What this game does to some people...

T

thoffen

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So I walk into the pool hall. I have a few hours to kill before my girlfriend is going to come over. I start practicing, and one of my "friends" asks me to play a cheap set. I say OK what do you want. I have time for 2 quick sets I figure, no big deal. I say race to 5 for 5 or 10. He wants to make it 7 for 10 I say ok.

So we get to playing. A few jitters early, but I win the first two and make a good run in the 3rd after a safety. He gets a little hot and wants to double the bet. Jabbers a bit and says OK let's make it race to 8 for 40. That's OK by me. I won't let him shark me and agree.

I win the next 3 games in similar fashion, a couple of safeties and a tough miss or two. Now he knows he's screwed and says, hey Todd what was the original bet? I said to 7 for 10. He said oh I wanted to double it. I said, you want 20, fine. I'm pissed but I quell it and don't let it shark me.

Break and run the next rack. And the last rack just messed around...trying but not having any focus and being left with tougher shots, still not getting mad at myself. I win it after multiple misses, basically a throw away game anyway.

So I am basically done with him. He is hot and letting it affect his game. I don't want to play with anyone who is like that and tries to shark me with the bet, so I tell him to pay up. He gets royally pissed, starts the verbal assault and throws $40 on the table. I take 20 of it because I don't know what the bet was and didn't care at this point anyway. He won't have it. He wants a chance at his money back, which he would have gotten if he was a gentleman.

Verbal assault continues for quite a while, follows me while I pay, follows me to my car (along with 2 of his friends and the person working there, trying to calm him down not back him up). Punches my window hard and probably broke something in his hand. I get my behind out of there.

This is all for $40 that ended up being $20.

I think I'm done with gambling.
 
I have seen it for . . .

I have seen it for two dollars, one dollar, a beer when they were cheap, and yes one quarter.

The amount bet often has nothing to do with the size of the problem. A bruised ego is often the real issue. Gamble and you are pretty sure to get in some odd positions now and then.

Hu
 
I almost got in a fight in a bar, because i wouldn't gamble. I thought i was smart in saying no, because i would have beat him easily, and didn't want any trouble. Go figure:confused: .
 
thoffen said:
So I walk into the pool hall. I have a few hours to kill before my girlfriend is going to come over. I start practicing, and one of my "friends" asks me to play a cheap set. I say OK what do you want. I have time for 2 quick sets I figure, no big deal. I say race to 5 for 5 or 10. He wants to make it 7 for 10 I say ok.

So we get to playing. A few jitters early, but I win the first two and make a good run in the 3rd after a safety. He gets a little hot and wants to double the bet. Jabbers a bit and says OK let's make it race to 8 for 40. That's OK by me. I won't let him shark me and agree.

I win the next 3 games in similar fashion, a couple of safeties and a tough miss or two. Now he knows he's screwed and says, hey Todd what was the original bet? I said to 7 for 10. He said oh I wanted to double it. I said, you want 20, fine. I'm pissed but I quell it and don't let it shark me.

Break and run the next rack. And the last rack just messed around...trying but not having any focus and being left with tougher shots, still not getting mad at myself. I win it after multiple misses, basically a throw away game anyway.

So I am basically done with him. He is hot and letting it affect his game. I don't want to play with anyone who is like that and tries to shark me with the bet, so I tell him to pay up. He gets royally pissed, starts the verbal assault and throws $40 on the table. I take 20 of it because I don't know what the bet was and didn't care at this point anyway. He won't have it. He wants a chance at his money back, which he would have gotten if he was a gentleman.

Verbal assault continues for quite a while, follows me while I pay, follows me to my car (along with 2 of his friends and the person working there, trying to calm him down not back him up). Punches my window hard and probably broke something in his hand. I get my behind out of there.

This is all for $40 that ended up being $20.

I think I'm done with gambling.
Click to expand...
considering he's such a "friend" u should've taken $40 n ask him for another game or just be kind n tell him he ain't playing well so no more games..gambling is like this..i've a friend who gets pissed aft he starts losing a dollar or 2..i once got this quote "gambling hurts friendships..friend to foe, a dollar it takes"..n that's basically what happened btwn my friend n i
 
thoffen said:
So I walk into the pool hall. I have a few hours to kill before my girlfriend is going to come over. I start practicing, and one of my "friends" asks me to play a cheap set. I say OK what do you want. I have time for 2 quick sets I figure, no big deal. I say race to 5 for 5 or 10. He wants to make it 7 for 10 I say ok.

So we get to playing. A few jitters early, but I win the first two and make a good run in the 3rd after a safety. He gets a little hot and wants to double the bet. Jabbers a bit and says OK let's make it race to 8 for 40. That's OK by me. I won't let him shark me and agree.

I win the next 3 games in similar fashion, a couple of safeties and a tough miss or two. Now he knows he's screwed and says, hey Todd what was the original bet? I said to 7 for 10. He said oh I wanted to double it. I said, you want 20, fine. I'm pissed but I quell it and don't let it shark me.

