What's your take on people that won't gamble?

Do you ever ask anyone better than you to gamble (without asking for the nut)? In my observations, people with this attitude only ask lesser players to bet something. When the champ comes in, these people are quiet as a mouse.

yeah i do. i lost a hundo getting the 7 from someone a few days ago.

gotta play better players to get better!

hell man even when i play weaker players i'm usually in a bad game. i book so many losers i should have quit and taken up poker or something. i never really go off i just constantly lose
 
So you don't care about the room, you're more upset they won't play you for money?

is that what you took away from that?

ten people that play pool sitting around the pool room drinking water (to avoid paying for soda/coffee) not practicing (to avoid paying table time)
is the norm at the room i go to.

you can take that for what you want.


oh yeah my local room got air barreled for table time by one of these players 2 days ago.


form your own opinions about it but no matter which way you look at it something isn't right with that picture
 
yeah i do. i lost a hundo getting the 7 from someone a few days ago.

gotta play better players to get better!

hell man even when i play weaker players i'm usually in a bad game. i book so many losers i should have quit and taken up poker or something. i never really go off i just constantly lose

You're not the only one.

One night I'm in the pool room hitting balls, and this group of guys comes in, sit down and I can see they're looking. I start just shooting banks and stuff because I could tell they were going to ask for a game and I was in the mood. Some people recognized one guy and said I might get a game.

So their player comes up and asks me what I usually play for. I say I don't usually play for anything. So he says OK - how about a race to 7 for $50. I said fine. We play and I beat him 7-3.

He says "let's play for $100" I said OK and beat him 7-2. We play and more of the same. He's down now $350 - his guys now are making trips to the ATM machine - and says "what would you say if I said let's play for $200?".

I thought about it and I said "really?". Then he thought about it and shook his head no. We played one more and I won $450 total.

OK, so let's examine this. If he would have beat me 7-2, 7-3 for $50 a set, depending on the rolls, and if I thought I was going to play better, maybe I would have lost $100 or $150 or even $200 before I gave up.

However, if I had milked the situation, I could have won a lot more than $450. So, the way he gambled was just a stupid waste of money as far as I'm concerned. Why would you want to bet it up with people you can't beat? If you can't beat someone, don't jack up the bet - play them cheap.

Chris
 
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I guess I'll chime in on this one even though everything has pretty much been said...

Anyone that knows me well knows that I used to be pretty active as a gambler... I was young, I was desperate to improve and I was cocky...

I lost some, but I won more...

I quit gambling (and pool for that matter) because of an incident where after a lengthy session I ended up winner and the loser drew a gun on me in the parking lot... He didn't even want his money back, he just kept saying I was a nit (at the end I was giving him the stone cold nuts and he still couldn't win)... I told him we was going to have to shoot me in the back since I was leaving and I got in my car and drove off...

Less than a week later I quit pool for almost 10 years...

Now that I am playing again I wouldn't mind playing cheap sets with players of any skill level... But I pretty much only want to play even...

I have never been good at matching up and woofing and I am worse at it now than I was when I was horrible at it...

If you see me and you want to play cheap, let's get it on...

And if you see me and you want to play for nothing, same answer...

I love to play and it makes no difference to me...
 
it's an hour away. that's why i don't go out there much. i've matched up at hard times the last few times i've been there

i'm not trying to come off as a jerk on this thread. it's just i'm tired of walking into rooms and seeing guys that have been playing for years doing nothing at all. most of the time they're not even paying table time or buying drinks.

