can slam the balls around the table a 100 times and change the entire table layout every shot. Can you do that in chess?

Is moving a ball one inch on a table layout of thousands of inches equal to one move in chess? Are there Queens and Knights of balls on the pool table? Are there limitations on which direction you can go in pool?

Just because you can play any game of pool doesn't mean you can play chess, or even checkers for that matter.

Some people can do "likes" on Facebook and posts on forums and other people can build computers and program them. Are they geniuses?

FWIW, Earl is about the only genius I've ever seen in pool and some people think he ain't "right".

In edit: Adding Ronnie O'Sullivan to the genius list with Earl.

 

[SJDinPHX]

That's cool, 9 ball is like playing checkers, 1 pocket is like playing chess. A lot of people with brilliant minds like chess, probably more people like checkers (no brilliant mind required but it is much faster). To each their own.

I think I can see where Mr.Eye is coming from..Even though he is not a kid, he appears to have the prevailing mentality of today's youth, and that is 'instant gratification'!..He is not alone..Many top 9ballers (Archer, and others) have that same mindset!..That is also probably the main component, for the recent upsurge in the popularity of poker!..It is fast action!

Comparing chess and checkers, is a good analogy..It does not require the same dedicated, time consuming diligence, to learn checkers, as it does chess! (which MrEye also seems to find boring)..Some of us enjoy the challenge of learning to excel at a difficult game, and some of us don't!..There is really no right or wrong!

I just wish he would stop knocking 1P, by calling it a boring "old mans game"!..As more young players (Danny Smith, SVB, Alex, etc.) are finding out, it is quite possibly the best gambling game ever invented, for any age!..But than, many of us already knew that!

 

[HawaiianEye]

Since you traveled so much - name the 3 best one pocket players of St Louis in the 1970s/1980s. (Google won't help you. But surely a player of your caliber and one who proclaims to have been around and played them all would know).

Also - come to the DCC next year. Let's walk the halls together. I'll give you a $100 for everyone that stops to say hello to you as a HOFer. You can give me $5000 for everyone that stops me and simply knows my name (since I'm a nobody and you offered 50-1).

Did you ever know a guy named "Cotton" Smith (if my memory serves me correctly) from Poplar Bluff, MO? He was white-haired and about 50, or so, when I last saw him in early 70-72 time frame. I'm sure the name "Cotton" had to have come from his hair color. I used to run into him on occasion in SEMO and NE Arkansas.

He was a one-pocket player that liked to travel around and gamble. He wasn't a world champion, but he played good and liked to gamble.

 

[SJDinPHX]

...Duplicate post

 

[HawaiianEye]

I just wish he would stop knocking 1P, by calling it a boring "old mans game"!..As more young players (Danny Smith, SVB, Alex, etc.) are finding out, it is quite possibly the best gambling game ever invented, for any age!..But than, many of us already knew that!

I ain't knocking it.

The reason I call it an "old man's game" is because that is what it was when and where I grew up. That is what everybody called it. About the only people you ever saw play it were about 50 years old, or more. To me, as a kid, that was OLD.

The one-pocket players I knew and grew up with were not always one-pocket players. They started "specializing" in one-pocket when they got older and their eyesight, stroke, and ball running ability decreased. They still played good and had lots of knowledge of ball moving, banking, safeties, etc. That is where they beat younger players or less experienced players. It wasn't that they could beat them at any other game, it was they could beat them at one-pocket. There was nobody specializing in one-pocket of a young age that I ever saw.

It is becoming more popular today because it is about the only game that they haven't changed the rules on 10 times a year. I think the rules are about the same they were since the game first began. The break is still the same, you don't use a magic rack, you don't need a break cue, you don't jump, there is no shot clock, you can take a nap between shots, etc. And it gives the younger guys more time to do their Facebook "likes" and chatting while the other guy is spending 15 minutes to bunt.

If I remember correctly, Fats once said something like, "Jack White invented one-pocket...I perfected it!" I met Jack White in Biloxi, MS in 1973. I'm sure he could have beat me playing one-pocket and banks, but I guarantee I could have beat him playing 9-ball. He claimed he was supposed to meet Fats there to play but Fats chickened out, or something of the sort. He drove around in a big green Cadillac with a plastic sign on the side, held on by magnets. It said something like, "Jack White...World's Greatest Trick Shot Artist" or something of the sort. He had a metal sign on his pool cue case saying something similar.

He was a real nice guy and I think he is the one who taught Scott Lee, but any top rotation player would have killed him in anything but one-pocket.

 

[BmoreMoney]

The problem is that you keep speaking of "it" (1P.org). You bring it up, then somebody makes a comment about something over there, and then the "old BS" stories about "them vs you" starts all over again.

The easiest thing to do would be to forget the place even existed.

As far as your comment about more people knowing you than Joe Balsis, I'm going to say I heard of Joe Balsis 50 years ago and I never heard of you until I found 1P.org way back when.

