Imagine walking into a local pool hall or bar. After getting adjusted to the smoke-filled air and ordering your drink of choice, the last thing you expect to see is a petite woman hitting the eight ball in the pocket with a victorious grin.

Jessie James has been that woman time and time again.

“It’s good for women to have class and represent the sport well,” James said of billiards.

ISU Recreational Services noticed the increasing popularity of billiards and now offers an intramural nine-ball pool tournament for students and faculty. The tournament has three different skill levels: novice, intermediate and high skill.

ISU students also jumped on the bandwagon and now have a billiards club. James, sophomore in interior design, founded the club a year ago and is also the club vice president.

James is among the few women who have signed up to play in the intramural nine-ball pool tournament next week.

She said women who compete in a male-dominated sport need to be that much more professional in order to be taken seriously.

James said she feels she has an equal playing field when playing against her male counterparts.

“Pool is not a sport that requires strength,” James said.

She said she thinks being a woman works to her advantage when she enters a pool hall, because some men don’t seem to be bothered by playing against a woman.

“Pool is a game about putting the balls into the hole,” said Tim Bancroft, graduate student in statistics. “Playing against a woman doesn’t make a difference to me.”

On the other hand, some male billiard players still think women have no place in a pool hall.

“Men think I’m a dame,” James said. “They don’t expect a challenge from a girl like me. Sometimes when I beat men at pool, they feel that since I’m a girl, it’s no big deal.”

James began her pool career at 16 when she played her first real pool game at the Greenroom in Illinois.

When she came to Iowa State, she met people in the Memorial Union game room who shared her interest in billiards.

“A night of playing pool is fun and relaxing,” James said. “My friends are here too.”

From there, she started the billiards club, which now has about 100 registered members. The club meets from 8 to 11 p.m. Thursdays in the Memorial Union basement, where the members give one another advice and strategy tips.

“I like trying to explain pool to people,” James said. “I like teaching.”

She said shooting pool is mostly about strategy.

“You should always look three balls ahead and look at the table as a whole,” James said.

“Tuning out everything around you is important as well. Your stroke changes night to night. There are so many little things that people don’t realize that effects their game.”

Being tired and inhaling cigarette smoke are two examples James mentioned.

“There’s also a certain amount of confidence you need to make your shot,” James said. “You can’t be over-confident.”

James said she learned how to play billiards from Adrienne Viguera, the No. 5-ranked pool player in the world, who is an internationally recognized cue maker and billiard player from Mexico.

Jeanette Lee (also known as the Black Widow) is one of the most well-known professional pool players in the world, but James said she doesn’t agree with how Lee dresses.

“She uses her body as an image to get publicity, and I don’t approve of that,” James said. “I’m a very modest person.”

Instead, James said, she thinks Allison Fisher is a more appropriate billiards role model.

“She comes to the table with class and with modesty,” James said.

Having the total package is the key for James, who said she likes to wear pink when shooting to look innocent.

“I’m a girlie girl,” James said. “I do my hair and makeup and I dress nice. You have to have the brains to back up the pretty face.”

James said she plans to win it all at the intramural 9-ball tournament next week.

The games will begin Mon. Sept. 27 and end Tuesday Sept. 28 and will be held in the Memorial Union basement at 6 p.m.