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{question} the table you are sitting at in this EP what is that top made from ? is it multi ply or 2x4s on there side? Its hard to tell via paint but It looks like its well Patina. Has taken, and given. Work. I am looking to build a Strong Assembly table and have been on the fence on the top. Thanks in advanced.
I was going to comment as well, I learned so much from Mythbusters and I continue to learn here- Adam, you are a natural incidental teacher and those are the best kind of teachers.
@@tested I will echo: What makes Adam a great teacher is that he's *not* focused on dispensing facts - he's articulating his process of learning, and by doing so, taking the audience (students) along the path *with* him. Adam ends up teaching about the process of learning itself.
The parting comment about pursuing one interest can lead you into a wider world certainly applies to me. When I was about 8-9 years old (I'm 65 now), I got interested in airplanes; nothing unusual there for a kid of that time. By the time I was twelve or so, I was reading about battles; nothing unusual there. But then I got interested in military campaigns, and that's when the world starts widening, because to understand military campaigns you need to understand strategy, and to understand strategy you need to understand politics, but to understand politics you need to understand culture. And that is the path to how I became a serious student of history.
I could listen to your stories for hours. Such a great story teller and they are great stories. Even the loss of your dog. It beautifully ripped my heart out. I felt that pain.
Mirrored sentiments. I also really appreciate that they DON'T edit out his pauses. Not sure if it's because it makes it feel more like we're actually having a conversation with him (even though my brain obviously knows we're not)... or just because it feels more intimate, like two friends chatting... or because it shows he puts genuine thought into answering. Dunno, and I guess it doesn't really matter, so long as they keep doing it - or "not doing it", I guess? haha 😅♥️
I am not surprised you are a passionate pool player, the same strategy used in pool dictates the choices in life, "Dont wait for the perfect moment , take the moment and make it perfect" and "its not over till the last ball falls"
You’re really just talking about decision making in general, but I don’t want to argue with you, because Pool is not a bad metaphor: even though you have to be a good player to be successful in Pool, so much depends on a lucky break.
Never knew poolplayers were as stubborn and impatient as me... LOL -I always say I am not smart. I am just lazy, so I got real good at figuring out the easy way to do something... Lol
@@mm9773 Yes you could remove the pool reference and its still good advice but like you mention and with that said pool is still a good metaphor for life, unless you are skipping class during your stay through high school to go to the pool hall across the street, and my marks reflected my obsession with the game.
I once heard something attributed to the golfer Lee Trevino when asked about the pressure of knowing that if he made his next putt, he’d win $100,000, and he said that he never thought about the 100,000. He’d be thinking “If I miss this shot, I’m getting $10,000.”
A similar philosophy was attributed to Mercury astronaut Deke Slayton: "A test pilot doesn't think, 'I'm gonna be dead in 10 seconds.' A test pilot thinks, 'Hell, I got me ten whole seconds.'"
I heard another Lee Trevino story. When asked about the pressure of a 100,000 shot, he said that was less pressure than when he was hustling as a young kid, and has $5.00 bet on a hole when you don’t have the $5.00!
One thing that always amazes me about Adam is his ability to recall makes/models of whatever piece of equipment he's talking about. To me: a nice pool table To Adam: oh that was a gorgeous 1910-era Brunswick-Balke-Colander with the special insets and high-quality felt for smooth action all the way up-and-down the table
Any time I find a new interest the rabbit hole is always deeper than I anticipated no matter how many holes I dive into! On several occasions I inadvertently gave the impress that I was an expert on a topic that I had never even partaked in! Haha
My grandfather built his own pool table in his basement. I grew up playing on that table with my siblings and cousins. Only to discover during one of the last games on that table that the table surface was made of grain filled OSB. Grain filled with Bondo. Then, it was covered with felt. But this table was dead flat. And it was all built using his Shopsmith 10ER. A tool that was invented before the concept of safety.
Your observations on hustlers reminded me of my childhood fascination with grifts. I was otherwise an incredibly dutiful and honest young person - but I was so curious about stories of people who had no compunction about lying and could create stories so convincing that other people willingly believed them. I would learn about and try ideas at school. In primary school, I once managed to not go to maths lessons (which were with a different teacher in another room, who fortunately didn't take a register in those days) for a couple of weeks by wheeling the computer trolley from class to class, asking if the teacher wanted me to set it up, and then asking if they wanted me to show some of their class how to make a game in BASIC. It being the early 80s, this was often something they hadn't learnt to do themselves, and they'd eagerly agree, glad to keep some of their children occupied in something interesting - and they never thought to check where I was supposed to actually be, as I had presented myself as the computer monitor. My other most successful con came after watching 'Tenko' - a TV show about women from Singapore interned by the Japanese. I saw them rub soap onto their skin to get admitted into a camp hospital in order to receive Red Cross parcels. So, I tried it one lunchtime. My teacher was so worried, I was sent to the nurse and they insisted my mum take me home. I was horrified - I loved being at school, and thanks to my own con, I missed history topic time that day - my favourite subject! You say you are not a teacher, and not trained in such. I'd say that you've been training yourself your whole life. You have a gift for it, in the way that you express your love and fascination with what you do, in an utterly open and generous manner. As a formally-trained teacher, I love your description of learning through personal interest, observation, and exploration, and the cone of peripheral knowledge which can stem from this. I wish we were allowed to apply such obviously effective methods more in schools - but, alas, unless it is a Montessori or Steiner kind, we can only honour it in the breach. In fact, I think that it has become a little bit worse in my neck of the woods, with the craft of learning - watching, listening, responding, practicing, learning from the mistakes - becoming more and more overruled by concepts of 'scientific' teaching - the 'right' strategies and uniform 'teaching habits', one-size-fits-all curriculums, and a focus upon trying to force all children (or as many as possible) to achieve identical progress at the same age - a laudable aim in theory, but one which too often leads to seeing any child who deviates from 'age-related expectations' as failing and a constant crisis-management strategy of interventions... instead of just helping them learn it next year when they are ready without the pressure of expectation. Instead of listening to, talking with, and learning from the learner, we diagnose and prescribe them. I hope that I can learn from you that sense of joy and wonder that you bring when you speak about your passions, and the eloquence which comes from that. I will learn to encourage my pupils to explore and share their interests, and to travel the unexpected directions to the surprising connections that they lead them to.
