**If you don't like money don't read this!**

Cannonball55

Cannonball55

This is cool
Silver Member
Hi,

You know the old saying, "if it don't make dollars it don't make sense" well, call me shallow and money hungry if you like but i believe that this motto should/could apply to every facet of your life ( especially in the pool realm ) As a young man i learned very quickly to grasp key elements of hustling and making money because i came from the wrong side of the tracks i had no one to fall back on if i needed anything. I did however, befriend an older road player that was extremely street smart and wise, he taught me a lot about human behavior and perception, I learned the differences between guys that keep their money in their wallets ( usually guys that are nits or guys that are extremely tight ) and guys that keep their "bank roll" in a rubberband in the front pocket ( these are the guys that will bet something and will go off like a rocket if they perceive they have a chance )

Speaking of perception, I learned that the art of successful gambling is all about perception ( or deception and that's subject to your own P.O.V. )

The player aforementioned knew there are only winners and losers in the pool room and no in-between. Time is money and if you "invest" time in the pool room you should get a nice return on your "investment" One way to do that is by understanding what motivates most people to gamble in the first place. I have found that these two elements ( greed and fear ) are the most common.

I touched on perception, the old man would often say when regarding a young players new fancy cue stick "Yeah, that's nice but it won't get you a cup of coffee" as a matter of fact I remember i owned a very nice Schon a few years ago and he'd always tell me that playing with my "fancy stick" would cost me more money than it would make me money and i did'nt understand at the time what he meant because the cue hit like a dream. Well, i noticed what his "cue" of choice was, it was a meucci sneaky pete. No disrespect to all of you esteemed cuemakers out there but i learned that most any wood 2 wood two pieces will play good just as long as it has a pro taper, ferrule and decent tip .
Here's where the perception kicked in: The difference is that my Schon was gawdy and screaming "Hey i got a fancy cue, i'm a play pool player" the sneaky pete was unassuming and not screaming a damn thing. So, with which tool can i attract more fish? It's little things like this that i picked up along the way and i am by no means saying that you can't own a nice cue like a Josswest or a Scruggs or a Richard Black etc and not make money...

It's all about perception
 
Cannonball55 said:
Hi,

You know the old saying, "if it don't make dollars it don't make sense" well, call me shallow and money hungry if you like but i believe that this motto should/could apply to every facet of your life ( especially in the pool realm ) As a young man i learned very quickly to grasp key elements of hustling and making money because i came from the wrong side of the tracks i had no one to fall back on if i needed anything. I did however, befriend an older road player that was extremely street smart and wise, he taught me a lot about human behavior and perception, I learned the differences between guys that keep their money in their wallets ( usually guys that are nits or guys that are extremely tight ) and guys that keep their "bank roll" in a rubberband in the front pocket ( these are the guys that will bet something and will go off like a rocket if they perceive they have a chance )

Speaking of perception, I learned that the art of successful gambling is all about perception ( or deception and that's subject to your own P.O.V. )

The player aforementioned knew there are only winners and losers in the pool room and no in-between. Time is money and if you "invest" time in the pool room you should get a nice return on your "investment" One way to do that is by understanding what motivates most people to gamble in the first place. I have found that these two elements ( greed and fear ) are the most common.

I touched on perception, the old man would often say when regarding a young players new fancy cue stick "Yeah, that's nice but it won't get you a cup of coffee" as a matter of fact I remember i owned a very nice Schon a few years ago and he'd always tell me that playing with my "fancy stick" would cost me more money than it would make me money and i did'nt understand at the time what he meant because the cue hit like a dream. Well, i noticed what his "cue" of choice was, it was a meucci sneaky pete. No disrespect to all of you esteemed cuemakers out there but i learned that most any wood 2 wood two pieces will play good just as long as it has a pro taper, ferrule and decent tip .
Here's where the perception kicked in: The difference is that my Schon was gawdy and screaming "Hey i got a fancy cue, i'm a play pool player" the sneaky pete was unassuming and not screaming a damn thing. So, with which tool can i attract more fish? It's little things like this that i picked up along the way and i am by no means saying that you can't own a nice cue like a Josswest or a Scruggs or a Richard Black etc and not make money...

It's all about perception
Click to expand...

