Billiards and PEDs

Your experiences arent all that exist and they only address marathon sessions.

I went looking for my running partner once years ago. His wife and two small children were sitting at home with no food when I stopped there first. He was down the road playing pool, had been for three days. When I got there an old man that couldn't begin to play with my partner when he was straight had caught him in a match after my partner had busted a handful of other people. When I got there B was down to about $150 and fixing to lose that. He couldn't make a ball in a #3 washtub but he was too fried to know it. Knowing the old man I am sure he had just touched base a few times or told the counterman to give him a call when the time was right. He let B win a nice stack the hard way then plucked him like a chicken!

Different rules apply to real friends than pool hall ethics and I pretty much drug my friend out by the ear with grocery money left.

Most people aren't playing nearly as well as they think they are on chemicals and nobody has to be off their game very much for a decent shortstop to take them. In a long match I take frequent bathroom breaks myself, to wash my face and hands.

Some others took a bathroom break and were ready to set the world on fire, except their shots were almost there. Then they did play pretty good for awhile, then they went to crap for awhile before they realized it was time for another bathroom break. They were monsters maybe 1/4 of the time and thought they were monsters 3/4 of the time.

I wasn't a monster on the natch but then again I never thought I was. I called my style of pool chopping wood. I loved hitting balls, still do. I didn't have to make a fortune, I just wanted to turn a decent profit. I usually did have a pretty fair bankroll but it didn't matter a whole lot. A chemical player generally went with a little tune-up to start and I got some of their cash early while they were flying high. Then when they got strong for awhile they were just getting their cash back. When they started losing again it was time to go back to the bathroom and the cycle repeated.

Hu
 
If you think professionals aren't on anything, check out the Netflix documentary

'Icarus'. It was eye opening, and after you watch it, you will see that everyone

is on performance enhancing drugs.

Icarus was a good film, and aside from the do-anything attitude, I dont find parallels to the pool world.
 
Icarus was a good film, and aside from the do-anything attitude, I dont find parallels to the pool world.

The Russian government likes to gain an edge. In the pro pool world, being on the road, staying in new places frequently, not really having a place to settle down and call home. Flying, travelling through airports, dealing with new people constantly. That takes a toll on the body.

I don't even like driving to the pool hall after a week of work.

Pro players travel far and wide, any edge that can help them rest and recover while travelling definitely gives them a leg up.

Some tournaments have late matches only to result in someone having an early match the next day. Leaving little time for rest and recovery, that is where the PEDs can help. If you don't like PEDs call them recovery tools.

In other industries I know stories of substance users using them to enhance their work performance. Professional cyclists, pitchers, bodybuilders, actors, track stars, it doesn't even have to be highly paid faces either. It could be people with high stress jobs that use it to cope. Elon Musk smokes marijuana and his net worth is nearing billions. Marion Barry, Michael Jackson, ... The list will never end.

I don't use PEDs. If no one discusses the topic does that mean no one has tried. Billiards is going for Olympic recognition. The Russian government has the most cases of doping its athletes and getting caught.
 
Last edited:
Icarus was a good film, and aside from the do-anything attitude, I dont find parallels to the pool world.

I know someone on specific drugs that has been known to give some to a good regional pool player now and again, and in effect, the drug allowed the player to play his absolute top speed for something like 4-6 hours.

Will this particular drug improve one's technical skill in the game? No.

Will this particular drug allow one to pretty much enter "The Zone" and stay there for a protracted amount of time, assuming the player was in relatively good stroke to begin with? In my opinion, yes.

And for certain players, they are a good solid 2-3 game favorite over 80% of the field just by paying their entry fee. Certain PEDs can give them a 1-2 game edge over the 20% of the field they play even with or slightly under.

Now, what I find interesting about Mario He is that he won two Eurotour titles in 2016/2017.... I'd like to know when exactly his medication was changed? I find it quite plausible that someone like Mario He is pretty much gonna remain at a level where finishes no higher than top 16 in a world championship, and might look for a little edge to get him over that hump. Some players of a very high skill level, nevertheless might never make it over that hump without a little help.

I am not by any means saying he intentionally took anything, just that his overall performance seemed to indicate that he wasn't going to progress much from his current level, and that some players are just not cool with accepting their ceiling.

Now.. To address the umbrella topic of PEDs, I do know that my coworker was a competitive cyclist, and emphatically states that EVERYONE at the international level who is consistently winning in cycling is on some sort of drug cycle, and that it is a continuous arms race to find PEDs that cannot be detected by modern tests. He said they even went to the extent of oxygenating their blood in the offseason, then withdrawing it, to be reinjected months later during a specific major race. This worked quite well until the governing body found a way to test for it.

Given that I am sure we have a few hundred doctors who are pool groupies, I virtually guarantee that there are some that are willing to offer some assistance to their favorite player, and have the knowledge on how to do so without getting caught. To think otherwise is simply naive.
 
