Billiard Culture

Thought I'd start this up, as I love all kinds of billiards and the artifacts and purported lifestyles that accompany it. Beautifully inlaid and true cues, a dimly lit room with the majority of light directly above a lovely mahogany table with green cloth and the perfect "click" of ball on ball.

9 ball, 8 ball, straight pool, rotation, snooker, you name it.

Anyone else share this love?

I've been playing fairly regularly for three years, and am nearly ready to start entering tournies at local pool halls. I play with a Predator Sneaky Pete with a 314 second generation pro taper and a Cuetec 19oz combination jump/break.

Any pool discussion goes, ferroules, varieties of tips (moori, phenolic, elkmaster etc), anything!

Looking forward to your replies!

If you really want to improve your game, play three cushion billiards on the big wacky tables without pockets. Controlling where the cue ball goes (and especially where it stops) after it strikes the object ball is the most important skill to learn, and billiards teaches that better than anything else.

Watching good players shoot pool is boring- they hardly ever have to take a hard shot because they know just where (and how) to land the cue ball.

ouch said:

Watching good players shoot pool is boring- they hardly ever have to take a hard shot because they know just where (and how) to land the cue ball.

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I agree with that but the first few times you see it, it is really interesting to watch how they are able to get the ball to go where they want it. What I really like seeing though are the trick shot competitions on espn, those are cool.

Pool is something I really love, but at which I truly suck. I did take a couple of professional lessons, and they were well worth the time and money. The physics of where you strike the cue ball to get it to stop, follow, back up, etc, and to what degree, is really fun to learn. There's just something about that "clack!"

I've played off and on and good enough that I don't embarrass myself. I first picked it up at a local teen club I went to. After a few months there was a pool tournament there and I came in second place against some much better players. It wasn't that I winning the rounds, it was the others that were loosing them to me through their own over confidence.

ouch said:

If you really want to improve your game, play three cushion billiards on the big wacky tables without pockets. Controlling where the cue ball goes (and especially where it stops) after it strikes the object ball is the most important skill to learn, and billiards teaches that better than anything else.

Watching good players shoot pool is boring- they hardly ever have to take a hard shot because they know just where (and how) to land the cue ball.

Click to expand...

I have to admit; I wish I had one of those pocketless tables. THere is something classic about billiards.

Efren the magician.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPj20afa1M8[/YOUTUBE]

Snooker was always my favorite. While in high school the local pool hall had a few snooker tables and we thought they were quite unique so we learned how to play. A great game and much tougher than playing on a standard pool table. Never did learn to play billiards but it looked interesting.

Quite honestly, the amount of variety in each match amazes me. Simply placing the cue ball where you want is an art.

I am also in dire need of my own table, but I've got nowhere to put it!

Johnny Dale said:

Snooker was always my favorite. While in high school the local pool hall had a few snooker tables and we thought they were quite unique so we learned how to play. A great game and much tougher than playing on a standard pool table. Never did learn to play billiards but it looked interesting.

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Love Snooker, regular billiard is kids play compare to snooker. If you really wanna improve your pool game or any other version of billiard I highly recommend taking up Snooker.

ouch said:

If you really want to improve your game, play three cushion billiards on the big wacky tables without pockets. Controlling where the cue ball goes (and especially where it stops) after it strikes the object ball is the most important skill to learn, and billiards teaches that better than anything else.

Watching good players shoot pool is boring- they hardly ever have to take a hard shot because they know just where (and how) to land the cue ball.

Click to expand...

the game that uses "the wacky table without pockets" is actually "billiards"

"regular" pocketed tables is "pool"

snooker uses a pocketed table, but the pockets openings are more narrow, thus neding more accuracy to sink each shot

Razorburne said:

the game that uses "the wacky table without pockets" is actually "billiards"

"regular" pocketed tables is "pool"

snooker uses a pocketed table, but the pockets openings are more narrow, thus neding more accuracy to sink each shot

Click to expand...

Plus the corners of the pockets are rounded. A sloppy shot will bounce out while on a regular pool table it may go into the pocket. A tough and precise game.

Another point is the table is HUGE! Much bigger than a regular pool table.

Razorburne said:

the game that uses "the wacky table without pockets" is actually "billiards"

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I believe I said that.

Razorburne said:

"regular" pocketed tables is "pool"

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Technically, it's pocket billiards, not to be confused with Nick's favorite game, pocket pool.

I play. (as you can probably guess from my avatar.)

Play 8-ball on an APA league. We made it to the National Team Championships in Vegas two years ago. Was one of the very coolest things I've ever been involved with.

Been in a bit of a slump recently though, which is really ticking me off.

I have a Predator with an original 314 shaft and Moori tip. Have a cheapie Players cue that I put a phenolic tip on for breaking.