my thoughts on gambling

StormHotRod300 said:
Ok, after reading Kerry Impson's thread on gambling, along with everyone else's response, it started to make me think as to why people feel the need to bet big on a game of pool?
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I think it doesn't matter why anyone want's to bet or not bet. Why do people cut me off in traffic? Well, because they think where there going and when they need to be there is more important. There are countless such reasons and few hold water, but that's what they think. Life is a little short to discuss what people do and exactly why. Well other than if your in marketing or such, then there can be a reason.

Rod
 
cueman said:
You still have the love of the game. I have seen so many great upcoming players that start gambling and then lose their love for the game. They only love the gamble and the action. Pool becomes boring to them. I still like to play just for fun or in tournaments.
Chris
www.hightowercues.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
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You're right. Love of the game, love of competition should be what it is all about. Many a person's love of a game has been ruined by $$$$. Whether it is somebody betting on a pool game or someone getting paid millions to run with a football, when money gets involved the game itself moves to the back burner. An occassional player (Larry Bird and Magic Johnson come to mind) comes along that no matter how much money is involved the game comes first, but more often than not money screws it up.
 
Rodd said:
... Life is a little short to discuss what people do and exactly why...

Rod
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Unless of course you consider the discussion itself entertaining, kind of like solving a puzzle.
 
One other thing I forgot to mention. Lets talk about a big game for a minute. I know a friend that has been know to play for $500.00 a set. This friend doesn't make any more money than I do. Last two times that I know of, he won. I wonder if he tells his wife? If I played for $500.00 a set and went home and told my wife I won $1000.00. She would be so pissed, I just don't know what she would do. I just know that there would be more consequences than her just saying, "I can't believe you took a chance like that".
 
jjinfla said:
All three of the above posts are valid. And all look at gambling from different viewpoints. It all depends on what kind of gambling you are talking about.

I know a guy who gambles because he is addicted. It is not winning or losing money that concerns him, only the action of gambling. And of course he keeps gambling until he is broke.

Another very good 1 pocket player will only play $2 games. He doesn't want to hurt anyone but he wants them to pay for his lessons, albiet a paultry sum.

Another guy matches up only when everything is in his favor. Will play as long as he wins but if he loses a couple of matches he quits immediately.

And there is the guy who plays $20 - $50 sets against the very best just to assess his level of play. And pick up a few pointers. He doesn't really have a chance of winning, he only wants to see if his game is improving. Will play 2-4 sets every couple of months.

And of course VAP has a very valid point. When someone puts in a lot of time, energy, money to get good at pool, he really does not want to just give all that valuable knowledge away. And that fact is not reached until a person gets to that level of pool. You just don't know what is behind that door until you open it and go inside.

And of course none of this applies to the pros. They are at a completly different level in the game of pool.

Jake
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There's the rub. There are different kinds of people playing pool for money. Some of them (a lot of them, actually) are just out to rob a less skilled player for whatever they can get from them. Some are just out to make the game "interesting"...if something is at stake they play better (concentrate harder). Some consider themselves giving lessons to a less skilled player on a "pay-as-you-go plan". Others are playing better players to try to learn something. Still others are high-level players playing other high-level players, adjusting weight for even match-ups and at least supplementing their income. It's pretty easy to tell who is who at a glance.

I've spent a lot of time and money trying to learn to play pool. A hell of a lot of it was playing much better players for money. That wasn't gambling at all...there was really never any doubt about the outcome. I may have won a game or two or even a set or two along the way...but there was never any doubt about the long-run outcome....I was going to pay. I didn't come out a loser, though...I was paying to learn, and I did learn. I tried to find ways to learn for free...or at least for table time. It just wasn't happening...it's against the "tradition" of the game. All of the old-timers had to pay their dues...what was so special about me that I should get it for free? And what's so special about anyone learning now that they should get it for free?

If you want to learn cheap, you can buy instructional videos and practice by yourself. But, guess what? The player that made the video is doing exactly the same thing as the guy that plays the beginner for $10 a set....he just found a way to get $20 from hundreds or thousands of beginners. He's getting paid for passing on his experience....just in a different format.

Blackjack offers his experience for free. That's a great deal, but it's not going to make an A player out of anyone. The information he provides is the information needed to get there, but just having the information won't get you there. You STILL have to play people that are better than you. It's practice and experience at the table to get a player to that level...and you have to pay for that. That's not "gambling"...it's just paying your dues. You just have to make sure that you don't hook up with the "crooks" too often...if the guy is trying to get all of your money in one set, find someone else to play with...he's just out to rob you. If he's willing to play you for $10.00 or $20.00 a set, then it's worth it. Believe me, if he's really a good player, he isn't interested in taking your money if he's playing you that cheap.
 
GeraldG said:
There's the rub. There are different kinds of people playing pool for money. Some of them (a lot of them, actually) are just out to rob a less skilled player for whatever they can get from them. Some are just out to make the game "interesting"...if something is at stake they play better (concentrate harder). Some consider themselves giving lessons to a less skilled player on a "pay-as-you-go plan". Others are playing better players to try to learn something. Still others are high-level players playing other high-level players, adjusting weight for even match-ups and at least supplementing their income. It's pretty easy to tell who is who at a glance.

