Pool and Marriage, Pool and Marriage

TATE said:
I was just reading a list of marital problems cited by divorce attorneys as contributing to the failure of a marriage. There were the usual reasons, like infidelity and lack of intimacy (a nice way of saying it :o) , but in addition to workaholic, the word "hobbyaholic" was mentioned.

Has anybody had problems with their marriage as a direct result of their pool playing?

Chris
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Sometimes we fight a little over who gets playing time if we both want to play at the same time :D
 
We have been Married just over 8 years now. I had given up on Pool due to a Back injury and did not start playing again til 2003.

My Wife likes that fact I started playing again, and it gives me something to do while she is out Shopping with Her Sisters or Friends or watching her Sisters kids. She always knows where I am if I am not home.:D

If it starts getting too late and she is on her way home, she calls in a "Booty Call" and I don't care what game i'm in the middle of, I pack up and go home.:D

The guys at the place I hang understand and don't make a big deal out of it.

All our friends love to play pool also, so sometimes as many as 7 or 8 of us go out to play.

I would say Pool has had nothing but a positive effect on our relationship.

:)
 
I lost my last wife quite possibly because of pool. At the time, I was on the road to turning pro, and more than being addicted, I was actually scared to death of losing my stroke and not being able to compete on the pro tour and possibly making a fool of myself. At the time, I was working for and being sponsored table time from a billiard supplies company, so I wasn't exactly pouring $$ into the game, but still spending 5-6 nights a week playing. Came home earlier than usual one night to discover that my wife had developed 'other' interests while I was away every night playing pool. The following divorce took me away from the tables, and off the track to turning pro for good. Now I'm happily married again, and early on in the marriage when I started to get my stroke back, I was told by my current wife that if we're only going to spend 3 nights a week together, we should have just stayed with the dating and never gotten married. And, since I no longer have the sponsor, I have to duck money games (which eats me from the inside out!) and can only afford around two nights a week. As far as my pool career is concerned? It's always going to be the biggest "what if?" in my life. But as you can see by the pic in my avatar, I traded something pretty nice for a mediocre career in pool.
dave
 
supergreenman said:
This guy was out one night cheating on his wife. He had a little extra fun that night and lost track of time. On his way home he realized he had better come up with a real good excuse.

When he pulled into his driveway, he rubbed some masters chalk onto his bridge hand and went in to face the music.

His wife met him at the door and said, where the hell have you been?

He looked her straight in the eye and said: "Dear, I'm really sorry, I was out with a beautifull woman and one thing led to another and I slept with her."

His wife of course saw the blue chalk on his hand and smacked him and said: "Don't you lie to me as$&*(#, you've been out playing pool"

:D :D :D :D
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That got a big laugh!
 
my wife... we played pool together when we were dating and she really enjoyed it... that's about when i really started to play the game and not bang balls around... we used to go together once or twice a week... poolhall was 6 minutes from my house, no booze, quiet and the owner really liked us and gave us pointers and lessons for nothing... She was pretty good actually..Then she became pregnant with our twins 5 years ago and we played until she couldn't literally reach the table... Just before that i found league play and went every monday nite-even when she was hospitalized during her pregnancy for 9 weeks... when the kids were born she didn't play for a while but indulged my habit letting me go out on monday league and practice once or twice a week for a couple hours.. i was drinking then when i played... then i found some better fish in the poolplaying world and was determined to get to the top of my play... my wife supported me going out on 2 league nites and 2-3 practise nights after she and the kids went to bed. I do not drink when i play anymore either. I started playing tourney's and she would sometimes come to watch... I won regionals singles last year and went to Vegas in april and she accompanied me... i think that kicked a little bug into her. She actually stayed and watched all my matches, all my mini's and most of my gambling... i played 10-12 hours a day to 3 am, back up at 7am kinda thing... now she'll go out and play with me and even asks to go every now and then... if we had a support system to help with the kids i think she'd like to join our team too.. she doesn't like me spending money on my cue habits and if she don't ask how much it cost, i don't tell :-) So my biking habit is as bad as my pool habit and she indulges me there too so i guess i'm lucky
 
