Mike Gulassy Update

[ChrisinNC]

Mike drove 2+ hours from SC to play in our weekly 9-ball tourney last night here at Family Billiards in Boone, NC. Although busy making beautiful cues, I can confirm that Mike, in his early 60s, relative to what we see in here, still shoots a strong game of pool, though I'm sure nothing like he played 30-40 years ago when he was on the road as a pro player for 15 years from the early 70s until the late 80s. He has textbook form, stance, alignment and a silky smooth stroke that reminded me of Buddy Hall.

I ranked him as an "A" player, and he breezed through our 18 player field that had five or six of our regular "A" ranked players, who were clearly outclassed by Mike to the extent that I'd have to rank him as a "AA" if he plays again. He commented that he recently got fitted for a new pair of contact lenses that has really helped his game.

Mike is extremely friendly and I enjoyed talking with Mike between matches, about his cue making and his 15 years on the road as a pro player, and who in his opinion were the top players in that era.

Mike was playing with a stunningly beautiful cue he'd recently made for a customer. The customer had previously purchased cues from him, so he trusted him and didn't take a down payment. Apparently the buyer couldn't come up with the $$ when the cue was finished, so Mike has been playing with it until he can find a buyer. He says he put over 400 hours of labor in to the cue! I wish I'd thought to take a photo of it. I plan to try out one of his low deflection cues/shafts next time he comes up.

 

[Coop1701]

Absolutely grab some pics next time. We'd love to see that cue. I have always heard he made great cues.

 

[Pushout]

Mike makes a great cue and before he started making cues, after hurting his back, if I remember right, he played up there with the top guys. I pretty much go to Mike for anything that needs to be done to my Dishaw these days. I've also owned two of Mike's cues myself.

 

[RiverCity]

I ranked him as an "A" player, and he breezed through our 18 player field that had five or six of our regular "A" ranked players, who were clearly outclassed by Mike to the extent that I'd have to rank him as a "AA" if he plays again. He commented that he recently got fitted for a new pair of contact lenses that has really helped his game.

So..... you put a former pro player in a weekly room tourney as an A player.

I have a Filipino friend, name of Cesar, yeah thats the ticket. Cesar is a B player.

If there is enough money in the middle, maybe I could convince him to play.... :thumbup:

Heres a tip for you, most pro players (former or not) will win most weekly tournaments comprised of local schleps.

If Baby was on crutches, nursing a hemorrhoid the size of a zucchini, and wearing an eye patch over his good eye, chances are he would have still won.

Protect your regular players. When a known player comes in, they get put in at the top of whatever handicap system you run. Keeps people from coming up with crazy ideas.

 

[Island Drive]

To this day, Billy Stroud then Mike G. are the best players to of made cues. I'm not including Bobby Hunter because he played allot when he was making cues and started laterish. These two pretty much stopped playing and worked and created a life outside the game. There were not many great players who were cue makers. Allot of wanna be's but that's life. Gilbert late 80's Midwest, I thought he might make it, and he did, good guy.

bye

 

[SBC]

So..... you put a former pro player in a weekly room tourney as an A player.

I have a Filipino friend, name of Cesar, yeah thats the ticket. Cesar is a B player.

If there is enough money in the middle, maybe I could convince him to play.... :thumbup:

Heres a tip for you, most pro players (former or not) will win most weekly tournaments comprised of local schleps.

If Baby was on crutches, nursing a hemorrhoid the size of a zucchini, and wearing an eye patch over his good eye, chances are he would have still won.

Protect your regular players. When a known player comes in, they get put in at the top of whatever handicap system you run. Keeps people from coming up with crazy ideas.

Ha

I dropped a AA player to A here because he hadn't played in several months and was hospitalized a few times during that period. He snapped off the first tournament as an A. Seems good players never get too much rust.

 

[ChrisinNC]

So..... you put a former pro player in a weekly room tourney as an A player.

I have a Filipino friend, name of Cesar, yeah thats the ticket. Cesar is a B player.

