Who are the greatest players ever who were not big gamblers?

[gregcantrall]

the red roof pub

Oh and oh yeah, the Red Roof was where I won my first pool tournament. Hope you aren't the guy that went by Rhinestone Ray. I beat him by application of the 3 foul rule. Can't remember how much first place paid but pretty sure I spent more celebrating the victory that night.

 

[maha]

nope not me. and i never played in tournaments in spots i hustled in. good way to lose customers.

 

[gregcantrall]

It musta been the early 80s or even late 70s when I had a waterbed shop at 8222 South Tacoma Way. Had the shop in the back of the store and had a pool table in the shop. Was real handy and profitable for after hours action.

 

[gregcantrall]

It musta been the early 80s or even late 70s when I had a waterbed shop at 8222 South Tacoma Way. Had the shop in the back of the store and had a pool table in the shop. Was real handy and profitable for after hours action.

Cocomo was a Tacoma player that got my lunch money for a little while. Then I....uh matured on the pool table. The White Spot had a ring game built around me in the beginning. When I walked through the door, " RING GAME!" was called out. Then when I grew up, silence and a quick glance at the watch followed by, "I gotta go."

 

[jtompilot]

SVB

I guess you didn’t watch Tony beat Shane two $5000 sets at California Billiards

 

[iusedtoberich]

IMO, even top pro's that "don't gamble" came up gambling. At least in the USA. They then reached a point where they couldn't get a game, so switched almost exclusively to touraments. Take SVB, Earl, Corey, for example. They grew up in action. But no one on the planet was going to play them once they became world beaters. Once you are at that level there are only 10 guys that will play you, and its almost "what's the point" then.

 

[GoldCrown]

Best ever? Chop, Dead Money?

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

ADD CocoboloCowboy to list, he is, I am a GREAT ONE HOLE PLAYER.

 

[straightline]

ADD CocoboloCowboy to list, he is, I am a GREAT ONE HOLE PLAYER.

Is that pool or that thing they play out in the grass?

 

[smoochie]

earl vs efren in HK, a.k.a. the color of money match..

I thought this wasn't their own money, it was some sort of a big pot by some big $$ fellas to promote pool kind of....and the players actually wanted to win to take bigger prize. The loser also got some prize $$

 

[straightline]

If you want a great pool movie, you gotta use the actual players.

 

[maha]

It musta been the early 80s or even late 70s when I had a waterbed shop at 8222 South Tacoma Way. Had the shop in the back of the store and had a pool table in the shop. Was real handy and profitable for after hours action.

i remember you from the lincoln city pool tournament way back then. one year you did real well. you were a good player then.

 

[gcgaryyoyo]

How do you know that? Hear on the interweb?? Do you live there? Do you follow them daily? Just curious as to how anyone could make this statement about a player.

Hey buddy, thanks for the comment. While I don't know them personally, the Ko brothers are very approachable, media-friendly, and quite open about their background compared to other players in Taiwan. It’s common knowledge here that they were raised and trained strictly by their father, who used to own a pool hall in Luodong—a small but lively township in northeastern Taiwan.

It's a well-known fact within the Taiwanese billiards community that their father required them to focus solely on tournaments and forbade them from getting sucked into the local 'money match' scene. Now, to be fair, that doesn't mean they never put a few bucks on the table. Their dad actually allowed small, friendly wagers against seasoned veterans, but strictly as a method to teach them to play under pressure (and as an incentive for those better players to spar with his kid). There is a clear difference between using a small bet as a psychological training tool to build mental toughness, and grinding high-stakes games to hustle or make a living. As such, I also don't consider "playing for 200 bucks against SVB for practice in Bucharest Open" as "gambling".

My guess is their dad knew that back in the day, developing a genuine gambling habit often dragged players into a toxic lifestyle. It frequently led to chain-smoking, chewing betel nut, ruined circadian rhythms from pulling all-nighters, and getting mixed up with a shady crowd. He wanted to shield them from that and treat the sport as a true profession.

You can actually see this philosophy reflected in the billiards institute they recently co-founded to foster the next generation of young players (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576871099328). Their code of conduct requires students to dress formally, with a zero-tolerance policy for gambling and smoking. When you look at the strict discipline they were raised with and continue to promote, it’s not hard to see why the Ko brothers are so respected and popular everywhere they go (Taiwan, Vietnam, China, etc.).

And finally, yes, I'm from Taiwan.

