How would you have handled this?

Lux said:
This happened to me once before. The guy was an utter twit so I had a word with the owner, who I've known for years, and the guy was thrown out in less than 2 minutes. I wouldn't have a problem if he asked sincerely and offered to buy me a few drinks, then I'd be willing to relinquish the table for an hour-- need breaks during 8-hour practice sessions. But what a nutter! You did the right thing.
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You are living in a fantasy World if you think that's the way it is gonna happen.

But re: OP... (please note use of paragraphs!)

I can see both sides:

gambling is a deep part of pool. A cash match might should take priority over a funsy game. Would it have been possible for you to join another table or play on a smaller table until a 9' opened up?

It is your table and you have made time now to play some mu-fuggin pool. If you got there when no tables were available, you wouldn't have had one either...but that's not the way it worked out. You got the table.

But you acted just right about it. F that MFer.
 
You could of given up the table and then woofed at him from the rail during his entire match. After he lost his money match, you could then say "aren't you glad I gave you the table?"

Bet he'd never ask you again!
 
xdy77 said:
Over the long run you handled it the right way. Of course it's a pain to stand there and be dissed or jerked around by someone like that, but your other ideas (fighting) are simply a bad bet.
I don't care HOW big or bad you think you are, mister, nowadays people are not going to square off in a karate or boxing brawl. They will pull out a pistol and blow a hole right between your eyes.
Yea, yea, yea, I know...."he will end up in prison". Yep, he probably will, but YOU are still dead just the same. And for what??....a lousy pool game?
I saw Jim Mataya, drunk on his ass, here in Atlanta maybe 20 years ago blowing off at the mouth in one of the worst pool rooms in the city about "how we did it in Detroit" etc etc etc. (all tables were filled and he wanted to gamble with some shortstop he'd trapped)
He had NO clue about the people who had the tables filled around him. There were at least 5 in there out of Reidsville prison from doing hard time, 8 who were carrying guns, and those were only the ones I knew about.
Your "fighting" idea is not too smart. A smart idea is to carry your pool playing business to another place.
Just an opinion here from an old man who's seen it all in 60 years of "small time" action.
Regards, etc. etc.
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I heard a statistic from the DC Metro area that 8/10 of vehicles driving around town had guns. WTF?!
 
The proper ettiquete would've been to tell him since the other tables are taken you're the only action for him and you need the whole world. Use this leverage to highroll him and call him a heartless nit loud enough that the whole room can hear.
 
whenever that happens to me i just tell him that i'm waiting for the guy im supposed to be playing to show up. they usually leave u alone after that.
 
deanoc said:
I would give up the table,its an unwritten rule to let the money game have priority among the action players.
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Lol, and who made this rule up?

If I go into a pool hall to practice, at my discretion, on my own time, with my own money, there is no way in hell i'm giving my table up to some guys simply because they are gambling.


Priority? Hahahaha
 
You handled it pretty well by keeping your cool. If I was asked politely, I will take it into consideration too.

At Hard Times, Little Al told me one time, "Play on this table when you practice. This one is just like the tournament side tables, tighter pockets and newer cloth, rail..." So every time I come in and nobody's using it,

I jump on that table. But if I am playing, I always offer that table to AL when I see him. Not just because it's a better table, but he has a good view of the stairs to his shop from there! He tells me how much he

appreciates it. It's a respect thing at that point for me. :grin:
 
I can't give you the table because I have a game lined up but I need a backer. How about backing me? C'mon man, I know you have the money. If I had the money I'd back you.

Hey, do you guys believe this? This guy wants my table but he won't back me.

Become a nuisance to the nuisance and it will go away.
 
rustysregular10...You were completely in the right here. As manwon said, if threre is no table that is dedicated to gambling, then it's whoever rents the table...period. The guy had no class, in demanding you give up your table, and especially after badmouthing you because you chose not to give it up. Your behavior was normal and expected...his was reprehensible.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

rustysregular10 said:
Ok, first off let me say this. When i go to the pool hall to practice, thats what im there to do. I was at the pool room today 20 minutes early in the ice to get a table. I was the first one there today so i could get the table i wanted. Another guy comes in about 2 hours after i was there and all the 9 footers were taken. I was not the only one shooting by myself. S the guy comes up to me and says hey can me and this other guy have your table so we can gamble? I said well i got here early so i could practice, thats all i want to do, so not this time sorry. I thought it was a done deal at that point. I said no so that shouldve been the end of it. Not even 5 minutes later, the douchebag comes back over and begins to lechture me on pool room etiquette and how i should give up the table that i already paid for so he could gamble. Ok, now im starting to get pissed. Its bad i had to tell a grown man no twice. I really wish you all could have been there. He then proceeds to go to all the other players and bad mouth me behind my back. I never start trouble and i keep to myself. Im one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. So after bad mouthing me he decides hes ready to leave. At this point im in a match for the fun of it with a friend of mine, and ive already forgotten about him. Water under the bridge right? Wrong, he says as loud as he can while leaving, ok if any of you ever need a table that im playing on ill gladly give it up. So there he goes lighting the fuse again. Im not a small guy by no means. I would have destroyed this guy in fight. But i kept a cool head and gave him one of those, youre on thin ice looks and said you talk too much. He waves me off and leaves. First off how brave of that man to badmouth someone he doesnt know, and second its my f##king table, and if i want you play on it, ill let you know. He left, because all the other players like me and told himto shut his mouth. I didnt know that til after the fact. Oh and i forgot to mention that he not once asked anybody else that was practicing alone for their table. Im glad i kept a cool head, because the bartender is telling the manager about this troublemaker and our incident. Do you think i handled this in the right way? What would you have done? Would you have given up your table for some gamblers? Sorry for the long rant, ive just never encountered this situation before. Should i have just kicked the shit out of this pice of shit? Sorry for the offensive language.
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deanoc...It's only an "unwritten rule" if there are tables set aside (by the owner) specifically for gambling. That is not the case in this poolroom. Therefore, the "unwritten rule" is not in effect there. After his disrespectful behavior to the OP, there is no way I would have given up the table.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

