Because you asked
I was never jealous of any player. I am a blessed man because I have hundreds of friends, a great family and a wonderful career, although it hasn't paid well.
Efren and the other top One Pocket players today play a notch better than my generation. Anyone who says differently doesn't know the game.
It doesn't bother me to admit that.
OK, if you want to know about my time when I thought I was the best One Pocket player in the world, I'll tell you. From about 78' to 89', I would play anyone. Everybody knew that. Nothin had to be said although there are some players who'll tell you that I wouldn't play them. That's utter nonsense and an outright lie. There were at least 12 times when I had $50,000 or more to play with and no one hustled me to play. I'm not saying I would have won, either because anyone who says that they're the "nuts" over a top player is an idiot. You hope you play all right, get a few rolls and MAYBE win.
There is one thing that has always rubbed me the wrong way. When I was a young up and coming player I considered it an honor to match up with an Ed Kelly, a Ronnie Allen or a Jersey Red, even if I had to take a little the worst of it. But Efren and Jose never took a ball from me or played me even when they were learning the game, not even once. Don't you think I might have not only enjoyed that but also learned something of ball running and inside english while they learned the game from me?
Efren played hundreds of hours of fun pool with Freddie and Billy instead.
One last thing to finish this thread up. At Mike X's last big event, whatever year that was, Bustamonte, Parica, and Luat are standing around. I offered to play any of them, for 2 or 3 thousand a game, One Pocket, Straight Pool or Banks. They wouldn't play, in other words, no looseness at all, like I've shown all of my adulthood. And, of course we'll never know who would have won.
I was never jealous of any player. I am a blessed man because I have hundreds of friends, a great family and a wonderful career, although it hasn't paid well.
Efren and the other top One Pocket players today play a notch better than my generation. Anyone who says differently doesn't know the game.
It doesn't bother me to admit that.
OK, if you want to know about my time when I thought I was the best One Pocket player in the world, I'll tell you. From about 78' to 89', I would play anyone. Everybody knew that. Nothin had to be said although there are some players who'll tell you that I wouldn't play them. That's utter nonsense and an outright lie. There were at least 12 times when I had $50,000 or more to play with and no one hustled me to play. I'm not saying I would have won, either because anyone who says that they're the "nuts" over a top player is an idiot. You hope you play all right, get a few rolls and MAYBE win.
There is one thing that has always rubbed me the wrong way. When I was a young up and coming player I considered it an honor to match up with an Ed Kelly, a Ronnie Allen or a Jersey Red, even if I had to take a little the worst of it. But Efren and Jose never took a ball from me or played me even when they were learning the game, not even once. Don't you think I might have not only enjoyed that but also learned something of ball running and inside english while they learned the game from me?
Efren played hundreds of hours of fun pool with Freddie and Billy instead.
One last thing to finish this thread up. At Mike X's last big event, whatever year that was, Bustamonte, Parica, and Luat are standing around. I offered to play any of them, for 2 or 3 thousand a game, One Pocket, Straight Pool or Banks. They wouldn't play, in other words, no looseness at all, like I've shown all of my adulthood. And, of course we'll never know who would have won.
