UNLESS you're Minnesota Fats, it pays to give Ho Chi Minh City's pool halls and billiards parlours a wide berth if you're seeking a relaxing evening.
Both games are becoming extremely popular across the city and all manner of darkened bars, clubs and halls are springing up to attract the young macho types who nightly stake their identities on a frame or two.
Given the custom, they can be tense arenas indeed.
First there are the rules to be negotiated. Like Vietnamese chess - a hybrid which involves a river that winds across the board to make things even more complicated - nothing is simple or even consistent.
It pays to sort it all out beforehand to ensure a clear head to deal with the next problem - table etiquette, or lack thereof. It is here that the hoods ensure their version of pool has a theatre all its own beneath the bald light bulb and slow twirling ceiling fans.
There is noise, heat and often little room to move. And, as in classic guerilla warfare, any advantage is seized upon to torment and terrorise an enemy. Little heed is paid to table conventions considered standard elsewhere.
An opponent is free to slam his chalk down on the table edge with a resounding thwack just as a player is poised to shoot. He might blow smoke from his dangling cigarette across the table, or worse, let it fall from his lips on to the table, creating a momentary fire scare.