Pool is dead
- Thread starter Stew boo
- Start date
You're right you are entitled to your opinion but I don't require your forgiveness for one damn thing buddy. Like it or not league players are one of the only things that are keeping pool alive in some parts of this country. Apparently you are an old school pool hall player that only takes lumps from great players, far be it for you to lower yourself to playing mini golf on a bar box. Hell if you're that great you could make a living in San Antonio winning the nightly bar box tournaments here.
Let me share some facts with you about the difference between old timers/ regulars and league players based on my own conversation having spent quite a bit of time in a couple pool halls....4-5 hours a night 5-6 nights a week . Along with info from 2 women who worked in these pool halls.....one I dated for 3 years and hung out at the hall with quite a lot and the other I lived with for 6 years and was at the hall with her most nights helping and playing pool sometimes. These observations pertain to my area and may not be indicative of other areas of the country.
1. The majority of old timers/ regulars are cheap ! ..cheap ! And cheap !
2. I hate to admit it but there is some validity to the opinions expressed on here about league players and alcohol. Probably 20% of players buy a bucket of beer and 90% buy food.
3. 70% of league players play more than one night. 50% of those league players play more than one league. 50% play more than 2 nights a week. 40% play more than 3 nights a week. 20 % play more than 4 nights a week
4. Dart league players spend more and tip better than pool players.
I myself play apa and usapl 3 nights a week. I did play 4 nights a week but cut back cause this old body cant hold up to more than that. I spend on average 100.00 a week on fees....table time and food and drink. 21.00 of that is for fees 10.00 table time and the rest is on tab and tips.
How cheap are regulars ? one night 2 guys matched up 500.00 sets of race to 21 9 ball. Now these guys are regulars and know the place closes up at 12:00 . When she told them she was closing they said they had just started a set and would she allow them to finish ? During this time she is waiting on them bringing them water and coffee. They finish up at 1:45 with one giving her a 1:00 tip and the other a 2:00 tip. Now this girl gets paid by the hour and was on her own time for dang near 2 hours for a lousy 3:00 damn dollars from a couple of serious gamblers and to make matters worse she had to get up at 6:00 to go to her day job.
Compare that with dart league players where on average she made close to 100:00 in tips on league night. One weekend during a dart tournament she had broke her glasses and had tape on them until she had a chance to get a new pair come monday . The winner of the dart tournament had noticed she had broke her glasses over the weekend and gave her a 300.00 tip telling her to get new glasses. She never got more than a 5:00 tip from the winner of any weekend pool tournament.
If you care for more examples of just how cheap old timers/ regular poll players are just ask. I have plenty of stories.
It is a given that most leagues play on 7's but its not a mandate required by leagues. Its more to do with what is available for leagues to play on. Some leagues ....like apa in Massachusetts play strictly on 9's because that's what is available in their area. Apa here has a division that plays strictly on 9's.
League mentality ? While I agree that some league players jump for joy winning a handicapped race .....winning a handicapped race and not needing the handicap does not fall in that category....imo of course.
Sandbagging ? Lol. That line always pops up when some one wins a match people feel that should not win. Perhaps I just play better with something on the line as you keep alluding to in order for them to play their best.
Finally something you cant argue with me about . If one Shane has a losing record in the cup it stands to reason 4 more shanes would also have a losing record..
Alternating race to 5 is a coin flip ? Perhaps its true occasionally but year after year the euros keep winning these coin flips. perhaps there is is more than just luck involved here.....like skill maybe ?
No it does not. There is a LOT of extra pressure on Shane to perform WAY up there to pick up the slack from the rest of the team. Ever been on a league or tournament team where you play significantly better than everyone else on the team, and you feel like you have to play your top speed or the team has no chance to win?
I have.. It's not very fun. PLUS, playing alternate shot, there is a LOT of pressure if you feel you HAVE to leave your opponent perfect, because they don't have the same skillset, and so can't get out in the same difficult layouts you consider routine.
5 SVBs would take all the pressure off, and there'd be a whole lotta nice shots to pick everyone's spirits up. Gee, I dunno... Like when yah got 90's Johnny Archer, Kim Davenport, Earl Strickland, etc on the same team? Yeah, like that. The crew of killers we had then could have spotted EVERYBODY under Shane on our current teams. Easily. I mean, for christ's sake.. Corey Deuel would still be one of our top picks for the Mosconi Cup, and Shane spotted him the 7 in 10 ball!
Agree, dart players spend the money for sure, and win less in soft tip tourneys than their pool counterparts.
I have found that in pool situations people asking the houseman to stay open is an "advocate for yourself" situation. You have to say "hey cheapasses, I'll stay open, but it's such and such per hour and I expect to be tipped out at the end of your set." PERIOD.
Was playing a guy in Owensboro, my first time in the bar and we were on our last game of 1 hole. Bartender/owner said closing up. I said could you please let us finish our game and I promise to take good care of you. Granted we were only playing for cheap, but he was well taken care of from me and the guy (a local guy) who I was playing.
I have found that in pool situations people asking the houseman to stay open is an "advocate for yourself" situation. You have to say "hey cheapasses, I'll stay open, but it's such and such per hour and I expect to be tipped out at the end of your set." PERIOD.