I love the geometry of pool that relies on creativity and vision to see the shots. But to Adam’s point about the human body, I love that we are such generalists that it allows us to do so many specific things at such exceptional levels.
My cousin lost her father when she was young. Later in life his brother gave her his old fishing rod and portable cue, in sadly poor condition. She had both restored and dove into learning fishing and how to play pool and even got her boyfriend (now husband) into both as well.
When I was growing up my best friend's father was a minister. Someone gave the church (where he was minister) a bumper pool table. My friend and I would spend hour after hour in the church basement playing bumper pool. Great times.
My grandpa had a bumper pool table in the basement, but since I was about 10 years younger than all the other cousins I never played with people who knew the rules, so I became very good at jump shots. But at college I could honestly say "I've hardly ever played (straight) pool before." ;D
My grandpa had a pool room which fascinated me even at an early age. He said he would teach me to play after I first learned the proper way to dress the tables. Little me standing on bar stools brushing the felt under his watchful eye. Listening to his favorite tales of impossibly great players and their antics. Best memories ever!
How you can continue to become more and more of a hero, after decades of being such a great guy.. inspiring to say the least. So glad you shared about this particular interest.
I was fortunate enough to have a fiend whose parents were "well to do" and had a cottage in the Poconos as well as a "game room" with a fabulous slate bed pool table, and a Crown reel-to-reel stereo plus a kick-ass turntable and a LOT of Broadway soundtracks, We spent hours playing pool and listining to the original casts of Chicago, A Little Night Music, Annie Get Your Gun, The Music Man, and South Pacific. Definatey formative for me. This was in the mid 1970's. I still love show tunes.
I’m happy to hear you talk about the education model which follows a method one of the NPOs we partner with uses: play through exploration, which leads to a path to learn skills the execute their goals and how you feel it helped you. Helps reaffirm the commitment we are making in my work.
I also grew up with a pool table and deeply love it, but don't play it enough now. My dad was a 'hustler' in the Army, with pool, darts and pinball, and those stories led to me following in his footsteps. I never hustled, but I got really good at those disciplines. Mostly now I bowl and golf - also precision sports. Golf really boggles the mind because of how many mechanics it takes to hit it hard and straight! Cool to hear you share this story, I'd love to hear more of them. Your childhood/young adult age sounded like a ton of fun.
@3:25, that is EXACTLY how my Mom taught me to drive a clutch, and while I still do to this day (and prefer nothing else)... in 2007-08, I was learning how to drive (I was 16-17), and I was learning on what became my first car, a (5 spd manual) 2001 PT Cruiser... now my Mom, born in '53, she has had all types of cars, her first being a '70 convertible Bug... so, she was teaching me how to drive... I could kind of get the PT going, but the back and forth into 1st gear wasn't reaching me. One hot Summer night in '08 she said "wait a min, let me take over driving, and just watch my feet, nothing else, ignore the outside world"... within 5 minutes, I had it down, and I've never looked back since. My current car, a '98 Chevy Cav with a 5 spd is still my fave, but I've only really driven manual when possible since. When I took my license exam in '08, Sept of that year, my driving test instructor was not only amazed at my driving, she said in 27+ years of her testing she had never had the ability to feel safe or comfortable with somebody, especially one that could drive a manual as well as I could. I take pride in that, and Mom's spark of that patience and realization was all it needed.
Haa that's cool. I actually knew Robert Byrne and got many a lesson from him. I worked at Buffalo Billiards when they were still in Cotati in the early 90's when going to SSU. Robert was there all the time. Used to have one of his books signed by him, but lent it to one of the VPs of Broderbund (90's as well) and never got it back.
I think you would enjoy meeting my grandpa. He made his living going from town to town as a hustler playing pool for a few years. And he's a maker, mostly working with metal and engraving.
@@joeysantiago820 If you've ever seen a bracelet made out of stainless steel forks that was probably him. I think he also did a limited knife run with serial numbers for each one. But nothing online, he just sells stuff at flea markets. If I hear he wants to sell any of his engraving machines I'll let you know.
There is so many things to unpack in this video. I'm watching it for the third time, only to realize the mentioned books are in the pinned comment, hah! Just watched The Hustler (1961), great recommendation.
My woodworking instructor in violin making school was a pool shark back in the day, that’s how he supplemented his income. He also was fanatical about golf. Talk about multitalented!
I have been an avid watcher for years (decades?) and always loved what you create and how you take us along the journey. Only now I find out you're a pool player!? Rack em up!! More pool content would be amazing 😂
I grew up in a pool hall just a few hours north of you in CA. I was about 5 when I started playing and still play today and I'm almost 70. It's one of the great games because all great games are always better than an individual can be (endless challenge). I just set a new challenge to get my high run over 100 before I die. Fingers crossed.
If you don't already know it, check out "Drowse" by Queen. It includes these lines: "And half of the time we'd broaden our minds / More in the pool hall than we did in the school hall"
The pool cues for the movie "The Hustler" were made by Herman Rambow, who perfected the jointed two-piece cue. I still own the cue that Rambow custom made for my father in Chicago in the mid sixties.
