“Plus there were only two sexes 50 years ago, Male & Female, there was no third SEX……………..I Call Confused.”
Just had to find a way to get this included in your post. You must be a speech writer for MAGA.
Was pool better 50 years ago?
- Thread starter The Wolverine
- Start date
Just had to find a way to get this included in your post. You must be a speech writer for MAGA.
Oh HELL NO!
SHEESH, She was Attractive and flirtatious when we got real close and friendly.....there was the Surprise!
How does that song go? " Hay Baby, Take a walk on the Wild Side." Doop doop da doop.
I started playing pool in Los Angeles 58 years ago and some things were better then and some things are better now.
The Billiard Palace in Bellflower, a little Southwest of LA, is where some of the best players played, I watched Billy Johnson aka Wade Crane play Richie Florence for three days straight. The first set was for $8,000, The second set was for almost $8,000 and the last set was for Richie's cue, his new Cadillac and cash.
Richie lost all three sets.
The room was also famous for the PayBall game played on the 5 x 10 snooker table. PayBall is a 6 Ball ring game where you would win money for each ball pocketed and double the amount when you make the six ball.
Typically the game started for $10 - $20 but it would quickly go up from there.
I watched a game when just before Cole Dickson broke the rack while playing for $100 - $200 asked, "Make it $1000 for a break and run out?" Everyone said yes. No one did while I was watching.
The one thing that was absolutely better was it was easier to play for money, I started for .50 cents a game.
I didn't lose much because I didn't have much money and while it is what some players will tell you, you have to play for something if you want to get better, it's true.
I am not recommending anyone to play for money but in my case I wanted to beat a guy I didn't like and I improved my game until I could beat him.
Beating him for fun was not as good as beating him for the few dollars I won.
The best thing about pool today for me is I can watch the best players in the world sitting in front of my computer.
The Billiard Palace in Bellflower, a little Southwest of LA, is where some of the best players played, I watched Billy Johnson aka Wade Crane play Richie Florence for three days straight. The first set was for $8,000, The second set was for almost $8,000 and the last set was for Richie's cue, his new Cadillac and cash.
Richie lost all three sets.
The room was also famous for the PayBall game played on the 5 x 10 snooker table. PayBall is a 6 Ball ring game where you would win money for each ball pocketed and double the amount when you make the six ball.
Typically the game started for $10 - $20 but it would quickly go up from there.
I watched a game when just before Cole Dickson broke the rack while playing for $100 - $200 asked, "Make it $1000 for a break and run out?" Everyone said yes. No one did while I was watching.
The one thing that was absolutely better was it was easier to play for money, I started for .50 cents a game.
I didn't lose much because I didn't have much money and while it is what some players will tell you, you have to play for something if you want to get better, it's true.
I am not recommending anyone to play for money but in my case I wanted to beat a guy I didn't like and I improved my game until I could beat him.
Beating him for fun was not as good as beating him for the few dollars I won.
The best thing about pool today for me is I can watch the best players in the world sitting in front of my computer.
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the best thing that I can say about playing now is that pool has become more mainstream and lots of players to play with.
In his defense that is one of the most important stroke mechanics if you can figure out how to do it. Of course as the instructor it's their responsibility to make sure you understand it. I prefer to use, "let the weight of the cue do the work" or "carry the cue through the ball" myself.
sure the top players are better but the question was is pool better.
in tournaments like stu goes to, it is much better play and execution so he likes that. and is right.
in pool rooms, pool is dismal. and that is right. few gamble. not many hang around and the social aspect is gone in most rooms.
the very top players are better now but go in a pool room now and few are very good where as 50 years back the rooms were full of good players. and there would be a half dozen that could run a 100 balls every day.
and more that if a 700 plus player came in looking for action he would have no chance with anyone who stepped up to play.
people virtually lived in the pool rooms. they were full of characters and fun, and it was what they did every day. not so anymore.
in tournaments like stu goes to, it is much better play and execution so he likes that. and is right.
in pool rooms, pool is dismal. and that is right. few gamble. not many hang around and the social aspect is gone in most rooms.
the very top players are better now but go in a pool room now and few are very good where as 50 years back the rooms were full of good players. and there would be a half dozen that could run a 100 balls every day.
and more that if a 700 plus player came in looking for action he would have no chance with anyone who stepped up to play.
people virtually lived in the pool rooms. they were full of characters and fun, and it was what they did every day. not so anymore.
These are my thoughts on it as well. I grew up through the transition, and the conversion to the bunt stroke is for real.
Yes he was absolutely correct in his advice in 1991 but , as you said, explaining how that should actually look like as the cue stick meets and goes through the cue ball is the key.
The use of video today makes all the difference in actually knowing and then correcting stroke flaws. Many of the best players today no longer use warm up strokes in their PSR- they lock onto the aim point and then come straight back and forward to the cue ball- today it is all about minimizing movement so that consistency of delivery and speed of stroke rules and minimal movement can also help with more consistent timing as well.
I didn't read the thread.... weren't all the top players 50 years ago going from town to town, robbing the shortstops, and shacking up with their girls for the night? hahaha.
middleofnowhere
Registered
There was different classes of players. You had scufflers who went around and were very careful.
Then you had mid-level good players who could make a buck and knew who to avoid.
Then you got the next level players. Players who could go into a room and we're pretty confident they could beat most anybody they probably had there and knew when to pull up.
You had the lamb killers. Very good players who avoided equal players. They specialized in playing weaker players and giving weight to get action.
Then you had the ultra hustlers. Players that would prey on hustlers. They could beat the guy who got a call to come to the pool room because someone was looking for action. They feared
no one and would often bust out the pool room.
It was a fun time back then to see a stranger come through the door and you knew something is going to happen tonight. Quite honestly it was just like on the movies. You pulled up your chair and settled in for a night of pool action.
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
The only essential thing missing was GIRLS, but somehow we lived through it.
middleofnowhere
Registered
That's funny. When I first met my wife I own a pool room at the time and she would come around all the time even before we got married. She asked me once and I think she was serious talking about the pool players she says are these guys all gay? Don't any of them ever have girlfriends or go out with girls.