Pool Lessons
The office where I work has a pool table, one of those really expensive, championship calibur ones. Since it doesn't cost me anything to use it, I've been using it a lot as a break from my net time. And I've come to some conclusions. Not quite a "Everything I need to know I learned from pool" but some things....
- Finesse can be more important than power.Oh how true. Like many things in life, I started out shooting pool by just trying to ram things through. I can be quite powerful and when I break with all my might, the balls scatter to the four corners of the table. But most of the time finesse is required over brute force. If you have the perfect shot lined up, particularly a straight shot, and power the ball into the pocket, odds are the cue ball will follow it in and you've wasted that shot.
- Remember the goal of the game.When I was in college, back in the mid-80s, I got hooked on 9-ball. The rules are simple. You have to hit the lowest numbered ball on the table. The object of the game is simple. Sink the 9-ball. As I was playing this weekend I had a nice shot lined up and hit the 4 which banked off and sank the 9, effectively ending the game. Since then, I've paid more attention to where the 9 is and whether it can be pocketed. Before that, my sole focus was on sinking the lowest numbered ball. The same applies to life in general. Getting caught up in the day to day minutuae can lead us to losing sight of our ultimate goal.
- Hail Mary's may work but don't count on them.This is an old sports term. You know, end of the game, your just a little behind and you throw a pass the length of the field or attempt to sink a basket from the other end of the court with little more than a prayer that it will work. I find myself doing that sometimes when shooting pool. Sometimes because I'm lazy or because I don't have a good shot I just wind up the cue and let loose. Earlier today I sank three balls on one shot that way. Mighty impressive sounding but I couldn't duplicate it so it really isn't all that great. I mean, if I did that on purpose when it counted, that would be one thing. But the shot was totally unplanned and a result of pure luck.
- Know the difference between sinking a ball and sinking the right ball.Sometimes I'll shoot straight pool and actually alternate between stripes and solids as though I were two players. And sometimes I just rack the balls and shoot whatever is available. The key is that you have to remember whether you are supposed to sink a specific ball or if you can sink any ball. It's that way with the decisions we make in life too.
- Don't forget to look ahead.Pool, like chess or any other game, requires more than just the shot you are attempting to make. It also requires that you think about where you want to leave the cue ball so you can make the next shot. And that requires practice, just like in real life.