Serious question Is Pool Sport or game??

Sport and a Game

It looks like the history claims it is both a game AND a sport:

In the United States, though the original "pool" game was played on a pocketless carom billiards table, the term later stuck to all new games of pocket billiards as the sport gained in popularity,[citation needed] and so outside the cue sports industry, which has long favored the more formal term pocket billiards, pool has remained the common name for the sport.

There are hundreds of pool games. Some of the more well known include eight-ball, nine-ball, ten-ball, straight pool, and one-pocket.
 
George Fels said:
We've been through this a bunch of times: legally, if it were a sport, the late Steve Mizerak would never have been allowed to work for Miller Lite. FTC regulations specifically bar any active athlete from endorsing any type of alcoholic product, and the Miz was definitely still active in pool at the time. GF
Click to expand...

Sorry George,,,that is not accurate. The FTC does not determine who can and cannot endorse alcohol, and thus the Miz analogy does not hold water......

I find it hard to believe that after all these years writing for BD, terrifically I might add, that you truly believe that pool is not a sport.

Chess is a game, cause I can still play it and direct some to make the moves for me at my direction, and nobody would mind. Not so for pool, cause nobody is gonna let SVB take my shot for me even if I tell the shot to shoot. Because his physical talents are far superior to my own, as unfortunate as that may be.
 
Why I say game

No matter how old or good you have the ability to perform there will always be someone older or smarter at the game to make your ability useless in the game they choose to put on you.
And that advantage is mental and earned through experience.
It makes the better shooter unable to compete with the sharper or shark. Also gafff situations including pocket sizes and table le roles also come in to play. Cloths too.
As crazy as it sounds the hustler will always find a way to leave with the cash.
This happens way to consistantly for the activity to be a sport. Pool is a trap waiting to happen. If you have a delusion of it being a sport the probability of the master of the game taking advantage of your skills greatly increases.
What are the physical aspects of pool? Stay in a poolroom with a yut it your mouth and never work. No matter how fat you get your game will improve.
Hear it alot man your game has really picked up. Usually followed by Get a job!
Nick :)
 
MitchAlsup said:
A sport is where something has a chance of getting killed. For example hunting, fishing, falconry, drag racing,...

So, it does not fit THAT definition (not trying to imply that that is the only acceptable definition for a sport.)
Click to expand...

I have been in pool halls where that is a real possibility........... was it a sport there????

Kim
 
nick serdula said:
Ask yourselves is pool a sport or a game. I give my thoughts.
I say game. And not a very sporting one at that!
Nick :)
Click to expand...

Now my serious answer:

The times you are playing to have fun, it's a game.
When you're playing for competition, where victory means more than just pride and when the agony of defeat can make you stronger or break you into pieces, then in those moment it's a sport.

Freddie <~~~ it's always been both
 
The correct interpretation of this question, which could have been searched for in the first place, is that billiards, pocket billiards, and snooker games are all members of the Cue Sports family. For instance: One Pocket is a game played on a pocket billiard, or pool table. One Pocket, in and of it's self, is not a sport, but a game. The same goes for all the rest. :smile:
 
Cornerman said:
Now my serious answer:

The times you are playing to have fun, it's a game.
When you're playing for competition, where victory means more than just pride and when the agony of defeat can make you stronger or break you into pieces, then in those moment it's a sport.

Freddie <~~~ it's always been both
Click to expand...

Gonna have to go with this explanation...pool is a sport AND a game.

Baseball is a sport....but many people like going to a ballgame.

..and a fiddle and a violin are the same instrument...
...what makes it one or the other is the manner in which it's played.

however, personally, I don't care if they call it Algernon....
....rack 'em up
 
MitchAlsup said:
A sport is where something has a chance of getting killed. For example hunting, fishing, falconry, drag racing,...

So, it does not fit THAT definition (not trying to imply that that is the only acceptable definition for a sport.)
Click to expand...

You play in different pool halls than I have.;)
 
Last edited:
Tramp Steamer said:
The correct interpretation of this question, which could have been searched for in the first place, is that billiards, pocket billiards, and snooker games are all members of the Cue Sports family. For instance: One Pocket is a game played on a pocket billiard, or pool table. One Pocket, in and of it's self, is not a sport, but a game. The same goes for all the rest. :smile:
Click to expand...

Well said........
 
nick serdula said:
Ask yourselves is pool a sport or a game. I give my thoughts.
I say game. And not a very sporting one at that!
Nick :)
Click to expand...

i'd say a game since the luck factor between two strong players is always present, whereas in sports experience, physical fitness is the separator between the players
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top