Similarly, I fell in love with pool since visiting my grandparents as a child, who had a perfectly unfinished basement with a beautiful pool table. I would spend hours alone there, not knowing what I was doing, but teaching myself through experience about angles and physics. In college, though, I found a bar that had pool tables, and had "happy hour" where if you were paying to play pool by the hour, well drinks were free. I was in heaven, and got REALLY good at pool, by playing against a college friend, and challenging each other. I got better at pool, the looser I became. Fascinating and eternally fun.
The best time I played pool was when I sank the eight ball on the break. The guy I was playing with had no idea it meant an automatic win for me. I was as shocked as he was. Lol I've never been able to do it again.
Adam and crew, I love the old Myth busters episodes where both are laughing hystericaly about the results that happened. It shows the "magic" that happened on set.
At around age 14 I spent a lot of time at a friend's house playing pool against myself, a way of practicing without getting board, but that was only for a few months until she moved. Between 17 and 21, I got quite good but never practiced and only played occasionally at the pub. On one occasion a group of us were down in Sydney on holiday, someone suggested a game of pool. I lost the first game and won the next 26 in a row. People were coming into the bar to play pool on the other tables, and after they played their game they would just stand around and watch me play. Somewhere around age 25 I ended up out in Charleville in Western QLD, I got roped into the local darts competition because they were one short for the foursomes team, they played 4s, 3s, 2, and singles, long story short, I threw every winning dart, and in the final, beating the local so called 'unbeatable' legend. By the way, I'm not a darts player, have only played a handful of times, but was just in tune on the night. Anyway, I also got roped into the Snooker comp a week later, went to the final again, there was 2 balls at the end of the table, on the cush, and looked to be dead centre, so I smacked the ball dead centre and both went in, lining me up for the black to min. Later that year I was in Roma in Central Western QLD, and was playing social games with T-Bone, the local legend, he was paying for the table and just wanted someone to practice his game with so he didn't get bored. He taught me about spinning the ball, yeah he was one of those people who could do all of the trick shots. I learnt a lot those couple of nights. In my early 30s I was in Central Coastal QLD playing one night at the local night club with a mate who knew the owners. Some bloke challenged me, couldn't really play, so I was practicing my triple shots. He started getting mouthy and trying to tell me how useless I was because not many of the triples were going in. Anyway, I said to him, do you really want me to finish the game, he laughed and bet me I couldn't, I told him I would do it double shots. Yep, every ball went in and he never got another shot. I have never seen someone so devastated. I offered to put the next dollar in but he just hung his head and walked away. In my 30s I played a lot of games with people who were in the local competitions, winning most games, but I was working FIFO and couldn't commit to the competition for myself. I wish I had got serious, I obviously had a knack for it, but never really had the interest at the time, or the time, or the money, to put in the real effort.
I’ve always dreaded math, but I remember as a kid in elementary school we watched a Donald Duck (I think) video talking about geometry and pool, and it was fascinating to me at that age. I grew up hanging out in my grandparents basement with all the adults shooting pool during family functions, so I was familiar with the game, but never realized the math involved until that moment. It’s always stuck with me the several times I’ve dabbled in shooting pool in my later years.
7:45 as a fellow not educator that works in an educational institution... You've basically described the fundamental idea behind PBL (Project/ Problem Based Learning).
DUUUDE You could do a whole series on Tested about making your own pool balls, cues and even a table. That would be awesome and you would have an excuse to talk more about pool. I had no idea you even liked pool or played.
Born and raised and still live in livonia ny. When I was young I was addicted to pool. My parents eventually bought me a full size table for Christmas. Didn't learn until later it was also the home of Irving "the deacon" crane. There's a sign dedicated to him as you come into the town. I fell out of love with it because I didn't have anyone to play it with. Now I want to.
There's something very meditative about pool, between the *thunk* of the leather tip off the cue ball and the clacking of the balls and the bouncing off the rails, it's all very tactile and satisfying. I used to play for 7-10 hours every week for about a year in my early 20s. Bought my own cue and everything. Ended up winning a winner-takes-all tournament and so the cue ended up paying for itself. Probably one of my most proudest moments so far.
I have always loved pool. I learned how to play it when I went to a local bowling alley which had pool tables setup in the back smoking area (I'm dating myself here but oh well) It just always seemed more interesting than the bowling and yet no one would want to play it with me. Eventually after enough times just playing it alone without knowing there were rules to it as a game rather than just hitting balls together the owner of the alley. His name was Albert, one of the few people I've met in my life personally by that name. He saw me come to play bowling every few weekends and saw after bowling with a group of friends I'd wander to the pool tables and just play by myself. So he offered to teach me the actual rules of the game. I learned how to play pool in Albert's Bowl o'l Roma. Then never got to play it because no one really understood that pool had rules, like how there are solids and stripes, if you pocket the 8 ball you lose, if you pocket the cue ball your opponent gets to place it where it suits them, etc... and when you tried to teach it to them say always say the same thing; "Never mind this is too complicated." I love pool even though I never get to play it.
I grew up in an extremely competitive family. Had the ping pong table, pool table, bowling with my family and my father pushing us as kids to be extremely good at it all. If I took a shot playing pool and did not set up the next shot with the right english, my father would be right there telling me what I did wrong and making sure I knew what I should have done, as well to keep pushing me so I could run the table. Playing sports with my family, games and even cards was a task at times. But, I can really do all those things extremely well now. And I was a three time state champion in gymnastics in the 80's as well. So, Adam, if you ever make it in town, we need to play a few games. Jeff Bassett Tripoli on the RPF and most other prop forums. ;)
Hey Adam. You and I met at Fan Expo Chicago and I was so star struck I forgot to tell you something I wanted to say! I too am an avid pool player (gestures at profile pic) and I wanted to tell you that to play a game of pool with you is on my bucket list.
