OT: Efren Reyes - the best ever [video]
- Thread starter MtNittany
- Start date
I try to watch a lot of Lorie John Jones and Jeanette Lee
I like snooker, and completely understand it. I just don't get a chance to play it very often (like hardly ever), so I like watching what I can play. I have a nice Brunswick and host local golf bums (had Calc here once). We play 8 ball w/ modified bar rules. The table is 4x8 and outside w/ sunbrella fabric on the slate. You can hear the ocean at night (or the Allman Brothers). 9 ball is luck imo. It's impressive to run a rack, but it's still a lot of luck. Straight pool is the best, but who has time for that. 8 ball is the perfect compromise imo.So I don't get flagged:
Here's the table. It holds up well in the weather (w/ or w/out the cover). I actually pressure clean it. The Sunbrella doesn't flinch. The wood is cherry and while I'm doing it no favors, it's holding up fine. The 4x8 size fits the patio perfectly, but makes for a lot of left-handed or behind the back shots.
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9 ball can be a game of luck for us duffers, but it is a thing of beauty to watch truly great players play the game.
As I mentioned in another thread, the St Louis area where I am at is a pool hotbed and there are a lot of great players in the area. When I first got here, I played in an in-house pool league with an 11 year old Justin Bergman and he was already better at 11 than most players ever get to be in their entire lives. His father was a pool fanatic and he had Justin taking lessons from former pro Mark Wilson who used to broadcast matches on ESPN back in the 90s. Just a beautiful, sweet stroke. He just had to develop an adult temperament to go with his adult pool game.
I call pool chess with sticks and you can get humbled very quick when you run up against someone that is a great player. We had a local pool hot spot called The Break (now out of business) in Cahokia, IL. One night, a backer brought in a guy from Chicago to play a local big gun (Mountain Man) who was also financially backed. They were playing one pocket for $500 a game. Mountain man looked like a bum, but he made his living playing pool. He literally bought a new pair of shoes for every match he played, I guess for the grip. Watching those guys play dispelled any notion I ever had of being a good player!
I don't know if you notice it, but there seems to be less top end pool players now than there used to be. I think people are spending more time playing electronics now rather than actually playing the physical games. Pool may be considered to be a lower class activity, but there is definitely a correlation between intelligence and ability at the table.
Justin Bergman: https://www.azbilliards.com/people/4200-justin-bergman/
Mark Wilson: https://playgreatpool.com/
As I mentioned in another thread, the St Louis area where I am at is a pool hotbed and there are a lot of great players in the area. When I first got here, I played in an in-house pool league with an 11 year old Justin Bergman and he was already better at 11 than most players ever get to be in their entire lives. His father was a pool fanatic and he had Justin taking lessons from former pro Mark Wilson who used to broadcast matches on ESPN back in the 90s. Just a beautiful, sweet stroke. He just had to develop an adult temperament to go with his adult pool game.
I call pool chess with sticks and you can get humbled very quick when you run up against someone that is a great player. We had a local pool hot spot called The Break (now out of business) in Cahokia, IL. One night, a backer brought in a guy from Chicago to play a local big gun (Mountain Man) who was also financially backed. They were playing one pocket for $500 a game. Mountain man looked like a bum, but he made his living playing pool. He literally bought a new pair of shoes for every match he played, I guess for the grip. Watching those guys play dispelled any notion I ever had of being a good player!
I don't know if you notice it, but there seems to be less top end pool players now than there used to be. I think people are spending more time playing electronics now rather than actually playing the physical games. Pool may be considered to be a lower class activity, but there is definitely a correlation between intelligence and ability at the table.
Justin Bergman: https://www.azbilliards.com/people/4200-justin-bergman/
Mark Wilson: https://playgreatpool.com/
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I'll always play pool. I always have. Happy that I can do it here. It's a mental exercise like golf that shows you what you have inside. You gonna run that rack and miss the long, straight in 8 or 9 ball shot because of a twenty dollar bill? Or are you going to hit it just a little harder to make sure it gets buried? It's fun! I play 50 racks/week probably.
St. Louis is a pool mecca. Are there any old pool halls still around?
On the Illinois side of the river, most of the old pool halls are closed, but there are a few good places like 5th Street in Dupo which is relatively new, and 5 Star is still going up in Troy.
On the Missouri side, most of the better pool halls are still open like The Pink Galleon, Teachers, The Cue, and The Cue and Cushion. They even have 24 hour places like Kenny's where you can find a game 24/7.
For league, I prefer to stay on the Illinois side of the river, as I still have to drag myself to work the next day and don't want long drives or a late night.
We have absolutely NOTHING like any of these places in SoFla. You don't have beaches though, so...
