What poolroom did you learn to play at? Who were your mentors?
- Thread starter thebigdog
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Sweet Marissa
www.Bella-Muse.com
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kvinbrwr said:
He said he was anyway. Walter Tevis might not agree though.
150shot said:
The owner Wayne died, and his son was incapable of running a business.
jay helfert said:
I know. Tevis trashed him. So you knew him. Could he play? I wrote him off when I read The Color of Money (that plus seeing him on "Celebrity Pool" or whatever they called it - remember that show? - where he didn't look like he played very good). Did he make a living playing pool?
kvinbrwr said:
There is no short answer to your question, although I addressed it on here in another thread months ago.
Fats could play and he made lots of money playing Pool. He was a great pool hustler. His best games were One Pocket, Banks and Three Cushions.
He played One Hole a ball below the champions of his era. Fats liked to bet high and make his man quiver. He could definitely play for the cheese.
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i started at the same room i work at today(Wallys,Lakeland,FL), and as for my mentor, i work for him, his name is Leon Ledford, a straight pool player from the Chicago area(Rockford to be exact), from what i've heard back in his heyday he played pretty sporty!
instroke75 said:
He sure did! Just under Dallas West.
When I started back in the 50's only a very few players were kind enough to show someone something.
I think most felt that you would come back and beat them with what they showed you. I feel that most of my experience came from the school of hard knocks. Looking back I think that was not so bad. I think that when you learn that way, you eventually find the correct way to do something and know the why of the incorrect ways.
These days there is a lot of information to be had thru books, videos and personal instructors. These methods will shave off many years of hard knocks. You will learn how to do the correct things but many times not know why they are the correct things.
I was so hungry to learn that I would seek out good players and play them or just be a spectator for hours or days.
If I had to mention a mentor I would say Rich Cook, Yes the one everyone likes to rag on. ( Bucktooth) Much knowledge there. Also I would have to say Marvin Henderson. Marvin was one of the greatest all around players I ever knew. RIP Marvin.
I think most felt that you would come back and beat them with what they showed you. I feel that most of my experience came from the school of hard knocks. Looking back I think that was not so bad. I think that when you learn that way, you eventually find the correct way to do something and know the why of the incorrect ways.
These days there is a lot of information to be had thru books, videos and personal instructors. These methods will shave off many years of hard knocks. You will learn how to do the correct things but many times not know why they are the correct things.
I was so hungry to learn that I would seek out good players and play them or just be a spectator for hours or days.
If I had to mention a mentor I would say Rich Cook, Yes the one everyone likes to rag on. ( Bucktooth) Much knowledge there. Also I would have to say Marvin Henderson. Marvin was one of the greatest all around players I ever knew. RIP Marvin.
dabarbr said:
Who knows how many guys you have been a mentor to? Out here, the Barber is a legend! And he still plays damn good.
Local Pool hall in Rosiclare, IL [Southern Illinois] in late '50 to mid '60. No Mentor, only Old Gentlemen players.
Neil said:In addition, I have since opened a pool room of my own in Lakewood, WA which has also turn out successful, and much of my sauces in this business is certainly due to what I learned from Bob.
Have a great day!!!!!!
__________________
Very Respectfully
Craig W. Rittel
Full Splice Billiards
Has someone been hitting the sauce too much?
Nope!!!!! BURP!!!!!!!!
dabarbr said:
No BS, it's the truth.
thebigdog said:
If I had to pick a mentor, I would say it was Dado the Filipino. I started gambling with Dado when I was 15 at a little pool room in Monterey Park, CA. We even played one pocket on the 5 x 10 snooker table. He didn't exactly take me under his wing, but he gambled cheap with me and I learned quite a bit from him. He took me on my first road trip, about 10 miles north to an all black pool room in Pasadena, CA in about 1955. When I was 17 he left for a couple of years and went to Alabama. He came back when I was 19, played me a $50 set of 9 ball, lost and quit. He had Mexican Phil with him & Phil busted me instead of Dado. Same results as every other time I fooled with him. He could be treacherous. He would lend me money when I went empty & be in with the other guy. He knew I was good for it and would get an extra jellyroll for his trouble. It backfired one time when I lost $500 to Morro Paez playing $50 a game 9 ball. I borrowed $500, jacked the bet to $100 and turned the tables for a $1,300 winner. The next day I blew $1,200 to Pepe from 4th & Main playing one pocket, so he probably got his money back. My mentors were all people I gambled with. I learned how to play snooker by playing Freddie Nima, who might have been the best 5 x 10 snooker player on the West Coast & very few people knew of him. He would play three red ball snooker for $5 a game and just play perfect. Whenever I got a little $$ I would go down to the Chatterbox looking for him. They let me drink beer in there too, so that was another good reason to go. John Henderson
Musashi said:
My condolences.
I started at Brads Pool Hall here in Galesburg Il. The place was run by the two Bradshaw brothers, Shirley and Perry. They were in their 60's and had very little patience with smart ass 14 yr old brats... i.e. me. They kicked me out time after time as the rule was you had to be 16 to get in. I kept on slipping in the back door and they finally just threw their hands up and gave in to my good looks, charming manner and quick wit.
I had no mentor. NOBODY would show me anything. That's the way it was. I watched and learned and then experimented on the table in the back corner. If they weren't busy they would let me play for 1/2 price on that table as it had torn cloth. Full price was a penney a minute or a dime a game. The year was 1956/57. Pepsi was a dime, $.15 for a big hot dog at the Coney Island across the street, chips for a nickle, candy bars for a nickle, cigs were a quarter a pack, gas about $0.20 a gallon. $2 an hour was good pay.
There was no TV (except durig the World Series or boxing matches), no music, cussing was kept at a minimum. I loved that place. Home was no place to be. To much unhappiness and BAD vibes all the time so I was always looking for some place to hang. Brads was my home and the guys were my family. It was torn down in the 60's.
I had no mentor. NOBODY would show me anything. That's the way it was. I watched and learned and then experimented on the table in the back corner. If they weren't busy they would let me play for 1/2 price on that table as it had torn cloth. Full price was a penney a minute or a dime a game. The year was 1956/57. Pepsi was a dime, $.15 for a big hot dog at the Coney Island across the street, chips for a nickle, candy bars for a nickle, cigs were a quarter a pack, gas about $0.20 a gallon. $2 an hour was good pay.
There was no TV (except durig the World Series or boxing matches), no music, cussing was kept at a minimum. I loved that place. Home was no place to be. To much unhappiness and BAD vibes all the time so I was always looking for some place to hang. Brads was my home and the guys were my family. It was torn down in the 60's.