Huge money at Pool event in Birmingham.

Cornerman

Cue Author...Sometimes
Gold Member
Silver Member
I tend to hear about that action..I think Buffalo set a record last year…but what player has bought himself in one of those Calcuttas?
TRex bought himself the last Buffalo’s tournament last year.

On the Birmingham tourney, I’m hearing that the women are indeed buying half of themselves for $xxxxxx
 

9BallKY

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In my area every tournament is handicapped anymore. There’s a couple race to 2 tournaments where you can play even.
 

JolietJames

Boot Party Coordinator
Silver Member
In my area every tournament is handicapped anymore. There’s a couple race to 2 tournaments where you can play even.
Same here just south of you. Everything is bar box and fargo. I occasionally get some 9' action at Night Deposit, but it's not a tournament. I miss real pool halls with 9 footers and weekly open tournaments.
 

straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
TRex bought himself the last Buffalo’s tournament last year.

On the Birmingham tourney, I’m hearing that the women are indeed buying half of themselves for $xxxxxx
Wondering why TC buys himself. No sponsors allowed? Makes a little sense for the biguns.
 

9BallKY

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Same here just south of you. Everything is bar box and fargo. I occasionally get some 9' action at Night Deposit, but it's not a tournament. I miss real pool halls with 9 footers and weekly open tournaments.
I saw one of your posts a while back about playing Joey. Did you guys ever play.
 

JolietJames

Boot Party Coordinator
Silver Member
I saw one of your posts a while back about playing Joey. Did you guys ever play.
We were supposed to play a bigger set but we have only found time to play one bar box race to 11.
It's hard to nail him down because he generally needs a backer in the room for a game to happen.
 

ShootingArts

Smorg is giving St Peter the 7!
Gold Member
Silver Member
Calcuttas are a bit of a sore point with me. They are promoted to bring in outside money but those outside gamblers are people that come in recognizing the odds are better than most they can get. The outside money comes in with the cash to buy the top players and if it isn't announced as part of the rules they don't always sell half to the player. There have been stinks at events where the player thought they were in for half and the buyer didn't. If I was a player and wanted half I would settle it fast! Regardless, outside buyers, not pool players, are likely to haul off most of those huge Calcutta wins we see advertised. The money is real but it seldom goes to the player who wins.

One catch, often even top players can't buy half of themselves when that runs into thousands so they either have to split with another backer, a corporation, or if they aren't well known locally they may not be able to raise the cash to buy half then they are at the mercy of the Calcutta buyer for jelly. Ten to fifteen percent is pretty standard, maybe twenty if the player is lucky, but Calcutta buyers may be feeling stingy. They often buy several players so their winnings this event aren't as nice as they look at first glance.

The player is hoping for a nice percentage of gross, the Calcutta buyer may be passing out jelly on their net including other buys in the event. Worse, they may be covering losses from earlier Calcuttas that year or even other losses. Easy for a gambler to be ahead in the tournament but out tens of thousands other places and he is looking at his entire wins and losses, not just on this Calcutta or Calcuttas alone. $100,000 and more yearly swings on gambling winnings aren't that uncommon in some circles in the oil patch. Unfortunately pool rarely sees that kind of money.

Hu
 

PracticeChampion

Well-known member
Calcuttas are a bit of a sore point with me. They are promoted to bring in outside money but those outside gamblers are people that come in recognizing the odds are better than most they can get. The outside money comes in with the cash to buy the top players and if it isn't announced as part of the rules they don't always sell half to the player. There have been stinks at events where the player thought they were in for half and the buyer didn't. If I was a player and wanted half I would settle it fast! Regardless, outside buyers, not pool players, are likely to haul off most of those huge Calcutta wins we see advertised. The money is real but it seldom goes to the player who wins.

One catch, often even top players can't buy half of themselves when that runs into thousands so they either have to split with another backer, a corporation, or if they aren't well known locally they may not be able to raise the cash to buy half then they are at the mercy of the Calcutta buyer for jelly. Ten to fifteen percent is pretty standard, maybe twenty if the player is lucky, but Calcutta buyers may be feeling stingy. They often buy several players so their winnings this event aren't as nice as they look at first glance.

The player is hoping for a nice percentage of gross, the Calcutta buyer may be passing out jelly on their net including other buys in the event. Worse, they may be covering losses from earlier Calcuttas that year or even other losses. Easy for a gambler to be ahead in the tournament but out tens of thousands other places and he is looking at his entire wins and losses, not just on this Calcutta or Calcuttas alone. $100,000 and more yearly swings on gambling winnings aren't that uncommon in some circles in the oil patch. Unfortunately pool rarely sees that kind of money.

