What age did you start playing?

bigshooter

bigshooter

<--vs Chuck Norris on TAR
Silver Member
I was about 11, my dad bought a 4 x 8 table and put it in our living room,
at about age 14 we moved it into my bedroom upstairs, I had a nice Brunswick table 5 feet from my bed, is it any wonder I got addicted to the game.
 
bigshooter said:
I was about 11, my dad bought a 4 x 8 table and put it in our living room,
at about age 14 we moved it into my bedroom upstairs, I had a nice Brunswick table 5 feet from my bed, is it any wonder I got addicted to the game.
Click to expand...

I started at 18 :frown:

I knew the first time I saw the game on ESPN as a little kid (don't remember how young I was) that I was in love. I begged and begged and begged but my parents had plans to finish the basement (which they did) and didn't see me actually dedicating myself to the game (which I did).

At least I developed less bad habits starting in cognitive adulthood? :rolleyes:

Still wish I had that table as a kid...
 
Though I watched a lot of pool even at the age of eight, my playing days began in February 1969, just short of my 11th birthday, when my father purcahsed a Gold Crown I for our basement.
 
I started playing when I was 17, quit playing when I was 22. Picked the game back up at 31 and at 33 got married and now have kids, haven't played much since.
 
I started playing and hanging out at the poolroom at the age of 16, in April of 1965. It was then that I knew I was hooked on the game.

My first exposure to pool was at the bowling alley when I was about 10 or 11, but really didn't give it much thought at that time as I was into bowling in a junior league. lol

My first experience with a cue of sorts was on kitchen table board game, caroms, that would later prove to be helpful in lining up shots.



carrom-company.jpg
 
I started on my 20th birthday. A buddy of mine took me to a pool room where we played a little. Soon after I started going with my friends to play every friday, and it became the highlight of my week.

There was a house pro at the room we frequented who I used to enjoy watching. He was a long haired hippie type guy who generally showed up stoned to some degree, but he could play a fine game regardless. Even though he offered lessons, he always gave my buddy and I free pointers which I always followed religously.

After almost a year my friends lost interest in playing pool every week, but I was still very much engrossed in it. So I started practicing during the day before I met up with them to go to the bar.

As it is, I still love to play and I honestly couldn't care less if there is anyone to play when I go to the pool room. I'm always happy to play myself, it's meditative in a way. For a few hours the most pressing concern on your mind is "How do I get on the 5 ball"?
 
I was 13. My dad and I went to see The Hustler one night when my mom was hosting a bridge game and we had to get out of the house. I was fascinated, and my dad offered to take me to play at the local bowling alley.

Surprisingly enough, Dad could play. He was never a serious player, but in his era most every man could play a little because the game was so popular then (he was born in 1907). I think he ran 15 that first night. He hadn't played in more than 25 years before he took me for that first game.

In those days you had to be 18 to play in a billiard room in Chicago, but because the managers had seen me play a few times with my dad they let me play without him. I played through high school but then gave up the game. Now, as Fast Eddie said in TCOM, "I'm back!"
 
I was around 15 or so when I first went to a bowling alley and shot a game of pool or two, but after that, I never and have lost interest in the game because my dad didn't have time to teach me and it was very fraustrating. Now that I turned 21, I can enter into most pool halls and bars. That is when me and my friends started shooting pool at bars and etc, now I am addicted to it more than anything I have ever been addicted to in life. I have to admit, this addiction is great! :)
 
I started playing billiards in Portugal when I was 12/13 years old. I would save my money to eat a ham sandwich at the pool hall (three 8' Sampaio billiard tables) and play for 30 minutes. The rest of the time I would just sit down and learn from an older gentlemen that was a heck of a player.
 
I will say that I started at 18. I actually played pool much younger, but I was just playing so I don't think that counts as I had never walked into a pool room till I was 18.

When I walked in I saw heaven. I actually see it more now than I have ever seen it since coming back. With a little bit more age I see more spin and curve. I see more appreciation for strategy, placement and slow play.

I can honestly say in my case that pool is a game is ages fine like wine.
 
Right after I saw the re-release of The Hustler, in 1962. I was 12 or 13, not sure if it was before or after my birthday in July. My grandparents bought me a chip board top table for the following Christmas and I learned to play from the BCA pamphlet that came with the table. I was playing in the bars at 16, I looked at least two years older. I took up the game seriously in 1974 or '75 when we moved to Binghamton, NY. I walked into The Pocket Billiard Lounge one Saturday night and and watched/listened to two locals woofing at each other. The rest is history.
 
I was 33!

I was separated from my first wife back in 1996. My friends from work would go to Dave and Busters and play pool and video games. I am extremely competitive and did not like losing to them so I started sneaking into the local pool hall trying to get better. After my wife left it was so quiet at home I just had to get out to keep my sanity. I started going to the pool hall every night to practice. Before long I had made friends and was playing in the in-house league (I sucked). After that I was recruited to play on an APA team by some of the in-house players. To say the least I was addicted and 13 years later I still am!

Oh, sadly my friends who used to beat me? They won't even darken the poolroom door. I have tried playing nice to give them a chance to no avail.

I always feel a debt to the game itself. When I felt alone and my life was going in the toilet (not only was I divorcing but I had got laid off from a job that paid me over a $100k a year) pool helped me regain my sanity. It helped me feel accepted again and helped me feel like I could accomplish something. Silly, I know but it gave me the confidence to move on with life. :)
 
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