Losers pay, winners take home friends

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The sophisticated style of taking business decisions over a carpeted table poking colourful balls might have phased out with the retro era of Bollywood movies, but playing pocket games as a healthy pastime still has many takers among today’s youngsters. At a time when crunch of land and soaring mercury is forcing teenagers to stay home, glued to their computers after school, this smaller version of a royal game (read billiards) is luring many teenagers to chalk their cues.
“We usually bet over every frame we play. We have named the bet LTP, which stands for ‘losers to pay’. Whoever eventually loses the frame voluntarily pays for the time taken. It’s fun and nowadays it has become something to look forward to after tuitions,” opines 18-year-old Raj Tilak Nath.
We have observed that two forms of the game, namely eight-balls and nine-balls are popular among teenagers. Though rules vary from table to table (as some teenage groups have their own set of rules), the guidelines remain the same — pocket the balls.
“I am more of a nine-ball player. As you have to pocket the balls according to their number (the one with number 1 goes first), making a call for the next ball requires planning and the right cue skills. This is what is challenging,” informs 19-year-old Parikshit Bhatacharjee.
And cashing in on this love for games are the numerous pool parlours situated in every nook and corner of the city. “We usually get around 200 to 250 customers everyday. On weekend afternoons you would find many teenagers coming in groups to shoot a few balls. In fact, some of them are really skillful players,” opines Manpreet Singh (Monty) owner of a pool parlour in Satya Niketan, Moti Bagh.
Experts say that no other game in this world is so vulnerable to the natural laws of physics than pool.
And playing pool can help one sharpen concentration as well as increase mind power. “For me playing pool is like being in perfect harmony with myself. It’s like conducting an orchestra where you are the conductor and the balls are the musicians waiting a strike of your baton to shape your imagination,” opines Debjeet Kashyap, a BA History honours student of DU.