Scuffling.

gpeezy

gpeezy

for sale!
What are some of your views on scuffling? In my definition, scuffling is playing in your small bars and strip clubs. I know its any easy way to make money sometimes but it takes a whole lot of time unless you get lucky to score even a hundred.
I had a year in my life where I had a tournament a night I went to. Some of these were in these hole in the wall bars and I had no chance of losing. I almost knew I would make 80 or a 100 as soon as I walked in the door. I've also bar hopped from bar to bar looking for small time action or some type of lucky score and made 8$ if not spent some.
I just wanted some views on this. I wonder if any think its worth the time. I guess it will teach you more about the hustle along with the people. I know from what little I've done it, you would be amazed when you do take 300$ of a guy. Cause usually you wouldn't think he was "the type to go off". Anyway, just another one of my random thoughts.
 
the small amount of money is not worth the time put in.

i guess it would be okay to put together a roll and then move on to bigger money games though.

100th post.
 
If your going to bar hustle around the same area, you better not beat one player out of $300 or even more than $100 for that matter. If you do your action will dry up for a lot of sq miles. Give 1 take 2 was always my motto. Johnnyt
 
Sounds like a lot of wasted time. I wouldn't do it... 'cept when I was in my early 20s and had nothing else to do.
 
I think it is a hard way to cut it if you relying on it to make a living. It is too hard to fight decent action, or any action at all, at bars now. If you like to go out, like extra money, excitement, and don't mind some let-down, then jumping from bar to bar is great.
 
I think it would be tuff to make a days pay everyday in bars now. 20-30 years ago you could grind out $50-$100 at a few bars a night and have a good time doing it. Now the price of living is double and triple that and they play for less than $10 a game in most bars. I was a lot of fun back in the dat though:) Johnnyt
 
I Don't Even Feel Like Playing Poker And THAT'S Sad.... dammit !

The days of scuffling for a living are a thing of the past. There was a time when you could hit the bars and joints and hope to make $100 (or more) after drinks, cigarettes, tips and quarters for the table each night. A time when my very nice one bedroom apt. with livingroom, dining room, big kitchen, covered parking and all utilities cost $190 a month. I was always paid up 6-9 months in advance and i lived there for 10 years. The world was scuffable... imo

You had to be able to take care of yourself in tight spots and lick your own wounds. You had to learn to avoid or bail out of the bads spots/games and take full advantage of the scores. Picking up $400-$700 a week or more was living in high cotton.

Todays' world and economy have put an end to scuffling, unless you want to run girls or deal drugs or use a gun and that's a whole different lifestyle.......... with penalties beside hunger pains.

I chose that lifestyle, like many here at AZB. It catches up with you. I'm glad to read that JohnnyT is on the mend and even fatboy is feeling better.

I made my bed and I'm now laying in it. I wish that God would come off the lemon and quit jerking me around, just take me and be done with it. Don't cry for me when I'm gone, because if I had to do it over again, I'd do it the same way.

I'm tired now. I used to jump up from a sound sleep and drive 100s of miles to sweat or play a game of pool. I loved gambling and the unconventional lifestyle and characters. Not to mention the food, booze, cigs, drugs, women, hours and doing what you want, when you want.

I've reached a point where nothing is important any longer. Not friends, loved ones, action, things & stuff, sports or POOL. I'm just tired and scuffed out.

I don't recommend scuffling to the youth of today, as Grady would say, "it's fraught with peril". Get another hustle. Devote the time and effort to get REALLY good at something and then go with it.

