mikepage said:

Tyler Styer had 2000 games in FargoRate before his first game on a 9-foot table. It was at the Super Billiards expo in 2024 when his 9-foot games (5,000 then) reached his 7-foot games (5,000 also).

You referred to Hayden Ernst as "a 9-foot player." In his record, though, the 9-foot games are from national-level junior tournaments like BEF, etc. The league games in his record and the vast majority of tournament games in the system are on 7-foot tables.

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This is recorded games in Fargo, but it's difficult to get Fargo-rated games on 9ft tables unless one is a pro. Most leagues and most amateur tournaments--that is, most Fargo-rated games--are on 7ft. I, for example, have the majority of my play on my home 9ft table. Any time I go out to play and have a choice, I choose a 9ft table. I've done many sets for money on 9' tables. However, 100% of my Fargo-rated games are on 7ft because I am not a pro, and so all league and tournament play is on 7s.

Lots of room for larceny here...

JABSolstice said:

Just because you vacuum your floor, it doesn't mean that dirt isn't dirty.

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My point I suppose is that all chalk makes some sort of "dirt". That amount of dirt between chalks is negligible.

A great investment in the future would be introducing pool at the high school level. Every major HS has a room that could hold a few tables. Treat it like every other sport and it's minimal $$$ compared to others (speaking as a hockey player).

I've long puzzled over the barbox debate.

I have a 7-foot table at home. It's all I can fit until a reno of my basement. Which, if I am lucky, will allow me to upgrade to an 8-foot table. A 9 footer is out of the question unless I want to spend $125,000 plus to expand my basement.

I can practice every part of my game on a 7-footer. Which is great. When I play in a pool hall, I always play on a 9-footer.

Obviously it's a big adjustment, but the principles of ball movement and pattern play are the same. If I didn't have a 7-footer at all, though, I wouldn't be playing pool, period.

How come? Pool halls are too far away and too expensive for me - a big issue for young players - to have played there all the time to develop the skills I wanted to develop. A 7-foot table at home has allowed that.

From my perspective, barboxes get people into the game. The players who actually want to get better, though, will gravitate to 9 foot tables sooner or later. The problem is, there is not that many of these types of players.

As such, I don't think people who prefer to play mainly on barboxes would ever get serious enough to become a top amateur, never mind a pro.

Magically replacing all barboxes with 9 footers won't change that. Those same players now who want to play on barboxes never would have made a bigger commitment in the first place were they forced to play on 9 footers.

There's only two things that could result in more top-tier US pool players - a developmental organization like those that exist in other parts of the world such as Europe. Or a lot more money being on offer.

Neither is likely.

The best American players are likely to remain the ones whose parents like/play the game, put tables into their homes, encouraged their kids and supported them financially when young.

couldnthinkof01 said:

That just means the pool hall doesn't get kept clean. I never have that black/ blue mark on my hand at home or at a hall that vacuums and wipes down the tables daily. Only at places the don't take care of their equipment.
Not a chalk problem.

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Just because you vacuum your floor, it doesn't mean that dirt isn't dirty.

I like the sound of ball return tables.