If you own a Billiard table, chances are that on Christmas day you will bring your family and friends together with a game of Kelly Pool.
Kelly Pool is of course the Billiards game where you draw a numbered pea at random from a shake bottle.
With fifteen numbered peas in total, the idea is to not only sink your opponent’s ball but to sink your numbered ball to win.
Naturally you need to keep your number secret.
You tend to know the veteran Kelly Pool players, as they are the ones who go to great lengths to try and make sure all peas are returned to the shake bottle.
We’ve all been guilty of getting home after a big festive day only to discover the pea in your pocket. Doh!
Kelly Pool is a funny, funny game when all the idiosyncrasies of family and friends are put on show. Then of course there’s the new comers to the Christmas Day family tradition.
The new girlfriends or boyfriends, or the long-time-no-see distant relatives.
Opinions are quickly shaped about these new-comers as to whether they are good, bad, indifferent or they-need-a-bit-of-working-on.
When it comes to playing against family and friends that have taken part in the Christmas game tradition for many years, we may not be able to remember their birthday or their children’s names but for some reason we can remember how they react during the competitively social game of Kelly Pool.
To watch your brother or sister hold back tears after again being the first one knocked out of the game is a precious thing. Their reactions can and does bring tears to your own eyes.
On the opposite end of the scale there’s the personality types that would rather hide their numbered ball in a protected place on the table, so they can indulge in the joy of knocking others out of the game.
Each family tends to have a name for this person but as yet there isn’t a universal term. Tool is a good starting point. Then again, being the “Tool” can be very personally satisfying. The trick here is to contain your laughter from exploding. This in itself is fraught with danger as liquid blown through your nose is not a pleasant experience. Very funny for others though.
And here’s another funny thing, and it’s a fact. Kelly Pool was banned in parts of the United States and Canada in the mid-20th century as it was considered a stronghold of gambling. Playing the game was actually a fineable offence in Montana until 1964.
And for the record Calistus Mulvaney of Irish decent, who was known as Kelly Mulvaney invented the game in Chicago in 1893.
But back to bans and to family and friends. There is also one player that always has to be called three or four times to tell them that it’s their turn. This is a particularly frustrating time for the “Nob”, but for the forward thinking player, the knowledge that the time-wasters shot is coming up is the perfect time to either replenish or empty their liquid(s). This is smart play.
Whatever the case, the wide range of player personality types is what makes Kelly Pool a fantastic Christmas Day activity.
For a list of rules click on http://bit.ly/KellyPoolRules. Post Christmas you can buy in store or purchase online at Billiard Shop a new Kelly Pool kit to replace your kit which has 3 peas missing. Doh!
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