Doug
(I couldn't think of anything funny to say today) :)
 
I agree, I only did this when I moved to a new state and didn't have the money to pay for table time to practice, so I would hustle at small dive bars. I called it quits when I beat one gentlement out of about $30, who informed me that both he and his rather large group of similarly attired friends had just been let out of prison. I let him keep the money and decided to poney up for table time at a normal pool hall.
 
henho said:
I agree, I only did this when I moved to a new state and didn't have the money to pay for table time to practice, so I would hustle at small dive bars. I called it quits when I beat one gentlement out of about $30, who informed me that both he and his rather large group of similarly attired friends had just been let out of prison. I let him keep the money and decided to poney up for table time at a normal pool hall.
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I would have said,"small world ain't it? I just got out after doing 6 for manslaughter. If you don't give me my money and get the f*** out of my way I'll probably be going back for 6 more." Johnnyt
 
Smorgass Bored said:
The days of scuffling for a living are a thing of the past. There was a time when you could hit the bars and joints and hope to make $100 (or more) after drinks, cigarettes, tips and quarters for the table each night. A time when my very nice one bedroom apt. with livingroom, dining room, big kitchen, covered parking and all utilities cost $190 a month. I was always paid up 6-9 months in advance and i lived there for 10 years. The world was scuffable... imo

You had to be able to take care of yourself in tight spots and lick your own wounds. You had to learn to avoid or bail out of the bads spots/games and take full advantage of the scores. Picking up $400-$700 a week or more was living in high cotton.

Todays' world and economy have put an end to scuffling, unless you want to run girls or deal drugs or use a gun and that's a whole different lifestyle.......... with penalties beside hunger pains.

I chose that lifestyle, like many here at AZB. It catches up with you. I'm glad to read that JohnnyT is on the mend and even fatboy is feeling better.

I made my bed and I'm now laying in it. I wish that God would come off the lemon and quit jerking me around, just take me and be done with it. Don't cry for me when I'm gone, because if I had to do it over again, I'd do it the same way.

I'm tired now. I used to jump up from a sound sleep and drive 100s of miles to sweat or play a game of pool. I loved gambling and the unconventional lifestyle and characters. Not to mention the food, booze, cigs, drugs, women, hours and doing what you want, when you want.

I've reached a point where nothing is important any longer. Not friends, loved ones, action, things & stuff, sports or POOL. I'm just tired and scuffed out.

I don't recommend scuffling to the youth of today, as Grady would say, "it's fraught with peril". Get another hustle. Devote the time and effort to get REALLY good at something and then go with it.

Doug
(I couldn't think of anything funny to say today) :)
Click to expand...

Those were the days, but as you say, they cost plenty.

Hang in there.
 
Smorgass Bored said:
The days of scuffling for a living are a thing of the past. There was a time when you could hit the bars and joints and hope to make $100 (or more) after drinks, cigarettes, tips and quarters for the table each night. A time when my very nice one bedroom apt. with livingroom, dining room, big kitchen, covered parking and all utilities cost $190 a month. I was always paid up 6-9 months in advance and i lived there for 10 years. The world was scuffable... imo

You had to be able to take care of yourself in tight spots and lick your own wounds. You had to learn to avoid or bail out of the bads spots/games and take full advantage of the scores. Picking up $400-$700 a week or more was living in high cotton.

Todays' world and economy have put an end to scuffling, unless you want to run girls or deal drugs or use a gun and that's a whole different lifestyle.......... with penalties beside hunger pains.

I chose that lifestyle, like many here at AZB. It catches up with you. I'm glad to read that JohnnyT is on the mend and even fatboy is feeling better.

I made my bed and I'm now laying in it. I wish that God would come off the lemon and quit jerking me around, just take me and be done with it. Don't cry for me when I'm gone, because if I had to do it over again, I'd do it the same way.

I'm tired now. I used to jump up from a sound sleep and drive 100s of miles to sweat or play a game of pool. I loved gambling and the unconventional lifestyle and characters. Not to mention the food, booze, cigs, drugs, women, hours and doing what you want, when you want.

I've reached a point where nothing is important any longer. Not friends, loved ones, action, things & stuff, sports or POOL. I'm just tired and scuffed out.

I don't recommend scuffling to the youth of today, as Grady would say, "it's fraught with peril". Get another hustle. Devote the time and effort to get REALLY good at something and then go with it.