You probably played "lights out" at one-pocket, but that game was never a mainstream game. Nobody ever even talked about one-pocket except the old players. I worked in a pool hall as a kid and NOBODY played one-pocket except the guys who couldn't compete against the younger players who ran racks playing 9-ball.

I'm not saying they weren't good players, I'm saying it was a "unique" game that DIDN'T interest many people, except the people playing it and maybe betting on the side.

If there was 9-ball action going on one table and one-pocket on another, the MAJORITY of the people watching would be over at the 9-ball table.

One-pocket is a good game, it just isn't a game for the "majority" of the playing populace. It takes too long, it is boring to watch, and not many people play it.

On another note, the player's personality has a lot to do with their being "famous" more than their "talent". I've known tons of people who were "famous" for gambling and playing that couldn't play a lick. It was just that they liked to gamble, stayed in action, and held their own with spots and giving out spots. Prime example are Scooter and Dippy Dave. I will guarantee tons of more people know them than they do a lot of people who play a hell of a lot better.

Winning, losing, betting, or playing for marbles, Earl will draw more people to watch him than will go to the table where Soquet and Holmann are playing.

For the record and only in defense of my game of choice; One pocket is probably the most popular action game around in these parts. The majority of the action is one pocket and most of the highest $$$ matches are one pocket. It's been the game around here for quite some time. Even before it became as popular as it is now, often times it was the top players in town you would see playing it. Then just as now it has always drawn good crowds to watch the good players and good $$$ money matches. I suppose this can vary by area, but I've known a lot of players from around the country and a lot of people that used to go on the road and all of them got in action playing one hole all over the place. Also as far as the main stream thing, this is just an example but one pocket has always been considered an advanced game. If you gauged all the players at the pool room from 1-10 that gambled, you really never saw someone playing one pocket till they were AT LEAST a "5" or so. This may be why you don't really consider it mainstream being it is an advanced game, you will see 1-4 players gambling at 9 ball or what not but one hole has walkways been reserved for the upper ranks of gamblers.

 

[wayne]

I predicted somebody would say that while I was typing it.

Chess and one-pocket are two different animals. In chess you can only make one play at a time and there are only a few moves that are possible, depending upon the layout and number of pieces still on the board. In pool, you can slam the balls around the table a 100 times and change the entire table layout every shot. Can you do that in chess?

Is moving a ball one inch on a table layout of thousands of inches equal to one move in chess? Are there Queens and Knights of balls on the pool table? Are there limitations on which direction you can go in pool?

Just because you can play any game of pool doesn't mean you can play chess, or even checkers for that matter.

Some people can do "likes" on Facebook and posts on forums and other people can build computers and program them. Are they geniuses?

FWIW, Earl is about the only genius I've ever seen in pool and some people think he ain't "right".

In edit: Adding Ronnie O'Sullivan to the genius list with Earl.

Ding Ding Ding. WRONG!

The comparison was checkers is to chess like 9 ball is to one pocket. Of course chess is nothing like 1 pocket (you don't even have to get our of your chair).
And checkers is nothing like 9 ball (in checkers you are trying to jump all over the place, 9 ball not so much).

In chess there are positions where there are over 100 possible moves going in every different direction and the whole game can change as a result of one of those moves. It can require assessing many different possibilities and outcomes. That is not the case in checkers (just jump jump jump, have fun, go fast, little thinking required).

In chess you can move many different pieces in many different directions. In one pocket you can shoot at any one of 15 different balls in many different directions, a lot of possibilities have to be considered. Checkers is fast, just jump jump jump. 9 ball is fast just run those balls. Fun, fun, fun.

 

[SJDinPHX]

I ain't knocking it....The reason I call it an "old man's game" is because that is what it was when and where I grew up...
... There was nobody specializing in one-pocket of a young age that I ever saw.

....It is becoming more popular today because it is about the only game that they haven't changed the rules on 10 times a year...

....Jack White was a real nice guy and I think he is the one who taught Scott Lee, but any top rotation player would have killed him in anything but one-pocket.

Sorry Mr.Eye, but you are still knocking one pocket!..Did you grow up in Ethiopia?..Your ridiculous reason for it becoming more popular with the younger players today, (because of no rule changes)..is an absolute joke!

And what the hell does Scott Lee have to do with anything?..Cocobola Cowboy, (a 'D' player on his best day) could teach one pocket better than him!..I'm giving up for tonight, its obvious no one is going to convince you of anything about 1P..

 

[HawaiianEye]

Sorry Mr.Eye, but you are still knocking one pocket!..Did you grow up in Ethiopia?..Your ridiculous reason for it becoming more popular with the younger players today, (because of no rule changes)..is an absolute joke!

And what the hell does Scott Lee have to do with anything?..Cocobola Cowboy, (a 'D' player on his best day) could teach one pocket better than him!..I'm giving up for tonight, its obvious no one is going to convince you of anything re; 1P..

