pool room etiquette

[ElCorazonFrio]

I'd say it's up to the owner of the hall to ensure the proper etiquette many of you are dreaming about. In a perfect world people will be considerate, but it's not and they're not, so it's also unrealistic to expect every APA player to behave accordingly, or to admonish the whole lot for whatever uncomfortable encounters you've had with a few in the past.

The owners should notice league players "sitting on tables" or disturbing regulars. For the record, my LO (USAPL) and our bar are in constant communication with the players and there is a strict system in place that favors normal customers over league players, as it should.

But regulars should get over things and not moan about "one night [such and such] happened, and it really ruined my mellow man! You don't get it! MY FEDORA!!!!"

I mean, come the hell on. :grin:

Did you read up on herd mentality and groupthink?

You certainly don't get it. I rarely have problems with anyone in bars, pool halls, on the road, at the beach, in the rain, on a train, in a box, wearing socks...whatever, but I seem to often have problems with people who are playing APA.

When these people ruin over $350 worth of my belongings, yes, I will admonish them...especially when the guy wouldn't pony up any cash and his APA friends agreed that I shouldn't have left my things on a table. A table that was closer to the pool table where I was playing than to their table.

These happen too often to be simply unlucky incidents caused by idiots. The people in the APA who do know better should be changing the ones who don't know better, but in my area they aren't doing this.

 

[throne4]

First off, I never post on the forums just to avoid the inevitable negativity that usually comes in every thread, that being said, is it not up to all of us who love this game to ensure people who are just beginning know how to handle themselves? Does someone being ignorant of etiquette make them an idiot? While the APA is structured, isn't it safe to say that is where a lot of new players begin, that is where they start to learn the intricacies of our sport? It is all of our responsibility to ensure that beginners know the rules and feel comfortable so that they can progress and keep the game we all love alive. Not bash them for being part of a league system that may be the only avenue they have to get into something competitive and progress thier game.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You should post more often because you nailed this one. Pool is my favorite sport over the last 20 years and we need to all do our part and more importantly join together to not only save pool but to give pool the best chance to grow.

 

[lorider]

I have been that someone, it hasn't worked.

On more than one occasion the APA have complained about me being on the table next to them (when the place was completely filled and I had nowhere else to play). One time when they complained the manager made a big show of taking care of the problem by moving me to a private room that is only ever opened to catered parties of 30+. The time they complained to one of the owners (nobody knows he's an owner unless they have been there a lot), he laughed at them.

These people will literally sit and stand right next to the ends of the table next to them when they have a counter, four tables and three booths that are slightly further away. They stand like statues and won't move unless asked. They are either completely unaware of their surroundings or they suffer from herd mentality.

I am friends with all the staff at this place...and it's a huge place ~25 servers, 10 bartenders, full kitchen staff, always 3 bouncers on duty. I'm doing something right, they are happy to see me, know me by name, bring new staff over to introduce them...this happens for maybe three customers.

I am the only patron at this place that never gets charged for pool. I know this for a fact. I've never asked for it and know that the owner is behind it. The owner has told me that he makes more money from having me there playing when nobody else is (early afternoon/evening) because non-pool players feel more comfortable if at least one table is being used, but don't like being there alone.

Oh, I also don't drink, but I spend more in there than many people because I tip the staff generously.

I've said it before, the APA attracts people who have never played outside of a saturday night at the bar. These people don't know pool etiquette. The APA should educate them, but they don't.

i read all your posts but i am gonna quote this one.

your comments on herd mentality put a picture in my head of a group of rabid homo sapiens descending down upon an establishment ....disguised as apa players....running rough shod over every one ...singling you out and destroying your property...bound and determined to make your experience at this establishment a living hell.

no wait....another picture popped in my mind that describes your experience closer than the above scenario.

a bunch of cowboys "herd " is the term you used ....comes in off the range on saturday night...taking over the bar...slapping the regular patrons around....pulling the chairs out from under the regulars...taking over their seats and tables....stealing their women and shooting up the place on their way out. this scene out of the old west pretty much describes what you experience once a week with apa players don't you think ?

from the way you describe yourself it seems to me you are mr..special....mr priviliged and mr hot shot all rolled into one.

