Challenge the house pro

supergreenman

supergreenman

truly addicted
Silver Member
Last night I wandered into my favorite, but not regular "billiards room". It's my favorite because they have the best tables in the city, well maintained Brunswick medallists. It's not my regular room, because it's too expensive and kinda out of my way.

After playing a friend for a while I noticed a sign on the wall that read.....

Challenge the House pro Wednesdays:
$10, if you win you get a $20 gift certificate.
You pick the game, 9-ball 10-ball or 8-ball race to 3


Now, I know who thier house pro is and I also knew that he left for the evening but feigning ignorance I asked the waitress about it. She went to go get the manager, presumably for him to play me. She came back in a bit and said he was busy and couldn't play. I thought that was a shame because although I don't know who the manager is, I knew he probably wasn't as good as the the "house Pro" so I would have had a better chance.

Anyways, I was wondering how many people have this kind thing at thier local halls?

SuperGreenMan
 
We used to do that at UW as a "Challenge the Champ" thing a couple times a year. I got to do it the last few years I was there. The winner would get an hour of free pool ($2.60 value) at $0.50 per try. All my friends would want me to dump to them so they could get a bunch of free hours. But I would have none of that, I didn't want to lose one game. They had a white board tallying my wins versus the challengers wins. The last time I did it I was 53-6, took about 5 hours or so. If the manager was smart she would have told me to lose a few more to make more random people come through the door and start playing and make her money back later. Hated even losing those 6 games.
 
Best tables??? Biggest pockets in the universe... with super fast bed (which means the cue ball likes to move around as it is slowing down).

Beat the Pro... average Joe has NO CHANCE. Poor game for the average pool player... even at 5 to 1 the House would still come out way ahead.

I will submit that the place has very good food and terrific scenery.
 
would that be the q club or cue club on whyte ave?just curious.and i would demand my $20 certificate even if there was no one for me to play.or take down the signs.lol
 
Shortside K said:
Best tables??? Biggest pockets in the universe... with super fast bed (which means the cue ball likes to move around as it is slowing down).

Beat the Pro... average Joe has NO CHANCE. Poor game for the average pool player... even at 5 to 1 the House would still come out way ahead.

I will submit that the place has very good food and terrific scenery.
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True enough. However people get a bit of a thrill out of playing a pro.
 
While there is no sign, I suspect that the only 'house pro' I know might accept a challenge under the right circumstances. ;) It is an interesting promotional idea for sure, I like it.

Dave
 
jimmy-leggs said:
would that be the q club or cue club on whyte ave?just curious.and i would demand my $20 certificate even if there was no one for me to play.or take down the signs.lol
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It's the Metro club, downtown. I'll be going back to do the challenge, I don't mind my odds, a race to 3 anything can happen.
 
Shortside K said:
Best tables??? Biggest pockets in the universe... with super fast bed (which means the cue ball likes to move around as it is slowing down).

Beat the Pro... average Joe has NO CHANCE. Poor game for the average pool player... even at 5 to 1 the House would still come out way ahead.

I will submit that the place has very good food and terrific scenery.
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I like the tables, the fast cloth doesn't bother me and I'm sure the pockets are 4.5".

I'm average Joe, and I think the odds are better than a video lottery terminal.
 
Even at $10, I would think that's cheap just for the opertunity to play a decent pro. House Pro- Well that would depend on the place, and who they have, but Getting most to play sets is not always so cheap IMO, and I would think the experience alone would be worth It for alot of people, win or loose. Ofcoarse If by some chance they are allowed to play in the local tournament, then some may feel that would be more worth while, with the possibility of the same opertunity to meet up at some point in the tourney. Small races don't last long, and It's true anything can happen. Even alot of high B players could possibly control 3 racks at any given time, unless It's a alternate break.
 
I had always thought if i owned / ran a pool hall, I would have a Challenge Table.

And have a Challenge the House Pro. But the only problem is what if the house pro isnt around? Or you fill in if the house pro is gone, and your the only one working and its too busy to go and play someone who wants to challenge the house pro.
 
Even alot of high B players could possibly control 3 racks at any given time said:
There is no way B players could control an A+ player for 3 racks at any given time... once in a "blue moon"... yes, but not very often.

A "fairer" test would be a race to 2 for the Pro vs a race to 1 for Ordinary Joe... still favors the Pro in the long run.

Realize that you are paying $10 to win $20 voucher which means are really only winning $10. That $10 is only costing the proprietor maybe $5.

We had a game (many, many years ago when local halls had maybe 10 tables) where you payed a small sum to play one rack of straight pool (on 10 ft. snooker tables). You broke the balls (hard, like in 8 ball... balls made on the break stayed down) and shot until you cleared the table. Your total number of shots were recorded to clear the table (the break and misses also counted as a shot) and the money was pooled til the end of the week. It was a small place and the proprietor watched while you played your rack.