It's why I bought this table (a $2K table if it's perfect) for $150 on FB. I did all the bumpers and the table. The bumpers were a bitch because Sunbrella doesn't stretch like felt does. It's like trying to upholster w/ kevlar. Got it done though. The surface floats (no adhesive). It will have bubbles in it after a rain but when the sun hits it, it tightens up. It's very fast. One downside is if I leave balls out there, they degrade in a month. I need a polisher, but don't want to pay for a good one. I have 10 racks of balls that are fine, but just faded to where you can't tell the 3 from the 5.
It's why I bought this table (a $2K table if it's perfect) for $150 on FB. I did all the bumpers and the table. The bumpers were a bitch because Sunbrella doesn't stretch like felt does. It's like trying to upholster w/ kevlar. Got it done though. The surface floats (no adhesive). It will have bubbles in it after a rain but when the sun hits it, it tightens up. It's very fast. One downside is if I leave balls out there, they degrade in a month. I need a polisher, but don't want to pay for a good one. I have 10 racks of balls that are fine, but just faded to where you can't tell the 3 from the 5.
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I'm a bit partial to Jennifer Barretta....I know, I know...flag. I need to learn to post a pic.I try to watch a lot of Lorie John Jones and Jeanette Lee
So I don't get flagged:
Here's the table. It holds up well in the weather (w/ or w/out the cover). I actually pressure clean it. The Sunbrella doesn't flinch. The wood is cherry and while I'm doing it no favors, it's holding up fine. The 4x8 size fits the patio perfectly, but makes for a lot of left-handed or behind the back shots.
Glad to know there are a few pool lovers on this board. I have been playing since my teen years and love the game. Got a used 9 ft Gandy in my basement that I bought cheap from a local pool hall that went out of business. Would love a new 9 ft Diamond but probably won't ever pull the trigger on one.
Earl and Efren matches are classic. Did you see that epic race to 120 that was showcased about 20 years ago. Amazing match!
Justin Bergman was the first person selected for the next Mosconi Cup against the Europeans.
Team USA captain Jones was pleased to see Bergman as his side’s automatic qualifier and believes the Illinois man is a perfect fit for the roster.
“Bergman is one hell of a player, many have considered him one of the top three in the US for some time,” said Jones. “It was good for me and good for Joey that he was at the top of the rankings, it worked out a good deal for USA.
“Some might say he is a quiet guy, but when he speaks it’s exactly what needs to be said. He has an incredible mind and has competed at a high level in big tournaments since he was a junior. He always wants to play as well as the game will allow and last year sometimes didn’t get the opportunities.”
Kansas City has trick shot champion Paul Gerni who used to have an office next to mine. He played DB at Purdue. One day, he knocks on my door (knowing I’m a Steelers fan) and says “hey, let’s give Rocky a call, it his birthday.” Next thing I know I’m having a conversation with one of my childhood heroes, Rocky Bleier (ND) who he became friends with during their playing days.
Off the billiard topic, but as you mentioned him, Rocky Blier's book Fighting Back was a good read. I read it as a teen during those amazing "dynasty years".
Same here. I'm 75 yrs old and play 4-5 times a week for several hours. I still love the game and it's huge down here on the Gulf Coast Four sizeable billiard places within 20 minutes. I remember playing at both the Billiard Room on College avenue and the Golden 8 ball on Beaver back in the sixties
One more Justin Bergman link from January 2021. Nothing spectacular, but I thought some hard-core pool players might enjoy listening to a professional pool player/gambler shooting the sh!t for 40 minutes with a friend that owns a pool hall. What I find interesting is that he is as likely to play a match for $50 as he is for $50,000. Topics run the gamut from talking about local St. Louis/East IL side shooters to shooting against some big names for money and about what were some potential gambling matchups being bandied about at the time.
As I mentioned above, I played in a league with Justin back when he was 11 and was being taught by Mark Wilson. I actually played as a teammate with him when he was 13 or 14 in a handicapped ball count 8-ball league where we won (not much thanks to me!) and took home a couple of grand a piece. The kid was lights out even at that age.
There was another kid on that team about 3 years older than Justin that was also training with Mark Wilson that was almost as good as Justin was. Just a beautiful, soft, buttery stroke. The kid was really smart and a good student and took the pharmacists school route instead of pursuing the life of a pool player.
What a stroke of luck to be stationed in this area almost 26 years ago. It really is a pool hotbed here.
As I mentioned above, I played in a league with Justin back when he was 11 and was being taught by Mark Wilson. I actually played as a teammate with him when he was 13 or 14 in a handicapped ball count 8-ball league where we won (not much thanks to me!) and took home a couple of grand a piece. The kid was lights out even at that age.
There was another kid on that team about 3 years older than Justin that was also training with Mark Wilson that was almost as good as Justin was. Just a beautiful, soft, buttery stroke. The kid was really smart and a good student and took the pharmacists school route instead of pursuing the life of a pool player.
What a stroke of luck to be stationed in this area almost 26 years ago. It really is a pool hotbed here.
