`A REGULAR': BIESTER HELPS DEFEAT POOL'S IMAGE PROBLEM

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Jeff Biester is far from the age-old image of the typical beer-drinking pool player. When he plays, he's usually drinking a Coke, and what he wants most is to improve his skills of the game.

Biester, 18, is a regular at The Billiard Center in downtown Cape Girardeau. As pool halls go, The Billiard Center is up-scale, with 20 pool tables, a sports lounge, a television in nearly every corner and a small bar and deli.

Though Jeff is one of the youngest patrons of the center the crowd tends to be in their mid-20s or older he is one of the most frequent.

"I meet a lot of people here, and everybody knows me," said the Central High School student. He often challenges his brother, Ricky, 20, to a game, or his friend, Shane Langston, 17, whom he often teaches the fine points of the game.

Though he says he's "pretty good" at the game, Biester tries to play people who are better then he is, at least once in a while.

"The only way you can get better is by playing people who are better than you," he said. That's how he learned some of the secrets of the game.

"Like my friend, Joe (Brooks)," Biester said. "He works here, and he really taught me to play."

The Billiard Center relocated to Main Street in mid-August. Before that, it was located on Park Street.

Biester said on weekend nights the club is so crowded that reservations for a table are often required. But the game hasn't always been that popular. He said when he first started hanging out at the center three years ago, it would attract only about 15 people a night.

"Now there's sometimes more than 50 people in here on a week night," he said.

But to keep his reputation as a champion pool player in tact, Biester said he makes sure he doesn't lose too often.

"You've got to play smart, and know who you can beat," he said. "And to be really good, you have to play a lot."

He said the challenge to constantly improve his game is what keeps him interested.

"If you can play the game better every time, that's what makes you keep having fun at it," he said.

Sometimes he'll sit out a game or two and talk with friends or watch television. Patrons of the club must be at least 17, and must be at least 21 to be served alcohol. Biester said he likes it that way.

"You don't have little kids running around bugging you while you're trying to play," he said.

Learning and playing by the rules is also a challenge, he said. "Most of your good players are people who know all the rules about the game."

He said he started out just trying to make the balls go into the slots. Now, he concentrates on tricks, like making the cue ball go a certain direction after its hit, a trick Biester called learning "English."

"Sometimes you want to make it go toward the slot, and sometimes you want it to come back to you," he said. "It takes a lot of practice to get it to go where you want. You just try to position it for your next shot."