I was just mentioning that Jack White was mentioned by Fats as a one-pocket player. Jack White was a very good pool player back in the day, or so it is told and written. The fact that he got Scott Lee to follow him proves that he impressed people.

You get a bit too defensive when your game of choice gets talked about. You can knock 9-ball all you want and any other game and my undies won't get bunched up. They are only games. They are games and old games, at that. That is why nobody of today's generation is interested in learning and playing them.

If you would maybe create some posts about how to play the game, or tell some old stories, maybe you wouldn't get your blood pressure all up. You get way too excited for something so trivial.

Tell us some stories about Jack Taylor. Why did Grady hate him? I didn't know Jack for a very long time, but I met him and played him and watched him play. I know he never gave my buddy back some money he owed him. Did he owe Grady some money?

 

[SJDinPHX]

I was just mentioning that Jack White was mentioned by Fats as a one-pocket player. Jack White was a very good pool player back in the day, or so it is told and written. The fact that he got Scott Lee to follow him proves that he impressed people.

You get a bit too defensive when your game of choice gets talked about. You can knock 9-ball all you want and any other game and my undies won't get bunched up. They are only games. They are games and old games, at that. That is why nobody of today's generation is interested in learning and playing them.

If you would maybe create some posts about how to play the game, or tell some old stories, maybe you wouldn't get your blood pressure all up. You get way too excited for something so trivial.

Tell us some stories about Jack Taylor. Why did Grady hate him? I didn't know Jack for a very long time, but I met him and played him and watched him play. I know he never gave my buddy back some money he owed him. Did he owe Grady some money?

Good idea, lets change the subject!..I could tell you some stories about Jack Taylor and also RA, that would curl your hair!..Problem is, they are not suitable for a public forum!..Also I am out of gas for tonight..Maybe I'll PM you a few tomorrow!

PS..I have a few about Grady too, but they are much milder, in fact some are actually pretty comical! :yeah:
BTW, most 82 yr. olds would kill for my BP numbers.Its the rest of my body that is rapidly deteriorating...About the only thing
that excites me any more, is a smokin' hot young lady, giving me a lap dance!

Buenos Noches amigo!

 

[HawaiianEye]

Maybe after a few people got into the One Pocket HOF that shouldn't be there - Steve decided to give it a rest til the voting committee comes to their senses.

Who was the voting committee?

How do you get nominated?

If you make the most posts about it are you a candidate or do you have to have won something?

Is it like the St.Louis Louie Award where all you have to do is gamble the most and don't even have to come out with the money to win the award?

Louie lost as much money as he ever won, maybe more than he ever won. I don't think he is any Hall of Fame.

Send us a list of the voting members, if there is one.

 

[HawaiianEye]

Sorry Mr.Eye, but you are still knocking one pocket!..Did you grow up in Ethiopia?..Your ridiculous reason for it becoming more popular with the younger players today, (because of no rule changes)..is an absolute joke!

And what the hell does Scott Lee have to do with anything?..Cocobola Cowboy, (a 'D' player on his best day) could teach one pocket better than him!..I'm giving up for tonight, its obvious no one is going to convince you of anything about 1P..

I've never been to Ethiopia, but I eat in an Ethiopian restaurant sometimes. You got something against Ethiopians? Come on down to Chinatown and get a little Ethiopian Love.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/ethiopian-love-restaurant-honolulu

You have to eat with your hands, so make sure you wash your hands real good before you start. You don't want to get any chalk and power residue off your hands into your veggies.

Maybe I'll talk them into putting a pool table in there and teach them how to play one-pocket. It ain't too hard...only takes a couple weeks...ask C.J. Wiley.

Speaking of C.J. Wiley, I wish he would come back on here. He actually knew how to play pool and gambled at a super high level. Ain't no doubt about that. Why isn't he in a Hall of Fame?

 

[Cowboy Dennis]

If I remember correctly, Fats once said something like, "Jack White invented one-pocket...I perfected it!" I met Jack White in Biloxi, MS in 1973. I'm sure he could have beat me playing one-pocket and banks, but I guarantee I could have beat him playing 9-ball. He claimed he was supposed to meet Fats there to play but Fats chickened out, or something of the sort. He drove around in a big green Cadillac with a plastic sign on the side, held on by magnets. It said something like, "Jack White...World's Greatest Trick Shot Artist" or something of the sort. He had a metal sign on his pool cue case saying something similar.

Fats says in his book that Jack Hill out of Oklahoma taught him the game if I recall correctly.

 

[HawaiianEye]

Fats says in his book that Jack Hill out of Oklahoma taught him the game if I recall correctly.

You may be correct, it was about 40 years or more ago when I first heard it or read it somewhere.

There was so much shit being talked back then, by Fats, that you never knew if anything he said was factual.

Anyway, I met Jack White and he claims Fats wouldn't play him and that I heard from his mouth.

Thanks for the input. Now I'll have to find some of those old books. I don't have them any more.

It may be in "The Bank Shot and Other Great Robberies".