Poll: Did The People You Learned From Bet On Pool?

[Pushout]

From the different replies to the "Does Anyone Actually Believe GAMBLING Will..."
thread, I thought I'd try a poll.
Simply put, did the people that you learned to play pool from bet on pool games?
Do you bet on pool?
Did those who do not bet on pool learn from people who did? Did those who do bet on pool learn from those who did?

Mainly curiosity about the kind of environment/people that we all learned in/from.

 

[crawfish]

From the different replies to the "Does Anyone Actually Believe GAMBLING Will..."
thread, I thought I'd try a poll.
Simply put, did the people that you learned to play pool from bet on pool games?
Do you bet on pool?
Did those who do not bet on pool learn from people who did? Did those who do bet on pool learn from those who did?

Mainly curiosity about the kind of environment/people that we all learned in/from.

I have not, will not, and noone I have ever known has ever bet on pool. Shame on you for even talking about pool and gambling in the same sentence. They just don't go together.

Now, reverse it.

 

[StevenPWaldon]

The first person I learned from used to bet on pool, but quit. I think he became too much of an addict.

I bet on pool, but fairly cheap. Used to do $50-$100 sets, but now I'm usually the $20 guy.

From the different replies to the "Does Anyone Actually Believe GAMBLING Will..."
thread, I thought I'd try a poll.
Simply put, did the people that you learned to play pool from bet on pool games?
Do you bet on pool?
Did those who do not bet on pool learn from people who did? Did those who do bet on pool learn from those who did?

Mainly curiosity about the kind of environment/people that we all learned in/from.

 

[JDB]

From the different replies to the "Does Anyone Actually Believe GAMBLING Will..."
thread, I thought I'd try a poll.
Simply put, did the people that you learned to play pool from bet on pool games?
Do you bet on pool?
Did those who do not bet on pool learn from people who did? Did those who do bet on pool learn from those who did?

Mainly curiosity about the kind of environment/people that we all learned in/from.

I know there are only so many options for a poll, but I found it a little difficult to answer because I don't gamble regularly or actively seek out gambling. However, I am not opposed to gambling if asked and have done so in the past.

Therefore, since I don't actively seek out gambling, I said no I don't gamble (normally) and the people who taught me the most didn't gamble unless you count instructors (Brieseth...lol)... If you count instructors I may have to change my answer because I have had two and I am pretty sure they both gambled.

 

[CocoboloCowboy]

I am totally confused, so I can not reply.

 

[Tom In Cincy]

In the 60s when I was learning, there was NO videos, books, certifiable instructors and least of all, there wasn't anyone that would tell you how to play the game until you paid your dues gambling.

"how'd you make that shot mister?" I remember asking LOTS of time.. and mostly the guy would reply "We're gambling son, lessons will cost you EXTRA" Which meant, 'I'll teach ya, after I take all your money and then only when I know I can't beat ya anymore and then I'll still charge ya and also take part of your action for another 10 years.

It was tough growing up in the South...

 

[mullyman]

I think it's pretty safe to say that probably 99.9% of us learned from people that bet on pool.
MULLY

 

[pocono]

Betting on pool

I grew up in the sixties, if you didn't play the best pool players for money you didn't learn how to play the game.

 

[Fatboy]

you can bet on pool and not have a gambling problem, just playing for the rush of winning is a gambling problem. I studied the psychology behind gambling when I was in college, and a certain % of people get a sertonin and dopmine high from gambling and they become degenerate gamblers and lose it all, my ex girl friend was a gambler when I met her I said "me or video poker" she chose me, when I left her she blew 1.3 million in video poker, her daughter this past semister in 8th grade got 5 F'f on her report card, I cut off her royalty paycheck when I colsed my biz 6 weeks ago, she was getting $5,000/week and ALL her bills paid, she is flat broke and every credit card is maxed out, I own the house she lives in I told her she has to move, the business gig is up, she started it for me and we had a contract-she cost me a ton of $$$, now she wants more. She is shit out of luck. Her case is a degenerate gambler, i have many more stories when you lived in vegas for almost 20 years nothing will shock you.

my point is not everyone who is in action in a pool room suffers from the chemical imbalance in their brain that makes it ok to lose $2000 to win $1000 because the rush feels so good, I have seen people like that in pool they dont last long. I dont get a rush when I win, sure I like it but it has never gave me a high, casino gambling puts me to sleep. Compulsive gambling to those people who get a high out of it is a progressive disease and they all end up in a bad spot in life, there are a few pro pool players who come to Vegas and cant leave town because when ever thy get enough $$$ to leave they go to a casino and take a shot-they have the disease.