I glimpsed at a documentary a long time ago (i woulda been under 10), and it was about a duelist who won a massive amount of old timey gun duels consecutively (where you slap someone with a glove then agree to try to kill each other with flintlocks i believe?), and Adam talking about hustler's imperception of the stakes reminded me of that story
I read The Inner Game of Tennis after hearing you recommend it on the podcast a number of years ago and it was both enlightening and profoundly frustrating because I have a sensory processing/motor planning disorder and that mind-body is something I’m specifically terrible at. Great book though, just not applicable lol.
I love a game of Bar Billiards, Being an English Pub game Idk if it's known in the US, but i'm 100% sure Adam would get a kick out of the game and the object of the table itself.
I dearly miss my pool table, unfortunately the last couple of houses I've lived in have simply not had the room. I've promised myself that the next place I move to will have room for one.
Yeah, me and certain friends got into billiards between high school and early college years. I wasn't great.. Far from it. But, some days I get a decent streak, other days I was embarrassingly bad. But, it was a cool social pastime. Too bad so many pool halls have closed around San Francisco and the general Bay Area. Some of the places we use to frequent were The Great Entertainer and Southbeach in SOMA, Family on Geary Blvd, Town & Country in Daly City, Broadway Arcade in Chinatown, the Boat House in Lake Merced.. Was so cool at one time had a pool table in an apartment complex I used to live so we could go and play for free.
All of the engineering and technology classes got cut this year because they couldn’t find a teacher at my school. All of the equipment we have is locked in a room collecting dust now
I spend my youth playing 8 ball Pool on a billiard table with smaller holes. When I went out in my late teens I would always hustle in pool bars in the city... It was so easy when you were used to the holes being half the size! LOL
A fairly decent pool player, I hustled with a partner all over the Southeast a few decades back. We worked out of town all the time and had a bit of a system. We’d scope out the halls, settle on one by Wednesday, then get serious on Thursday. I was the set-up guy as, though I was better technically, my partner was completely unphased by pressure. Several times we stayed late in whatever town on Friday just to clean up from the week’s setup. Always backed in near the exit, as we often had to roll out in front of disgruntled opponents. I’ve never bet more than a beer on a game since as I learned my limitations. I play for fun, not to scalp someone-and I enjoy that as I didn’t the other way.
I was marking test papers today and it involved picking up many, many identical copies of the following: 5 sheets of A4, stapled together. At one point, and without looking, I picked up the next one from the pile and could instantly tell that it was missing a page, just from the 20% reduction in weight! I wonder how THAT level of precision (being able to identify tiny changes in weight just by feeling the object in your hand for under a second) evolved in our ancient ancestors…
I wonder if there could be a garage build for a new type of pool game? Maybe a 3 or 4 player type of game? Or go really crazy and have multiple levels and mini-golf like holes that lead down to the next level…
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Court Hustler by Bobby Riggs: amzn.to/4dSqxbQ
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I've heard of esports players (smash bros specifically) that talk about gaining inspiration from The Inner Game of Tennis.
{question} the table you are sitting at in this EP what is that top made from ? is it multi ply or 2x4s on there side? Its hard to tell via paint but It looks like its well Patina. Has taken, and given. Work. I am looking to build a Strong Assembly table and have been on the fence on the top. Thanks in advanced.
Joe Rogans also very passionate about pool....and I would pay to see you guys play a game! Celebrity invitational would be amazing.
"They don't call me Minnesota Fats just because I'm morbidly obese..."
*pool table collapses*
Back in High School, my trumpet teacher gave me this book to try and teach the flow state.
You absolutely are a Teacher, you may not preform lectures or hand out homework but you've taught a lot of people
I couldn’t agree more. I have learned so much from Adam’s videos. Keep up the great work Mr Savage, you’re my favourite thing to watch on TH-cam.
Thank you for the kind comment(s)! We will pass along to Adam in case he misses them here! (He often reads them; just doesn’t comment.)
This is so true. I've learned things watching and listening to Adam and I have found him just incredibly interesting.
I was going to comment as well, I learned so much from Mythbusters and I continue to learn here- Adam, you are a natural incidental teacher and those are the best kind of teachers.
@@tested I will echo: What makes Adam a great teacher is that he's *not* focused on dispensing facts - he's articulating his process of learning, and by doing so, taking the audience (students) along the path *with* him. Adam ends up teaching about the process of learning itself.
The parting comment about pursuing one interest can lead you into a wider world certainly applies to me. When I was about 8-9 years old (I'm 65 now), I got interested in airplanes; nothing unusual there for a kid of that time. By the time I was twelve or so, I was reading about battles; nothing unusual there. But then I got interested in military campaigns, and that's when the world starts widening, because to understand military campaigns you need to understand strategy, and to understand strategy you need to understand politics, but to understand politics you need to understand culture. And that is the path to how I became a serious student of history.
"I never hustled"
That's exactly what a hustler would say 😉
exactly I've met several when I was younger, I shall not be fooled.
As a former hustler...yep. I don't know how to even play.!
@JoeJaJoeJoe define hustle?
Or he was a baby hustler
"I'm a completist"
I could listen to your stories for hours. Such a great story teller and they are great stories. Even the loss of your dog. It beautifully ripped my heart out. I felt that pain.
Mirrored sentiments.
I also really appreciate that they DON'T edit out his pauses. Not sure if it's because it makes it feel more like we're actually having a conversation with him (even though my brain obviously knows we're not)... or just because it feels more intimate, like two friends chatting... or because it shows he puts genuine thought into answering.