I like money and I read this!!
 
at first I wanted to retaliate this post with the whole "I don't play pool for money thing" but this is actually such a good point...kudos
 
I already knew that even before I can walk. I live most of my 48 fruitful years (minus the 5 years I decided
to settle here in the US) in the backstreets of Manila, were the only means of survival is to win and win big.

If you lose, you'll end up in a small sidewalk with old newspapers as your bed and your spare shirt as your
blanket and no breakfast, lunch nor dinner for that day. You'll learn how to play possum, play weak while
trying to make your next victim comfortable about his game while playing against you. It's hard to hold back
and keep the matches as close as possible and if you have the guts to make it ALWAYS hill-hill, and manage
to get out each and every time, then you've succeeded to get yourself another patron for the rainy days to
come.

You've got to learn to handle crooked sticks, wet tables and to run faster than the closest guy who's chasing you, just in case...
 
gopi-1 said:
I already knew that even before I can walk. I live most of my 48 fruitful years (minus the 5 years I decided
to settle here in the US) in the backstreets of Manila, were the only means of survival is to win and win big.

If you lose, you'll end up in a small sidewalk with old newspapers as your bed and your spare shirt as your
blanket and no breakfast, lunch nor dinner for that day. You'll learn how to play possum, play weak while
trying to make your next victim comfortable about his game while playing against you. It's hard to hold back
and keep the matches as close as possible and if you have the guts to make it ALWAYS hill-hill, and manage
to get out each and every time, then you've succeeded to get yourself another patron for the rainy days to
come.

You've got to learn to handle crooked sticks, wet tables and to run faster than the closest guy who's chasing you, just in case...
Click to expand...


Oh yes, I hear you on that one
 
Thanks so much for the post. I enjoyed it very much. And i most say somewhere in your words i have found a new t-shirt design. I think i will call this design talk is cheap, till there is money on the table. Thanks again for your words of wisdom.
 
Cannonball55 said:
Hi,
it was a meucci sneaky pete.

It's all about perception
Click to expand...


Meucci Sneaky Pete was the BEST hitting cue I ever had.I bought that for $150.00 in 1989 when I first started playing pool on everyday basis. In 1993 I gave it to one of our AZ Posters when this poster`s cue stick was stollen in a pool room.:cool:
 
POOL SHIRTS said:
Thanks so much for the post. I enjoyed it very much. And i most say somewhere in your words i have found a new t-shirt design. I think i will call this design talk is cheap, till there is money on the table. Thanks again for your words of wisdom.
Click to expand...

Thanx man, btw welcome to AZ:thumbup2:
 
vagabond said:
Meucci Sneaky Pete was the BEST hitting cue I ever had.I bought that for $150.00 in 1989 when I first started playing pool on everyday basis. In 1993 I gave it to one of our AZ Posters when this poster`s cue stick was stollen in a pool room.:cool:
Click to expand...

I've hit balls with it and i totally agree with you that Meucci Original SP's played like gang busters . Jam friggin up!
 
I read, and then re-read this....I like money, and I like to shoot pool, but I don't see why shooting pool needs to make me money???!!! I completely understand that a buncha "players" out there have to play for money to keep their interest, but there are some of us that like to play simply for the competition...just a heads up. BTW, I have no problem playing for money if need be either, but it certainly isn't a requirement for me like it seems to be for most. I have never walked into a poolhall thinking, "how much am I/can I walk outta here with?"....I couldn't care less; I want to play, and I want to win. If that happens to put some cash in my pocket - I guess I try to buy my competitors drinks or something, so as to ease the monetary loss (really not all that fond of taking someone's money just because I happened to play better than they did, yes, really!!!).
 
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I agree with the O.P. to an extent if that is what your in the game for but I also agree it is not the main reason I play. I play because I love the game and all the goes with it ... The memories and the challenge and way it makes you feel from time to time. I have built memories around the pool table that will never be replaced and it was'nt always about money. Yeah a Sneaky is always a good thing to have in your case . But sooner or later no matter how slick you think you are there is always someone out there better and slicker then you. You can't win all the time and the trick is to know when your being hustled and when your doing the hustlin.
 
