Your First Game of Pool

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Lissa

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The title speaks for itself. I was just wondering what your experience was like the first time you played pool.

I played pool for the first time last night, sucked terribly, and left Slick Willie's (the poolhall) on the verge of tears at how embarassing my game was. My family was with me, and they were more interested in just casual play, while I was busy trying to actually learn the game and remember what I had read about the proper techniques to employ in a game of 8-ball. I'm eager to go back and improve, though.
 
I started as a casual player, and fell in love with the game after developing some bad habbits (poor stance, stroke, bridge, etc...) If you have read and already have an understanding of the proper form and such I can guarentee that you will be a better player within 6 months than I was after playing for six months. Of course I am saying this as a fellow newbie, for I have only been playing about a year (if you count me playing casually every other week for the first two months) ;) Stick to it, and remember, always have fun with it!

Play for money, play for fame, play for FUN, and play for life!

-despotic
 
Lissa said:
The title speaks for itself. I was just wondering what your experience was like the first time you played pool.

I played pool for the first time last night, sucked terribly, and left Slick Willie's (the poolhall) on the verge of tears at how embarassing my game was. My family was with me, and they were more interested in just casual play, while I was busy trying to actually learn the game and remember what I had read about the proper techniques to employ in a game of 8-ball. I'm eager to go back and improve, though.
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We all suck when we start.It is the desire to get better that will drive you back and make you better.It is a process.Be nice to yourself and remember,"Rome was not built in a day!"
 
The beginning is always tough as you miss easy shots often. Do not get frustrated. Just keep shooting balls, and it will come. Of course lessons would not hurt either.
 
Lissa said:
The title speaks for itself. I was just wondering what your experience was like the first time you played pool.

I played pool for the first time last night, sucked terribly, and left Slick Willie's (the poolhall) on the verge of tears at how embarassing my game was. My family was with me, and they were more interested in just casual play, while I was busy trying to actually learn the game and remember what I had read about the proper techniques to employ in a game of 8-ball. I'm eager to go back and improve, though.
Click to expand...

By all means get back to the poolhall, BUT, without your family or a group of friends. You need to find an acquaintance that knows a bit about the game to at least show you the basic fundamentals of stance, stroke, grip, bridge, etc. If you know of nobody who can give you pointers, go to your local library or bookstore and check-out/buy an instructional book that will show you the basics, Then go to the poolhall by yourself and work, work, work on the fundamentals. You will be suprised how fast you improve, especially if you are young, limber, with good eyesight. My wife and I enjoyed reading Ewa Mataya Laurance's book, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pool & Billiards". Good luck and hang in there!!!

Edit: I forgot to mention my first game of pool. It is the first week in June, 1966. I just got out of the 7th grade. I am one week from turning 13 years old. My dad and I were travelling from Texas to Rochester, Pennsylvania by car to visit his relatives. My dad had an uncle, Carl, who he always told me about his prowess at the pool table. On the way up to PA, we stopped at several towns/cities to enter poolhalls so my dad could brush up on his game so his Uncle Carl wouldn't embarrass the crap out of him at the table. The only town I can remember specifically was Springfield, Ohio. I remember going into one place that looked like something straight out of the movie "The Hustler". It was dark, musty smelling, with all the tables lined out in a perfect row all the way down to the end of the building, which was long and narrow. It wasn't a bar. It wasn't a dancehall. It wasn't a stage for loud music. It was PURE poolhall, just the way it oughta be. I can still see it in my mind.
I fell in love with pool the first time I played on that trip. When we got to the neighborhood tavern later on in PA, I met Uncle Carl and even got to shoot a little pool with him. I can still hear him tellin' me not to shoot so hard, that I would make more balls if I shot softer. My parents had a picture of me that was taken in that tavern bending over a shot w/stick-in-hand, and another with Uncle Carl in it. I've looked for them but can't locate them. I hope they turn up someday.

Maniac
 
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Since you live in Houston, get ahold of Charlie Bryant.

He is a top ranked player and he also give lessons.

I have seen him work with beginners and he is great at explaining concepts in a very practical manner and is very patient.

You can PM him from this forum as he is a member.
 
I remember the first time I was allowed to shoot pool very well. Instruction number one: Don't chalk up over the table. No. 2 Sit down and shut up while the other guy is shooting. Much later came advice on how to shoot a paticular shot.

I was about 12 at the time and is still good advice today, some 50 odd years later.

Sure wish there had been instructors back then that didn't want to gamble with you!
 