Dunno, and I guess it doesn't really matter, so long as they keep doing it - or "not doing it", I guess? haha 😅♥️
I am not surprised you are a passionate pool player, the same strategy used in pool dictates the choices in life, "Dont wait for the perfect moment , take the moment and make it perfect" and "its not over till the last ball falls"
You’re really just talking about decision making in general, but I don’t want to argue with you, because Pool is not a bad metaphor: even though you have to be a good player to be successful in Pool, so much depends on a lucky break.
Never knew poolplayers were as stubborn and impatient as me... LOL
-I always say I am not smart. I am just lazy, so I got real good at figuring out the easy way to do something... Lol
@@mm9773 Yes you could remove the pool reference and its still good advice but like you mention and with that said pool is still a good metaphor for life, unless you are skipping class during your stay through high school to go to the pool hall across the street, and my marks reflected my obsession with the game.
I once heard something attributed to the golfer Lee Trevino when asked about the pressure of knowing that if he made his next putt, he’d win $100,000, and he said that he never thought about the 100,000. He’d be thinking “If I miss this shot, I’m getting $10,000.”
A similar philosophy was attributed to Mercury astronaut Deke Slayton: "A test pilot doesn't think, 'I'm gonna be dead in 10 seconds.' A test pilot thinks, 'Hell, I got me ten whole seconds.'"
@@ZGryphon10 seconds is a long time, lot can happen in those moments
thats because back in those days they played for the love of the game of golf because they never made much money. Sports stars today are so spoiled.
I heard another Lee Trevino story. When asked about the pressure of a 100,000 shot, he said that was less pressure than when he was hustling as a young kid, and has $5.00 bet on a hole when you don’t have the $5.00!
One thing that always amazes me about Adam is his ability to recall makes/models of whatever piece of equipment he's talking about.
To me: a nice pool table
To Adam: oh that was a gorgeous 1910-era Brunswick-Balke-Colander with the special insets and high-quality felt for smooth action all the way up-and-down the table
Adam does a pretty great job of making me want to get deep into pool. Have 100% found learning via projects and example to be the best way.
Any time I find a new interest the rabbit hole is always deeper than I anticipated no matter how many holes I dive into! On several occasions I inadvertently gave the impress that I was an expert on a topic that I had never even partaked in! Haha
Love the videos, really happy about the new toss to membership, i was kind of going nuts hearing the old one too many times. Thank you
My grandfather built his own pool table in his basement. I grew up playing on that table with my siblings and cousins. Only to discover during one of the last games on that table that the table surface was made of grain filled OSB. Grain filled with Bondo. Then, it was covered with felt. But this table was dead flat.
And it was all built using his Shopsmith 10ER. A tool that was invented before the concept of safety.
As a fellow engineer. I love pool. It's so mathematical yet artistic. But the top players are machines of pure discipline
Your observations on hustlers reminded me of my childhood fascination with grifts. I was otherwise an incredibly dutiful and honest young person - but I was so curious about stories of people who had no compunction about lying and could create stories so convincing that other people willingly believed them. I would learn about and try ideas at school. In primary school, I once managed to not go to maths lessons (which were with a different teacher in another room, who fortunately didn't take a register in those days) for a couple of weeks by wheeling the computer trolley from class to class, asking if the teacher wanted me to set it up, and then asking if they wanted me to show some of their class how to make a game in BASIC. It being the early 80s, this was often something they hadn't learnt to do themselves, and they'd eagerly agree, glad to keep some of their children occupied in something interesting - and they never thought to check where I was supposed to actually be, as I had presented myself as the computer monitor. My other most successful con came after watching 'Tenko' - a TV show about women from Singapore interned by the Japanese. I saw them rub soap onto their skin to get admitted into a camp hospital in order to receive Red Cross parcels. So, I tried it one lunchtime. My teacher was so worried, I was sent to the nurse and they insisted my mum take me home. I was horrified - I loved being at school, and thanks to my own con, I missed history topic time that day - my favourite subject!
You say you are not a teacher, and not trained in such. I'd say that you've been training yourself your whole life. You have a gift for it, in the way that you express your love and fascination with what you do, in an utterly open and generous manner. As a formally-trained teacher, I love your description of learning through personal interest, observation, and exploration, and the cone of peripheral knowledge which can stem from this. I wish we were allowed to apply such obviously effective methods more in schools - but, alas, unless it is a Montessori or Steiner kind, we can only honour it in the breach. In fact, I think that it has become a little bit worse in my neck of the woods, with the craft of learning - watching, listening, responding, practicing, learning from the mistakes - becoming more and more overruled by concepts of 'scientific' teaching - the 'right' strategies and uniform 'teaching habits', one-size-fits-all curriculums, and a focus upon trying to force all children (or as many as possible) to achieve identical progress at the same age - a laudable aim in theory, but one which too often leads to seeing any child who deviates from 'age-related expectations' as failing and a constant crisis-management strategy of interventions... instead of just helping them learn it next year when they are ready without the pressure of expectation. Instead of listening to, talking with, and learning from the learner, we diagnose and prescribe them.
I hope that I can learn from you that sense of joy and wonder that you bring when you speak about your passions, and the eloquence which comes from that. I will learn to encourage my pupils to explore and share their interests, and to travel the unexpected directions to the surprising connections that they lead them to.
I love the geometry of pool that relies on creativity and vision to see the shots. But to Adam’s point about the human body, I love that we are such generalists that it allows us to do so many specific things at such exceptional levels.
My cousin lost her father when she was young. Later in life his brother gave her his old fishing rod and portable cue, in sadly poor condition. She had both restored and dove into learning fishing and how to play pool and even got her boyfriend (now husband) into both as well.
Now we need more pool videos from Adam. Do you still play? What kind of table do you have? What's your favorite drill? What cue stick do you use? Etc.
This is why we love you Adam
I love hearing people talk about their passions. This may be my new favourite video on this channel. What an unexpected treat and delight!
