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What Is Billiards - An In Depth Anaylsis on What Works and What Doesn't

by Lydia Nicholls (2024-08-09)


There was a simple border, and a green cloth was on the table. Play of the game moved indoors to a wooden table with green cloth draped on it to simulate grass, and edges added to keep the balls in play. The roof of the club conserves traces of the Republican, early 19th century-style house that once was inhabited by some Spaniard or Creole, and which has come back to life thanks to the legendary game of billiards. I am walking the streets of the club district, the Zona Rosa, and it is 5:00 in the afternoon. Welcome to the ‘Country Club Billar’. I speak to the manager and he tells me that he doesn’t quite know when billiards first began in Bogotá, but that for more than forty years, ever since the club first opened, the sport has been played here every day. I am astonished to find myself standing next to a Colombian national billiards champion. Billiards teacher. Colombian Champion. During five minutes he shows me why he is a champion.


In that year alone, five very destructive fires occurred at four major studios and a film-processing plant. Near them, I see two women who are playing ‘pool’ on a different kind of table. An alternative endgame is "poison": in this variant, a player who has scored the last wicket but not hit the starting stake becomes a "poison ball", which may eliminate other balls from the game by roqueting them. Ideal for pool enthusiasts planning a game room makeover. This article is from the Pool & Billiards FAQ, by Bob Jewett with numerous contributions by others. We begin to talk and he tells me about the difficult life of being a professional billiards player in Colombia. When you hear people talk of sidespin in pool, they’re talking about English (sometimes spelled english) under a different name. It might start out as 8 Ball, move to 9 Ball, transition to straight pool, and then explore the possibilities of 1 Pocket. Also bar rules, pub pool, tavern pool. It was good to finally have a seat at the bar. I inquire about the hourly rate and she tells me that the tables are full at the moment and that I’ll have to wait until someone finishes.

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It is evident that they are here to have some fun: to get away from the routine of the city and to relax after a week of work while they stand over a wooden table, trade stories, remember former days and listen to songs of salsa, carrilera and vallenato. Green and blue may be considered the best overall, but if you can’t stand the sight of them, you’re better off going with what you like. The game is played with 22 balls, made up of one white ball (the cue ball), 15 red balls, and six numbered coloured balls including one yellow 2, one green 3, one brown 4, one blue 5, one pink 6, and one black (valued at 7 points). The clients are so absorbed in the game that no one pays attention to what I am doing. As I wander through the "T zone" - which takes its name from a certain intersection - and come out at the Calle 85 with Carrera 15, I see a glowing neon light on one side of the street, and it strikes my attention. The head string is denoted by the middle markers or diamonds on either side at the head of the table.


I spend about half an hour playing with them and then my attention is caught by the sight of a table on the other side of the room where two women are just beginning their game. It has to do with the reputation of the game in the country where some seem to associate it with a subculture of booze, women and song. The light tends to be flat, giving the place a special atmosphere - private - almost intimate where the only grip on reality is the sound of the music and the laughter of a group of men and women mingling in a corner. By a corner table two friends are talking, recounting anecdotes of their youth. I continue to wander through the place hearing about anecdotes and stories from the players. The prize money for professional events increased, with the top players earning several million pounds over the course of their careers.



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