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How do you play pool?

What is with people, and not knowing how to play pool?

  • I play pool, iv played for a long time. The way i see it, theres only one way to play 8 ball, and thats the way it supposed to be played. I am totally baffled by the fact that in the last month, i have not met one single person that played the game correctly, however, they all seem to play with an almost uniform misconception of the rules of the game. The rules are the rules, but if so many peopel play differently, but in the same manor, what is the correct way to play? Here the two most common annoyances, that i find so commonly, i dont know what to do. #1--You fouled, you have to shoot from behind the headstring (any foul) #2--"You knocked my ball in(while making your own) so its my turn to shoot" Those arnt the only ones, but those drive me nuts, whats the best way to play a game with a person who doesnt know how to play pool? And im not talking about people who suck, theres a lot of people that are very good, that for some reason play pool this way, and whole heartedly beleive its the right way to play. Do you sit and explain to every person before hand what ball in hand means, and what the no rail tule is? just let them play and call them out on everything? what do you do to combat this plaguing anoyance

  • Answer:

    First of all, I hate to split hairs but for the love of God learn how to spell. Sometimes brilliant people are ignored because their words appear to have been written by someone with a 3rd grade education. Okay, so that's out of my system. The answer to your question is simple. The people that play by these false sets of rules have always done so and have been given no real reason to change. I can guarantee you that none of these players are good enough to compete at a high level with any organization and they aren't used to playing any real competition. It doesn't matter to them that there are world-standardized rules available for anyone who cares to know them. This is just how they have always played and in their little closed-off world of pool, this is all they require. Why do you allow these types of players to get under your skin? Of course they are in the majority. Take some pride in the fact that you've taken some initiative to learn the real game. They are set in their ways and you, I, or anyone else isn't going to influence them one bit. I'm not sure where you are going to play, but I have to say that I'm frequently surprised and impressed by the percentage of players who are quite familiar with world-standardized rules. I thank the popularity of the various national leagues for this. This doesn't mean that those people always play by them, but they are at least making an educated decision. Being irritated and annoyed won't influence any hearts or minds.

sandynli... at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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There are many ways of playing pool. There is no correct way of playing pool, and no one way of playing it either. They are many leagues and groups that play according to different rules. There is also a difference in pool table sizes and balls between UK and US pool. The way i play is the way i used to when competing in Florida and that's you call each and every shot during the game, the table is open after the break till the first called shot is made. Also you get ball in hand for scratching, making contact with another ball before yours, not hitting a ball, taking the white ball or another ball off the table and also after hitting the ball your object ball or the white ball has to hit a bank. Also if you dont make intended ball in the hole you call you dont continue. Like i said, everyone is brought up with different rules. There is no correct way of playing 8 ball. This is why i like 9 ball, the rules are semi universal, you just need to say if the 9 ball is dirty or called.

aiorek

lol, I gave up on pool along time ago. Everytime I play the cue ball flys off the table.

Hi I wanted to add something... Thank you to many of the regulars of this section that helped me come to a better understanding of the rules of several different games not just 8 ball. The way I deal with it is walk away. They don't want to play by the rules, I don't see a reason to play them. Walked away from a pretty large group couple weekends ago because they had no intention of going by the standardized rules. Thank You

CodFather

People need to learn somehow. I know how to play stripes and solids properly, but I suck at making a shot. I can hit the ball, but I don't know how hard/soft to hit it and where to hit it exactly. When the white ball falls in a whole, that's a scratch, you can place it anywhere behind the line, but you can't hit any ball behind the line unless you hit it across the table and let it come back to hit the ball. You have to shoot in solids if you shot in solids. You have to shoot in stripes if you've shot in stripes. The last ball to be hit in is the 8 ball and you can't hit that in till all your solids or stripes are in. If you hit both the 8 ball in and scratch, you lose. There are probably other rules I'm forgetting, but these are basics, but everyone has to learn em somehow.

Lamar

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