Play Pool

Want to get your balls in your date's corner pocket? One surefire way is to go out for an evening of pool. Pool is a popular version of billiards, and billiards is a name that covers all games played on a rectangular felt table with a cue and balls.

COST

Many bars have a pool table available for no charge. However, most bars and pool or billiard halls will charge a per game fee of between 50 cents and $10.00. Allow extra for food and drinks.

HOW TO FIND

Look in the Yellow Pages under "Pool Halls" or "Billiards." For a state by state list of pool halls, try www.poolroom.com or www.poolshark.com. If you'd like to see how many countries around the globe have billiards halls, check out the website of the International Billiards & Snooker Federation at www.ibsf.org/.

RESOURCES

Books and videos on pool by "The Monk:" can be found at www.billiards.com/mall/monk.asp. For pointers on how to play pool check out www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/shootpool/shootpool.html. If you would like to find Pool and Billiard Magazine, cue your mouse up to www.poolmag.com or phone (843)875-5115. For answers to various questions about pool, try www.landfield.com/faqs/sports/billiards/faq/. For the rules to different types of pool and billiard games, see http://poolshark.com/rules.htm.

PICK YOUR STICK

Learning how to pick the right poker can be tricky. To find out more about selecting the proper pool cue, visit www.landfield.com/faqs/ sports/billiards/faq/.

POOL SCHOOLS

Wanna go to pool school? Try Cue U, the College of Pool and Billiards in Rockford, Illinois. They have two-day workshops starting at $450.00, where you will hopefully learn everything from cue movement and alignment to applying vertical and horizontal spin. See www.cue-u.com/courses.htm or phone (815)398-0511.

TYPES OF BILLIARDS

POCKET POOL This is the most common game played in the U.S. It is also played by people in pool halls and is called continuous pocket billiards. One player tries to sink the solid balls, while the other tries to sink the striped balls without sinking the cue ball. EIGHT BALL One player tries to sink all of the solid balls, while the other tries to sink all of the stripes. As soon as you sink all of your balls, you then try to sink the eight-ball. CUT THROAT A three-player game. Each player has five balls. The goal is to sink your opponents balls. The last player with a ball on the table wins. SNOOKER This is where you use twenty-one balls and a cue ball. The balls are assigned point values by color. ONE POCKET Each player picks one of the corner pockets at the foot of the table. Whoever makes eight balls in their pocket wins. BUMPER POOL This game is played on a special table with two round holes and a number of bumpers on the playing surface. The goal is to shoot all of into your hole.

POOL IN RUSSIA

Until 1989, the government in the Soviet Union forbid its citizens from playing pool. The game was thought to attract unsavory, criminal types. As the Russian people gradually embraced capitalism, unsavory criminal types became more acceptable and the ban on pool was lifted.