How do you treat the traveling road player?

JoeyA

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
Milo had a nice thread about the disappearing road player and many responded with interesting personal experiences and I was just thinking how you as a lover of pool, treat the road player when he comes to your town. I know of some who treat the road player like they were the dirt off of the bottom of their shoes but that doesn't represent the majority of people in my part of the world.

For the most part, I try to treat the road player as if I won't be seeing them again for a while. It is a journey not only for him/her but me as well even though I'm not putting the miles on my car. I am not an ATM machine for traveling road players but enjoy matching up with them for relatively cheap money. If I have a good game that I truly believe I have a very good chance of winning, I don't mind betting more.

Depending upon the player, I can be an easy mark for dinner. I enjoy helping traveling road players to discover some of New Orlean's unique cuisine. Many are too busy trying to make the nut to devote time to checking out where the locals eat. If the player is known to have serious bad habits, I can be a little distant. :smile:

I especially like to see the road players in action, whether it be for cheap money or big stakes so I do my part to encourage some action any time the road players pass through.

The owner of Buffalo Billiards in Metairie, LA likes the road players to pass through too and will often go in with a local player against the road warrior just to give them a little play. I don't think we're stupid betting our cash against the road players who most of the time have the skills to best our best players. We just consider gambling at pool a form of entertainment and try to make sure all who come our way get an opportunity to "pass a good time".

How do you and your pool room treat traveling road players? Let's be honest and tell it like it is. :D
JoeyA
 
JoeyA said:
Milo had a nice thread about the disappearing road player and many responded with interesting personal experiences and I was just thinking how you as a lover of pool, treat the road player when he comes to your town. I know of some who treat the road player like they were the dirt off of the bottom of their shoes but that doesn't represent the majority of people in my part of the world.

For the most part, I try to treat the road player as if I won't be seeing them again for a while. It is a journey not only for him/her but me as well even though I'm not putting the miles on my car. I am not an ATM machine for traveling road players but enjoy matching up with them for relatively cheap money. If I have a good game that I truly believe I have a very good chance of winning, I don't mind betting more.

Depending upon the player, I can be an easy mark for dinner. I enjoy helping traveling road players to discover some of New Orlean's unique cuisine. Many are too busy trying to make the nut to devote time to checking out where the locals eat. If the player is known to have serious bad habits, I can be a little distant. :smile:

I especially like to see the road players in action, whether it be for cheap money or big stakes so I do my part to encourage some action any time the road players pass through.

The owner of Buffalo Billiards in Metairie, LA likes the road players to pass through too and will often go in with a local player against the road warrior just to give them a little play. I don't think we're stupid betting our cash against the road players who most of the time have the skills to best our best players. We just consider gambling at pool a form of entertainment and try to make sure all who come our way get an opportunity to "pass a good time".

How do you and your pool room treat traveling road players? Let's be honest and tell it like it is. :D
JoeyA
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We treat them like guests unless they came to steal.

Generally we would try to get them matched up fairly and make a game where it is gambling.

If they are nice and friendly then is southern hospitality all the way. If they are hostile and arrogant then we make it clear that their action isn't welcome unless they want to give up the triple nuts.

I have often been woken up in the middle of the night to come down and bet on our best guy against a stranger. A lot of times I get there and know the stranger. If it's my money on the line then I make sure it's bet on a fair game.

If it's my friend's money then I make sure he understands the risk.

If it's people's money who I don't know then I stay all the way out it and don't acknowledge the player.

However I don't really respect the player who knows that they are stone cold stealing but on the other hand I don't really respect the people who go all in against strangers either.

Generally though I treat road players with respect for their skills, some envy for their freewheeling lifestyle, and some admiration for the gunslinging ways. I too am an easy mark for dinner in the hopes that I will get paid in a story or two from life on the road.
 
I think JoeyA & JB Cases both have exactly the right philosophy and attitude as to interacting with a visiting road player - I would do the same.

- Ghost

Ps, So Joey, mosey on down The Road to my pool hall...I'll win a few games of One Pocket from you...:eek: - and then I'll take you out for an excellent dinner....:)
 
Depending on who it is, Ill pay to play them just to watch them. Ive bought dinners and drinks for them before too. I dont knock anyones action who is trying to make a living though.Ive seen it happen, and it can kill a trip for a guy. If its a friend who has his nose open, Ill wait till the current set is over and take them aside if the bet is substantial..... But I make sure they are cool and quiet about it, otherwise I figure they should be smart enough to see whats going on.
Chuck
 
1 Pocket Ghost said:
I think JoeyA & JB Cases both have exactly the right philosophy and attitude as to interacting with a visiting road player - I would do the same.