When I was growing up my best friend's father was a minister. Someone gave the church (where he was minister) a bumper pool table. My friend and I would spend hour after hour in the church basement playing bumper pool. Great times.
My grandpa had a bumper pool table in the basement, but since I was about 10 years younger than all the other cousins I never played with people who knew the rules, so I became very good at jump shots. But at college I could honestly say "I've hardly ever played (straight) pool before." ;D
My grandpa had a pool room which fascinated me even at an early age. He said he would teach me to play after I first learned the proper way to dress the tables. Little me standing on bar stools brushing the felt under his watchful eye. Listening to his favorite tales of impossibly great players and their antics. Best memories ever!
How you can continue to become more and more of a hero, after decades of being such a great guy.. inspiring to say the least. So glad you shared about this particular interest.
I was fortunate enough to have a fiend whose parents were "well to do" and had a cottage in the Poconos as well as a "game room" with a fabulous slate bed pool table, and a Crown reel-to-reel stereo plus a kick-ass turntable and a LOT of Broadway soundtracks, We spent hours playing pool and listining to the original casts of Chicago, A Little Night Music, Annie Get Your Gun, The Music Man, and South Pacific. Definatey formative for me. This was in the mid 1970's. I still love show tunes.
The Inner Game of Tennis was a favorite snow skiing book. About the mental skills of learning a physical skill. Good book.
I’m happy to hear you talk about the education model which follows a method one of the NPOs we partner with uses: play through exploration, which leads to a path to learn skills the execute their goals and how you feel it helped you. Helps reaffirm the commitment we are making in my work.
I also grew up with a pool table and deeply love it, but don't play it enough now. My dad was a 'hustler' in the Army, with pool, darts and pinball, and those stories led to me following in his footsteps. I never hustled, but I got really good at those disciplines.
Mostly now I bowl and golf - also precision sports. Golf really boggles the mind because of how many mechanics it takes to hit it hard and straight!
Cool to hear you share this story, I'd love to hear more of them. Your childhood/young adult age sounded like a ton of fun.
@3:25, that is EXACTLY how my Mom taught me to drive a clutch, and while I still do to this day (and prefer nothing else)... in 2007-08, I was learning how to drive (I was 16-17), and I was learning on what became my first car, a (5 spd manual) 2001 PT Cruiser... now my Mom, born in '53, she has had all types of cars, her first being a '70 convertible Bug... so, she was teaching me how to drive... I could kind of get the PT going, but the back and forth into 1st gear wasn't reaching me. One hot Summer night in '08 she said "wait a min, let me take over driving, and just watch my feet, nothing else, ignore the outside world"... within 5 minutes, I had it down, and I've never looked back since. My current car, a '98 Chevy Cav with a 5 spd is still my fave, but I've only really driven manual when possible since. When I took my license exam in '08, Sept of that year, my driving test instructor was not only amazed at my driving, she said in 27+ years of her testing she had never had the ability to feel safe or comfortable with somebody, especially one that could drive a manual as well as I could. I take pride in that, and Mom's spark of that patience and realization was all it needed.
Haa that's cool. I actually knew Robert Byrne and got many a lesson from him. I worked at Buffalo Billiards when they were still in Cotati in the early 90's when going to SSU. Robert was there all the time. Used to have one of his books signed by him, but lent it to one of the VPs of Broderbund (90's as well) and never got it back.
You are a teacher I learn from every one of your videos no matter the subject
Thank you for posting and sharing.
I think you would enjoy meeting my grandpa. He made his living going from town to town as a hustler playing pool for a few years. And he's a maker, mostly working with metal and engraving.
Im an engraver, who’s your grandfather I’m very interested
@@joeysantiago820 he doesn't do social media and mostly keeps to himself. Are you looking to buy or sell engraving machines?
@@cintron3d i might be interested in buying tools for sure, i was also just curious if i knew his work
@@joeysantiago820 If you've ever seen a bracelet made out of stainless steel forks that was probably him. I think he also did a limited knife run with serial numbers for each one. But nothing online, he just sells stuff at flea markets. If I hear he wants to sell any of his engraving machines I'll let you know.
Brilliant episode. Learned a lot. Very insightful.
That was fun, Adam. Billiards is a fun activity.
I love pool so much and this warmed my heart!
There is so many things to unpack in this video. I'm watching it for the third time, only to realize the mentioned books are in the pinned comment, hah! Just watched The Hustler (1961), great recommendation.
You could create a show where you interview someone whilst playing pool, it'd require some production but this would be a novel idea.
My woodworking instructor in violin making school was a pool shark back in the day, that’s how he supplemented his income. He also was fanatical about golf. Talk about multitalented!
Just started playing golf and this video was really helpful in getting out of my head
I have been an avid watcher for years (decades?) and always loved what you create and how you take us along the journey. Only now I find out you're a pool player!? Rack em up!! More pool content would be amazing 😂
If i ever meet Adam in person, i will gladly ask him for tips on improving my pool game
follow a passion and you want to learn all the hard stuff. learning to fly taught me about weather, geography, human biology . and about myself.
Great video sir 😊❤
1 Day Build request: lightsaber pool cue
I grew up in a pool hall just a few hours north of you in CA. I was about 5 when I started playing and still play today and I'm almost 70. It's one of the great games because all great games are always better than an individual can be (endless challenge). I just set a new challenge to get my high run over 100 before I die. Fingers crossed.
The editor is savage for that cover photo 😂
Watching Adam info-dump is adorably delightful
If you don't already know it, check out "Drowse" by Queen. It includes these lines: "And half of the time we'd broaden our minds / More in the pool hall than we did in the school hall"
I'm literally sanding a cue while I watch this
Yes bang on billiards and transcendence 🙇 thank you that's absolutely awesome 😎
The pool cues for the movie "The Hustler" were made by Herman Rambow, who perfected the jointed two-piece cue. I still own the cue that Rambow custom made for my father in Chicago in the mid sixties.