Tokyo-dave said:
I lost my last wife quite possibly because of pool. At the time, I was on the road to turning pro, and more than being addicted, I was actually scared to death of losing my stroke and not being able to compete on the pro tour and possibly making a fool of myself. At the time, I was working for and being sponsored table time from a billiard supplies company, so I wasn't exactly pouring $$ into the game, but still spending 5-6 nights a week playing. Came home earlier than usual one night to discover that my wife had developed 'other' interests while I was away every night playing pool. The following divorce took me away from the tables, and off the track to turning pro for good. Now I'm happily married again, and early on in the marriage when I started to get my stroke back, I was told by my current wife that if we're only going to spend 3 nights a week together, we should have just stayed with the dating and never gotten married. And, since I no longer have the sponsor, I have to duck money games (which eats me from the inside out!) and can only afford around two nights a week. As far as my pool career is concerned? It's always going to be the biggest "what if?" in my life. But as you can see by the pic in my avatar, I traded something pretty nice for a mediocre career in pool.
dave
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Dave,

Thank you for writing this. I really don't know what to say other than I respect you an awful lot for making this statement.

Chris
 
Thanks for the stories A-Z friends,

What got me thinking about this was an article I read about divorce. I want to post this. I can only do it as a link. The author consulted 100 divorce attorneys for signs a marriage was heading for divorce. Much of what was said was obvious, but some observations were interesting.

http://coaches.aol.com/love-and-sex/wendy-jaffe/staying-married

I would like to know your thoughts on this.

Chris
 
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TATE said:
I was just reading a list of marital problems cited by divorce attorneys as contributing to the failure of a marriage. There were the usual reasons, like infidelity and lack of intimacy (a nice way of saying it :o) , but in addition to workaholic, the word "hobbyaholic" was mentioned.

Has anybody had problems with their marriage as a direct result of their pool playing?

Chris
Click to expand...

It has literally taken years for my wife and I to get dialed in with my pool playing.

No doubt with my former pool gambler lifestyle (coming home at 7 or 8am, sporatic to no income at times and road trips) we would no longer be together.

If she was not such a great and understanding lady, I could easily see someone not wanting to put up with the huge time and money investment even in being a Pro Pool player.

Most married "pool players" end up divorced pool players IMO.
 
ironhead_79 said:
i'll have to get my wife to scan them, but she has pics of our hands the day we were married 12 years ago, it's a closeup of the rings and you can see chalk on my hand. the church we were married in has an old table in the basement where the teen classes are held, i was nervous so i played the best man to 100 in 14.1, if he won we ran, if i won we went upstairs and went on with the wedding, 12 years later it's still the best match i ever won, my wife doesn't play much, but all i have to do is show her a cue i want and if she says "thats pretty" i know to go for it. guess i found a keeper.
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The rumor we got was that you best man dumped the match. You are in a trap and can't get out.

Maybe you can sue by proving some sort of conspiracy.LOL

Chalk on your ring pictures. That is a classic and only the people here would understand.

Congratulations on the 12 years and many more.
 
Smorgass Bored said:
I had a wife that didn't like me playing pool, she didn't like me playing poker, she didn't like me gambling, she didn't like me drinking and she didn't like me spending time with my buddies. I guess she didn't like me.
She didn't last long.
Doug
( I now visit AZB's Non Pool Related section and click on the 'watering hole' just to see if she is among the beasts coming for a sip of water )
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She had some serious issues!
 
1pRoscoe said:
My thoughts are I hope all is well in the Tate home! ;)
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Ross,

Better than ever. We've been married 18 years and I adore my wife more than ever. We are a great team.

This is my 3rd marriage. The other two marriages didn't work out, having nothing to do with pool. They were just not good decisions. Most of my pool playing was done when I was single.

As much as I like it, pool is just a hobby. I would never neglect my family life. It's nice to have a table at home to stay in stroke. Even if I decide to try to play more competitively, it will stay a hobby.

Chris
 
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TATE said:
Ross,

Better than ever. We've been married 18 years and I adore my wife more than ever. We are a great team.

This is my 3rd marriage. The other two marriages didn't work out, having nothing to do with pool. They were just not good decisions. Most of my pool playing was done when I was single.

As much as I like it, pool is just a hobby. I would never neglect my family life. It's nice to have a table at home to stay in stroke. Even if I decide to try to play more competitively, it will stay a hobby.

Chris
Click to expand...

What I was referring to was the fact that you were looking at that in the first place - no personal comments, just my innocent ribbing... :p

I think I've talked to you enough to know where you are coming from, and I feel fortunate enough to be in the same position even after 9yrs of marriage.
 
