Pool Hall Survival
By
Blackjack David Sapolis
The following is an excerpt from my book, Building the Perfect Game. This selection is taken from Chapter Two, entitled Positive Strokes. It has been modified into article form.
Analyzing My Relationships
The structure of your game is merely the shell that contains the skills and abilities, knowledge, and traits necessary to play the game of pool. When we buy a house or rent an apartment, it is always wise to check out the neighborhood. While researching the material for this book I spoke to hundreds of pool players and found that many of them had built their existing structures in bad neighborhoods. By this, I mean that they had surrounded themselves with the wrong people. Complacent people usually seek out complacent people as friends. I have seen many a good player hit a dead end by surrounding themselves with a bunch of pool room idiots that have nothing to offer. One of the best things I did as a player was to separate myself from what I call The Pool Hall Hierarchy. If I am going to surround myself with anyone in the pool hall, I ask myself 3 simple questions:
1. How can this relationship help me as a player?
2. How can this relationship hurt me as a player?
3. What is this person’s motives?
You would be surprised at how many times I have disassociated myself with many local players because their motives were less than admirable. As a room owner, believe me, you are associated with and grouped with the company that you keep. I know more people by who they hang around with, not by their name. If you are stuck in a bad neighborhood, what do you do?
Start asking yourself those 3 questions with every person that you come in contact with at the pool hall. If you are like most I have worked with, you will be surprised at how many worthless relationships you have. I know that sounds harsh, but I take this game seriously. I am a professional player. When I practice, it is because I am preparing myself for competition. Many players in my area know that I am preparing for competition, yet they still will interrupt my practice sessions to discuss pointless issues, or to gossip about this pro or that pro. Nothing personal, but I don’t have time for that. I am a busy man. Playing pool is not my only career. I politely answer and go back to shooting pool, hoping that whoever it is will catch on. If they don’t catch on, I will say something a bit more direct, but I remain polite. I am businesslike in my approach at all times. I want you to be the same way. Just because I taught you those 3 questions does not mean I am trying to turn you into the pool hall antisocial-butt hole. I don’t want you to isolate yourself from everybody either. What I am recommending is that you take inventory in some of your relationships to see what you are getting out of them, and what they are getting out of you. Your game will jump two levels just by completing this one task.
Your neighborhood has to meet your needs. I’m not saying change pool halls, but if you believe that is necessary at first, feel free to change your environment for a little while. Nothing is permanent. Our environment is very important.
Negativity
Negative people are like a disease in pool halls. I remember a guy back in my home room in New Jersey that would always say things that were aimed to discourage me. “You can’t run that rack. You’re not there yet.”
Sure enough, I’d get to the six ball and leave myself something I couldn’t make, to which he’d add, “See, I told you that you wouldn’t get out.”
That was Rick. There was word that rhymed with “Rick” that I used to call him, but that’s another story. This guy really infuriated me. Whenever I played straight pool, he’d watch for a while. After I had run 20-30 balls, he’d come over and start making his comments. This went on for years, and I allowed him do this even after I had won a Junior National Championship. This guy knew exactly what to say and when to say it. I hated him for this, and I eventually stopped frequenting that pool hall for the simple reason that I hated Rick’s guts. Rick would always say that I would never be anything more than a good “A” player, and added “that’s a stretch.” Trouble was, that when I was around him and his attitude, everything Rick said was true. I played bad, and not anywhere near my potential. Years later, I learned the hard truth that nobody can make you feel “average” without your permission. If you have a “Rick” eating your lunch at the pool hall every day, my advice is to turn down the volume. Years later I had the satisfaction of going back to that pool hall and running 7 racks of 9 ball in succession on my good ol’ pal, Rick. Not only did that shut him up, but it proved that everything he ever said about me and my game was BS.
Most guys that are like “Rick” need to keep others down in order for them to feel good. Like Fast Eddie said to Bert, “You can’t live unless you make everything else dead around you!” Bert treated Eddie like a loser, and he made Eddie feel like a loser. After a while, Eddie started to act like one. It wasn’t until Eddie broke away from Bert’s spell that he figured out that he was a winner all along. Eddie just didn’t know it.
Leeches
Pool halls are filled with these guys. There a different kinds of leeches, but I’ll primarily look at the guy that is friend just because he knows he win money from you ever so often. My advice to you is that for the next 6 months, stop playing for money. See how many of these “friends” either disappear or start talking about you behind your back. Above all other relationships I will cover, this is the most useless and the most destructive. I could go on forever describing the different methods they use, and what they do, but quite simply do as instructed, watch what happens, and I’ll let you decide.
