Article on Philipino Pool Players

Cornerman

Cue Author...Sometimes
Gold Member
Silver Member
Ran across this killing time in between matches on the Cup. Pretty good read. fForgive me if it has already been posted. This is the wildest and most intricate forum I've ever been a part of. I only participate in 2 others, a local fishing and a boating forum

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...ines-pool-billiard-stars-efren-reyes-12126652

Nice article Here’s what I wrote in 2005:

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I've posted this previously on other boards, but without Alex in mind. I don't know anything about Alex, his up bringing, or his cultural background. Because he still has a Pilipino accent, I can only assume that he has more Filipino culture inherent compared to, say, me.

That being said:

The Philippines has been a poor 3rd world country for a while. Gambling is as part of the culture as eating adobo. That is to say that if anyone had a hint of skills that could make money, a Filipino will take to it as if his life were dependent on it. That's because, in essence, the gambling mentality for much of the PHilippines is (was?) about being able to live.

American pool was introduced to the Philippines long before almost any other third world country. That's the biggest reason why we've seen more great Filipino players compared to other third world countries. As we have seen, other countries in the Southeast have been generating world champions in the past decade.

As a money and living opportunity, the Filipinos have taken to pool gambling full bore and have never looked back. Those that could not sustain a living have gone to other things like Mah Jong, cock fighting, etc. (that's just a joke, of course). That is to say, of course there are less-than-world-class Filipino players (who all have played 15-ball rotation on crappy equipment). The cream rises to the top, and we as pool fans get to enjoy the cream.

I honestly believe that if the Philippines were part of the UK from the early 1900's instead of part of the USA, then the World's Greatest Snooker Player would have been a Filipino with the name "Reyes."

So, gambling and the pursuit of a life via gambling is different than in the US. We in the US as a whole are not a gambling nation. Gambling isn't legal in most states. In the Philippines, gambling at anything is the norm. The Philippines is one of the best cases that excellence can be greatly affected by socio-economics rather than physical attributes alone.
 

CocoboloCowboy

Cowboys are my hero's
Silver Member
The Penoys blew it when the lost Clark AFB, and Subic Bay USN Base, it put many great paying job on bases on the base the Penoys had gone.

Honestly it was also a bad thing for the US, as it gave us a place to have an available force in the Pacific that was a win win for both countries.
 

Rimfirejunkie

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The Penoys blew it when the lost Clark AFB, and Subic Bay USN Base, it put many great paying job on bases on the base the Penoys had gone.

Honestly it was also a bad thing for the US, as it gave us a place to have an available force in the Pacific that was a win win for both countries.


I hear we’re going to build a new navy base.
 

Thunder Thighs

I'm your Huckleberry
Silver Member
The Penoys blew it when the lost Clark AFB, and Subic Bay USN Base, it put many great paying job on bases on the base the Penoys had gone.

Honestly it was also a bad thing for the US, as it gave us a place to have an available force in the Pacific that was a win win for both countries.

Penoy = food product usually made from a duck egg.
Pinoy = human
:grinning-moose:
 
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