“I learned to approach racing like a game of billiards. If you bash the ball too hard, you get nowhere. As you handle the cue properly, you drive with more finesse.”
~ Juan Manuel Fangio
“A sign read “Free drinks for billiards competitors only.” Hand-lettered below read “All others will pay.” It was written in blood. I could tell because a red fairy with what looked like black insect wings was writing it at the time, with his own dismembered finger.” ― Red Tash, Troll Or Derby
“Stretched and skewed Tap of the 8-ball and the cue Scratches fall through They are the scars of you” ― Criss Jami, Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile
Top 101++ Billiard Quotes of All Time
“To succeed, you must first believe you can.”
– Nikos Kazantzakis
“To play billiards well was a sign of an ill-spent youth” ~ Herbert Spencer
It’s not the will to win that matters — everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters. [Paul “Bear” Bryant]
Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing… and … Failure is not an option.
Winning is a habit; unfortunately, so is losing. [Vince Lombardi]
The easiest way to win is to not let the other guy shoot.
It is easier to have fun when you are winning.
Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser. [Vince Lombardi]
To be a good loser is to learn how to win. [Carl Sandburg]
When it means everything, play as if it means nothing.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
I would rather play a gloating winner than a sobbing loser.
“Thus so wretched is man that he would weary even without any cause for weariness… and so frivolous is he that, though full of a thousand reasons for weariness, the least thing, such as playing billiards or hitting a ball, is sufficient enough to amuse him.”
– Blaise Pascal
“It is impossible to imagine Goethe or Beethoven being good at billiards or golf.” ~ H. L. Mencken
“As in the game of billiards, the balls are constantly producing effects from mere chance, which the most skillful player could neither execute nor foresee, but which, when they do happen, serve mainly to teach him how much he has still to learn; so it is in the most profound and complicated game of politics and diplomacy. In both cases, we can only regulate our play by what we have seen, rather than by what we have hoped; and by what we have experienced, rather than by what we have expected.” ~ Charles Caleb Colton
“A lot of people think international relations is like a game of chess. But it’s not a game of chess, where people sit quietly, thinking out their strategy, taking their time between moves. It’s more like a game of billiards, with a bunch of balls clustered together.” ~ Madeleine Albright
“If you are discouraged it is a sign of pride, because it shows you trust in your own powers.” ~ Mother Teresa
“Sex at the age of 90 is like playing billiards with a rope” ~ Camille Paglia
“Along the way [Mozart] got married; fathered seven children (two of whom survived into adulthood); performed as a pianist; violinist; and conductor; maintained a successful teaching studio; wrote thousands of letters; travelled widely; attended the theatre religiously; played cards, billiards, and bocce; and rode horseback for exercise. Not bad for someone portrayed as a giggling idiot in the movies.” ~ Robert Greenberg
“I love various sports, including basketball, tennis and billiards.” ~ Yani Tseng
“Every cloud has a silver lining.” ~ John Milton
“There was one planet off in the seventh dimension that got used as a ball in a game of intergalactic bar billiards. Got potted straight into a black hole.” ~ Douglas Adams
“…”And then we played Ping-Pong—” “Not pool? I always assumed he was a billiards man—I mean, it’s so handy the way he keeps a stick up his—” ~ Claire LaZebnik
Be a champion: someone who gets up even when he can’t.
We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are.
Create your own opportunity.
Do one thing and do it well.
Don’t limit your challenges. Challenge your limits.
Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.
“Pool is a beautiful game played by ugly people.”
I’d rather be lucky than good. [Lefty Gomez]
Think long … think wrong. Don’t suffer from Analysis Paralysis.
Make every easy shot, and make every shot easy.
Ignorance is bliss (don’t overthink things). [Thomas Gray]
Take what’s offered (i.e., don’t get fancy if it’s not required).
Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS). [US Navy]
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
Don’t try to run out unless you can. … and … Don’t move balls if you don’t need to.
Aim while standing, not while shooting.
Just don’t miss.
Where you look is where the ball will go.
Percentages don’t matter if you make the shot.
Never ever chalk your cue tip prior to a miscue.
Don’t put too much “English” on the ball (i.e., never use more sidespin than is required for a shot). … and … Don’t put too much “American” on the ball (i.e., never use more speed than is required for a shot).
Hit a Million Balls (HAMB) is the only fool-proof “aiming system.”
Don’t use more power than you can control.
