The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

The Bureau of Dreams to be Continued

Page 507

Fats Squealitieri was a popular regular there, he being not a bowler, but the best pool player in town. He didn’t always win, as the short games of Eight Ball and Nine Ball carry with them some element of luck. It’s not that a poor player will win, but it is not uncommon for one with 80% of their opponent’s ability to beat their betters. When Fats was feeling challenged and playing seriously, he’d insist upon playing Straight Pool. The much longer game minimized the luck element, and he never lost. Good Straight Pool players often run a few racks, the precision and time taken often have a numbing effect on casual “fans” while fans who also are good players find fascination in the subtleties of tactics that those unskilled cannot appreciate. Fats never noticed this phenomenon as when he was seriously playing Straight Pool all he saw was the table and the balls.

In his last big Straight Pool money match he was backed by Bayway Town Joe Zanarelli while his opponent, Kentucky Kayo