First Time in Pool Room with a Cue

akaTrigger said:
I was nervous the first time I took my cue to the pool room. It was a simple-looking cue, and now I don't even remember the name of it, lol.

But, I showed up to the pool room in San Antonio, and deliberately walked in without my new cue because I felt "weird" about bringing it in. I shyly told someone there, "I bought a cue." "Where is it?" he asks. I reply with, "It's in the car." He told me, "go get it, don't leave it in the car, it could get stolen."

I got it and brought it in and as I walked down the long aisle to the other end of the building to the few people I knew, I felt uneasy about bringing in the case. Like, everyone was looking at me, wondering why I had my own cue. I felt, I dunno, nervous and self conscious. Well, that was only that one time! I don't know why I felt uneasy that day.

I suppose I'm not in the norm - everyone else prolly couldn't wait to bring in their first cue. Anyone else want to share when they took their first cue into a pool room?
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Same thing for me in 85 in a real busy room, after a few times it was just part of me and still is, funny how that works
 
I had two cues when I was younger, given to me. I don't remember being proud of them... I was a regular in the bar I played in so I didn't care what anyone thought.

But this time, the first 3 or 4 times we played, we drove home thinking, "There's no way we can walk in there with our own sticks as bad as we are. We just don't deserve them." But then I started realizing that everyone understands the desire to get all the gear/tools when you start a new hobby... and we are talking warped bar sticks... surely our game would improve.

And I still feel wierd when I take it out of it's case... like someone's thinking, "So you think you can shoot, eh?" But at least now I can shoot a little. :)
 
I believe I was about 12 when my Dad went with me to pick out a cue at the pawn shop. I have no idea what it was. It was Black and that's what I wanted. I paid $6 for it with my weeks earnings from my paper route. My Dad told me never to walk in a poolroom or bar with a two-piece. He said, "No one will play you because they'll think your too good...but your not...just play with a house cue". So I just used it for a long time at home before my Dad broke it because I was on our table instead of out in the coal bin bagging coal to delivery the next day.

I think the first cue I brought to a poolroom I was about 22. It was my Dads room and he just shook his head when I walked in the door. Johnnyt
 
Johnnyt said:
I believe I was about 12 when my Dad went with me to pick out a cue at the pawn shop. I have no idea what it was. It was Black and that's what I wanted. I paid $6 for it with my weeks earnings from my paper route. My Dad told me never to walk in a poolroom or bar with a two-piece. He said, "No one will play you because they'll think your too good...but your not...just play with a house cue". So I just used it for a long time at home before my Dad broke it because I was on our table instead of out in the coal bin bagging coal to delivery the next day.

I think the first cue I brought to a poolroom I was about 22. It was my Dads room and he just shook his head when I walked in the door. Johnnyt
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I think I know that head shake. I took my 2 piece Mali over to grandpa's once. He laughed, and asked what I needed that for (he had REALLY nice Brunswick 1 piece cues and others I could and had always used before). I tried to explain that I couldn't take his cues to play elsewhere, so I needed to get used to MY cue. He shook his head, and said something that really should ring true (but be ignored here, of course), "it shouldn't matter what you're shooting with."
 
HouseMan said:
It's called being an adult.
Adults worry about paying their mortgages, medical insurance, life insurance, food for the family, home repair, kids, water bill, sewer bill, cable bill, electricity bill.
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Nope 38 and I don't worry about any of these:grin:
Jason<---may not be an adult yet.
 
Actually I wasn't nervous. All the places I play in Calgary where pool halls. I haven't had the experience walking into the bar and pulling out a two piece cue.

Actually now that I think about it : Ability to play lights out with a bar cue that is bowed, ferrule dirty and crack appeals to me more for some reason :grin:



u32 - C class banger
 
akaTrigger said:
I was nervous the first time I took my cue to the pool room. It was a simple-looking cue, and now I don't even remember the name of it, lol.

But, I showed up to the pool room in San Antonio, and deliberately walked in without my new cue because I felt "weird" about bringing it in. I shyly told someone there, "I bought a cue." "Where is it?" he asks. I reply with, "It's in the car." He told me, "go get it, don't leave it in the car, it could get stolen."

I got it and brought it in and as I walked down the long aisle to the other end of the building to the few people I knew, I felt uneasy about bringing in the case. Like, everyone was looking at me, wondering why I had my own cue. I felt, I dunno, nervous and self conscious. Well, that was only that one time! I don't know why I felt uneasy that day.

I suppose I'm not in the norm - everyone else prolly couldn't wait to bring in their first cue. Anyone else want to share when they took their first cue into a pool room?
Click to expand...

Trigger,
For me, it was a very long time ago but I remember feeling exactly the same way. The first time is always the scariest. :smile:
JoeyA
 
I know the feeling well and it been a decade or longer.

One of the reasons I picked pool up again was this "bar" right around from the job that was open 24/7.Pretty dam rare in my parts of the world.I swing shifts,so at seven am work was over and it was time for a beer ect.

We'd pop in and bang a few balls and I realized how much I missed the game.Now...to be truthful,this was one pretty serious redneck joint...but it was almost always empty by morning so it was all good.

But as time passed,we kinda fell in with the regulars and started stopping by at night (not weekends mind you,this crowd of folks could get pretty crazy in a hurry) but some nights and a quite a few mornings we would hit the spot and bang balls on some of the nappiest 8'ers in the southeast.

When I got my first cue,I remembering thinking in the parking lot "this is gonna go well" lol.

It was fine of course...snide comments and backhanded compliments aside...after a while I think they came to know me as the "non pool playing idiot with his own cue".Ahhh the love.

There were just a couple of guys who came to play here with there own cues (they did have eight tables),because if you have a clue about cues...ya might have a clue about tables,which probably put this joint on the do not ever visit list lol.

But yeah,it made me feel like a goober in a way,esp since I played so bad and the few other regular (read "much better") players knew it.

But I rocked that cuetec and I still have it today.

It'll pass.As someone mentioned,you will soon feel like an arse for not bringing it lol.....and people will notice when you don't.
 
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My first cue was a K-Mart special, can't remember how much, cheap for sure. It was brown with a fake leather wrap with holes in it like those old steering wheel covers you used to see, but I tell you that was one sweet hitting cue, ugly as sin but felt great, wish I still had that for sentimental reasons :) I think as I got a little better I sold it to another newb and upgraded to a mcdermott then a meucci, no more than I play I really can't justify spending a lot of money on a custom cue, no matter how sweet some of them look.
 
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