How good were you ?

RRfireblade

RRfireblade

Grammer Are For Stupids
Silver Member
I started playing pool around 30+ years ago. At that time , my parents were pursuing thier dreams of being rock stars so I lived in the back of a 5th wheel trailer while they traveled the country. Needless to say , I spent most of my young life in bars and clubs. As far back as I can remember , I hustled for small change , glasses of cola or table time. Anything from short bar table races to spot and setup shots , I had could always get action and take it home in my pocket.

Fast forward . . .

I go back to my adopted home town on vacation for a few weeks and run into friends I knew after we had finally settled down. . . and not as rock stars. :) I'm coming back to pool after some time off and have been working hard to get 'my game back' , like just about everyone else you run into. ;) So we go out to for drinks and such one night and of course to shoot some pool. I've been playing pretty well lately and did so that night. The old crew is impressed. I say at one point , "Yeah , I feel like I've almost got my game back". To my suprise the general consensus is I was never as good as I'm playing right now.

I'm stunned.

"What the H are you talking about ? I used to . . . . " , I launch into.

After much debate that night , I'm now quite concerned that my memory has been playing tricks on my fragile mind , not to mention ego.

:frown:
 
Well, in pool you can gauge how good you were by how many balls or racks you were running compared to now. I peaked at about 30 years of age, when I ran 121, 118 and 103 all within a 2 month period. I stopped playing for a few years and when I came back I only played casually for fun. I haven't had any 100s since then, I generally don't run more than maybe a 60 in a typical month. I'n in my mid 40's now but it's not my age at all, it's just that I don't try real hard like I used to, I don't practice at all now compared to 4-6 hours a day of solo practice that I used to do.
 
I'm almost certain that I'm much better now than i was when I was in my early 20's, although I have fond memories of shooting great back then. :)
 
I think I might have been a wee bit better

Aside from beating a few champions, I shut down several places when I broke out my "A" game, playing for little or nothing. I mean everybody in the place stopped what they were doing to come watch what was happening on my table, not side betting just a gallery. I haven't noticed anything like that lately so either everyone else is a hell of a lot better or I am a lot worse after a 20 year lay off. :D :rolleyes: :D

One funny I remember was when I was in Atlanta with an hour to kill before catching a bird out. I was playing a pretty good bar player and giving my usual friendly spot to a bar player. We were playing eight ball but I could only make a ball banking or legal combinations, call pocket for both of us. The other player was pretty good and I was a long ways from home with no intention of ever gambling there so I broke out my "A" game and let the ponies run.

Using a house stick I was mostly getting out in one or two innings, rarely three or more. Soon a crowd gathered. I looked around and the rest of the good sized pool hall was dead empty, even the counter people were at my table. The onlookers were very excited wanting to know who I was. I told them I was nobody, just a South Louisiana country boy and everybody played the way I did back where I came from. :smile: :smile: :smile:

Hu


RRfireblade said:
I started playing pool around 30+ years ago. At that time , my parents were pursuing thier dreams of being rock stars so I lived in the back of a 5th wheel trailer while they traveled the country. Needless to say , I spent most of my young life in bars and clubs. As far back as I can remember , I hustled for small change , glasses of cola or table time. Anything from short bar table races to spot and setup shots , I had could always get action and take it home in my pocket.

Fast forward . . .

I go back to my adopted home town on vacation for a few weeks and run into friends I knew after we had finally settled down. . . and not as rock stars. :) I'm coming back to pool after some time off and have been working hard to get 'my game back' , like just about everyone else you run into. ;) So we go out to for drinks and such one night and of course to shoot some pool. I've been playing pretty well lately and did so that night. The old crew is impressed. I say at one point , "Yeah , I feel like I've almost got my game back". To my suprise the general consensus is I was never as good as I'm playing right now.

I'm stunned.

"What the H are you talking about ? I used to . . . . " , I launch into.

After much debate that night , I'm now quite concerned that my memory has been playing tricks on my fragile mind , not to mention ego.

:frown:
Click to expand...
 
A friend of mine who is a part time racer and automotive artisted made some shirts afew years ago. They said "The older I get the faster I was". Guess pool is the same way. I hope some day I will get has good as I think I was!

Larry
 
I think I played Efren speed, or better... No, wait, that wasn't me. I think I sucked!

I always knew it was a matter of time until those flashbacks started...:shocked:
 
Lol ...

