Do You Tell Em?

Like probably a lot of us, I pretty much hang out with pool players. We are comfortable that way, we get most of the same jokes, we speak each others language. In a social situation with your spouses or partners friends from work at a dinner party how often did you want shout out, "This green bean casserole really has the nuts" or if someone made a comment and the first thing that pops into your head is, "I can't fade that". Cues sometime have been delivered to me at work and the question comes up, you play pool? I always respond with, "I play a little." Maybe they carry the conversation a bit further, maybe not but that is always up to them. Other than that I pretty much try to keep my mouth shut, in many circles it's just not socially acceptable and lots of us are already at a disadvantage socially and we don't need more people looking down their nose at us. Pool playing is what we are, it's our niche, it's where we're at home, and if no one asks about it no one needs to know, that is - as far as I'm concerned.
 
Every time I tell a non playing person that I play pool 95% of the time they ask "Are you a pool hustler?" or are you a "Pool Shark".
So now I just tell people that I am a piano player in a whore house.Gos over much better.
 
Personally if telling someone that I play pool means they won't hire me, thanks you did me a favor because I don't want to work for you anyway
if you are that closed minded. I will be happier not being around you, and most likely wouldn't like you once I got to know you anyway. That said I tell anyone I feel like telling. Maybe they should have a don't ask don't tell policy for pool players, now that sounds as stupid as the one they just got rid of was!
 
As was said before, at my age I don't really care if being a pool player harms my reputation, if it comes up I tell 'em.

Besides, being an old short fingered carpenter ain't that much to be proud of anyway:D
 
Sometimes telling them is unavoidable when they spot you smuggling your cue case into the office from the hot/cold car. :D
 
itsfroze said:
Personally if telling someone that I play pool means they won't hire me, thanks you did me a favor because I don't want to work for you anyway
if you are that closed minded. I will be happier not being around you, and most likely wouldn't like you once I got to know you anyway. That said I tell anyone I feel like telling. Maybe they should have a don't ask don't tell policy for pool players, now that sounds as stupid as the one they just got rid of was!
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Disagree.

Pool is a big part of my life. But it is naive to ignore the fact that pool has a bad reputation, like it or not, fair or not. Since the very vast majority of folks have a bad impression of pool (and thus pool players), why limit your employment success by turning them off?

A good thread. I consider this question often.

My answer is, generally, "no".

RL
 
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It sure does suck to disguise something about your life that you have strived to excel at and to be the best that you can be.Some of my family looks at me and my life as if I was from another planet.People that know me know that pool is more than a game to me.Sad,but true.

Some how someone needs to find a large scale way to wise up the rest of the world to the subtleties,nuances and intricacies of the game and then I may be able to hold decent conversation with my mainstream engineer uncle.
 
If I were a world champion, I would carry articles about my accomplishments with me , and when asked I would show them.
Everyone else would, in my experience , be better off saying they were ax murderers.
 
If i'm away from the pool room, I have no problem telling anyone that I am a pool player, that I have been playing for a long time, and that I'm good at it. Whatever their oppinion is of that I do not care. That's a problem for them not me.

If I am in a pool room and someone that I do not know asks to want to play against me, I will be honest and tell them that I play a strong game. I dont hold anything back whenever I am playing against someone else. My general playing philosphy is to try to crush me opponent so badly and so deep into the cloth they never get back up. Sometimes I have been known to ask if they dont mind losing too much, because quite frankly I dont need the hassle of someone getting pissy on me because their game skill is not up to mine.

The times when I lose I thank my opponent for a great game, shake their hand, and count the competition as a learning experience. Afterall, sometimes their is more to be learned from losing then there can be from winning regularly.
 
When I meet someone it is not the most important thing to announce or brag about. It is not my profession. For me it would be the same as saying I wash and wax my car, or cut the grass, and etc. It is something that I enjoy doing but can live without. It may eventually come up but not to impress them.
 
Like it was said earlier, I'm happy to tell people I shoot pool. They always ask if I'm a hustler/shark whatever, but I always tell them that I will consider myself a good player when I force my opponent to beat me, and stop beating myself. I generally rate my skills to them as "amateur night at the Apollo" :) I usually get positive responses. Never heard anyone badmouth it, maybe I'm just a nice guy
 
JMuck said:
.Some of my family looks at me and my life as if I was from another planet.People that know me know that pool is more than a game to me.Sad,but true.

Some how someone needs to find a large scale way to wise up the rest of the world to the subtleties,nuances and intricacies of the game and then I may be able to hold decent conversation with my mainstream engineer uncle.
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Deja Vu.........................but my older brother loves it when we go to bars :).
 
exactly

measureman said:
Every time I tell a non playing person that I play pool 95% of the time they ask "Are you a pool hustler?" or are you a "Pool Shark".
So now I just tell people that I am a piano player in a whore house.Gos over much better.
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Now that I don't play seriously it is a little different but whenever someone mentioned pool at a family get together with dozens of people there somebody else would mention that Hu was a pool playing son of a gun. Always then the questions from my little old lady great aunts and such, " are you a pool hustler?" "are you what they call a pool shark?" Often a cousin or two thought they were players and we headed to the nearest table to find out. All were recreational players at most and there is a large difference between recreational players and those that work it like a job. Even without gambling with family the pool shark reputation stayed with me for many years.

During my pool playing years I either worked blue collar jobs or owned my own businesses. Being a pool player was no badge of shame and when anyone thought they could beat me I played them for free or small bets until they had enough. Never hurt my reputation any. Most jobs had men that were known to be good at cards or dice, I was known to be good at pool and throwing a knife, a common gambling game on jobs where everyone carried a work knife.

Hu
 
Most people's reaction is are you a professional like they have seen on tv when it used to be on. They think there are two distinctions, pro or social player with a 8 footer in their basement for their kids and their friends. Pool is something nobody knows about or cares about, why even bring it up unless your dieing for small talk with this person.
 
Unless I'm wearing a collared shirt where it would be clumsy to leave it out,I wear a gold chain with a local jeweler's rendition of the classic Greg Sullivan pool table pendant,practically everywhere I go.

Even more than a Hustlin' shirt,for me that says it,even though some people have known me for years before they finally take a close look or ask about it.

I was recently barred from yet another local tournament.

The new owner comes up and introduces himself and says he saw me win the week before. This tournament is just one game matches,and I ran out 3 of the 4 games.

He told me he had asked around,and said people told him I was a "shark".

I asked him point blank "WTF does that mean exactly,that I kill everything I bite?" Tommy D.
 
RED LITE said:
Disagree.

Pool is a big part of my life. But it is naive to ignore the fact that pool has a bad reputation, like it or not, fair or not. Since the very vast majority of folks have a bad impression of pool (and thus pool players), why limit your employment success by turning them off?

A good thread. I consider this question often.

My answer is, generally, "no".
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I choose to live my life not being embarrassed or ashamed of the things I do.
By the way friend I'm not naive, I just don't give a rats *ss what you think!
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measureman said:
Every time I tell a non playing person that I play pool 95% of the time they ask "Are you a pool hustler?" or are you a "Pool Shark".
So now I just tell people that I am a piano player in a whore house.Gos over much better.
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LMAO!! I bet they would ask directions to the whore house much quicker than the pool hall!
 
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