Recent content by jay helfert

Bobby was my friend too. He spent many days in my poolroom, The Cue Ball, in Bakersfield in the 1970's. We played a few times on the big table and not so many on the bar table (he was too good). I put him up there with Peter Gunn and Junior Rodgers as one of the best "undercover" bar table...

There is a reason they always played the DCC Bigfoot tournament on a 10' table. It's tougher! In the old days (50's-70's) many rooms had a single 10' table. That's where they played the biggest games with the best players. For several years they had one in the backroom at Johnston City. They...

Of course it is! Using the same logic that would make it much easier to play 9-Ball or Ten Ball on a nine foot table than a seven foot barbox.

Dogs were the big ones with Danny. He knew every dog and every dog track in the country. What he never figured out was what races were fixed! I told him several times it was not all legit and he said he knew that but could still beat the track. ??

I’ve kind of lost touch with him the last few years. His name does pop up now and then at tourneys back east. He’s still out there grinding.

We were at Hard Times during the Truedough era and Cliff won a qualifier to get into the next tourney. I had staked him (2k) so I’m feeling good about that. He comes over to me and tells me he has a game and needs 2000. Just out of the blue like that. So I say who are you playing and what’s the...

Good old Ernest "Nubby" Morgan, a true one armed pool player. He actually played pretty good, especially on bar boxes. I paid him $75 (his going rate) to do an exhibition in my poolroom and we put up a poster on the front window announcing it. Maybe fifty people showed up to watch him shoot...

A famous old time pool and card hustler (and a very successful one!) gave me some advice long ago that I'll share here. He told me it is not how well you manage your money. It is how well you manage yourself! This little bit of advice came after he watched me blow 10,000 playing Blackjack at...

One more on Cliff, who I happen to like very much but he has/had a major gambling problem. I stake him in the U.S. Bar Table Championships; travel money, free room, food allowance daily and paid entry fees. Probably cost me less than a thousand all told back then. He wins both divisions for 5K...

You got that right! My last real job was when I was 23. Of course running a large poolroom is a lot of work, but you are the employer, not the employee.

Years ago I made a big score (42K) at the World Series of Poker. Came in 5th in a big Hold'em event. I got the cash and put it in a Rio gift bag. As I exited the pay window who should I see but Cliff. Where he came from and how he knew I just won the money I have no idea. He greets me with...

Pool's greatest bite artists revealed: #1 all time Cliff Joyner, #2 Ronnie Allen (for big numbers!), #3 Keith (but he actually paid you back!), #4 old time champ Detroit Whitey, #5 another old timer Youngblood (recently passed away).

I learned this trick while owning poolrooms. If you had an undesirable customer, just loan them some money ($20 was adequate back then), and you'll never see them again. Voila!

I've used them all (USPO, UPS, Fedex etc.) when shipping stuff out. The prices have gone through the roof on all of them in the last two years. Pirate Ship will save you a little money (maybe 10%).

The riots had a lasting impact on off campus life. When I was there for those two days Kips had a lot of business and a few kids that liked to play Eight Ball or 9-Ball. True, they weren't good players, but I liked it that way. I didn't see Tony Bowles when I was there.