Yahoo! Picks - bringing you the best of the Web since 1995

With Bank the Nine, a "pool-playing photographer" presents a terrific blog on the great—and greatly photogenic—game of pool. Reviews and lush images of the best tables in New York jostle with accounts of cueing up in Wichita and failing to in Taos. A real-life Fast Eddie rubs elbows with the silver screen version, while the drama of a biting "shark attack" and the romance of outdoor tables along the Hudson River add to the richly textured portrait of the cinematic game. We lingered over pictures of league players at Sophie's and accounts of a death and a rebirth in Manhattan's family of pool and billiards halls. Though this player-blogger doesn't always receive a warm welcome from guys sinking balls at the ends of strange stairwells, he will, we hope, continue to bank the nine for a long time to come.

For the millions of fans of massively multiplayer online games, the inherent thrills of gaming usually entail designing a character and engaging in epic battles and quests. True, there's nothing like having the elite skills to cast that final shadow spell and defeat the great dragon Onyxia (so we hear). But one of the greatest benefits of all is a closely guarded secret among avid online gamers: exotic travel. The popular World of Warcraft offers such vast zones of discovery it's easy to get lost. But those with the will to ramble on can take advantage of Travelwowcity -- the latest in online gnomish travelogues. Follow along with Nodd the Gnome as he explores the best and the worst of Azeroth. His sage advice: Stay far away from the Plaguelands, dig the nightlife in Durotar, and try the watersports in Loch Modan.

The BBC presents an amazing portfolio by photojournalist Robbie Cooper, otherwise known as "the Walker Evans of online gaming." The concept is simple: a series of portraits of hard-core gamers placed alongside images of their avatars. (Avatars, for all you ignorant "meat world" dwellers, are the assorted elves, wizards, and warriors people pretend to be when they're online.) Some biographical text is thrown in, but the pictures speak for themselves. Meet Professor of Public Policy Seang Rak Choi, otherwise known as gamine girl warrior Uroo Ahs. Don't miss Trucker Bill, who steers a big rig in the real world and a spaceship in various virtual galaxies. We also really like Mark, aka Marcos Fonzarelli, who designs virtual clothes for real money. Along with writer Tracy Spaight, Cooper also hosts Alterego.Net, an exploration of online gaming communities in words and pictures.