If there is enough money in the middle, maybe I could convince him to play.... :thumbup:

Heres a tip for you, most pro players (former or not) will win most weekly tournaments comprised of local schleps.

If Baby was on crutches, nursing a hemorrhoid the size of a zucchini, and wearing an eye patch over his good eye, chances are he would have still won.

Protect your regular players. When a known player comes in, they get put in at the top of whatever handicap system you run. Keeps people from coming up with crazy ideas.

I understand your point, and when other younger "pro" players have come through here and played in our weekly tourney, I've done exactly that. I'm sure Mike would have had no problem if I'd ranked him a "AA", and he likely still would have won. However, I feel a few things are different with Mike.

First, he's 63, second, he's a custom cue maker and has not been a full time pro player for 25+ years, third, he took the time, effort and expense to drive 2-1/2 hours to play in our tourney because one of his buddies is a regular here, and fourth, I think it's valuable for our "regulars" here of all levels to have an opportunity to observe and potentially play a tournament match against a player of Mike's level.

I'm quite sure that I don't think anyone here had a problem with his ranking, or that he won the tournament. I think most of our regulars enjoyed the experience of having had the opportunity to play a match against him and/or to watch him play.

 

[westcoast]

Didn’t gulyassy make earl’s giant 70 inch cue?

 

[ChrisinNC]

To this day, Billy Stroud then Mike G. are the best players to of made cues. I'm not including Bobby Hunter because he played allot when he was making cues and started laterish. These two pretty much stopped playing and worked and created a life outside the game. There were not many great players who were cue makers. Allot of wanna be's but that's life. Gilbert late 80's Midwest, I thought he might make it, and he did, good guy.

bye

I noticed you didn't mention Mike Sigel in that group, as there apparently is some question over whether he actually did make cues?

 

[$TAKE HOR$E]

To this day, Billy Stroud then Mike G. are the best players to of made cues. I'm not including Bobby Hunter because he played allot when he was making cues and started laterish. These two pretty much stopped playing and worked and created a life outside the game. There were not many great players who were cue makers. Allot of wanna be's but that's life. Gilbert late 80's Midwest, I thought he might make it, and he did, good guy.

bye

I think this topic has been discussed on here before. If I remember right, the big discrepancy was the "cue maker" part of it. There were people saying Siegel was by far the best player/cue maker with the argument being the cues he produced. I dont think Nick made any himself but if he did he would definitely be one in the forefront. Shawn Putnam had a run at building some for a while also. Joey Gold hits them pretty sporty as well. I cant remember how he played but I think I remember watching Paul Mottey in the tournament at the old Executive West. It would seem that pool players in general, if they have the talent and capabilities, would be superior to the average joe when building a "good playing" cue. For instance take SVB and Ernie and say they both have equally well equipped shops and the same programming or machining knowledge, but SVB being light years beyond Ernie as a player should give him the upper hand on producing a good shooting cue.

 

[$TAKE HOR$E]

I'm quite sure that I don't think anyone here had a problem with his ranking, or that he won the tournament. I think most of our regulars enjoyed the experience of having had the opportunity to play a match against him and/or to watch him play.

This is spot on. I know people who go to the DCC and pay the $100+ entry for a single elimination tournament that they have zero chance of maybe going 1-1. For those people who know good pool players or cue makers even, they love the opportunity to mix it up. Dr Cue used to come to my town and play in some tournaments and although he was probably better than most, he lost his fare share of times. A lot of times, on the contrary to thinking it might hurt a turnout, well known players can help tournaments. I know lots of people that would come week after week and say I hope I Mike is there, or Bergman or Shane Winters, Dennis Hatch, Bartram, Donny Mills, Klatt, Danny Smith...etc. Personally, if I knew someone like Earl or Shane or Kiamco etc was going to be in a local tournament id go every week and leave satisfied win or lose.

