Non-Gambling Pool Players

Rarely gamble or play for money other than tournaments. I will play for money sometimes if it is someone who will not play otherwise and I would enjoy playing with them for some reason. I don't begrudge paying someone for "lessons" if that is the only way they will "teach". But it is pointless for me, no one in a pool hall can gamble enough with me to make a difference to me financially one way or another. I make a comfortable living and don't need your money.

The majority of gamblers I knew in the 80's/90's, and today, are basically the same. Drug dealers, low lifes, people who want to rip other people off, people who will take off and run if they get in too deep, people ripping off backers, etc... There are plenty of ways to gamble legitimately now that it has been legalized and incorporated, 24/7 and you only need a phone. Good riddance, get your rush somewhere else and let pool thrive.
 
This discussion is rather silly. We might as well be arguing politics or religion. Those that won’t play for money, but only ‘for the love of the game’, should likely research why it’s called POOL. A competition of skill between honorable players of similar known speed, with a monetary penalty for losing, isn’t gambling. Paying an entry fee, in a tounament against strangers ’IS’. Trying to explain that to the current generation of timid weenies is an excercise in futility. Growing up, the older generation only learned by playing those we knew we couldn’t beat, but for small stakes. Most did NOT become compulsive gamblers. We loved the challenge, and thus paid our dues.
 
Last edited:
This discussion is rather silly. We might as well be arguing politics or religion. Those that won’t play for money, but only ‘for the love of the game’, should likely research why it’s called POOL. A competition of skill between honorable players of similar known speed, with a monetary penalty for losing, isn’t gambling. Paying an entry fee, in a tounament against strangers ’IS’. Trying to explain that to the current generation of timid weenies is an excessive in futility. Growing up, the older generation only learned by playing those we knew we couldn’t beat, but for small stakes. Most did NOT become compulsive gamblers. We loved the challenge, and thus paid our dues.
Historically it was played in horse racing venues in the rooms where bets were pooled, but not pooled on the game of pool. So, slight distinction.
 
Rarely gamble or play for money other than tournaments. I will play for money sometimes if it is someone who will not play otherwise and I would enjoy playing with them for some reason. I don't begrudge paying someone for "lessons" if that is the only way they will "teach". But it is pointless for me, no one in a pool hall can gamble enough with me to make a difference to me financially one way or another. I make a comfortable living and don't need your money.

The majority of gamblers I knew in the 80's/90's, and today, are basically the same. Drug dealers, low lifes, people who want to rip other people off, people who will take off and run if they get in too deep, people ripping off backers, etc... There are plenty of ways to gamble legitimately now that it has been legalized and incorporated, 24/7 and you only need a phone. Good riddance, get your rush somewhere else and let pool thrive.
I'd love to see what pro/college football, basketball, baseball etc could become if people didn't gamble on it. If only those drug dealing degenerates didn't gamble on it.


Did you read your post before hitting the post reply button? 🤦‍♂️

I'd love to see what would happen to those games if there wasn't gambling
 
after having made my post earlier, and reading others posts, I put a little more thought into it. If i were to gamble, I would very likely only gamble with people I knew. The only part of gambling on pool that I don't like is the "hustle', conning people, taking advantage of someone, and the glorification of that.

So I'm probably a nit. ;) I can live with that. Besides, as I posted earlier, I ain't got no money to be gambling with in the first place.
 
The most fun pool I ever played was four players play a scotch doubles round robin. Races to 5 to 7 for $20 to $50 a set. Everyone plays once with the other three players as a partner. After three sets you pay up. Or three players play king of the hill. Played like this all the time back in the day. It all died at COVID. A lot of people stopped playing.
 
Last edited:
First time I went to a pool hall, I was 17….the guy who talked me in there I knew from golf ….I didn’t think he could beat me at anything.
I lost over a week’s pay…..still trying to get even. 😳
 
Last edited:
Used to be everybody in the bar would play for $5 to $20/game all night no matter how good the player holding the table was.

Now they quit playing for free because they don't want to put quarters in the table.

Nobody gambles anymore, not even for a cheap beer

I held the Challenge table for years, all night long, on Friday and Saturday nights, back in the early 2000's, and nobody ever asked me to play for a Dollar, or anything for that matter. I can only recall a few very rare occasions, but they asked me to play for a Beer, lol, but I was never a drinker. That was very rare anyways though.
 
I started playing in 2005, so it’s been 20 years. I only started playing as a release from academic stress, and never was around the game or any type of gambling growing up. I am part of the new breed that is mostly fascinated with the beauty of precision as a skill. I work too hard for my money to associate it with macho posturing, and can find many like minded people to play the game with for free and for simple enjoyment. Much like many who play golf and strive for the perfectly repeatable stroke. It is a meditative activity for me as opposed to a competitive activity, and an automatic benefit is an excellent attitude that people enjoy being around.

In general I was raised that gambling is an addiction and is to be avoided at all costs.

Pool players play for money, not for the thrill of it, and not because they are Gambling Addicts, but because it is good competition to play for something. The Pros play for money because it is their living, and again, I do not see it as Addictive Gambling, because they are not doing it for the thrill of it, or because they are addicts.
 
Most of the time when people say nobody here wants to gamble, what they mean is there's no suckers because they actually want to lock. They themselves want to gamble least of all.
I think this is well said. I have seen some people say they only get into good games. That sounds like a hustler to me. Only playing when it's almost guaranteed to win. To me, that is a nit. I have posted before that I don't mind playing for money so I am not against it. Like what "middleofnowhere" and others have said, people have figured out the plays and won't be suckers anymore. It's like Earl from the Color of Money. "He don't mind loosing. He just doesn't want to give it away. He plays the numbers." I don't mind loosing money to my friends where I know its a fair game.
 
Everywhere I play says "No Gambling" right on the wall.
Gambling is a misnomer. Playing pool is a contest of skill with aspects of luck involved. Washington state had a court case that decided just that. The judge decided that playing for money was not gambling and the losers had to pay a valid debt.
I always considered it paying for lessons. Sometimes I gave lessons and sometimes I paid for lessons. 🤷‍♂️
Once when I drove cab for 12 hours to make $25, I played my best at the tavern after work. Doubled my days income in less than an hour. Played so good that I killed any chance at after work action in that bar, ever again. Surely a skilled hustler could have extracted more money from that bar. On a regular basis.
 
(would) you feel good about yourself if you won a guys eating money ?
I busted a guy in a close battle. We started at $5 and he got ahead 35 before I had a feel for the conditions on a new to me table. As soon as I won a game we went to 10. At even he asked to make it 20. At 120 he said, "I have the 20 but need it for groceries." My reply was, "I don't want your last 20. Can I buy you a drink." As we socialized over that beer he told me of multiple thousand dollar wins he had on that very table. 🤷‍♂️ I never wanted to bust them. I just wanted to make them quit. Not on me if they didn't know when to quit. 🤷‍♂️
 
I busted a guy in a close battle. We started at $5 and he got ahead 35 before I had a feel for the conditions on a new to me table. As soon as I won a game we went to 10. At even he asked to make it 20. At 120 he said, "I have the 20 but need it for groceries." My reply was, "I don't want your last 20. Can I buy you a drink." As we socialized over that beer he told me of multiple thousand dollar wins he had on that very table. 🤷‍♂️ I never wanted to bust them. I just wanted to make them quit. Not on me if they didn't know when to quit. 🤷‍♂️

Yeah, people should be smart enough to know that they should not play for money that they need for housing and food costs. That was really nice of you to let the guy off of some of (or was it all of?) the money he owed you.
 
Back
Top