 

[skogstokig]

Hey buddy, thanks for the comment. While I don't know them personally, the Ko brothers are very approachable, media-friendly, and quite open about their background compared to other players in Taiwan. It’s common knowledge here that they were raised and trained strictly by their father, who used to own a pool hall in Luodong—a small but lively township in northeastern Taiwan.

It's a well-known fact within the Taiwanese billiards community that their father required them to focus solely on tournaments and forbade them from getting sucked into the local 'money match' scene. Now, to be fair, that doesn't mean they never put a few bucks on the table. Their dad actually allowed small, friendly wagers against seasoned veterans, but strictly as a method to teach them to play under pressure (and as an incentive for those better players to spar with his kid). There is a clear difference between using a small bet as a psychological training tool to build mental toughness, and grinding high-stakes games to hustle or make a living. As such, I also don't consider "playing for 200 bucks against SVB for practice in Bucharest Open" as "gambling".

My guess is their dad knew that back in the day, developing a genuine gambling habit often dragged players into a toxic lifestyle. It frequently led to chain-smoking, chewing betel nut, ruined circadian rhythms from pulling all-nighters, and getting mixed up with a shady crowd. He wanted to shield them from that and treat the sport as a true profession.

You can actually see this philosophy reflected in the billiards institute they recently co-founded to foster the next generation of young players (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576871099328). Their code of conduct requires students to dress formally, with a zero-tolerance policy for gambling and smoking. When you look at the strict discipline they were raised with and continue to promote, it’s not hard to see why the Ko brothers are so respected and popular everywhere they go (Taiwan, Vietnam, China, etc.).

And finally, yes, I'm from Taiwan.

nice post. i thought they smoked. how is the next generation thing doing in taiwan? i've noticed that there is a low presence of young taiwanese players on the pro tournament scene

 

[gregcantrall]

i remember you from the lincoln city pool tournament way back then. one year you did real well. you were a good player then.

2012 and 15 were the years I won thr Senior devision in 8 and 9 ball. A Senior devision victory earned a upgrade to the A devision for a year then eligible to return to the Seniors. After my second Seniors victory I managed a 4th in the A devision which got me kicked up to the Masters devision. My one victory as a Master was one of my best tournament matches ever, as it was over Kenny Dodd (Rated Grand Master). He played out of Portland and for bigger money than I was comfortable playing for.
The Lincoln City events made for a nice one week vacation for us. The wife enjoyed the slots and paid for the vacation one year with slot winnings.
My tournament wins did cover most of the expenses but the recreation made every trip a successful venture.
Small Ball was my diet back in the day. $5 tournaments and 1 and 2 dollar ring games were available every night of the week in the Northwet.
Forged in Fire
And Killer Bee comes to mind. As I did well in B tournaments in Sacramento too.
Spokane provided a C tournament that was the largest purse I ever won in tournament play. $900 for 2 days work, er uh play. Was a nice payday Of course the Gal I played in the finals did question my eligibility.
Never tempted to quit the day job but did supplement the income.
In the beginning I paid the $5 tournaments for cheap lessons. It took a few years to get to where I could compete with the big boys.
Ranged the west coast from Canada to Sacramento. Always got claustrophobic anywhere south of Sacramento. Just a country boy at heart.

 

[gregcantrall]

The.Best in the Nortwest was Dan Louie , He did play for money but wasn't known as a money player., well mainly because nobody, I mean nobody wanted that kind of action.
(If I remember right) It was '84 that Parica proceeded Efren and was thumping the American players. Dan beat him twice in the Lake Tahoe event. Made even more impressive by the fact that Dan had to go to Reno for dialysis mid tournament. Dialysis was a procedure that was draining physically. My cab driving experience had me assisting dialysis patients to get in the cab after dialysis. They struggled to walk.

 

[gregcantrall]

pressure of gambling

Oh that brings a chuckle and story rerun.
My wife taught me to gamble. Well I was courting her at the time.
The cowboy capital of the world and playing the last call game for a 6 pack to go. My pocket had just hit empty and well I didn't want her to know. So We played the Bulldog belt buckle wearing Champions on My nerve.. The thought of the consequences definitely put the Fight or Flight adrenaline level to the top. The partners 8 ball game provided my first break and run in competition EVER!!!! Oh boy that 6 pack to go was gone in a flash.
The book McGoorty has a similar story of playing on his nerve. An exhilarating experience that can be addictive.