There was a time when a friendly side bet was allowed.
Tournaments or Gambling...Which makes you a stronger player?
- Thread starter jlrowe
- Start date
I prefer tournaments have No Added money, just use players entries.... like they do in poker.
Most pool rooms can't afford to add thousands. All they have is a room, free heat bathrooms parking and air conditioning in the summer.
Why can's we just have 64 player events on thirty two tables $50 entry pp. Once a month, starts at noon finals at 7pm dbl elim. And pay the TD what he/she is worth.
middleofnowhere
Registered
Practice and experience makes you a better player. As far as comparing gambling to tournament play they can be as different as a sprinter and a long distance runner. Except for maybe round robin, most all tournament play is basically sudden death.
In tournament play a lot of things can make you lose but it's rarely because your dogged it. It sometimes just doesn't go your way, or you make a bad decision at some point maybe played safe when you probably should have went for it and so on.
Gambling has a lot of freedoms to it and most of what happens is within your control. That includes you saying to yourself the guys too good and quitting. Just cuz you're gambling nothing locks you into going broke. So in essence there really isn't that much pressure gambling. And in the same respect you can be losing, and you just got it in your heart that you know you can win if you just hang in there.
Tournament play also requires a certain amount of humility. I remember being at a tournament one time with Big Bob and he didn't often play in tournaments but he entered this one. He ends up playing a match with a guy who's not that good a player but Bob loses.
The guy Bob lost to it was a little bit arrogant and he and his friends were over there laughing it up and excited that he had won. Much out of Bob's character he walks over to the guy and says in front of all his friends would you like to play some for real now?
Of course the guy says no and Bob's probably could and would have given him the six ball so it was a silly thing to do but Bob was embarrassed. That's what can happen to you in tournaments, you can get embarrassed.
You better learn to just shake hands and say good game and that's that.
In tournament play a lot of things can make you lose but it's rarely because your dogged it. It sometimes just doesn't go your way, or you make a bad decision at some point maybe played safe when you probably should have went for it and so on.
Gambling has a lot of freedoms to it and most of what happens is within your control. That includes you saying to yourself the guys too good and quitting. Just cuz you're gambling nothing locks you into going broke. So in essence there really isn't that much pressure gambling. And in the same respect you can be losing, and you just got it in your heart that you know you can win if you just hang in there.
Tournament play also requires a certain amount of humility. I remember being at a tournament one time with Big Bob and he didn't often play in tournaments but he entered this one. He ends up playing a match with a guy who's not that good a player but Bob loses.
The guy Bob lost to it was a little bit arrogant and he and his friends were over there laughing it up and excited that he had won. Much out of Bob's character he walks over to the guy and says in front of all his friends would you like to play some for real now?
Of course the guy says no and Bob's probably could and would have given him the six ball so it was a silly thing to do but Bob was embarrassed. That's what can happen to you in tournaments, you can get embarrassed.
You better learn to just shake hands and say good game and that's that.
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Don't ask don't tell?
Well after work, "for a beer" was a smooth question as the balls were being racked. After 3 it was reasonable to ask, "just make it for 5?"
I could respect the "I don't gamble" reply. One night after accepting that reply I noticed him playing a much weaker player for 5. I couldn't help but say, "Oh I See, you dont Gamble but you will Steal.!"
I could respect the "I don't gamble" reply. One night after accepting that reply I noticed him playing a much weaker player for 5. I couldn't help but say, "Oh I See, you dont Gamble but you will Steal.!"
Another reply was, "gambling is against the law." To which I would say, "pool tournaments are legal. We can play a single game single elimination tournament for 5. Just you and me. When that tournament is complete we will play another." 
Playing for money wasn't gambling, a tournament was. I remember a big quarterly or twice a year event at Greenway. Two hundred and fifty added money to bang heads with Buddy Hall, Jose Parica, and more of that level for three days. I could make a loop through Acadiana for the same three days and be pretty certain to make four or five hundred dollars and find a beautiful girl or two. Cajuns love to gamble and few nationwide can hang with the Cajun girls on looks. I considered Greenway a few times but when the weekend came around my wheels just naturally tracked towards Acadiana!
Gambling is more flexible and viewed in the long term was much more profitable for me. Simply because of more time on the table and both producing pressure, I believe skills will increase faster gambling than playing tournaments. I saw people that shot drills for hours a day putting in forty to sixty hours a week shooting drills. They were damned good at shooting drills, did little for their game.
Gambling can make a tournament player. I have never seen tournaments make a gambler.
Hu
Gambling is more flexible and viewed in the long term was much more profitable for me. Simply because of more time on the table and both producing pressure, I believe skills will increase faster gambling than playing tournaments. I saw people that shot drills for hours a day putting in forty to sixty hours a week shooting drills. They were damned good at shooting drills, did little for their game.
Gambling can make a tournament player. I have never seen tournaments make a gambler.
Hu
I don’t have anything on topic to contribute. I did, however, want to congratulate the person who raised the question. For the last week or so the other topics on the Forum have seemed less than interesting. I was worried at first that this string might be just a mirage in the desert for a man dying of thirst, but it has turned into a mini-oasis.
I guess it all boils down to your definition of 'gambler' and 'competitor'.
Competing for limited gambling dollars, nobody beats me to a ring game.
Nobody.
Perhaps there's a difference??
I'll have to think about that.
I'm more into high cash, low reward.
Your no weirdo E. You're a solid player dawg. I'd need weight.
This is why there was such a broad gulf between tournament players and gamblers and roadie's back in the day. Diff opinions on what really mattered.
Victory and recognition, or fat wallet.
