What are your immediate thoughts?
There's definitely an art to playing pool. I can truthfully say that I've not quite mastered it. Some would assume that pool is a game engineered to mathematically sink balls into the pockets using skill, geometry and some physics, yada, yada, yada. I'm convinced it's a game of chance, luck and, yes, I'll admit it, some skill. The skill I'm referring to depends on who is playing the game. I'm not talking about the people who see pool as a sport, join leagues and enter tournaments. I'm talking about people, like myself, that see pool purely as a recreational activity. If the players are a couple of guys, the game can get intense. It may involve some sort of wager to see which player has more know-how. If ladies are playing, they're probably playing for the enjoyment of it. They might want to see who can get the balls to go where they planned, based on how powerful they strike the cue ball. Another set of pool players might be devised of a mixed table, a gender split — women verses the men. There's no other way to say it. This type of game is pure war. When a man decides to play against a woman, he's playing for a couple of reasons. He might want to impress her with skills and win; help her to develop some skills of her own and not win; or, competing is just in his blood and he can't help himself — a sport is a sport. Period! When a woman allows a man to play against her, she's sending a couple of messages. She might feel that she has to let him win — to keep his ego intact; or, she beats the pants off of him, and realizes who really wears the trousers. The other approach is to act like you have no clue whatsoever about why you need to hit the same ball over and over again, so that the other pretty balls go in the hole things at the side of the table. Why not hit each ball directly? Well, hopefully no one is really that cue-less! Not to say that there aren't some excellent female pool players out there — I know ESPN has shown women's tournaments. When everything's said and done, a game is just that — a game. Unless you're a professional athlete and it's your job to make the rest of us — who are too lazy to get up and indulge in physical activity — just sit back and watch the sport.
Page designer Joy James writes monthly on Sundays. She can be reached at jjames@ctpost.com.
There's more than 1 way to play pool
Joy James – Conn. Post Online
Joy James – Conn. Post Online
There's definitely an art to playing pool. I can truthfully say that I've not quite mastered it. Some would assume that pool is a game engineered to mathematically sink balls into the pockets using skill, geometry and some physics, yada, yada, yada. I'm convinced it's a game of chance, luck and, yes, I'll admit it, some skill. The skill I'm referring to depends on who is playing the game. I'm not talking about the people who see pool as a sport, join leagues and enter tournaments. I'm talking about people, like myself, that see pool purely as a recreational activity. If the players are a couple of guys, the game can get intense. It may involve some sort of wager to see which player has more know-how. If ladies are playing, they're probably playing for the enjoyment of it. They might want to see who can get the balls to go where they planned, based on how powerful they strike the cue ball. Another set of pool players might be devised of a mixed table, a gender split — women verses the men. There's no other way to say it. This type of game is pure war. When a man decides to play against a woman, he's playing for a couple of reasons. He might want to impress her with skills and win; help her to develop some skills of her own and not win; or, competing is just in his blood and he can't help himself — a sport is a sport. Period! When a woman allows a man to play against her, she's sending a couple of messages. She might feel that she has to let him win — to keep his ego intact; or, she beats the pants off of him, and realizes who really wears the trousers. The other approach is to act like you have no clue whatsoever about why you need to hit the same ball over and over again, so that the other pretty balls go in the hole things at the side of the table. Why not hit each ball directly? Well, hopefully no one is really that cue-less! Not to say that there aren't some excellent female pool players out there — I know ESPN has shown women's tournaments. When everything's said and done, a game is just that — a game. Unless you're a professional athlete and it's your job to make the rest of us — who are too lazy to get up and indulge in physical activity — just sit back and watch the sport.
Page designer Joy James writes monthly on Sundays. She can be reached at jjames@ctpost.com.
