Back to Manila
- Thread starter jay helfert
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Great read Jay. Well done taking down THAT with Lulong! You scared his ass so bad he pulled up pretty quick. Slow it down buddy, else you'll never get another game. lol
Makes me also want to ask the economics as to how a young Chinese player dropped the cash to travel there (not sure of travel details, I'm an ignorant american
). He must feel pretty good about his game, getting $$ games on the island, gaining experience and coming out ahead. A young entrepreneur? Sounds ballsy. Remind me to never challenge you to banks.
Swim well Mr Phelps,
Matt
Great read Jay. Well done taking down THAT with Lulong! You scared his ass so bad he pulled up pretty quick. Slow it down buddy, else you'll never get another game. lol
Makes me also want to ask the economics as to how a young Chinese player dropped the cash to travel there (not sure of travel details, I'm an ignorant american
Remind me to never challenge you to banks.
Swim well Mr Phelps,
Matt
It's not a long trip from Taiwan, maybe an hour and half by plane. These young guns know that they can get games and seasoning over here in the PI. Just like Wang Can who flew all the way to the states on his dime and MADE MONEY!
The great pool players are all coming out of Asia now. The game may be on the decline in the states but it's on the rise here. A lot of Chinese money to fuel games! A LOT!!!
P.S. I'm sure Lulong is not done with me. I will have to beat him at One Pocket next. But I'm a lot more confident in my game right now. In the back of my mind, my inspiration is always Onifrio Lauri, the great Straight Pool player from the Greenleaf and Mosconi eras. He won a major 9-Ball tournament at the age of 69 at Weenie Beenie's pool room (Jack 'n Jill) in 1971. There is no reason I can't still play good pool.
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the rain is gone. the flooding though caused a lot of damage in the city. the pool table in our next-door neighbor was completely submerged to flood. they'll be dismantling it tomorrow while i go to Ropa to buy cloth, and other stuff for the table.
i hope you're ok and able to go through the monsoon, Jay.
-arps
i hope you're ok and able to go through the monsoon, Jay.
-arps
Since Jay didn't post an update today I can only assume he either drowned, got laid/took a nap or got spanked on the table for his sushi money. 
My GF sent me the video file of the betting between games during the match between Jeff DeLuna and Bong. It's a very cool video. Unfortunately I can't upload it from this computer. If someone knows how to do this I will send it to you via e-mail and you can upload it on here. Just send me a PM with your e-mail address. Thanks
Funniest thing, that can only happen in Manila. A guy tells me where I can go to get a game, gives me the name of a place and where it's located. I take a trike to that area and walk all around looking for the poolroom called Rolling Stone. No luck, I can't find it. So last night I'm returning to my hotel and I look from across the street. OMG, Rolling Stone is upstairs in the building next to my hotel! There is a poolroom fifty yards away from my hotel and I never knew it. CRAZY!
Funniest thing, that can only happen in Manila. A guy tells me where I can go to get a game, gives me the name of a place and where it's located. I take a trike to that area and walk all around looking for the poolroom called Rolling Stone. No luck, I can't find it. So last night I'm returning to my hotel and I look from across the street. OMG, Rolling Stone is upstairs in the building next to my hotel! There is a poolroom fifty yards away from my hotel and I never knew it. CRAZY!
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Ohio was a great place for pool action in the 60's and 70's. Lot's of poolrooms and many, many hustlers plying their trade. I got to see Don Willis, George Rood, Eddie Taylor, Lassiter, Chuck Morgan, Pete Glenn, Joey Spade, Clem, Patcheye and many more in their prime, playing right here in Dayton, Cincy and Columbus. My dad bought a beautiful Brunswick Sport King from Chris Raftis and put it in our house. Raftis was probably one of the two best (along with Gusitay) one handed players of all time. I watched him spear balls in and draw the cue ball back up table. AMAZING! And no one alive can do that today, not even Larry Nevel or Mike Massey. I watched Raftis trounce Taylor playing 9-Ball one handed. It wasn't even close!