Last edited:
I think that what many people think of re:peds is that they reveal a monster, when it is really just a turbo. That motor already runs, but now it runs faster.

I know someone on specific drugs that has been known to give some to a good regional pool player now and again, and in effect, the drug allowed the player to play his absolute top speed for something like 4-6 hours.

Will this particular drug improve one's technical skill in the game? No.

Will this particular drug allow one to pretty much enter "The Zone" and stay there for a protracted amount of time, assuming the player was in relatively good stroke to begin with? In my opinion, yes.

And for certain players, they are a good solid 2-3 game favorite over 80% of the field just by paying their entry fee. Certain PEDs can give them a 1-2 game edge over the 20% of the field they play even with or slightly under.

Now, what I find interesting about Mario He is that he won two Eurotour titles in 2016/2017.... I'd like to know when exactly his medication was changed? I find it quite plausible that someone like Mario He is pretty much gonna remain at a level where finishes no higher than top 16 in a world championship, and might look for a little edge to get him over that hump. Some players of a very high skill level, nevertheless might never make it over that hump without a little help.

I am not by any means saying he intentionally took anything, just that his overall performance seemed to indicate that he wasn't going to progress much from his current level, and that some players are just not cool with accepting their ceiling.

Now.. To address the umbrella topic of PEDs, I do know that my coworker was a competitive cyclist, and emphatically states that EVERYONE at the international level who is consistently winning in cycling is on some sort of drug cycle, and that it is a continuous arms race to find PEDs that cannot be detected by modern tests. He said they even went to the extent of oxygenating their blood in the offseason, then withdrawing it, to be reinjected months later during a specific major race. This worked quite well until the governing body found a way to test for it.

Given that I am sure we have a few hundred doctors who are pool groupies, I virtually guarantee that there are some that are willing to offer some assistance to their favorite player, and have the knowledge on how to do so without getting caught. To think otherwise is simply naive.
 
short or long doesn't matter

Your experiences arent all that exist and they only address marathon sessions.

Mine certainly aren't the only experiences and concerning pool they don't address some of the milder performance enhancers. Short or marathon didn't matter, as I said I usually won early dealing with the dopers. If they wanted to quit I was already up a bet or two. All good. I have never been a professional as some class such things. However there were times when I went months paying two mortgages and all living expenses playing pool. When I needed the money I wasn't upset at all to see somebody trying to get their mix right. A lot more often than not, long session or short they were going to lose money. They almost always thought they were playing a lot better than they were, focusing on a few shots rather than the end result.

A friend had a roofing company, did some patching on the superdome and covered shopping centers and such with a miracle brush on coating. His son and daughters were my age and had decided they and their friends were really gonna spread some material and show the old man something one day. They got aholt of some speed and the entire crew of about a dozen college age kids took some. I was passing by and climbed up to say hello. The son walked up to the old man. "We are really getting a lot done today aren't we?"

"Y'all are brushing like hell but you aren't moving your feet!"

Pretty much covers the old time dopers. Today's dopers, I don't know or care. I play pool for entertainment so I don't have to mess with those I know are doping. Those doping to win can't win any significant cash off of me so they aren't interested in me. Suits me fine, I only play with people I enjoy playing with or hit balls alone these days.

Hu
 
I notice that they are drug testing at big events in the Philippines and that their youth program includes drug testing. I think it is needed to help the public take pool seriously as a sport.

Having said that, I am going to give a serious answer for those willing to try crap. All of the things you put in your body, drugs or even herbal things not classified as a drug yet can have unintended consequences. There is no safe dosage or duration of usage.

I took beta blockers for years for blood pressure, hated it! They left me a little dull and flat footed. It was very hard to compete on them. The other drugs that they are feeding our children are speed, no wonder we are raising addicts! Taking speed to compete is stupid!

I have played chemical players. They might be monsters for a little while but all you have to do is stay with them, they can't keep their mix right.

Some of today's players are using drugs to enhance performance. All it will do is taint anything they achieve, they managed to keep their mix right for awhile. Anyone trying to set a record or similar activities now should voluntarily test if not before immediately after. The tainted baseball records should show the dangers of PED's for records and careers. Even using legal performance enhancers or those that can't be detected at the time eventually bites a person in the ass, anything they do is tainted.

Aside from anything else, there is a feeling of accomplishment when you know you have done something on the natch. I accomplished something with a pistol people had been trying to do for fifteen years including a world class shooter for a few years and now and then for the entire fifteen years. I also unofficially bombed a world record with a rifle. Not the only one to do that with a rifle but I also put out the most consistent five groups I had ever seen or read about. I am proud of the fact I was totally clean when I did these things.

A fellow driver smoked half a joint before driving a short track car. A pistol competitor took half an aspirin before competing. If they accomplished great things it would always be tainted in their own minds. A sprint car driver was killed because he stepped down into the path of Tony S's car. He had pot in his system. How long before the incident had he taken it in? Was he under the influence? Present testing doesn't tell us. Someone I knew well was killed in a work related accident. Again, pot in the system. Did it affect his judgment? Again, nobody will ever know.

