Rate your poolhall! Pool hall rating system.

Straightpool_99

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
I got the idea from another thread. Just a few factors I think are important when selecting a pool hall. The score is from 3 to -1, where 3 is absolutely top notch and -1 is a deal breaker in itself. How does your poolhall score?
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Safety

Score 3-The poolhall is in a safe area of town. Dangerous incidents are unheard of (My poolhall is at this level)
Score 2-The area is fairly safe. Bad incidents are very rare
Score 1- The area is somewhat unsafe. Incidents do happen, but rather infrequently
Score 0- The pool hall is on the wrong side of town for sure. Even regulars must be cautious.
Score -1-The poolhall is a crack house with pool tables.

Temperature

Score 3- The temperature and humidity are under perfect control, round the clock.
Score 2- The temperature or humidity are fluctuating noticably (My poolhall is here. Ok, but not perfect)
Score 1- The temperature and/or humidity are changing and sometimes unpleasant
Score 0- The temperature and/or humidity are mostly unpleasant
Score -1- The temperature/humidity is mostly bad and sometimes dangerously high

Noise

Score 3- The atmosphere is relatively quiet and pleasant, with good music at low levels (My poolhall is in between 3 and 2)
Score 2- The atmosphere is somewhat more noisy. Some annoying music or customers
Score 1- The music is too loud, or with little variation. Noise from people can shark you
Score 0- The music is loud and annoying. You are getting sharked by shouting.
Score -1 Manila money game noise level. Incredibly lame music played at deafening levels.

Food

Score 3- Food is available at reasonable prices and with a decent selection
Score 2- Food is more expensive or only few options (My poolhall is here)
Score 1- Only snacks/sandwiches
Score 0- Maybe a snack machine, that doesn't work half the time
Scoer -1 Nada

Pro shop

Score 3- Cues/tips/chalk/repairs etc available with reasonable prices/selection
Score 2- Cues/tips/chalk/ and maybe repairs available, but with higher prices and limited selection (Again my poolhall is at 2)
Score 1- No cues only tips and chalk. Maybe repairs but not a good repairman.
Score 0- No repairs available, no accessories (or only bad ones)
Score -1 Absolutely nothing. The staff can't even advice you on what to buy

Equipment

Score 3- Tables level, balls clean, house cues decent, cushions good, pockets good, tables placed with proper distance (No complaints with my pool hall. Top notch on all these)
Score 2- Slight problems with one of the above
Score 1- Slight problems with more than one of the above, or serious problems with one
Score 0-Serious problems with most/all of the above
Score -1- Equipment problems make the game more or less unplayable

Staff/service

Score 3- Staff is curteous, knowledgable and keep a good eye on the place (My poolhall is here)
Score 2- Problems with one of the above
Score 1- Slight problems with two of the above or major problems with one
Score 0- Major problems with all
Score -1-The place is like an insane asylum run by the inmates

Pricing

Score 3- The prices are more than fair, with discounts for regulars/seniors/juniors etc
Score 2- The prices are fair (My poolhall is here)
Score 1- The prices are a bit higher than most
Score 0- The prices are very high indeed. Not a place you'd go to regularly
Score -1- The prices are daylight robbery

Air quality

Score 3- The air is fresh as a meadow (My poolhall is here)
Score 2- Ok air
Score 1- There are unpleasant smells in the air, or some irritants (smoke/pollution)
Score 0- Smoke filled, very polluted
Score -1 You feel ill and your clothes smell after a short visit
 
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I'm sorry, I no longer play in a pool hall, I play in a sports bar and grill.
There are as many flat screen TVs as there are pool tables, and drinking tournaments are held on Friday, and Saturday, evenings.
The times, they have a change-ed. :frown:
 
Tramp Steamer said:
I'm sorry, I no longer play in a pool hall, I play in a sports bar and grill.
There are as many flat screen TVs as there are pool tables, and drinking tournaments are held on Friday, and Saturday, evenings.
The times, they have a change-ed. :frown:
Click to expand...

Drinking contests, seriously? I feel for you. Is the temperature and equipment at least decent?
 
Tramp Steamer said:
I'm sorry, I no longer play in a pool hall, I play in a sports bar and grill.
There are as many flat screen TVs as there are pool tables, and drinking tournaments are held on Friday, and Saturday, evenings.
The times, they have a change-ed. :frown:
Click to expand...

Yup that's where I play.
They even have Poker and Darts tournaments :eek:
And maybe other things at night that I don't know about.
I don't go out much at night.
They might even smoke the devils weed in the parking lot. It's legal here but still could you stand for a room full of mile high dope heads laughing uncontrollably and constantly eating food?
It's brutal I tell ya........
 
