Shelly Barnes is the House Pro at Corner Pocket in Albuquerque, NM, a BCA-Certified Instructor, and a WPBA Touring Professional. Shelly's past columns are archived here. Visit Shelly's Website at http://www.flash.net/~shelly5/
	CHEATING - NOT WORTH YOUR INTEGRITY By Shelly Barnes Cheating has become more commonplace in poolhalls and bars by pool players. This affliction is not just in Albuquerque nor just in pool. It, unfortunately, is found in sports all over the country. Has society placed so much emphasis on winning that participants will go to any length, even cheating, to win? What kind of example is this for beginners and our young people? We have a responsibility to set an example for our youngsters and boundaries for people new to a sport. We learn by example and we grow by experiencing all areas of competition, including losing. Don’t fall into the trap of "Winning at All Costs." There are some sports that are harder to cheat in than others. Pool is a relatively easy sport to cheat at due to lack of continuous officiating. If there is a close call, you can have a referee watch the hit but this does not control blatant abuse by those who are dishonest. There are people who spend a lot of energy finding creative ways to cheat such as imaginative interpretation of standard rules. Perhaps, if this energy was used to better develop their skills and practice regularly, cheating would not seem necessary. Maybe it is the excitement of getting away with something; the excitement of breaking the rules and not getting caught. There are a lot of players who call their own fouls. This is not required but if a foul is committed and your opponent asks you about it, lying is unacceptable. This type of cheating is especially prevalent in league competition. Perhaps the pressure participants feel to support their team overrides basic, ethical conduct. There is also a lot of misinformation given to new players. For instance, I overheard one pool player specifically tell another player that if she committed a foul, don't tell her opponent and if asked, lie. He told her that everyone did it and if there wasn't a referee watching, then the call always goes to the shooter. The latter is correct, the call does go to the shooter; however, EVERYONE DOES NOT DO IT. Is compromising one's integrity worth a game, even money? Everyone wants to win. I've never met anyone who competes and wants to lose but if you must cheat to win, it's not a win. Try looking in the mirror and saying to yourself "I won today, I earned that match." You don't have to believe in karma to know that dishonesty will come back to haunt you and perhaps at a time that is much more important. Pool is a game, it can be a very serious game, but a game nevertheless. There's no better feeling than winning but no worse feeling than knowing you won dishonestly. I know the agony of losing a match on a careless mistake but that does not rationalize cheating and lying. You can still take pride in the fact that you played fairly and did your best and there will always be another tournament, another match, and another game.   All copyrights are owned by Shelly Barnes. No duplication is allowed without her permission.