Squat the rock after the break (i.e., leave the CB in the center of the table to have the most options after the break).
Draw for show … follow for the dough. … or … Draw for flash … follow for cash.
There’s nothing worse than good position if you miss the shot.
If you already have position, don’t play for it.
Don’t try to get perfect shape when good shape will do (i.e., just take what is offered).
Center ball can do it all, and the center of the table is your friend.
Take care of your cue ball and it will take care of you.
Let one finger stay and the other will point the way. (concerning the 30° rule peace-sign technique)
Stroke it, don’t poke it.
If you don’t stroke straight you shouldn’t aim straight.
Don’t be a jerk (with your transition from the backstroke to the forward stroke).
Let your cue do the work.
The best offense is sometimes a good defense.
Keep your soldiers on the table (don’t clear your balls in 8-ball until you are ready to run out).
Playing a tough shot is better than playing a tough safety.
A “real man” doesn’t play safe unless he wants to win.
Look in the mirror, that’s your competition.
It’s not the cue … it’s you. It’s not the arrow … it’s the Indian.
Don’t cry in your beer, it will just get diluted.
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Never give a sucker an even game.
Never gamble with a man named after a City or a State.
If you can’t find the one being hustled in the pool room, it’s you.
Life is a game. Money is how we keep score.
A penny saved is a penny earned. [Benjamin Franklin] … and … A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
There is no offseason.
Remember that player who gave up? Neither does anybody else. Keep on going!
Time to activate the beast mode.
Tough times don’t last. Tough players do!
You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
Hold the cue in your hand like a bird … don’t crush it to death, but also don’t let it go.
The grip should be like shaking a lady’s hand. Don’t crush it, and don’t be weak and limp wristed.
Don’t grip it and rip it (use a light and relaxed grip and smoothly accelerating stroke).
Don’t use a “death grip” on the cue.
Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance. [Confucious]
You don’t know what you don’t know. Or, if you knew what you didn’t know, you wouldn’t not know it.
Give a man a fish … feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish … feed him for life. [Anne Ritchie]
He who seeks shall find. [Matthew in The Bible]
A good teacher is one who listens and learns. The same can be said for a student.
Information is not knowledge.
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. [Benjamin Franklin]
Wise men don’t need advice. Fools won’t take it. [Benjamin Franklin]
When you finish changing, you’re finished. [Benjamin Franklin]
Don’t believe everything you hear and read. Do what works best for you. Different strokes for different folks.
Those who can’t play teach.
Pool is my life. My girlfriend is my hobby.
Life is tough, but it sure beats the alternative. … and … If you’re going through hell, keep going.
Don’t sweat the small stuff … and it’s all small stuff. [Richard Carlson]
Action speaks louder than words.
Life is short. Live today as if there is no tomorrow.
The only things certain in life are death and taxes. [Benjamin Franklin]
Don’t judge a book by its cover. … and … Nothing is as easy as it seems. … and … Nothing is a difficult as it seems.
Honesty is the best policy. [Aesop]
The grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.
It only takes one bad apple to spoil the bunch.
When you come to a fork in the road, take it. [Yogi Berra]
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. [Confucious]
The game is 90% mental. The other half is physical. [Yogi Berra]
Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions. [Mark Twain]
Sports do not build character. They reveal it. [Heywood Broun]
It ain’t over till its over. [Yogi Berra]
Without trust, your game goes bust. … and … To succeed, you must first believe you can. [Nikos Kazantzakis]
The secret to getting ahead is getting started. [Mark Twain]
The fancy crowd-pleasing shot is for them … the shot after is for me.
Do not dwell in the past. If you do, history tends to repeat itself.
Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. [Winston Churchill]
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. [Albert Einstein]
If at first you don’t succeed … try, try, try again. [William Hickson] … and … Never, never, never give up.
The glass is half full, not half empty. … and … Every cloud has a silver lining. [John Milton]
The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender. [ Vince Lombardi]
Practice makes perfect, especially perfect practice. Imperfect practice makes permanent.
The more I practice, the luckier I get. [Jerry B]
Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. [Thomas Edison] … and … There is no substitute for hard work.
Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds. [Gordon Hinckley]
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. [Benjamin Franklin]
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]
Amateurs practice a shot until they make it. Pros practice it until they can’t miss.
There are several shots, but only one right one.
If you take care of the simple ones, the hard ones take care of themselves.
