Get pool out of the Taverns...

[Blue Hog ridr]

I'm with Mike. If I go to a new city, chances are good that I'll gravitate to a smoky old pool room.

 

[poolguy4u]

I'm with Mike. If I go to a new city, chances are good that I'll gravitate to a smoky old pool room.

LOL...back in the 1980's, when I'd go to a new city I'd get a phone book and go to the yellow pages. Look up pool rooms and rip the page out with the list of pool rooms.

So if you ever tried to look up pool rooms in the 80's and the page was ripped out...I was there.:smile:

 

[cueandcushion]

Taking pool out of the bars will make the hard core pool players happy. It will also crush the only profitable segment of the sport. Too much effort over the past 30 years was spent building this amateur bar league mentality and culture. There is at least a 30 year task of rebuilding pool into something different. Reminiscing is fine but unrealistic for a future business plan. Pool is on a welfare system now. Pool relies on the profits from alcohol sales, or poker machine profits, or retail sales or food sales to survive. How many of you would play pool in your dream room if it were $12.00/ per hour/ per person? Not many I am guessing. How many hours a week would you go? That is probably the number needed to get pool to where it needs to be.

Keep pool in the bars. Its the only way it will survive for now.

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

Sadly they have all closed around these parts. Hardwood floors that creaked under foot. The smell of cigar smoke. The clack of balls being racked with a wooden rack instead of plastic. Old timers sitting around reading the news paper. Hmmm, I suddenly feel like singing the Archie Bunker song with Awwchie and Edith.
Those were the days and 36 years ago for me.

 

[3andstop]

This is all way too complicated a topic for my worn out noodle. But I will say this.

It has been my experience, that for the most part, bar room players seem perfectly happy dividing their attention between a few fun games of pool, and a few good drinks, and some loud laughing.

While on the other hand, poolroom players seem much more focused on trying to improve. They are the students of the game who seek out knowledge and work hard on executing what they've learned.

Now, I don't know where any of that falls in terms of the future of pool, but I think dedication to the game would go a long way toward future growth.

Be all that as it may, I also think the fact remains those who choose to improve will and those who are happy bangers will continue to be happy.

I personally don't think either effect the other very much but once again, I dunno. :scratchhead:

 

[Snapshot9]

You are advocating

to go from the bottom up, and that will never happen... ever! What has to happen is there has to be a National organization formed to be over all cue sports in the USA. That has to happen first.

So how about it, Jay, Mark Griffrin, Mark Wilson, Shannon Daulton, and a few others, you guys could get this done if you band together.

 

[nineballtko]

I consider myself a big defender of leagues, but I take no offense to your post, as it is well put and thought out.

In the in-house BCA league that I play in, many of the players started out in APA. I view the leagues as something similar to baseball.. you start out with peewee, then high school, then college and then the pros. I believe that the leagues are vital to introducing people to 'serious' and higher level play. The larger the base, the higher the peak is able to rise.

In regards to leagues, I think that there should be a 'pro' league. As in other sports, this would be a much higher entry fee. It could be tended to by one of the current leagues, using their current systems to organize the numbers and possibly use the marketing as an offset to a non-profit standpoint on the league monies. That's another topic entirely, though.

In Portland, we have numerous leagues that either have in-house divisions in pool halls, or have several teams that are based out of halls. Myself, I'm not sure if I could have afforded the hourly costs of a pool hall while at the same time using it as relaxation(tipping back a few, socializing, etc - and not worrying about a drive home). Where I currently hang out, they are barboxes for 25c/game. A friend told me about one of the bars that now has, I think, 6 diamond barboxes. They've got tons of league play there now, both APA and BCA. The tables are something like, $4/hr, $3/hr for league players, $2/hr for league players based out of that bar. That's a pretty hard deal to find.

As for the high-level play and education, from what I can tell, many of the past pro-speed players weren't usually from affluent families, or least not highly-educated. That runs counter to the idea that being in a place of questionable clientelle does not hurt one's game.

To me, barboxes represent a different kind of game. From what I can tell, the big table players I run into have a separate style. There are benefits to learning on both, big tables helping a stroke and pocketing, while small tables encourage aggressive shooting and CB control.

What makes poker so popular, is that you can be a winner without having to do much executing(being dealt winning hands). In pool, you have to have both going for you - execution and knowledge.

I like the tiers of pool.. you're always faced with another goal to reach.

I would say this covers it nicely...I think introducing anyone to pool anytime...anyway is great...but I totally agree the whole "bar pool scene" could be a big black eyes for pool...I think we need to focus in the weakest participation areas which is probably women and youth to truly promote pool for the future....I would say that bars or taverns are not a suitable atmosphere for those particular demographics....in a place like MT here if u wanna play pool it will mostly be found in bars...not many pool rooms...my kids have a serious interest in pool and play at the local boys and girls club here...the equipment is worse than horrible and even my 6 and 11 yr old can recognize that fact....would be nice to see promoters...pool coaches...good players promote this to the youth in a setting like B and G club...by maybe donating cues...tables....recovering and recovering materials....and offer instruction and organized events for the kids...this is a huge part of my new endeavor.....Big Sky Billiard Challenge Series...see on FB and soon many other places...I travelled for years before I had my kids but refuse to leave them at home every time now days...and will only take them to events held in hotels and convention centers and such...definitely not bars!!!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[1on1pooltournys]

I guess what I am trying to get at is this. People that play good pool and laugh at league suckers and I do from time to time but one thing league suckers do is pay weekly dues from 5 dollars a week to 10 dollars. These suckers are paying between 50 and 80 dollars a month to play at an end of the year tourny in Vegas. If these league suckers can pay weekly dues why cant pro due it. Just think if all the pros would pay a hundred a month to play in bigger tournys every month. I know I could form a list of at least 256 players that should be playin for bigger cash than going around and playin a 30 dollar tourny and spending around 300 to 500 in a calcutta to see if u can win 2000. Great odds on your money.

Excellent point! This is the secret for professional pool. You better get a patent on it!!

 

[Snapshot9]

Well

I've played Pool for 50 years, since the early 60's, and it has always been in Taverns and clubs. They weren't my first choice to play, but I did plenty of playing in Beer Taverns when I was 15, which was a trick for me, since I was a little shit growing up.

Those places need something other than just liquor and beer to keep patrons in their place, and Pool, Darts, and Video Games are their preferred choices. I, also, hate it when someone calls a Pool room a bar.