Work is the curse of the drinking classes.

I work the late shift... scheduled to leave an hour before we close. Often times since it's late, there's me and 1 or 2 other people... so I stick around for an hour or so to help out.
Because of this, and playing league, people have found out my dark secret... and it spread like wild fire here in this casual work place I call hell.

So this most recent independence day eve there was a bit of a get together at a local bar with a bunch of the folk from my hell.

The bar had 2 unmanaged bar box tables and I was called out to play.
The guy (for this, aka Chris Rock) I was pitted up against knew I played, and he's been calling me out for a few weeks... if not a month or 2 now.

So we get enough change for 4 games... We flip, I break, come up dry.

 

~~~~~~~~ Please hold ~~~~~~~~~~~

Before I continue this part... I need to point something out. I was talking about good pool halls and bad pool halls with someone about 6 months ago. He said something that kinda stuck with me...

"I go to [insert pool hall here] to play pool and drink, I go here to drink and play pool. Only a player can know what I mean."

Well... I arrived at this gathering to drink.

~~~~~~~~ Thanks for waiting ~~~~~~~

 

So I'm a shot and a pitcher in the bag when I break the first rack. I easily miss the next 15 or so shots, and lose the first game. Then the 2nd game is a loss and I'm racking the 3rd... this is about the time that I realize I should probably win at least once.

So I set the beer down, decide to actually examine the house stick I'm playing with (Turns out it's 3 ounces heavier than I'm used to, but the tip has a great shape to it... so I keep it)
Since the tip is decent I realize that every time I had been attempted to draw the ball, and it just stops dead.... it's a heavier cue ball. Duh... beer influenced this delay of discovery for sure.

The 3rd game comes down to my 1 ball and the 8 ball... Chris Rock had 3 left, I think... I miss but safe him, he misses... I win.
I noticed there were a couple people analyzing the shots and discussing it between each other... when I saw them my VERY first thought was Abercrombie & Finch. Well, Abercrombie was telling Finch something... it almost looked like they were watching us to see if we would be good to gamble against, but it could have been nothing. The juke was too loud to really hear what they were saying anyway.
4th game... I win again.

So we're tied 2x2 and we're outta coins. We call it good and we'll play some other day.

....... 4 drinks later.......

The people discussing our game decide they want to play. The game is doubles... 8 ball... bar rules.
They wanted to play for drinks. I tell them that we just got a fresh pitcher... so let's play a rack and if the pitcher is empty when the 8 ball drops, we'll play for drinks. They agreed.

So I end up breaking, 2 solids fall, I make one and play an iffy safe... Abercrombie comes up, swings and a miss... Chris Rock takes a shot, misses... then Fitch comes up, runs the table.

Everyone claps... we decided not to play doubles for drinks.

Then we just drank a lot and drove it off.

The rematch will happen, one day.

 

 

 

Random side note, I was getting gas yesterday and pulled around this brigade of cops arresting a biker. No idea what he did but that's not the point.

The point is that he is 1 man... and they needed 10 cops. Maybe he robbed a doughnut shop?

Pool, Gambling, Drinking...

Tuesday night I show up, and I get a single warm up game. I rack, he breaks, we go back and forth... I have a run available, so I go for it. I miss on the 2nd from the 8. My practice opponent wins this practice game.

>>I play pool. I love it, if you couldn't tell. I also play poker. And I'm not too bad at it. Better at pool, but I can definitely stay at the table even if I'm not getting the right cards. If you play, you know what I mean.

Since I moved, I haven't played a single hand of cards... unless it was a drinking game, which isn't poker... so it doesn't count.

I've been searching for a casino, or better yet, a house game to be able to buy in, and walk away with a couple of earned dollars.

No such luck.>>

League calls for a race to 3.

I shake hands with Teddy, or whatever his name was... and he confirms my skill level. He confirms incorrectly... almost 3 levels above my current status. After correcting him he mentions "Wow, you were playing like a pro earlier"

Teddy, teddy.. teddy.