I would absolutely love to spend and evening in a pool hall with Adam just knocking balls around and sharing stories.
Similarly, I fell in love with pool since visiting my grandparents as a child, who had a perfectly unfinished basement with a beautiful pool table. I would spend hours alone there, not knowing what I was doing, but teaching myself through experience about angles and physics. In college, though, I found a bar that had pool tables, and had "happy hour" where if you were paying to play pool by the hour, well drinks were free. I was in heaven, and got REALLY good at pool, by playing against a college friend, and challenging each other. I got better at pool, the looser I became. Fascinating and eternally fun.
The best time I played pool was when I sank the eight ball on the break. The guy I was playing with had no idea it meant an automatic win for me. I was as shocked as he was. Lol I've never been able to do it again.
I once sunk the 8-ball on a break, too! On a bar table, so that was $1 in quarters down the drain. Good game, ME.
Adam and crew, I love the old Myth busters episodes where both are laughing hystericaly about the results that happened. It shows the "magic" that happened on set.
My family had a pool table and we would turn a strobe light on then play in the dark with that on.
In that case, what do you like best:
- Corner pockets or side pockets?
- Bank shots or kick shots?
- Draw shots or stop shots?
You just reminded me that I used to work on shows with Jackie Gleasons' grandson.
If im ever in San Francisco, i would be HONORED to play a few rounds with you! ❤
At around age 14 I spent a lot of time at a friend's house playing pool against myself, a way of practicing without getting board, but that was only for a few months until she moved.
Between 17 and 21, I got quite good but never practiced and only played occasionally at the pub. On one occasion a group of us were down in Sydney on holiday, someone suggested a game of pool. I lost the first game and won the next 26 in a row. People were coming into the bar to play pool on the other tables, and after they played their game they would just stand around and watch me play.
Somewhere around age 25 I ended up out in Charleville in Western QLD, I got roped into the local darts competition because they were one short for the foursomes team, they played 4s, 3s, 2, and singles, long story short, I threw every winning dart, and in the final, beating the local so called 'unbeatable' legend. By the way, I'm not a darts player, have only played a handful of times, but was just in tune on the night.
Anyway, I also got roped into the Snooker comp a week later, went to the final again, there was 2 balls at the end of the table, on the cush, and looked to be dead centre, so I smacked the ball dead centre and both went in, lining me up for the black to min.
Later that year I was in Roma in Central Western QLD, and was playing social games with T-Bone, the local legend, he was paying for the table and just wanted someone to practice his game with so he didn't get bored. He taught me about spinning the ball, yeah he was one of those people who could do all of the trick shots. I learnt a lot those couple of nights.
In my early 30s I was in Central Coastal QLD playing one night at the local night club with a mate who knew the owners. Some bloke challenged me, couldn't really play, so I was practicing my triple shots. He started getting mouthy and trying to tell me how useless I was because not many of the triples were going in. Anyway, I said to him, do you really want me to finish the game, he laughed and bet me I couldn't, I told him I would do it double shots. Yep, every ball went in and he never got another shot. I have never seen someone so devastated. I offered to put the next dollar in but he just hung his head and walked away.
In my 30s I played a lot of games with people who were in the local competitions, winning most games, but I was working FIFO and couldn't commit to the competition for myself.
I wish I had got serious, I obviously had a knack for it, but never really had the interest at the time, or the time, or the money, to put in the real effort.
Yes the inner game of tennis is a great book for any skill you want to be good at
You got trouble! Trouble with a capital "T", that rhymes with "P", and stands for "pool" 😂
I’ve always dreaded math, but I remember as a kid in elementary school we watched a Donald Duck (I think) video talking about geometry and pool, and it was fascinating to me at that age. I grew up hanging out in my grandparents basement with all the adults shooting pool during family functions, so I was familiar with the game, but never realized the math involved until that moment.
It’s always stuck with me the several times I’ve dabbled in shooting pool in my later years.
7:45 as a fellow not educator that works in an educational institution... You've basically described the fundamental idea behind PBL (Project/ Problem Based Learning).
Transcendence on a pool table shows how many ways different people can fine the ways into their head. To learn and build and grow!
DUUUDE You could do a whole series on Tested about making your own pool balls, cues and even a table. That would be awesome and you would have an excuse to talk more about pool. I had no idea you even liked pool or played.
Born and raised and still live in livonia ny. When I was young I was addicted to pool. My parents eventually bought me a full size table for Christmas. Didn't learn until later it was also the home of Irving "the deacon" crane. There's a sign dedicated to him as you come into the town. I fell out of love with it because I didn't have anyone to play it with. Now I want to.
There's something very meditative about pool, between the *thunk* of the leather tip off the cue ball and the clacking of the balls and the bouncing off the rails, it's all very tactile and satisfying. I used to play for 7-10 hours every week for about a year in my early 20s. Bought my own cue and everything. Ended up winning a winner-takes-all tournament and so the cue ended up paying for itself. Probably one of my most proudest moments so far.
You should get a bumper pool table. It's fun. It also teaches you trick shots.
Adam should visit fans workshops/ caves and let them do a show and tell, our community would love sharing and seeing.
As a Professional Foosball player i can also recommend the book "The Inner Game of Tennis".
Very cool!
I have always loved pool. I learned how to play it when I went to a local bowling alley which had pool tables setup in the back smoking area (I'm dating myself here but oh well)
It just always seemed more interesting than the bowling and yet no one would want to play it with me. Eventually after enough times just playing it alone without knowing there were rules to it as a game rather than just hitting balls together the owner of the alley.
