Why do we play pool

Big Bad Bern

Big Bad Bern

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
After reflecting on my own journey in pool recently and reestablishing goals for my future, I thought I would ask here about this.

Why did you start playing pool?

Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?

What were your goals for the past year?

What are your goals for next year?


Bern
 
Why did you start playing pool? Liked playing since way back when I was 17 or so. Started again because I needed something to do while I drank beer.(completely serious)

Why do you play pool now? What started out as a way to pass the time quickly became an obsession for perfection

What were your goals for the past year? To develop my own style

What are your goals for next year? To develop a higher level of concentration
 
This sounds like it could be a very interesting thread. Good question. :)

Why did you start playing pool?

"I was intrigued by the sounds and movements of the balls as I watched my dad play in the club he belonged to. When I got a little older, I visited our local poolroom where I saw very serious pool played and that was the kicker that got me hooked.

I always enjoyed personal challenges rather than team challenges like baseball or such."

Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?

"Not very much. "

What were your goals for the past year?

I had stopped playing for over 10 yrs. so there were no goals.

What are your goals for next year?

Get active again, do some gambling and be competative with anyone locally, and to run consistant 50 to 100 balls in straight pool :)
 
Why did you start playing pool?
To pass the time during a miss spent youth. Local pool hall had free pool M-F 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?
I got pretty good and as I got older I was hooked into playing league pool and loved the competition

What were your goals for the past year?
To become a high rated regional player (not pro, but not very far from that level)

What are your goals for next year?
To quit pool (almost there now just have one last league to finish up on), quit drinking (going to be a BI*CH I love Beer), buy a new house (still have a few debt to clear up), go back to golf full time (should be a blast, my son will be just old enough to take to the courses in the next few months
 
I started playing pool at the age of 12, one week shy of my 13th birthday. It was June 1966. My dad and I were travelling by car from Arlington, Texas to Rochester, PA to visit his family. His family socialized by going down to the pub at night and throwing back a few cold ones. My dad had an uncle that was known for his abilities on a pool table. On the way up, my dad stopped at a couple of cities to shoot some pool. I think he wanted to "brush-up" on his game so Uncle Carl wouldn't completely "clean his clock" :D . Anyway, this is how I was introduced to the game. Later, Uncle Carl showed me some things on the pub table that helped me gain a better knowledge of pocketing balls. I just fell for the game. Not long after getting home from that trip, we got a small table put into our garage. I used to have a couple of pictures of Uncle Carl and I standing over the pool table in that pub, but I can't find them anywhere.

I play now because (1) I like socializing and meeting new friends and (2) the game will always intrigue me because no matter how well you play on any particular evening, you KNOW that there was something you could have done to play better. I believe that even if you beat someone 11-0 with all break-and-runs (which is VERY unlikely), you could find something in that match where you think you could have done it better. It is a game that cannot truly be mastered.

I do not set goals for myself because of the undeniable fact that I will NOT meet them, and even if I did, it would not give me any satisfaction.
I do almost everything thing in life simply for the "fun factor". If any endeavor I take up cannot put a smile on my face, then I ain't gonna be doing it very much longer.

Maniac
 
Why did you start playing pool?I originally started playing pool at my friends house when I was younger. There was no one to teach us, but I seemed to be fairly good at it. I wish someone would have been there to teach me at that age. I was about 12-14 then. When I turned 21 I notice everywhere I went had a pool table so I immediately was drawn to it. It was a cost effective way to spend my money on a hobby. So I started drinking and playing pool. This time I had someone that could teach me things, and my pool game started to blossom.

Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?I play pool now because it is something that I have come to love. It has become an obsession to me. When I was younger my obsession was basketball. I used to play it all hours of the day or night. When I started playing pool seriously I was much older and my knees couldn't take the pounding of basketball. So pool became my new obsession. The other reason is because I like learning and getting better. I am a perfectionist, and this sport is great for perfectionist to learn and try to hone in on their technique.

What were your goals for the past year?My goals for the last year were to take lessons, and try and get my stroke better. This was my first step in becoming a better pool player.

