That's what happened to me in Pool. By the time I was 22 or 23 I was beating a lot of people who used to rob me. Then I started going to the big action rooms and the pro tournaments. There I saw guys who were way out of my league. I knew then I would never be a champ at this game.
The weird thing is that sometime you might think of something while lying in bed and when you try it out the next day it works and your game is improved. I used to lay in bed and only think of pool shots (and how to hit them) before going to sleep. Yes, I was obsessed.
I do own several firearms, pistols and rifles, but I don't know shit about all that stuff. Never reloaded a bullet casing in my life, but do know to keep my guns clean. What I did learn how to do at Ft. Polk, LA is to shoot the silhouette of a man at 300 yards with my M14. I was always a good shot, a Sharpshooter they rated me. Last time I tried shooting a pistol was with my little Ruger .22 Pony gun. I could hit a three inch circle from about thirty feet away. Good enough for self defense I figured. I can handle a .22 Mag just fine. Anything bigger and it has too much kick for my little paws.
decks was theirs. Cole sat down and played when the stacked deck came up his maximum bets brought a huge profit. Two nights in a row they hit the game. The third night it was shut down. It was an inside job and his associates were of the type that you didn't mess around with.
Anyway he would do it once then take a similar shot that didn't make the ball but splattered the rack. If Harry got out they were even. If not Cole stole the rack.16 hours to make 25,000 wasn't too shabby.
Cole did have big hands, but he was a card sucker in the poker rooms. Too many times I saw him get drunk and go broke playing in some pretty big games, all the time professing to me how he would beat this game. His M.O. was to work a month or two doing a construction job (he knew how to build a house from the ground up) and take the big score from that job and blow it in one night playing poker.One story I got from Cole was how they took down a baccarat game 2 nights in a row. One person blocked the camera and another swapped the decks in the shoe. One of the eight decks was theirs. Cole sat down and played when the stacked deck came up his maximum bets brought a huge profit. Two nights in a row they hit the game. The third night it was shut down. It was an inside job and his associates were of the type that you didn't mess around with.
He said there wasn't a casino in Nevada that he hadn't been barred from or literally run out of. He said one time he was playing blackjack. He was wearing a long riders jacket and tipping back on the two back legs of the stool. When a foot got hung up and he started to overbalance and tip back he raised his hands to get his balance. The raised hands exposed an ace In the palm of each hand to the camera.
Cole would roll into Seattle to play Harry one pocket at a thousand a game with one barrel. I sat and watched all night Saturday and until noon Sunday as he harvested 25,000. He would take a 90 degree cut that made the ball and splattered the rack wide open, then run 8 more for the out. 9-7 or 9-8 depending on who broke was his game with Harry. Cole played one pocket better than players that spotted Harry 10-6.
B4 most places went with the 6 deck shoe, it was possible to count and give yourself enuf of an edge to offset the dealers half point advantage.
Wow, we could have built some Shit man.
. He said, "Doolie has offered 150". My reply was 200 followed by sold.
I could beat a single or double deck dealer. I kept my bets between five and fifty dollars so as not to draw any attention. But you had to be careful. Two things could happen if you bet too much or varied your bets too much. They could ask you to leave or they could put a dealer in on you that was a card mechanic. If you think that didn't happen you are being naive. One time at the Flamingo Hitlon in Reno I'm using my strategy against the double deck and keeping my bets low. It's early in the morning and the floor is quiet. I'm one of only a few people playing BJ. I get them stuck maybe 1,200 or 1,500. Decent money circa 1980's.
Not much of a story. Just some filler I heard. Bucktooth used to own a poolhall in Castro Valley. He hired Cole to work there. He didn't last long. Cole was playing pool all the time and not taking care of the counter. I'd think Cole was probably 14 or 15, because when Cole was 16, no one in the San Francisco Bay Area could beat him, and I'd think Cole wouldn't need to work in a poolhall with that ability.Oh well you got my attention. I had some interesting interactions with Cole. 3877 is the number scribed in the stainless joint of the cue I purchased from Cole.
My first conversation experience with Cole came when I drove him from Kelso to Seattle in his truck. Oh did I get stories. A perk for a good cab driver.
Any Cole stories are appreciated. Thanks
There's a district sound. I've never known anyone could flip quiet.
Welcome to the club. I recall the rude awakening I had when I met my first real card sharks.
Old moniker, but still carries the message. 'Mechanic' sounds better. That way after they bust me, they can fix my car!!
Here's another I heard back in the day: Cole beat a guy out of some money but wouldn't pay up. Cole told his father. So his father took Cole back to the poolroom. Cole's father told the guy he better pay up or they'd have to go out back and hash things out...
Legend aside, who taught Cole and how do you figure he'd stand with Gorst and Filler? And how come he let Keith pass? Was Keith better?
