Does Office Pool pull away the Fun?

Today, the day after Euro 2008 final match, is pay day in may offices in Europe. This festive occasion made me think about the ritual called the office pool.

A recent study, taken by Professor Stephen Nowlis and Associate Professor Naomi Mandel of Arizona State University's W. P. Carey School of Business, shows that even those who grabbed all the other employees dough underwent feelings of discomfort, emotional uncertainty and inability to enjoy the event. And if we are talking about a long event, such as the 16-weeks season of Survivor, we are talking about a never-ending misery…

In other words, the feeling of "anticipated regret" is a much more aching experience than simply not giving the correct prediction and loosing the pool. The research arrives to the conclusion that the only way to enjoy watching a reality show or a major sports event is by sinking into the succession of images on the TV screen, without trying to predict the winner.

What office pool has got to do with pool, as in pool game, you are probably wondering now. Well, pool game is a sports event you can wager on (and lose all the fun), isn't it?

9Ball Pool

It's less familiar than 8ball pool, but 9ball is one of the most exciting pool games you can play.

It is played with only 9 object balls. The object of 9ball is to pocket the 9-ball. On each shot, the the cue ball must first contact the lowest numbered ball on the table, but the balls need not be pocketed in order. The player who pockets the 9-ball wins the game and a player who've committed 3 consecutive fouls loses the game.

If you want to practice playing 9ball online, there are some good news for you. Play89 has added 9ball pool game to its pool software. To download the 9ball pool game and play online 24/7 click here

All about One Pocket Pool

One pocket is one of the smartest, sophisticated pool games. It somehow resembles straight pool , but much more complicated and challenging since only one of the 6 pockets is in use. Actually 2, one pocket for each player.
The object of the game is to score a total of 8 point by legally pocketing the object balls into the specific target pocket. In other words, each time you pocket a ball, you get one point. However, if you pocket an object ball into the target pocket of your opponent, he will get one point, and so on.
As you can see, one pocket rules are not very complicated, but playing it requires a lot of experience with various shooting techniques.
Here you can find the official rules of one pocket and here one pocket glossary.

The first time I played pool online

It took me about two years of playing pool online (mainly 8-ball pool in variety of sites, some of them are no longer exist) before I played pool live. It was at a party and eventhough it was the first time, my vast experience playing onilne helped me beat them all up (well, except for one, but don't let that destroy a good story).
Anyway, I just wanted to give you a preview on what's gonna be included in my new blog. I hope to post at least once a week and share with you my opinions and experiences as a pool player on the internet. And, of course, I would love to hear your opinions and experiences as pool fans. So, If you have been through similar or opposite experiences, you are welcome to add them as comments.