Line #16 PlayingWith/BadGuysPlayPool


1	'''Basic Trope''': In fiction, the villains are often shown playing pool.
2	* '''Straight''': A bunch of criminals from TheMafia are shown playing pool at the BadGuyBar.
3	* '''Exaggerated''':
4	** The bad guys [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything do nothing but play pool all day]].
5	** Anyone who plays pool is a very evil villain.
6	** Regular villains are scared of the pool players, who are invariably the worst of the lot.
7	* '''Downplayed''':
8	** In one scene, a few criminals are briefly shown playing pool.
9	** [[VillainsOutShopping The villains play pool as their sports.]]
10	* '''Justified''':
11	** The pool table is one of the main fixtures of the BadGuyBar, so why not use it?
12	** The BigBad (especially TheDon) loves to play pool, and this affection for the game has filtered down to his {{Mooks}}.
13	** The villains use a lot of ricochet in combat, and pool is good practice.
14	* '''Inverted''': The policemen are shown playing pool on their time off.
15	* '''Subverted''':
16	** Several tough guys are shown playing pool at a seedy bar, but then it's revealed they are all honest people, sometimes either NeighbourhoodFriendlyGangsters or {{Punch Clock Villain}}s.
17	** The bad guys are shown playing pool... and then someone points out they're playing ''snooker''.
18	* '''Double Subverted''':
19	** The scene then cuts to the criminals' hideout, and they're also playing pool.
20	** The bad guys are [[LondonGangster British gangsters]] who are calling pool "snooker" [[SeparatedByACommonLanguage because they don't know or care about the difference]].
21	* '''Parodied''':
22	** Playing pool is treated as crossing the MoralEventHorizon.
23	** The pool balls are painted to look like [[CartoonBomb bombs]], [[NothingButSkulls skulls]], and other "evil" things.
24	** TheMafia uses a National Pool Tournament as a cover for the underworld gathering.
25	** The pool is a national sport of the [[CommieNazis Great Proletarian Reich]].
26	** The more evil someone is, the better they are at playing pool.
27	* '''Zig Zagged''':
28	** The two characters shown playing pool are a PunchClockVillain and a DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent respectively.
29	** The bad guys play cue sports, but can't set on what variation to play - so one day it's some variation of pool, another day - snooker, other day - Russian billiards, another yet - straight-rail billiards, and so on.
30	* '''Averted''': The bad guys play cards instead of pool.
31	* '''Enforced''': The writer has bad guys playing pool [[TheCoconutEffect because that's what bad guys always play on TV.]]
32	* '''Lampshaded''': "I'm so bored, Jeff..." "What about playin' pool? It's the most villainous game in the world, after all."
33	* '''Invoked''': To avoid {{Bar Brawl}}s, the owners of the BadGuyBar installed a pool table as a way to entertain their patrons.
34	* '''Exploited''':
35	** People in need of hired thugs look among the people playing pool in bars.
36	** The gang leader invites a rival for a friendly game of pool in order to break the ice.
37	* '''Defied''': "Alright, that's it... we're not playin' this stupid ball game today, ya mooks! I'm damn sick of it!"
38	* '''Discussed''': "Any idea what Freddie is doin' today?" "Playin' pool, like he always does. I start to wonder why does our dishonest lot love pool so much..."
39	* '''Conversed''': "Why do the bad guys on TV always play pool? It's like it's the national sport of Criminalland or something."
40	* '''Implied''': A [[BlackComedy darkly humorous]] RunningGag throughout the story is that every other scene at the police department opens with someone filing a report about a beating inflicted with a pool cue.
41	* '''Deconstructed''': When the government catches on that bad guys love to play pool, it becomes much more strictly regulated, and anyone who likes to play pool is regarded with suspicion.
42	* '''Reconstructed''': In the story's world, the pool is known as the favourite sport of both violent criminals and hardboiled policemen, so it has a neutral reputation overall.
43	* '''Played For Laughs''': The bad guys ''try'' to play pool... only they're as inept at it as they are [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy at hitting the heroes in combat]].
44	* '''Played For Drama''': TheMole is found out when he is invited to play pool and [[CoverIdentityAnomaly it turns out he doesn't know how.]]
45	* '''Played For Horror''': The GloriousLeader[=/=]PresidentEvil is shown [[MobBossSuitFitting casually playing pool]] as he [[StoryboardingTheApocalypse plots the atrocities for his vision of]] WorldWarIII.
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50	%% Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:
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Context PlayingWith / BadGuysPlayPool