Pool Maners

Celophanewrap

Celophanewrap

Call me Grace
Silver Member
At the conclusion of a match, either in a team setting or an individual match, who should be the party to offer up their hand in sportsmanship? My thought is that the victor should always acknowledge the effort of the other competetor or team and offer their hand as a token of respect and that is the very least due to a contemporary and fellow pool player. I realize that there are times that certain behaviors might dictate that this mutual show of respect and comraderie doesn't happen, but speaking in general terms, what would be considered the correct ediquette, should the winner acknowledge the loser, or should the loser first offer a hand shake of congratulations. Please pardon my spelling, I think I was a part of the very last generation that was taught to sperll phoenetically. Thanks.
 
winner, after pocketing the winning ball, should approach the losing player, hand extended. Losing player should at least take a step or two towards the table to acknowledge defeat, and an equal show of sportsmanship. There are a few guys I play with, where we have played so much pool against each other, that a simple nod suffices, but this is because we are very familiar with each other.
 
Celophanewrap:
At the conclusion of a match, either in a team setting or an individual match, who should be the party to offer up their hand in sportsmanship?
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Both. What purpose does it serve to make it the obligation of only one?

pj
chgo
 
I will always try to initiate the shaking of hands prior to a match and after the game regardless of whether I win or lose.

This approach demonstrates that I have respect for the person and for myself regardless if I am feeling down about losing. It also makes me feel better about myself and that I have acted as a sportsman throughout and have respect for onlookers.

On the contrary I have had players pack up their cues and walk out of a room whilst I am still potting the last remaining balls. In fact in one case the opponent pushed the balls all over the table with his hands while i was playing and then had the nerve to try and shake my hand! that was a strange experience to say the least....each to his own
 
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jackthehat said:
I will always try to initiate the shaking of hands prior to a match and after the game regardless of whether I win or lose.

This approach demonstrates that I have respect for the person and for myself regardless if I am feeling down about losing. It also makes me feel better about myself and that I have acted as a sportsman throughout.

On the contrary I have had players pack up their cues and walk out of a room whilst I am still potting the last remaining balls. In fact in one case the opponent pushed the balls all over the table with his hands while i was playing and then tried to shake my hand! that was a strange experience to say the least....each to his own
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Same here.
 
Celophanewrap said:
At the conclusion of a match, either in a team setting or an individual match, who should be the party to offer up their hand in sportsmanship? My thought is that the victor should always acknowledge the effort of the other competetor or team and offer their hand as a token of respect and that is the very least due to a contemporary and fellow pool player. I realize that there are times that certain behaviors might dictate that this mutual show of respect and comraderie doesn't happen, but speaking in general terms, what would be considered the correct ediquette, should the winner acknowledge the loser, or should the loser first offer a hand shake of congratulations. Please pardon my spelling, I think I was a part of the very last generation that was taught to sperll phoenetically. Thanks.
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Todays society,,, manners, respect, sportsmanship. Good Luck. I'm seeing it less and less. Then again I hang with pool players and fisherman.
 
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I feel that in any civilized society a formalized ritual should be performed at the conclusion of any, and all contests requiring skill, strength, and daring.
I once witnessed a remote tribe of bushmen, in southern Borneo, perform the seldom seen Oooga Booga ceremony at the conclusion of a week long hunt for monkey meat. Monkey meat, as you may, or may not know, is a staple in their diet.
This week long hunt is in the form of a contest, much like our modern day pool tournaments, in which the tribesman who bags the least number of monkeys each day is eliminated from the hunt until the last day when only two contestants remain.
Should either of these men return to the village with the same number of monkeys (similar to our going hill/hill) they both return to the forest and try again. When a winner is declared he must, by tribal law, acknowlege the efforts of his fellow combatants.
By a carefully practiced ceremony, the victor comes to attention, lifts his right leg up to where his heel nearly touches the buttock, then smartly swings the foot down to the ground while sliding backwards at the same time, and shouting, "nyuk, nyuk, nyuk," all the while.
It is a spectacle to behold, and one that I think could, and should, be practiced here. :smile:
 
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I think worrying about who puts their hand out first is a little petty. What if it's a big/important match and the winner takes a minute to collect himself? For example, when Ortmann won the 1989 US Open 14.1 Championship, he kind of fell on the table and put his head in his hands. Is he rude for not shaking Mizerak's hand immediately? You could say "well, it's the 14.1 championship!" but these things are relative. I'd be pretty pumped-up if I won the local, weekly bar tournament.

