Pea Pool & Ring games

[macguy]

When I was a kid every pool room had ring games and pea pool games every night 7 days a week. You often had to get on a list to play or start another game on another table. They even drew many watchers who spent money in the room.

Every night these pool rooms were happening places. I am not talking about big time gambling but often quarter and half's to a few dollars, anyone could afford to play and dozens would come and go through these games leaving a little or taking a little. Is there anyplace where it is still like this?

I started thinking about it watching the world series of poker today. I loved ring games and would drive all over playing in ring games. It was easy to find them since every pool room had them. I played good enough that if I stuck it out I was usually one of the winners. This added up, often winning a few hundred a week at a time when the average guy made like $120.00 before taxes. I guess it was sort of a job.

When I first started going to pool rooms pea pool and ring games were just part of the room like chairs. It was that way for probably another decade then just died out and never seemed to come back. I think it took the room owner to promote it and it is a form of gambling so that may have had something to do with it.
I don't know, I just started thinking about it and the way it used to be.

 

[se10player]

I remember those as well, we used to have 25 cent ring games paying on the 3 6 9 so 75 cents a game. It was great we would always have 10 or 12 people and you could win enough to pay for the night. I once won $38 in it and thought I won a million. I miss those days, thanks for bringing back some good memorys.

 

[macguy]

I remember those as well, we used to have 25 cent ring games paying on the 3 6 9 so 75 cents a game. It was great we would always have 10 or 12 people and you could win enough to pay for the night. I once won $38 in it and thought I won a million. I miss those days, thanks for bringing back some good memorys.

They were also called "House games". The house made quite a bit of money from these games. Pool was like 60 cents an hour and there may be 5 or 6 players in the game most of the time. The games may go from noon to closing. Much like many rooms today have Golf games. That one table went a long way to cover the nut for a room back then. Many rooms like mine also had gin games and they would pay table time to play. I never got why they wanted to pay me to play a game they can just go to someone's house to play for nothing.

I did supply cards though and you always had the guy who was constantly asking for a new deck. I remember at one point I had like ten card tables going taking in almost as much as the dozen pool tables I had. That defiantly would not fly today. I am sure I would find myself in jail. Although I was like 2 blocks from the police station and half the cops came in and played cards and pool.

 

[Thepip]

Pea pool was also popular by me but everyone always had there own rules to the game or how to play it. but man did everyone always want to get in on it. there should be pea pool on TV for high stakes games. very cool

 

[ceebee]

We used to have a Ring Game every night at the Blue Sky in Bartlesville. I really miss those days. We would start at $1 on the 5 & $2 on the 9. About 10 o'clock, it would move to $2 & $5. About midnight it would go to $5 & $10.

I can remember playing 5 or more nights a week for about 7 years.... it was great.Playing in a Ring Game will teach you to bring your game to the table, each time it was your shot or lose your money. The comradery was great too....

 

[jrackman]

Funny you brought this up!

A few of us guys and even one young lady just started playing pill pool in the last few weeks in Vegas. We play either for a buck or two a game, nothing big but Its a real blast playing it again. I think the last time I played was about 25 years ago or more for 50cents a game. One of our recent sessions I lost the first 15 or 16 games in a row to start off at two bucks a pop and a few double pots, but I made a comeback and was stuck a few bucks by the end of the game (not including table time). Just remember the favorite doesn't have to win..lol

 

[Thepip]

Tell me the rules to your pea pool ring game....

the way we did it was everyone put in a$1 then the balls were racked. We all then picked a pea someone then decided who was going to break. Now where our rules differed is that the object was to knock in everyone's elses balls before yours goes in. and after each person gets knocked out you could bet again. Just like in poker you could stay in or out or raise the pot depending on the position of the balls. as long as your ball was still on the table you win. So the break was like a straight pool break the game was very straight pool feel. Or you could smash them up what ever you preferred on the break. So if you could run a rack and you had 5 guys playing there was always good money to be maid. but that's our house game of pea pool what is yours?

 

[fasted71465]

I played if you make your ball everyone pays you. Everyone has their own money ball, that is the number you draw. You stayed in the game till all money balls were made. If you made the nine on the break everyone still played until all balls were made.

 

[se10player]

The pill game we played was a form of rotation with all 15 balls, we would all draw the same number of pills based on the number of players ( 3 each for 5 players). You didn't show your pills to anyone. It is racked with the 1 at the top, 8 in the middle and the 15 behind the 8. Once you broke you could only shoot the 1, 8 or 15. Once any of those are made you can go up or down (1 then 2 or 8 to 7 or 9etc.) As your ball was made you showed your pill so everyone knew it was yours, the first to have all his pills made won the pot (mostly a dollar a person) you could even win and never shoot. It was a great game and any level could and would play.

 

[Woof Biscuit]

Some of my best pool memories too. Fun atmosphere, jawing back and forth with your buddies, cheap enough to not hurt anyone, etc. Now it seems like everyone is scared to death to lose $10. I play at a pretty good clip and if it were not for those ring games in my early teens, I doubt I would play very good at all. I wish there were more of them now...

 

[Maxx]

We played a lot of pea pool in the mid to late 70's. If you got hot and lucky at the same time you could clean up. If you were either shooting good, or lucky, you could do okay. Lots of big (lot of players, lot of money balls, and low stakes) ring games would fire up just to kill the time.

Now anyplace the has a liquor license is in big trouble if the get caught with a pea bottle, dice, or cards. And with the the poker machines being state run they are even stricter.

I sure miss the "shake a day" for the drink, six-pack or pot. Once the dice cup was out it wasn't long before a 'ship, captain, and crew" game broke out.



Ah, the good old days .....

 

[scratchs]

The pill game we played was a form of rotation with all 15 balls, we would all draw the same number of pills based on the number of players ( 3 each for 5 players). You didn't show your pills to anyone. It is racked with the 1 at the top, 8 in the middle and the 15 behind the 8. Once you broke you could only shoot the 1, 8 or 15. Once any of those are made you can go up or down (1 then 2 or 8 to 7 or 9etc.) As your ball was made you showed your pill so everyone knew it was yours, the first to have all his pills made won the pot (mostly a dollar a person) you could even win and never shoot. It was a great game and any level could and would play.

yep..thats how we played it too..every once in awhile I can a few folks to play.

we just pitch a dollar a head in the cup..

9-b ring game..was always just cheap fun..dollar a head an dollar on
the 5/9.. this on a 9ft table.

after work on a bar box was fun too..no ante just .25/.50
needed that extra dollar for beer or shots..lol.

 

[scratchs]

We played a lot of pea pool in the mid to late 70's. If you got hot and lucky at the same time you could clean up. If you were either shooting good, or lucky, you could do okay. Lots of big (lot of players, lot of money balls, and low stakes) ring games would fire up just to kill the time.

Now anyplace the has a liquor license is in big trouble if the get caught with a pea bottle, dice, or cards. And with the the poker machines being state run they are even stricter.

I sure miss the "shake a day" for the drink, six-pack or pot. Once the dice cup was out it wasn't long before a 'ship, captain, and crew" game broke out.



Ah, the good old days .....

I do miss the dice cup..hehe..liers poker too.