I found that with the money, I could buy the notariety if I so choose. People will elevate you as high as you want to go if there's dollars in it for them, sad but true.
Excellent flick!!
Oh man!!! You did it now.Funny you should talk about trophy’s vs cash. I used to race mountain bikes, we only got trophies. One day at a pool tournament, one of the guys there was asking how much it cost to enter the MTB race's and how much money you win. I just laughed, $30 and it’s only trophy’s you win. He said screw thatthe only trophy I kept is the one at the end of the year when I won the race series in my category. I do prefer cash
Started my grandson playing couple of years ago.
He was into disc golf at the time. Kid was good. Had a national rating and excellent mechanics. I'd ask him how much he won in this or that tournament and he'd tell me they paid players in merchandise!!! You built up points you could redeem or some shit. Grandson had a sponsor here in town but no money involved besides entry fees and equipment.
Only the top very few elite had sponsors and got paid. A pittance in comparison, I might add.
The money simply wasn't in disc golf. Not yet anyway.
Grandson is back to swinging the wand I got for him. As bad as it is in pool today, it looked better than disc golf apparently.
I'm a heavy metal hammer now.My best tournament performance requires preparation. TablenTime.
I recall Brady Golan saying, "you give me back to back matches on That table and we will see, How He Likes it." Well he got just that in the end coming back from the second chance side.
There is an auto pilot mode that allows the performance to flow. Like A Dance, some dances are quick and choppy. I prefer the smoothly flowing waltzing.
The delivery of the tip to ball is like a brush to the canvas for the master painter. Watching the cueball reaction provides data for adjustment should the shot go awry. Cloth and ball interaction is critical data. Give me a warm up ....well back in the day
8intheside
Well-known member
Skill wise? No gambling won’t make you a better player. You still need to execute your skills regardless, however I will say gambling may make you a better player as far as handling pressure.
middleofnowhere
Registered
But what is really the source of the pressure? It's not really the money because few people are playing for life-changing money, or meaningful amounts of money at all. $10 $20 sometimes a $100. And that's entirely their choice.
I think it comes back to the ego and the embarrassment of losing some money to somebody. You don't have any excuse such as "Well, we weren't playing for anything".. Fact is you are playing for something and as little as it might have been I doubt you wanted to lose that $80.
So you were on undoubtedly trying your best and you didn't win. Hard for some people to swallow losing money to somebody even small amounts.
It's much easier to just say I don't gamble. The truth is they don't like submitting themselves to the possibility of losing..
I don't often gamble when I play, and I pretty much never gamble when I'm playing in a proper pool room. In a bar, odds are much better than even that I'll be the best player playing. Rarely have I ever been the best player in a pool room, and never if it's busy.
I'd grew up with a pool table, so I had been playing for 10+ years before I stepped into my first pool room. I didn't really understand that pool and gambling went hand in hand. Pool was one of the few activities in which I matched up favorably with my older brother. Bragging rights were plenty. I've always played for fun (like Vincent Lauria before Fast Eddie discovered him) and the love of the game (like Fast Eddie after he parted company with Vincent).
I've been goaded into gambling from time to time when playing in bars. A buddy of mine used to want to play for a skydive each rack on a little bar box at a hole-in-the-wall dive bar we used to frequent after work on Friday nights. At the time (late 90s), that meant $18-$20 per rack. He usually gave up after he was down a couple jump tickets. Against him, it was easy money.
I like the challenge of tournaments, but I don't like all the downtime.
I tend to fall into stroke most easily when I'm on a challenger pays, winner stays bar box. It's always fun to see how long I can keep the table after paying for only one rack. Once one gets to the point where they make more shots than they miss, coin-op tables start getting expensive, so free table time is nice to win.
The best thing to happen to my game overall was to find a frequent (pool room) playing partner who could beat me about 55- or 60-percent of the time. I had to bring my A-game to win racks, but I was just skilled enough that he couldn't get complacent while we played.
I'd grew up with a pool table, so I had been playing for 10+ years before I stepped into my first pool room. I didn't really understand that pool and gambling went hand in hand. Pool was one of the few activities in which I matched up favorably with my older brother. Bragging rights were plenty. I've always played for fun (like Vincent Lauria before Fast Eddie discovered him) and the love of the game (like Fast Eddie after he parted company with Vincent).
I've been goaded into gambling from time to time when playing in bars. A buddy of mine used to want to play for a skydive each rack on a little bar box at a hole-in-the-wall dive bar we used to frequent after work on Friday nights. At the time (late 90s), that meant $18-$20 per rack. He usually gave up after he was down a couple jump tickets. Against him, it was easy money.
I like the challenge of tournaments, but I don't like all the downtime.
I tend to fall into stroke most easily when I'm on a challenger pays, winner stays bar box. It's always fun to see how long I can keep the table after paying for only one rack. Once one gets to the point where they make more shots than they miss, coin-op tables start getting expensive, so free table time is nice to win.
The best thing to happen to my game overall was to find a frequent (pool room) playing partner who could beat me about 55- or 60-percent of the time. I had to bring my A-game to win racks, but I was just skilled enough that he couldn't get complacent while we played.
you can
play and gamble most every day and control who and how you want to play and are under some pressure on ever shot.
tournaments are far between and you only play one or two sets most times with lots of down time .
if you want pressure bet more.
and face it, you are only going to get as good as your ability to get good. nothing more. but dream away.
play and gamble most every day and control who and how you want to play and are under some pressure on ever shot.
tournaments are far between and you only play one or two sets most times with lots of down time .
if you want pressure bet more.
and face it, you are only going to get as good as your ability to get good. nothing more. but dream away.