Break and run the next rack. And the last rack just messed around...trying but not having any focus and being left with tougher shots, still not getting mad at myself. I win it after multiple misses, basically a throw away game anyway.

So I am basically done with him. He is hot and letting it affect his game. I don't want to play with anyone who is like that and tries to shark me with the bet, so I tell him to pay up. He gets royally pissed, starts the verbal assault and throws $40 on the table. I take 20 of it because I don't know what the bet was and didn't care at this point anyway. He won't have it. He wants a chance at his money back, which he would have gotten if he was a gentleman.

Verbal assault continues for quite a while, follows me while I pay, follows me to my car (along with 2 of his friends and the person working there, trying to calm him down not back him up). Punches my window hard and probably broke something in his hand. I get my behind out of there.

This is all for $40 that ended up being $20.

I think I'm done with gambling.
Click to expand...

I very rarely have these kind of problems? By rare I mean RARE.. Had a couple when I was younger (great stories I'll share later).

Not sure if it's just the people I choose to play (actually I play just about anybody?) or something else. I think if you make things "very clear" (I'm mean "VERY" clear) while your playing it does tend to head off alot of these problems right from the get go. That's kinda weird that the guy followed you out to your car and punched the car etc. That's B.S. I don't think I'd be heading back to that pool hall by yourself anytime soon, it sounds like this trascended from a lil side action to something personal. :(

If somebody gets that pissed about something like that, I usually say something to the effect of I don't want the money.. but honestly how would you feel if you were me right now? If you won you'd expect me to pay you, and not have to go through all this? Keep it bro, I'd rather maintain the "friendship" (which incidentally if this is even happening, then that's done already done.. just part of the guilt trip) then have bad vibes over a few bucks.. I'm a sales rep by trade though, and usually they aren't mad at the end of the day and insisting on giving me the money, and wanting to play for more later. (which I decide on my terms not theirs)

DJ
 
Anybody that would cause a scene, and even just raise their voice over $40 wouldn't be any friend of mine.

Jon

P.S. Next time you see this guy, kick him in the balls and give him his $20 back :D.
 
thoffen said:
So I walk into the pool hall. I have a few hours to kill before my girlfriend is going to come over. I start practicing, and one of my "friends" asks me to play a cheap set. I say OK what do you want. I have time for 2 quick sets I figure, no big deal. I say race to 5 for 5 or 10. He wants to make it 7 for 10 I say ok.

So we get to playing. A few jitters early, but I win the first two and make a good run in the 3rd after a safety. He gets a little hot and wants to double the bet. Jabbers a bit and says OK let's make it race to 8 for 40. That's OK by me. I won't let him shark me and agree.

I win the next 3 games in similar fashion, a couple of safeties and a tough miss or two. Now he knows he's screwed and says, hey Todd what was the original bet? I said to 7 for 10. He said oh I wanted to double it. I said, you want 20, fine. I'm pissed but I quell it and don't let it shark me.

Break and run the next rack. And the last rack just messed around...trying but not having any focus and being left with tougher shots, still not getting mad at myself. I win it after multiple misses, basically a throw away game anyway.

So I am basically done with him. He is hot and letting it affect his game. I don't want to play with anyone who is like that and tries to shark me with the bet, so I tell him to pay up. He gets royally pissed, starts the verbal assault and throws $40 on the table. I take 20 of it because I don't know what the bet was and didn't care at this point anyway. He won't have it. He wants a chance at his money back, which he would have gotten if he was a gentleman.

Verbal assault continues for quite a while, follows me while I pay, follows me to my car (along with 2 of his friends and the person working there, trying to calm him down not back him up). Punches my window hard and probably broke something in his hand. I get my behind out of there.

This is all for $40 that ended up being $20.

I think I'm done with gambling.
Click to expand...

I would have made a big show of it and really embarress him. I would have called him a nit loud enough were the whole pool room would hear threw the money on the table and say keep your damn money you ***** ass nit
 
It isn't the pool (the sport) that does this to people. They are already like that. They just happened to show it at these particular times. You can bet that there are many other times in their lives they have done the same stupid s**t stuff and it wasn't involving pool. Pool doesn't make jerks, it just gives some of them a place to be one.
 
Verbal assault continues for quite a while, follows me while I pay, follows me to my car (along with 2 of his friends and the person working there, trying to calm him down not back him up). Punches my window hard and probably broke something in his hand.
Click to expand...

Did he punch your windshield? Or your side windows? You showed a lot of class and self control by handling the situation the way you did. Probably one of the reasons why the sharking didn't bother you at all. In fact it might have made him madder because it didn't bother you at all. Nice job. I don't like to say this often, but I hope he has a swolen hand for quite a while.

Vicdotcom
 
I almost got into a fight 3 out of the first 6 times I gambled and just stopped bothering to try and play people for money. The last time a guy got bent out of shape was after he kept goading me into playing and then flipped when I beat him out of a whopping $18 dollars at $2/game. Threw his cue on the ground, bounced the cueball hard enough to hit the light fixture, started whining...

