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he wanted to see a pic of my pool cue, but I couldn't till I got the shaft back from having the tip replaced, so i have since picked it up and posted a pic with the rest of my gear.

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Gaayyyyyyyyyyy!

Yesterday on the Kyle Field tour. This was at the top of the tunnel the players come out of.

Very impressive, Tarrant.
The ex and I had plans to run that last year, before life got in the way

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So do you play pool for money, are you in a league, or are you simply an enthusiast?

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the latter two.

I won't gamble on it, no way in hell. I know where I fall in the scheme of things and that is decidedly mediocre. Mediocre among the folks I play with regularly, that is. For the past few years, I've played in APA leagues around Houston. My handicap/skill level is 4 and 3, on 8ball and 9ball, respectively, which is middle of the pack", my game is just not good enough to hustle.

I play for the competition, and to beat my opponent with my skill, that is the reward I look for...I like winning. In 10 years maybe my game will be at the level needed to start taking cash from people because I'm good enough to run the table every game, but I'm just not really a gambler either. I know that if I do, I'll get some success at it but eventually get burned hardcore.

There are a lot of parallels between pool and golf, the way I figger. Both take 5 minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. Games of extreme precision, dexterity, and accuracy. Gear is important but not nearly as important as who is making the shot. Something that is a cruel mistress, torturing you with weeks or months or random slumps where you cant seem to do anything right, but spontaneously you'll get on a run where you just can't miss. I ****ing love this game. Happy to play anyone, anywhere, even if I will probably lose, I like to see what I'm really made of, because I have an ego that says that I can dig myself out of any hole I'm in, then come back and win. I've done that many times.

New hair!

Me with my soon to be first born daughter's A&M Cheerleading uniform.. She will be cheering on the maroon and white this season.

:-)-[:::]<

Had it. Loved it. Lost it. And its not available in e-format. I have a thing against dead tree books. But I suppose I just ought to suck it up and buy another copy.

I think you would definitely enjoy an APA league. When it says all skill levels welcome, it means it. Its actually set up to encourage it, as the total skill level of all players a team puts up (which is 5) on a given night can't exceed 23 (for reference, as i said, im a 4 in 8ball and 3 in 9ball). Teams need a good mix of n00b to mediocre to high-level players. I got GIBro and his wife to join up, even, before he shipped off to the desert narnia he's stationed at. When I moved out of the NW side of town and had to leave my old league, I just googled APA leagues in my new area, found one, walked in off the street, and found a team.

Its reeeeally laid back and friendly. Yearly dues are $25 and each time you play each week, its $7-8 for whats essentially unlimited pool.

One of my favorite things about league play is there is no quibbling on the rules. There's no stupid ass bar rules that people pull out of no where. I've seen some weird **** in bars/dives with the 'house rules' people try to play by. League play brings clarity to this. You scratch? Ball in hand for your opponent. You are about to make a shot on the 8 in 8ball to win that game? You mark the pocket you are going for with an object so its absolutely clear. You hit your ball but nothing touches a rail or is pocketed after that? Table scratch and ball in hand for your opponent. No more stupid bar rules!

It works on a handicap system. So, since I'm a 3 in 9ball, I need to make 25 points to win. Lets say the other team puts up a 4. They only need 31 points to win, so its a race to reach your skill level's point total that compensates for different levels. Players that are on the elite end (6s or 7s) can realistically be beaten by a 2 in this system, because a 2 only needs 19 points and a 7 needs 54 or something.

I feel obligated to post a pic since we are derailing this thread completely.

This is my son meeting Murphy for the first time.

Now a little lower