No one likes to lose in a game but everyone loses at one point or another. It’s important to learn how to lose with grace and how to win with humility. Losing gracefully is more respectable than a sore loser and winning without gloating is just as respectable.

Do you recall a time when you played with a sore loser? It not only made that person seem childish and made you feel like “this is my friend” making you question why you’re even hanging out with this person. Yes, being a sore loser is not an attractive trait to those around you. When you think about it, it’s not good for yourself either.

When you’re a sore loser it means you are lacking acceptance, to say the least. Growing and understanding yourself is very important and as you build your experience in both aspects the better you’ll get at dealing with the corresponding emotions.

You don’t have to feel bad about losing, learn from it making it a positive thing, after all, it’s just a game. It’s supposed to be fun so let it be just that.

” I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times” -Bruce Lee

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The definition of a “drug” is classified in two ways, one is prescribed by a medical provider to help treat a disease or conditions and the other is an unlawful use of a substance. Note there are some drugs which are legal such as alcohol and nicotine but even though they are legal there is always room for abuse.

How easy can someone get drugs?

There are many reasons people use drugs. May it be those which are easily accessible at local grocery stores. Those purchased at convenient stores as over the counter prescription drugs, those that can be found on the streets and those that can be given by an acquaintance. The point is that if your teen wants to use drugs they are widely accessible.

What are some reasons people use drugs?

One of the biggest overlooked reason people get hooked on drugs is due to the wide use of prescriptions drugs today. There is a prescription drug you can take for virtually everything, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, harmony imbalances, etc. All these pills can lead to a dependency which starts to become more of an addiction.

As you grow up it’s hard to fit in you don’t know yourself and what you’re about so you start feeling empty, alone you may even lash out and want to go against the grain in hopes of finding where you fit in. Or maybe the opposite is true the young adult already fits in they want to experiment, feel good, be popular. Both of these can lead to drug abuse.

Just because drugs are easily accessible doesn’t mean your child will end up being a junky. At this point in a young person’s life, it’s very important that they have support and people that care about them to help them make good decisions. Talking to them, listening to them, being a good role model for them, being involved in their lives, knowing their friends and friends families, establishing realistic rules, encouraging them to find healthy activities to fill their time.

Drug-Free Activities?

Keeping your mind and body busy will help fill the time. Finding healthy hobbies will encourage a drive for life and success even if it’s an adventure sport, such as dirt bikes or hiking adventures. Group exercise sessions, such as yoga or spin class. Volunteering positions, such as helping out at a local animal shelter or food bank. Spending time with friends and family doing fun stuff such as playing pool or going on a family trip.

Helping your young adult find balance is essential and we here at Golden West Billiards we’d like to help by creating a beautiful game table that you and your whole family can enjoy for a very long time. Please give us a call if it feels right.

Check out this interesting blog found at Delta-13 titled A Look Inside: The Oldest & Newest Pool Halls in America.

We went in search to find the oldest pool halls in America that are still in business today! Don’t be fooled, as some of the pool halls just recently had updates done, so not all of them look as old as they really are! We also decided to incorporate some of the new pool halls that just opened in the last couple years, showing you that pool is still alive and going strong.

To start, read a little pool hall history and learn about when certain pool equipment was invented. Check out our history blog HERE!

Let’s start with the oldest and work our way to pool halls that are opening today!

Orton’s Pool Room

*Oldest Pool Hall in America

Established in the early 1900’s (1888), Orton Pool Room home in Wilmington, North Carolina holds a lot of history. Originally built as the Orton Hotel in the 1800’s, years later in 1949, the building burned and only the basement with the laundry, pool hall and barber shop survived!

Who Famous Played Here? Willie Mosconi stopped in 1953, while on tour.

Mosconi, known as “Mr. Pocket Billiards”, won the World Straight Pool Championship a record 15 times from 1941-1957. He was also among the first group to be inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.

Ortons Pool Room

Smith’s Billiards

*Second Oldest Pool Hall in America

Originally established as a billiard academy, this pool hall is located in the historic town of Springfield, Massachusetts. Fred Smith began the academy in 1902. Said to be 114 years old.

Who Famous Played Here? Lots! One was Leo Durocher, Major League Baseball American professional baseball player, manager and coach.

Smiths Billiards

People’s Billiards Club aka People’s On Beale

Founded in 1904 in Memphis, Tennessee. This pool hall is a home of the “hundred-year-old Brunswicks”. They have 8 pool tables, a jukebox, and a stage.

Want to Know a Fun Fact about People’s on Beale? Beale Street is the #1 Tourist Attraction in the state of Tennessee!

BealeStreet Merchants

Booches Billiard Hall

Located in Columbia, Missouri (founded in 1884, but burned down and rebuilt in 1920’s), Booches has three full-sized pool tables, two snooker tables, and one billiard table for three cushion billiards play.

Want to know something yummy about Booches? Booches cheeseburgers (served on wax paper) were named one of the Top Ten burgers in America by USA Today in 2000.

Booches Billiard Hall

Blue Post Billiards

Blue Post Billiards located in Wilmington, North Carolina. This building used to be a brothel where sailors and pirates would go after long voyages. Although there is no date on its opening, we believe it to be at least a 100 years old and is why we have added it to our list! Fun Fact: A scene in the movie, “Tammy” was filmed in this local bar.

Don’t be too scared if you decide to visit this pool hall… Blue Post is said to be haunted!

The Blue Post

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We’ve made some changes and we want you to be the first to know! Our Pinterest has had a make over. We’ve added and are working on adding more great new boards with tons of pictures in order to help you visualize, design, spice-up and or create your game rooms and family hang-out areas.

There is so much to see! be sure to follow us and like the boards you like so we can better serve you.

Find us at pinterest.com/goldenwestbilliards

The WPA announced that World 8-Ball Championship is coming this September. Both the men and women’s championships will be played simultaneously in Jinan, China at the beautiful Olympic Center. The exact dates are yet to be announced but it’s all very exciting news!

For more news check out WPA

There are 3 main things to focus on before starting a billiard game. First is your mindset. Remember failure is not the opposite of success. It’s part of success because we learn from failure. So, win or lose know that you’re making progress. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have clear intentions on the outcome but simply getting out there and develop your skills.

Making sure you are using the suitable equipment when you go to play is key. From your billiard table to your cue and chalk. If your table isn’t up to playing standards then it’s pointless to play. You will have a horrible a time trying to play on an uneven surface or with a wrapped cue that shoots the opposite way you want the ball to go.

Just remember Golden West Billiards offers restoration services along with repairs and the sale of American Made custom products.

Finally, don’t forget about the billiard fundamentals, planning shots, stance, hand position, aim, cue grip, and follow through stroke.