Road Player

The game isn't the pool. It's knowing who you're playing. You walk into a neighbourhood bar with a small roll and nobody knows your name. Talk your way into a game, agree the stakes and the weight, play it on a real table, and settle up. Win and word gets around. Win too obviously and nobody will play you. Lose and you sweep the floors. READ THE ROOM Fifteen regulars across four pool halls, each with their own game, their own price, and their own tells. Some are exactly what they look like. Some are playing under their speed until the money is right. Watch how they shoot, how long they look, who the rail is betting on, and who won't take a drink. SET THE TERMS Every game is a negotiation: the game, the stake, the race, the spot, who breaks. Give weight to get action. Ask for it and see how easily it comes. Double the bet between games, or let them talk you into it. PLAY IT FOR REAL A full physics simulation: spin, throw, cushions, a rack that breaks differently every time. Nine-ball, eight-ball, one-pocket, bank pool and straight pool, all by their real rules. Aim, place the tip, pull the cue. MONEY ON THE SIDE Bet you make the ball. Bet they miss. Take the rail's action, or don't. Buy a round and see what it does to their stroke, and to yours. CLIMB THE CITY From Duffy's, where they play for beer money, to a members' club with gold cues on the wall, to a back room behind a kitchen where the best players in the city settle things after hours. Five tournaments. Four characters to play, each with their own eye, their own nerve and their own reputation. Drills from the Old Timer when you want to get better instead of richer. One small price! No ads, no extra purchases, no account, no connection needed. All the money is pretend.