Good enough to get a Pool nickname given to me when I was 17. At that point in my life I was 'Mako', for lil shark.
 
I'm better now with a table in my basement than I was when I was a kid before the 35 year layoff. When I was a kid I never had enough money to play very much. Plus, my Mother thought pool was evil and I had to sneak into the pool hall. If she knew what the kids were doing who weren't in the pool hall she would have paid my table time to keep me there.
 
Back in the '80s when i played every day and could see much better i was a shortstop. Now that i don't see as well and play a couple a days a week people that know say i'm just an "A" player with flashes of "AA". :sad:
 
Well right before I quit playing I played an ex-pro (take that with a grain of salt as I heard he was an ex-pro) the day before I went to court (I quit that day because of a DUI). I played him a race to 10 in 9 ball and either broke and ran, or broke dry, he missed the first shot and I ran out 10-0. That was my crowning moment as I have never repeated it, or come close since. I am very grateful that the person I was playing pointed it out because I was so zoned out I had no idea that I didn't miss a shot over ten racks.

Despite that wonderful happening I actually believe that I am a better player today. I have a better idea of what to do and how the balls move. I am without a doubt a better straight pool player today than before as well, but that definitely doesn't make me a good player. I do think that my shooting is almost where it used to be. The only thing I think that is much lower than it used to be is the mental game which I think is at least half of the game and saying half is an absolute least.
 
JB Cases said:
Who says it's not pool related? :-)

You can play any game on a pool table.
Click to expand...

I've played my fill. I just realized that you know you are a billiards addict when you are playing one of those "games" and you are worried about staining the cloth. I'm not joking around.....I remember this as clear as day.
 
gunzby said:
I've played my fill. I just realized that you know you are a billiards addict when you are playing one of those "games" and you are worried about staining the cloth. I'm not joking around.....I remember this as clear as day.
Click to expand...

That's why everyone should be playing on ArtScape - they design it so that stains and marks blend in. :-)

For the OP - I will play along - my best days were five racks in nine ball two times in my life. Five racks in eight ball one time in my life. Many 8 and outs in one pocket and a couple 11s. 98 in straight pool. Of course I lacked a lot of discipline and never put in the time to have achieved more. Had I done so then I have no doubt that I would have had a better personal record. I am still good enough to be a UPA pro though ;-)

Best record against a pro - I ran five racks of nine ball out of the gate against Ronnie Wiseman with no spot for $300 a set - and lost the set 11:5.
 
RRfireblade said:
I started playing pool around 30+ years ago. At that time , my parents were pursuing thier dreams of being rock stars so I lived in the back of a 5th wheel trailer while they traveled the country. Needless to say , I spent most of my young life in bars and clubs. As far back as I can remember , I hustled for small change , glasses of cola or table time. Anything from short bar table races to spot and setup shots , I had could always get action and take it home in my pocket.

Fast forward . . .

I go back to my adopted home town on vacation for a few weeks and run into friends I knew after we had finally settled down. . . and not as rock stars. :) I'm coming back to pool after some time off and have been working hard to get 'my game back' , like just about everyone else you run into. ;) So we go out to for drinks and such one night and of course to shoot some pool. I've been playing pretty well lately and did so that night. The old crew is impressed. I say at one point , "Yeah , I feel like I've almost got my game back". To my suprise the general consensus is I was never as good as I'm playing right now.

I'm stunned.

"What the H are you talking about ? I used to . . . . " , I launch into.

After much debate that night , I'm now quite concerned that my memory has been playing tricks on my fragile mind , not to mention ego.

:frown:
Click to expand...

i watched "spaceballs" when i was young. i remember it being the best movie ever but now that i watch it it's not as good as i remember it.

there's always the chance that people were letting you win because you were just a kid
 
JB Cases said:
That's why everyone should be playing on ArtScape - they design it so that stains and marks blend in. :-)

For the OP - I will play along - my best days were five racks in nine ball two times in my life. Five racks in eight ball one time in my life. Many 8 and outs in one pocket and a couple 11s. 98 in straight pool. Of course I lacked a lot of discipline and never put in the time to have achieved more. Had I done so then I have no doubt that I would have had a better personal record. I am still good enough to be a UPA pro though ;-)

Best record against a pro - I ran five racks of nine ball out of the gate against Ronnie Wiseman with no spot for $300 a set - and lost the set 11:5.
Click to expand...

Did you run out of gas? or did he just put the screws to you he finally got to the table
 
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