Having sorted thru the various responses here i am pleased to find most are indifferent to "will I gamble or not"....seems to me your ***** is with deadbeats. If the room owner sees fit to let them hang around.....who the hell are you to say they should be run off. You have been given information on "action" in your area where you can bet with as many as you want....your response....too far.....I don't know you either, but it sounds as if some of the others here have you pegged dead to rights. You sit on your ass in the room waiting for money to come to you, cause your too lazy or scared to chase it. I am also inclined to believe another posters insight about your willingness to play those that are significantly above your level,,,,,without asking for a ludicrous nut. I think a number of rather talented road players post here.....why don't you offer to play one of them for stakes high enough to warrant their interest.....that should show your sincerity and sate your gambling urge. Untill then, your profession of not wanting to be a jerk.....is falling on deaf ears......Dan
 
is that what you took away from that?

ten people that play pool sitting around the pool room drinking water (to avoid paying for soda/coffee) not practicing (to avoid paying table time)
is the norm at the room i go to.

you can take that for what you want.


oh yeah my local room got air barreled for table time by one of these players 2 days ago.


form your own opinions about it but no matter which way you look at it something isn't right with that picture
I think you're problem is with the room management. Tell them you're a paying customer and you don't like the loitering. Most non-gambling players pay their table time and spend money. You're talking about a small percentage of a normal pool playing population. You're making huge generalizations about what is realistically a majority of players.
 
Having sorted thru the various responses here i am pleased to find most are indifferent to "will I gamble or not"....seems to me your ***** is with deadbeats. If the room owner sees fit to let them hang around.....who the hell are you to say they should be run off. You have been given information on "action" in your area where you can bet with as many as you want....your response....too far.....I don't know you either, but it sounds as if some of the others here have you pegged dead to rights. You sit on your ass in the room waiting for money to come to you, cause your too lazy or scared to chase it. I am also inclined to believe another posters insight about your willingness to play those that are significantly above your level,,,,,without asking for a ludicrous nut. I think a number of rather talented road players post here.....why don't you offer to play one of them for stakes high enough to warrant their interest.....that should show your sincerity and sate your gambling urge. Untill then, your profession of not wanting to be a jerk.....is falling on deaf ears......Dan


i already posted how i bet. if they come through they'll get played. they'll win about a hundred before i quit.

yeah i know i can get action at hard times. i just don't feel like driving a little over an hour just to lose. i could enter in the us open too that doesn't mean i'm in a rush to fly across the country to lose 500.

if you ever see man ask me to play. it's not like you're asking me to go fu*k in the parking lot. if i've got the cash to spare you'll get played.

the last time i went to hard times i played a guy named jessie. i had to talk him into playing and i lost the first 3 sets. i had a good time though and to be honest if we'd played for nothing i'd have left way earlier!

if you think i'm a sh*t talking nit so be it.
 
I think you're problem is with the room management. Tell them you're a paying customer and you don't like the loitering. Most non-gambling players pay their table time and spend money. You're talking about a small percentage of a normal pool playing population. You're making huge generalizations about what is realistically a majority of players.

it's just what i'm exposed to. you're probably right
 
Sad Stories Abound on the subject of Pool ...

That is a SAD STORY. Like the night in the 70's I was working in the local ER, a Code III Ambulance comes in with a stabbing victim, Never ever saw so much blood squirting out of a person. Twenty something year old died of the knife wound to the Aorta. He was trying to collect $20.00 he won, at Bar Pool. Looser did not want to pay up, so he stabbed the Winner!

Back in the late 60's I played a little 8-Ball on Friday nights (payday)at a local Mexican Bar (La Bola Negra). It was a ROUGH joint at times and one night I was in there waiting for a money game while watching two Chicanos playing 8-Ball and the Loser had to put the Quarter in the Slot for the next game. That was it .... a lousy .25 cents bet per game.

As time went by, one of them was angered because they disagreed on who was to put the next Quarter in the Slot and a major fight broke out between these two rascals. Now, that's not as sad as what came next.

The Bartender/Owner stepped from behind the Bar to break up the fight and both of those guys attacked him with Pool Cues and beat him to death right there in front of me.

All over a lousy f**kin Quarter.
 
It might be worth the trip to Hard Times ... ?

i already posted how i bet. if they come through they'll get played. they'll win about a hundred before i quit.

yeah i know i can get action at hard times. i just don't feel like driving a little over an hour just to lose.

Every Friday night (around 8 p.m.) there is a Ring Game at Hard Times which fields a variety of skill levels.

It just might be worth the drive to "Cash" on Fridays.
 
Every Friday night (around 8 p.m.) there is a Ring Game at Hard Times which fields a variety of skill levels.