you say you dont drink...did not say if you ate much there but you tip the staff generously . that is great ....very commendable of you. did you ever think maybe that is why the staff is on a 1st name basis with you and listen to your complaints.?

so you play for free huh ? that does not help the owner pay rent...keep the lights on...maintain the tables. love your logic that you playing all by your lonesome during the day draws new players in like flys to sugar. the owner must make a killing off of you huh ?

as for your opinion the apa should teach grown ass adults how to respect other people and their property ? don't you think that is some thing their mama should have done when they were kids. ?

please dont get bent out of shape over my statements above...i am just funnin with you . :grin-square: you see...i cant take you guys seriously over some of the reasons you guys say you hate the apa.

on a serious note ..i do agree there are assholes in apa , but you encounter assholes everywhere now a days.

hell some times when life throws me a curve ball i may come across as an asshole myself on that particular day. the rest of the time i am just a fun loving , care free guy that treats people the way i want to be treated....and then some times i am an asshole when they act like an asshole . . :grin-square:

 

[ElCorazonFrio]

i read all your posts but i am gonna quote this one.

your comments on herd mentality put a picture in my head of a group of rabid homo sapiens descending down upon an establishment ....disguised as apa players....running rough shod over every one ...singling you out and destroying your property...bound and determined to make your experience at this establishment a living hell.

no wait....another picture popped in my mind that describes your experience closer than the above scenario.

a bunch of cowboys "herd " is the term you used ....comes in off the range on saturday night...taking over the bar...slapping the regular patrons around....pulling the chairs out from under the regulars...taking over their seats and tables....stealing their women and shooting up the place on their way out. this scene out of the old west pretty much describes what you experience once a week with apa players don't you think ?

from the way you describe yourself it seems to me you are mr..special....mr priviliged and mr hot shot all rolled into one.

you say you dont drink...did not say if you ate much there but you tip the staff generously . that is great ....very commendable of you. did you ever think maybe that is why the staff is on a 1st name basis with you and listen to your complaints.?

so you play for free huh ? that does not help the owner pay rent...keep the lights on...maintain the tables. love your logic that you playing all by your lonesome during the day draws new players in like flys to sugar. the owner must make a killing off of you huh ?

as for your opinion the apa should teach grown ass adults how to respect other people and their property ? don't you think that is some thing their mama should have done when they were kids. ?

please dont get bent out of shape over my statements above...i am just funnin with you . :grin-square: you see...i cant take you guys seriously over some of the reasons you guys say you hate the apa.

on a serious note ..i do agree there are assholes in apa , but you encounter assholes everywhere now a days.

hell some times when life throws me a curve ball i may come across as an asshole myself on that particular day. the rest of the time i am just a fun loving , care free guy that treats people the way i want to be treated....and then some times i am an asshole when they act like an asshole . . :grin-square:

I have singled APA out because that is what this thread was about...or at least has ties to.

Did you ever consider that you did to those people exactly what I think that APA and every league should do to it's own? You explained pool room etiquette to them before they had given you any reason to expect them to act in a way which didn't fit common courtesy.

Any large group can fall into groupthink and herd mentality. If the worst behavior is from the strongest personalities, it is common that the rest of the group will not police their own. There are famous incidents of people getting physically attacked with onlookers doing nothing...20 or 30 people watching an innocent person being beaten by one person...surely we'd all like to believe that isn't the case, that someone would grab a few people and stop it...it doesn't generally happen.

I've had talks with the owner about why I don't pay. It is from him that I got the explanations. When I had to leave the country for three months, he wouldn't let me pay for my small going away party...he comped my drinks (before I stopped drinking) and four tables for six hours. I didn't ask for any of this.

The thing about this place is that everybody there knows I like to play alone, that I really only play pool for stress relief from my job. They also don't have house pros or anything like that, but they have, several times directed people who had questions or wanted to learn something about pool to me or asked me specifically to go talk to people who want to learn.

