I knew him too, just not very well. I really don't know about the crazy part but he did play pretty good. He came to a few big tournaments in the 80's and then dropped off the map. Probably got a job, poor guy.
How do road players do it?
- Thread starter Jason Robichaud
- Start date
I knew him too, just not very well. I really don't know about the crazy part but he did play pretty good. He came to a few big tournaments in the 80's and then dropped off the map. Probably got a job, poor guy.
"Richie from the bronx" is what he was know as back in the day. Played a good game at least good enough bring in the cash most of the time. First time I saw him play it was nine ball with Vern Perterson the California state champion back in the later sixties. Lived in Las Vegas for a while.
Jay, did you and Gary take any trips together? He told us a lot of stories, one of which involved Crazy Frank from Buffalo, NY
Oh, you're talking about Gary Pinkowski, not Gary Serville, right? I knew him long before he ever promoted the BC Open. He even stayed with me in L.A. for a couple of weeks, before he got so fat :wink:. Gary was a pretty good road man himself, and had a lot of gamble in him. I steered him around as best I could, being careful that people didn't put us together. That would have knocked his action.
I took him downtown to the old 4th and Main. This was in the 70's when all the Mexican champions played there. Gary beat a couple of guys and then they brought Cryin' Sam in to play him. They played $50 One Pocket, a pretty decent game for that time. I was in with Gary and warned him the guy could play. Gary just shrugged it off and played some damn good pool. We only won two or three games (and they played for hours), but I admired how well Gary held up that day. Strange room, not the most friendly crowd and a tough ass opponent. Gary had BALLS! That's all I've got to say. RIP my friend.
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"Mr. Nine Ball" or "Richie From The Bronx". Richie was a strong 9-Ball player (hence the nickname) and trust me, Jimmy Fusco couldn't spot him! Not at 9-Ball anyway. Richie lives in Vegas to this day, and teaches people how to play craps. He knows the game and has made a few hefty scores (on other people's dime :wink
. There weren't many guys who could beat Richie. He was a top speed player. Finished second to Jim Rempe in the first big bash in Burlington, Iowa in 1976. Don't ask me how I remember these things, I just do. We had to chase that promoter down too, to get paid. Richie had $5,000 coming and I think he got most of it (like 4K). Richie was a real good money player. He had no dog in him. You had to get up there and out shoot him. And he wouldn't back down from anyone. You probably noticed that too.
hahaha! I work on carwashes and We have people hitting our changers for quarters to use at the laundry and for bus fare all the time. Never occured to me that some of them might have just been trying get even in a pool game and I play!:grin-square:
Yeah, we took some short excursions around L.A. VERY proftable ones at that!
You're talking about (Frank) "Bionic" Jonik I believe. He was liable to do anything at any time, and he played good too.
That's the guy, a friend of mine backed Bugsy from Endicott against Frank one night in Syracuse at Cap's playing One Pocket. Frank banked balls from places I didn't think it was possible. My buddy pulled up after three games at $30 a whack.
I knew him too, just not very well. I really don't know about the crazy part but he did play pretty good. He came to a few big tournaments in the 80's and then dropped off the map. Probably got a job, poor guy.
Ah-ha, that is the Frank I was talking about! Couldn't remember the last name. Sorry, Jay, I shoulda been more specific.
Sounds like a good gig...........
I seems like all good things eventually come to an end. We need to enjoy the ride while it lasts......
In my club I bought dufferin bar cues. I put all the tips on myself. Alot of the players didn't even bring their cues because my bar cues were better and had great tips on them.
There's alot to be said about taking care of the equipment.
Good Story.......... All about steady money................
I seems like all good things eventually come to an end. We need to enjoy the ride while it lasts......
In my club I bought dufferin bar cues. I put all the tips on myself. Alot of the players didn't even bring their cues because my bar cues were better and had great tips on them.
There's alot to be said about taking care of the equipment.
Good Story.......... All about steady money................
If you move around they just seem to pop up..........
Hi there,
During my 8 month road trip promoting Perfect Aim I ran into all kinds of action.
The secret is that when you come into a town these guys play really good but are not in dead stroke usually to be playing for alot of money. Plus they probably worked all day and are kind of tired.
So I come into town with my gray hair and not being well known and I have all kinds of people to play. Many of them play real good but they've been playing cheap all the time or just playing leagues.
Now we bet 100 or 200 a rack and it's a whole different mindset. Or 500 or 1000 sets. Kind of like the element of surprise.
One town I was in I told them who I was and gave them a card with my name and Perfect Aim. I told them I was just there to give some lessons. One guy still took my picture with his cell phone, I didn't see him do it, and got on the internet to see if I was who I really said I was.
The hard part is the expences. I'm buying a camper and plan on traveling with that in about a month. That will save about 50 per day.
The games and the money are still there. You just have to keep moving.
That's the way it was years ago and it is still the same now.
Just got to look out for those camera phones..............:grin-devilish::dance::slap:
Hi there,
During my 8 month road trip promoting Perfect Aim I ran into all kinds of action.
