A new pool player asked me during a lesson how to be considerate at the pool table to her opponents. She did not want to commit any acts that were considered improper. It occurred to me to write an article on proper pool etiquette. I believe it is important to the image and growth of pool that all players do their best to be polite to opponents and exhibit good manners as role models to new and young players taking up the game.
General guidelines:
1. Greet your opponent and introduce yourself if you don’t already know her. I always wish her luck, but “Play well.†is a fine substitute for the superstitious. After the match, win or lose, shake hands and thank her for the match. Try to remember that the way you handle winning or losing might be the way some other player will behave toward you some day. Handle both with grace and dignity and you’ll earn a reputation as a respectful player who also deserves to be treated with dignity.
2. Be very quiet while your opponent is lined up on a shot preparing to pull the trigger on a shot. Crack open your can of soda while she is walking around the table or chalking her cue. Likewise, don’t shout across the room to say hello to a friend when your opponent is shooting.
3. If you are not shooting, it is best to have a seat in a chair. The establishment should have sufficient seating for you and your opponent to each have a chair and table where you can rest your cue, set your cue case, drink and cell phone (which should be on silent or very soft ring depending on the situation). It is customary in serious matches to walk to your seat as soon as you miss or play a safety. You’ve completed your turn and should clear the area to allow your opponent to the table. Don’t grab the chalk. You won’t need it until your next turn and your opponent will likely chalk.
4. If you must stand, be still and discrete. In casual or fast paced games where you’ll shoot very frequently it is acceptable to remain standing near the table, but not in the direct line of sight of your opponent’s shot. For example, if you are in a safety battle in one pocket where you and your opponent are trading shots rapidly, it may be pointless to return to your seat after every shot, especially if your pocket is on the other side of the table. In this case, it is fine to stay standing on that side of the table, but please make an effort to take a couple of steps back and try to blend into the background.
5. If you are standing or seated and the player must shoot toward you, remain as still as you can. Make no sudden movements and don’t visit with a nearby observer. If your location is somewhat close to the pool table and you see that your opponent will probably shoot looking directly toward you, move 6 or 8 feet away before she bends down to address the cue ball. Do this only if you have time to move aside before she starts to bend down to shoot. If you are too late, just try to hold extremely still.
6. Spectators: If you have to walk by a pool table, try to time your trip between shots. If the layout of the pool room is such that you have no choice but to walk by several tables, do it quickly, smoothly, and quietly. There are mixed feelings about this, but I’d rather see a person just walk by in one motion than stutter-step through a bunch of pool tables. These days, most players are used to a certain amount of background noise and motion. It can be more distracting to see a person come to an abrupt halt in your peripheral vision while shooting than to have them keep walking smoothly past the end of the pool table. I understand that people are trying to be respectful by stopping, but if I am bothered by their walking by, I’ll simply take a couple of more warm up strokes until they pass by, or stand up, re-chalk and resume shooting. This movement applies only to spectators, never my opponents. They should either be seated or standing motionless outside my line of sight.
7. In a tournament setting, be on time for your match and keep an ear out for your name when the tournament director announces matches. Tournaments can be difficult to keep on schedule if players don’t arrive at the table soon after their match is called. Likewise, when the match is completed, tell the tournament director the results so he can call the next match on your table.
8. Respect the game, opponent, and equipment. Tempers flare but maintain your composure. Don’t thwack the table with your cue or dump the balls out of the ball tray when you get a table. The equipment has enough wear and tear through the course of regular play. Help it stay in good shape by refraining from unnecessary harsh use. Place cubes of chalk with the blue side up. Chalk dust spills off the cube when it is set on the rail upside down or lying on its side. This chalk ends up in the cloth, on players’ clothes and hands and eventually embedded in their shafts. Chalk dust can reduce the life of the cloth and contribute to the maintenance and upkeep of the tables, balls, and cue sticks. Chalk your cue tip while holding it over the floor, not over the playing surface. This will keep the fallout from getting into the cloth. While warming up on a table, never shoot object balls with your cue tip. The chalk grinds into the object balls and may cause the cue ball to throw off a well struck shot with the phenomenon of ‘skid.’ Keep the equipment clean and it will reward you with consistent and predictable play.
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