I agree with what you say about cues but let me say this, this isn't 1965 anymore. Some people are really into cues and can spot a Scruggs sneaky from across the room. The days of the "I'm just a farm boy with my cheap house cue" days are over.
MULLY
not being snotty, just saying
 
gopi-1 said:
I already knew that even before I can walk. I live most of my 48 fruitful years (minus the 5 years I decided
to settle here in the US) in the backstreets of Manila, were the only means of survival is to win and win big.

If you lose, you'll end up in a small sidewalk with old newspapers as your bed and your spare shirt as your
blanket and no breakfast, lunch nor dinner for that day. You'll learn how to play possum, play weak while
trying to make your next victim comfortable about his game while playing against you. It's hard to hold back
and keep the matches as close as possible and if you have the guts to make it ALWAYS hill-hill, and manage
to get out each and every time, then you've succeeded to get yourself another patron for the rainy days to
come.

You've got to learn to handle crooked sticks, wet tables and to run faster than the closest guy who's chasing you, just in case...
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, I would never hold back on anyone and then just happen to get out at the end. I don't like that kind of gambling. I usually don't gamble and that is one of the biggest reasons why. If you're going to play me then dammit, have a spine and show me what you got. I'll gladly keep playing against someone that plays well and shows it. Someone that I think is hiding it though is on the edge of getting their ass kicked.
MULLY
 
That's how we roll there Mully, you can't just show your speed for some chump change. And for all intents and purposes, it really depends where you are coming from. Here in the US, you work for 8 hours a day, minimum wage, you can already afford to buy a 40 inch plasma TV after 2 weeks. Back home, you work your butts off, plus some overtime, after 6 months, the plasma TV is still a dream. College graduates there couldn't even find a decent job, if there's a job opening at all. That's why we are having a brain drain right now because most of our college grads opted to work overseas. The minimum wage there is $7 a day! The cost of living is like 10 to 15 dollars a day. They need to gamble, it's a necessity if you can't make ends meet.
 
Cannonball55 said:
Hi,

You know the old saying, "if it don't make dollars it don't make sense" well, call me shallow and money hungry if you like but i believe that this motto should/could apply to every facet of your life ( especially in the pool realm ) As a young man i learned very quickly to grasp key elements of hustling and making money because i came from the wrong side of the tracks i had no one to fall back on if i needed anything. I did however, befriend an older road player that was extremely street smart and wise, he taught me a lot about human behavior and perception, I learned the differences between guys that keep their money in their wallets ( usually guys that are nits or guys that are extremely tight ) and guys that keep their "bank roll" in a rubberband in the front pocket ( these are the guys that will bet something and will go off like a rocket if they perceive they have a chance )

Speaking of perception, I learned that the art of successful gambling is all about perception ( or deception and that's subject to your own P.O.V. )

The player aforementioned knew there are only winners and losers in the pool room and no in-between. Time is money and if you "invest" time in the pool room you should get a nice return on your "investment" One way to do that is by understanding what motivates most people to gamble in the first place. I have found that these two elements ( greed and fear ) are the most common.

I touched on perception, the old man would often say when regarding a young players new fancy cue stick "Yeah, that's nice but it won't get you a cup of coffee" as a matter of fact I remember i owned a very nice Schon a few years ago and he'd always tell me that playing with my "fancy stick" would cost me more money than it would make me money and i did'nt understand at the time what he meant because the cue hit like a dream. Well, i noticed what his "cue" of choice was, it was a meucci sneaky pete. No disrespect to all of you esteemed cuemakers out there but i learned that most any wood 2 wood two pieces will play good just as long as it has a pro taper, ferrule and decent tip .
Here's where the perception kicked in: The difference is that my Schon was gawdy and screaming "Hey i got a fancy cue, i'm a play pool player" the sneaky pete was unassuming and not screaming a damn thing. So, with which tool can i attract more fish? It's little things like this that i picked up along the way and i am by no means saying that you can't own a nice cue like a Josswest or a Scruggs or a Richard Black etc and not make money...

It's all about perception
Click to expand...

You make good points and I certainly understand what you were being taught. In the old days, this was a comon thought or philosophy. Things change and have changed in the pool world just like everywhere else.

Today, everyone has a nice cue and as always few can really play. Many talk about gambling and winning the big score, but wouldnn't bet water is wet.

