A Ball and a Cue

I was 17 when we moved to Houston. Dad and I would go to a sports bar in the Montrose area of Houston called Griff's. The place is quite a bit bigger nowadays than it was when we went there.

We would go there after school and play pool. The place reminded me of the bar in the TV sitcom Cheers. The bar part was upfront and the pool table was in the back room. Most of the time when we first got there, it was just Dad and I and we would play games of 8-ball. When the place started to fill up, people would challenge whoever was at the table by placing 50 cents on the table. The winner would stay and the new person would pay for the next game.

Dad helped me to think of pool as a mathematical game. Basically, it was a geometry problem. Because of that, they were days that I would play 12 or 15 games in the row and win. I tend to rush things, I get impatient. I do that when I play chess, or read through an instruction manual and in pool also. I know what to do, I just don't want to take the time to think about it. Dad would always remind me: "Slow Down. Look at your shot." That reminder allowed me to win many games.

I started playing pool with Dad in Monaco at the game room at the Larvotto. Pool in Monaco at the time was a little different. Yes, you could find places to play 8-ball, but the one that Dad and I played was 3-ball billiard.

The aim of the 3-ball billiard game is to obtain as many points as possible, by means of cannons: touching the other two balls with the cue ball.

It is a good games to learn the effects of the spins and the strength with which to hit the ball. 3-ball billiard does not have any pocket, so you pay for the table by the hour. I spent many hours playing with Dad.

I enjoyed playing 3-ball billiard. I haven't played in almost 30 years. I don't know if it would be the same fun now, but the memories sure are good.