Down at the Y

My first game of pool was played back in the 1950's at a YMCA in my home town in Jersey. Me and a good friend of mine, Marty Sullivan, used to go there every day after school and split our time between playing ping-pong, shooting baskets, and playing pool. At first I didn't have a clue. Then, one day one of the older kids took the time to show us how to make balls that were on the rail. It was a simplistic explanation - "Hit the ball and the cushion at the same time" - but it worked for us. After that, we took the game more seriously and had more fun.
 
First Time

Great post! My earliest memory of pool was a table we had in our basement that my dad bought at a Montgomery Wards tent sale for $25. Plywood bed, lousy cushions placed in a room that required a shorty stick for 50% of all shots. My dad had some of his buddies over on a rainy day (he was a brick layer and they were rained out) and they were shooting for several hours. I had been playing when no one else was home and could pocket some balls. I was about 6 years old at the time so 1963 was the year. Anyway, one of the guys asked if I could play and my dad said sure so I played a game against him. He left me with a table length kick shot on the 8 which I knocked off like I'd been playing for years. He didn't hear the end of it from his buds. My dad was grinning like a cheshire cat. :D From that moment I was hooked!

Brian in VA
 
i remember playing bumper pool in the local Moose Club that my family belonged to. i loved it and mastered it quickly. that was when i was about 9 years old. i played my first game of "pool" around the age of 13 and by the time i was 14 i was in the pool hall at east 3 nights a week. by the time i had my drivers licence i was in the halls 4+ nights a week comming home around 11pm to midnight. ah..those were the days....
 
Give up now. Going back to the pool hall is only going to lead to a lifetime of heartache and frustration and a mysterious green spot on the palm of your hand. Late nights are going to screw with your system. Cheap food and soft drinks are going to ruin your health. In times of financial burden you'll make the wrong decision to play for money and lose. Ahh, the life of a pool player. If I could turn back time I wouldn't change a thing. I take back what I said, get your butt back there as soon as you can. Even with all those bad things there are few things in life that can give you as much pleasure as a night of shooting the lights out. One good night in "the zone" will erase years of heartache.
Good luck to you!!
MULLY
 
It's the damn pros fault; they make it look sooooo easy. You'll get better fast, just remember 2 things.
1: It's takes a lifetime; like playing music or painting, strive simply to be the best that you can. This will make your head happy.
2: It's better to be snockered than snookered. This will make your head happy then sad.
Good luck and keep it fun.
 
Lissa said:
The title speaks for itself. I was just wondering what your experience was like the first time you played pool.

I played pool for the first time last night, sucked terribly, and left Slick Willie's (the poolhall) on the verge of tears at how embarassing my game was. My family was with me, and they were more interested in just casual play, while I was busy trying to actually learn the game and remember what I had read about the proper techniques to employ in a game of 8-ball. I'm eager to go back and improve, though.
Click to expand...
well it was a long ago, by brother and his friend{paul anderson] world strongest man in the 1956 or 57 olympics, i was 14, needles to say i was hooked got fairley good , we only played rotation, snooker 10cents cue 20 for snookernot alowed in room until after school hours. a rule that i inforce at my room, but incurage the young to playas you can only play football and basketball just so long but pool and golf , a long time as im 70 yr STICK:D :D :D :D
 
Ahhh yes-- I remember my first session of pool like it was yesterday. My mom was in her third trimester and I finally had developed fingers on my bridge hand. It was REALLY dark, but I swam around until I found my table and cue. (You don't even want to know how those items got in there:eek: )

Anyways....I banged some balls around the tiny table for a few months and had developed quite a stroke before I was born a few months later.
It was tuff at first after I "got out". Everything was real bright and the table seemed much bigger. But over the years I grew and adjusted, AND LOOK AT ME NOW:p

Sometimes I wish my mom hadn't forced pool on me at such an early age...:(

Rick P.
 
How lucky you are to have just played your first game and found this forum! Some of the people who post on this forum are some of the best pool players in the world. If you want, you can ask all sorts of questions and get answers from some very good players.

No one was born being a good pool player. Everyone here had a "first game" somewhere. I assure you that they did not run the table their first time up!

Note: There is a misconception about what other players think about beginning pool players. Beginners think they are embarrassing themselves because they can't pocket any balls. Not true! People like to WIN. When you are a beginner, you are allowing everyone you play against to win. They like to win! They like you. They want to play pool with you so they can win again and again! You make them feel like a shark!

