Rec
I think if you spend a lot of time in bars in NYC, you might have tried your hand at playing pool. It can be intimidating if you haven't played much and there are a bunch of dudes that aren't friendly. When you get on the table, they destroy you which can be deflating.
I joined pool league at the beginning of last year looking for something to do consistently once after hearing about it on a date with someone with a famous twitter account. I initially liked it because it provided a structure to playing, if you got your ass kicked one week, you still had to come the next and if you get tired of getting your ass kicked you start to get better. Now pool is a leisure and social activity for me. Theres a table in my building that I spend multiple nights a week shooting and listening to music, getting better incrementally. I'm at a point where I am pretty good friends with my league teammates and know a bunch of people from the community. If I have nothing going on for a weekend night, I can go to a spot, put my name on the list and wait my turn and talk to someone new. Watching it can be fun too because every break is followed by a layout that is an interesting problem to solve and its fun to watch people who are good figure out how to run it out. There are a lot of good shooters in NYC so you can pop out to a lot of bars and see someone who is pretty decent. One negative if you are sober is that its pretty tough to avoid being in bars playing pool. A lot of league players don't really drink or if they do not to excess on pool nights so I think you can not engage with it if you aren't into drinking but I could understand not wanting to be in that environment. Pool halls are better in my view because they are basically like bowling alleys with pool tables instead so less of the focus is on drinking.
I joined pool league at the beginning of last year looking for something to do consistently once after hearing about it on a date with someone with a famous twitter account. I initially liked it because it provided a structure to playing, if you got your ass kicked one week, you still had to come the next and if you get tired of getting your ass kicked you start to get better. Now pool is a leisure and social activity for me. Theres a table in my building that I spend multiple nights a week shooting and listening to music, getting better incrementally. I'm at a point where I am pretty good friends with my league teammates and know a bunch of people from the community. If I have nothing going on for a weekend night, I can go to a spot, put my name on the list and wait my turn and talk to someone new. Watching it can be fun too because every break is followed by a layout that is an interesting problem to solve and its fun to watch people who are good figure out how to run it out. There are a lot of good shooters in NYC so you can pop out to a lot of bars and see someone who is pretty decent. One negative if you are sober is that its pretty tough to avoid being in bars playing pool. A lot of league players don't really drink or if they do not to excess on pool nights so I think you can not engage with it if you aren't into drinking but I could understand not wanting to be in that environment. Pool halls are better in my view because they are basically like bowling alleys with pool tables instead so less of the focus is on drinking.
Jul 17, 2025
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Rec
🎱- Lots of room for skill gap. While you'll certainly play people who are better than you, you have to win less games than them to win a match
- Guy named Spanky (73y/o) who fucks with me apparently. he unplugs from his O2 tank to play his games. he might not be in your league but this is a type of guy you'll meet - You can set your own name in the APA app (mine is Snoopy Dunphy): i played against "wolverine walsh" last week and "spider-man lynch" was on the other team this week
- The league operator gives out patches for accomplishments (good sportsmanship, beat the league op. in a game, etc) - Most people I've dealt with there are friendly - Dues are pretty reasonable ($25 to join, $10 per session you play in) - You get to go to new bars and neighborhoods you haven't been to before
It'll feel like a hard commit at first but it's worth it especially if you do it with your friends
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- Guy named Spanky (73y/o) who fucks with me apparently. he unplugs from his O2 tank to play his games. he might not be in your league but this is a type of guy you'll meet - You can set your own name in the APA app (mine is Snoopy Dunphy): i played against "wolverine walsh" last week and "spider-man lynch" was on the other team this week
- The league operator gives out patches for accomplishments (good sportsmanship, beat the league op. in a game, etc) - Most people I've dealt with there are friendly - Dues are pretty reasonable ($25 to join, $10 per session you play in) - You get to go to new bars and neighborhoods you haven't been to before
It'll feel like a hard commit at first but it's worth it especially if you do it with your friends
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Rec
🎱It's just really fun. me and two friends decided we'd try to get good at pool this summer. you should do the same. it's a fun game and it's rewarding to see yourself get better. we can all play pool together. i'm going to be in new york from dec 21 to like jan 14 if any of you want to play pool. i'm going to teach my girlfriend how to play pool
Rec
Signed up for a pool league not knowing how to play 9 ball and failed for a couple weeks before practicing a bit and starting to watch pool on youtube. Past couple of months I'll watch a couple racks of a particular match while I am eating a meal. It might not be super fun to watch if you don't play but its pretty admirable how good these guys are at potting balls and how they strategically run out a table by precisely moving the cue ball to the exact place they want it to set up the next shot or prevent their opponent from having a shot.
Apr 28, 2024
Top Recs from @buck_mcgraw
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🚶Just because I see a window to get across the street doesn’t mean you don’t have to look both ways. I’ve been on the other side of that though…
May 11, 2025
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I met Erin (@RIOTGRRRL) and Jake (@SLOWDAZZLE) last year after I started using PI.FYI—we organized a meetup before a Jonathan Richman show and immediately clicked over our shared taste in music and similar sensibilities. We started hanging out a lot and had some great times together. I’ve also gotten to know many of their friends, who are all really cool. Erin and Jake started dating a couple of months after the three of us became friends, but our group chat still pops off. Their friendship has meant a lot to me, especially since moving to NYC in 2023, and I really appreciate having them in my life.
May 16, 2025
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Come hang with some PI.FYI folks at Franklin Park in Crown Heights in Brooklyn on 7/19 @ 6:30. riotgrrrl and slowdazzle will be there too! Link is the Partiful invited!
Jun 22, 2024