I'm not a pro. I'm not above the highest skill in this league. I win, and I lose... just like everyone else. Perhaps, one day... you'll be able to ask for my signature... and I'll say "sure, here ya' go"

but that's not going to happen any time soon.

My next thought is "he trying to shark me?"

So we lag, I take the lag... and I let this little thought get to my head during the first rack... and he wins it.

Then it comes to mind something that I've read on a blog I link to.... we're not pro's, we're hacks. It doesn't matter if you're a 2 and I'm a 7... neither of us are pro's so it really doesn't matter.

In the 2nd rack I had a cluster just above the 8. I decided to break out a ball from the cluster and play safe behind my 11. I screwed it up TERRIBLY...

I over drew the cueball, made the ball and got position for the 11 in the corner. Damn sandbaggers.

I take this rack and then I take the next 2.

1-3 Rabbit

>>After the league matches came to a close another player on my team invites me to a poker game.

Who am I to say no?

Apparently the game was already in progress for a couple of hours, there's supposed to be about 20 people total... and it's a cheap buy in.

I sit down at the table across from a guy I'm going to call Bonnie.

Wind breaker, super tight jeans, a shirt you can find ONLY in a gift shop and seriously had a pack of cigarettes rolled up in his sleeve as if we were in nam, all over again. Oh, and a mullet.My ninja camera skillzz came in handy.

The guy was over confident, and LOVED to call bluffs. I like these players... they're easy to read, and easier to take money from.

What I couldn't understand is why the other 6 people at my table weren't reading the same thing. They were throwing their money into the pot like Converse was going out of style.

I was going to stay and become the last man sitting, but I decided I had to work the next day. Cashed out early and walked away with more than 10x the buy in amount.

Not bad for 2 hours worth of sittin' on my ass.

Gambling is more fun than playing for free

Overall League Record

Tuesday	L	L	W	Future	Future	Future
Thursday	W	W	W	Bye	Future	Future

[Picture goes here... reader... you don't see this. Ignore it until there's a picture here.] Tuesday was league. Not a spectacular display of talent during the match.

I was spotting a game in a race to 3. She won 1, won 2, then I rattled the 8 and she ran 3 balls, then out. Rightfully so, she did play a better game. I was too aggressive and lost. 1 reason why I hate this game.

2-2 She wins

Before the match I was playing with a guy on my team that is a bit better than I am. He plays lock up safeties, so we'll call him The Professor. In 9ball, he'd spot me the 8 to make it even. We hit around 2 racks into the pockets... mostly by lucky position and chance safes. Nothing was going as planned for either of us.

So The Professor asks if I wanted to play for something cheap. Maybe a race to three for $5. So I say sure and we play a rack... I win. 1-0

Meanwhile another team member is working to arrive at the pool hall and play the last match of the night, instead of forfeiting the 5th game.

After our first game he shows up and we step aside and let him warm up. After The Professor finished his nacho's... our 2nd rack began. He wins. 1-1

Match time... I go spot a game and she wins, as mentioned.

over the next hour Professor and I play 2 more racks, and now we're tied at 2-2

He's not playing his A game, and I'm not really... so we decide to delay it until next league night, Tuesday.

This was my first 1 vs. 1 gambling thing.

I decided I really like to gamble on my game. It was cheap, but it was a TON more fun. I was no longer just "showing off" my developed skill. Now I was getting paid for it. I didn't focus on the game any more intently when I was gambling, I just played the table. 1 shot at a time, it was nice... relaxing in a way. "Relieving" might be a better word.

Completely opposite what I expected. I figured that I'd get tense and stressed out and bobble easy shots. If anything I focused more under the "pressure" of losing money. If it was $1 I wouldn't care and it would be a simple game for fun. $5... I can make purchase of a full meal (lunch). Or I could buy his lunch. I'd rather he bought mine.

Point is... I like it, and I'm not going to stop any time soon. But I'm not going to go out playing $100 racks or anything crazy like that either.

Yet.