My Rant About Railbirds

Hello from the snowy confines of the Great White North.

I don't know how many CCB's are active railbirds but after the display that the locals put on tonight, I just have to point out a few things.

I was busy being a railbird myself for the night, no coin and way overmatched to be involved in this action. And it was hard for me to believe that every single one of these things took place at least once during less than 6 hours that I was there, all by pool hall regulars who should know better.

The game was rotation cutthroat, buck a ball, five bucks on the 5, 10 and 15. Four good player's. And a pretty good crowd was watching, I would guess 10 - 20 throughout the night. Not bad for a Sunday when it's storming out.

So now to my beefs.

1) Don't ask the guys playing, "Hey, how much you playing for.". In fact, don't even talk to the players involved unless they talk to you first. The last thing you need when your stuck 187 bucks, is some yahoo wondering how your Christmas was. This must have happened at least 30 times tonight. If you just have to know what the stakes are, ask your neighbour. Just not when someone else is shooting.

2) Don't walk in front of the table when someone is shooting. It's rude and it really does affect some player's. Wait until after the rack is done before you get up to go. At least once every 2nd rack tonight this would happen.

3) None of the player's care about your opinion on their shot selection. On 3-4 occasions a player was mulling over his options and guys are yelling,"Kick it two rails" or "you got to hit it with bottom left". If you just need to be involved, put your cash down.

4) Your not part of the match, so stay out. If Jorge doesn't notice that the 10 ball is perfectly lined up for a combo, it's not your job(or even right I would argue) to point it out to him. The same with fouls. If there is a close hit and the player's ASK for your opinion, by all means help them out. Otherwise keep quiet.

5) Don't get up, walk over, and look at if a ball passes or not. You'll find out soon enough.

6) And lastly, if you must chatter to your neighbour all night about the Patriots comeback, go to the other side of the room. Just common sense.

Now that I've vented, I hope everybody had a good Christmas and have a good New Year.

Stauber

[Karatemom]

Hi Stauber. I was a railbird, so to speak, for 10 years before I got back into the game. Common sense tells you not to interfere in any way in someone else's game. It's a shame that some people just don't get it.

Heide

[Ralph S.]

Stauber!, its good to see youre still alive lol. I gotta agree, it sure can be damned annoying when all those birds start chirping. Being a railbird can be fun though as long as you know some etiquette.
Ralph S.> sometimes sits on the rail but doesnt chirp. /ccboard/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[LC3]

Agreed 100%. When I'm watching a game, I try to find a shadowy corner to disappear into. If a railbird started chirping during my game, I'd put a stop to it right away.

[Tom_In_Cincy]

Stauber,
Good to see you posting again.. where have you been?

Railbirds have been as much a part of gambling as the cash.
Sweaters/backers/horses all become railbirds while the game is ON.

I have been in the most gawdawful ring games that have had crowds of 20+ rail birds sweating the action and trying in the most subtle of ways to shark the players so that their bets were protected. I'm not saying that this is as common as being illmannered, and not respecting the players while they are shooting, but it does happen.

I like to think that the players that are effected by the railbirds the most, are the loosers.

Good players are very tough to distract (or be sharked) but I know its possible. If you can play and be consistant and win, you probably have that 'focus' quality that filters out all the distractions.

Just recently I was playing a match and a railbird came up to me (after I had missed a shot) and told me that I shot too fast (didn't take enough time to prepare) . I responded "If I think about it too much, I will miss it all the time".

Knowing how to handle the distractions is an experienced attained skill. I was shooting in a ring game and a fight broke out (among the railbirds) and I stopped and looked at the other players and they were still watching me shoot... they were only interested in the game.. I didn't do too good in that game...

Your comments and items about what railbirds should and shouln't do.. are right on the money.. Thanks