Many pool players don't like good pool players. This is because they lose. They don't like to lose. They will get mad at good pool players and not want to play pool with them anymore (because they lose).

Bottom line: Many players will want to play pool with you again and again and again. Don't worry about not being good. They like it! Enjoy the moment. When you get to be a good player, few will want to play with you anymore.

A few 8-ball tips [beginner]....

Move your balls closer to the pockets - If you have a ball in the center of the table, shoot it SOFTLY toward a corner pocket so it stops near a corner pocket. Then the next time you get a chance to shoot at this ball, it will be an easier shot since it is now closer to the pocket!

I see a lot of beginners hit their balls very hard. The ball is in the center of the table, they hit it hard, then it hits the rail missing the pocket, and then returns to the center of the table. They can take 6 shots on the same ball and miss the pocket each time. Each time it returns to the center of the table. A SMARTER thing to do is hit it softly to move it closer to a pocket. Then next time it is an easy shot. So two shots for each ball. First shot to move it closer to the pocket. Then with your next chance at the table, you can more easily pocket the ball.

If you have a ball sitting in front of a corner pocket DON'T shoot it in! This ball is blocking that pocket. If you leave it there until last, that pocket is "closed for business" and it will make things more difficult for your opponent. Instead work on moving your other balls so they are closer to the corner pockets. Some of these may wind up blocking those pockets. This is good. Leave them there. Make things difficult for your opponent!
 
First Game

Lissa said:
The title speaks for itself. I was just wondering what your experience was like the first time you played pool.

I played pool for the first time last night, sucked terribly, and left Slick Willie's (the poolhall) on the verge of tears at how embarassing my game was. My family was with me, and they were more interested in just casual play, while I was busy trying to actually learn the game and remember what I had read about the proper techniques to employ in a game of 8-ball. I'm eager to go back and improve, though.
Click to expand...


I can't remember the first game I played but it was over 50 years ago. To put things into perspective. It took about a year of playing regular before I could draw the ball!!!! It takes time to learn the finer points of this game but don't give up. There are many tools that have to be developed. Someone in this forum said it best the other day "I'm not a loser I'm a quiter" don't be a quiter. The game will grow on you. Best of luck.
 
My 1st memory of pool was at my grandfathers table.I was 4 or 5, my big brother was shooting shots and I was throwing balls out to block his shot. It was great fun, until this one shot. He was at the far end of the table taking careful aim and I wasn't smart enough to realize I was the target. It was my very 1st pool lesson, and it only cost 1 fingernail.
Justin Nuder
 
Came across this thread and the thought of my first pool game came flooding back to my memory bank.
It was 1973 or 74 and I was 12-13 years old living in small town outside of colorado springs. The "pool hall" was a few tables set up in the only strip shopping center in town next door the the barber shop. It also had a few pinball machines and an electronic baseball game. It was during summer vacation and I had just gotten my hair cut. Met a couple of buddys and we decided to go to the pool hall and shoot a couple games. All of us basically sucked but we played 8 ball. I pocketed the last 2 or 3 of my balls and had the 8ball to pocket. the shot was lined up directly to the side pocket, straight in. It was an obvious shot stevie wonder could hit it. I sunk the eight and my buddies immediatly cried foul as i failed to call the shot! I argued with them that a shot that damn obvious is called. I also argued that non of the other shots were called. since we really did not know how to shoot 8 ball we broke most of the rules playing and however we were able to pocket our balls it was cool. I was so disgusted I did not play there again. The hall went out of business within the next year and there was no place to play. I was in my late 20's when I started playing again with any consistancy. Even today I play for fun. I miss so many shots and rarely win any matches. I enjoy the game both watching and playing.
 
My first game of pool was in the summer of 1984. I was on break from college and went home to visit my best friend. She took me out to a local dive bar that had a pool table and she made me her partner against these two guys for a game of 8-ball. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. She was actually a pretty good player and guided me around the table, helping with aiming and some mechanics. When I made my first bank shot that night, I was instantly hooked! I just started taking lessons about 2 1/2 years ago to really learn how the game is supposed to be played and to fix all those bad habits that developed from 20 years of not really knowing what I was doing. After all this time I still love the game and am totally hooked! I just wish I had taken lessons from the beginning.

Don't be discouraged after only one time out - believe me, we've all been there and we all sucked. If you can, take some lessons to learn proper mechanics and to prevent those nasty, bad habits that can creep up on you. Good luck!
 
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