Another thread about gambling got me thinking about something and I thought I'd start another thread.
The point of a lot of posters is to be cautious and paranoid about gambling with strangers.
I understand that point, but you can go too far this way too.
When I played a lot for money and made a significant portion of my income from it, I didn't book many losers because I was paranoid and I looked at it as a job I enjoyed. So I was always trying to 'match up' right and walk away with the cash.
Looking back though, the best memories I have are the times when I stepped up and maybe won, maybe lost, but played my ass off and lost to a great player or beat a great player.
The money I made or lost back then doesn't affect my life at all today, but the time I ducked Efren cheap (he thought I didn't know who he was) because I wanted to find some easy action. Or the times when I was on the road and stayed away from a great player who would have gladly played me some $50 sets, still linger in my memories. I cheated myself of the memories of competing with those guys because I was too paranoid.
Listening to the stories of Jay, Freddy and others on here is great fun, but it's also a reminder that when I had the chance to play Efren some $5 9-ball when it mattered to me, I didn't do it. Reading about their exploits reminds me of the times I hid in the weeds and watched while someone else had the fun of losing $200 to Johnny Archer. What's funny is, at the time, I thought they were the fool.
In my life, I've blown money on everything from expensive dinners and cigars to fine wines and even dumb gadgets that I used once and then stored and moved across the country 5 times before finally throwing them away.
They say that the memory of a great wine will last far longer than the sting of the price tag. The memories created while playing and even losing to someone like Ronnie Allen or Billy Incordonia or Freddy or any of the great players will last far longer than you'll miss the few hundred dollars you lose.
So, if you want to play and the money isn't going to change your life, go for it. Otherwise you might wonder "what if" some day in the distant future when you're working in your office typing on a computer in some internet pool forum bragging about how good you 'used' to be.
~rc
The point of a lot of posters is to be cautious and paranoid about gambling with strangers.
I understand that point, but you can go too far this way too.
When I played a lot for money and made a significant portion of my income from it, I didn't book many losers because I was paranoid and I looked at it as a job I enjoyed. So I was always trying to 'match up' right and walk away with the cash.
Looking back though, the best memories I have are the times when I stepped up and maybe won, maybe lost, but played my ass off and lost to a great player or beat a great player.
The money I made or lost back then doesn't affect my life at all today, but the time I ducked Efren cheap (he thought I didn't know who he was) because I wanted to find some easy action. Or the times when I was on the road and stayed away from a great player who would have gladly played me some $50 sets, still linger in my memories. I cheated myself of the memories of competing with those guys because I was too paranoid.
Listening to the stories of Jay, Freddy and others on here is great fun, but it's also a reminder that when I had the chance to play Efren some $5 9-ball when it mattered to me, I didn't do it. Reading about their exploits reminds me of the times I hid in the weeds and watched while someone else had the fun of losing $200 to Johnny Archer. What's funny is, at the time, I thought they were the fool.
In my life, I've blown money on everything from expensive dinners and cigars to fine wines and even dumb gadgets that I used once and then stored and moved across the country 5 times before finally throwing them away.
They say that the memory of a great wine will last far longer than the sting of the price tag. The memories created while playing and even losing to someone like Ronnie Allen or Billy Incordonia or Freddy or any of the great players will last far longer than you'll miss the few hundred dollars you lose.
So, if you want to play and the money isn't going to change your life, go for it. Otherwise you might wonder "what if" some day in the distant future when you're working in your office typing on a computer in some internet pool forum bragging about how good you 'used' to be.
~rc
). I even won tournament matches against Freddie and Mike Lebron, when they were both in their prime. 