I often thought in terms of winners and losers too, but have cahnged my perception on that over the years as well. There are so many today who get in a habit of losing, not because they like it, but they never learned how to win. Many match up well enough, but when it comes time to tke it down, they just can't and for many reasons.

Todays players who hit the road must play better than in years past. It has become so competitive and it is harder to hide your speed than say 25 years ago. Today they seldom play by the game, it's always sets and usually cheap and everyone knows that the best way to blow a potential score is to let them start out cheap. In most places today, they play so cheap that by the end of the week, the house has all the money and the players are short, or broke. This was not allowed in the old days, but things have changed.

This is just my opinion as I miss the old days badly. There was money to be made in most all rooms and bars back then, you just had to grind it out And Things were so much cheaper than today. A $300 win in those days was pretty good and 2 or 3 of those a week and you lived pretty good on the road. Now you need one everyday and that is hard to day playing races to 5 for $20.
 
I doubt that today's money players fall the Sneaky Pete thing...
From watching some very good money players I can tell that your mouth will contribute to winning money more then the cue or your actual speed...

===================================================
I like money so I read this but I rather work for it and not play for it.
 
Finally, someone says something worth reading. Hell, I know guys who can run out with a house cue. Before you're at the table, they've runa 3-pack on you.

On top of that, these days *no one* is going to gamble big if they're not already a decent player -- and any decent player won't care or notice what you're shooting with. They're studying your stroke, your cue ball positioning, your patterns. They'll take you just as seriously if you're playing with a house cue or a Southwest.

mullyman said:
I agree with what you say about cues but let me say this, this isn't 1965 anymore. Some people are really into cues and can spot a Scruggs sneaky from across the room. The days of the "I'm just a farm boy with my cheap house cue" days are over.
MULLY
not being snotty, just saying
Click to expand...
 
trustyrusty said:
I read, and then re-read this....I like money, and I like to shoot pool, but I don't see why shooting pool needs to make me money???!!! I completely understand that a buncha "players" out there have to play for money to keep their interest, but there are some of us that like to play simply for the competition...just a heads up. BTW, I have no problem playing for money if need be either, but it certainly isn't a requirement for me like it seems to be for most. I have never walked into a poolhall thinking, "how much am I/can I walk outta here with?"....I couldn't care less; I want to play, and I want to win. If that happens to put some cash in my pocket - I guess I try to buy my competitors drinks or something, so as to ease the monetary loss (really not all that fond of taking someone's money just because I happened to play better than they did, yes, really!!!).
Click to expand...


That pretty much is my point of view on it. I HATE losing money at pool and i dont enjoy taking anyone else's money because of how much i hate losing it. So gambling for me is practically no win. Id rather just play to see who wins.
 
Here, here

ironman said:
You make good points and I certainly understand what you were being taught. In the old days, this was a comon thought or philosophy. Things change and have changed in the pool world just like everywhere else.

Today, everyone has a nice cue and as always few can really play. Many talk about gambling and winning the big score, but wouldnn't bet water is wet.

I often thought in terms of winners and losers too, but have cahnged my perception on that over the years as well. There are so many today who get in a habit of losing, not because they like it, but they never learned how to win. Many match up well enough, but when it comes time to tke it down, they just can't and for many reasons.

Todays players who hit the road must play better than in years past. It has become so competitive and it is harder to hide your speed than say 25 years ago. Today they seldom play by the game, it's always sets and usually cheap and everyone knows that the best way to blow a potential score is to let them start out cheap. In most places today, they play so cheap that by the end of the week, the house has all the money and the players are short, or broke. This was not allowed in the old days, but things have changed.

This is just my opinion as I miss the old days badly. There was money to be made in most all rooms and bars back then, you just had to grind it out And Things were so much cheaper than today. A $300 win in those days was pretty good and 2 or 3 of those a week and you lived pretty good on the road. Now you need one everyday and that is hard to day playing races to 5 for $20.
Click to expand...
Well said. If you want "Big" money you'd better have interests outside the pool hall. It's a tough life nowdays to live on the road or join the circus. In addition, you have to play so good. One thing, I don't think that there are as many good real young players as there used to be. Maybe it's just hard to remember that far back.
 
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