deanoc said:
I would give up the table,its an unwritten rule to let the money game have priority among the action players.They show me the same respect.

That is before his disrespectful behavoir.
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Handled This

You did great.
I would have said nicely 1 time that I was waiting on my fish to come and play $200.00 a game or he could have it.
If that didn't end it, I would have shot him and gone back to jail
"Cause that what Collector do"
 
Bear in mind that if there were no tables available then there was a wait list. So this guy is not only attempting to commandeer the table from you but is also cutting in line in front of everyone else on the wait list. If you want to cut to the front of the line do it properly - tip the counter man. :grin:

Also, based on this guy's attitude, I'm not going to assume he really was in a gambling match up, at least not by my standards that would make me even consider giving up my table, even to someone I know. It could just have easily been a BS excuse to not have to wait their turn. And if it was for money, it should be for something significant. Two guys competing for loser pays time is not my idea of "gambling".
 
The smartass in me says I would've stomped my feet and huffed and puffed in mockery.. :rolleyes:

The bar player in me says I would've told the guy to go f(ind) himself (another table). :eek:

A dozen tables or whatever and the guy's gotta be a jackass to you? Wtf. What a loser.

..A friend once told me you'll have no problem if you treat people as they are. That guy was a jerk.. you're not there to baby his ego or make excuses.. treat him like the jerk he is and he'll understand. Playing the guy like he deserves a flake of respect just made him continue his assly ways.
 
I don't care about any "unwritten" rule. The table was yours and you were paying for it with your own money. I wouldn't consider the request unless it was a friend of mine.

I did like the idea of gambling with him and getting the world as a spot.
 
rustysregular10 said:
...Do you think i handled this in the right way? What would you have done? Would you have given up your table for some gamblers? Sorry for the long rant, ive just never encountered this situation before. Should i have just kicked the shit out of this pice of shit? Sorry for the offensive language.
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I think you handled it maturely. Beating the sh** out of him would have done you no good (unless of course if you were physically defending yourself). Sure it might have made you feel better at the moment. But what happens if you accidentally killed the guy after the drop kick to his face? You said you were bigger than the dude. It wouldnt be worth the hassle.

Depending on the approach, I would consider giving up the table. Maybe I'd be up for it, maybe not. But if I decide "no" like you did, that should be the end of it. Dude shoulda just backed off.

You handled it well. :thumbup:


Regards,
Abe - i4pool
 
I'd give up my table for a friend or another regular in some action OR if the room owner stood to make more money from more people on the table. The second circumstance only applies to our local hall where business has been terrible over the last year and a half and I want the place to make as much money as possible so it can stick around as long as it can. Other than that, you handled it better than I would have. I would have MFed the guy up and down the second time he approached me without offering me something for MY table. I applaud your patience!
 
alstl said:
I can't give you the table because I have a game lined up but I need a backer. How about backing me? C'mon man, I know you have the money. If I had the money I'd back you.

Hey, do you guys believe this? This guy wants my table but he won't back me.

Become a nuisance to the nuisance and it will go away.
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LOL I could see that playing out. Great answer!
 
friend of mine was playing a set for time the other night. a local player, boy george, says "yo man let me get this table so me and (random other player) can play a set for 300". my buddy says yeah we'll move after this game.

apparently not good enough for boy george. he says "fu*k this game you guys gotta move" and grabs the balls and starts racking the balls for his set
 
DogsPlayingPool said:
Here's the proper pool room etiquette: You put your name on the wait list and when a table opens up you get to play. The guys sounds like a self-centered nit. If anything, since he's a such a big "gambler", he should have offered you money to give up your table - in which case you still would have had the right to say no. I can see it if you and he are regulars and he's asking as a courtesy, you may want to do him a favor and give him the table, but for some shmo off the street to expect it of you? What a tool.
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This is what I wouldve told him....he could have the courtesy to offer you to pay the time that you have been there and throw a couple bucks your way...or he can sit and watch you practice for free...

I agree with you that it is hard to listen to some d---head. I may not have been as polite as you after the first time.
 
You handled it well enough.

I would question why you would be interested in hitting someone over words. just something to ask yourself about...
 
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