how did you get into one pocket?

[evergruven]

hi all
I realize this question is probably an old one
but I'm so used to "how did you get into pool?"
I figure picking up 1p could be unique enough
plus I love reading all the stories here ^_^

personally, a few years ago I started really getting into pool
games I had been familiar with, mostly eight-ball, then nine
graduated from bars to making my way to the local pool hall
and I noticed the "real players" were playing neither 8 nor 9
it was a wacky-looking game, but fascinating..
so much going on, just a 4-5 inch gap the ultimate target
the seed had been planted

not all players watch pro pool
but when it comes to things I like
for entertainment, for education
I'm looking at the highest level-
I'm looking for the artists.
so efren, right?
"oh look, he plays that game I saw"
and the seed grew...

fast forward to the present
I mix it up- I enjoy all games
but one pocket really is special
it seems like everything is possible
high-octane offense, lockdown defense
shotmaking, kicks, caroms, banks, and billiards
every part of the table, and every ball can be in play
games can go by so quickly, and so slowly...
knowing one more shot can change the whole game
and there always appears to be one more shot
I think great players are smart, but humble
one pocket rewards vision, and creativity
I like that a lot about the game
-and look forward to exploring it more!

thanks for letting me share
I look forward to any replies

~sean

 

[vapros]

Sean, when I realized that the best shooter doesn't have to win, I knew I had found my game.

 

[beatle]

gfd

 

[lll]

i was taken to the sports palace in new orleans in the 1970's by a road player
earl heisler and new york blackie ruled the room
road players from all over came looking for them
he explained the one pocket being played and got me hooked

 

[catkins]

when I was 21 a friend of mine took me to Oakland herbies workshop in the back of the fox theater in Oakland and I was there every day for the next 4 years. there was some 9 ball there but mostly a lot of cheap one pocket

 

[GoldCrown]

About 5-6 years ago....Clubhouse where I live. We (doubles) played mostly last pocket 8 ball...I suggested trying 1p for a change, We loved it...No one had any idea what they were doing...would keep sending balls up table and so on. Everyone was telling each other what to do/play. I wanted to understand the game...I looked into lessons...lll (Larry) directed me to TRW also known as Tom Wirth. Having the most fun with pool ever....and still going....and going.

 

[12squared]

Although I was lucky enough to watch some great one pocket in the early 70s at the Rack in Oak Park, MI, I wasn't interested in the game so didn't play it.

Fast forward to the early 90s living in northern California and playing at the original California Billiards, I got the bug. There were plenty of good players including our own John Henderson to learn from, but what attracted me most was it had the same rhythm and creativity choices as 3 cushion billiards, my favorite game at the time.

And, as others have said, you don't always have to make a ball to be a good shot.

 

[mr3cushion]

In Chicago, at Bensingers and the South Side we were fortunate enough to have players like, Artie B., Leonard 'Bugs' Rucker, Mexican Johnny, Isador 'Pony' Rosen, Freddy grew into this group, along with many black players, Johnny 'Cannonball' Chapman, Alphonso, Coward Howard, that never really left that side of town, that played TOP speed compared to the rest of the country. I naturally could emulate, even though 1P being a secondary game for me, it's diverse plays and responses, asi n 3C was a natural attraction. PLus, just like 3C a great game to stall at.

 

[wgcp]

Compression fracture of T10 vertebrae in 2010...so couldn't play competitive golf...a week in Freddie the Beards basement and I was hooked on pool for life...just so many possibilities to learn and then execute...still not any good, but working at it...

 

[evergruven]

...just so many possibilities to learn and then execute...still not any good, but working at it...

*quote* ^_^

thanks all for the replies..appreciate this place

 

[J.R.]

I first learned to play pool on a bar table. The only game I ever learned on a bar table was 8 ball. As I reached the age of entering pool rooms, I learned the games of 9 ball, straight pool and full rack banks. I have never been a great shooter and was always looking for a mystical aiming system.

Around 1969, I was introduced to one pocket by "Artie" from Chicago's legendary Bensinger's Pool Room on Broadway. He gave me 9 to 2 and the breaks. In exchange, I gave him 10 to 1 on the money. I was in a trap but I didn't know it. I won 10 straight games. Afterwards someone told me I was in a trap and explained why I was in a trap and some of the strategies of the game. I wanted to learn the game of one pocket but way back then there was no one to show you the moves, there were no books dedicated to one pocket, and there were no instructional tapes. If you wanted to learn, you had to play the better one pocket players, and that was never a winning proposition in Chicago. Over the years I developed an aiming system, I developed a solid banking system, and I have read books and view instructional tapes dedicated to one pocket. With all that knowledge in my back pocket, I know one thing today that I didn't know 50 years ago: "I would never take 9 to 2 and the breaks if I had to give 10 to 1 on the money!"

All in all, I did notice one facet about one pocket that compared to the first game I learned, 8 ball. Its that strategy is important to win at 8 ball and one pocket if your not the best shooter.

 

[evergruven]

I first learned to play pool on a bar table. The only game I ever learned on a bar table was 8 ball. As I reached the age of entering pool rooms, I learned the games of 9 ball, straight pool and full rack banks. I have never been a great shooter and was always looking for a mystical aiming system.

Around 1969, I was introduced to one pocket by "Artie" from Chicago's legendary Bensinger's Pool Room on Broadway. He gave me 9 to 2 and the breaks. In exchange, I gave him 10 to 1 on the money. I was in a trap but I didn't know it. I won 10 straight games. Afterwards someone told me I was in a trap and explained why I was in a trap and some of the strategies of the game. I wanted to learn the game of one pocket but way back then there was no one to show you the moves, there were no books dedicated to one pocket, and there were no instructional tapes. If you wanted to learn, you had to play the better one pocket players, and that was never a winning proposition in Chicago. Over the years I developed an aiming system, I developed a solid banking system, and I have read books and view instructional tapes dedicated to one pocket. With all that knowledge in my back pocket, I know one thing today that I didn't know 50 years ago: "I would never take 9 to 2 and the breaks if I had to give 10 to 1 on the money!"

All in all, I did notice one facet about one pocket that compared to the first game I learned, 8 ball. Its that strategy is important to win at 8 ball and one pocket if your not the best shooter.

hi j.r.
neat story..thanks for sharing
as another player who started shooting (8)-ball
I have to agree that the strategic element of 1p is noticeable
(and attractive!)