- Ghost

Ps, So Joey, mosey on down The Road to my pool hall...I'll win a few games of One Pocket from you...:eek: - and then I'll take you out for an excellent dinner....:)
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I'd watch out for JoeyA, he's from New Orleans and I've heard that with the voodoo stuff he's been know to turn people into the Gingerbread man. :D
 
daphish1 said:
I'd watch out for JoeyA, he's from New Orleans and I've heard that with the voodoo stuff he's been know to turn people into the Gingerbread man. :D
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I ain't askeered - you know, I might just have that magic mirror that will reflect that hoodoo right back at him....;)
 
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JoeyA said:
Many are too busy trying to make the nut to devote time to checking out where the locals eat.
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If you're fat, and on the road, there is always time for good food.... There used to be a wood oven Italian place down the street from Jamies room. That place was lights out! Some of the best food I ever had... We ate there three times in two days. We always tried to eat something like Olive Garden, Outback, etc... every couple of days and always asked the locals for the line on good local spots. Some of the best food I have ever had was in some far out places.......
 
Road Players

Well when my brother had his nightclub,( more like a pool room than a club ) we treated road players with greatest respect. We really liked roadies to stop through, cause it was ACTION!, whether it be good or bad.

There was a motel just across the street, so that was conveinant for them. If I got too know them really well, I would offer some of them to stay at my place for a few days or even a few weeks, so long as they didn't have bad habits!

I never ask any of them for any $ for staying , but most would pay their way with a "jelly roll" off a good steer, or a steak dinner to me.

I had a really nice collection of pool tapes so they enjoyed watching the "VCR" and talking about action, and war stories while at my place.

We always had a good 9-ball tourney on Friday nights with a calcutta, a once a month 9-ball tourney, and about every six months we would have a fairly large 9-ball tourney with added money and calcutta, so there was "Action" around there pretty much all the time for the road players.

Got to meet a lot of good players at that nightclub of my brothers, wish he still had it!


David Harcrow
 
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I usually stay away from them....

of course I usually stay away from anything but the smallest stakes too; however.....

When I was in Knoxville a few months back I couldn't help myself...

I had gone into this poohall with mostly bar boxes and one or two nine footers and made friends with the locals like I always do playting some 3 or 5 dollar a game bar box nineball just messing around.

I was there one night and these two preppy looking guys come in. The kid I had made friends with said that they had like ten or eleven thousand on them. They were on their way to a tournament down in Atlanta. They talk this kids older brother whose uncle ran the place into a game. First they set him up by playing on the bar box with him and breaking even, then they offer him the seven out on the ninefooter playing for a hundred.

It's a joke these guys outclassed the best player in this place by far....

It's like four in the morning by the time they get done with the guys older brother beating him 7-1.

I had gone to the ATM after I saw them playing him and got out two hundred.

I told them I'd play him 100 dollar sets if he gave me the seven out. They say that I"m better than the other guy and I say" I've been breaking even with that guys little brother all night long". So they offer me the seven and I accept.

I beat that guy like 7-2. Then his friend plays the "I'm not as good as him, play me even" card. I'm thinking, "I'm up a hundred, what the hell".

I beat him playing even 7-3 and then lose a set 7-6. By now it's like five thirty or six in the morning and they're wanting to close the place. (It was supposed to close at like 2:00 a.m.)

These guys want to keep playing but they kicked us out. I still don;t know who they were, but they were really taking advantage of the guys in this pool room.

They wanted to play me again on the Sunday when they came back from the tourney, but my plane left Sunday afternoon.


Then like two or three weeks later, I'm woken up by my cell phone ringing, this kid from knoxville was trying to put me in action..

I'm like "Don't you realize that I live in California and was only there for work?"

It's kinda hard for me to come there for action tonight....LOL....


Jaden
 
JoeyA said:
Milo had a nice thread about the disappearing road player and many responded with interesting personal experiences and I was just thinking how you as a lover of pool, treat the road player when he comes to your town. I know of some who treat the road player like they were the dirt off of the bottom of their shoes but that doesn't represent the majority of people in my part of the world.

For the most part, I try to treat the road player as if I won't be seeing them again for a while. It is a journey not only for him/her but me as well even though I'm not putting the miles on my car. I am not an ATM machine for traveling road players but enjoy matching up with them for relatively cheap money. If I have a good game that I truly believe I have a very good chance of winning, I don't mind betting more.

Depending upon the player, I can be an easy mark for dinner. I enjoy helping traveling road players to discover some of New Orlean's unique cuisine. Many are too busy trying to make the nut to devote time to checking out where the locals eat. If the player is known to have serious bad habits, I can be a little distant. :smile:

I especially like to see the road players in action, whether it be for cheap money or big stakes so I do my part to encourage some action any time the road players pass through.

