Billiards anyone?

[Kevin]

Went downtown today to the art museum and my wife's office is close by. They have iced tea and a pool table in the break room. So we stopped and played a game.

Man, I used to be so good at billiards. But haven't played in years and years. But I used to just love the game. Anyone else?

In my defense this pool table wasn't a full sized table.

I sure didn't like the brown color either. It's much too bright.

 

[Ride1949]

Made a lot of money on barroom tables in the past. I haven't been in a bar or played pool (or billiards) in many years.

What's the Difference Between Pool and Billiards? | Mental Floss

Sinking a ball in a side pocket is usually referred to as pool, but is a billiard game the same thing? We investigate.

www.mentalfloss.com

 

[turd]

Never played for more than beer, but drank beer nearly free several times. Mostly college stuff. My dad's cousin taught me how to play billiards, but there weren't many players even then, 40 some years ago. Mostly 8 ball. Never played on a brown table, tho.

 

[Jeepnik]

Every firehouse except Thailand had one. I enjoyed the games but their always seemed to be a few who excelled.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

I started playing pool when I was 12-13 YO. The small town I lived in had a pool hall that had full size pool and billiard tables. Never did play billiards. During 10th grade lunch we would go to the close by bar get a hamburger and shoot a game of 8 or 9 ball money on the 5 and 9. Even when working a buddy and I would take our lunches to the close by pool hall. Played many games of bumper pool when I was setting pins at the bowling alley.
Since most bars in Asia don't have room enough for a pool table they have dart boards. I started playing darts for the first time and loved it and got very good at it. Like free beer and some pocket money. Made some Brits and Aussies POed being beat by a Yank. 301 double in double out is the name of the game show me your money.

 

[Don Lovel]

I love playing snooker on old school slate full sized table. You hardly ever see a nice snooker table anywhere. Playing 8 ball on bar tables never was fun to me. Playing 9 ball on a full size table is ok, but playing snooker on a big table is challenging
The old pool hall in my home town had a couple of huge slate snooker tables when I was a kid. I learned to play on them.

 

[Kevin]

Awesome! I never played for money. Just learned on Saturdays with my dad over at the student union at the university.

I was just so disappointed in how I played today. But I don't frequent bars where they would have pool tables anymore.

 

[Cofaler]

Funny you should bring this up. We live out several miles from town and my neighbor just set up a pool table in his man cave, and he asked me to come over and play, he was so excited. I hadn't played pool in at least 30 years, and didn't play much at all before that. We played several games, all of which I lost, but we had fun.

 

[KIR]

I have no idea what a billard ball does if you hit it top, bottom or wide, to the ball you want to go into the pocket, so I don't really play. However, I am a great confidence coach. Playing with a co-worker at a party who was wearing a short dress and a girdle (really a long time ago, and she was skinny to boot)...I told her to stop worrying about her girdle showing as her panties were not and to just concentrate on the shot. She pulled the stick back, closed her eyes and sunk three balls in at a time, winning the game.
If nothing else, I inspire confidence!!!

 

[wwb]

With all those funny-colored and striped balls, it looks more like pool than billiards. Not to be a jerk, but......

 

[Armybrat]

In the early 1960s the school dormitory recreation hall in Mexico had four pool and two billiard tables for us students. I was a duffer, but several of the other guys could've given Fast Eddie a run for his money.
I had a decent slate top 8' pool table in the garage of our first house,, but after a couple of years it sorta turned into a clothes folding table for my wife on laundry day.
9 Ball was my favorite, but never did very well at the game.

 

[Kevin]

Funny you should bring this up. We live out several miles from town and my neighbor just set up a pool table in his man cave, and he asked me to come over and play, he was so excited. I hadn't played pool in at least 30 years, and didn't play much at all before that. We played several games, all of which I lost, but we had fun.

I saw someplace advertising a table top dining room conversion top for a billiards table.

And I guess I didn't know. Are they pool tables or billiards tables? Isn't Billiards the overall name and then pool, 9 ball, snooker etc. under billiards as a subset?

