Pool Tales Part Four - The Pool Hall
and went for a table brush. I removed the vomit. When he returned, he stood over the place where the vomit had been and started brushing the spot. He never seemed perplexed. He didn't ask questions. When he finished brushing, he waited for his dime, and racked the balls. Appropriately deflated, we continued our game.
I was not of legal age to play pool when I started hanging out at the pool hall, so I just watched. I knew to keep my mouth shut. The old men played one-pocket most of the time. I learned very quickly that there was a time to shoot balls in the pocket, and a time to simply maneuver them into a favorable position. This is true for all games of pool. Making a single ball seemed of little interest to them, and they invested many turns at the table removing balls from near the opponents pocket. They had to bank or kick most of their shots, which meant they were extremely skilled at using rails to their advantage. At some point during the game, one of the players would see an opportunity to take the offensive. It was usually all over then. Running eight balls into the same pocket was no great feat once the balls were in position, and their opponent had left an opening.
When I was old enough to play myself, I asked Mousie to teach me pool. He agreed, but required that I play him for money. "If you want to learn this game, you got to have a reason to win. You gotta learn to sink the money ball under pressure". He was right.
I played him for a dollar a game, and always lost. But he never took more than a few dollars from me. He made me stop, simply saying I had lost enough, and that I had to learn when to quit. That is hard advice for a young man to take, but there is none better. During my 40 years of pool playing, I have never been hustled out of a significant amount of money. I knew when I was shooting a better player, and I wasn't too proud to back off. My fear of losing money kept me from becoming a good pool player. But then again, I had a family and other interests in life. Mousie probably knew I would.
I don't remember any of the old men
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