His name was Albert, one of the few people I've met in my life personally by that name. He saw me come to play bowling every few weekends and saw after bowling with a group of friends I'd wander to the pool tables and just play by myself. So he offered to teach me the actual rules of the game. I learned how to play pool in Albert's Bowl o'l Roma.
Then never got to play it because no one really understood that pool had rules, like how there are solids and stripes, if you pocket the 8 ball you lose, if you pocket the cue ball your opponent gets to place it where it suits them, etc... and when you tried to teach it to them say always say the same thing; "Never mind this is too complicated."
I love pool even though I never get to play it.
I played with hustlers in Chicago in my 20's and came to understand that the best players are hustlers that pretend that are average players.
Efren Reyes, supernatural pool player. Would love to have seen him play Minnesota Fats!
As someone who loves pool I wish this episode was about 3 hours longer.
I only needed to learn one thing to get good at surfing: keep looking at the coast-line, not at the water, your body or the board.
Always hoped you'd do a pool/billiards one day build, a cue on the lathe? and nice cue case? a smaller folding practice table that doesn't suck?
I grew up in an extremely competitive family. Had the ping pong table, pool table, bowling with my family and my father pushing us as kids to be extremely good at it all. If I took a shot playing pool and did not set up the next shot with the right english, my father would be right there telling me what I did wrong and making sure I knew what I should have done, as well to keep pushing me so I could run the table. Playing sports with my family, games and even cards was a task at times. But, I can really do all those things extremely well now. And I was a three time state champion in gymnastics in the 80's as well. So, Adam, if you ever make it in town, we need to play a few games. Jeff Bassett Tripoli on the RPF and most other prop forums. ;)
Hi Adam, do you have a preference for poolballs? Do you like the Brunswick or the Aramith or any others? Love your video's.
Hey Adam. You and I met at Fan Expo Chicago and I was so star struck I forgot to tell you something I wanted to say! I too am an avid pool player (gestures at profile pic) and I wanted to tell you that to play a game of pool with you is on my bucket list.
Ooh I didn't know this about Adam. My dad used me as a pool shark when I was 13-18. I haven't played in years now.
Hi Adam,
You mentioned 3 cushion billards. Have you played 1 cushion? It’s great fun!
Regards,
I glimpsed at a documentary a long time ago (i woulda been under 10), and it was about a duelist who won a massive amount of old timey gun duels consecutively (where you slap someone with a glove then agree to try to kill each other with flintlocks i believe?), and Adam talking about hustler's imperception of the stakes reminded me of that story
Hi sir Adam, im just curious if you are still going to put lights in the Razor Crest u got a while ago? Love your channel😎
would love to see a Billiards conversation between Adam and @ClimateTown
I read The Inner Game of Tennis after hearing you recommend it on the podcast a number of years ago and it was both enlightening and profoundly frustrating because I have a sensory processing/motor planning disorder and that mind-body is something I’m specifically terrible at. Great book though, just not applicable lol.
Now I want to watch the movie "Poolhall Junkies"
“Transcendence On A Pool Table” There’s a Book title there. Btw, this may possibly be my favourite ever Tested video now.
My stepfather learned from Minnesota Fats in Michigan as he was growing up.
Wow!
Awesome topic
My favorite movie about pool hustling is "Poolhall Junkies."
Ever thought of having a subscription box type thing where we can build and learn new stuff?
I love a game of Bar Billiards, Being an English Pub game Idk if it's known in the US, but i'm 100% sure Adam would get a kick out of the game and the object of the table itself.
I dearly miss my pool table, unfortunately the last couple of houses I've lived in have simply not had the room. I've promised myself that the next place I move to will have room for one.
Well then, here's a follow up question you might like. Can you please explain three cushion billiards?
Yeah, me and certain friends got into billiards between high school and early college years. I wasn't great..
Far from it. But, some days I get a decent streak, other days I was embarrassingly bad. But, it was a cool social pastime. Too bad so many pool halls have closed around San Francisco and the general Bay Area.
Some of the places we use to frequent were The Great Entertainer and Southbeach in SOMA, Family on Geary Blvd, Town & Country in Daly City, Broadway Arcade in Chinatown, the Boat House in Lake Merced..
Was so cool at one time had a pool table in an apartment complex I used to live so we could go and play for free.
All of the engineering and technology classes got cut this year because they couldn’t find a teacher at my school. All of the equipment we have is locked in a room collecting dust now
You make me want to play pool! Thank you for the answer
I spend my youth playing 8 ball Pool on a billiard table with smaller holes. When I went out in my late teens I would always hustle in pool bars in the city... It was so easy when you were used to the holes being half the size! LOL
A fairly decent pool player, I hustled with a partner all over the Southeast a few decades back. We worked out of town all the time and had a bit of a system. We’d scope out the halls, settle on one by Wednesday, then get serious on Thursday. I was the set-up guy as, though I was better technically, my partner was completely unphased by pressure. Several times we stayed late in whatever town on Friday just to clean up from the week’s setup. Always backed in near the exit, as we often had to roll out in front of disgruntled opponents.
I’ve never bet more than a beer on a game since as I learned my limitations. I play for fun, not to scalp someone-and I enjoy that as I didn’t the other way.
I was marking test papers today and it involved picking up many, many identical copies of the following: 5 sheets of A4, stapled together. At one point, and without looking, I picked up the next one from the pile and could instantly tell that it was missing a page, just from the 20% reduction in weight! I wonder how THAT level of precision (being able to identify tiny changes in weight just by feeling the object in your hand for under a second) evolved in our ancient ancestors…
I wonder if there could be a garage build for a new type of pool game? Maybe a 3 or 4 player type of game? Or go really crazy and have multiple levels and mini-golf like holes that lead down to the next level…