The strange thing is , if you tell the story exactly the way it happened , most people won't believe it.
The truth is almost always stranger than fiction as far as I have seen in the pool world.
I have one I always thought was funny , I hope you do to.
I moved my family out of the city to a small country town about 30 miles away back in the late 70s.
About halfway between home and the city was a nice little country bar with 2 bar tables.
There was a hospital down the road that paid well and when I started going in there was 5 dollar action and 9 ball ring games all day and night long.
It was ridiculous , there would be 5 or 6 guys in a ring game and many times you got a second shot in a game.
I played terrible at the time , but they played even worse.
That went on for 2 or 3 years , I was making a nice nest egg and hiding my winnings so the other players never knew who was beating them.
The game gradually broke down and there were 2 guys besides me that played better than everyone else and we started playing 3 way .
I had been getting some lessons so I could now finagle the games so I won about 40 or 50% of the time which got all the money, it just took a while.
One guy quits playing and it's me and a guy with a jacket that says ,
"The Happy Hustler" on the back.
I bust him 3 or 4 times and he's done.
By now everyone knows I am the best player that comes in there so I don't get many games and I start going somewhere else for a while.
A year or so later I stop in and there are all the same people,and 2 guys I never saw before in the back playing each other who seem to be friends and "The Happy Hustler is at the bar .
I order a beer and sit down next to Happy and we start reminiscing about the "Old days".
One of the guys I never saw before comes up a little while later and says , do you guys play pool or just talk about pool!
Happy says he'll play you some, pointing to me.
We go back to the table and the guy says "I'm a 5 dollar nine ball player , can you handle that.
I said sure, I didn't add {but not for long } which had run through my head at the same time.
He wins the lag , breaks and runs out , beautiful stroke , plays great position , drew the ball like it was a yoyo.
Aha I thought , the jig is up. This guy is a real player.
After I pay him he says I'm really a 10 dollar nine ball player.there were people hoping I got my brains beat out and people rooting for me to beat this guy.
I said come on.
He breaks and runs out again , perfect , now I know I have zero chance of beating this guy and I am trying to find an excuse to hit the door.
Of course his next words are , want to play for 20?
I'm really a 20 dollar player!
I'm thinking , I'm stuck 15, can't win , and don't want to look like a nit or I might get my butt beat after the games over by one of the other guys I had taken money from.
I decided to play the last game, lose 35 dollars and act like I pulled a muscle in my back and can't play anymore today , I'll be back on Friday, but not say which Friday.
The guy breaks runs down to the 8 ball and is straight in the side pocket and the nine is near the corner, I start to concede the game and he puke strokes the 8 halfway to the pocket before I can throw the towel in.
I got up took a couple of deep breaths and made the 8 and then the 9.
I expect him to quit but he grabs the rack and racks again.
I break dry we play back and forth he runs down to the 9 and dogs it.
Lamb killer that I am, I start playing my best leveland he continues to dog his brains out.
I won 380 off the guy minus my 15 and I don't think he ever won another game.
He and his buddy left and everyone is either cheering or scratching their heads, wondering what just happened.
The owner comes over and says, that guy could really play , I never thought you would beat him , what happened?
I said he was right about everything but the most important one. He said , "whats that" , I said , "he was a 10 dollar player , not a 20."