Is Pool A Disease?

Is Pool a Disease

  • Yes, My name is .......

    Votes: 45 64.3%

  • No, I'm on my way to play now, no matter the consequences

    Votes: 25 35.7%
  • Total voters
    70
Yes, it is. But that's okay.

Here's a quote of a recent flare-up of my disease (from an old thread):

SloMoHolic said:
I'm so sorry to hear about your One Pocket infection.

I was recently infected with the 1P virus as well.

I was always careful. Never thought I'd catch it... None of us did.

But here we are; Sick. There is no cure.

We all thought we were good players until we played our first game of 1P.

Then we realized that those who run 7 racks of 9-ball actually don't know how to shoot pool.

All the Live Streams and typical YouTube videos became boring and repetitive. (But we still watch them occasionally, with a melancholy lust for the days when we thought pool was that simple).

Even the spot terminology changed, from "7-out" to "two breaks and 10-6."

Suddenly, we had a hard time finding anyone willing to play.

Making a ball on the break became unusual and mind-blowing.

We changed from assuming we'd make every shot, to assuming we'd miss every shot.

The phrase "safety battle" began to seem redundant and unnecessary.

The phrase "but you don't understand how awesome that was" became more meaningful.

Terms like "race to nine" became unreasonable.

"Alternating breaks" were no longer a point of dispute.

Our rotational friends may mourn our absence, but we simultaneously dismiss them, and try to infect them with our disease.

If only they could be so lucky to catch this crazy virus.

Good luck, my friends. We are all in this together.

May your shots roll slowly and beautifully towards (but not necessarily into) your One and only Pocket.

-Blake

:)
Click to expand...
 
Pool is a vehicle. It will display your personality. If you have tendencies towards obsessive or selfish behavior, it will show.

What's the difference between a jealous boyfriend who acts out and a bully on the pool table? Nothing. Same person.
 
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Never looked at it that way

I always thought of pool as an affliction of the heart,..... ie: A PASSION.
It always felt GREAT to over-come the odds,but I also enjoy just playing the game. :smile:
 
I did go blind.........................................

pwd72s said:
They said it would make me go blind.

I thought I would quit when I needed glasses.

But I can't seem to stop.
Click to expand...


It is more like a curse.
I have to smile because last season I was 100% blind in my left eye and still lead the league with the highest average.

I was called a liar so many times, I only wished I was.
january I had laser surgery , eye sight is such a gift.
I am back to 20/20 now.

My first marrage my ex wife told me if I didnt stop playing pool she would leave me.
I sold all of my cues and put the money down on a new house.
She got the house in the devorce........:frown:

I have lost a few friends over gambling on pool too.
And guys I hate to say this but most wifes are not pool junkies .

Everytime I get into a arguement with my wife I buy a new cue.:D
Its a damm good thing she never looks into my dealers case.

Ps if your wife has a hard on about pool, buy a motor home and play it safe;)

MMike
 
In a way, the disease is the curse society has installed and the way in which many in society choose to view the game here in the $tate$. The General Public is stuck with the wasted youth thinking only because our players are not wealthy like Phil Michelson the golfer. The disease is money. Society chooses to look down upon, instead of just looking at and accepting it for what it is. Pool is too tough for the average mind.
 
people who like to compete or gamble one on one will always want to do it,pool is something that affords multiple careers to the same person,many good players quit and comeback and so on.you cant do that in hockey
 
For the record, I think it can apply to us lowly league players, as well. Cuz I'm certainly afflicted.

Can't play worth crap, but I keep going, and trying, and going, and trying....It frustrates me no end, and then next day I can't wait to get back at it again. Think I qualify?

I do.
 
"One Pocket, it's an epidemic and there ain't no cure!" Melvin "Strawberry" Brooks
 
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I've been playing for about 52 years :eek: There was a time that i practiced 4 or 5 hours every day. I soon topped out ability wise as a pretty good short stop in the 80's. You had to play pretty darn good to beat me.
Since then the passion to get better has left and I just play once or so a week just for fun.
So I think I have been cured.
 
Pool is a way of life. If played for the joy and thrill of it, the game can deliver years and years of fulfillment, and you can play the game well into old age. I don't spend as many hours in the poolroom as I once did, but every day of every week of every year, I think about pool at least once. Lucky for me, I'm frequently afforded tge opportunity to shoot pool with people who love pool the way I do.

That said, obsessive gambling at pool is a disease. Thankfully, I've never been down that road.
 
I tend to lean towards the word "passion", rather than "addiction". For me, it is the massive complexity of the balls and equipment interaction on a seemingly simple rectangular background.

Other life problems can interfere with how often I can play, but the fact that, at any time, I can make those candy-colored balls disappear off the table by the magic of my actions - attracts me like a moth to a flame.
 
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