Little Miami came to Dayton to play Raftis after he heard about him and Miami could really play. They played a Race to Eleven for $1,000 (500 each). A very big bet back then. It was played at Winks poolroom, the predecessor to Forest Park Billiards. Raftis beat him 11-8 and Miami packed it in, never to return. I got to hold Chris' cue for him between turns.
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Lots of great names, I loved the stories out of Dayton from your book. I remember when I was learning the game as a kid in the mid-late 70's my dad took me to watch some good local players at the only hall left in town at that time (my grandfather worked at one back when there were quite a few around) and then I found The Lions and The Lambs at the library in Newark Ohio and first read about Willis. Fascinating guy. When I started playing high school and college kids to get a little spending money I wanted to be like him. Be smart with the money and stay in the shadows.
Question about matches in manila
You might be able to answer this question for me since its been killing me and I cant figure out the answer. Ive been watching some of the money matches from the Philippines on youtube. I see how they put the powder on the rail of the table and they use it constantly in between shots, I have notice many times that when a player unintentionally bumps a ball someone comes around and dips his fingertip in the powder and then marks the spot where the ball that was bumped used to be or sometimes where the ball lies on now. What is the purpose of this?
Another question, I see that there is a lot of gambling in those matches, not just in the outcome of the match but a lot of times players are not allowed to break until all bets are set in between racks, are they betting on the rack or does the odds of the match changes in between racks?
If you can give us a little feedback about how the phillipinos gamble in pool that would be nice. Ive been to manila several times but unfortunately it was before I started playing pool, I am planning a trip soon since I have many friends there and I'd like to get some seasoning gambling in there.
You might be able to answer this question for me since its been killing me and I cant figure out the answer. Ive been watching some of the money matches from the Philippines on youtube. I see how they put the powder on the rail of the table and they use it constantly in between shots, I have notice many times that when a player unintentionally bumps a ball someone comes around and dips his fingertip in the powder and then marks the spot where the ball that was bumped used to be or sometimes where the ball lies on now. What is the purpose of this?
Another question, I see that there is a lot of gambling in those matches, not just in the outcome of the match but a lot of times players are not allowed to break until all bets are set in between racks, are they betting on the rack or does the odds of the match changes in between racks?
If you can give us a little feedback about how the phillipinos gamble in pool that would be nice. Ive been to manila several times but unfortunately it was before I started playing pool, I am planning a trip soon since I have many friends there and I'd like to get some seasoning gambling in there.
Funny the only guy I know who's able to do that was mentioned by you a few posts earlier...Lolong can draw the ball back full table playing one handed! He did it against me!! He is a monster one handed player...
Don't say I didn't warn you lol :wink:
They are betting on each rack! When the "ref" marks a ball with a spot of powder, he is doing that so they have its location in case it moves on the next shot. They are usually playing cue ball fouls only in the money games.
I won't be playing him or anyone else one handed but thanks anyway. :thumbup:
I went next door to Rolling Stone last night. They also have Brunswick Metro tables but with big pockets and bad lighting. I got some balls and started hitting them around. Usually if there is a hustler in the room this is all it takes to get them to approach you. Nothing doing though, only social players in the room. I practiced maybe 30 minutes and quit.
Went back to the room and watched pool on TV. I have seen a lot of Accu-Stats stuff since I've been here. Mostly from the One Pocket Invitational (they show full length matches!) and some 9-Ball matches from the last DCC. All on Fox Sports Asia. Today I'm off to Quezon City to visit Dennis O. and his family. I will play pool tonight at Hermes, the action spot out there.