Straightpool_99 said:
Drinking contests, seriously? I feel for you. Is the temperature and equipment at least decent?
Click to expand...

The Tables are all GCs, II and IV, in okay condition. They haven't seen new cloth in over two years. The room temp is usually warm, to cool, in the Summer, and damned cold in the Winter. We do, however, have a new patio, out front, were you can go and smoke.
I have an idea the same could be said for many of the other medium to large pool rooms across the country. At least those who haven't yet closed.
 
Regarding Rating System

Great subject!
We are actually implementing a rating system on our new platform for pool halls! It is not as detailed as this and it can never be as detailed as this. it is star rating format with general criteria attached.
Hope as time goes by, it allows players, clients and owners get a feel for the pool rooms and competitors at the same time!
New system is to be released soon! We say soon, because we can not foresee what problems might arise in the near future! Our goal is November first though!
Now... stop this nonsense and Go Play Pool! ;)
 
Safety

Score 2-The area is fairly safe. Bad incidents are very rare

Temperature

Score 1- The temperature and/or humidity are changing and sometimes unpleasant

Noise

Score 1- The music is too loud, or with little variation. Noise from people can shark you

Food

Score 1- Only snacks/sandwiches

Pro shop

Score 2- Cues/tips/chalk/ and maybe repairs available, but with higher prices and limited selection

Equipment

Score 0-Serious problems with most/all of the above

Staff/service

Score 0- Major problems with all

Pricing

Score 1- The prices are a bit higher than most

Air quality

Score 2- Ok air

10..... yep, I knew the place sucked....... :thumbup:
 
GoPlayPool said:
Great subject!
We are actually implementing a rating system on our new platform for pool halls! It is not as detailed as this and it can never be as detailed as this. it is star rating format with general criteria attached.
Hope as time goes by, it allows players, clients and owners get a feel for the pool rooms and competitors at the same time!
New system is to be released soon! We say soon, because we can not foresee what problems might arise in the near future! Our goal is November first though!
Now... stop this nonsense and Go Play Pool! ;)
Click to expand...

You have a good product. My rating system was more a way to get people to think about the conditions and how to pick a pool hall, rather than a practical guide like yours. Such a rating system cannot be "scientific" in the true meaning of the word, but I find it useful to organize my thoughts and assign numbers to things when I need to make decisions. Hopefully someone else can find it useful as well
 
Chuck Fields said:
Safety

Score 2-The area is fairly safe. Bad incidents are very rare

Temperature

Score 1- The temperature and/or humidity are changing and sometimes unpleasant

Noise

Score 1- The music is too loud, or with little variation. Noise from people can shark you

Food

Score 1- Only snacks/sandwiches

Pro shop

Score 2- Cues/tips/chalk/ and maybe repairs available, but with higher prices and limited selection

Equipment

Score 0-Serious problems with most/all of the above

Staff/service

Score 0- Major problems with all

Pricing

Score 1- The prices are a bit higher than most

Air quality

Score 2- Ok air

10..... yep, I knew the place sucked....... :thumbup:
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10 is not so good...Thank you for posting. Did you agree with the factors i selected, or would you add/remove some?
 
Straightpool_99 said:
10 is not so good...Thank you for posting. Did you agree with the factors i selected, or would you add/remove some?
Click to expand...

Your criteria are all pretty much the same things I deem important.
I dont know how you would word this in the same style, but level of play in said room. Meaning, is it a good competitive atmosphere, is it a drunken dive bar place, a kids hang out etc.
 
Straightpool_99 said:
I got the idea from another thread. Just a few factors I think are important when selecting a pool hall. The score is from 3 to -1, where 3 is absolutely top notch and -1 is a deal breaker in itself. How does your poolhall score?
[
Safety

Score 3-The poolhall is in a safe area of town. Dangerous incidents are unheard of

Temperature

Score 2- The temperature or humidity are fluctuating noticably

Noise


Score 2- The atmosphere is somewhat more noisy. Some annoying music or customers


Food

Score 3- Food is available at reasonable prices and with a decent selection


Pro shop

Score -1 Absolutely nothing. The staff can't even advice you on what to buy

Equipment

Score 3- Tables level, balls clean, house cues decent, cushions good, pockets good, tables placed with proper distance

Staff/service

Score 3- Staff is curteous, knowledgable and keep a good eye on the place (My poolhall is here)


Pricing

Score 3- The prices are more than fair, with discounts for regulars/seniors/juniors etc

Air quality

Score 2- Ok air
Click to expand...

The place I play is a 20...with a proviso. I won't play there on weekends after about 7...it loses several points for the monkey house it becomes. But that is why I rarely pay for pool.

I don't care how knowledgeable the staff is about pool. I don't care about having a pro shop. I don't care if they have the ability or knowledge to replace a tip.