What are your goals for next year?My goals for next year include playing in Fast Eddies tournaments, and trying to win some of the Saturday tournaments here in my home town.
 
i was about 5 and there were 2 bar boxes in this little resteraunt in San Diego-its still there 35 years later-amazing, I remember sitting there and was drawn to the colors the GREEN cloth and the balls, almost like Rainman in that movie, my mom said I was too young, but those images were burned into my brain and it all started there. strange but true, i still get mesmorised by the colors almost like a mild autism symptom. i'm not autistic but thats what its like, and the sound of the ball hitting the back of the pocket,lastly the sound of a well hit ball too makes me feel good. i also like the feel/feed back on certain cues, that "piece of wood with nerves in it" feeling when everything is going right now that i can play
 
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Why did you start playing pool?
At the age of 16 I got my first job at a burger joint next to the pool room and started going there after work with my coworkers. They were a couple of years older and I was impressed at how good they were. Actually they were just beyond banger speed. lol After a couple of months I was beating them and felt real good about myself until I started to pay attention to the real players and realized I was still below the bottom of the heap!

Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?
I play league and it is mainly a social outing. I do not gamble but am highly competitive
so league suits me just fine.

What were your goals for the past year?
to be the "Top Player" in league (based only on the number of wins), which I did, well tied with Jason Kirkwood

What are your goals for next year?
Beat out Kirkwood for "Top Player". Should be easy all I have to do is keep him on the bench. lol :D I would never do that, I get inspired watching him play and play better myself.

Steve
 
Why did you start playing pool?
My folks ran a pub in England & we got a pool table when I was about 16. I'd always been intrigued by snooker as a kid & pool was the next best thing. Every weekday I'd get home from work & spend 2 hours practicing, just trying different things. Long shots, cut shots, banks & how hitting different areas of the CB would alter its path. Once I was old enough to drink in the pub I played every night, including league once we started a team.

Why do you play now? Do the reasons differ?
I'd have to say I love the game more now than I ever did. Being away from pool for 12 years made me realise how much I'd missed it. I play socially with a friend who got me back into the game & I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for that. Apart from those games everything I play seems to be competetive, either league or local tournaments.

What were your goals for the last year?
Starting up again I didn't really have any, apart from wanting to get my game back to the level it used to be.

What are your goals for next year?
Win some tournaments. I've noticed that my league play is far better than in tournies. I think I've cracked that problem now but only time will tell. Apart from that I want to learn more, I don't think you can ever stop learning this game. And to enjoy the ride, every moment of it.
 
Why did you start playing pool?
-It just clicked with me. I eventually got hooked to the people and the environment.

Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?
-Because over the past few years I've gotten to a respectable level and I enjoy being good at something.

What were your goals for the past year?
-Increase my runout percentage.

What are your goals for next year?
-Play in the Florida Pro Tour and not embarrass myself.
 
Why did you start playing pool?
It started as something to do with some buddies of mine once a week. We were at the local pool room one Friday and they had a tournament going on and I saw this one guy that just kept running our rack after rack and I decided that I wanted to play like him.

Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?
I'm obsessed with the game now. All I want to do is play pool and be around pool at all times. I want to make it my "job", but until then I'm working for a buddy of mine that has a pool related business.

What were your goals for the past year?
Become at least an A player and not go two and out in every tournament I played in.

What are your goals for next year?
Move someplace down South (South Carolina to be specific) so I can play with better players and learn from them. I'm also hoping to work for a cue maker down there and learn that end of the billiards world.
 
I stayed with my grandparents during the summers while I was growing up in Central Illinois . . . my uncle was an accomplished player who hustled around the Midwest . . . when I was about 10 he took me to his local pool hall one Saturday afternoon. I watched him practice for couple of hours . . . the old guy who owned the hall let me roll balls on a huge snooker table . . . when I showed some interest my uncle began to teach me the basics of the game . . . that was over 40 years ago and I'm still learning to this day. Anyway, this is how I was introduced to the game. As a teen, I began to hang out in the halls where I lived and just fell for the game. I got pretty good . . . two old guys kinda took me under their wing in St. Louis and began to teach me how to do more then just bang the balls . . . I'll never forget that one told me "you're never as good as you think you are, and you're never as bad as you think you are . . . this game will teach you how to use your brain and be humble."

