“AITA for beating my date in a game of pool?”
So for context I am quite good at the game, I play regularly and against good opponents, 2 of which are in my country’s nationals. So I went on a date with a girl last Saturday, went to a pool bar as she had mentioned she likes playing Pool.
I said I know a spot, I picked her up at her place and we went to the bar, we got some drinks, settled and then we played our first game, I was taking it easy just enjoying the moment, we played a few more rounds then ate, while talking I mentioned the 2 friends of mine who play nationals, so she then said “Next game, don’t go easy on me.”
We played a few more I made it a bit more challenging for her to win, nothing impossible, just a bit more of a challenging game, and just before we left around 10-11pm, we racked one last game and I decided to just play it normally, I cleared the table on the break, not to show off, but just for fun.
We finished our drinks, and I paid the bill and we left, on the ride back to her place she was extremely quiet, like noticeably less talkative, I thought nothing of it, she must have been tired. I dropped her off and went home. When I got home I saw a message from her saying:
“I asked you not to go easy on me, but I didn’t mean turn it into a statement. It honestly felt a bit like an ego thing at the end, and it made me uncomfortable.” I was taken aback by the message, and haven’t heard from her since after sending her a message explaining it was nothing of the sorts.
The last game wasn’t me trying to show off or anything of the sort, I had a good break, sunk 2 stripes, and had good positioning on the rest of them, seeing as she said don’t go easy, I just played it out how I normally would. AITA?
Here’s what people had to say to OP:
vbandbeer said:
People can say NTA, but you won’t see this girl again. If you are good at something and you know it, it’s not attractive to beat a potential date badly. You could try but no be obvious that you are taking it easy on them. I’m pretty good at darts. When women come into the bar and want to play, I never go all out.
I’ll talk and socialize and let them keep playing. If I want to be good, I’ll partner up with them and play someone else. It’s more impressive – and attractive – if we beat other people.
Pale_Height_1251 said:
Kind of YTA, the moment she said “don’t go easy on me” you should have been playing to win, not just make it a bit more challenging. Then showing off at the end is just saying “look, I was letting you win.” I’m not saying it’s a massive deal, but it’s not a good look either.
chikiinugget said:
YTA. the issue isn’t you being better or beating her. She felt embarrassed because the entire date she thought she had a chance because she asked you not to go easy on her.
At the end of the date you made a point to show her that not only did you not listen to what she asked, but that you had to make sure she knew that you were much better than what you were showing her throughout the entire date and that she was silly for thinking she had a chance, even if that wasn’t your intention.
Flashy-Sport2868 said:
YTA you knew you would wipe the floor with her and did it anyway not a great way to end a date. Why didn’t you at any point use it as an excuse to teach her some tips and tricks and make it fun? It could have been quite romantic instead you turned it into an ego thing.
sevenfourtime said:
Next time, either tell your date up front how good you are or play the game using your opposite hand. She should have known up front that running the table is something you regularly do. Let her decide if she still wants to play a game where she is at such a disadvantage. I vote more awkward than ahole.
SamSpayedPI said:
Well, I’m not going to call you an ahole for it, but you have to ask yourself, was it worth it? Is it better to win at pool, or to keep your date happy? NTA.
abstract_lemons said:
NTA as long as you weren’t a sore winner, and rubbing her losses in her face. It sounds like she’s trying to make her bruised ego into a “you” problem. Seriously, that’s incredibly childish and off-putting that she’d be so sour grapes about losing at a few games of pool.
More so, because she expected you to check your skill to even things up. I’ve been on pool dates. I have zero issue losing, because while I like it, I’m terrible. And as an adult, I don’t mind being the worst player in the room.