I make no assumptions on why I am treated well at this place. Likely my tipping has a lot to do with it. Bully for me, I make damn decent money and I am using it to make myself and some other people happy. Maybe they kinda like me for me or at least know that I'm not demanding and tell their boss that they do a good job (when they do...and they usually do). Maybe they like that I ask permission before doing anything out of the ordinary, ask about their lives, talk to them about their interests, etc.. Maybe they respect me because I helped one of their loved coworkers get into college for engineering at my alma mater. Maybe they noticed that when Freddie (their bowling mechanic) was without money to buy his daughter a birthday present because of unfortunate circumstances I took him shopping. Maybe they saw me leaving his hospital room a few months later when he had cancer. Maybe they talked to me months later, at the same hospital, a few floors up, when he tried and failed to kill himself. Maybe they feel that I'd do the same for any of them if I found out they were in need. They should feel that way because I would.

But you are right, it's probably only the money.

 

[lorider]

I have singled APA out because that is what this thread was about...or at least has ties to.

Did you ever consider that you did to those people exactly what I think that APA and every league should do to it's own? You explained pool room etiquette to them before they had given you any reason to expect them to act in a way which didn't fit common courtesy.

Any large group can fall into groupthink and herd mentality. If the worst behavior is from the strongest personalities, it is common that the rest of the group will not police their own. There are famous incidents of people getting physically attacked with onlookers doing nothing...20 or 30 people watching an innocent person being beaten by one person...surely we'd all like to believe that isn't the case, that someone would grab a few people and stop it...it doesn't generally happen.

I've had talks with the owner about why I don't pay. It is from him that I got the explanations. When I had to leave the country for three months, he wouldn't let me pay for my small going away party...he comped my drinks (before I stopped drinking) and four tables for six hours. I didn't ask for any of this.

The thing about this place is that everybody there knows I like to play alone, that I really only play pool for stress relief from my job. They also don't have house pros or anything like that, but they have, several times directed people who had questions or wanted to learn something about pool to me or asked me specifically to go talk to people who want to learn.

I make no assumptions on why I am treated well at this place. Likely my tipping has a lot to do with it. Bully for me, I make damn decent money and I am using it to make myself and some other people happy. Maybe they kinda like me for me or at least know that I'm not demanding and tell their boss that they do a good job (when they do...and they usually do). Maybe they like that I ask permission before doing anything out of the ordinary, ask about their lives, talk to them about their interests, etc.. Maybe they respect me because I helped one of their loved coworkers get into college for engineering at my alma mater. Maybe they noticed that when Freddie (their bowling mechanic) was without money to buy his daughter a birthday present because of unfortunate circumstances I took him shopping. Maybe they saw me leaving his hospital room a few months later when he had cancer. Maybe they talked to me months later, at the same hospital, a few floors up, when he tried and failed to kill himself. Maybe they feel that I'd do the same for any of them if I found out they were in need. They should feel that way because I would.

But you are right, it's probably only the money.

i guess its fair to remark about how you feel concerning apa players since i did state the incident in my op was during an apa match although this thread is not about apa.

as for my explaining pool room etiquite to those new players. ... i prefer to be pro active rather than reactive. its much easier to prevent an incident than it is to resolve one. as for this incident ....it was so obvious they were new players i wanted to prevent any unintentional bumping or distractions during our match. if it had been any one who seemed like they knew their way around a pool table i never would have said a word because you expect them to no how to act in a pool room.

kudos to you for your classy response to my tongue in cheek post. you gotta admit though , the scenarios i described sound a lot like those apa players you seem to dislike quite a bit.:grin:

kudos also for your acts of kindness you showed towards the person who went to college and the other with cancer who attempted suicide . i hope he is doing ok.

i have lost 2 friends that i have played with and against on various teams in the last 2 years due to suicide. apparently over failed bussinesses. having lost my bussiness when the housing boom went bust i know what they went through . not only did i lose my biz but i lost my house..wife and son over it also. i went through a stage of sleeping in my truck .... drinking and feeling sorry for my self but finally pulled my head out of my ass. what pulled me out of my despair was the realization...no matter how bad off i thought i was ...was the fact that no matter how bad off i was there were plenty of people who were worse off ...financially...physically and mentally.

here it is 10 years later and i make less than i paid my employees back then but i wake up every day thankful that i am alive ...still have 2 good feet and 1 1/2 good hands for a 60 year old man.

what i like about pool is ...when i am playing i forget all about lifes problems for a few hours. sure those problems still exist but its nice to escape from it all for a few hours.

