Pool Hall Shorts-"You Never Knew What You Were In For"

You never knew what you were in for when you walked into McGirrs. One night this kid comes in with his pool cue in hand,nothing fancy-just a sneaky Pete which looked like an ordinary house cue. He was a tall lanky built kid of about twenty years old with thick black rimmed glasses. He looked like some preppy nerdy college kid. The regulars swarmed around him like bees on honey. The strange thing about this kid was that under his other arm he was carrying what appeared to be his school books. He sat down in a corner and laid out his books on the table and began to take notes.

One of the regulars finally approached the curious looking young man and asked him “You wanna shoot some after you’re done with your homework sonny?” There was a sudden burst of laughter around the room. The kid looked up at the seasoned player and while adjusting his glasses with one hand continued to write in his notebook without skipping a beat. “Oh this isn’t my homework sir, this is just an experiment I’m working on. Hey, you might even be able to help me with it.”  He then went on to explain that he was a Psychology student working on human behavioral science. He then challenged the older man to a game of 9-ball for five dollars a rack. The older gentleman looked around and happily accepted the young man’s challenge. After about an hour the young man was down by about seventy bucks but he wasn’t too upset about it. Every time he lost a game he wandered back to his table and began to write in his notebook.

The older man, even though he was winning, began to get a bit frustrated. “Hey kid, tear yourself away from that book for a minute and focus on the game-you might just win one!” he snapped. Finally the young man placed his pen in the pocket of his book binder and said,"You wanna shoot a race to seven for two hundred?” The older gentleman just looked at him and was a bit confused.  “I’ve been kicking your tail all night. Why in the world would you raise the bet?” “It’s a theory I am working on. Serious money means serious nerves and I don’t think you have the nerves."

The old man let out a laugh and pulled out a wad of cash the size of a brick. The kid continued to explain his theory by saying that when an older person plays for money his nerves would get the best of him causing him to miss more shots- where a young man had more steady nerves and could win more games even though he was the lesser skilled player. “This is a game of nerves not skills,” he would say.

The old man jumped at the chance to prove the young upstart wrong. Two hundred dollars was nothing to him. “How about we round it off to five hundred then we’ll see who loses their nerves,” the old man said. The kid looked around the crowd with a dumbfounded look on his face. But on the inside this is what he was waiting for all along. “Sure thing pops,” he answered.  The kid approached the table and played magnificent. He managed to play safe on the old man to the point of frustration. When he was well enough in the lead the young man broke out his ‘A’ game and ran the final two tables on the older player. The young man had hustled the hustler. The nerdy kid grabbed his winnings, cue and books and left the pool room leaving the old man broke and confused.

Nope, you never knew what you were in for when you walked into McGirrs.

The Tip Of Week

Cue maintenance.A lot of people use different products to clean their shaft. The worst thing I have come across are those green abrasive pads used for pots and pans. Do you know what they are actually good for? Pots and pans! Not your cue shaft.Because of the abrasiveness it actually takes off some of the wood from your shaft. The way you can  tell that is by feeling the ferrule where it meets with the wood of the shaft. If it is not flush with the wood then you have taken off a half millimeter or more from your shaft.

The best thing I’ve seen on the market for cleaning your cue shaft is Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. You can pick it up in any supermarket or grocery store. You wipe off the dirt with a dry Magic eraser pad. You will see the all the dirt from your shaft appear on the pad as soon as you use it. Then immediately wipe of the residue from your shaft with a dry cloth towel. It cleans the shaft without removing any of the wood.

Another good thing to do is take your shaft(s) to your local cue shop if you have a cue builder in your town (someone reputable), and have them re-seal your shafts. It usually costs about  $15.00 per shaft and it will feel like new.  The best way to maintain a clean shaft is to wipe it down with a clean dry cloth after every rack.  You can also dampen a Magic Eraser pad and gently clean your (Irish linen not leather) cue wrap.  More cue maintenance next week. Shoot straight and true. God bless.

Pool Hall Shorts-”My friend is the reigning Champion of Columbia”

I remember growing up in Brooklyn as a kid.I used to jump on the train and head up to the city, Midtown Manhattan. Forty duce was my hangout. 42^nd street to those of you who are not familiar with the Big Apple. The bright lights and movie marquees were quite an attraction to a young man. Back in the mid 70’s I frequented a pool room called McGirrs. It was located on 45^th St. and 8^th Ave, but at one time resided in the old Roseland Building on Broadway. That was my main hangout and at times I would find myself there till the wee hours of the morning-not as a player but as a spectator. McGirrs was where all of the best money players in the country went to when they hit the Big Apple. Some of the greatest players of that time were often seen winning or losing a bank roll of hundred dollar bills that could choke a horse. And the tables….what beautiful tables they were! Old Brunswick tables from the forties and fifties. They had so many cigarette burns on them that it looked like part of the design. Hustlers and gentlemen players of the game, people from all walks of life (or so they appeared to be) could be found there playing anything from 8-ball to 3 cushion billiards for money. A lot of these people wore some kind of masquerade to hide their true identities. You could never tell who was a true hustler and who was not-at least not by the way they dressed. Some wore flashy clothes and others were less conspicuous and just wore torn tee shirts and jeans. One thing for sure, there was a lot of money floating around that pool room, especially during a match. Side bets were a very common practice during a money game. It’s funny how people say ‘ Private money games’ when there was nothing private about it! They even had a 6 x 12 foot Snooker table that was used to play Golf Pool for a hundred bucks a head. That place was right out of the movie ‘The Hustler’.It was great. By the late 70’s or early 80’s the place was finally closed down after being infested with pimps, hookers, drug dealers and junkies. There was never exactly a family atmosphere at McGirrs, but after a while it became too unsavory a place for even the common hustler. No one wanted to take a chance of walking out of there with a big win and a thick wad of cash in their pockets only to have it removed from them by some crazy junkie waiting for them outside. I remember watching a 3 cushion billiard match with this gentleman from Mexico. He was incredible and was wiping up the floor with the local competition. Finally, this other Hispanic gentleman played him and gave him quite a thrashing. The Mexican gentleman was beside himself. His fellow countrymen who had accompanied him  said to the other players friends who were rooting for their man…”Do you know who your friend just beat? This is the reigning Champion of Mexico!” he said. The other gentleman looked at him with a smile and replied…”My friend is the reigning Champion of Columbia”.