Hu
I know of no Calcuttas that don't allow the player the option of buying half back if they do it before the tournament starts, whether they can afford it is another story. Around here they'd usually get thrown a bone but it's not a rule. I'd feel real nervous spending big money on someone and then telling them they can't get any of the Calcutta. Piss um off and they may throw the game, or work a deal with opponents or just leave, all of which are no good for the guy spending the money 😂
 

9BallKY

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
We were supposed to play a bigger set but we have only found time to play one bar box race to 11.
It's hard to nail him down because he generally needs a backer in the room for a game to happen.
I have only played him in tournaments
 

ShootingArts

Smorg is giving St Peter the 7!
Gold Member
Silver Member
I know of no Calcuttas that don't allow the player the option of buying half back if they do it before the tournament starts, whether they can afford it is another story. Around here they'd usually get thrown a bone but it's not a rule. I'd feel real nervous spending big money on someone and then telling them they can't get any of the Calcutta. Piss um off and they may throw the game, or work a deal with opponents or just leave, all of which are no good for the guy spending the money 😂


Often the player being able to buy half of themselves was an unwritten rule and if the Calcutta winner didn't want to sell to the player it was tough crap. The venue or promoter wouldn't back up the player as likely as not. Of course then you have players that can get pissed and either throw away their entry fee or carefully place second tier since the Calcutta usually pays half as many places as the tourney does.

All of the noses out of joint are one more reason for not having Calcuttas. Players feel no obligation to Calcutta buyers, buyers that find themselves out thousands because a player doesn't feel like battling the one loss side or just was too hungover to play can get ugly. Smaller events and Calcuttas usually aren't as big a problem as big events.

The Calcutta is an event in itself and when you see forty thousand dollar plus Calcuttas they have usually milked bids on some players for fifteen minutes or more. Calcuttas lasting six, eight hours, even longer, are another beef of mine when they say event starts immediately after Calcutta. After you learn an event or a Calcutta auctioneer you can be a little better prepared, still I came to compete in an event, not watch an auction. As I got older and gimpier I felt more and more of my event slide away while standing around waiting on the Calcutta to end.

I am out of touch the last five years or more, other than second hand information. Perhaps things have changed or possibly people haven't gotten as carried away with Calcuttas other places. A big event in South Louisiana can have a full day of Calcutta auction.

I prefer a cash option for those that want to play for more money. It is decided beforehand what the buy-in will be, maybe fifty or a hundred bones. Now when a person is signing in they are asked if they want in the cash option. Maybe a minute taken up getting the cash and writing down a name. Few or no outsiders, the players generally own themselves.

Three to six Calcutta buyers never seen around a pool hall otherwise can buy all of the cream off of the top, one person or combine buying maybe a couple top players and a couple second tier players as a longshot although some of these usually find their way into the money.

Hu
 

PracticeChampion

Well-known member
Often the player being able to buy half of themselves was an unwritten rule and if the Calcutta winner didn't want to sell to the player it was tough crap. The venue or promoter wouldn't back up the player as likely as not. Of course then you have players that can get pissed and either throw away their entry fee or carefully place second tier since the Calcutta usually pays half as many places as the tourney does.

All of the noses out of joint are one more reason for not having Calcuttas. Players feel no obligation to Calcutta buyers, buyers that find themselves out thousands because a player doesn't feel like battling the one loss side or just was too hungover to play can get ugly. Smaller events and Calcuttas usually aren't as big a problem as big events.

The Calcutta is an event in itself and when you see forty thousand dollar plus Calcuttas they have usually milked bids on some players for fifteen minutes or more. Calcuttas lasting six, eight hours, even longer, are another beef of mine when they say event starts immediately after Calcutta. After you learn an event or a Calcutta auctioneer you can be a little better prepared, still I came to compete in an event, not watch an auction. As I got older and gimpier I felt more and more of my event slide away while standing around waiting on the Calcutta to end.

I am out of touch the last five years or more, other than second hand information. Perhaps things have changed or possibly people haven't gotten as carried away with Calcuttas other places. A big event in South Louisiana can have a full day of Calcutta auction.

I prefer a cash option for those that want to play for more money. It is decided beforehand what the buy-in will be, maybe fifty or a hundred bones. Now when a person is signing in they are asked if they want in the cash option. Maybe a minute taken up getting the cash and writing down a name. Few or no outsiders, the players generally own themselves.

Three to six Calcutta buyers never seen around a pool hall otherwise can buy all of the cream off of the top, one person or combine buying maybe a couple top players and a couple second tier players as a longshot although some of these usually find their way into the money.

Hu
Some tournaments will do a side pot instead of Calcutta, kinda nice actually cause it gets going alot faster and Sometimes I get ran up a few hundred and sometimes it's a damn tuff field that I'd rather not bet a hundred on myself.