I'd rather work at McDonalds then listen to people ***** every time they lose ten bucks.
 
PlynSets said:
If somebody gets that pissed about something like that, I usually say something to the effect of I don't want the money.. but honestly how would you feel if you were me right now? If you won you'd expect me to pay you, and not have to go through all this? Keep it bro, I'd rather maintain the "friendship"
DJ
Click to expand...

And as you are packing up your cue ask him if he thinks you should lose some weight.

Jake
 
Never raise the bet in the middle of a set. Finish the set, then re-negotiate.

I think you handled yourself well from what you wrote.
 
Deadon said:
It isn't the pool (the sport) that does this to people. They are already like that. They just happened to show it at these particular times. You can bet that there are many other times in their lives they have done the same stupid s**t stuff and it wasn't involving pool. Pool doesn't make jerks, it just gives some of them a place to be one.
Click to expand...

Exactly was going to be my point.

Here in New Jersey, going to Atlantic City an hour away is no big deal. It's hardly an event to go. And I hate going for every reason listed here, plus add in free booze to the mix. People become very hostile, agitated, angry, upset, crude, rude, obnoxious, and a host of other things when then tend to gamble. That's why I steer clear of that atmosphere as much as possible, and I feel for anybody who wants to do the same in their a pool hall when they are there to enjoy themselves.
 
I have had this problem maybe three times in my "career". And all of the times it has been over small amounts of money, and most of the players have not been very good. I also think that its the ego that makes them snap and get angry. A good player that knows he's beat usually deals with it in a good fashion. But if you gamble, you have to be prepared to have problems like this . It comes with the nature of the game.
 
thoffen said:
So I walk into the pool hall. I have a few hours to kill before my girlfriend is going to come over. I start practicing, and one of my "friends" asks me to play a cheap set. I say OK what do you want. I have time for 2 quick sets I figure, no big deal. I say race to 5 for 5 or 10. He wants to make it 7 for 10 I say ok.

So we get to playing. A few jitters early, but I win the first two and make a good run in the 3rd after a safety. He gets a little hot and wants to double the bet. Jabbers a bit and says OK let's make it race to 8 for 40. That's OK by me. I won't let him shark me and agree.

I win the next 3 games in similar fashion, a couple of safeties and a tough miss or two. Now he knows he's screwed and says, hey Todd what was the original bet? I said to 7 for 10. He said oh I wanted to double it. I said, you want 20, fine. I'm pissed but I quell it and don't let it shark me.

Break and run the next rack. And the last rack just messed around...trying but not having any focus and being left with tougher shots, still not getting mad at myself. I win it after multiple misses, basically a throw away game anyway.

So I am basically done with him. He is hot and letting it affect his game. I don't want to play with anyone who is like that and tries to shark me with the bet, so I tell him to pay up. He gets royally pissed, starts the verbal assault and throws $40 on the table. I take 20 of it because I don't know what the bet was and didn't care at this point anyway. He won't have it. He wants a chance at his money back, which he would have gotten if he was a gentleman.

Verbal assault continues for quite a while, follows me while I pay, follows me to my car (along with 2 of his friends and the person working there, trying to calm him down not back him up). Punches my window hard and probably broke something in his hand. I get my behind out of there.

This is all for $40 that ended up being $20.

I think I'm done with gambling.
Click to expand...

Alot of the time, gambling in pool exposes you to some real scumbags. Think about it. Why do they gamble with you? Because they think they are going to win. And when you hit them with a few nice runouts, they can't handle it. They get violent, they don't wanna pay because they didn't get to play much, and you are in deep shit for a couple of bucks. That's the reason why I don't gamble much. Number one is I don't weigh much, and that tells me I don't have the manpower to go hustle in bars. I don't play good enough to snap off tournaments like some shortstops around here do, so I just stick to practicing for cheap sets with friendly accquaintences or playing tournaments. Just like Mark Tadd said, gambling can leave a foul taste in your mouth. I've lost a few friends because of it.
 
Looking at it from a business POV....If you are a regular at the place you were playing, I think the management should have tossed this guy, and made sure you knew it was ok to come back to play!.....

Gerry
 
jjinfla said:
And as you are packing up your cue ask him if he thinks you should lose some weight.

Jake
Click to expand...
LOLz....that would send him over the edge....personally I think pool does seem to bring the worst out in people...or maybe just the gambling aspect of it....I have friend I gamble with and he goes from Dr. Jeckle to Mr. Hyde...starts whining and going on about everything that's bad in his life...:rolleyes:
I can recall pros coming to the Cue Club in Vegas and *****ing and moaning when they lost...
________
 
Last edited:
Some of these guys live their entire lives in denial, they don't believe anyone out there should be better then them at anything. I came to town a year ago and have ruffled many a feather just by playing my game and disposing of several of the guys who aren't used to losing. Has nothing to do with the game, has everything to do with personality. There are a couple of guys who continue to ask for a money game and I refuse to play them for money, they never paid up when I whipped them before, fool me once etc...

I don't waste my time on these guys, I play with people who enjoy the game, win or lose.

BK
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top