Week Five: Cutthroat is Basically Monopoly and You Can't Convince Me Otherwise

First things first, I would like to apologize for the horrific video I posted earlier today. As always, it was extremely awkward and I cringed the entire time that I made it, but I think that it illustrates the rules of the game pretty well, so it should be educational nonetheless. If you want to spare yourself the cringe, just don't watch it and find another PBS (I shudder just saying the three letters) video that will enlighten you on the subject.  Anyways, sorry about that.

So, onto this week's topic: Cutthroat billiards. To describe the game in one word, I would choose intense. Okay, so that might just be a Michaels thing. My family is known for turning everything into a competition, and most of us aren't a fan of losing. As we always say, "If you aren't prepared to lose everything you hold dear during a competition, you aren't trying hard enough." Don't get me wrong, absolutely nobody takes the game seriously or has any lingering hatred, it's all just about the fun of the game, I swear. However, during said game, it can become very intense. So word to the wise, the faint of heart should not play this game.

Long story short, Cutthroat billiards is a story of alliances won and lost, blunders made and avoided, triumphant victories, and agonizing defeats. To compare it to something most people know about, I would say Cutthroat is the billiards equivalent of monopoly. Both games are way too long to be enjoyed in one night, and after both games you'll have lost at least two friendships (once again this might just be a Michaels problem). In my opinion, a random tumblr post sums it up well enough "Nobody ever reads the monopoly rules until an argument breaks out."

                                     

This is the same with Cutthroat billiards, which in itself is simple, but in practice can actually be somewhat challenging. The first step to understanding Cutthroat is simply to understand eight ball billiards, as many of the rules in the two games are the exact same. Afterwards, it's just a matter of sounding as official as possible before someone breaks out the rule book so people believe how you just cheated is actually entirely legal. 

                    

So, onto what I've learned in terms of actual stuff this week. I've got to be honest, I learned more this week about ball path from playing the game then I did in research, so I'll just relate to you my experiences on the matter instead of giving you another boring link. If you want to scratch, hit the ball more on the top. This will eliminate some of the spin placed on it, and will allow it to travel faster in one straight line. If you aim more to the left, often the cue ball will veer off to the right, and vice versa, as the ball will always move away from the cue. From what I've known to be true, you should aim to hit either a bit above or a bit below the center of the ball for the best shot, which is backed up by Colorado State University, my billiards bible of sorts. (I know I said I wouldn't link it but here you go anyways)

                           

Considering that I've already posted today, I figured I should keep this short and sweet, so I hope that it wasn't to long for al of you. Thank you again for reading!