Cambodia - Playing Pool at Kompong Khleang, Siem Reap

Imagine living in a place where you can only play pool during dry season for when rainy season comes, everything would be under water.

most of the players are tuk-tuk drivers

I was able to witness one of the favorite past time at Kompong Khleang during dry season. Playing pool with cards.

Everybody at Kompong Khleang celebrates and enjoy life during dry season. After few months, these activities and festivities would cease and everything would be surrounded by water.








The rule of the game was a bit peculiar compared with more popular 8-balls, 9-balls, straight and snooker. At Kompong Khleang, the players used a deck of cards to determine which balls should be pocketed by each player. Sometimes, several players need to pocket the same ball.

after shuffling the cards, they will be distributed to all players 

I used to play pool or billiards and snooker. While playing, my focus was always to locate my next ball. However, for this game, I have noticed that each player was scanning his cards first before locating his next ball.

I am not aware about the complete rules of the game but one thing is for sure, bets are always present whenever such game is played.

As for me, it was a hot and humid day. I was happy with my iced coffee provided by my local friend. They asked me to join the game; I refused politely for I was running short of cash. I knew these guys were good players and they can easily earn extra dollars by beating me on this game. If they have asked for a ping-pong match then it would be a different story and they should be prepared to work overtime to recoup their losses, LOL.