Was playing a guy in Owensboro, my first time in the bar and we were on our last game of 1 hole. Bartender/owner said closing up. I said could you please let us finish our game and I promise to take good care of you. Granted we were only playing for cheap, but he was well taken care of from me and the guy (a local guy) who I was playing.
I have been in that spot quite a few times myself since I am usually the best on my teams. Pressure usually does not bother me but yea....being human I have been guilty of putting too much on myself and let the team down. No its not much fun then.
Maybe you are right that 5 shanes would do great but it seems to me having read on here numerous times how he puts too much pressure on himself....if the first Shane lost would not the second Shane also put a lot of pressure on himself also and so on down the line. ? Also....its been said that he is not realm a team player...why would 5 shames be team players ?
Personally I would not mind seeing 3 Justin bergmans and 2 Skylar woodwards :grin:
You got nothing but stories.
I own a room and we are fine keeping things as they should be. We have no national league.
Yeah I'd win maybe one or two. Then it would become an APA 5 and below event so you could win it.
Then the league can recruit more players playing with real decal inlayed cues going for trips to Vegas. That mentality is why real pool is dying in this country.
If I asked you to step up, you would call me a degenerate gambler and move yourself to the other side of the room.
One must remember that events like the one you describe are early attempts and have not yet realized the benefits that come from experience.
What you described was a learning experience for the host.
Let's put the shoe on the other hand:
What if you drew up the announcement? Do you think you'd be 100% able to address every what-if that might arise?
I dont.
What you described was a learning experience for the host.
Let's put the shoe on the other hand:
What if you drew up the announcement? Do you think you'd be 100% able to address every what-if that might arise?
I dont.
Wutup B?
Tell Mike F I said hi. Tell Zachariah I ain't been playing no chess, so no bet when I'm in Syracuse next August.
What's up? Things going well here.
Practice 3 cushion. I'm getting pretty good at it.
It's nothing like that here.
Dog's was PACKED last night with the parking lot so full folks were parking at neighboring businesses. The bar was so busy it took a while to get a drink. Every table was full. The kitchen was busy all night, calling out the orders on the PA.
It was awesome.
Your info is wrong. Better check your sources.
Jeff Livingston
Again, your info is wrong.
How would you know from where and who I, a 35 year long league player, learned my pool or what it is I understand from that? What if I learned as you did, yet still understand the power of leagues?
Check your sources. Oh, YOU are the source? Check your reasoning, then.
Jeff Livingston
Anybody win any patches or 4 inch trophies?
Sorry I couldn't help myself.
The game is meant to be more than that.
I'm glad Dog or Doug is making lots of money though.
I play in three separate leagues as a 7/9 in Apa, and a friendly little in house doubles league, as well as all the tournaments that come within 100 miles. My Apa home base is a pool hall with 12 - 9 foot gold crowns and a diamond table, so about 80% of my Apa league matches are played on good tables. The other 20% are bar boxes out of clubs/drinking team home bases etc. They are welcome to donate their money to teams that want to play actual pool, i don't see why its looked down on. It would be like four shit pool players that are all friends buying a few buckets of beers and joining a $40 entry tournament, i would love to see that, as everyone else would because it sweetens the pot.
As for tipping/waitresses on league night, every league i've been in over here at my pool hall the waitresses leave here with $200+ dollars in one three hour block, so i think your tiny example of pool players being cheap is off. PEOPLE are cheap, its not pool players or dart players, its just certain shitbags that don't understand, or care, how waitresses make their money taking care of us.
As for the dude above talking about locals/regulars vs league players and how he would rather have locals than league players, all of the locals i know, including myself, play in league.... I can guarantee you that the league players far out tip and pay for more table time than the old time gamblers and tournament players, guaran-damn-tee. Its just like me in a tournament vs a league in the same pool hall. In a tournament i won last week, i just had water all day and a sandwich, Even when i won a bet from my opponent for a beer, i didn't drink it because i'm not throwing off my tempo/mental game. League night, just last night, i beat an Apa 6 = 5-0 after five 20 oz drafts and a pizza because i'm going to beat him anyway, might as well have fun with it.
Moral of the story - usually, the local/league player is the same person, at least in my neck of the woods. The out of town tournament player from CT or RI is someone who probably won't give much of a shit about the tables here or tipping well, so take that how you want to.
As for tipping/waitresses on league night, every league i've been in over here at my pool hall the waitresses leave here with $200+ dollars in one three hour block, so i think your tiny example of pool players being cheap is off. PEOPLE are cheap, its not pool players or dart players, its just certain shitbags that don't understand, or care, how waitresses make their money taking care of us.
As for the dude above talking about locals/regulars vs league players and how he would rather have locals than league players, all of the locals i know, including myself, play in league.... I can guarantee you that the league players far out tip and pay for more table time than the old time gamblers and tournament players, guaran-damn-tee. Its just like me in a tournament vs a league in the same pool hall. In a tournament i won last week, i just had water all day and a sandwich, Even when i won a bet from my opponent for a beer, i didn't drink it because i'm not throwing off my tempo/mental game. League night, just last night, i beat an Apa 6 = 5-0 after five 20 oz drafts and a pizza because i'm going to beat him anyway, might as well have fun with it.
Moral of the story - usually, the local/league player is the same person, at least in my neck of the woods. The out of town tournament player from CT or RI is someone who probably won't give much of a shit about the tables here or tipping well, so take that how you want to.
Ok Jeff. Do you put all those patches on a vest or what?