 

[JAMSGOLF]

A few days ago I started looking around for a "positive" thread to bump to the front of the forum because it had saddened me as to the amount of purely negative threads going on right now and I sincerely thought this thread (buried on page 103 with only a deleted first response) was what this forum needed to get pointed back in a more positive direction.

Then...as appears to be the norm...it starts going downhill...quickly.

But then in the last two posts by ElCorazonFrio and lorider I get the opportunity to see a bit of who they are...why they are...and how they can be.

I think we all forget that it's not always what we say...but rather how we say things that illicit the responses we get...

 

[ElCorazonFrio]

i guess its fair to remark about how you feel concerning apa players since i did state the incident in my op was during an apa match although this thread is not about apa.

as for my explaining pool room etiquite to those new players. ... i prefer to be pro active rather than reactive. its much easier to prevent an incident than it is to resolve one. as for this incident ....it was so obvious they were new players i wanted to prevent any unintentional bumping or distractions during our match. if it had been any one who seemed like they knew their way around a pool table i never would have said a word because you expect them to no how to act in a pool room.

kudos to you for your classy response to my tongue in cheek post. you gotta admit though , the scenarios i described sound a lot like those apa players you seem to dislike quite a bit.:grin:

kudos also for your acts of kindness you showed towards the person who went to college and the other with cancer who attempted suicide . i hope he is doing ok.

i have lost 2 friends that i have played with and against on various teams in the last 2 years due to suicide. apparently over failed bussinesses. having lost my bussiness when the housing boom went bust i know what they went through . not only did i lose my biz but i lost my house..wife and son over it also. i went through a stage of sleeping in my truck .... drinking and feeling sorry for my self but finally pulled my head out of my ass. what pulled me out of my despair was the realization...no matter how bad off i thought i was ...was the fact that no matter how bad off i was there were plenty of people who were worse off ...financially...physically and mentally.

here it is 10 years later and i make less than i paid my employees back then but i wake up every day thankful that i am alive ...still have 2 good feet and 1 1/2 good hands for a 60 year old man.

what i like about pool is ...when i am playing i forget all about lifes problems for a few hours. sure those problems still exist but its nice to escape from it all for a few hours.

Glad that you made it through your trials, lorider. Sorry that your friends did not. My friend, Freddie, succeeded on his second try, I think of him often.

Best to you and yours, here's to good rolls.

 

[Skippy27]

You still generalize people and you are 100% wrong in how you are attempting to use groupthink to justify your tainted view which again shows your egotistical attitude and how you are more than likely exaggerating the situation.

Then you ***** about someone ruining $350 worth your stuff because you had it sitting on a table? I would suggest you take better responsibility of your stuff. What in the world makes you think you can set anything on a pool table other than the equipment meant for it to begin with?

As pointed out it is ultimately the owner/operators responsibility but as individuals that frequently play at a location all of us should take some responsibility to aide them. We should all "educate" people about not sitting on tables or placing their drinks or slamming their sticks or bouncing balls on them because WE don't want them ruining the equipment WE are going to be playing on. If they don't like being told by us, then get management to address it.

For the record, I find non-league players to be a lot more disrespectful to all the other players and the equipment as they have no "tie to them" than I do with APA league players whom do. I have traveled to many different cities and I have been in many of places that had APA leagues running while I was there and I have never witnessed the stereotype you are trying so hard to convey here of them.

 

[philly]

I am no fan of APA largely because of what I read in the various posts in this forum. I prefer to play matches that I set up for myself. My poolroom has one APA night and they are pretty nice people. Sometimes they think they might own the poolroom and get a little loud when I am trying to concentrate on my game but by and large they are ok people. No alcohol is served in my room but it is BYOB. I think when you mix a bar, pool tables, and APA is when things get a little dicey.

 

[ElCorazonFrio]

You still generalize people and you are 100% wrong in how you are attempting to use groupthink to justify your tainted view which again shows your egotistical attitude and how you are more than likely exaggerating the situation.

Then you ***** about someone ruining $350 worth your stuff because you had it sitting on a table? I would suggest you take better responsibility of your stuff. What in the world makes you think you can set anything on a pool table other than the equipment meant for it to begin with?

As pointed out it is ultimately the owner/operators responsibility but as individuals that frequently play at a location all of us should take some responsibility to aide them. We should all "educate" people about not sitting on tables or placing their drinks or slamming their sticks or bouncing balls on them because WE don't want them ruining the equipment WE are going to be playing on. If they don't like being told by us, then get management to address it.

