The dissappearing Road Player!! LOL

jay helfert said:
Dick, Didn't Bossier City have a bunch of casinos back then? Like a little Vegas.
I remember going there and being surprised. But the bars had good action. And by that I mean soft. :)
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No Jay, no casinos then. Just a lot of B-Girl joints. The casinos came along in the 80's.(or possibly late 70's)

Dick
 
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SJDinPHX said:
No Jay, no casinos then. Just a lot of B-Girl joints. The casinos came along in the 80's.

Dick
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East Texas Street was known as the Bossier Strip, but like you said, it was a bunch of clubs, whose patronage included a lot of young military men from Barksdale Airforce Base.
 
punter said:
East Texas Street was known as the Bossier Strip, but like you said, it was a bunch of clubs, whose patronage included a lot of young military men from Barksdale Airforce Base.
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Thats true Punter. Mike James had the only joint on the strip, with an adjoining bar (with pool tables) separate from the b-girl part. Always good action. Things could get rough in there though ! :eek:

Dick
 
chefjeff said:
I'm not buying this reason.

To me, the internet should have the opposite effect. Look at the match-ups made on AZ (or woofed, anyway:rolleyes: ) These would have been very hard and expensive to match-up before the net. It seems that traveling now would be more effecient because the players wouldn't drive for info (expensive) but go online for it (cheap).

Question: Back "then," was anyone REALLY surprised when a hustler took their cash? Really?

Jeff Livingston
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Yes, the internet and AZ has provided a different medium for matching up, but it is not the same as it was. I really don't see that much matching up here on AZ compared what you used to be able to get on any given night.

I can IM a fellow AZer and probably find out just about anyones identity and speed in a very short time.

In the old days, a stranger walks into a bar, gives a fake name and can work a room all night. Your only clue would be check his licence plate in the parking lot.
 
jason said:
Yes, the internet and AZ has provided a different medium for matching up, but it is not the same as it was. I really don't see that much matching up here on AZ compared what you used to be able to get on any given night.

I can IM a fellow AZer and probably find out just about anyones identity and speed in a very short time.

In the old days, a stranger walks into a bar, gives a fake name and can work a room all night. Your only clue would be check his licence plate in the parking lot.
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OK, that's all probably true...but I don't see those as bad things.

If it takes integrated dishonesty to keep the road player playing, then it is about time that method died and I'm doubly glad the internet helped this happen. Living a life based on dishonesties doesn't bode well for long-term happiness, imho, and it eventually permeates the game of pool, and perhaps that's why it's in the doldrums now and heading lower.

Just because people now have better info doesn't mean that the bets have to stop, does it? It seems to me that a different approach has become necessary and that would make the matches better, even if closer, skill-wise. The bets would be more balanced and would require more skill to win, not luck or dishonesties. What's wrong with that?

That's one of the problems with hustling/gambling for a living: It requires one to hang out with losers. Perhaps that isn't a good thing for the players' happiness OR for the game itself.

Jeff Livingston
 
chefjeff said:
If it takes integrated dishonesty to keep the road player playing, then it is about time that method died and I'm doubly glad the internet helped this happen. Living a life based on dishonesties doesn't bode well for long-term happiness, imho, and it eventually permeates the game of pool, and perhaps that's why it's in the doldrums now and heading lower.
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Tap, tap. Totally agree.

chefjeff said:
Just because people now have better info doesn't mean that the bets have to stop, does it? It seems to me that a different approach has become necessary and that would make the matches better, even if closer, skill-wise. The bets would be more balanced and would require more skill to win, not luck or dishonesties. What's wrong with that?

Jeff Livingston
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No, it doesn't mean that the bets have to stop and yes, matches will be closer skill-wise and the bets more balanced. This is all great for the spectators watching, but let's not forget the objective of the road player or hustler...to make cash.

For a road player to be successful, he must survive financially. Traveling across the country to find an 50/50 matchup is a losing proposition because the road and expences will eat you up. It's the cost of doing business. In poker, it's called the rake. If the rake is too high compared to the profit margin, it is a bad game even if your the better player.

These types of match ups are more about entertainment and pride than cash. A player can't out run the nuts in the long run.
 
chefjeff said:
OK, that's all probably true...but I don't see those as bad things.

