I’ve about had it with gambling. I might be a tournament only player from now on. Everyone I beat turns into such a piece of crap by the end of the night. Cheating you on close hits, not paying up, sharking, and arguing over everything under the sun. What a waste of energy.
Here I sit, “the big winner” and I’ve now got another enemy at the poolhall. No satisfaction at all. This is no longer worth it. I wish people could just sit quietly in the corner and pay up when they lose. It’s great practice for your game but it’s just not worth the aggrevation for someone like me.
I don’t have the energy to deal with people. I’d rather just give the money back at the end and enjoy the competition. That’s all I’m in it for anyways. Even when you win, you lose. Such a shame...
It goes with the territory. Gambling at Pool is COMPETITION and competition can get heated at any level. Just take a look at how tempers can flare in all the pro sports sometime.
To be a good gambler at pool, you really have to 'want' to beat the other guy and not really care how he will react. If you don't have that killer instinct, then gambling at pool is not for you. Just go back to playing for the love of the game, where no money is on the line. Egos can still get involved, but it's not nearly as big a deal as when money is on the line.
Back to your main points. As for not paying up, just pay after every game and if your opponent can't pay (the "air barrel") the game is over. It's not a bad idea to post for one game or for the set prior to starting. That way there are no issues about getting the money if you win.
Sharking and arguing over close hits also come with the territory, especially when playing certain guys who are prone to such behavior. You can chose not to play with guys like this or you can play them anyway and use this as incentive to win even more. That's one way to shut them up. Playing guys like this are part of what will make you a better player, when you learn to not let any of it distract you. It's all part of the learning process. I've been in with Dennis Orcollo when his opponent tried everything to shark him and Dennis totally ignored him and just kept shooting (and running out). The guy finally shut up when he saw it was having no effect on Dennis. The other thing about this is that when someone has to "cheat" or try to shark you, it's a sign of weakness for you to exploit. What they are telling you is that they don't think they can beat you and have to try something to take you off your game.
After saying all that, I can totally relate to your inner conflict. You want to play against good competition to improve your game, but you don't want to deal with assholes to do it. In almost all pool situations, there are a group of guys who have money and aren't afraid to gamble and will be gentleman win or lose because the money is not significant to them. Look for these guys! There are MEN who I've gambled with for stakes as high as $1,000 a game and we shook hands after it was over and went to dinner together later!
I will also share my personal journey with you. I ONLY played pool for money for the first fifteen years I played the game. I had that killer instinct! After that period, I quit playing for a couple of years and came back to the game I loved with a new attitude. I never hustled a guy to play again and often enjoyed a fun game for the time or dinner, BUT if someone hustled me to play I might accept a bet if they so desired. So, I sometimes played for fun and occasionally played for money. This attitude has served me well since then.
I can also relate to you from my experiences playing poker. Poker is a money game, plain and simple. I like that and have played it longer than I've played pool, always in money games and often for fairly high stakes where you could win or lose in the thousands. The good thing about playing poker in a card room is you can quit when you want and there are no repercussions for doing so. What I grew to dislike was the childish behavior I saw on display by grown men. It finally got to the point where if someone at my table was getting too much out of line I would just quit the game, even if I was making money.
Anyway, good luck to you in the future. Just find a way to make it work for you. :wink:
