Pool billiards in Thailand

Since I'm in Thailand I passionately practice a new hobby, namely pool billiards. It is extremely popular in this country where you can play it almost anywhere, in bars, restaurants or pool halls.

I didn't know it because in my time there was not (a lot) played on a table with holes (pockets) in the Netherlands, but on an ordinary billiard table with 3 balls. Of course I have played that too, on Saturday afternoon with friends in a café, normally the libre game or ten over red. I wasn't really good, I thought a series of 6 or 7 caroms was already very good. I have never played in a competitive context, but those afternoons were always fun.

Here it started with regular visits to a large beer bar that had a pool table. Timidly trying to aim those balls in the pockets and that was not easy at all. Fortunately, I got help from an English friend who introduced me to the rules and gave me tactical instructions. It got better and better but now after many years I'm still a mediocre player who plays it with great pleasure.

There is quite a difference between our billiards and pool billiards. In our billiards you usually give the cue ball an effect such that after the first ball has been hit, that ball rolls in the direction of the second ball. This will score you a point. Of course you try to “keep over”, but the most important thing is to score that point. In pool billiards, you basically give the cue ball no effect, but hit the so-called object ball in such a way that it disappears into a pocket. The better you are at this game, the better you also give the cue ball an effect to put that ball in a good position for the next shot.

Popular in Thailand

In Thailand, billiards are not played as we do in the Netherlands. A Belgian restaurant here in Pattaya tried it, but had to get rid of the table due to lack of space and lack of interest. Pool billiards is practiced throughout Thailand, even in the smallest villages. In my wife's village in the Isaan there is also a small pool hall with 3 snooker tables. Quality of these tables leaves a lot to be desired, but hey, it's about the fun, isn't it? This form of pool billiards is very popular in the countryside because you can play well for money with it. I participated once, you play with a number of players and through a complicated system you win or lose money. I quickly won 200 Baht and lost it again in about ten minutes.

The variants of pool billiards most commonly played in Thailand are:

1. Snooker: the game with the red and colored balls on a very large table. The idea is that you pocket a red ball and a colored ball alternately. The colored ball then returns to the table until all the red balls are pocketed, after which the colored balls are pocketed in a prescribed order.

2. 8-ball: 15 numbered balls on the table, nos. 1 to 7 are evenly colored, nos. 9 to 15 have a white band (or half colored, a Dutchman once said), number 8 is the black ball. Two players each have to pocket 7 balls and lastly the number 8. In Thailand, different rules are played, Thailand has its own rules, then there are the Old English rules and the better players play according to International Rules.

3. 9-ball: Only the first 9 balls come on the table, which must be pocketed in order from 1 through 9. You always play on the lowest numbered ball, if you don't pocket it, but if you do hit another ball that gets pocketed, you keep your turn. If you pocket the number 9 ball in this way, you win the game without pocketing all the balls. Good players usually stick to the order, but lesser players often try to pocket that 9 ball earlier with surprise.

4. 10-ball: a more difficult variant of the 9-ball game, where you have to explicitly say (nominate) in which pocket the ball will disappear.

(Great Pics – Ben Heine / Shutterstock.com)

Snooker

Here in Pattaya you can play all variants, the Thais play a lot of snooker in the special snooker halls. Many bars, restaurants and beer complexes have a pool table where you can play a game with your own company or – of course – with a Thai lady. Due to a lack of space, they are usually smaller tables where you can play for a drink or money or not. There are also many tournaments where you can win money, the amount of which depends on the number of players. In this regard, the tournaments in Insomnia in Walking Street are very popular.

I practice my hobby in a large pool hall, called Megabreak, in Soi Diana. A hall with 14 game tables, a good bar, dining options, large TVs for football or videos and a cozy lounge area. You can divide the visitors into the “regular customers” (including me), the visitors who regularly come to Pattaya from Europe and the tourists who often play a game with their Thai partner. The last category usually plays 8-ball, but 9- and 10 ball are the most popular among the others.

We (I'm pretty much part of the furniture, so I speak of "we" without having any financial interest in the matter) organize as many as four tournaments every week, on Wednesdays for 10 ball, on Thursdays and Sundays for 9 balls and the Tuesday is popular as Ladies' Night. I arrange those competitions and schedule the matches. Recently a Japanese guy approached me and asked me if I was the Tournament Director. Now I'm not really that but thought it was a nice title so I said a resounding "yes".

Tournament

Do you have to be a good player to enter those tournaments? The answer is No, because we play with a handicap system so that basically every player can win. On Sundays we have a 12 class system where you have to win more or less frames depending on your handicap. I myself am ranked low and if I have to play against someone from the highest class then he has to win 12 frames against me but 2. That seems easy but I don't succeed every time. Still, I regularly win a prize and have even won the tournament twice. That is possible with 9 ball, because I often win with surprise shots. My “speciality” is the so-called combo, I hit with the cue ball then the 9 ball in the pocket and win the frame.

Well, there is still so much to tell about the game, the tournaments and Megabreak itself, I'd say come and see for yourself. In the afternoon it is fairly quiet and if you are alone, one of the lovely ladies will gladly play a game with you (on the pool table that is!). In the evening it is pleasant to stay in Megabreak and most tables are often occupied. Ask for Albert - that's how they know me here - and I'll tell you everything you want to know about this subject.

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