Pocket Billiards Terms

In my area, we just called a ball in the kitchen 'behind the line'....
...the oldtimers called it 'in balk'.
'The kitchen' seems to be a recent term...never heard it till the 90s....
...maybe a league thing?

That particular assault on terminology was the result of "Pool and Billiard" magazine.

Dale
 
I'm calling bullshit....gambling has been around this game since it was played on a lawn.
A French Cardinal was the first monster go-off in the Middle Ages...one of the better
know hustlers back then became a bishop.

George Washington kept track of his billiard winnings.

I don't think this game would have reached the heights it has in talent and knowledge
without it being competitive....and that involves gamblers looking for an edge.

Exactly my point.
If one picks up a cue at all, one should also understand that billiards (like many games) has always been gambled on. Doesn't make it right or wrong, it just is what it is, a permanent part of the culture like it or not.

And again, its not the gambling that turns people off about pool. Trust me, even little old church ladies love mixing it up at the bingo hall.
 
Exactly my point.

And again, its not the gambling that turns people off about pool. Trust me, even little old church ladies love mixing it up at the bingo hall.

I think he's being intentionally antagonistic to make up for the cold reception to his bar-rules manual or just a deep-seeded feeling of missing out. Pool players tend to be very Alpha and it can be intimidating for anyone who lacks a good deal of self-confidence. The loss of his previous accounts likely fuels that.

That aside, I think what turns people off of pool is that Alpha attitude. It's a high bar for entry to walk into a room full of people who know each other and you feel you're expected to perform in a game of very fine motor control, at the highest level, out of the gate. We don't actually expect that, but the air of it can be almost palpable when you walk into a strange room.

Gambling isn't the problem, and it isn't the solution either. It's just a decoration. I can gamble on whether a blonde, a brunette, or a redhead will walk in next; it doesn't make the door evil.
 
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