The owner of Buffalo Billiards in Metairie, LA likes the road players to pass through too and will often go in with a local player against the road warrior just to give them a little play. I don't think we're stupid betting our cash against the road players who most of the time have the skills to best our best players. We just consider gambling at pool a form of entertainment and try to make sure all who come our way get an opportunity to "pass a good time".

How do you and your pool room treat traveling road players? Let's be honest and tell it like it is. :D
JoeyA
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I enjoy having them come through, in my Room they are treated very well so long as they act in like kind. I will make some calls and line up some action for the Player, if they request it. This saves them some time, because in most cases they are just moving through, and lets face it if they are any good the action will dry up in a short time. They also usually share the latest news from road, who is out there, and if they are coming this way, in addition to some great stories. But just like any news it has to pass the common sense test, because some of the stories are pretty wild.

I kinda wish the old days were back, when the road was full of players moving from action to action spot. Who knows with the economy being in the toilet, it may happen all over again, as we all know history is cyclical, and given the right situation history can repeat itself.
 
I've always treated them just like anyone else. If they're respectful, then I will be the same. If they're obnoxious and disrespectful then they are obviously morons for being a stranger in a bar full of regulars.

If they're not showing their speed and hustling I don't bother getting into it. If I get taken I'll treat them just the same. In cases like that I treat pool like poker. You don't get to see the other player's cards before ya bet.
 
yeah but if you're not the big blind....

gunzby said:
I've always treated them just like anyone else. If they're respectful, then I will be the same. If they're obnoxious and disrespectful then they are obviously morons for being a stranger in a bar full of regulars.

If they're not showing their speed and hustling I don't bother getting into it. If I get taken I'll treat them just the same. In cases like that I treat pool like poker. You don't get to see the other player's cards before ya bet.
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If you're the button you get to see them play a few hands before you have to engage....

Jaden
 
Jaden said:
If you're the button you get to see them play a few hands before you have to engage....

Jaden
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That's true, but if they don't get called I don't get to see the cards. In pool over the years I have rarely ever seen a player that won't eventually show their cards on a shot that they are just dying to make.

The only time I've ever had an issue with hustlers is when they're being salesmen and really pushing the action on non-players
 
In the early 90's I was in a local poolroom owned by my friend Pat Fox. A road player had come in with a guy and after awhile we noticed that the guy had left the road player. The road player said his name was Charlie Ford. There he was, suitcase and all, the victim of another kind of dumping.

Well I let him stay at my place for a few days. At the time there wasn't much pool action around so I really didn't see him play much. I still remember a couple of things he said that I got a chuckle out of. We were driving, and passed by a swimming pool supply store, and Charlie sees a sign in the window that says 'Pool Acid', he says, "Hey look at that sign, I wonder if they got any nine-ball acid." Only a die-hard pool player would come up with that line.

After a few days, I take Charlie to Baytown to play a guy that owns a poolroom there who is known to be good action. It's a weekend night and the place is real busy. After asking at the bar, Charlie finds the owner and asks him if he'd like to play a few sets. The owner says, "I only got time to play one set, but if you come back tommorow we can play more." Well, in the set that they played that night Charlie hit one shot that prompted the poolroom owner to say, "Don't bother coming back tommorrow."

So Charlie won that set and we drive on to a poolroom on South I-45 in Houston called Playoffs. Charlie walks in Playoffs and asks in a loud voice, does anyone wanna play some $40 nine-ball. This makes me kind of nervous, because this is an action room in Houston, Texas. But really not that nervous because my main objective is to 'help' Charlie on down the road. Anyway, a guy walks up and says he will play some, and I recognize him to be Pat Kirby. Some of you older guys from Houston may recognize that name. And they start to play, I'm sitting on the rail and an old friend of mine walks up and says, "You've got a good game, but make him post." Well they only play for about 30 minutes after which Kirby pulls up about three games loser. Then Kirby proceeds to tell me that I need to teach Charlie how to hustle because he came in and, according to Kirby, "played the best player in the house."

Charlie found someone who let him stay at their place for awhile. He also found him a stakehorse that helped him out and put him in action. That was the last I ever saw of Charlie. So that's my story of how I treated one road player. And, Charlie, if you read this, hope you are doing well.
 
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One time I agreed to stake a roadie out in Vegas to help him get pumped up. However the night before we were destined to take off for Vegas together I got a call and had to fly to Taiwan.