Creeps
This is sort of a general term, but they’re everywhere. The most common type is the guy that doesn’t look you in the eye when he talks to you. The whole point to this section is to develop worthwhile relationships that will aid you in achieving your goals. The rest of the other relationships are not worth pursuing. Have more associates than friends. An associate will try to win the last $20 you have. A friend will give you his. Learn to know the difference. The bare naked truth is that there are not many “friends” waiting for you at the pool hall. Pool halls are filled with people that are out to get something from you; they are not there to aid you in your development. Friends are very few and far between, and friendships contain that magical ingredient called “mutual respect”. Friends don’t try to clear out your wallet, and they definitely don’t try to set you up for somebody else. I’ve had both happen to me, and I know I’m not alone here.
Knowing who to hang around and who to stay away from is usually learned the hard way by scores of players. Many people get ripped off, backstabbed, and cheated several times before they learn how to take hold of their relationships in the pool hall. This is a vital piece of the puzzle when Building the Perfect game. If you cannot master and control your relationships in pool, your climb to the top will be very difficult. The key is finding the right people to surround yourself with. I surround myself with positive people. Quite frankly, I do not have time for any of the negative people or occurrences that happen in the pool hall. If its not positive, uplifting, or beneficial to me, I don’t want to hear it. This goes for gambling arguments, gossip, war stories of how you got screwed in the tournament last Friday, along with anything else you want to dump on me about your personal life. Remember the term “Garbage in-Garbage out”. This is a very important term to remember when choosing and developing your relationships at the pool hall.
Examining this part of your game is vital to your growth as a player. It will assist you in staying focused on your goals and not on the amount of money you are winning and losing. Many players make the mistake of measuring their game by the amount of money they have won, or by wins and losses. By charting your progress with preset goals, you will know exactly where you are, and where you are headed. By eliminating distractive, non essential relationships from your life, you are removing obstacles from your path. It may sound harsh and cold to say that, but nobody gets to the top by surrounding themselves with negative and destructive relationships that hold no value.
Good Luck & God Bless
By
Blackjack David Sapolis
The following is an excerpt from my book, Building the Perfect Game. This selection is taken from Chapter Two, entitled Positive Strokes. It has been modified into article form.
Analyzing My Relationships
The structure of your game is merely the shell that contains the skills and abilities, knowledge, and traits necessary to play the game of pool. When we buy a house or rent an apartment, it is always wise to check out the neighborhood. While researching the material for this book I spoke to hundreds of pool players and found that many of them had built their existing structures in bad neighborhoods. By this, I mean that they had surrounded themselves with the wrong people. Complacent people usually seek out complacent people as friends. I have seen many a good player hit a dead end by surrounding themselves with a bunch of pool room idiots that have nothing to offer. One of the best things I did as a player was to separate myself from what I call The Pool Hall Hierarchy. If I am going to surround myself with anyone in the pool hall, I ask myself 3 simple questions:
1. How can this relationship help me as a player?
2. How can this relationship hurt me as a player?
3. What is this person’s motives?
You would be surprised at how many times I have disassociated myself with many local players because their motives were less than admirable. As a room owner, believe me, you are associated with and grouped with the company that you keep. I know more people by who they hang around with, not by their name. If you are stuck in a bad neighborhood, what do you do?
Start asking yourself those 3 questions with every person that you come in contact with at the pool hall. If you are like most I have worked with, you will be surprised at how many worthless relationships you have. I know that sounds harsh, but I take this game seriously. I am a professional player. When I practice, it is because I am preparing myself for competition. Many players in my area know that I am preparing for competition, yet they still will interrupt my practice sessions to discuss pointless issues, or to gossip about this pro or that pro. Nothing personal, but I don’t have time for that. I am a busy man. Playing pool is not my only career. I politely answer and go back to shooting pool, hoping that whoever it is will catch on. If they don’t catch on, I will say something a bit more direct, but I remain polite. I am businesslike in my approach at all times. I want you to be the same way. Just because I taught you those 3 questions does not mean I am trying to turn you into the pool hall antisocial-butt hole. I don’t want you to isolate yourself from everybody either. What I am recommending is that you take inventory in some of your relationships to see what you are getting out of them, and what they are getting out of you. Your game will jump two levels just by completing this one task.
