Top 10 Health Benefits of Playing Billiards You Never Knew

Why do people play pool? Many people play billiards just for killing time, but did you know that there are many health benefits of playing billiards as well? Pool and billiards could do a lot for your mental health, so keep that in mind the next time you pick up the cue. Pool is a simple game played on a tabletop, using cues or sticks for hitting hard balls into any one of the 6 pockets on the table.

Many people love playing billiards and Pool table game has generally been considered a game of leisure. It has been around since more than a hundred years and is played by millions of people all over the world.

There are pool tables in clubs, pubs, bars and so on. People finish their work and then go to a pub or a bar, have a drink and then play a game of pool. But it is a lot more than that. It goes a little more than just fun and enjoyment with friends. Billiards is a game that involves a lot of skill not to speak of strategy.

Today, many people acknowledge that Billiards or pool is one of the competitive sports and offers many benefits.

KEY TAKEAWAYS OF THE ARTICLE

• Why people love playing billiards
• Mental benefits of playing pool
• Why pool & billiards is the best game
• Health importance of billiards in one’s life

Check Out These Health Benefits of Playing Billiards

 

#1. Playing Billiards Offers Benefits to Physical Health

This is one of the more obvious health benefits when you play billiards games.

• On an average, a game of billiards lasts about 2 hours. You might take around 100 trips around the pool table. This is equal to walking about 3/4 of a mile. If you play more games, you burn more calories.
• You have to consider the benefits of fats and calories burned playing billiards. You may not sweat a lot, but you can get into great shape by playing on a regular basis.
• Unlike other strenuous exercises, it reduces calories without putting much strain on the body, so it is suitable even for older people.
• It also tones the muscles and helps in balancing the strengthening the body.
• Some of the stances in the game need you to flex the arms, the shoulders and fingers regularly. You need to stretch a lot during a game of billiards, and this makes your body more flexible, toning the leg muscles and the hindquarters.

(Image: billard-passion.fr)

• Why you should play pool? It also improves balance and stability. At times, during the game, you have to stand on one foot and even the slightest tremor could end up in losing the move.

#2. Mental Benefits of Playing Pool – Building Focus/Concentration

Playing billiards requires a lot of concentration so it helps you focus better, both physically and mentally, on other tasks.

• One of the importance of billiards is that players have to focus on the white ball, consider the correct angle, their posture, the angle at which the ball will move and so on. They have to think of a lot of detailing.
• This makes the mind sharper. It results in cultivating a lot of focus when you do other tasks as well.
• Pool needs a lot of dexterity. Your hands become more nimble and adept at doing other tasks as well. You will no longer be clumsy.

#3. Critical Thinking @ Important Health Benefit of Playing Billiards

There are studies showing that people who play pool or other cue sports will be better enabled with critical thinking powers.

• One of the reasons to play billiards is that you won’t panic so easily in a crisis.
• The need for mental toughness in pool can help you think critically, logically and clearly.
• They are able to examine relevant and pertinent facts, details in situations and act calmly without getting hysterical.
• Their mind is sharper, as the game requires some knowledge of basic geometry, physics and precision. They need to calculate the angles and the trajectories and assess the amount of force that needs to be applied, so that they neither overshoot or undershoot the target.
• While mastering the mental game of pool, it leads to a sharper mind, making you think faster on your feet.
• The game also teaches situational logic. This means that you can formulate ideas and strategies based on the situation.
• You learn the billiards psychology to get an advantage over your opponent, thus improving your assessment skills.

#4. Playing Billiards Helps in Character Building/Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship means that you treat your teammates as well as opponents with respect. It teaches you that though you must play to win, you must learn to have fun in sports and accept defeat graciously as well.

• Did you know that billiards actually helps in character building? When you play billiards you learn that you cannot always win.
• When you make a wrong step or a misjudgement, you realize your mistake and learn from it. This will apply to other tasks in life as well. You will learn to accept your mistakes and take steps to rectify them, just as you did within the game.
• It teaches you social skills. You mix with a diverset of people. You learn to interact with people who are younger than you, older than you, richer than you or stronger than you.
• Pool is more of a mental game and when you try to master this mental game, you learn to perform better under pressure and among distractions.

#5. Hand Eye Coordination

You can dramatically improve your hand eye coordination by playing pool regularly.

Note: Even a simple action like brushing your teeth needs good hand eye coordination.

• While playing billiards, you need a sensitive touch and your timing needs to be precise, thus increasing eye and hand skills.
• You also need a steady hand when you line up shots and when you shoot these balls into any of the pockets. Your eyes need to keep track of a small ball.
• One of the reasons to play billiards is that the more you play such games, the better is your ability for reacting and improving the position of your hands for getting optimum results.

#6. Patience and Perseverance – Added Health Benefit of Playing Billiards

Billiards has rightly been called a game of patience! People say you need a lot of patience to become a successful pool player.

• You need to think and plan ahead.
• You have to be aware of your opponents’ moves as well.
• You have to create a good tight rack, so that it makes it difficult for the opponent to break them and scatter them to the holes. This needs years of practise and, thus, develops, patience and perseverance.
• You have to think and take it slowly. It’s not a game where you just rush and hit the balls hoping to get lucky.

#7. Strategic Skills

There are several ways of hitting the cue ball and considering how it might roll.The ball reacts differently to different types of hits. This is where strategizing starts.

• Playing billiards improves your strategizing skills. You need to consider how it will respond after it hits the target ball. If you hit with too much force, it could just come back to you or it could just stop dead in its tracks after it hits the target ball. If you hit it on the top, it will hit the target ball and continue moving and fall into the pocket right after the target ball, which is not what you would want!
• The game needs decision making; planning and a competitive spirit. These are involuntary thoughts that come in the mind while playing the game and they are valuable life skills that you learn by playing billiards.

#8. Billiards is Mathematical

(Source: mathworld.wolfram.com)

If you have been playing Billiards for some time, you might realize that it has actually improved your mathematical abilities.

• When you hit the balls into the pockets, your mind is constantly calculating distances, the power needed, the optimum speed, some addition and subtraction and so on.
• These thoughts can improve the mind’s ability to calculate and offer you important mathematical life skills.
• Billiard players unknowingly possess sharper minds, as they need to make calculations about exactly where, which angle and the hardness of the contact required for creating the required shot.

#9. Billiards Helps in Enhancing Self Esteem

This is one of the most important benefits of playing the game of billiard.

• If you master the game and are able to play an excellent game, you can get many admirers.
• It gives you confidence and a sense of achievement, leading to increased self esteem.
• It is also a great conversation starter and you could easily be the center of attraction at a gathering.

#10. Playing Pool Improves Social Life

(Image: http://pool-8-ball.co.uk)

Today, it is the age of social networking. We hardly meet our friends to enjoy a real conversation.

• In this scenario, a game of billiards helps you socialize with friends and leaves you with a positive feeling.
• Whether you play at the local club or the community center or at home with friends, it helps you bond with others. It builds relationships and improves your communication skills. It brings you closer with family and friends and you get to spend quality time with them.

Last Word

Billiards might not mean much to you as a form of improving your physical or mental health. You might also think it is not much of a sport, but just like a board game. Well, there is a lot of research that suggests there are plenty of mental and physical benefits to be derived from playing billiards or pool.

Most sports need a lot of physical effort, whereas billiards can be played with a relaxed demeanor, making it an ideal sport cum entertainment cum socializing game.

That’s not to say that you will develop a six pack by playing billiards for a month. But you’ll sure keep the flab away. Granted it’s 50% mental, but the other half is physical! So are you ready for some fun?