 

[contender]

Many many years ago,, my parents decided to close our dining room in our restaurant because they had a hard time getting good help, and the amount of work they had to do. But they decided to put in a couple of pool tables, pin ball machines. So,, for part of my teen years,, I got to shooting a LOT of pool. I was a fair hand at it,, and still enjoy the occasional game.
But my oldest son, met his wife in a pool/billiards gaming place. Both of them shoot in Leagues and in team or solo competitions. They both are good enough to having won slots to play in the big tournaments in Las Vegas, expenses paid. In fact,, they are going again in a few weeks.
They have a pool table in their house, and they shoot a LOT. Both of them can really shoot!

 

[foolslife]

OMG. I met my wife at 15 years old. I worked and stayed at her parents RV park where they had a pool table in the rec room. A few of us played every night as it was in the middle of nowhere with nothing else to do. When the wife and I got married that pool table went to our first house. Where we played every night after work because we were too broke to go anywhere. Got real good at it!

Now however I just embarrass myself playing pool!

 

[Cofaler]

I always thought 'billiards' was what snooty people called pool.

 

[Ride1949]

Okay. Let's try this again. (different link)

Billiards vs. Pool: The Key Differences in Gameplay and Rules

Unravel the distinctions between Billiards and Pool: Delve into contrasting gameplay and rule dynamics for an enriching cue sports insight.

billiardandpoolcenter.com

 

[Wyandot Jim]

In my small town of the 50s the older men played Billiards and us kids shot pool. To play a good game of billiards you have to be good at bank shots. No slop shots.
The first time I played Snooker was while at Mobil Oil's Compound in Lagos Nigeria. That is when I also found out about being snookered. Which we called dirty pool and could get you hurt in the U.S. pool halls.
A snooker table is size large with smaller pockets.
As the REAL pool halls started closing up the regulation size 4'-6" x 9' old tables were sold cheap. A billiard table is 5'x10' a snooker table is 6'x12' lots of green.
When the bars started installing pool tables, they were 3'x6' and 3'6"x7'
When I was working in Thibodaux LA, I got the bar owner to put up a dart board and taught some of the Cajuns how to throw darts. Owners main fear was that the locales would start throwing the darts at each other. "Mugs Away"


HAROLD:
Well, either you're closing your eyes
To a situation you do now wish to acknowledge
Or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated
By the presence of a pool table in your community.
Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
I say, trouble right here in River City.
Why sure I'm a billiard player,
Certainly mighty proud I say
I'm always mighty proud to say it.
I consider that the hours I spend
With a cue in my hand are golden.
Help you cultivate horse sense
And a cool head and a keen eye.
Never take and try to give
An iron-clad leave to yourself
From a three-reail billiard shot?
But just as I say,
It takes judgement, brains, and maturity to score
In a balkline game,
I say that any boob kin take
And shove a ball in a pocket.
And they call that sloth.
The first big step on the road
To the depths of deg-ra-Day--
I say, first, medicinal wine from a teaspoon,
Then beer from a bottle.
An' the next thing ya know,
Your son is playin' for money
In a pinch-back suit.
And list'nin to some big out-a-town Jasper
Hearin' him tell about horse-race gamblin'.
Not a wholesome trottin' race, no!
But a race where they set down right on the horse!
Like to see some stuck-up jockey'boy
Sittin' on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil?
Well, I should say.
Friends, lemme tell you what I mean.
Ya got one, two, three, four, five, six pockets in a table.
Pockets that mark the diff'rence
Between a gentlemen and a bum,
With a capital "B,"
And that rhymes with "P" and that stands for pool!

 

[Acorn]

I used to play but was mediocre at best.
I do enjoy watch YouTube vids of Efren "Bata" Reyes.
They call him "The Magician", which he is, with a fair amount of luck thrown in.

 

[thinckley]

My wife and I pretty much started our relationship over a pool table. I considered myself an above average player, she played in a local bar league. We used to spend hours playing pool in the bar where we met.

Haven't played much for years, but still enjoy a game now and then.

 

[larry8]

I used to play pool and became good at sinking the corner ball on the break. I'd call it and when I sunk the ball my opponent sometimes would throw down his cue and hand me the money.