Freaks of Desire

Harvywallbanger

Harvywallbanger

Josh Eisert
Silver Member
I'm talking about the guys that eat, breath, and sleep pool 24/7 and have done it for years. They could be pros or they could be guys that never made it or are still struggling because they just don't have the natural talant. BUT they have the heart of Rocky Balboa. I have heard stories of people playing 30 hours straight and what not but I would like to know who is on the top of the list as far as consistantly playing outragous hours and thinking of pool to no end. Just who are the freakiest of the freaks as far as pure desire goes?
 
Harvywallbanger said:
I'm talking about the guys that eat, breath, and sleep pool 24/7 and have done it for years. They could be pros or they could be guys that never made it or are still struggling because they just don't have the natural talant. BUT they have the heart of Rocky Balboa. I have heard stories of people playing 30 hours straight and what not but I would like to know who is on the top of the list as far as consistantly playing outragous hours and thinking of pool to no end. Just who are the freakiest of the freaks as far as pure desire goes?
Click to expand...

Well, I'm 54 and not what I used to be, but I have played many 20-30 hour sets in years past and once played for 39 straight hours. That is how I got the nickname Ironman.
 
when i first started playing my pool partner was the asst manager at the pool hall that i frequent. we would plaay while he worked and after they closed we would play for hours in the middle of the night. we would start at about 7pm and finish about 9 or 10 in the morning, and we would do this about three times a week. one time we started at 2pm and when 6 in the morning came around we noticed that the roads had been covered in ice throughout the night, so we just kept playing till about noon. that was 20 straight hours of pool with no food and gallons of cranberry/pinapple juice. i lost 12 dollars, we were playing $1 a game. ahh the good ole days!!!!!!!
 
ironman said:
Well, I'm 54 and not what I used to be, but I have played many 20-30 hour sets in years past and once played for 39 straight hours. That is how I got the nickname Ironman.
Click to expand...


What game was you playing for the 39 hour stretch? That is some serious playing right there. Was it against one guy? I would guess not or he would of been entitled the nickname as well.:p
I myself have played for long hours but the actual desire for the GAME wasn't there. The desire was drugs. The game just happened to be there at the time and they went well together. Now I know the difference.
 
Black-Balled said:
I got one word for you: Mike Davis.
Click to expand...
LOL, you got that right! I've seen him get knocked out of a tourney and drive 3 hrs to try to catch another tourney. After winning Reno he had to literally run to the airport just so he could make it back to MD in time to play at Bill & Billies. After he got done with his matches for the evening he stayed and played some 1 pocket with a guy... all on the short nap he got from the airport to Bill & Billies if I'm not mistaken. <shaking head> Yeah, he's got it pretty bad. :D
 
It doesn't have to be about guys that just play long hours either. I'm also talking about the kind of guys that sleep with their cues not because they are afraid of it getting stolen but because they actually WANT to sleep with it. :D The guys that wont wash they're hands because they want the chalk on there! OK OK you get my point.
 
From age 19 to age 32 I played pool every day of my life. All day, every day. And all night until exhaustion set in. Many mornings I would be driving home and see all the people going to work, and I was so happy. I did not care about politics, movies, girlfriends, anything. Just Pool. I wouldn't even talk about anything else. The only days in that whole period I didn't play was when I was sick and stayed home. And I was gambling every day. I would NOT play for fun ever!

Then I met old man Sunshine, a broken down hustler from New York. He was so pathetic, and everything and everybody was a mark to be exploited. I looked at him and thought, do I want to end up like that in 30 years. I sold my poolroom in Bakersfield and quit for four years. When I returned to Pool, it was no longer my whole life, and I enjoyed it more.
 
Last edited:
Harvywallbanger said:
What game was you playing for the 39 hour stretch? That is some serious playing right there. Was it against one guy? I would guess not or he would of been entitled the nickname as well.:p
I myself have played for long hours but the actual desire for the GAME wasn't there. The desire was drugs. The game just happened to be there at the time and they went well together. Now I know the difference.
Click to expand...

Yep, it was the same guy. He got the 7-8 on a bar box. We started for $50 per game and ended up playing for $800 per game. I ended up $20,000 ahead.
They still say that I was not supposed to win.
 
jay helfert said:
From age 19 to age 32 I played pool every day of my life. All day, every day. And all night until exhaustion set in. Many mornings I would be driving home and see all the people going to work, and I was so happy. I did not care about politics, movies, girlfriends, anything. Just Pool. I wouldn't even talk about anything else. The only days in that whole period I didn't play was when I was sick and stayed home. And I was gambling every day. I would NOT play for fun ever!

Then I met old man Sunshine, a broken down hustler from New York. He was so pathetic, and everything and everybody was a mark to be exploited. I looked at him and thought, do I want to end up like that in 30 years. I sold my poolroom in Bakersfield and quit for four years. When I returned to Pool, it was no longer my whole life, and I enjoyed it more.
Click to expand...

Do you have any good stories about someone or even yourself that demonstrated pure desire beyond most peoples imagination? Obviously playing night and day for 13 years straight demonstrates this but do you have a specific story in mind you would like to share? Things like how Mosconni used to play with potatoes when he was a kid and I thought I heard Efren actually slept on his table but that might just be a rumer. I guess its kind of a silly question considering to make it to pro level its a no brainer they ALL had that desire at some point. When I get the bug I get it bad but it only last a few months.:( I guess thats why I'm still a B player when I should be A+ by now.
 
I once played an ahead set for 20 hours down the entire time. It was a 8 ahead for 2k and he was on the hill about 50+ times (my partner started counting). I was giving up the called 7 and he eventually called it in the side (with me racking it in the back) and made it. Then made a combo the next game. Tough way to lose, but I had the worst of it. My partner watched the whole thing and said it was the best money he ever lost. I disagreed of course. I played that set like my life was the bet, good thing it wasn't.

Crow
 
I remember the feeling of pool hijacking my mind when I first started playing and learning the game. I started playing in college when I saw some former road players who were now students shooting around. The draw shot in particular mesmerized me; I had to be able to do that! I'd end up playing all day, and as each successive hour ticked by, my world would shrink until it only consisted of that table and the balls on it; my thoughts were solely on the game. At night I'd fall asleep thinking about what I learned; what worked or didnt work, how I could get better, internalizing some piece of advice from the folks who taught me. If I left early for whatever reason, I'd end up watching accu-stats tapes or taped ESPN matches until I fell asleep.

I also remember waking up the next morning and having the same sensation as though I had been drugged the night before and only now awoke from my haze. How could a game so completely overwhelm me? It was only a friggin game! When I lay in bed in the morning before getting up, I'd try to comprehend how my entire world had shrank to that little table, and how petty and silly it seemed to be so taken with it. However, inevitably I'd end up playing that day, and slowly but surely the same thing would happen; pool would invade my mind without even giving me a chance, and be the sole topic of my attention until sleep gave me some respite. This went on for about 4 years, when other responsibilities forced me to lighten my obsession. Also, when I started playing the game seemed one large, incomprehensible mystery full of countless variables. As I learned what really mattered in playing, I became more focused and learned what I had to practice.
 
Synopsis-

Yesterday playing 5 a game - even - w/ someone I should beat. I get 8 games up immediately.

Then I lose focus about 4 hrs later I am 19 games down. I told myself I would quit at 20.

An additional 10 hrs and I'm 15 games down.

Time was ( with discount ) $60.

I just refused to let this go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top