I bought Byrne's Standard Book of Pool and Billards in 88 shortly after getting into the army at 19. We had a table in our family basement which I played alot when young but it mostly became my father's storage table :frown: I played bumper pool in basic training on maybe 3 occasions where we had a few hours to the rec room (lucky I had 3 times) and my mind was fascinated for some reason at angle deflection banks and controlling ball movement. So at my first unit I bought that book.
A year later, I got stationed at Ft. Campbell KY and started shooting pool in the rec room there and also at Showboat(and arcade/pool hall) outside the main gates in Clarksville. I met an ex-pro player(or atleast that's what he told me) there who was always showing young people how to play. I ended up becoming his "short term" protege and he taught me how to improve on some flaws I had. He told me his nickname was the "Silver Bullet". Whether or not this was true I don't know because as a 21 yr old my youthful pride didn't care to remember his name. But I can tell you all this... he was GOOD :shocked:
First few days that I was able to come there and shoot with him he would ask me every game if I wanted a shot during that game. And I always told him, "If you can beat me then beat me, but I promise I'll beat you soon enough" and he'd smile then run the table out on me. Every shot he'd take his time look at the shot, chalk his cue, tap his cue on the table (knocking off excess chalk I assumed) and then shooting. Well it wasn't until the 2nd day that I got around to that lil pool hall and here he was going thru the same routine as before..looking at the shot, chalking his cue, tapping his cue on the table, and this time I saw some chalk get on the felt so I guess I was right about that. No. I was wrong. After hitting his shot perfect the cue ball rolled right on top of where that chalk spot was. My jaw hit the floor. I didn't say anything at the time, because it could've been luck. So I watched patiently for several games without shooting and after every tap on the table....the resulting cueball would end up right where he tapped it! :bow-down: I immediately was asking how he controlled it so well. He abruptly stopped and looked at me curiously and said, "I'm impressed, you're the first one who I'd call a beginner that's ever figured out that tapping."
From there on I mostly just practiced by myself. I wonder if that old guy is still around and if he'd remember me. But that's my lil story
Will
