For the love of Snooker

 

No wonder why Jinnah always loved playing this gem of a game. I think after Chess, Snooker is what requires a sharp mind, up-to-the-mark agility, and a tremendous amount of patience. This game doesn’t depend on age so much, since the proportion of physical fitness required here is very minute. I adored watching elderly men ( septuagenarians, I guess ) playing in a club in Alamdar road; when we used to bunk our college, and that was the only club that allowed ‘fugitives’ in uniform.

 

 It used to be a game only played by the bourgeoisie, and elite class before the demise of the colonial era. And now in Pakistan, it is, in some segments of society, considered a social taboo only played by guys who are drug addicts with no future whatsoever, owing to the club's unhealthy environment. But it’s not true - partially, if at all. I myself used to put on a surgical mask, (far before the corona period) when a club we’d go to when we had less ‘finance’ in our pockets in matric was always full with the smoke of weed, because the owners charged only rupees 10 per frame. The tables were sub-standard and a group of people played cards underneath. I grew, so did my standards, I moved to the clubs in the posh areas of the city where the environment drastically changed, and professionalism became evident.

 

The reason I always manage to make it through in snooker, playing even after months or - years, with unfit form and unclear angle, is one thing that gives an immense edge to an amateur over a professional: strategy. I have a penchant for playing the defensive game; always one step ahead. Even when I try potting a ball, placing the stagger safely is my top-most priority. While players find it a symbol of ‘professional gallantry’ to play shots fast, I try playing considerably slow, as not to lose the position where I want the stagger.

 

Doubles are interesting but there is a huge drawback: there is no single planning involved. Both partners, if not acquainted for long and are not in sync, may bring about headaches to each other with their sky-high ‘ego’ of trying to pot each ball by themselves. But if they make good use of planning, and assign each other a role, be it pot or to save, then they could turn into formidable cueists.

 

There’s also a kind of game I assume only exists in Pakistan called ‘century’. in which only one red is present along with all colors. The score of potting red here is 10 points. The placement is reset every time a black is potted. It is more of entertainment rather than a technique-driven game. A grand total is set prior to the game and whoever is left last pays for the game and refreshments ( chips, burger, you name it ) too.