I've spent a lot of time and money trying to learn to play pool. A hell of a lot of it was playing much better players for money. That wasn't gambling at all...there was really never any doubt about the outcome. I may have won a game or two or even a set or two along the way...but there was never any doubt about the long-run outcome....I was going to pay. I didn't come out a loser, though...I was paying to learn, and I did learn. I tried to find ways to learn for free...or at least for table time. It just wasn't happening...it's against the "tradition" of the game. All of the old-timers had to pay their dues...what was so special about me that I should get it for free? And what's so special about anyone learning now that they should get it for free?

If you want to learn cheap, you can buy instructional videos and practice by yourself. But, guess what? The player that made the video is doing exactly the same thing as the guy that plays the beginner for $10 a set....he just found a way to get $20 from hundreds or thousands of beginners. He's getting paid for passing on his experience....just in a different format.

Blackjack offers his experience for free. That's a great deal, but it's not going to make an A player out of anyone. The information he provides is the information needed to get there, but just having the information won't get you there. You STILL have to play people that are better than you. It's practice and experience at the table to get a player to that level...and you have to pay for that. That's not "gambling"...it's just paying your dues. You just have to make sure that you don't hook up with the "crooks" too often...if the guy is trying to get all of your money in one set, find someone else to play with...he's just out to rob you. If he's willing to play you for $10.00 or $20.00 a set, then it's worth it. Believe me, if he's really a good player, he isn't interested in taking your money if he's playing you that cheap.
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What story is the best I played POOL withBuddy Hall. OR I played pool with Buddy Hall and Beat Him out of 20.00 CASH!!! :p
 
I agree with stormin rod!! I think if you're playing some one better than you and they only want to play for 5-10 a game or 20 a set they arent out to rob you. They are just playing to play or keep in stroke or waiting for big money to walk through the door. Consider it a cheap lesson!
 
Thanks Luke,

I Kinda look at it too as, if i am a A or AA player, yea i know i am going to smoke some newbie or C or B player. So whats the point of playing them for all thier money in one set. I would rather play them in several cheap sets, for 5$ or 10$. and yea probably wait for the big fish to come in so i can take his money lol.


dave
 
I suck at both billiards and golf.

The better pool players always want to play for money. I see the point of paying for the "lesson," but since I don't gamble, and I'm really not good, I've rarely played a good player.

In golf, some better players do want some money involved "to keep it interesting." Though I find no shortage of really good golfers willing to just play or sometimes I offer to by a couple beers after the round (we each pay our own fees) - fun and good conversation. I shoot 95 to 105, so if I'm playing with a low handicap player, I'll pickup my ball on holes I blow up.

I don't think it costs less to spend the time to become a good golfer than a good pool player. Why do so many good golfers play for just the fun of it ??

BTW, I believe professional golf is much more popular than professional billiards because of the "fun" atmosphere on the local golf course compared to the pressured one in the local pool hall.
 
Everyone is entitled to my opinion.

Personally I do not gamble. I enjoy playing pool for the sake of playing pool and the satisfaction of getting better. I derive my personal meaning from the exercise of my faith and the time I spend with my family...

However, the thought of gambling intrigues me. I was at the Southeast open tournament in New Orleans and had the pleasure of talking to Humphries who is a legendary gambler who owned racketeers years ago. His philosophy of gambling pool is like none other I have ever heard. While we were talking he pointed to one of the stronger players at the Korner Pocket (Jamie Farol's place). He told me look at that guy, he is a great player who loves to play for money, but he never wins alot of money. He never wins because he is a thief. He is always trying to hustle people he knows he can beat. I on the other hand always offer people weight in order to elicit more betting. He told me that guy had never won more than a couple of hundred dollars in one night. However, by using his system he had won as much as 50,000 dollars in one session. He told me that most people are smart enough to know when they are being conned. He went on to say if you make people feel that they have a chance with a spot then they will gamble. His concluding thought on the subject is that the difference between him (Humphries) and the theif (the regular shark) is that he has the heart of a gambler and the guy in question has the heart of a thief. Readers of this post may disagree but I thought this is an interesting way of looking at action play.

Marcus
 
Gambling by definition is a game of chance. Next time somebody who offers to gamble comes up, offer to flip a coin for the bet (let it land on the floor) and see if they are really gambling, or if their idea of gambling is polite robbery in a game of skill.

I personally don't care for "gambling" in that sense, because my dad was a bit too much of a gambler, occasionally came home with a car he won... but I always noticed his friends the gamblers and big shot talkers only mentioned the wins, never the losses, and were nice folks but often broke. My mother once said she liked to walk into a place knowing how much money she had in her pocket, and how much she was going to leave with, and I saw sense in that. I don't enjoy the destructive "winners" and "losers" mentality that goes with the whole picture, I enjoy the beauty, challenge, and competition inherent in the game.

If someone offers to bet me and I don't know them, they are telling me they think they can beat me. Sometimes I quite agree and decline, sometimes I disagree and play for stakes. I do so enjoy the slumped shoulders and look on their faces when they realize they hadn't done their homework and picked a stronger opponent than they realized.

People I do know and play at the local PH the stronger players I don't generally play (at 9 ball, one pocket it's a gamble... if I make a mistake they can get out). Several B level players offer an occasional "beer match" at the end of the night for several bucks, I can win these 5-0 if I am executing well... last several days one player is up on me... grrrr. Practice. Practice.
 
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