Your neighborhood has to meet your needs. I’m not saying change pool halls, but if you believe that is necessary at first, feel free to change your environment for a little while. Nothing is permanent. Our environment is very important.
Negativity
Negative people are like a disease in pool halls. I remember a guy back in my home room in New Jersey that would always say things that were aimed to discourage me. “You can’t run that rack. You’re not there yet.”
Sure enough, I’d get to the six ball and leave myself something I couldn’t make, to which he’d add, “See, I told you that you wouldn’t get out.”
That was Rick. There was word that rhymed with “Rick” that I used to call him, but that’s another story. This guy really infuriated me. Whenever I played straight pool, he’d watch for a while. After I had run 20-30 balls, he’d come over and start making his comments. This went on for years, and I allowed him do this even after I had won a Junior National Championship. This guy knew exactly what to say and when to say it. I hated him for this, and I eventually stopped frequenting that pool hall for the simple reason that I hated Rick’s guts. Rick would always say that I would never be anything more than a good “A” player, and added “that’s a stretch.” Trouble was, that when I was around him and his attitude, everything Rick said was true. I played bad, and not anywhere near my potential. Years later, I learned the hard truth that nobody can make you feel “average” without your permission. If you have a “Rick” eating your lunch at the pool hall every day, my advice is to turn down the volume. Years later I had the satisfaction of going back to that pool hall and running 7 racks of 9 ball in succession on my good ol’ pal, Rick. Not only did that shut him up, but it proved that everything he ever said about me and my game was BS.
Most guys that are like “Rick” need to keep others down in order for them to feel good. Like Fast Eddie said to Bert, “You can’t live unless you make everything else dead around you!” Bert treated Eddie like a loser, and he made Eddie feel like a loser. After a while, Eddie started to act like one. It wasn’t until Eddie broke away from Bert’s spell that he figured out that he was a winner all along. Eddie just didn’t know it.
Leeches
Pool halls are filled with these guys. There a different kinds of leeches, but I’ll primarily look at the guy that is friend just because he knows he win money from you ever so often. My advice to you is that for the next 6 months, stop playing for money. See how many of these “friends” either disappear or start talking about you behind your back. Above all other relationships I will cover, this is the most useless and the most destructive. I could go on forever describing the different methods they use, and what they do, but quite simply do as instructed, watch what happens, and I’ll let you decide.
Creeps
This is sort of a general term, but they’re everywhere. The most common type is the guy that doesn’t look you in the eye when he talks to you. The whole point to this section is to develop worthwhile relationships that will aid you in achieving your goals. The rest of the other relationships are not worth pursuing. Have more associates than friends. An associate will try to win the last $20 you have. A friend will give you his. Learn to know the difference. The bare naked truth is that there are not many “friends” waiting for you at the pool hall. Pool halls are filled with people that are out to get something from you; they are not there to aid you in your development. Friends are very few and far between, and friendships contain that magical ingredient called “mutual respect”. Friends don’t try to clear out your wallet, and they definitely don’t try to set you up for somebody else. I’ve had both happen to me, and I know I’m not alone here.
Knowing who to hang around and who to stay away from is usually learned the hard way by scores of players. Many people get ripped off, backstabbed, and cheated several times before they learn how to take hold of their relationships in the pool hall. This is a vital piece of the puzzle when Building the Perfect game. If you cannot master and control your relationships in pool, your climb to the top will be very difficult. The key is finding the right people to surround yourself with. I surround myself with positive people. Quite frankly, I do not have time for any of the negative people or occurrences that happen in the pool hall. If its not positive, uplifting, or beneficial to me, I don’t want to hear it. This goes for gambling arguments, gossip, war stories of how you got screwed in the tournament last Friday, along with anything else you want to dump on me about your personal life. Remember the term “Garbage in-Garbage out”. This is a very important term to remember when choosing and developing your relationships at the pool hall.
Examining this part of your game is vital to your growth as a player. It will assist you in staying focused on your goals and not on the amount of money you are winning and losing. Many players make the mistake of measuring their game by the amount of money they have won, or by wins and losses. By charting your progress with preset goals, you will know exactly where you are, and where you are headed. By eliminating distractive, non essential relationships from your life, you are removing obstacles from your path. It may sound harsh and cold to say that, but nobody gets to the top by surrounding themselves with negative and destructive relationships that hold no value.
Good Luck & God Bless