If it takes integrated dishonesty to keep the road player playing, then it is about time that method died and I'm doubly glad the internet helped this happen. Living a life based on dishonesties doesn't bode well for long-term happiness, imho, and it eventually permeates the game of pool, and perhaps that's why it's in the doldrums now and heading lower.

Just because people now have better info doesn't mean that the bets have to stop, does it? It seems to me that a different approach has become necessary and that would make the matches better, even if closer, skill-wise. The bets would be more balanced and would require more skill to win, not luck or dishonesties. What's wrong with that?

That's one of the problems with hustling/gambling for a living: It requires one to hang out with losers. Perhaps that isn't a good thing for the players' happiness OR for the game itself.

Jeff Livingston
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Jeff

It was a whole different mindset, and a completely different era. Most small town gamblers at least knew the names of the better players, in any given region. If you went looking for action, and you said, "Hi my names Keith McCready", you may not get much play.
As for "hanging with loser's", we all pick our own friend's in life. I would tend to think, if you worked at Wal-mart, you would be hanging out with some "real loser's" on a daily basis. JMHO :rolleyes:

Dick
 
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jason said:
Tap, tap. Totally agree.



No, it doesn't mean that the bets have to stop and yes, matches will be closer skill-wise and the bets more balanced. This is all great for the spectators watching, but let's not forget the objective of the road player or hustler...to make cash.

For a road player to be successful, he must survive financially. Traveling across the country to find an 50/50 matchup is a losing proposition because the road and expences will eat you up. It's the cost of doing business. In poker, it's called the rake. If the rake is too high compared to the profit margin, it is a bad game even if your the better player.

These types of match ups are more about entertainment and pride than cash. A player can't out run the nuts in the long run.
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The empasis is mine...Perhaps the road player of the future will make most of his dough from the gate. Wouldn't that be nice for him AND the game.

Maybe a road player can come up with a traveling business model that works like that? The internet would then be his best friend.

Jeff Livingston
 
SJDinPHX said:
Jeff

It was a whole different mindset, and a completely different era. Most small town gamblers at least knew the names of the better players, in any given region. If you went looking for action, and you said, "Hi my names Keith McCready", you may not get much play.
As for "hanging with loser's", we all pick our own friend's in life. I would tend to think, if you worked at Wal-mart, you would be associating with many more "loser's" on a daily basis. JMHO :rolleyes:

Dick
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I've NEVER seen anyone who honestly trades his work for money as a loser...NEVER! Might he make less than others? Sure, but that doens't make him a loser.

A loser is someone who doesn't produce values that others willingly buy, someone who perpetually attempts the "something-for-nothing" paradigm. He can't ever acheive long-term happiness by chasing short-term, short-cut living methods.

imho,

Jeff Livingston
 
coming to Mobile

Does anyone have any good stories about coming through Mobile when Cleo, Brimcat, Junior Moore, Bubba Howard and others were in action back in the 60's and 70's.

I was around but knew very little about pool.

I do remember a young shooter named Bubba Howard (tall thin blonde headed kid) from Mobile who at age 15 was going all over the country playing. When I was in the Air Force in 1968 My brother took him on a road trip through the south. I went with them for a couple of days. He beat everybody he played. I think he was 16 or 17 then.

I remember when we left Macon, Ga. headed to Atlanta.......a guy gave us a tip........don't play a guy named "Sweet Thing". Of course when we got to Atlanta it was 2:00 A.M. and the first person we ran into was Sweet Thing. They played a race to 10 ahead for 2000. It didn't take Bubba long. Sweet Thing got to shoot 3 times. All kicks. Bubba ran six of the last eight racks then made the 9 on the last two racks. Sweet Thing raked the balls around with his stick and refused to pay up. My brother told me to go get the car and park at the door with the engine running.

He went to the trunk and got a 12 gauge walked up the long stair case and in a few minutes came flying down the stairs........ no shots were fired. Off we went! However, that ended my road experince with pool players. I took a Greyhound back to the A.F. base.

Joe Nelson, from Mobile also has many stories about taking Bubba to Texas and California several times, playing Keith, Billy Incordona and many others. He says Bubba would have been the best player in the world if he had continued playing. However, for personal reasons he stopped playing at age 19. What a pity.

Any recollections of him?

thanks........gbru
 
You guys all make me glad that I have a great job a great family and a great life and only play pool for fun.
thanks for the stories though.
 
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