For the record, I find non-league players to be a lot more disrespectful to all the other players and the equipment as they have no "tie to them" than I do with APA league players whom do. I have traveled to many different cities and I have been in many of places that had APA leagues running while I was there and I have never witnessed the stereotype you are trying so hard to convey here of them.

My stuff wasn't on a pool table, jackhole, it was on an eating table, you know, the ones where people set things with an expectation of them being safe? The ones that have chairs right next to them? Maybe you've heard of them?

Where the hell was I supposed to set things? The floor?

This is like telling someone that they are responsible for their own car getting side-swiped because they parked it on the street. Your logic is messed up.

 

[ElCorazonFrio]

You still generalize people and you are 100% wrong in how you are attempting to use groupthink to justify your tainted view which again shows your egotistical attitude and how you are more than likely exaggerating the situation.

Then you ***** about someone ruining $350 worth your stuff because you had it sitting on a table? I would suggest you take better responsibility of your stuff. What in the world makes you think you can set anything on a pool table other than the equipment meant for it to begin with?

As pointed out it is ultimately the owner/operators responsibility but as individuals that frequently play at a location all of us should take some responsibility to aide them. We should all "educate" people about not sitting on tables or placing their drinks or slamming their sticks or bouncing balls on them because WE don't want them ruining the equipment WE are going to be playing on. If they don't like being told by us, then get management to address it.

For the record, I find non-league players to be a lot more disrespectful to all the other players and the equipment as they have no "tie to them" than I do with APA league players whom do. I have traveled to many different cities and I have been in many of places that had APA leagues running while I was there and I have never witnessed the stereotype you are trying so hard to convey here of them.

It's also very telling of you that you think that if my glasses and hat were on a pool table that it was expected that they would be ruined by having beer dumped on them and being sat upon.

I don't know where you play, but generally putting beers on a pool table is frowned upon, as is sitting upon one.

 

[lorider]

A few days ago I started looking around for a "positive" thread to bump to the front of the forum because it had saddened me as to the amount of purely negative threads going on right now and I sincerely thought this thread (buried on page 103 with only a deleted first response) was what this forum needed to get pointed back in a more positive direction.

Then...as appears to be the norm...it starts going downhill...quickly.

But then in the last two posts by ElCorazonFrio and lorider I get the opportunity to see a bit of who they are...why they are...and how they can be.

I think we all forget that it's not always what we say...but rather how we say things that illicit the responses we get...

if i had not mentioned that this happened during an apa match it would have not gotten the negative responses it did and sadly ...probably not very many responses at all.

during my time on here i have seen just about every derogatory remark you can think of being used to describe apa players. the most common being drunks...cheaters...ill mannered and disrespectful to non league players.

now i am not gonna deny that those descriptions do fit some apa players but the same can be said for a shit load of players in general all across America ...league and non league.

it is ludicrous to bash an entire organization over the actions of a few and lump all members in the same category.

should i lump all non league players in the same category based on the actions of a few ? no i should not. what actions you ask ? lets use last night and today for an example.

there is a pro/am tourny going on here this weekend.

during my apa match last night this guy who is entered into the am tourny sends his wife over to my table and asks if any of us apa players wanna gamble with him. i never saw him send her over to several other tables where non league players who are entered into the tourny were practicing. wtf ?? no about no heart gambling apa'ers all you want. wth is wrong with challenging some one your level.?

saw a few plop their asses on the rails of tables...same as you criticize apa players for.

saw some guys grab chairs and sit around a table encroaching upon the playing area of a guy who was practicing for the tourny. several times he had to ask them to move so he could make a shot.they would move...he made the shot and they put their chair right back in the same place again. where is the respect at fellas ?

saw a couple sitting at a table with a reserved sign on it . come to find out they had to move cause it was reserved for some one who actually paid for the chairs.

and the most ironic thing of all. i have been playing leagues all over town....some great places in great areas....some were dive bars in not so great areas with a buncha drunk ....cheating ...disrespecting ...rude and obnoxious apa players and have never had my vehicle broken into. last night my truck was broken into at a pool hall filled with fine ...upstanding ...honest pros and non league players. that is ironic huh.?