Any TBH Billiards Players?

[Bama]

Yep

[MadHatter]

Yeah, I know who all em them are, been around all of them except Ewa.
Most all are still around.
Allen and Buddy are getting on up there in age now.
Both became Hall of Famers.
It's now called the Space City Open.
One of the neat things about pool is you can rub shoulders with the greatest of the great and it's no big thing.
Everyone just hangs out in a room together.

[MadHatter]

Charles Wilhite

Beautiful blank.
What pin you putting in there?

[MadHatter]

I was actually kidding. I have worked had to NOT be Fargo rated. Played a year of BCA league last year. They misspelled my name or something

LMAO .
You do understand some things

[Bama]

Its stabilized redwood but yes he is putting something in the core I don't remember what . but its going to have Blackwood points and ivory inlays. this is his co.pant

https://www.rhinocues.com

[gatt40]

I started playing at the age of 14 in pool halls. By the time I finished college I was traveling between Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Louisiana & Mississippi. Ran with a guy named Lance Meek, aka Wolf. One of the best non professional money players in the late 70’s/80’s. He played the likes of Effrin Reyes, Buddy Hall, and “ Red” who owned a well know pool hall in Pasadena, Texas. These were big money games. Usually played after hours before 24 hr billiards clubs became the norm. I can say I was good and made plenty of cash, but he was way above my level. 9 ball was the game back then. Finally gave it up for the most part after my 1st son was born. I still have an original Meucci cue I played with that was appraised at $1500 back 1992. I remember those times as hard and scary. If you know pool you know there really wasn’t any hustle like in the movies. You walked into a place and you knew the players and they knew you. It was all about getting the money right and getting the right game. Sometimes it was very humbling to be in a game where you just watch a guy run rack after rack after rack without you ever getting a shot. You watch him take your stake so quickly you feel stupid for getting into a game. You quickly know when to pull up when the guy your playing starts giving you from the 5 ball out and all the breaks. That’s the game you don’t want & believe me there are plenty of guys out there that would give you that game. You might as well just hand over your money when you walk in than play. I miss those days. It just got a little dangerous. I don’t mean drunk cowboy types. I mean guys that played you with a backers money and the backers were seedy individuals that didn’t like loosing. The players with a banker don’t have any pressure to win. It wasn’t there money. I usually played with my money and that was pressure. As good as I thought I was , I never got rich. Too hard to make a living that way. It was a business.

[MadHatter]

If you like to read, any of you that like pool, should pic up R.A Dyers book, "Hustler Days".
It's beautifully written book, about factual people, and accounts of the early days, but written more like a novel.
It winds pool from 20s - 80s, through the lives of 3 of the greatest players ever.
Luthy Wimpy Lassiter, Houstons very own Jersey Red(Jack Breit), and Minnesota Fats.
It revolves loosely around the Janscos and the "Hustlers Jamboree", and gives you the history behind our modern version of it, The Derby City Classic.

[Bama]

Yeah, I know who all em them are, been around all of them except Ewa.
Most all are still around.
Allen and Buddy are getting on up there in age now.
Both became Hall of Famers.
It's now called the Space City Open.
One of the neat things about pool is you can rub shoulders with the greatest of the great and it's no big thing.
Everyone just hangs out in a room together.

Yes Keith McReady was there as well he had serious money betting, I was a broke 20 year old had never seen anyone break out 10k just to gamble with lol

[Bama]

I started playing at the age of 14 in pool halls. By the time I finished college I was traveling between Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Louisiana & Mississippi. Ran with a guy named Lance Meek, aka Wolf. One of the best non professional money players in the late 70’s/80’s. He played the likes of Effrin Reyes, Buddy Hall, and “ Red” who owned a well know pool hall in Pasadena, Texas. These were big money games. Usually played after hours before 24 hr billiards clubs became the norm. I can say I was good and made plenty of cash, but he was way above my level. 9 ball was the game back then. Finally gave it up for the most part after my 1st son was born. I still have an original Meucci cue I played with that was appraised at $1500 back 1992. I remember those times as hard and scary. If you know pool you know there really wasn’t any hustle like in the movies. You walked into a place and you knew the players and they knew you. It was all about getting the money right and getting the right game. Sometimes it was very humbling to be in a game where you just watch a guy run rack after rack after rack without you ever getting a shot. You watch him take your stake so quickly you feel stupid for getting into a game. You quickly know when to pull up when the guy your playing starts giving you from the 5 ball out and all the breaks. That’s the game you don’t want & believe me there are plenty of guys out there that would give you that game. You might as well just hand over your money when you walk in than play. I miss those days. It just got a little dangerous. I don’t mean drunk cowboy types. I mean guys that played you with a backers money and the backers were seedy individuals that didn’t like loosing. The players with a banker don’t have any pressure to win. It wasn’t there money. I usually played with my money and that was pressure. As good as I thought I was , I never got rich. Too hard to make a living that way. It was a business.

Everything you just said was me in the 90s I knew everyone states over that was a good player. I did take a bet from a player I didn't know but assumed he was good just didn't knowhow good but a race to 7 playing 9 ball I got 3 shots in the set and none of them was a shot I could make lol.