Also, I've played matches that were blow-outs and my opponent was so frustrated/angry that I wasn't comfortable reaching out my hand. Am I a dick because I quietly walked away from the table and let the guy calm down?

In a perfect world, both people will acknowledge the other, and play for the sake of competition. This is not a perfect world, and we have to take what we can. But if you're bothered that your opponent didn't put his hand out fast enough, you should do some self-reflection and figure out why.
 
Celophanewrap said:
At the conclusion of a match, either in a team setting or an individual match, who should be the party to offer up their hand in sportsmanship? My thought is that the victor should always acknowledge the effort of the other competetor or team and offer their hand as a token of respect and that is the very least due to a contemporary and fellow pool player. I realize that there are times that certain behaviors might dictate that this mutual show of respect and comraderie doesn't happen, but speaking in general terms, what would be considered the correct ediquette, should the winner acknowledge the loser, or should the loser first offer a hand shake of congratulations. Please pardon my spelling, I think I was a part of the very last generation that was taught to sperll phoenetically. Thanks.
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Good question. The loser should step up first to offer congratulations to the winner.
 
I ask because, admittedly (to my shame) I've been guilty on both sides a time or two. As the winner, I think it's a little easier to evaluate the situation and to be polite and to acknowledge your opponent before any celebration begins, taking a moment to collect yourself or take a deep breath is perfectly acceptable, as the loser I would never interrupt a celebration or approach when he was trying to take a minute. As a player, I've been on both sides, this past weekend, as an observer I saw it quite a bit on both sides and it really bothered me. It got me thinking, wondering, if there is an implied responsibility. Its very important for me personally, to acknowlege the effort of my opponent regardless of the outcome of the match, but its also very important for me personally, to acknowlege the support of my team mates. It bothers me that at the conclusion of a match I can't always tell what my opponent may need from me in the way of acknowledgement and as an observer it bothers me that far too many players just don't seem to care.
 
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Who acts first

The winner should always extent a gesture of acknowledgement first!

Whether it's a hand shake, a nod or some other acknowledgement. The reason for this is that the loser is at a disadvantage....all eyes and attention are on the winner and the responsibility is upon him to initiate the gesture.


If it was a difficult match and the loser behaved poorly he is unlikely to feel that the winner will be open to a hand shake; however, the winner has no such burden because he has the victory and his gesture represents a resolution to conflict.

Even if both parties played a clean match, there is still an expectation for mutual conflict resolution. Ask yourself, if your opponent snubbed you when you offered a hand shake would you feel as though all was well between you and him even if you were the winner? Probably not....


This is not to say that poor losers won't occassionally snub the winner but that pertains to character and not ettiquette.

In my opinion, the winner should always initiate a gesture first unless the loser beats him to it.
 
It depends on who I'm playing, when my opponent promptly snaps his cue in half I walk away. Both is the correct response but it does depend on other factors.
 
In the BCA regional tournaments where the players are sitting in a chair behind a table I found when I turned around after pocketing the 8 ball they would stay seated and lift their stick in the air as acknowledgement for a good game and that was just fine by me.

Eventually when there are enough diseases that people are worried about it will evolve to the head nod.

I personally think the Japanese were on to something with the bow/head nod.

As a self-defense precaution letting a man grab your hand is a bad idea in certain situations.
 
Regardless how the game ends both players should shake hands and wish each other luck. Thats just simple sportsmanship.
 
