In Buddy Hall's biography,"From Rags to Rifleman," he talks about a "coin pitcher" he periodically traveled with named, Gary Bright. From what Buddy remembered, Gary never lost to anyone when it came to lagging coins. Has anyone ever seen someone like Gary that could control where a coin landed with such precision?
Coin lagging
- Thread starter RoyL
- Start date
What exactly is coin lagging ??? maybe a dumb question but never coin lagged
henrygale39 said:
You toss a coin at a line or a wall and whoever is closest wins the coins or the bet.
In my country upbringing we called it 'penny pitching'
Likely, when you stand on one end of the table and toss a coin to the opposite side and see whose coin is closer to the opposite end rail. The closest wins.henrygale39 said:
Kinda like pitching nickels on a sidewalk, which we did as kids at our elementary school back about 1960 or so. We'd stand at one sidewalk crack (expansion joint) and toss our nickles towards a crack two sections away (~10 feet) and see whose nickel lands the closest. Winner takes all nickels thrown. Liners (part of the nickel is in the crack) pay double. Not a bad source of income when you're in the 4th grade.
Ahaa ok now i understand as i have penny pitched before
Once when I was much young I got into a quarter pitching match with an old man (big mistake) and we kept doubling the bet and I owed him around a $100.00 so we doubled again, if I lost it was $200.00 which was everything I had but I was desperate to try and win my money back.
We were pitching at a line and he threw first and was with a quarters width of the line, I was shaking so bad that my throw landed way short... but the quarter rolled in a huge circle that seemed to take an eternity and flopped right on the line, he was disgusted... I was elated.
We were pitching at a line and he threw first and was with a quarters width of the line, I was shaking so bad that my throw landed way short... but the quarter rolled in a huge circle that seemed to take an eternity and flopped right on the line, he was disgusted... I was elated.
According to the book, there is one story where Buddy became a believer in Gary's skills, when he tossed a coin from ten feet to a spot on a pool table. Out of four tosses, three of the quarters were stacked, with one coin touching the others. To me that's a pretty strong feat to top.
In New Orleans back in the late 60s, I saw Steve Beta(sp) throw 4 quarters across the bar area at Bob Stein's poolroom The Royal Cue and make all four coins stay on the top of one of those round vinyl covered barstools with no backrest.
I saw him duplicate this feat in later years at the Sonra Lounge, Maximillian's Lounga and a joint on St. Charles Avenue, all in New Orleans. He was the best I've ever witnessed.
I used to practice pitching quarters for hours & hours & hours at the spot on the pooltable at The Triple Play when there was no action. I'd buy two rolls of quarters and just practice for hours, while waiting for some unsuspecting sucker to wander into the place.
One night a former bar owner named Eric walked in and we pitched a quarter to the wall for $100 and he won. We played a game of 8 ball for $100 and I won. We agreed to pitch a quarter to THE SPOT ON THE POOLTABLE for $1,000 and we posted the cash with the barmaid.
Eric wouldn't pitch from where the tile floor met the carpet (my longtime preactice spot) and demanded that we pitch from the other side of the room....................and I lost.
Everybody laughed their ass off, except me.
I was (and still am) pretty good at pitching a quarter into a small rocks glass placed on the spot on the pooltable.
Doug
(I guess you never too old to stop throwing your money away)
.
I saw him duplicate this feat in later years at the Sonra Lounge, Maximillian's Lounga and a joint on St. Charles Avenue, all in New Orleans. He was the best I've ever witnessed.
I used to practice pitching quarters for hours & hours & hours at the spot on the pooltable at The Triple Play when there was no action. I'd buy two rolls of quarters and just practice for hours, while waiting for some unsuspecting sucker to wander into the place.
One night a former bar owner named Eric walked in and we pitched a quarter to the wall for $100 and he won. We played a game of 8 ball for $100 and I won. We agreed to pitch a quarter to THE SPOT ON THE POOLTABLE for $1,000 and we posted the cash with the barmaid.
Eric wouldn't pitch from where the tile floor met the carpet (my longtime preactice spot) and demanded that we pitch from the other side of the room....................and I lost.