The secret is that when you come into a town these guys play really good but are not in dead stroke usually to be playing for alot of money. Plus they probably worked all day and are kind of tired.
So I come into town with my gray hair and not being well known and I have all kinds of people to play. Many of them play real good but they've been playing cheap all the time or just playing leagues.
Now we bet 100 or 200 a rack and it's a whole different mindset. Or 500 or 1000 sets. Kind of like the element of surprise.
One town I was in I told them who I was and gave them a card with my name and Perfect Aim. I told them I was just there to give some lessons. One guy still took my picture with his cell phone, I didn't see him do it, and got on the internet to see if I was who I really said I was.
The hard part is the expences. I'm buying a camper and plan on traveling with that in about a month. That will save about 50 per day.
The games and the money are still there. You just have to keep moving.
That's the way it was years ago and it is still the same now.
Just got to look out for those camera phones..............:grin-devilish::dance::slap:
He was a skinny guy back then............
Davey Ore called him Sudden Sam. i think his real name was Sam Soda.At least that's how it sounded.
He had short hair and was about 5'11". real nice guy and he shot pretty sporty.
I'll bet this is the guy your thinking of. Especially if he played real good.
Davey Ore called him Sudden Sam. i think his real name was Sam Soda.At least that's how it sounded.
He had short hair and was about 5'11". real nice guy and he shot pretty sporty.
I'll bet this is the guy your thinking of. Especially if he played real good.
4rth & Main
I played alot at 4rth&MAIN.When i walked in there in '67 someone said
"What you want,white boy?" I said'Gentlemen,an ancestor of mine sailed
on the Armada and got shipwrecked on the west coast of Ireland.So if you don't like us Spicks you can all go to hell."I was welcome from then on and won a few $.
I remember the light shades were frosted plastic and the same size as the
tables.Best lighting i played with till Diamond smartened everybody up.
I really had a Spanish ancestor and i'm proud of it.
I played alot at 4rth&MAIN.When i walked in there in '67 someone said
"What you want,white boy?" I said'Gentlemen,an ancestor of mine sailed
on the Armada and got shipwrecked on the west coast of Ireland.So if you don't like us Spicks you can all go to hell."I was welcome from then on and won a few $.
I remember the light shades were frosted plastic and the same size as the
tables.Best lighting i played with till Diamond smartened everybody up.
I really had a Spanish ancestor and i'm proud of it.
That's the reason we had tokens at the carwash I owned. We didn't dispense quarters but the people could use quarters or tokens to wash their cars. Kinda sucked when they brought tokens from other carwashes to ours though. All part of the game.
Richie from the Bronx ! Yup i remeber that now. I didn't mean Richie was getting the 8 from Fusco. I meant the guy Richie was playing even had played Fusco getting the 8 just to rate his speed. It was a robbery of course but this lengendary go off was known for that.
Thank you sir . . . it is the truth.
If you really think its all glamor and fun to try and hustle pool, then you need to read the book, "Playing Off the Rail: A Pool Hustler's Journey". Tony Annigoni - house pro and part owner of the Q-Club in San Francisco and David McCumber - a writer with some money to spare go on the road across North America hustling games and looking for action. Excellent read.
A buddy on my team hustled his way through 3 states over the course of 5 years to put himself through college . . . traveled Fri - played Fri night thru Sunday then back home and school Mon-Fri morning.
The best year he had he won $61,000, lots of cues
sorry, one very beat up VW, some random sex acts (he'd hustle any gender) . . . and lost a lot of sleep and weight. Over the course of the 5 years he was slashed once on the top of the hand, stabbed in the shoulder, shot once in the thigh (by a guy who lost $180 to him!) in the parking lot, and involved in at least three major fights. His best advice was to have a good backer who would truly watch your back! Some people take losing much differently then others . . . and you need a lot more then pool skills to hustle people out of money. Think "Car Sales with a Killer Stroke".I went with him a couple of times . . . layed low and watched to protect his back. One of the funniest things I ever heard was while watching him waltz out of a strip club where he'd fleeced a couple of local boys out of most of their paychecks was, "what was that f*ckin! guys name . . . get on out there Roy and get his license plate number . . . get a move on!" I laughed my ass off the whole drive home.
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I have heard references to "MEXICAN CHAMPIONS" from every person but really havent heard much more than that. It is said, like everyone knows a secret and doesnt tell it or something.
70's - You had Cole, Keith, Swanie, all those other big ball bar table guys. Come on Jay are trying to tell me that the MEXICAN CHAMPIONS played better than them?
Grady mentions them too. Whats up with you guys?
Ken
I dunno, Frank. I think I could manage to live this lifestyle for quite awhile, actually. :grin-square:
No more easy money.