I love the game . . . its fun, you can play it for life, meet new friends, and be challenged no matter what your skill level. I play both APA and BCA as a SL6 - mainly in nine ball. I guess I'm still in it for the competition as I only like playing the more accomplished players (i.e. better then me) . . . I don't always win, but I always learn something from every match. I also read a lot about fundamentals and theory via Bob Byrne, Ray Martin, etc. and love watching the pros . . .

My goal is to start taking some lessons from a teaching pro, and get myself to a SL7 or above . . . I want to start playing some regional tournaments and see if I can get my focus/concentration to a point where I can be truly competitive in something other then a "league".
 
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After reflecting on my own journey in pool recently and reestablishing goals for my future, I thought I would ask here about this.

Why did you start playing pool?
> To get away from my large family, and get some quiet down in the basement, where we happened to have a GC2 :D. I was 4 or 5 and wasn't allowed to use a cue yet, so I just rolled the balls around that table for hours.

Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?
> Not really, I like to escape, go into a trance and run balls. I also play a friend of mine 1 pocket a couple times a week. We are having some GREAT battles as I learn the game......I still need weight though!

What were your goals for the past year?
> To learn 1 pocket, and straighten out my lifelong alignment problem.

What are your goals for next year?
> 1. Get to the Derby City Classic. 2. Make intelligent well thought out shots every time at the table.


Great thread,
Gerry
 
Why did you start playing pool?
A severe back injury with two surgeries forced me to give up golf and all of the other competitive sports I was playing, pool, although it is painful at times was really the only thing that I enjoyed doing left for me to compete in.

Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?
I still play pool for the competition part and trying to better myself.

What were your goals for the past year?
I have been very frustrated with the top players and a lot of pool players in general-so my goal was to not give up on the game.

What are your goals for next year?
Next year I will attend the BCA vegas nationals for the first time, and to advance deep into the field of open players.
 
Big Bad Bern said:
After reflecting on my own journey in pool recently and reestablishing goals for my future, I thought I would ask here about this.

Why did you start playing pool?
Click to expand...
To have fun.
Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?
Click to expand...
To have fun. No.
What were your goals for the past year?
Click to expand...
Pool isn't important enough to make goals.
What are your goals for next year?
Click to expand...
Pool isn't important enough to make goals.
Bern
Click to expand...

Hell, life isn't important enough to make goals.
 
Why did you start playing pool?
The physics of the game had me hooked, especially after pocketing my first ball on purpose. It's a very satisfying game.
Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?
Same reasons and then some. I love that there are a thousand options for every situation and it allows me to play with a style completely my own.
What were your goals for the past year?
Quit APA and start BCA and Q-Masters tournaments
What are your goals for next year?
Get up to B or A speed and get 1st place in a Q-Masters tournament.
 
Because it looked so easy.

Now I'm still trying to find a way to make everything easy.

I enjoy practice as much as competition, perhaps even more, something I cannot say about any other sport or game I've played except golf.

There are so many shots that bring a huge smile to my face, how could I not love this game ? Of course some of the railbirds look at me funny when I start laughing and giggling while I practice 3-rail kicks, but that's their problem, not mine :D

I set goals for competition, last year it was 'top three' in my league, but I messed up and finished 4th. Depending on who signs up next year (assuming the pool hall finds a new location or I find a new league) I'll set my goals when I see what's happening.

Dave
 
Big Bad Bern said:
After reflecting on my own journey in pool recently and reestablishing goals for my future, I thought I would ask here about this.

Why did you start playing pool?
Was drunk in a bar and hand nothing better to do. Picked it up rather easily and just stuck with it.
Why do you play pool now? Do the reasons differ?
I enjoy the game still and like being around my buddies. Basically the same reasons as when I started.( minus the overwhelming urge to bet something.)
What were your goals for the past year?
Play good enough in tournaments to not look like a has been and to not act like a jackass.
What are your goals for next year?
Same as this year...............

Bern
Click to expand...
Good post Bern. Makes me think back to when I started playing with great fondness.
 
1. I started playing because I have No life and Few friends.
2. I play now because It's where I belong, To Some Implyed Aspect.
Little Self-esteem.
3. I'm still playing because, I really don't know.
4. No real goals, Want to be the best.
5. Still want to be the best.
-Vinnie
 
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