It is a very socialable sport!
But for me, pool is all about gambling, i never could or still cant just play for the fun of it, i can not stand to practice.!
Not that iam a great player or anything, but when ever i do play an associated i can not make 2 balls in a row, i guess i just cant concentrate not playing for money.
When i do bet something my game goes to the top for me, probably a b+ player in 9ball.
But like i said about pool being very social, i seen lots of people have very good times playing pool for the fun of it!