Doug
(I couldn't think of anything funny to say today) :)
Click to expand...

Those were the days, but as you say, they cost plenty.

Hang in there.
 
I started going to a small bar 5 min. from my house to check out the action on the bar table. Nothing going on worth the time. They did have a samll 9 ball tourney on Sundays. I won it 3 weeks in a row and never went back. The time wasn't worth the $50-$100.

Russ.
 
I have done this and did it for quite sometime.Sometimes I would make drinking money and sometimes I might go out with $20 in my pocket and return with a few hundred.I would go to little bar tourneys,this one in particular,well let me copy and post it from my blog and include a picture...................

Well I was thinking of something very small time that I missed from about a year and half ago.It was a bar touney I would go to at this roadhouse bar in Sullivan County NY which was named The Mercury Grill but the regulars just called it the Merc.In that area alot of bars are what they call roadhouses,they were once someones home and they turned the first floor into a bar.This place had 2 tables in it and was a decent place with some good locals who would hang out there and have some fun.

I must have played at this place in that tourney about 20 times and won it about 15 times,the other 5 times I would say were just where flukey stuff would happen like breaking a cluster and dropping the 8 ball.It was a tough tourney because the one table played bad and the other was ok but even though it was a double elimination it was a race to one with about 25 players.I had a few locals who thought I was a hustler,it wasnt that I was that good it was just that they were that bad really and the good ones were pretty much weekend warriors and bangers.I made friends with some of them and when I would win I would buy a few pitchers and drink with them.One thing I learned when on foreign territory is to make friends fast and with the right people,one of them was Brian,he was 6ft 3 and close to 300 pounds Im guessing and he loved pool.Brian was a young guy and a firefighter,I used to mess with him when we would play and tell him to be useful and go save a cat in a tree and he would get red.

I ended up meeting up with another fellow traveler who went in search of alittle action and an easy score at The Merc.He shot with a Robinson cue and it was the first time I saw one and it was the type of cue with the pin in the shaft,he told me he paid about $2000 for it and I was in disbelief never hearing of the guy but it was valued at that I later found out.The guy played well and I met him in the finals coming from the one loss side and I had to beat him twice.I won the first game after some safety play and both of us trying to outmove eachother on 2 of our balls that were tied up,trying to gain an advantage to setup a shot.The rules we were playing by werent BCA or APA,it was straight bar table rules with no ball in hand and you dont have to even hit your ball so its a strange game at times and laughable also.The whole bar is rooting for me to win even though every other week they are pulling against me as I am winning most times.The guy beat alot of people and they werent happy,2 guys were ready to beat him up,one of those deals where they feel they are getting hustled and the guy is just a good player not holding back speed so how can he be a hustler?,I never can understand that.I end up losing to the guy and he left without incident and never returned,cant remember his name as Im bad with them but I will never forget his face,thats just how I am.

The owner was a character and would make pizzas at the bar for the players alot of times so it was worth it to go there just for that.He liked to play in the tourney but alot of times he would get drunk and I mean drunk to where he would be sleeping on the bar,to me when your the owner its just bad business.After I went there for about 6 months the place ended up losing its liquor license due to serving minors.

I enjoyed beating a good local player who is an APA 7 whatever that means and his name was Rich Manny,I met him in the finals and had to beat him twice.Now he is a local bartable legend and alot of players in that area and the 3 surrounding counties know him as a bar table specialist.I knew when he was there he was trying to rob the tourney and why not,I counted on the money everytime I went too,it just seemed too easy.He is there with another player named Zook who owned a room in Middletown NY for a short time and now operates a room in Chester.So he is there with Zook who is pulling for him and his young pretty daughter who I had known for years and plays pretty sporty too,all his kids who I know play good as he taught them well.When I first got into the game I heard alot about Rich and really thought alot of his game,word of mouth can build legends alot of times.I beat him the first game pretty handidly but the second game took some maneuvering and he took a sell out shot after I played safe trying to thin cut a ball short rail to short rail.Zook was just shaking his head and asking Rich what was he thinking and that he shouldve respected my game and played safe.It felt good to beat Rich and validate that I could play and beat the best in my area on the bar table,sorry Rich no brew for you that night!

