Pool

[Don Wassall]

I don't think pool has ever been mentioned. Kinda like NASCAR; I remember some knuckle dragger posting on a lefty site once that the posters here must undoubtedly all be NASCAR fans, yet there has been close to zero interest in NASCAR among CF posters from day one.

Who shoots pool and how good are you? I'll go first -- even though I have considerably more confidence in my ability in a number of other indoor and outdoor sports, I'm pretty good, but only when I've had some alcohol to relax me. Pool and darts are the ultimate pub games.

 

[Liverlips]

I'm pretty bad and never had much interest in billiards.

 

[FootballDad]

Although I have a pool table 6 feet behind me where I sit in my basement, I never play anymore. Back in the days BC (before children), I used to play every day in the various bars in Huntington Beach, while practicing on the pool table occupying my dining room a block from the beach. I was pretty good, good enough that I usually played for free (loser buys) and almost never had to buy a beer.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

I don't think pool has ever been mentioned. Kinda like NASCAR;

Very true.The same goes for cricket.'The Gentleman's game' hardly ever gets a mention.

I remember some knuckle dragger posting on a lefty site once that the posters here must undoubtedly all be NASCAR fans, yet there has been close to zero interest in NASCAR among CF posters from day one.

I can easily imagine that.
SLPC and the jews have successfully created this image of a 'Nascar following redneck'.

Who shoots pool and how good are you?

I'm so much better at other sports,but I'm relatively good at Pool,or atleast the guys in my local bar say so.

And yes,nothing quite like pool,drinks and a nice soundtrack in your head!:rockon:

 

[Carolina Speed]

Nice thread. One of the greatest movies of all time was about Pool! The Hustler, Starring Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, George C. Scott, and Piper Laurie is a classic. You younger guys should get a copy. It's worth watching.

Anyway, I remember watching Minnesota Fats, Willie Mosconi, and Steve Mizerak playing each other on ABC's Wide World of Sports in the 70's, back in the Evel Knievel days of jumping buses on his motorcycle. Anyone here old enough to remember him?

Never had a pool table myself, but my dad had one for a while and was pretty good, but he quit playing as much when I got older and I never was really good at it, because I gravitated to other sports like football, wrestling, and baseball.

If there's never been a NASCAR thread, I may start one since a lot of it roots go back to the moonshiners running white lightning in the hills of North Carolina.

 

[Quiet Speed]

Was a casual player back in the days when pubs and stuff were part of the social life, which means I was an adequate shooter. It wouldn’t take long to lose the table when the skillful players showed up. Before pool I was a foosball person and developed quite a knack for the game.

 

[The Hock]

My Dad was really good. He'd only play occasionally, and when he did he'd be knocking them down. He seemed to really focus when he lined his shots up and his movements would be very precise. My brother was good too, with the same style. Both shot left handed for some reason.

Me? Two or three beers and a decent stick and sometimes I would be in The Zone. I was the master of the table with a gift for the tricky touch shots. Then a few more beers and I was out of The Zone, to where I would start forgetting where my stick was and whether I had solids or stripes. I think a lot of us amateurs were that way. So I'd lose to some guy who'd started drinking an hour later than me and taken my place in The Zone.

By the way, what are you doing? That's my quarter. No, that's my quarter. That is my quarter, I'm next. This is your quarter. No really, This is my quarter and that one is (burp) yours...

 

[Don Wassall]

I've never played (or learned) enough to know how to move the cue ball to the correct spot to make the next shot. Sometimes yes, but not on a regular basis. That's what separates the average player from the really good ones.

 

[white lightning]

I remember all of those guys Carolina Speed. The pool shooting was amazing. I was and still am an Evil Kneivel Fan. I had a bike when I was a kid that looked like his motorcycle. I am pretty good at pool although someday I might get lasik to get my 20/20 eye site back. I don't wear glassed but I can't see as good as I used to. In Pool, you need precise aim. I still can hold my own but someday I hope to return to my form of around 10 plus years ago.

 

[sport historian]

I don't think pool has ever been mentioned. Kinda like NASCAR; I remember some knuckle dragger posting on a lefty site once that the posters here must undoubtedly all be NASCAR fans, yet there has been close to zero interest in NASCAR among CF posters from day one.

Who shoots pool and how good are you? I'll go first -- even though I have considerably more confidence in my ability in a number of other indoor and outdoor sports, I'm pretty good, but only when I've had some alcohol to relax me. Pool and darts are the ultimate pub games.

"...some knuckle dragger posting on a lefty site."

I'll remember that one. The cultural marxist types hate NASCAR even more than the NHL.

