OK, I've probably watched too many movies and believe that what I've seen in "The Hustler" and "The Color of Money" happen in real life.
Let me explain:
Today was the second time in two weekends that I've hung out at a local room for a couple hours practicing by myself, and on both occasions I've been approached by someone looking to play.
I think I mentioned this in another thread, but the last time, I politely told the guy I wasn't interested and he walked away. Today though, I was approached again by someone who pretty much was staggering around and reeked of alcohol, and this was at 1:00 in the afternoon. I didn't mind talking to him, as he seemed pleasant enough (he wasn't a beligerent loud-mouth drunk), but his comments about the table layout and my choice of shots brought my session to a halt. So we shot the breeze for a bit.
I really didn't have a problem, he was a nice guy and all. If I can recall, he hadn't shaved (though neither had I), he was missing a front tooth, wearing a dirty cap, and his clothes were all dishoveled though they appeared to be clean. But like I said, the main thing I noticed was the strong smell of alcohol on his breath, not to mention he was noticably intoxicated.
Well, I didn't feel like talking forever, and there's only so much you can talk about with a complete stranger that you don't really care to know, so I asked if he wanted to play a game. He said that sounded good, and he kept making it sound like he wasn't all that good of a player. Thing is, I had a feeling he wasn't as bad as he was making himself out to be. When I was shooting by myself, his comments were right on the money about angles and what not, so I was pretty sure he knew what he was doing. I felt a need to be careful.
He offered to rack and wanted me to break. I told him he needed to get a cue because he still hadn't gotten one yet.
Now neither of us had decided what game to play, but he racked them for 8-ball, so I guess that was the game we were going to play.
I broke and didn't make anything in. He came up to the table put a stripe down that had settled into one of the corner foot pockets. He then proceeded to miss his next shot. Then it was my turn. I will have to admit, the table was sitting decently for me, though there was a tough cluster near the rack that had a couple of mine tied up with a couple of his and the 8 that would need tending to eventually.
I then made a couple in a row, and then attempted to play safe. He followed with making one, then missed, but left the cue ball in a good position for me. I made a couple more, and before I knew it, I had 3 to go compared to his 5, but I knew (and he knew) that cluster was going to be a problem.
He came back to the table and made another, then missed. Again, he left me a decent shot to make my last open ball before I had to contend with the cluster. I made it. Now I had some decisions to make. There were no open shots, and I didn't want to break the game wide open, because even though this guy appeared to be drunk, when it came to shooting, he was able to put them away when he needed to. So I kicked at one of my balls in the cluster and left him safe.
We traded safeties for a couple innings, and he might have made one more in, but I was still leading the game. This is when I made my only mistake of the game. I went for an agressive kick that I shouldn't have, and accidentally made his 12-ball. Now we were looking at 2 a piece remaining, but the table was wide open, and the balls were all sitting pretty well. Especially his, as one was practically in a corner pocket.
All of the sudden I had to concentrate. I made my 5-ball. All I had left was the 1-ball, but the 8 was frozen to center of the foot rail. Not a whole lot I could do, so I played a safety shot and didn't leave him much.
He got one more in, and we were even. I then made my 1-ball, and all I had left was the 8. Not much I could do with it, though, so I left another long shot for him while trying to get the 8 close to a corner pocket at the foot of the table. He missed another long shot, but left the cue ball near the head rail, but within the kitchen. This set up a longish shot for me, which I was able to handle, and won the game. Even though he was loopy, I actually felt pretty good about the win, because I made some good shots (the 8 especially).
Now this is a long story, and thanks if you're still reading, but I seriously was wondering if he was just baiting me along. After I left, I keep thinking about "The Color of Money" scenario when Eddie was playing Grady Mathews' character "Dud", where he beat him handily and his confidence was boosted only to play Amos later and get beaten pretty badly.
Does this kind of stuff happen in real life? Was this drunk guy just a tease? Like I said, I probably watch too many movies and take them literally, but I still feel that some movies are based on real life. Who knows. Either way, it was nice playing someone. I'll have to say, it was more fun playing someone I didn't know rather than playing my friends! It was more exciting or something.
Oh boy, I'm in trouble... :help: :wink:
Let me explain:
Today was the second time in two weekends that I've hung out at a local room for a couple hours practicing by myself, and on both occasions I've been approached by someone looking to play.