 I had seen lots of matches played in that pool room but that is another story for my blog. Until then, keep shooting straight and true! God Bless!

Bob (The Shark)

Pool Hall Shorts- Stories of the Pool life

I was born and raised in NYC, home to some of the greatest pool players in the country.

One in particular was an unknown pool player by the name of James Walker. We all knew him affectionately as Pops. Pops ran a pool hall in a remote part of Brooklyn N.Y. He was a seventy five year old African American and round as a ball. He couldn’t get down on a shot very well because his stomach protruded so far out it became an obstruction for him. That still did not hinder him from shooting pool -and he was great! Pops was amazing. I remembered the cue he played with was a cheap ten dollar one from Models Sport Shop. I learned so much from that old man. He gave me a lot of free table time. Back then it cost $2.00 an hour to play. I would brush down all of his tables (about thirty of them), just for some free table time. One night this guy we used to call Cowboy came in and started playing straight pool to 125 points with Pops for money. I think maybe $50.00 bucks a game. As the night went on they were going back and forth, Pops would win one, then Cowboy would win another game. It wasn’t real pool unless an argument broke out and boy, they did argue. Over shots, misses, even the weather-anything they could think of. Finally, Cowboy made a fatal error and said the wrong thing.”How about you put your Cady up against mine?” It was the mid 70’s and both men drove new Cadillac’s. Pops had a mint green Fleetwood and Cowboy drove a dark blue Eldorado. Pops could not pass up this opportunity. “Sure,” he said with his renowned giggle behind it. Pops was always giggling about something. Like he knew something you didn’t. They finally started shooting and after a series of safety play they were both tied zip to zip. Cowboy finally drew first blood with a run of thirty something then locked himself up after a failed break shot. Pops played a safety on Cowboy leaving him a hard shot which he missed. Pops moved in for the kill. As he stepped up to the table he gave out that little annoying giggle of his and ran out 125 for the win. Back then when you made a bet that size you honored it and paid up. Cowboy tossed his car keys to Pops and said,”We’ll do the paperwork tomorrow.” Pops put the keys in his cash register and reached in and pulled out a subway token and tossed it to Cowboy."Hey Cowboy, the train ride is on me,” he said in between giggles. Yes, I did learn a lot from Pops. My most valued lesson was never play him for money! I miss that old man. I have atop the entrance to my poolroom at home a sign that simply reads “Pops Poolroom” My kids think that it means my poolroom but it is actually a homage to that wonderful old man who taught me the game of pool in its truest form. After some time Pops became just too old to take care of his business and closed down. I never saw him again. Where ever you are Pops, thanks for all the great times and for all the valuable lessons.

Tip of the Week

 

Dealing with Mr. Shaky

I play in two different pool leagues-Tuesday night APA and Wednesday night BCA.I also play in some of the local tournaments in my town. One problem I am sure EVERYONE has come across is Mr. Shaky(NERVES). Well, don’t beat yourself up over it. EVERYONE suffers from that pesky rascal. Even the pros. I heard that Philippine's great Francisco Bustamante once broke and ran 14 racks of 9 ball in a row during practice. Now how is it that he can do that during practice but never in a match? NERVES. Everyone has them-especially when you’re playing for fifty grand! It doesn’t matter if you’re playing for fifty grand or fifty bucks or for your league team. It’s natural to experience a little shakiness during competition. Tony Robles once said about playing with Mr. Shaky, "Make sure that you know that your true opponent is the table, not the person you’re playing against."

What I do when Mr. Shaky infiltrates my body during a shot is stop dead in my tracks. I stand up from my stance, take a deep breath, shake my arms and get back down on my shot. I then execute it with a renewed confidence. If you’re really beside yourself and the nerves get too bad, try pinching yourself between your thumb and forefinger as hard as you can stand it. Its sought of like when you’re driving half asleep and you suddenly smack yourself in the face to wake up. It works along the same principle. If you’re in a tavern, where most league play is held, have a glass of wine or a beer to help settle your nerves. If you don’t drink…go to the restroom and wash your face with cold water.

If all fails…smack yourself in the face and snap out of it!

That is my tip of the week!

Bob (The Shark)