What is a Shortstop?

So, a successful shortstop would need to be at least a 730 Fargo.

I have watched numerous road players get busted playing even with weaker local players. And that was mostly due to home court advantage. So, it takes a really good player to overcome the road.
 
Hungarian said:
I never understood why everyone gets so shocked when someone brings back an old thread. I kind of like reaching back and reading the old threads myself.
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The funny thing is that snark was about a bump from a year ago, not my bump.
But yes, yes I do bring 20 year old threads back much. I also really don't see why not. We have a whole branch of government in the USA that is literally dedicated to settling disagreements in a 250 year old thread.
 
garczar said:
If they picked their spots right sure they could have made money. Most of the really easy/sweet money was in the bars and the good players usually hung out at the 'hall. You could make a lot of money and never have to play tough action. In Okla/Tex/Kan. with all the oil money it wasn't uncommon to be playing suckers $40/game on a big bucket Valley. Talk about stealing.
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Absolutely. Some may call it low hanging fruit🍓. I called it rent.
 
ShootingArts said:
I got a lot of that money, secondhand. I never jacked the bet over five dollars. The guys trying to hustle the blue collar guys eventually got to me in my rough clothes. Didn't hurt that I often worked industrial construction or as a mechanic or body man. I looked the part, hell I was the part!

There was a large group of guys on the fringe. They gambled at anything, often cheating at cards and dice. They also played pool with the guys that had worked hard all day and were focused more on drinking beer than anything else, maybe finding a piece of trim. It was pretty funny, these fringe people usually stalled and insisted on letting me win, raising the bet until it got to twenty or fifty a game. Then they let the ponies run. I was usually still choked up a little bit while I plucked them like chickens. Because of their early stalling I often did it all on their money!

I was young and single and had no great dislike of watching young ladies dance so their gigolos were often who I took the money from. A favorite spot just had a wall and an unlocked door between the pool room and a naked dancing lady place. A handful of times a lady in working uniform would come storming into the pool room. "I am working my ass off and you are taking all my money!" I didn't feel bad, they were running their own hustles. I think prostitution closed down both businesses.

Somebody commented they had never heard a female called a shortstop. I haven't either but I definitely knew a couple back in the seventies. Without the internet many men were convinced no woman could beat them at pool and these ladies that could shoot would take them to the cleaners purely on ego!

There was a time when a very low B player, maybe even a high C could get by playing pool. Of course it took a lot less to get by then! There was one place with an old nine foot table that ran twenty-four/seven. The usual stake was three dollars a game and they only sold beer. I went in one day and my running buddy had been in there for three days straight, taking all comers. He had gotten up to over five hundred at three a game and was down to about $150 when I drug him out to buy food for his family. He barely knew where he was at!

A lot of the fringe people were small time criminals, occasionally one would make a big move and go to Angola State Farm to learn how to farm for fifteen cents an hour. That was back in the sixties and seventies. Last I knew they were paying inmates twelve cents an hour, a major cut in pay! Anyway, I was the handsome fellow in my avatar so it wasn't too uncommon for somebody to want to play for dope when they went broke. I often did it to hammer home the fact they were busted but then I would escort them to the bathroom. "Dump!" They would cry like babies but I wasn't touching more than a joint of pot. Louisiana was famous for a guy getting twelve years for a joint and the tiniest bit over an ounce made you a dealer with pretty much mandatory time in Angola coming. Any hard drug like coke or heroin got you a stay on the farm too. It was mine though so I made them flush it!

The good old days. Despite all the changes I think if I was twenty again I could hustle a living if I needed to. I never spent over a few weeks on the road at a time or made a living shooting pool for longer than months at a time but I knew, and know, the moves. Mostly just making myself available. I was one of the best at hitting pocket points.

If anybody is wondering, yes I know I have given likes to ancient posts. Almost all in memory of friends gone.

Hu
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If you could think with your wits, you could survive. No doubt.
 
u12armresl said:
I think the Midwest had the best definition of shortstop back in the day.
Breedlove, Jarvis, Oaks, Kitto, Goodwin, McCanich, Wines, long list goes on and on.
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The good old days. Nathan Haddad fits in there too along with poochie. Doug flowers always looked like his eyes were gonna fall out lol. Mike davis(worm) could get there too, him and Tony Coleman were from my area.

I played a guy 9 ball in Sandusky for a couple hrs, some APA or other league bs. Anyway, all my asshole friends were laughing when I came back to the hotel room asking if I had any money left, I asked why, they said he's the best player in the place - it wasn't any of the guys mentioned if I remember correctly.

I was down 2 games I believe after 2hrs. Had a high gear, just couldn't duplicate it day to day. I've never been a guy that took the game all that seriously, I have BnR 7 racks 3 different times, but I might not make a 4 ball out lol.

Oh well, I just like hitting balls, don't care if its into the rail or the pocket
 
Bob Jewett said:
A pool jargon list is available in the "misc files" page on the website below. Additions are welcome. There are also some other jargon sites you can find through google.

The best reference for pool and billiard terms is Shamos' "New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards" which is a book every serious student of the game needs. You can get it for under $10 delivered from Amazon.
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Dangit, I screwed the pooch again I reckon.
Here's what came up for me on Amazon. (I do bass fish though).
 
Johnny Rosato said:
Dangit, I screwed the pooch again I reckon.
Here's what came up for me on Amazon. (I do bass fish though).
.... (wrong book for $100)
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The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards by Mike Shamos shouldn't cost more than $20 delivered to your house. The best place I know of to look for used books is https://www.addall.com/used/ which lists this:

1766713826206.png
 
jasonlaus said:
The good old days. Nathan Haddad fits in there too along with poochie. Doug flowers always looked like his eyes were gonna fall out lol. Mike davis(worm) could get there too, him and Tony Coleman were from my area.

I played a guy 9 ball in Sandusky for a couple hrs, some APA or other league bs. Anyway, all my asshole friends were laughing when I came back to the hotel room asking if I had any money left, I asked why, they said he's the best player in the place - it wasn't any of the guys mentioned if I remember correctly.

I was down 2 games I believe after 2hrs. Had a high gear, just couldn't duplicate it day to day. I've never been a guy that took the game all that seriously, I have BnR 7 racks 3 different times, but I might not make a 4 ball out lol.

Oh well, I just like hitting balls, don't care if its into the rail or the pocket
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I think you said it best right there!! No better definition of a shortstop than that!! No offense meant.
 
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