Who Really Invented One Pocket?

[RabbiHippie]

I've got a new book coming out called The Oklahoma Roots of One Pocket which tries to answer the question, "Who invented the game of One Pocket?'

The book will be published and available for purchase later this summer. In the meantime, you can read part of the book for free at One Pocket.org thanks to Steve Booth.

There's also a lively discussion going on in the OnePocket.org forum right now ...

 

[Duane Remick]

I've got a new book coming soon called The Oklahoma Roots of One Pocket which tries to answer the question, "Who invented the game of One Pocket?'

The book will be published and copies available for purchase sometime this summer. In the meantime, you can read part of the book for free at One Pocket.org thanks to Steve Booth.
There's also a lively discuss going on thdkvt the gp
https://onepocket.org/forum/index.php?threads/the-oklahoma-roots-of-one-pocket.432656/

I live in Tulsa.
Was told 1 P Did originate here in Oklahoma.
Called the game " POCKET A PIECE"

 

[GoldCrown]

"Who invented the game of One Pocket?'

I want to meet the person/people and stick my cue up their you know. Pool was simpler... Now it's set traps, turn defense to offense, move, play safe, take a scratch, play for hours and go back for more.. Are you really a Rabbi?

 

[bbb]

RabbiHippie
That was a great read and excellently referenced. Thank you for your hard work.

 

[sjm]

Hayden Lingo often gets the credit for inventing one pocket.

 

[8cree]

Hayden Lingo often gets the credit for inventing one pocket.

Can you elaborate on that at all?

 

[RabbiHippie]

I live in Tulsa.
Was told 1 P Did originate here in Oklahoma.
Called the game " POCKET A PIECE"

If you read the first installment, there's really good evidence for One Pocket beginning right there in your hometown, Tulsa.

I'm not a native Oklahoman myself, but I spent enough time there to really appreciate the heritage of One Pocket that still exists in the game's birthplace. It's like the Blues Trail in Mississippi, playing One Pocket across the state from Magoo's and Sandite in Tulsa to Bill's and Jamaica Joe's (sadly now gone) in Oklahoma City. Smaller towns too, many of them mentioned in the book.

 

[sjm]

Can you elaborate on that at all?

Hayden Lingo - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

He was from Oklahoma City.

 

[RabbiHippie]

Hayden Lingo often gets the credit for inventing one pocket.

That's the short answer most people agree on, but the whole story gets more complicated and a lot more interesting.

Check out the first installment of my book on OnePocket.org. I think you'll enjoy it.

 

[RabbiHippie]

Can you elaborate on that at all?

I've written a whole book elaborating on the inventor of One Pocket. You can read the first installment of The Oklahoma Roots of One Pocket on OnePocket.org.

 

[Brookeland Bill]

I want to meet the person/people and stick my cue top their you know. Pool was simpler... Now it's set traps, turn defense to offense, move, play safe, take a scratch, play for hours and go back for more.. Are you really a Rabbi?

God forbid you would have to think playing one pocket rather than just count to 9 or 10 or identify a solid from a stripe.

 

[sjm]

That's the short answer most people agree on, but the whole story gets more complicated and interesting.

Check out the first installment of my book on OnePocket.org. I think you'll enjoy it.

Yes, that's a good read. Thanks for sharing.

 

[RabbiHippie]

Yes, that's a good read. Thanks for sharing.

I'm glad you appreciated it. That's just the first installment. There's four times as much information in the whole book.

Lots of exciting new discoveries about One Pocket that haven't been published before.

There's an entire section of the book dedicated to Hayden Lingo that covers his pool career from its beginning in the Depression through his years on the road as an "undercover" hustler, all the way up to Johnston City. Lingo's life before the 1960's was mostly a mystery until now.

 

[Pocket Change]

I originally knew the game as "Pocket-A-Piece". We called it the 'Old Man's' game, no insult intended.

 

[GoldCrown]

We called it the 'Old Man's' game, no insult intended.

Damn right and proud of it. My goal is to remember which pocket is mine and I go home happy. Next move is find the car.

 

[RabbiHippie]

Damn right and proud of it. My goal is to remember which pocket is mine and I go home happy. Next move is find the car.

Just use your pants pockets. That's what I do.
If my keys are in my right front pocket, I must be shooting at the right hole. If not, check the left.
Can't find your keys in either pocket? Say "Sorry, I'd like to leave now" and ask your opponent or a sympathetic bystander to call a cab for you.

... Forgot two times in a row the first time I was on a livestream. That and some other senior-type moments had the young gun's head spinning by the end. That's where I first overheard someone in the audience say "Psychological Warfare."

There's a hilarious old book by Stephen Potter called The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship (or the Art of Winning Games without Actually Cheating) that's full of these moves.

 

[GoldCrown]

Just use your pants pockets.

A 1 ear elephant right? Good luck with your book... the fun continues. Are you really a Rabbi?

 

[FunChamp]

I used to play with an older man from New York who played with Larry Hubbard and Sigel when Sigel was about 16. I would have to remind him almost every turn which pocket was his. It would take us an hour a game because he would mostly tell stories rather than shoot. I'd just listen and let him reminisce and not worry about the game.

 

[bbb]

Are you really a Rabbi?

i did a background check and these are the only pics i could find......

 

[RabbiHippie]

A 1 ear elephant right? Good luck with your book... the fun continues. Are you really a Rabbi?

I've been mistaken for one more than once. "Rabbi" means "teacher" so in that sense, yes.