So the roadie goes alone and when he gets there he hits my wife up for $1000. She calls me and asks me about it. So then I had to tell here that I had agreed to stake him in cheap action.

She gives him the money and he comes back less than 4 hours later wanting more - I get another call.

I said no, wait for me, give him $100 and I will be there in a few days.

So I get to town and he tells me he took the grand to the poker table instead of hunting down easy action on the bar table.

So, what do I do? I end up getting him a motel room and give him another $1000 to get in action. I have NO TIME to go around with him and stakehorse him while we find action as I am busy with the cases.

What does HE DO?

He blows half the stack on poker again and the other half in a bad pool game and THEN tries to jump the fence in the parking lot instead of walking around - not realizing that it's a ten foot drop on the other side and breaks his ankle.

So NOW I have to take him to the clinic - pay for that - go get him crutches from the pharmacy - pay for those and make sure his motel bill is settled.

Anyway after all that he ended up staying in Vegas and the next time I saw him it was a few years later at the Splash Bar and he was pumped up - staying in a millionaire's house - driving the millionaire's Ferrari and was buying rounds on the millionaire's open tab at the Splash Bar in the RIVIERA and this guy definitely had no credit card on file to back it up.

Needless to say I never got my 2gs+ back but that one night we partied like rock stars so at least something came out of it.
 
JB Cases said:
One time I agreed to stake a roadie out in Vegas to help him get pumped up. However the night before we were destined to take off for Vegas together I got a call and had to fly to Taiwan.

So the roadie goes alone and when he gets there he hits my wife up for $1000. She calls me and asks me about it. So then I had to tell here that I had agreed to stake him in cheap action.

She gives him the money and he comes back less than 4 hours later wanting more - I get another call.

I said no, wait for me, give him $100 and I will be there in a few days.

So I get to town and he tells me he took the grand to the poker table instead of hunting down easy action on the bar table.

So, what do I do? I end up getting him a motel room and give him another $1000 to get in action. I have NO TIME to go around with him and stakehorse him while we find action as I am busy with the cases.

What does HE DO?

He blows half the stack on poker again and the other half in a bad pool game and THEN tries to jump the fence in the parking lot instead of walking around - not realizing that it's a ten foot drop on the other side and breaks his ankle.

So NOW I have to take him to the clinic - pay for that - go get him crutches from the pharmacy - pay for those and make sure his motel bill is settled.

Anyway after all that he ended up staying in Vegas and the next time I saw him it was a few years later at the Splash Bar and he was pumped up - staying in a millionaire's house - driving the millionaire's Ferrari and was buying rounds on the millionaire's open tab at the Splash Bar in the RIVIERA and this guy definitely had no credit card on file to back it up.

Needless to say I never got my 2gs+ back but that one night we partied like rock stars so at least something came out of it.
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They say yhat he could play pool when he was very young, but I,ve never seen he win in the last 15-20 yrs.
PS; He has a great story if you don't know him, I also wasn't immune, would you like to buy a nice Instroke case that he hocked to me ? BTW you can most likely beat this guy playing pool.
 
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The Saw said:
If you're fat, and on the road, there is always time for good food.... There used to be a wood oven Italian place down the street from Jamies room. That place was lights out! Some of the best food I ever had... We ate there three times in two days. We always tried to eat something like Olive Garden, Outback, etc... every couple of days and always asked the locals for the line on good local spots. Some of the best food I have ever had was in some far out places.......
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I am very sure the Italian wood oven place is still there although I've never eaten there. Go figure.
JoeyA
 
I treat them like they treat me. If they are nice and respectful, they get all the help I can offer. If they show their a$$, I will show them mine.
 
agree, how I was about a walking stick

easy-e said:
I treat them like they treat me. If they are nice and respectful, they get all the help I can offer. If they show their a$$, I will show them mine.
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If I busted a jackass he was busted, often down to taking his cue. A good guy left with his cue and a walking stick.

Funny thing, I played some folks with less than sterling reputations that I got along great with and I played some people that are supposed to be some of the finest gentlemen of the game that struck me as jerks. Unless someone has already done a friend of mine wrong I pretty much give them a chance and keep an open mind.

Hu
 
The philosophy I have was formed years ago, back during the Grady Matthews/Charlie Shootman days. When a road player came too town we all tended to band together and try and bust him, steering him wrong and inflating the pockets of the local players. What ALSO happened, when they went broke they "STAYED" in town for quite some time, some even settled and never left. What was gained other than the cash was the knowlege/friendship that were created by this new 'road player' becoming a resident. Nowadays the locals tell the roadie EVERYTHING and knock everyone's action and they are here today and gone too quickly, bad mistake...you can learn allot from a player from another part of the country.
 
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