At the end of the week the lowest score (lowest number of shots) won the pool (ties split the pot). You could enter as many times as you liked. It is amazing to me, thinking back, as to how easy it seemed to clear the table (remember... on 10 ft. snooker tables) and how difficult it would be to achieve now. I seem to remember the score of 15 would usually get the cash.

This only worked cuz the place was a small hall and never had any top level players around who could dominate the competition (I guess I was one of the best... and that's not saying much). Almost everyone played it a little, especially on the last day when it became clear what the best score to beat was... the proprietor probably put his $ in more than anyone.

Something to do when there was no one around to play.
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supergreenman said:
Benny Onyschuk
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i think ive seen benny,i think he is a friend of kevin cardinal or at that level.very good shot .i think kevin won the vegas masters twice.good luck,you just cant give him a shot.
 
Shortside K said:
There is no way B players could control an A+ player for 3 racks at any given time... once in a "blue moon"... yes, but not very often.


So just because the player can break and run 3 racks makes him an "A" player automatcally and not a high "B". If He keeps them in their chair, then how can they do anything about It unless It's alternate break, they fix the racks,shark, or gets the first break. Yeah It may not happen everytime, but it is possible IMO. Race to 5 may be alot harder though. When I say high "B" I mean a solid High "B" but sure ocasionally that player may shoot an "A" level, just not average out as one.
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Cue Crazy said:
Shortside K said:
There is no way B players could control an A+ player for 3 racks at any given time... once in a "blue moon"... yes, but not very often.


So just because the player can break and run 3 racks makes him an "A" player automatcally and not a high "B". If He keeps them in their chair, then how can they do anything about It unless It's alternate break, they fix the racks,shark, or gets the first break. Yeah It may not happen everytime, but it is possible IMO. Race to 5 may be alot harder though. When I say high "B" I mean a solid High "B" but sure ocasionally that player may shoot an "A" level, just not average out as one.
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My point to this whole thing is: "Is it a FAIR game?"

Yes, it is possible for a "high B" player to occassionally beat an "A+" player. Is it a good bet? No. Would you take even odds (thats what the Beat the Pro format is)? No. High B players and higher are about what... maybe 10-15% of the pool population... so the other 90% has virtually NO CHANCE.

I understand that it would be impossible to make all of the matches fair, but the present set-up is a sucker bet just like those at the travelling carnivals and fairs...
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Shortside K said:
Cue Crazy said:
My point to this whole thing is: "Is it a FAIR game?"

Yes, it is possible for a "high B" player to occassionally beat an "A+" player. Is it a good bet? No. Would you take even odds (thats what the Beat the Pro format is)? No. High B players and higher are about what... maybe 10-15% of the pool population... so the other 90% has virtually NO CHANCE.

I understand that it would be impossible to make all of the matches fair, but the present set-up is a sucker bet just like those at the travelling carnivals and fairs...
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Well I can aggree on that alittle easier. True that the average player may have no chance, just that I was'nt refering to those, and maybe I should have been more clear in that statement. Would I take even odds on Myself, well that's where I'm different because yes I would, but only because I don't play for the money like alot of people, I play to compete, for the challenge, If I win after being given weight It means nothing to me, and if I don't win I can live with It as long as it does'nt drain My pockets and I was somewhat competitive.

Maybe to some it a suckers bet I aggree, but IMO that's a gamblers perspective. It's called challenge the house pro Right. Would It be a challenge if all the odds were stacked in Your favor? For some Maybe, but Not for me because I like attempting to beat the odds Myself. Sure While some do, not all houses I have seen had a pro at the level Your talking about, while some others do. For me I would'nt need this action anyway. There is a weekly tournament near me that has several high quality players playing In It, one of them and ex US open champ. I was just talking to friend I do cuework with, and he's been playing there each week. Altough he tells me he would'nt match up with some on the side, he feels he competes very well in the tournament considering the competition, and so like me He is happy with that, because It improves his level of play and focus. There's 2 types of players that I've seen, those that play well when the odds are good or even, and others that step up to the competition. The guy that steps up to the competition level may not focus as hard with the average player. I have been guilty of this Myself.

The point of My original post was that for someone like this, 10 Bucks is alot cheaper, then playing them sets for the chance to matchup. If You expected to win everytime or break the house, then yes I aggree the challenge may not be for You.:)
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Cue Crazy said:
Shortside K said:
The point of My original post was that for someone like this, 10 Bucks is alot cheaper, then playing them sets for the chance to matchup. If You expected to win everytime or break the house, then yes I aggree the challenge may not be for You.:)
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$10 is pretty cheap to see how you stand up against him and is really cheap for a a learning experience. (If you want to look at it that way.)
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supergreenman said:
Cue Crazy said:
$10 is pretty cheap to see how you stand up against him and is really cheap for a a learning experience. (If you want to look at it that way.)
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your right,id pay 10 bucks anyday to learn something i didnt know.
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supergreenman said:
It's the Metro club, downtown. I'll be going back to do the challenge, I don't mind my odds, a race to 3 anything can happen.
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Can you tell me more about this place James? From what I've heard the place to shoot pool in Edmonton is the cue club.
 
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