Let's face it guys...the pool playing lifestyle isn't what one could call stable. I think many women fall in love with a good times party "bad boy" guy when they are young, but as they get older they wish for more stability, more financial security in their lives. I'll always be just a casual banger, despite my enthusiasm for the game. This because I have other hobby interests and also investments. My most important investment is the 31 years invested with my bride. I do my best to take care of that one.

(edit) Another reason I'll always be a casual banger? I'm a lousy pool player. I know that, which means I'm tough to hustle. ;)
 
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CueJunkiee said:
my wife... we played pool together when we were dating and she really enjoyed it... that's about when i really started to play the game and not bang balls around... we used to go together once or twice a week... poolhall was 6 minutes from my house, no booze, quiet and the owner really liked us and gave us pointers and lessons for nothing... She was pretty good actually..Then she became pregnant with our twins 5 years ago and we played until she couldn't literally reach the table... Just before that i found league play and went every monday nite-even when she was hospitalized during her pregnancy for 9 weeks... when the kids were born she didn't play for a while but indulged my habit letting me go out on monday league and practice once or twice a week for a couple hours.. i was drinking then when i played... then i found some better fish in the poolplaying world and was determined to get to the top of my play... my wife supported me going out on 2 league nites and 2-3 practise nights after she and the kids went to bed. I do not drink when i play anymore either. I started playing tourney's and she would sometimes come to watch... I won regionals singles last year and went to Vegas in april and she accompanied me... i think that kicked a little bug into her. She actually stayed and watched all my matches, all my mini's and most of my gambling... i played 10-12 hours a day to 3 am, back up at 7am kinda thing... now she'll go out and play with me and even asks to go every now and then... if we had a support system to help with the kids i think she'd like to join our team too.. she doesn't like me spending money on my cue habits and if she don't ask how much it cost, i don't tell :-) So my biking habit is as bad as my pool habit and she indulges me there too so i guess i'm lucky
Click to expand...

No offense, man.. But this was extremely hard to read. Please break up your paragraphs into 3 or 4 sentence chunks, so it is not so hard to read. I gave up after about 5 "sentences".:o

Russ
 
Pool doesn't matter but...

After saying she was okay with pool I learned she has her limits.

I was watching the Bucs pregame show today when a commercial came on for the Bucs Cheerleaders Calendar. "Hey, Doll," I said, "Get me that. I wanna know what day it is."

"You'll know what day it is," she snapped. "The last day of your life." :eek:
 
Been married 9 wonderful years and have 2 cool kids. We have only had 1 misunderstanding since we have been together and it was pool. Does numerous pool related incidents still count has only 1 misunderstanding? She went and stayed at my sisters one night when I called her at around 10pm and told her I would be home within an hour. Showed up at 5am and she was gone!!! Didn't know where and dumb-ss me was on my way out the door to a pool tourney on a Sunday. I didn't go to the tourney and that probably saved my marriage. Well, I know it did 'cause she said my stuff would be in the yard when I got home and she would file for divorce on monday.
So after a little conditioning on both our parts we have reached an agreement. I do what she tells me to do and I get a little when I want it. (pool that is) Works for me!! I have made the DCC for 5 years going on my 6th. That ain't too shabby and my marriage ain't either. Gotta go, wife's calling!!!!!
 
ironman said:
The rumor we got was that you best man dumped the match. You are in a trap and can't get out.

Maybe you can sue by proving some sort of conspiracy.LOL

Chalk on your ring pictures. That is a classic and only the people here would understand.

Congratulations on the 12 years and many more.
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i never thought of it like that. do you know a good lawyer? it was awful funny he almost always beat me till that day, and me being nervous shoulda made it worse. come to think of it, there was a 9 ball tournament that weekend while we were on our honeymoon, and i think he won, i knew he was up to something, only took my 12 years to figure it out, LOL. :eek:
 
All I can say is, she loved the money but couldn't stand the lifestyle. Being a Pool player wasn't something she could brag to her friends about.
But like they say, you don't have to be married more than once to realize that once was once to many.
I miss her but not as much as when I miss a 9 ball.
 
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BVal said:
I married a woman who is just as addicted as I am so my answer is no.
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My fiancée's first xmas gift to me was a cue.

Last year we were playing eight ball. She was kicking my ass. Later a friend tried teasing me: "Every time I looked over she was making the 8... a future wife that can kick your ass in pool- can you cope?"

"Absolutely. It means I'll still be able to go to the pool hall well after we're married, and she won't object to a pool table when we have a place big enough for one"

"Let me rephrase my original question: 'Does she have any sisters?'"
 
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