I think I mentioned this in another thread, but the last time, I politely told the guy I wasn't interested and he walked away. Today though, I was approached again by someone who pretty much was staggering around and reeked of alcohol, and this was at 1:00 in the afternoon. I didn't mind talking to him, as he seemed pleasant enough (he wasn't a beligerent loud-mouth drunk), but his comments about the table layout and my choice of shots brought my session to a halt. So we shot the breeze for a bit.
I really didn't have a problem, he was a nice guy and all. If I can recall, he hadn't shaved (though neither had I), he was missing a front tooth, wearing a dirty cap, and his clothes were all dishoveled though they appeared to be clean. But like I said, the main thing I noticed was the strong smell of alcohol on his breath, not to mention he was noticably intoxicated.
Well, I didn't feel like talking forever, and there's only so much you can talk about with a complete stranger that you don't really care to know, so I asked if he wanted to play a game. He said that sounded good, and he kept making it sound like he wasn't all that good of a player. Thing is, I had a feeling he wasn't as bad as he was making himself out to be. When I was shooting by myself, his comments were right on the money about angles and what not, so I was pretty sure he knew what he was doing. I felt a need to be careful.
He offered to rack and wanted me to break. I told him he needed to get a cue because he still hadn't gotten one yet.
Now neither of us had decided what game to play, but he racked them for 8-ball, so I guess that was the game we were going to play. I broke and didn't make anything in. He came up to the table put a stripe down that had settled into one of the corner foot pockets. He then proceeded to miss his next shot. Then it was my turn. I will have to admit, the table was sitting decently for me, though there was a tough cluster near the rack that had a couple of mine tied up with a couple of his and the 8 that would need tending to eventually.
I then made a couple in a row, and then attempted to play safe. He followed with making one, then missed, but left the cue ball in a good position for me. I made a couple more, and before I knew it, I had 3 to go compared to his 5, but I knew (and he knew) that cluster was going to be a problem.
He came back to the table and made another, then missed. Again, he left me a decent shot to make my last open ball before I had to contend with the cluster. I made it. Now I had some decisions to make. There were no open shots, and I didn't want to break the game wide open, because even though this guy appeared to be drunk, when it came to shooting, he was able to put them away when he needed to. So I kicked at one of my balls in the cluster and left him safe.
We traded safeties for a couple innings, and he might have made one more in, but I was still leading the game. This is when I made my only mistake of the game. I went for an agressive kick that I shouldn't have, and accidentally made his 12-ball. Now we were looking at 2 a piece remaining, but the table was wide open, and the balls were all sitting pretty well. Especially his, as one was practically in a corner pocket.
All of the sudden I had to concentrate. I made my 5-ball. All I had left was the 1-ball, but the 8 was frozen to center of the foot rail. Not a whole lot I could do, so I played a safety shot and didn't leave him much.
He got one more in, and we were even. I then made my 1-ball, and all I had left was the 8. Not much I could do with it, though, so I left another long shot for him while trying to get the 8 close to a corner pocket at the foot of the table. He missed another long shot, but left the cue ball near the head rail, but within the kitchen. This set up a longish shot for me, which I was able to handle, and won the game. Even though he was loopy, I actually felt pretty good about the win, because I made some good shots (the 8 especially).
Now this is a long story, and thanks if you're still reading, but I seriously was wondering if he was just baiting me along. After I left, I keep thinking about "The Color of Money" scenario when Eddie was playing Grady Mathews' character "Dud", where he beat him handily and his confidence was boosted only to play Amos later and get beaten pretty badly.
Does this kind of stuff happen in real life? Was this drunk guy just a tease? Like I said, I probably watch too many movies and take them literally, but I still feel that some movies are based on real life. Who knows. Either way, it was nice playing someone. I'll have to say, it was more fun playing someone I didn't know rather than playing my friends! It was more exciting or something.
Oh boy, I'm in trouble... :help: :wink:
I was trying to hold back and played safe a little in this match for the exact reason that I didn't know this guy from Adam. My luck, if I had cleared my side down to 1, he may have run the table even though he seemed drunk. That's why I was suspecting he was baiting me. 