 

[Michael Andros]

Mike drove 2+ hours from SC to play in our weekly 9-ball tourney last night here at Family Billiards in Boone, NC. Although busy making beautiful cues, I can confirm that Mike, in his early 60s, relative to what we see in here, still shoots a strong game of pool, though I'm sure nothing like he played 30-40 years ago when he was on the road as a pro player for 15 years from the early 70s until the late 80s. He has textbook form, stance, alignment and a silky smooth stroke that reminded me of Buddy Hall.

I ranked him as an "A" player, and he breezed through our 18 player field that had five or six of our regular "A" ranked players, who were clearly outclassed by Mike to the extent that I'd have to rank him as a "AA" if he plays again. He commented that he recently got fitted for a new pair of contact lenses that has really helped his game.

Mike is extremely friendly and I enjoyed talking with Mike between matches, about his cue making and his 15 years on the road as a pro player, and who in his opinion were the top players in that era.

Mike was playing with a stunningly beautiful cue he'd recently made for a customer. The customer had previously purchased cues from him, so he trusted him and didn't take a down payment. Apparently the buyer couldn't come up with the $$ when the cue was finished, so Mike has been playing with it until he can find a buyer. He says he put over 400 hours of labor in to the cue! I wish I'd thought to take a photo of it. I plan to try out one of his low deflection cues/shafts next time he comes up.

Hey Chris - I used to live in Franklin back in 75. I think that's pretty close to Boone, isn't it? GORGEOUS country up there.

 

[Michael Andros]

To this day, Billy Stroud then Mike G. are the best players to of made cues. I'm not including Bobby Hunter because he played allot when he was making cues and started laterish. These two pretty much stopped playing and worked and created a life outside the game. There were not many great players who were cue makers. Allot of wanna be's but that's life. Gilbert late 80's Midwest, I thought he might make it, and he did, good guy.

bye

Danny Janes played pretty sporty as well, back in the day.

 

[fjk]

This is spot on. I know people who go to the DCC and pay the $100+ entry for a single elimination tournament that they have zero chance of maybe going 1-1. For those people who know good pool players or cue makers even, they love the opportunity to mix it up. Dr Cue used to come to my town and play in some tournaments and although he was probably better than most, he lost his fare share of times. A lot of times, on the contrary to thinking it might hurt a turnout, well known players can help tournaments. I know lots of people that would come week after week and say I hope I Mike is there, or Bergman or Shane Winters, Dennis Hatch, Bartram, Donny Mills, Klatt, Danny Smith...etc. Personally, if I knew someone like Earl or Shane or Kiamco etc was going to be in a local tournament id go every week and leave satisfied win or lose.

Yup, I agree. Also, I personally feel the better player should have the advantage in handicapped tournaments. A handicap should be enough to give someone a fighting chance against a much better player. If the handicap made it a coinflip, there's less reason to work on improving your game.

 

[RiverCity]

Yup, I agree. Also, I personally feel the better player should have the advantage in handicapped tournaments. A handicap should be enough to give someone a fighting chance against a much better player. If the handicap made it a coinflip, there's less reason to work on improving your game.

Ummmmmm, you do realize handicapping a tournament is about equalizing the players chances to give whoever plays in it a chance to win it, right? Otherwise, its just called a tournament. :thumbup:

 

[ChrisinNC]

Ummmmmm, you do realize handicapping a tournament is about equalizing the players chances to give whoever plays in it a chance to win it, right? Otherwise, its just called a tournament. :thumbup:

There are differing opinions as to what most TD's wish to accomplish in making their handicap rankings. Bottom line is you can't please everyone. As a TD, I feel if the better skilled players play the way they are capable of playing and play smart, even in short races to 4 in which their opponent has to win only either 2 or 3 games, they still have the advantage. However, anything can and does happen in any given short set. It's just harder for a weaker player to string together the necessary match wins in order to win the entire tournament, but it has happened occasionally.

