It's hard to not pursue pool full time and try to make a living at it when you're an excellent player. I commend you on your wise decision and am confident you are the better for it.
Best Player that Quit Early on
- Thread starter Island Drive
- Start date
How did you get so good at such a young age? Great natural hand eye coordination? Lots of practice?
Do you still play at all?
Your road stories are like gold…for a wannabe player from the 70’s/80’s-thx so much for sharing
‘please tell a story or two about 2 guys who also had a stupid high gear …. Louie and mccready - just when u have time - thx
Keith thompson
Well-known member
From 15 yrs old to 18 yrs old I hung out at LeCue Club in downtown Houston, it was arguably the best action pool room in the world. Greg Stevens, Hansome Danny Jones and Jersey Red played quite often with anyone that came thru any pocket billiards game. I watched all their games and learned one pocket, nine ball and three cushion faster than anyone due to the immense talent in that pool room, plus I loved the game!
Sounds like quite an exciting time.
When you quit did you stop playing altogether or still dabble in the occasional tournament or action?
Keith, you and many others found a way out of the grind in trying to make a living playing pool. For some of us the answer was in owning a poolroom, where you could stay close to the game and make a living at the same time. Others started making cues and did well there. Some found other ways to make a living off our sport without having to make balls every day. And then a few guys like you, Pete Margo, Nick Schulman and John Hennigan left the game completely to find greater rewards elsewhere.
The first time I ever saw Cole was at the Brass Rail in Durham, NC, in the Spring of 1970. Back then the only serious shortstop in Durham was a redheaded kid named Mike Wynn, who was a hell of a player but with a higher opinion of his game than his game really warranted. He took his game up to Jack 'n' Jill one time and got busted by Beanie's partner Charles De Valliere.
Anyway, I wandered into the Brass Rail that day and saw a visually agitated Mike Wynn matching up against a stringy haired skinny little hippie (Cole), didn't look a day over 16, who was just torturing him. Ran out from everywhere, with one of those pockmarked featherweight cue balls that were barely bigger than a snooker ball, and after a while he had Mike missing shots that the proverbial two year old would've made. Since I always thought Mike was kind of a creepy sort, I was secretly rooting for the road player to take down our local champ. And what made it even better was that I matched up later with Cole's partner and beat him out of a little chump change. Obviously that other player wasn't Keith Thompson.
Earlier I see mention was made of players who died too young, and the one I'd always think of in that category was the late Nick Vlahos, AKA "Little Nicky" when he was a teenage phenomenon in the Washington, DC area in the late 1960's / early 70's. In terms of sheer all-around talent I'd be hard pressed to think of anyone much better, but especially in one pocket and straight pool. His family moved to New England and he never strayed much out of that area, but from what I've heard he won a small fortune in backroom action and invested his winnings in real estate, passing on the property to his mother. AFAIK the only video we have of him is an Accu-Stats DVD where he easily beat Earl in a straight pool match somewhere up in Maine. He died of a brain tumor at some point in the late 90's, but if he'd lived and decided to go "national" with his game, I think he'd be in the conversation today as being in the top 25 or 50 of all time. If Tom-Tom (Tom Wirth) sees this, I'm sure he'd back me up, as he saw "Little Nicky" up close many times when they were both in high school.
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I once made 7 on an eight ball rack 4 and 3. Does that count?Well, I guess I’m number three…..made seven, left the 5 and 9 on the table…I was hooked…pushed out to a tricky bank….….
…….guy banked it in like it was a hanger
That's absolute nonsense. If you really understand backing and do the math you will see that the player has the better end of the deal virtually every time, probably 97+% of the time. The difference that explains why one tends to have a little disposable income a lot more often than the other comes down to the types of individuals, their life decision making and responsibility levels, something that many/most serious players aren't particularly known for as a nice way of putting it. They often earn the same amounts in their respective careers, one just tends to be a whole lot more responsible and makes a lot better decisions with their money than the other.
Okay, you've got to have some great Greg Stevens stories. Let's hear 'em!
Thanks for replying-just seems like the vast majority of really good, even great pool players end up broke living outta a cheap rental somewhere. But your right, I have no clue how it all works. I just love the game and like to play occasionally-thx again
I'm curious what you did for a living after you quit pool.
Mike Sigel says it all.
And I'd love to hear more about Beenie's room in VA.
I was a couple decades late to the scene but did my best. In the early 2000s another room opened in the same shopping area. I tortured them in there and they kept me from getting a real job for a couple years.
Best I could do, given the timing.
I was a couple decades late to the scene but did my best. In the early 2000s another room opened in the same shopping area. I tortured them in there and they kept me from getting a real job for a couple years.
Best I could do, given the timing.
The best ever imo. He should have never left pool for Brunswick in the late 80s. He was never the same level after that. But probably some frustrations with so little money in pool as well. If I had to pick ANY one player (of their primes) to make the absolute toughest shot in the most dire of circumstances, it certainly would have been him. Sad that the younger ones only think of the IPT when thinking of Sigel. The old Sigel could have given the IPT Sigel the 2 and out. The man could certainly play flawless pool in his time.
soyale
Well-known member
CJ said the beat Reed giving the 8 ball in a long session , and then loss twice trying to give Reed the 7 on a Big table. How strong is that from CJ.