What is your definition of serious?
Agree 100% with you!I never drink when I play and couple years ago I noticed via graphing data about my practice routine that drinking (getting drunk) would affect my game for several days afterwards. So I quit drinking and haven't had a drink since last October and I doubt I ever will again unless I quit playing pool (never gonna happen).
The only time I ever drink is when I'm alone, or with somebody.
I used to play in a room in Miami called Abe's Billiard Congress. In the winter top players were there every night. Anybody may be playing, Ronnie Allen, Miz, Danny D, a zillion road players and so on.I have never been in a pool room where serious players drink while playing. But if a pool room benefits from serving alcohol to less capable players, that is fine by me. Pool room owners deserve to make as much money as possible. Years ago, I played in a pool room where the local pro was Kim Davenport. When Kim came in to practice, several of us would cash out our tables, buy a beer, and sit down for a lesson. Those were great evenings.
Not serious players when they are playing. If they feel they have to they have a problem.
I usually have a drink in each hand cause I hate to drink alone. J/K
No Booze for me. Ruins my game.
Excitatory neurons use Glutamate = Excitement
Inhibitory neurons use Gaba = Inhibition/Organize/Differentiate
Alcohol suppresses glutamate and enhances gaba = less excitation more inhibition.
So because glutamate sites become less effective information flow become slow and only the largest signals can make it through, this mean you feel less, perceive less, notice less and remember less. In conjunction the increased gaba hushes the background noise of activity fine tuning and clarifying your thoughts (but to a degree), while drunk your gaba channels are wide open and combined with the lack of glutamate you begin to think very little but with great clarity (that what causes your drunk buddy to keep repeating himself)
Thinking clearly about almost nothing.
(that is also why some feel that they play better when they are drunk or have been drinking)
The less important the night the better the chances i have a drink but since i drive it's very little to begin with and usually is only to support my friends business. So it's a glass of wine sometimes cause i can drink that slower or a beer or two when i want to be more social.
Not serious players when they are playing. If they feel they have to they have a problem.