It's 100% true that the guys playing 20$ sets are usually quitting after 2-3 sets... realistically the only good action your getting is from someone who has serious speed. Like it was said earlier... if you can't walk into a pool hall and destroy everyone in it with the very few exceptions, then I don't think you should even consider going on the road it definitely isn't what it once was.. most pool halls are filled with either bangers or the occasional run out player. I have a hard time even drinking for free playing pool... of course being able to pot balls might help that
-Rd.
It's 100% true that the guys playing 20$ sets are usually quitting after 2-3 sets... realistically the only good action your getting is from someone who has serious speed. Like it was said earlier... if you can't walk into a pool hall and destroy everyone in it with the very few exceptions, then I don't think you should even consider going on the road it definitely isn't what it once was.. most pool halls are filled with either bangers or the occasional run out player. I have a hard time even drinking for free playing pool... of course being able to pot balls might help that
-Rd.
It's all in your personality.
I traveled with a guy almost 20 years ago. He was large and in charge, very loud and very, very funny. He stirred the action like nobody else and would bet as high as you wanted. He was one of the best money players I ever saw and to this day I maintain if someone was holding a gun to my head and I needed to pick one guy in the whole world to make a shot I would pick him. As long as he didn't owe me any money.
In one room, he beat 3 players out of 20K each over a 2 month period. We walked in the room one day and all 3 guys were sitting by each other in the middle of the room. He started pacing back and forth in front of them, yelling out in his loud voice, "I've been to France...I've been to England...I've been all over Europe...I've been all over the world...and never, anywhere, in any poolroom in the world...did I ever see a room like this where every money player in the place goes into a dead faint for the cash." Then he threw his head back and laughed as loud and as long as he could. All three sat there laughing.
Another time he was playing poker, the only white guy at the table. Very rough crowd in a rougher neighborhood. He had another player all in and as he tabled the winning hand he jumped up and yelled out, "Here's something you might recognize," throwing his cards on the table one at a time, "K...K...K!" The guy wanted to shoot him but he had the gift of gab and didn't really have a mean bone in his body and never, ever sent anyone home broke. If anyone, anywhere, asked him to borrow 50, a 100, he would always give it to them, no questions asked. I used to yell at him all the time because I was on the hook for half. Anyway, he tucked a 50 in the guys pocket and everyone was laughing minutes later.
I used to feed him most of his funniest lines. Another time he beat a guy for 3K then spread the money out on the table. "If I ever get robbed," he yelled out, "and they catch the guy who did it, I want you to come down to the police station. You have to identify the money. You know what it looks like...it was yours at one time." Everyone in the place was roaring with laughter. About a week later the guy beat him a set for 500 and laid the money out on the table and gave us our same line back. My friend yelled back, "There's not enough there for a positive identification."
I traveled with a guy almost 20 years ago. He was large and in charge, very loud and very, very funny. He stirred the action like nobody else and would bet as high as you wanted. He was one of the best money players I ever saw and to this day I maintain if someone was holding a gun to my head and I needed to pick one guy in the whole world to make a shot I would pick him. As long as he didn't owe me any money.
In one room, he beat 3 players out of 20K each over a 2 month period. We walked in the room one day and all 3 guys were sitting by each other in the middle of the room. He started pacing back and forth in front of them, yelling out in his loud voice, "I've been to France...I've been to England...I've been all over Europe...I've been all over the world...and never, anywhere, in any poolroom in the world...did I ever see a room like this where every money player in the place goes into a dead faint for the cash." Then he threw his head back and laughed as loud and as long as he could. All three sat there laughing.
Another time he was playing poker, the only white guy at the table. Very rough crowd in a rougher neighborhood. He had another player all in and as he tabled the winning hand he jumped up and yelled out, "Here's something you might recognize," throwing his cards on the table one at a time, "K...K...K!" The guy wanted to shoot him but he had the gift of gab and didn't really have a mean bone in his body and never, ever sent anyone home broke. If anyone, anywhere, asked him to borrow 50, a 100, he would always give it to them, no questions asked. I used to yell at him all the time because I was on the hook for half. Anyway, he tucked a 50 in the guys pocket and everyone was laughing minutes later.
I used to feed him most of his funniest lines. Another time he beat a guy for 3K then spread the money out on the table. "If I ever get robbed," he yelled out, "and they catch the guy who did it, I want you to come down to the police station. You have to identify the money. You know what it looks like...it was yours at one time." Everyone in the place was roaring with laughter. About a week later the guy beat him a set for 500 and laid the money out on the table and gave us our same line back. My friend yelled back, "There's not enough there for a positive identification."
Great stuff . . .
Some of the characters i saw in the 70's and 80's were just like this guy . . . it was pretty fun times.
Some of the characters i saw in the 70's and 80's were just like this guy . . . it was pretty fun times.
This last weekend I walked into Chester's in Oklahoma City; Chip Compton was playing James Walden and Joey Gray was practicing on the table next to them. And, there were probably 3 or 4 guys a couple of balls under Chip and Joey in the place. I don't know much about other places across the country but I don't think Chester's in Oklahoma City or MaGoos in Tulsa are filled with bangers and the occasional run out player.
Steven