Everybody laughed their ass off, except me.
I was (and still am) pretty good at pitching a quarter into a small rocks glass placed on the spot on the pooltable.
Doug
(I guess you never too old to stop throwing your money away)
.
Last edited:
Smorgass Bored said:Eric wouldn't pitch from where the tile floor met the carpet (my longtime preactice spot) and demanded that we pitch from the other side of the room....................and I lost.
Everybody laughed their ass off, except me.
I was (and still am) pretty good at pitching a quarter into a small rocks glass placed on the spot on the pooltable.
Doug
(I guess you never too old to stop throwing your money away)
So, from that distance did his coin land pretty close to the spot on the table?
not if you know how to pitch them.a freind showed me how to do it,and i practiced it for months and got pretty good at it,but i have seen some guys that are very,very good.i would say within a handspan from 10' all day long without missing with many being in a 2-3" circle around the spot.i can stop them on a bar stool from maybe 10-15' tops,but i have also heard of a couple guys who can stop them the blade of a slow moving ceiling fan.
who knows if it's true,you hear so many stories on the road.
guy who can piss over a railroad car,girl who can piss over a VW beetle,guy who can throw a quater in a pay phone pay slot from 20',etc,etc.
keith and i
mobile al in about 02.
i play keith mckready 4 ahead 1hole for 1000 even betting my own. he plays good and wins.then we play 6ahead for 2000 9ball he plays real good and wins again.
so im standing there on the road with my wife and i have 800 left on me,no checking debit or way to get money.i did have 20something thousand at my dads in cali but i could not get to it.you see what i won on road i would send to him so i could not get robbed for too much or go off in bad game.
anyway at this time my exwife and i traveled in a motorhome around the country just me and her betting our own.
it was fun and i was winning crazy money as i was playing the speed i do now except about 10 people east of cali knew it.
anyhow keith now has me stuck 3000 dollars 3000 miles from home.
funny thing is bobby hunter taught me how to pitch a quarter to the spot and i had done it many times for 5-50 dollars without ever losing.
i knew guys could beat me at it but i was good enough to try someone for 50 or whatever.
so now im stuck 3000 and i dont have enough to keep playing and johhny ringo says out of the blue well since you only have 800 left ill pitch with you 100 a throw.
well i say ok and my wife looks at me like wtf are you doing with our last 800.
i win the first two throws and ringo says im done.
now keith says bet 200 a throw i say you got me and win 2200 in about 8 minutes.
keith is stunned but as usual he is a gentelman about it and says thats about the first time in 25 years he has lost pitching coins.
im like thank god you picked today to be out of stroke pitching coins.
so now i say come on keith lets play again 6 ahead for 2000 .im now revived mentally and physically and proceed to win the set in about 30 minutes.in closing that tv dinner my wife made me that night in the motor home tasted like filetmignon. thats a tough way to win 1400 trust me.
mobile al in about 02.
i play keith mckready 4 ahead 1hole for 1000 even betting my own. he plays good and wins.then we play 6ahead for 2000 9ball he plays real good and wins again.
so im standing there on the road with my wife and i have 800 left on me,no checking debit or way to get money.i did have 20something thousand at my dads in cali but i could not get to it.you see what i won on road i would send to him so i could not get robbed for too much or go off in bad game.
anyway at this time my exwife and i traveled in a motorhome around the country just me and her betting our own.
it was fun and i was winning crazy money as i was playing the speed i do now except about 10 people east of cali knew it.
anyhow keith now has me stuck 3000 dollars 3000 miles from home.
funny thing is bobby hunter taught me how to pitch a quarter to the spot and i had done it many times for 5-50 dollars without ever losing.
i knew guys could beat me at it but i was good enough to try someone for 50 or whatever.
so now im stuck 3000 and i dont have enough to keep playing and johhny ringo says out of the blue well since you only have 800 left ill pitch with you 100 a throw.
well i say ok and my wife looks at me like wtf are you doing with our last 800.
i win the first two throws and ringo says im done.
now keith says bet 200 a throw i say you got me and win 2200 in about 8 minutes.
keith is stunned but as usual he is a gentelman about it and says thats about the first time in 25 years he has lost pitching coins.
im like thank god you picked today to be out of stroke pitching coins.
so now i say come on keith lets play again 6 ahead for 2000 .im now revived mentally and physically and proceed to win the set in about 30 minutes.in closing that tv dinner my wife made me that night in the motor home tasted like filetmignon. thats a tough way to win 1400 trust me.