One time I actually had a guy yell at me for missing a ball cause he bought me in the Calcutta LoL. Cue ball was on the rail, my object ball was mid table and I had to play it in the corner, tuff shot to me 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

ShootingArts

Smorg is giving St Peter the 7!
Gold Member
Silver Member
Some tournaments will do a side pot instead of Calcutta, kinda nice actually cause it gets going alot faster and Sometimes I get ran up a few hundred and sometimes it's a damn tuff field that I'd rather not bet a hundred on myself.

One time I actually had a guy yell at me for missing a ball cause he bought me in the Calcutta LoL. Cue ball was on the rail, my object ball was mid table and I had to play it in the corner, tuff shot to me 🤷🏻‍♂️


Reminds me of car owner I drove for. He had a middle of the pack car. He told me in explicit detail how to drive the first race. Minor problem, his car didn't belong on the same track as at least three of those cars! I told him the only chance I had of winning was if I picked his car up and toted it! I felt real good when I brought that car in three to five places in front of where it belonged. I think I might have placed as high as fourth with it and it was more like an eighth or tenth place car.

When it comes to pool somebody might have seen us get hot for a few minutes and decided that is our normal game, it being no more normal than the racks we really stink up!

Hu
 

Dan Harriman

One of the best in 14.1
Silver Member
Call me CYNICAL I doubt the amount won and would suspect collusion.
You also thougt the rack mechanics could be pertinent - in full rack bumps. U were wrong, on normal Professional standard equipment - the top players break safe - Opening break. So yer proclamation about opponents ability to lay down bad rack in full rack Bumps - was and is Wrong. Save yer poor advice for another oblivious recipient. I.e. they still have to score the first bank off the end rail, not everything as crooked - as u would try and portray it sorority pooch. So yer definitely a sober cynic - a mis informed one at that. For future ref - if u try to give advice on this forum - make sure it's not full pretenses or hyperbole.
 
Last edited:

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Often the player being able to buy half of themselves was an unwritten rule and if the Calcutta winner didn't want to sell to the player it was tough crap. The venue or promoter wouldn't back up the player as likely as not. Of course then you have players that can get pissed and either throw away their entry fee or carefully place second tier since the Calcutta usually pays half as many places as the tourney does.

All of the noses out of joint are one more reason for not having Calcuttas. Players feel no obligation to Calcutta buyers, buyers that find themselves out thousands because a player doesn't feel like battling the one loss side or just was too hungover to play can get ugly. Smaller events and Calcuttas usually aren't as big a problem as big events.

The Calcutta is an event in itself and when you see forty thousand dollar plus Calcuttas they have usually milked bids on some players for fifteen minutes or more. Calcuttas lasting six, eight hours, even longer, are another beef of mine when they say event starts immediately after Calcutta. After you learn an event or a Calcutta auctioneer you can be a little better prepared, still I came to compete in an event, not watch an auction. As I got older and gimpier I felt more and more of my event slide away while standing around waiting on the Calcutta to end.

I am out of touch the last five years or more, other than second hand information. Perhaps things have changed or possibly people haven't gotten as carried away with Calcuttas other places. A big event in South Louisiana can have a full day of Calcutta auction.

I prefer a cash option for those that want to play for more money. It is decided beforehand what the buy-in will be, maybe fifty or a hundred bones. Now when a person is signing in they are asked if they want in the cash option. Maybe a minute taken up getting the cash and writing down a name. Few or no outsiders, the players generally own themselves.

Three to six Calcutta buyers never seen around a pool hall otherwise can buy all of the cream off of the top, one person or combine buying maybe a couple top players and a couple second tier players as a longshot although some of these usually find their way into the money.

Hu
Where i come from the player always has the right to buy half himself. If he doesn't the buyer will often jelly him a little if he cashes but not the full amount if the guy had gone in half. A buddy of mine once bought a local guy for nxt to nothing. The dude did not buy half himself. He then plays out of his ass and beats Dick Lane and some other good players to get to the final. Ends up second and my buddy offered him a jelly. He thought he was due half and a fight damn near broke out. Some comical shit i tell ya.
 

u12armresl

One Pocket back cutter
Silver Member
Where i come from the player always has the right to buy half himself. If he doesn't the buyer will often jelly him a little if he cashes but not the full amount if the guy had gone in half. A buddy of mine once bought a local guy for nxt to nothing. The dude did not buy half himself. He then plays out of his ass and beats Dick Lane and some other good players to get to the final. Ends up second and my buddy offered him a jelly. He thought he was due half and a fight damn near broke out. Some comical shit i tell ya.
You do pay based on performance though, right?
So beating those good players when it sounds like he had no chance would warrant a bit more than some jelly, but not 50%.
 
Top