 

[white is right]

I've never played (or learned) enough to know how to move the cue ball to the correct spot to make the next shot. Sometimes yes, but not on a regular basis. That's what separates the average player from the really good ones.

If you want to learn how to shoot pool shots you can look up videos on Youtube. I know to put spin on the cue ball for a forward spin you hit the top of the cue ball, for a backwards spin you hit the bottom and for a dead cue ball you hit the middle of the ball hard. Of course it takes hours of constant practice and can be quite pricy if you want to get beyond a novice level player. At one time I could routinely sink 4 balls in a row and if I was lucky nearly run the table if the balls were right but I was playing 20 ish hours a week. But when money was on the line or table fees I played much worse call me the Lebron James pre Heat of pool players. I do have a buddy who is much better than me and has played in top amateur tournaments and used to be a pool shark in high school and was the best player in my high school and at the pool hall that we played at.

 

[Deus Vult]

Was a casual player back in the days when pubs and stuff were part of the social life, which means I was an adequate shooter. It wouldn’t take long to lose the table when the skillful players showed up. Before pool I was a foosball person and developed quite a knack for the game.

Same here. I haven't played either lately. I'm pretty good at pool and foosball among average people. When the sharks come around, I concede I am not in their league. :grin:

As a pre-teen and young teen in the mid-late 1970s, I remember when arcades had no video games. It was all pinball, foosball, pool tables, air hockey, and of course the jukebox. Games were 25 cents each or 2-for-25 cents. I got pretty good at all four of those games.

 

[Don Wassall]

Probably not something to be proud of, but I was always darn good at air hockey and especially bubble hockey. I might play once a year for the past decade or two, but will still beat just about anyone lol.

Also still pretty much unbeatable at ping pong, or as Arnold Schwarzenegger calls it in those Bud Light commercials, "tiny tennis."

 

[white is right]

Probably not something to be proud of, but I was always darn good at air hockey and especially bubble hockey. I might play once a year for the past decade or two, but will still beat just about anyone lol.

Also still pretty much unbeatable at ping pong, or as Arnold Schwarzenegger calls it in those Bud Light commercials, "tiny tennis."

I haven't set foot in a pool hall in maybe 4 or 5 years but I know that the game has been dieing and the people that were the life blood of the game ie high school age and early 20's age players aren't playing anymore. In my old neighborhood the 2 pool halls that were in it have closed in this time period. It seems like only the high end snooker clubs have survived. The gritty pool hall where the colorful characters from shows like the Twilight Zone have gone bust. Also the one high end club which I hadn't played in since the late 80's which virtually only had White players with some East Asians was now virtually reversed the last time I set foot in the club with a buddy 5 years ago or so.

 

[Don Wassall]

Seems like participation in just about everything is on the continual decline. I am still trying to get my golf score into the 80s regularly (likely an endless exercise in futility), but I notice few young people playing these days and almost no courses have been built in the past decade. Too many people living vicariously, or not at all, too many young people living through social media and texting, atomization and isolation is growing, but anything healthy, not so much.

 

[dwid]

yeah i played pool the other night and the dude was like "but im way better on my phone" like that was some sort of accomplishment. its like watching zombies with everyone staring at their phones 24/7

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Thanks for starting this thread, Don! My Dad was a great amateur pool player in the mid 60s-early 70s. He made lot of money on small-medium bets and also didn't play as well when big money was involved (which rarely happened). He also dominated multiple state champions when he played them. He quit playing for money when he became a Christian. He's only owned a pool table for the last 4 years, and even though he's now in his 60s, he can still pull off some amazing shots and runs.

Also, social isolation is definitely growing as people allow themselves to become more dependent on technology.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

Good thread indeed! . Similar to some of y'all (above), my Dad was pretty good at "billiards". His grandad owned a pool hall (when Dad was just a young'ern), and my Dad spent time there (sweeping floors, cleaning the jon, etc.). He picked up some techniques from the hustlers in there & could "run the table" still in his 60s. He also could always whoop me (easily) at pool. Due to health issues, he doesn't play anymore (these days).

As for me, I'm sub-par to "fair plus". As a kid, I never had the interest or patience to "master" the basics. I hadn't played in 10+ years, but recently played with my kids (who enjoyed it). They rarely play it, but they also like air hockey. I'm thankful they're into sports, martial arts & outdoor stuff (fishing, hiking, etc.).

 

[jaxvid]

There was a pool hall in my neighborhood when I was growing up. Spent a lot of time there. Besides pool they had snooker and a couple of pin ball machines and the first video games--Asteroids and Galaxian!! I still can play pool okay, enough to beat coworkers and friends, but not like in the old days. We played for money once in a while. Nothing hones the skill at a game like having your last dollar on the line.