Straight Pool

Forty years ago, I was at a biker bar in Michigan drinking with some friends over the holiday.  We were staying at one of the fellow's cabins.  The room was only heated with a wood stove and it was cold, so we went to a bar.  After a few drinks, I saw a pool table and some guys playing.  Thinking I knew the rules, I put $0.50 on the edge of the table to "challenge" the winner.

After a while, a gentleman at the table loudly inquired who was next.  It appeared that it was my turn.  He was dressed in nondescript jeans with his wallet attached to his belt with a chain.  I asked what we were playing and he said, "Straight pool."

Everything went fine for several turns.  I played well and sank at least one ball on every turn.  He played equally well and with confidence.  And then, I drilled the "8 ball" in the corner pocket.

He was aghast.  "Why did you do THAT?" he demanded.

I had just ruined the game and he was irritated.  I thought we were playing "straight pool" where the first one to 25 wins.  He thought we were playing "8 ball" or "stripes and solids".  It was just by coincidence that I had sunk all the balls of the same classification up until the point where I sunk the "8 ball"   Sinking the "8 ball" out of turn automatically loses the game and is a stupid thing to do.

I paid for the game and bought the gentleman a beer and explained the mistake.  He still didn't really believe me and I decided that I had better not play pool for the rest of the night.

copyright (c) 2016

William Schaeffer