Good story!! Those are the ones that I like to hear.
I got to know though how guys learn to throw a dime in a pay phone from such great distances. Not that it is even worth learning today since there are virtually NO pay phones anymore. But remarkable nonetheless.
Gary
I got to know though how guys learn to throw a dime in a pay phone from such great distances. Not that it is even worth learning today since there are virtually NO pay phones anymore. But remarkable nonetheless.
Gary
another time
i thought i would try to give the short version of a couple big money games i played between the years 98-02 when i was on the road betting my own. im playing jack cooney 1hole hes giving me 10,8-9,8. race to 4 for 1000.this is at hard times bellflower in about 99.
i had just started playing 1hole and who do i decide to play none other than the master himself cooney.now i shot as good as today just could not figure out the right defense .anyway first set goes hill hill.we start over and double it.next set same thing,next set same thing .now its a race to 4 for 4000.it goes hill hill and we decide to play it out .long story short i need 1 jack needs 11.you guessed it i lose the game.
that was the most brutal loss of my life,again im betting my own.
you know though its things like that ,that have made me the player i am today.at the time though i would have rather sang naked karaoke on espn at yankee stadium on a cold day than have lost that game. jack told me if you ever want to make money at pool learn 1hole.
i did ,and about 80 percent of what i made in my career was at 1hole. thanks jack for the advice and you are still the man.
i thought i would try to give the short version of a couple big money games i played between the years 98-02 when i was on the road betting my own. im playing jack cooney 1hole hes giving me 10,8-9,8. race to 4 for 1000.this is at hard times bellflower in about 99.
i had just started playing 1hole and who do i decide to play none other than the master himself cooney.now i shot as good as today just could not figure out the right defense .anyway first set goes hill hill.we start over and double it.next set same thing,next set same thing .now its a race to 4 for 4000.it goes hill hill and we decide to play it out .long story short i need 1 jack needs 11.you guessed it i lose the game.
that was the most brutal loss of my life,again im betting my own.
you know though its things like that ,that have made me the player i am today.at the time though i would have rather sang naked karaoke on espn at yankee stadium on a cold day than have lost that game. jack told me if you ever want to make money at pool learn 1hole.
i did ,and about 80 percent of what i made in my career was at 1hole. thanks jack for the advice and you are still the man.
the craziest one ever though was
i had just beaten tony watson out of 30,000 at the derby in like 02 playing even 9ball ,8ahead 10,000 and 8ahead for 20,000.
my end after everything was chopped up was about 7000.
so my wife and i have about 14,000 on us and decide to stop in hattiesburg miss to play little john.
we had played before and i was going to give him 11-7-12-7 playing 1hole.
tough game since it was on his home diamond ,old cloth,everyone pulling for him,humidity,dirty balls and most brutal betting my own.
anyhow we play 3ahead for 500 i win.then 500 a game and we are about even after say 3 hours.
we jack it to 800 a game were still even then 1000 a game .after a couple more hours we are still even then we go to 2000 a game.
basically the next 4 games i completely shit all over myself and play bad as the money is making me dog it.
now check this out this is in front of a 100 people.
down 8000 betting my own cant make a ball etcetc.
the next game little john needs 1 and its by his hole.
i lean over to my wife and say im going to quit after this game and keep 4000 to live on,she says thank god.
this is hard to believe to this day but little john misses this out ball which is 3 inches from his hole.
when he missed it i was counting out 2000 to pay him.
somehow i get up and run 9balls with a ball hanging by his hole.
an hour later i somehow win the game and little john gets about as red as the 3ball.
about 5 hours later im even and win his 4000.
that was about the last time ive bet my own for that much because that match aged me about 30 years.