Here's Lolong playing Rotation against Dennis. He only needs to pocket 30 points to win, while Dennis has to make 90 --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h70VV8--jFg
Finally, its always nice to see Jay in action, welcome to Hermes
I wont spoil the beans and let Jay do the typing here
Lets hear itgo go go
Thanks Joyren for having a game all lined up for me when I got there. Jojo is a damn good player and a good coach for the young guns who come in there. He is kind of the Sensei I understand. That said, when I saw he was ready, willing and able to play me One Pocket or Banks, I knew I was in trouble
. I kind of like being the underdog though, especially when I feel like I'm playing good. So we agreed to play One Pocket, a Race to Three for 1,000p, a fairly sociable amount, but still a real bet over here, considering people work a few days to earn that much. I will say this, Hermes has BY FAR the best equipment to play on in Quezon City. Two nice Diamond tables, two Brunswick Gold Crowns and the really nice Brunswick Metro set up front. Perry Mariano takes his pool seriously and it shows. Lots of room to play, nice environment and a room full of serious players. Plus it's Dennis' home room!
So Jojo and I get the front table and I hit a few balls and tell him I'm ready. But really I'm not. I haven't got the speed down yet or the rails. I scratch three times in the first game and still get to six. The second game is not much better and now I'm down 2-0 going to three! I look at Joyren and tell him, "I've got him right where I want him now." We've played maybe 40 minutes and it looks like this will be over quick. Strangely enough I still feel good. I'm getting comfortable on the table and I KNOW I can make balls if I get the chance. Jojo does play some good safes though and I MUST out move him to win a game!
Game three goes my way and I run five or six balls to lock it up. Now it's his break. If I can overcome his break (and he breaks good) one time, I have a chance. He makes another good break and we get in a safety battle back and forth. This time he makes the first small error and I get a few balls. I grind it out and now the score is 2-2 and I'm breaking. I lay down a good break but he makes a good return shot. We must play 20 innings before anyone gets the first ball. In this game I get a small lead (like 3-1) and the balls start going up table. I don't mind this at all. I feel like it gives me an edge. This is the longest game yet (one ball at a time) and after maybe 45 minutes I reach the hill, leading 7-4. I've got him, or at least I think I do. Jojo plays his best bank shots of the match, firing in a couple off the end rail. Now it's 7-6 and soon after he leads me 7-6, following my scratch in the side. I refuse to give up and after several more innings I cut a long shot backwards in my pocket (I must make this ball or lose!) and we are 2-2 in games and 7-7 in the final game.
Jojo plays a safe from an awkward angle and leaves me up table a couple of diamonds from the end rail, about a diamond and a half out. The object ball spots. I have to cut the ball backwards to my hole and there is a big danger of scratching. I feel like I want to shoot. It's a chance to win! All of a sudden all the chatter in the poolroom comes to a halt. I take a quick look around and all 15 to 20 people are watching this shot. Dennis is sitting in a chair right next to our table, sweating me hard! I don't know why but I love it. I cut the ball dead center in the hole and the cue ball hits the end rail. Once again I feel like collapsing. It's a small bet in an obscure poolroom, but for me it means everything. I can still play this game and WIN! Against a good player no less. In my heart I feel like Jojo is maybe the superior player (in this spot anyway), but I'm just determined to MAKE him win. I won't give it to him, no way!
In the last week I've had five small money games and I'm 5-0. Maybe my total win is only about 5,000P, but that's not what's important to me. I feel like I'm on the way back to being competitive again at the game I love. I'm having fun playing pool!
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Hahaha Jay your the Man
Well Jojo is the very good friend of the Legend himself, Efren "Bata" Reyes, they have been playing with each other and he learn his pools skills with Efren himself, but lately he seldom plays anymore, just sociallizing with us.
You saw me yesterday in a poolroom but, hey what am i holding? Fishing lures hahaha, well our group of friend beside pools love to go deep sea fishing, maybe this coming September, we will go out once again with Efren's company just to chill and relax
Well Jojo is the very good friend of the Legend himself, Efren "Bata" Reyes, they have been playing with each other and he learn his pools skills with Efren himself, but lately he seldom plays anymore, just sociallizing with us.