Those reading this thread hoping to gain an edge, the edge is keeping your body clean and fit. Some of the top players now are looking after their bodies and it shows on the table. Bottom line, enhancers of all kinds are stupid and as a general rule will do more harm to your performance than help it in the long run plus anything you accomplish while taking enhancers is tainted.

Doing things 100% clean feels better at the time and you can look back on it with more pride than something you did while using anything as a performance enhancer, even something as mild as that half an aspirin.

Hu
The problem is what one person needs to be on even keel others use to enhance performance and its hard to say which is which and they simply don't have the same affect ,, someone with anxiety issues cant double dose and get the same result as someone who doesn't that's not how it works however someone who needs it and cant use it is certainly at a decided disadvantage that they need to overcome ,, that's a hard trick to turn

1
 
PSA:

Stay away from the PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) kids. Instead, jar your opponent. It is a far more reliable way to take home the cheddar! :duck:

Brought to you by our friends at
tumblr_nujjgw39KU1u9bjiwo1_400.jpg


Made possible by donations from
033752-600x600-A.jpg
 
I would think a necessary component of any formal ped policy would be the inclusion of a provision for theraputic use...allowing those who need the medication for legitimate reason to have it and compete.

Of course, now you need a medical review board and probably a lawyer to respond to resulting push back...and money for testing and correspondence and a system for tracking all the actions and someone to write the policy and someone to be available for athletes' questions.

And we will be withholding 30% of all entry fees to fund the 'improvement'.

How you like me now?
The problem is what one person needs to be on even keel others use to enhance performance and its hard to say which is which and they simply don't have the same affect ,, someone with anxiety issues cant double dose and get the same result as someone who doesn't that's not how it works however someone who needs it and cant use it is certainly at a decided disadvantage that they need to overcome ,, that's a hard trick to turn

1
 
Last edited:
Jarring

PSA:

Stay away from the PEDs (performance enhancing drugs) kids. Instead, jar your opponent. It is a far more reliable way to take home the cheddar! :duck:

Brought to you by our friends at
tumblr_nujjgw39KU1u9bjiwo1_400.jpg


Made possible by donations from
033752-600x600-A.jpg



The old timers didn't have Visine in the bottle. Others just saw the bottle or the user might have even claimed it was Visine. Next thing you know some people were jarring with Visine which I heard was pretty awful. If you really didn't like a person you could always give them a shitmickey which is just what it sounds like!

I thought I was jarred a couple times, after that if my beer was ever out of sight I never touched it again.

Hu
 
agree 100%

Make no mistake, I was joking (for those with no sense of humor). :thumbup:

Just to note, Visine can kill a person taken internally, it will not act as a laxative. It acts as a toxin. The visine/shitmickey thing is mostly urban legend. There are shitmickeys, but they dont involve the eyedrops. ;)

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/visine-diarrhea-prank/



Nothing wrong with my sense of humor, just a little nervous somebody would take the Visine seriously. It has happened in the past. Don't want someone very ill or dead over a joke. I had somebody saddling a horse to take it to a nearby carwash for a hot high pressure wash and hot wax after I told him that was why my horse was always so shiney!

I do know what was in some of the Visine bottles and that was bad enough. Never jarred anyone but I have to admit a shitmickey was a real temptation for a few jerks I encountered regularly. Knew the recipe long ago but that is forgotten. Just as well I suspect!

Happy New Year!

Hu
 
Nothing wrong with my sense of humor, just a little nervous somebody would take the Visine seriously. It has happened in the past. Don't want someone very ill or dead over a joke. I had somebody saddling a horse to take it to a nearby carwash for a hot high pressure wash and hot wax after I told him that was why my horse was always so shiney!

I do know what was in some of the Visine bottles and that was bad enough. Never jarred anyone but I have to admit a shitmickey was a real temptation for a few jerks I encountered regularly. Knew the recipe long ago but that is forgotten. Just as well I suspect!

Happy New Year!

Hu

Wasnt talking about your sense of humor.

Poisoning is a crime. Hope no one is that fookin stupid. :thumbup:
 
Thanks!

Wasnt talking about your sense of humor.

Poisoning is a crime. Hope no one is that fookin stupid. :thumbup:



Thanks! I didn't assume that "no sense of humor" was pointed at me. Unfortunately I know of some small time dipsticks in halls not that far from me that might jar somebody for a hundred dollars. A handful more that might do it for five hundred or a thousand. Bright they aren't. I can picture one of those idiots going, "Ah Visine!" and off to the drugstore.

I know we can't idiot proof the internet but I can't help trying! I have a dry sense of humor that got me in a good bit of trouble in my early days on the net. I have to telegraph stuff so much so that almost everyone gets it that it takes the fun out of a lot of humor now.

Hu
 
I'm noticing a lot of younger players who have to take a
'vape' break.. not sure if it's just nicotine, or ??
 
Back
Top