Come on, let's hear some stories about a time when you made a bad game that there is no way in heck you are supposed to win, but you reached down and found that next gear you never knew you had..
I was in Tacoma, WA. I was a soldier, and I was playing another soldier One Pocket at a local pool hall. We were both pretty good players, fairly close at 9 ball, but I had been practicing a lot lately. We were playing for $5 a game, just to make us try harder. Nobody shoulda went broke in this game.
But they did.
My fellow soldier kept hitting the break ball too thin, and kept scratching. He got down about a few games, and asked for a spot, so I offer him the breaks. (Chuckle.. You can see the irony, I am sure.)
After swapping a few games, I get a few more up on him, and he asked to bump the bet to $30. I said, "Sure". Didn't really care if he got even or not. He was a buddy.
Still, I started winning even spotting him the break. He asked for another adjustment, and I gave him 9-8 and the breaks.
We swap games a few more times, and then I catch another gear. By this point, he is down $60 or so. We adjust again to 9-7 and the breaks. By this time, I am playing much better than I normally do, still, 9-7 and the breaks is a decent spot, and I started losing a few games here and there. I am down $90 or so at $30 a pop. I then catch my final gear, and win 5 in a row at 9-7 and the breaks. He asks for a final adjustment to 9-6 and the breaks, also asking to bump it to $60, which is what I am up at this point. I say yes, knowing he knows he is dogging it slightly, and won't ask for more weight.
I then basically freeze him to the side of the stack or behind a ball in front of his pocket on virtually every shot. I take no chances at leaving him anything to shoot at, as this guy can run 6 and out in his sleep if I leave him a good shot. All my banks are either going in, or hanging up with perfect speed.
He ends up down $180 around closing time, but only has $120 on him, and that's what he lays on the rail. I let it go, because I was single and could afford to gamble occasionally, he was married, and his wife was pregnant. (And sitting there watching the game.) It was an uncomfortable feeling to take a huge amount off him like that, because he was a pretty good friend, and usually, neither of us could ever run over the other like that.
In retrospect, looking back at that match, there is no way I am supposed to be able to give him 9-6 and the breaks. If the session started out at that spot, I'd have lost hundreds of dollars. SOmething inside me just clicked, and I played over my head for a night.
I have some special memories of that match, such as banking a ball near the breaking end of the table so smoothly that I drew the cue ball all the way back behind the stack to hide my opponent from the ball, which hangs up. Also, banking a lot of ball two rails into the bottom of the stack after his break, making one, and running 9 and out. I've never played as good One Pocket as I played that night.
Let's hear your stories.
Russ
I was in Tacoma, WA. I was a soldier, and I was playing another soldier One Pocket at a local pool hall. We were both pretty good players, fairly close at 9 ball, but I had been practicing a lot lately. We were playing for $5 a game, just to make us try harder. Nobody shoulda went broke in this game.
But they did.
My fellow soldier kept hitting the break ball too thin, and kept scratching. He got down about a few games, and asked for a spot, so I offer him the breaks. (Chuckle.. You can see the irony, I am sure.)
After swapping a few games, I get a few more up on him, and he asked to bump the bet to $30. I said, "Sure". Didn't really care if he got even or not. He was a buddy.
Still, I started winning even spotting him the break. He asked for another adjustment, and I gave him 9-8 and the breaks.
We swap games a few more times, and then I catch another gear. By this point, he is down $60 or so. We adjust again to 9-7 and the breaks. By this time, I am playing much better than I normally do, still, 9-7 and the breaks is a decent spot, and I started losing a few games here and there. I am down $90 or so at $30 a pop. I then catch my final gear, and win 5 in a row at 9-7 and the breaks. He asks for a final adjustment to 9-6 and the breaks, also asking to bump it to $60, which is what I am up at this point. I say yes, knowing he knows he is dogging it slightly, and won't ask for more weight.
I then basically freeze him to the side of the stack or behind a ball in front of his pocket on virtually every shot. I take no chances at leaving him anything to shoot at, as this guy can run 6 and out in his sleep if I leave him a good shot. All my banks are either going in, or hanging up with perfect speed.
He ends up down $180 around closing time, but only has $120 on him, and that's what he lays on the rail. I let it go, because I was single and could afford to gamble occasionally, he was married, and his wife was pregnant. (And sitting there watching the game.) It was an uncomfortable feeling to take a huge amount off him like that, because he was a pretty good friend, and usually, neither of us could ever run over the other like that.
In retrospect, looking back at that match, there is no way I am supposed to be able to give him 9-6 and the breaks. If the session started out at that spot, I'd have lost hundreds of dollars. SOmething inside me just clicked, and I played over my head for a night.
I have some special memories of that match, such as banking a ball near the breaking end of the table so smoothly that I drew the cue ball all the way back behind the stack to hide my opponent from the ball, which hangs up. Also, banking a lot of ball two rails into the bottom of the stack after his break, making one, and running 9 and out. I've never played as good One Pocket as I played that night.
Let's hear your stories.
Russ
