Max Eberle on people who play on barboxes "Pool players need to grow some balls"

[Fore Rail]

Would I play in that tournament? Yes, if the entry is $20 and I can play a few matches and racks for $20. If the entry is $150, hell no; I have almost no chance of cashing and why would I donate?

I will ask one more time what you are ranked via Fargo, the league you play in whatever.

There were four different divisions in the tournament I was talking about.

Odds are you wouldn’t have been in the same bracket against the 745 or the 558.

 

[Jaden]

Why is it that a bad player only gets better playing a much better player even? Why wouldn't the weaker player get any better playing the better player with a spot?? What exactly is it that prevents the weaker player from improving if he gets a spot??

I would say that once you get past a certain level, it's not ability that prevents you from improving but mental. This game is already 90%+ mental. If you're only winning with a spot, then you're handicapping your mental game and preventing yourself from having the pressure that's necessary to improve. You get the I have arrived syndrom prematurely

 

[white1]

Great read, Taxi.

When I first learned to play pool, it was right around the corner from Randolph Hills Poolroom, at Hank’s on the Pike, a one-table tavern. I did okay on the barbox with the big cue ball. That’s where I met Tom-Tom. He was the one who took me over to the big tables at Randolph Hills… and that’s where everything changed. I was mesmerized by the big tables and the action. I’d sit on the rail for hours, just watching. Before long I started hitting balls on the 9-footers, and my game improved 1,000 percent. Back at Hank’s, I became one of the top shooters in the tavern. Loved every minute of it, beating the guys for a buck or a beer. Simple times. Good times.

Maryland used to have so many great poolrooms. Most of them around suburban D.C. are gone now. Some of the old crowd has migrated to 7 Billiards Shady Grove in Gaithersburg. Although I prefer poolrooms with no music, no alcohol, and no big-screen TVs, 7 Billiards Shady Grove does have the food, drinks, and big-screen sports, but the saving grace is there is some solid local talent there, still bringing that familiar pool high when you run out.

Some things change, but that feeling never does.


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Nice post as usual from you. I’m 62 and much prefer an old school room with no music booze or TVs as well. Just about non existent in Kentucky

 

[white1]

This one's for you, JAM. I've probably shared this before, but for most of the 70's Randolph Hills was my home away from home.

Washington, DC Pool Players of the 70's.

I love these pictures. Thank you so much for sharing.

 

[HawaiianEye]

Why is it that a bad player only gets better playing a much better player even? Why wouldn't the weaker player get any better playing the better player with a spot?? What exactly is it that prevents the weaker player from improving if he gets a spot??

 

[ShootingArts]

I started playing pool as a kid and worked in a pool hall.

I played everyone head up, even as a kid.

Eventually, as a teenager I could beat everyone in the town and gambled even with anyone who wanted to play.

All of them started asking me for weight.

You don't really improve if you are playing people you can easily beat.

I have never asked for a spot playing anyone.

I never understood people bragging about beating someone and then admitting they were getting the lemon crush and the other person had to play one handed jack up with his weak hand and with his eyes closed!

(this part isn't directed at HawaiianEye or anyone in particular)
Funny thing about bar tables, the bar near me was the only sure place to find me and I didn't always drive ten miles or a lot further when I couldn't go in Baton Rouge after dark to find a big table. For all of the nine foot snobs, I'd like to play you on an antique ten footer! Slow cloth, clay balls, wet cloth thick enough to use as a blanket on a bed!

I was in the road players' book for the last few years before I left town when I bought a business or two. Three if I am being picky counting. They came to find me and most left busted and disgusted. None left with fifty dollars or more of my money. One reason for that is they offered the starting bet of three or five dollars a game. Pretty much the bar regulation. Even if both players knew they were going to end up playing for real money the starting bet was three or five dollars, or a dollar beer! Not one of those road players including the player of the decade suggested raising the bet. My home court, they played with hinged personal sticks, I played off the wall.

In ten years I never booked a week that was in the red, rarely a night. One of the funnier stories, I had never heard of Johnny A. I knew he thought he was somebody but once I got things rolling my way I started stalling a bit to keep the cash coming!(grin) Even Baton Rouge was a major backwater except for Greenway and I generally lived five or ten miles above Baton Rouge in Brownfields or Baker.

A bar table has more in common with a snooker table than a nine foot table does. Regardless of what I gambled on, I usually tuned and practiced on a snooker table. After a break when I was running a twenty-four hour business I used a snooker cue on a bar table. Worked great!

Hu

 

[overlord]

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If you are playing a super strong player that has committed themselves to the game, weight is the only option unless you are mad at your money.

Takes a while to learn the moves in one pocket and playing players that are leaned is going to help your game.

Champions can give away massive spots in one pocket.

Regarding spots: your ego will lie to you all day long. Money never lies.