[MadHatter]

I started playing at the age of 14 in pool halls. By the time I finished college I was traveling between Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Louisiana & Mississippi. Ran with a guy named Lance Meek, aka Wolf. One of the best non professional money players in the late 70’s/80’s. He played the likes of Effrin Reyes, Buddy Hall, and “ Red” who owned a well know pool hall in Pasadena, Texas. These were big money games. Usually played after hours before 24 hr billiards clubs became the norm. I can say I was good and made plenty of cash, but he was way above my level. 9 ball was the game back then. Finally gave it up for the most part after my 1st son was born. I still have an original Mueci cue I played with that was appraised at $1500 back 1992. I remember those times as hard and scary. If you know pool you know there really wasn’t any hustle like in the movies. You walked into a place and you knew the players and they knew you. It was all about getting the money right and getting the right game. Sometimes it was very humbling to be in a game where you just watch a guy run rack after rack after rack without you ever getting a shot. You watch him take your stake so quickly you feel stupid for getting into a game. You quickly know when to pull up when the guy your playing starts giving you from the 5 ball out and all the breaks. That’s the game you don’t want & believe me there are plenty of guys out there that would give you that game. You might as well just hand over your money when you walk in than play. I miss those days. It just got a little dangerous. I don’t mean drunk cowboy types. I mean guys that played you with a backers money and the backers were seedy individuals that didn’t like loosing. The players with a banker don’t have any pressure to win. It wasn’t there money. I usually played with my money and that was pressure. As good as I thought I was , I never got rich. Too hard to make a living that way. It was a business.

It's virtually impossible even for the best of the best.
Pool is the most bankrupt sport that exist if I had to guess.
If you're not top 5 in the entire world, you're probably not covering living expenses.
Not to bust your bubble was Lance wasn't even that good a shortstop unless you can point me otherwise.
Anyone can match up with anyone at any given time in pool, there are no rules.
Nothing separates you from the best like in other sports, because the best are just broke fools like you and me .
So while he may have matched up with them, the game was never even, and regardless of the spot he came out for the worse.
I know the game very intricately and he wasn't anywhere near that skillevel.
The game is known, as you mentioned, and you would be hard pressed to find him mentioned.
Your game and stroke can only be hid so long.
Beat the wrong player at the wrong time, and the game can queer on you.
It's virtually impossible to hide anymore.
FB, Social Media, the internet all killed it.
Now you can walk into a bar in California, someone can snap a picture of you, blast it on few big platforms in the pool community, and 5 minutes later know what kinda food you feed your dog .
Brutal.
Pretty spot on, on the money.
It's wild!
Guys will have pimps backing them, cartel money, robbery money, and millions.
You never know where it's coming from until you show up.
9 times out of 10, there are guns involved.
Everybody knows, nobody cares, 95% of the time it's a chill atmosphere.
Cash is all that matters.
Things are night and day different though between now and even 10 yrs ago.
And it's getting cut up so bad, it's hard to wrap your mind around it.
They make our Government look like children.
If there's a true underbelly it's pool players.
I watched my best friend get drug around a parking lot until most the skin on his legs was gone.
He fired a air barrel, and they got him.
Nothing I could do, they all had guns, so I watched.
It's fascinating to me, the way they live, who they are, how their mind works.

[MadHatter]

Yes Keith McReady was there as well he had serious money betting, I was a broke 20 year old had never seen anyone break out 10k just to gamble with lol

The "Earthquake ", possibly the craziest, of em all. When he was in gear, nobody alive had to like it, and most didn't.
Could have been a all time great and to some extent is, but he gave it up a little to late.
Career was like a long bottlerocket, and tournaments really weren't his style.
Known for betting as high as you could, and playing as long as you could, while being as high as you could be.
Hence "Keither on the Ether".
Guy was flying as high as he could while playing pool.
Go watch some of his matches .
Like Big Train from Houston.
Stay up 5 days straight on speed, and after that 4th day, nobody on earth wanted any of his game.
He would literally never miss.
Keith is alive and well though, married to someone that really loves him, and takes care of him.
He makes appearances from time to and occasionally plays in tournaments.
I've had the pleasure of watching him many times over the yrs.

[Hart8]

Funny you ask!

dumb question: why do guys put chalk on the cue after every shot? what does the chalk do?

I sent this thread to my mother in-law last night.She said we we were worrying,or thinking..She said when a pocket knife comes out,and starts whittling the tip? You got em beat.She's been a card dealer for forty years.Never met anyone who can read people,like her..She likes me btw!lol

[tmurray]

I keep coming back to this thread, so glad I bumped it. I'm fascinated with the stories and even rented Color of Money last night, had never seen it.

Good stuff guys, keep it coming!

[Bama]

This thread makes me want to go home and watch The Color of Money tonight

Been a long time since I've played.

Lol I watched it again while I was off Christmas it had been probably 20 yrs lol

[FatRedDrum]

Have any of y’all watched The Hustler? The Color of Money is kind of a sequel to it. It’s really great even if you don’t love pool. Pool Hall Junkies is another pretty decent one. Not nearly the same caliber of acting but, pretty good if you like pool or been around it much.