The place I play has great food, it might not be the cheapest, but it is a great value.

By your rating, my place is a 'C'? Average? By my rating it is an A most of the time, an F sometimes and C the rest. I prefer to play earlier, so the C and F parts don't pertain to me.

It is kind of funny because the actual prices at this place are sort of high and it takes a while before anyone will get any discounts. I love that because it keeps the riff-raff out.
 
The poolroom closest is not good, but here is an honest review.

Saftey 0. Drug shootings just across the street and 2 guys with guns on the last time I was there. Don't leave anything of value in your car.

Temperature 0. So hot in the summer you can’t play and in the winter you can see your breath.

Noise 0. Loud annoying Acid Rock. Drunken, sweaty league players with all their uncontrollable children. flinging pool balls around like it’s a playground. A new laughing contest every few minutes. Weed smoking right outside the door.

Food 3. Not bad and priced ok. Remind the cook to wash his hands after he’s done scratching his Labrador. (If I told you where, you'd call me a liar.)

Pro Shop..no score could equal the 50/50 chance you have of them completely ruining your shaft with a tip job. I’ve seen better perches on a bird house.

Equipment 1. Broken house cues, mis-matched balls with bad nicks on them, dirt and hamburger grease. Cracked slate, dead rails, balls fall out onto the floor, wet chalk and ultra-thin cloth. One legged bridges under the table, busted from people throwing them.

Staff 1. Usually eating a sub or watching football on TV. Lazy, but quick to use profanity on even the nicest of family type customers and children.

Pricing 3. Still high for what you have to put up with. Don’t pull a $20. They might not be able to break it.

Air Quality 1. Smells bad. Only the ladies room is suitable for any use. The Men’s room is worse than a gas chamber. The floor is always quite wet and it’s not water.

Shocking that they went out of business huh? Just about any place I visit now, I say "Wow, a palace."
 
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I would add in level of play.

Are there world class players? Past world class players who will help someone out if they know how to ask? Etc.


Also competition. Good tournaments regularly? Action if you want it?
 
24.5
The half point is about the noise level....a little bit party time at night...especially weekends.
 
I think the place I think of as my home room now would have top marks in all except equipment and temps. They have a large area with tall ceilings and tend to skimp on the AC in summer, ends up too humid and affects the tables. The tables they have are furniture tables although in top shape. I'd give them a 2.5 for equipment, if the tables were GC or Diamonds would be the perfect room.

Just did all tables in new cloth and rails, balls are all Centenials with no dings to speak of, but idiots have been stealing the 8 and 9 balls so quite a few sets now have different brands of those.

The rest, safe and atmosphere, we have junior leagues there with kids from 6 to 18, including kids playing in the regular leagues and tournaments.

Staff is great, food is provided by a full restaurant on the lower level dinner times with some fryer stuff available at all times.

They hold fundraisers several times a year, in the back room once a week they have an Irish band jamming for hours, on Sundays there is a local racing club that comes in after their races, lot and street gets filled with modified racing Miatas, 911s, Corvettes, etc..

The menu has rules of the house like "if we think your music is offensive it will be shut off" "we're politically incorrect, deal with it".

I've been coming there for 4 or 5 years and have seen a ruckus maybe twice, both times caused by drunks that were escorted out.

Can't beat it.

picture.php
 
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hang-the-9 said:
I think the place I think of as my home room now would have top marks in all except equipment and temps. They have a large area with tall ceilings and tend to skimp on the AC in summer, ends up too humid and affects the tables. The tables they have are furniture tables although in top shape. I'd give them a 2.5 for equipment, if the tables were GC or Diamonds would be the perfect room.

Just did all tables in new cloth and rails, balls are all Centenials with no dings to speak of, but idiots have been stealing the 8 and 9 balls so quite a few sets now have different brands of those.

The rest, safe and atmosphere, we have junior leagues there with kids from 6 to 18, including kids playing in the regular leagues and tournaments.

Staff is great, food is provided by a full restaurant on the lower level dinner times with some fryer stuff available at all times.

They hold fundraisers several times a year, in the back room once a week they have an Irish band jamming for hours, on Sundays there is a local racing club that comes in after their races, lot and street gets filled with modified racing Miatas, 911s, Corvettes, etc..

The menu has rules of the house like "if we think your music is offensive it will be shut off" "we're politically incorrect, deal with it".

I've been coming there for 4 or 5 years and have seen a ruckus maybe twice, both times caused by drunks that were escorted out.

Can't beat it.

picture.php
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-1 for the lighting...I hate those shades, they cast CIRCLES of light on a rectangle.
....but the atmosphere looks great...
...the most important part of a good room is the regulars....I feel blessed in mine.
 
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