You saw me yesterday in a poolroom but, hey what am i holding? Fishing lures hahaha, well our group of friend beside pools love to go deep sea fishing, maybe this coming September, we will go out once again with Efren's company just to chill and relax
Thanks Joyren for having a game all lined up for me when I got there. Jojo is a damn good player and a good coach for the young guns who come in there. He is kind of the Sensei I understand. That said, when I saw he was ready, willing and able to play me One Pocket or Banks, I knew I was in trouble
So we agreed to play One Pocket, a Race to Three for 1,000p, a fairly sociable amount, but still a real bet over here, considering people work a few days to earn that much. I will say this, Hermes has BY FAR the best equipment to play on in Quezon City. Two nice Diamond tables, two Brunswick Gold Crowns and the really nice Brunswick Metro set up front. Perry Mariano takes his pool seriously and it shows. Lots of room to play, nice environment and a room full of serious players. Plus it's Dennis' home room!
So Jojo and I get the front table and I hit a few balls and tell him I'm ready. But really I'm not. I haven't got the speed down yet or the rails. I scratch three times in the first game and still get to six. The second game is not much better and now I'm down 2-0 going to three! I look at Joyren and tell him, "I've got him right where I want him now." We've played maybe 40 minutes and it looks like this will be over quick. Strangely enough I still feel good. I'm getting comfortable on the table and I KNOW I can make balls if I get the chance. Jojo does play some good safes though and I MUST out move him to win a game!
Game three goes my way and I run five or six balls to lock it up. Now it's his break. If I can overcome his break (and he breaks good) one time, I have a chance. He makes another good break and we get in a safety battle back and forth. This time he makes the first small error and I get a few balls. I grind it out and now the score is 2-2 and I'm breaking. I lay down a good break but he makes a good return shot. We must play 20 innings before anyone gets the first ball. In this game I get a small lead (like 3-1) and the balls start going up table. I don't mind this at all. I feel like it gives me an edge. This is the longest game yet (one ball at a time) and after maybe 45 minutes I reach the hill, leading 7-4. I've got him, or at least I think I do. Jojo plays his best bank shots of the match, firing in a couple off the end rail. Now it's 7-6 and soon after he leads me 7-6, following my scratch in the side. I refuse to give up and after several more innings I cut a long shot backwards in my pocket (I must make this ball or lose!) and we are 2-2 in games and 7-7 in the final game.
Jojo plays a safe from an awkward angle and leaves me up table a couple of diamonds from the end rail, about a diamond and a half out. The object ball spots. I have to cut the ball backwards to my hole and there is a big danger of scratching. I feel like I want to shoot. It's a chance to win! All of a sudden all the chatter in the poolroom comes to a halt. I take a quick look around and all 15 to 20 people are watching this shot. Dennis is sitting in a chair right next to our table, sweating me hard! I don't know why but I love it. I cut the ball dead center in the hole and the cue ball hits the end rail. Once again I feel like collapsing. It's a small bet in an obscure poolroom, but for me it means everything. I can still play this game and WIN! Against a good player no less. In my heart I feel like Jojo is maybe the superior player (in this spot anyway), but I'm just determined to MAKE him win. I won't give it to him, no way!
In the last week I've had five small money games and I'm 5-0. Maybe my total win is only about 5,000P, but that's not what's important to me. I feel like I'm on the way back to being competitive again at the game I love. I'm having fun playing pool!
That is what it is about Jay, playing the game we love and staying young.
I am in Chicago as I read and enjoy your post & victory, waiting to play The Ghost (Bruce) a set of one pocket for 3k today at Red Shoes. The trip will cost me $1,500 before I hit a ball, but I love it. Of course I think I will win.
I have never been here before and the food is awesome. We are winners for getting up and playing, win or lose.