 

[Johnny Rosato]

Mike drove 2+ hours from SC to play in our weekly 9-ball tourney last night here at Family Billiards in Boone, NC. Although busy making beautiful cues, I can confirm that Mike, in his early 60s, relative to what we see in here, still shoots a strong game of pool, though I'm sure nothing like he played 30-40 years ago when he was on the road as a pro player for 15 years from the early 70s until the late 80s. He has textbook form, stance, alignment and a silky smooth stroke that reminded me of Buddy Hall.

I ranked him as an "A" player, and he breezed through our 18 player field that had five or six of our regular "A" ranked players, who were clearly outclassed by Mike to the extent that I'd have to rank him as a "AA" if he plays again. He commented that he recently got fitted for a new pair of contact lenses that has really helped his game.

Mike is extremely friendly and I enjoyed talking with Mike between matches, about his cue making and his 15 years on the road as a pro player, and who in his opinion were the top players in that era.

Mike was playing with a stunningly beautiful cue he'd recently made for a customer. The customer had previously purchased cues from him, so he trusted him and didn't take a down payment. Apparently the buyer couldn't come up with the $$ when the cue was finished, so Mike has been playing with it until he can find a buyer. He says he put over 400 hours of labor in to the cue! I wish I'd thought to take a photo of it. I plan to try out one of his low deflection cues/shafts next time he comes up.

I've seen numerous posts about your place. We'll be going to Wilkesboro NC for a wedding soon. I already okayed it with the wife for a couple days in Boone, I didn't mention the pool hall, just the town of Boone and how beautiful it was from my over-the-road trucking days before I retired. See you soon!

 

[RiverCity]

There are differing opinions as to what most TD's wish to accomplish in making their handicap rankings.....

Well, considering that the very meaning of handicapping a tournament is to level the playing field so that anyone can win, I dont really think that part is up for any interpretation. Giving an "advantage" to win the tournament to one player or another negates the purpose of handicapping the tournament in the first place.

Yeah, there are those people who run handicapped tournaments to favor certain players. Sometimes its a friend, sometimes its for other reasons. Usually though, any time that I have witnessed bullshit like this happen, the tournament usually dies a quick death as players find out about it and stop donating. You know, the regulars who come and play every week and spend money on food and drinks. The ones that if you offer a "handicapped tournament" to play in, expect a certain level of fairness and honesty about how the tourney is ran.

 

[Island Drive]

I think this topic has been discussed on here before. If I remember right, the big discrepancy was the "cue maker" part of it. There were people saying Siegel was by far the best player/cue maker with the argument being the cues he produced. I dont think Nick made any himself but if he did he would definitely be one in the forefront. Shawn Putnam had a run at building some for a while also. Joey Gold hits them pretty sporty as well. I cant remember how he played but I think I remember watching Paul Mottey in the tournament at the old Executive West. It would seem that pool players in general, if they have the talent and capabilities, would be superior to the average joe when building a "good playing" cue. For instance take SVB and Ernie and say they both have equally well equipped shops and the same programming or machining knowledge, but SVB being light years beyond Ernie as a player should give him the upper hand on producing a good shooting cue.

Sigel dabbled, never could see the finish line. Varner production cues, I hit with a 100 dollar one couple weeks ago, felt pretty good. Joey and I grew up together, he had NO chance against Stroud or Baby Huey in their prime. Gold, myself and Tommy Spencer grew up battling one another in our teens, Joeys cackle was special and he sure likes those white Mercedes Benzezzzzzzzz. P. Mottey can't say. Dan James had no chance at Stroud. Billy played like Grady Matthews.

 

[ChrisinNC]

I've seen numerous posts about your place. We'll be going to Wilkesboro NC for a wedding soon. I already okayed it with the wife for a couple days in Boone, I didn't mention the pool hall, just the town of Boone and how beautiful it was from my over-the-road trucking days before I retired. See you soon!

Our place is only an hour from Wilkesboro, so you could even just come up for the afternoon or evening. Make sure to PM me before you come, so I'll know. Our weekly 9-ball tourney is Monday nights at 7pm. Thanks