Keith McCready said:Hi, Dave. I've run 150 balls playing straight pool and I stopped. I used to play more straight pool when I was a kid, but we used to play a game called pay ball on a snooker table where I ran 21 balls, rack up, short rack, six balls at a time, pay on every ball, and I run 21 balls which is pretty good on a tight snooker box. It's hard enough to make a ball on the break, much less run 21 balls.
Toughest gambler? Let's see. That's hard to say. Billy Incardona is a pretty shrewd businessman. Bucktooth is another one. There's guys that are good guys to gamble with. There's a lot of those. I can't name them all, but as far as the tougher ones, those two top my list.
The toughest tournament player of all times that I've run into has to be Earl Strickland. I cannot tell you how many times I've been the bride's maid to Earl in a tournament. Mike Sigel is another good tournament player. Nick Varner has always played steady in tournaments. I can't leave out Jimmy Rempe. He was around that era as well.
The best gambler today? As far as I can see, none of them. I like Ricky B. down there in Mobile. He owns a pool room down there. He's a good guy to gamble with, if you can get him down.
As far as people to gamble with, I have always been a firm believer that you got to make that happen yourself. When people say that there is no action, that is a farce because I've been in a lot of spots where they say there's no action, and then all of a sudden, I'm playing 500 or 1,000 a game. Where there's a will, there's a way! I just try to make things happen, no matter where I am. That is where some pool players' lack of skill comes into play because most of them are robots and have no mouthpiece and can't get the job done when it comes to action. A lot of them will come up to me to try to stir up the action. I wonder why!
THANKS!! I can read this stuff all day. Very much appreciated-
Dave
