A professional "Pool Detective" gives "Kid Delicious" *devilishly smart* road hustling advice. Fascinating 10-minute must-read article!

arnaldo

arnaldo

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What Kid D. and his road partner learned at this clandestinely-arranged meeting was a complete game-changer that enabled their profitable road career:

https://tinyurl.com/3uj8f2jc

Totally factual article, colorfully written by one of the best-ever sports writers.

Enjoy.

Arnaldo
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What's the thing about using house cues? Would someone who doesn't take the game seriously enough to own his own cue really play for hundreds of dollars a rack? I can see that working at $20 a game, I just can't believe that people who would put up hundreds of dollars would fall for some of the "hustler" ruses.
 
arnaldo said:
What Kid D. and his road partner learned at this clandestinely-arranged meeting was a complete game-changer that enabled their profitable road career:

https://tinyurl.com/3uj8f2jc

Totally factual article, colorfully written by one of the best-ever sports writers.

Enjoy.

Arnaldo
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Thank you Arnaldo... Guy
 
"You don't walk into a place with YOUR OWN cue! Ya give yourself away before you hit your FIRST BALL! Use a house cue! Whattaya do if the house CUES are shit?"

A friend of mine solved that problem by installing a large Budweiser sticker on his fairly simple cue. As I recall, his cue was a Southwest.:eek:

The advice is out of date. People who can barely hit the end rail have Revos these days. I think the opposite is kind of true now. Anyone who offers to play for money using a house cue is immediately suspect. The suspicion turns to certainty when their friend offers to loan them a cue which had been left in the car.
 
Bob Jewett said:
A friend of mine solved that problem by installing a large Budweiser sticker on his fairly simple cue. As I recall, his cue was a Southwest.:eek:
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If I wanted that type of action that's what I'd do. That or find a cheap flashy looking cue. Or look like the full of himself yuppie type that learned a little bit about the game and thinks he's figured it all out and has money to gamble. What is this goofy dance where people are like "I'm supposed to hold the fat end, right? Wanna play for $1000 a set?" It seems like part of hiding your speed is making it look like you aren't hiding anything, not blowing out a smokescreen like a 4 alarm fire.
 
Guy Manges said:
Thank you Arnaldo... Guy
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You're very welcome, Guy. Glad you enjoyed it. The "Pool Detective" was quite the student (and teacher) of human behavior -- at least as it relates to hustling $$$$ or $$$$$ from any should-know-better pool fool. We'll likely hear from more than a few players who knew him back then.

Arnaldo
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arnaldo said:
What Kid D. and his road partner learned at this clandestinely-arranged meeting was a complete game-changer that enabled their profitable road career:

https://tinyurl.com/3uj8f2jc

Totally factual article, colorfully written by one of the best-ever sports writers.

Enjoy.

Arnaldo
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click to expand...
great book. was around DB when he was torching Okla. and Kansas. Funny as hell and could flat play.
 
i used to go in pool rooms with a very expensive cue and show it off. no road player would do that.

did the same with golf clubs. always got action from the weak players for good money. only a fool goes in and plays the best players. who are usually broke and will quit if they see you are in their class.
 
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A lot of the new players can't fathom using a house cue to play "good" pool. Heck, when I was coming up half the players who played good and gambled good used nothing but house cues. It was almost a sense of pride. And they'd bet big, and run out! At one pool room in Nashville you'd find three guys playing an expensive 9 ball ring game for hours every night. Money was placed on the 3, 6 and 9 (I think $20 a ball) and they all used nothing but house cues, and could all play. I will say that places took much better care of their house cues back then, then it appears they do these days.
 
just read it and can see why kid isnt around anymore. all he could do is beat the best players in the room as he was a top player.

then its easy money till you burn out. then if you didnt save and invest it all was just a waste of time.
 
maha said:
just read it and can see why kid isnt around anymore. all he could do is beat the best players in the room as he was a top player.

then its easy money till you burn out. then if you didnt save and invest it all was just a waste of time.
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you always have the memories
 
Matt_24 said:
A lot of the new players can't fathom using a house cue to play "good" pool. Heck, when I was coming up half the players who played good and gambled good used nothing but house cues. It was almost a sense of pride. And they'd bet big, and run out! At one pool room in Nashville you'd find three guys playing an expensive 9 ball ring game for hours every night. Money was placed on the 3, 6 and 9 (I think $20 a ball) and they all used nothing but house cues, and could all play. I will say that places took much better care of their house cues back then, then it appears they do these days.
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I used to play off the wall all the time when I was traveling for business. I played more with house cues than probably any other cue. And I still play best with a good house cue.

I don't think there is a better hit than a good one-piece house cue with a soft, cheap tip.
 
Matt_24 said:
A lot of the new players can't fathom using a house cue to play "good" pool. Heck, when I was coming up half the players who played good and gambled good used nothing but house cues. It was almost a sense of pride. And they'd bet big, and run out! At one pool room in Nashville you'd find three guys playing an expensive 9 ball ring game for hours every night. Money was placed on the 3, 6 and 9 (I think $20 a ball) and they all used nothing but house cues, and could all play. I will say that places took much better care of their house cues back then, then it appears they do these days.
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If someone can play with a normal deflection shaft, using a house cue to play as about as good as with a custom cue is not very hard. Issue is with the players that grew up or got used to using LD shafts that go to using a high deflection house cue. After years of using LD shafts, I pack one to travel with me since I don't want to spend half of my shooting time guessing how much I need to adjust for spin. I did manage to beat a lower level snooker player with a house cue though, but it would have been an even larger beating if I had my normal shafts. I would guess the average player (not someone with natural ability of a pro), would drop almost a level of play when using a shaft with much different deflection they are used to, so an A would be playing closer to a B+ level, an A- would be a B, etc...

That is one of the drawbacks I think that comes from going to LD equipment, we lose the ability to use just any cue that is found in a pool hall. I still recommend new players start with LD shafts though since it's very likely they will want to swap to one anyway sooner or later, so may as well start sooner and spend less time messing with learning to aim again.
 
if you can play at all just shoot a few different shots with the wood shaft or house cue and see where to hit with different amounts of spin.
its not hard.
you need to do that anytime you change sticks as they all hit differently on the outer edges.
 
RunoutJJ said:
Danny’s got more tics then one acre of a deer farm.
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I'd love to see Danny back in action, if he would like to be. Figure if I ever become a Ralph Procopio, I'll be sure to keep a tournament with at least $50k+ 1st place payout using funds (or write offs) from other investments, so he can compete in anually. Nature will do it's thing. I'd love to see real money back in pool, and all the players finding action and livelihood just like the NBA and other professional sports players. Be setting up money games like Procopio myself 😂😂 'the good ole days' I sadly missed. (RIP Ralph)
 
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