It just might be worth the drive to "Cash" on Fridays.

i got no chance playing against guys like rafael martinez, jeff gregory, or jim fabanar.

jeff gives me the 7 and robs me. i'd really have no chance now days because i don't play as much as i used to.

are you playing? i might try my luck on payday. you wanna play some cheap after? 20 dollar sets or something?

believe me bro you'll like playing me. even if you lose it'll be worth it to see me squirm while we play
 
Back in the late 60's I played a little 8-Ball on Friday nights (payday)at a local Mexican Bar (La Bola Negra). It was a ROUGH joint at times and one night I was in there waiting for a money game while watching two Chicanos playing 8-Ball and the Loser had to put the Quarter in the Slot for the next game. That was it .... a lousy .25 cents bet per game.

As time went by, one of them was angered because they disagreed on who was to put the next Quarter in the Slot and a major fight broke out between these two rascals. Now, that's not as sad as what came next.

The Bartender/Owner stepped from behind the Bar to break up the fight and both of those guys attacked him with Pool Cues and beat him to death right there in front of me.

All over a lousy f**kin Quarter.


wow! they beat him to death? that's rough! i've seen people get stabbed and shot but that's way rougher.
 
I'm Pretty much done with gamblin' ...

i got no chance playing against guys like rafael martinez, jeff gregory, or jim fabanar.

jeff gives me the 7 and robs me. i'd really have no chance now days because i don't play as much as i used to.

are you playing? i might try my luck on payday. you wanna play some cheap after? 20 dollar sets or something?

believe me bro you'll like playing me. even if you lose it'll be worth it to see me squirm while we play

My gamblin' days are just about over when it comes to Pool, but I will gamble on Pistol Shooting ... any size, shape, caliber, make, model, type of target and distance ... any format or course of fire is fine with me ... It's the only sport where I am still very competitive and will be shooting the USPSA National Championships in October.

If you haven't tried ACTION SHOOTING, you are missing out on a REAL adrenaline rush.
 
am i the only one that feels people should bet something, play someone, or go the f*ck home! i'm tired of walking in and seeing people that play drinking water so they can avoid buying a soda and sitting on the side lines doing nothing

I think that is a ridiculous statement!!! Why should someone have to gamble to be in a pool hall. Why shouldn't they be able to pay for a table and do drills. I would be more than happy to match up with someone for some competition, but I don't gamble at all. Pool ins't a game that should only be enjoyed gambling. If that is the only way you can enjoy it, then it may be time to get some help.
 
Yeah a while back...

is that what you took away from that?

ten people that play pool sitting around the pool room drinking water (to avoid paying for soda/coffee) not practicing (to avoid paying table time)
is the norm at the room i go to.

you can take that for what you want.


oh yeah my local room got air barreled for table time by one of these players 2 days ago.


form your own opinions about it but no matter which way you look at it something isn't right with that picture

I don't usually play for money. But I'll play anyone that I do play even for what I can afford to lose.

I went to meet up and play with an azer a few years ago and after we were done screwing around a local friend of his asked if I wanted to play some. I told him I'd give him the seven playing a race to eleven for table time.

I beat him like 11-2 and he had to go because he had only enough money for the tourney and since he had to pay for our table time, he couldn't stay for the tourney....lol.

I guess he thought getting the seven from me was a lock and he didn't have to worry about the table time...I just happened to play my best game for that set. You never know who you'll get when you play me...of course, I never know who I'll be when you play me either, which is why I rarely gamble...lol

Jaden
 
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I personally do not order food at the local hall and I do not see a problem with that. I have many other options to spend my money on with better quality of food. For those who "avoid buying a soda", maybe they just enjoy consuming water because it is the best (healthiest) drink. Not everyone enjoys drinking soda and alcoholic beverages.

As for the gambling, that is just ridiculous. Like many others have mentioned, if you need to gamble, then play with the other gamblers.
 
I think there's enough room in the pool hall for BOTH gamblers and non-gamblers. I happen to play with both because I enjoy the game at all the various levels. To me it's somewhat therapeutic because pool takes me away from the pressures of work.
 
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