It is possible to be in action everyday and not have a gambling problem, I was and thats when I did the reseach on seeing If I had a gambling problem, I didnt think so, looking back I know I dont. I can walk into a casion with $50,000 and play $5 black jack lose $100 and leave, i'm not chasing that rush because I dont get it, sure I have made some big scores and there was no rush, I have made more than I will tell in one month in business 5 years ago and it felt good but there wasnt a high-over 7 figures in a month big. It all boils down to a compulsive personality, some people get that rush from sex and become sex addicts, or food(sure it feels good to eat ice cream) but I will never weigh 300 pounds, I like being around 225-250 I can control my weight I go to 250 when i was on Roids body building, Fast cars are a rush too. When you have a pleasure trigger that over rides safyt, financial security, death from being a lard ass, a drunk, or degenerate gambler the drug weather its pool, ice cream, booze, too many roids isnt the problem the drug is never the probelm its the person and how they handle it and some people cant handle it-its not their fault thats why they classify it a disease. The vice or drug aint ever the problem if it aint pool its something else, most of the time when you go to a casion the fattest person at the table 21, roulette etc has the most $$$ bet, a pshchologist I know here in Vegas told me to watch for that and perhaps 65% or 2/3 of the time the fattest person has the most bet or the person drinking the most, they have multiple pleasure buttons.


So the idea that gambling at pool makes you a degenerate gambler is true if your brain is wired like that is true, if your brain isnt wired like that then you can be in action to make you bear down which does everytime make you a better player, period! Also back when I was in action after I lost the guy who beat me would give me a tip on a shot I blew, kinda like paying for lessions, when I beat weaker players I did the same thing, if it was big action then there wasnt the lession after the game. So by being in action before the internet was a sure fire way to get lesssions from better players, I gave lessions to weaker players and they kept commiong back, I used that $$ from weaker players to step up and play better players, like grady said $$$ was cupons for action.

 

[Fatboy]

also one other thing, to check to see if you have a gambling problem is simple, say you lose $500 or $1000 playing pool or betting on the rail, enough $$$ to notice and piss you off but not enough to make you sleep in the street-you have more than enough to bet again that night, it might be $50 for some guys I was like that for years, so just think of what that number is for you it dosent matter how big or small, for me its about $3000-when I lose $3,000 i'm pissed, plane and simple.

Ok so here is the test: Fatboy loses $3,000 betting on the wrong guy on the rail, or when I was in Reno this past Dec my eye was going bad(its ok now) I lost $1200 to a guy I know he wanted to keep playing, I did too but couldnt-I couldnt see. But back to my point I lose the $3,000-HOW BAD DO I WANT TO GET $$$ IN ACTION AGAIN TO GET EVEN??? OR PLAY THE GUY AGAIN AND WIN??? If you cant stand it and want to get a bet down so bad you cant think straight so you can get even, then you have a gambling problem, If you can sit there with $9,000 left in your pocket after losing $3,000 and are pissed but not going to start chasing by going to a poker room, taking the worst of it on another bet just to have a chance toi get even then you most likely do NOT have a problem.


The guys who can walk away from a loss and are not going crazy inside typicually dont have a gambling problem.

Also if you can put a bet down for that number I just talked about and go to the room and go to sleep, telling someone to call when the game is finished up, you probably dont have a problem either, the guys who have to see everyshot and sweat it hard sometimes have a bit of a gambling problem or are more likely to devlope a gambling problem, this isnt anywhere near as serious as the "I gotta get even before I can leave people" but another signal of a potential problem, some people just like to sweat it out and that rush is enough and never develope a gambling problem, infact i dont like to sweat matches I bet on, or if I do I dont think of the bet.

So there are a couple of ways to check and see how likely yu are to having a problem, can you walk away loser? and to a much lesser extent do you have to sweat your bet(for rail bets)?


I have done alot of reasearch on this topic as it has facinated me since I was about 16, i cant cite any referances but I have done alot of reading, talked to GA(because of my ex girl), went to a shrink for the same reason-he was telling me about all sorts of reasons why people gamble or like the big gambler image like Tooth, they Female escape players who go play 24 hour sessions of video poker to escape their stress of kids etc they just zone out on Video poker, which is the 2nd hardest gambling addiction to stop, horses have the strongest hold, "Hold"=hardest to stop playing, roulette is the easiest but I have a friend here in Vegas thats been playing that game and living with no car making $100,000/year as a telemarketer because the roulette keeps him busted for the past 25 years, he lives in the hood no phone, cell phone usually doisent have any minutes on it cause he is busted, he bites me for $$$ here and there, I've seen it all and stuidyed it-instead of spelling,

the past 2 posts are factual and not my opinion, just what I have been told by the people who are experts in this field of psychocology and also articles i have read.

eric

 

[cigjonser]

I wonder how much the results would change if the word "bet" was replaced with "read books".

I'm guessing that the third answer would win because most teachers grew up when there were very few books/videos on pool and the only real source of knowledge was through the better players who probably wouldn't spit on ya for less then $10, where today we have more books and videos than I can count.

 

[Hierovision]

I learned from an old retired guy who bet it up pretty decent. Definitely used to be a lot more but he's more careful with his money now. I don't bet anymore... never really did. I think I've played twice for money and both times were $5 a game 9-ball. My gambling winnings total $15 My tournament winnings total $85 so I'm obviously doing way better in tournaments