So I miss that place,it was one heck of alittle roadhouse,one of many I have been in and gambled at.The place is vacant when I drove past about a month or so ago on my trip to NY.I looked at the parking lot as I drove by where me and a dozen of my buddies faced off with another group of guys from another town who were starting trouble in a full out brawl which we won defending out turf so to speak.I thought of the wannabe drug dealers who would go in there on a Friday night from neighboring towns playing the big shot and taking $50 to $100 a game off of them and then getting that bad feeling because you know if you have a problem it wont be one on one.I had good times with a girl there who was a complete lunatic which alot of broads are who hang out in places like those and seemed to be that bar fly girl that you know at the local pub who is like a stray dog looking for some scraps or attention.She would just walk into the mens bathroom and slam me up against the wall and have her way with me,I wasnt complaining one bit,but it was not so good when she would take me by the hand and drag me into the girls bathroom,that will get you thrown out of a place!Just reflecting on the place and the people makes me miss it,some unique characters there of all walks of life but most were good people who loved to play pool.
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scuffling

it's not a bad way to spend a boring, cold, rainy, winter Saturday. But as far as trying to pay bills like that I'd say I'd have to pass.
 
worked long ago, could work now

It worked long ago, and could work now. Scuffling is work, I used to call it chopping wood because I was out there just keeping the bets small and laying low. I did let would be hustlers ease the bets up as high as they wanted to with me protesting all the way but for the most part I went with the typical bets in bars and strip joints at the time. I made a few decent scores for the day but mostly I just made a nice living or the equivalent.

For those that turn their noses up at scuffling, Johnny Archer and Danny Medina both made trips well out of their way to come to the little bar with two tables that I usually made my first and last stop of the day. Other road players made the trip also to come in there and scuffle for a small payday. I played a much younger Mike Massey in a very low dive on Airline too. He had taken down some good sized tournaments and had a pretty fair turn of speed when pressed long before he was a world trick shot champion. He still can play pretty sporty when he takes a notion.

I mostly worked these places without a partner and as JohnnyT and Smorg have said it was a rough deal. The law was rarely called for less than a killing in a bar and they weren't happy on the rare occasions they were called. You took care of yourself regardless of the odds. Before I smoothed out my act a bit I often stuck a twenty dollar bill in my shirt pocket towards the end of the night knowing I would probably be throwing it on the bar on the way out the door to pay for the house stick I would snap to use as an aid getting to the egress. I never carried my own stick. One reason was that was a giveaway that you were there to play pool but the other reason was that there wasn't time to be gathering up things on your way to the door. When I first took my act on the road I probably led a parade to the door a couple dozen times a year for the first two years. Being big and hairy and a little of a wildman slowed folks down enough that I don't carry many scars from those days. Later I was much smoother and got it down to a few times a year that I led a parade to the door. :grin: :wink: :grin:

Good times . . . at the time.

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
Being big and hairy and a little of a wildman slowed folks down enough that I don't carry many scars from those days. Later I was much smoother and got it down to a few times a year that I led a parade to the door. :grin: :wink: :grin:

Good times . . . at the time.

Hu
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Damn Hu, I thought your avatar was a pic from the zoo. TMI dude! At least you have opposable thumbs. But Hey, I'm cool with that.

;)
 
As those that know me personally are aware

That is my better groomed cousin I use as an avatar now. One of these days I'll try to scare up the picture from when I was on the Postal Pistol Team and post it. There were few pictures taken of me when I was younger and most were connected with reports of bigfoot sightings.

Hu

Edit: the postal pistol team photograph is my temporary avatar now


KoolKat9Lives said:
Damn Hu, I thought your avatar was a pic from the zoo. TMI dude! At least you have opposable thumbs. But Hey, I'm cool with that.

;)
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