Celophanewrap said:
I ask because, admittedly (to my shame) I've been guilty on both sides a time or two. As the winner, I think it's a little easier to evaluate the situation and to be polite and to acknowledge your opponent before any celebration begins, taking a moment to collect yourself or take a deep breath is perfectly acceptable, as the loser I would never interrupt a celebration or approach when he was trying to take a minute. As a player, I've been on both sides, this past weekend, as an observer I saw it quite a bit on both sides and it really bothered me. It got me thinking, wondering, if there is an implied responsibility. Its very important for me personally, to acknowlege the effort of my opponent regardless of the outcome of the match, but its also very important for me personally, to acknowlege the support of my team mates. It bothers me that at the conclusion of a match I can't always tell what my opponent may need from me in the way of acknowledgement and as an observer it bothers me that far too many players just don't seem to care.
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That's not to say that the winner should stand back and wait until the loser steps up, but the loser should be on his feet with hand extended after the winner pockets match ball. I've played in plenty of pro events and the loser always congratulates the winner first and then the winner responds by saying thanks and good match, or something to that effect.

To the spectators it may look as if both are meeting in the middle, and they are in a way, but you can tell by the exchange that the loser is extending his congrats first, at least that's the case where good sportsmanship is exhibited.

In cases where the loser is being childish or a cry-baby, they will stay seated and the winner will come to them with hand extended. That's a shame when that happens.
 
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Yes Tramp, I remember my exploits to the jungles of Borneo myself.

Within the same contest, the women of the tribe perform the same hunting game, only it is their job to hunt small birds, preferably the Finch.

After the hunt is over, the contest is celebrated by a huge meal of Finch and Chimps.
 
a little to cerebral for pool? sure. But I respect the OP for being cognizant of proper etiquette and there indeed is one. A poster above nailed it. Winner makes a gesture to the loser to acknowledge the effort. It goes back to gladiator days. When one would win he would be titled as best. He would have the duty to determine the worthiness of his opponent. Does anyone in pool really care? Nope, and that is part of the problem. golf/Tennis=etiquette and there is money in golf/tennis.just. sayin
 
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Celophanewrap said:
At the conclusion of a match, either in a team setting or an individual match, who should be the party to offer up their hand in sportsmanship? My thought is that the victor should always acknowledge the effort of the other competetor or team and offer their hand as a token of respect and that is the very least due to a contemporary and fellow pool player. I realize that there are times that certain behaviors might dictate that this mutual show of respect and comraderie doesn't happen, but speaking in general terms, what would be considered the correct ediquette, should the winner acknowledge the loser, or should the loser first offer a hand shake of congratulations. Please pardon my spelling, I think I was a part of the very last generation that was taught to sperll phoenetically. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I agree with the winner approaching the loser to shake hands.
I have seen a loser offer to shake hands and the winner was too busy
celebrating....very awkward situation.

Good thread, Celo.
Some of this needs to be said.
 
Tramp Steamer said:
I feel that in any civilized society a formalized ritual should be performed at the conclusion of any, and all contests requiring skill, strength, and daring.
I once witnessed a remote tribe of bushmen, in southern Borneo, perform the seldom seen Oooga Booga ceremony at the conclusion of a week long hunt for monkey meat. Monkey meat, as you may, or may not know, is a staple in their diet.
This week long hunt is in the form of a contest, much like our modern day pool tournaments, in which the tribesman who bags the least number of monkeys each day is eliminated from the hunt until the last day when only two contestants remain.
Should either of these men return to the village with the same number of monkeys (similar to our going hill/hill) they both return to the forest and try again. When a winner is declared he must, by tribal law, acknowlege the efforts of his fellow combatants.
By a carefully practiced ceremony, the victor comes to attention, lifts his right leg up to where his heel nearly touches the buttock, then smartly swings the foot down to the ground while sliding backwards at the same time, and shouting, "nyuk, nyuk, nyuk," all the while.
It is a spectacle to behold, and one that I think could, and should, be practiced here. :smile:
Click to expand...



Oh man - still laughing. You are the king of short satrical stories. Nobody does it better...
 
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