little john was great action and a tough player and he just said good shooting. to this day i have never forgot that match. i think about nights on the road like that one when im in a tourney and its hill hill and i say to myself well ive been in worse spots lets see what happens.
i had just beaten tony watson out of 30,000 at the derby in like 02 playing even 9ball ,8ahead 10,000 and 8ahead for 20,000.
my end after everything was chopped up was about 7000.
so my wife and i have about 14,000 on us and decide to stop in hattiesburg miss to play little john.
we had played before and i was going to give him 11-7-12-7 playing 1hole.
tough game since it was on his home diamond ,old cloth,everyone pulling for him,humidity,dirty balls and most brutal betting my own.
anyhow we play 3ahead for 500 i win.then 500 a game and we are about even after say 3 hours.
we jack it to 800 a game were still even then 1000 a game .after a couple more hours we are still even then we go to 2000 a game.
basically the next 4 games i completely shit all over myself and play bad as the money is making me dog it.
now check this out this is in front of a 100 people.
down 8000 betting my own cant make a ball etcetc.
the next game little john needs 1 and its by his hole.
i lean over to my wife and say im going to quit after this game and keep 4000 to live on,she says thank god.
this is hard to believe to this day but little john misses this out ball which is 3 inches from his hole.
when he missed it i was counting out 2000 to pay him.
somehow i get up and run 9balls with a ball hanging by his hole.
an hour later i somehow win the game and little john gets about as red as the 3ball.
about 5 hours later im even and win his 4000.
that was about the last time ive bet my own for that much because that match aged me about 30 years.
little john was great action and a tough player and he just said good shooting. to this day i have never forgot that match. i think about nights on the road like that one when im in a tourney and its hill hill and i say to myself well ive been in worse spots lets see what happens.
ive got a million more but
im tired and type too slow later guys .
im tired and type too slow later guys .
John,
After playing Jack at Hard Times, who won between your cue and pole? Jack is the best mover in the game.
Steve
After playing Jack at Hard Times, who won between your cue and pole? Jack is the best mover in the game.
Steve
I was on the road in 88 and stopped at Green Way in Baton Rouge La, Buster Merchant was playing a 10 ahead set for $1000 a man, what a wild game that both players made it to the hill, they stopped at 9am even.
Anyways since I couldnt find a game(i was a C+ player then-I did ok that trip) I was sweating Buster and starting to talk with some guys on the rail. This one guy who liked me showed me how he could pitch a quarter to the spot, I was 20 years old, broke and living in my VW Van Which is still parked infront of my house(i'll never forget where I came from). Since this guy had nothing to lose he showed me how to throw the quarter, he could stand 3 to 6 feet back from the 9' table and when the quarter landed it stuck like it was a magnet on 4 out 5 throws, he was AWALYS within 3" of the spot and on it often, It looked like magic. He showed me and we messed with it for a hour or longer-One guy was giving him a hard time for showing me, but when he found out I was just passing through it was fine. I tried and tried and only a few times I could make it stick, I mean stick dead bang stick!!! But I couldnt ever get the hang of it. It is possible I saw it first hand and i'm not exaggerating he was that good. I did learn to deal 3 card monte in another spot once.
Cool stories John S. thanks for sharing. :smile:
Anyways since I couldnt find a game(i was a C+ player then-I did ok that trip) I was sweating Buster and starting to talk with some guys on the rail. This one guy who liked me showed me how he could pitch a quarter to the spot, I was 20 years old, broke and living in my VW Van Which is still parked infront of my house(i'll never forget where I came from). Since this guy had nothing to lose he showed me how to throw the quarter, he could stand 3 to 6 feet back from the 9' table and when the quarter landed it stuck like it was a magnet on 4 out 5 throws, he was AWALYS within 3" of the spot and on it often, It looked like magic. He showed me and we messed with it for a hour or longer-One guy was giving him a hard time for showing me, but when he found out I was just passing through it was fine. I tried and tried and only a few times I could make it stick, I mean stick dead bang stick!!! But I couldnt ever get the hang of it. It is possible I saw it first hand and i'm not exaggerating he was that good. I did learn to deal 3 card monte in another spot once.
Cool stories John S. thanks for sharing. :smile:
Last edited: