just what exactly is a bar banger?

L

lorider

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have read the term on here quite a few times. The thread about bar bangers and Fargo rate piqued my curiosity .

Is it a person who plays strictly in bars ?

Is it a person who plays by bar rules.?

Is it a person who plays on just 7'ers....more commonly refered to bar tables ?

The reason I am asking is because I have read on here quite a few times where people expressed the opinion that people who play in bars are not very good pool players.

If you are referring to guys who just play in bars who are you comparing them to ?

Compared to guys who spend half their lives in pool halls ? You would be right.

Compared to guys who take lessons ? You are right again.

Compared to guys who scour you tube for drills to practice ? Right again.

Compared to the average league player ? I think this one is debatable. I dont go to bars anymore. Practically lived in them in my early years and encountered quite a few that could play decent but the majority were not as good as I was and I was never that great but I played good enough to be called a hustler several times and kicked out if a few places.

Even after being called a hustler quote a few times I basically had the same opinion most on here do about bar players. I play in bars....no way am I as good as fellas that play in pool halls or leagues. That was until I joined bcapl when I was around 50 and soon realized I was better than most of the league players....once I grew to accept safety play as part of the game. Within 6 months I was raised to a 7 ....our handicap system went from 1-10 . Did not have any 1's that I recall but a few girls were 2's. I have read on here plenty of times how bcapl is chock full of high level players. Guess our area was an anomaly. half a dozen 10's .. Half a dozen 9's . A few 8's . A few 7's like me. A few 6's. a bunch of 5's and the rest 3's and 4's with a few 2's .


The average bar player is not devoted to pool. Not even as devoted as the average league player. Therefore it stands to reason that they would not be very proficient at the game.
 
Bar = Means where he normally plays or the size table he normally plays on.
Banger = Means he is not very good.
 
I think you answered your own question. People that play in bars often. They don’t usually own a table. They get little practice. They’re not in a league. They play by bar rules / straight 8. They give you multiple chances at the table. Probably never had a table run. Don’t think about patterns. At best they think about the next ball. If they can control the cueball at all they probably shoot to be straight on the next shot always.

You also mentioned BCAPL. You’ll run the gamut in leagues. You’ll probably see bar banger level players to some good players. I see many Ds and Cs. C+ and B players tend to be strong. Very few BB or A players. When they do come out, they outright dominate. At least in my area.

I’ve heard a strong tournament player once comment after his opponent broke and sent the cueball straight into the side pocket: Broke like a typical “leaguer”. You won’t see me do that. I think your strong A and above stop bothering with leagues. Top amateurs, short stops and professions tend to view “leaguers” as bar bangers as far as they’re concerned.


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My association ith the term 'bar banger' would be, the type of player that seems to have a need to shoot each and every ball at max speed (which gives a nice bang from the back of the pocket) with no concern where the CB will end up.

He then often looks around to see if people saw how hard he shot that ball, because ego is a factor with these types.

I'm convinced the Bar Banger will actually think he is a good player because he shoots them in that hard. I'm also convinced that no-one with a little bit of pool knowledge will think that too.
 
A lot of bars around here I used to play in were kind of like this:

You should attempt to make a shot, every shot.
If you played any kind of obvious safety without trying to pocket a ball, you might end up with broken knee caps or worse.
There is no ball in hand since safety play will get you hurt bad.
If you made a stripe, you are stripes, no if ands or buts. If you "make one of each" you have a choice with to shoot, solids or stripes.
If you scratch, or the ball fllies off the table, it's has to be shot from inside the kitchen. No ball in hand anywhere you like, unless you don't like your teeth.
If you don't have a good shot hit it warp speed, as slop shotsl count, and maybe it will find a home in some pocket. Note,if you do make one like this, expect a lot of cursing and lip from the guy you are playing. Worst case, you fight it out.
If you are playing for anything, don't try to quit while ahead unless you are good with your fists, or the end of a heavy pool cue.
At any moment, for any reason, you could end up in a fight if you are winning too many games as by now almost all the players are drunk.

Now it's been probably 25 years since I shot pool in a bar, and not in a pool hall, but that is pretty much the way it was here in south Texas. Texans have the right to carry now days, so I sure as hell stay out of bars now days.:smile:

As to the question, it's someone that plays seldom, can't play very well, and usually hits the balls way too hard. Their priority is NOT to get better at pool, but they still like playing every now and then, usually while getting drunk.
 
onepocketron said:
A lot of bars around here I used to play in were kind of like this:

You should attempt to make a shot, every shot.
If you played any kind of obvious safety without trying to pocket a ball, you might end up with broken knee caps or worse.
There is no ball in hand since safety play will get you hurt bad.
If you made a stripe, you are stripes, no if ands or buts. If you "make one of each" you have a choice with to shoot, solids or stripes.
If you scratch, or the ball fllies off the table, it's has to be shot from inside the kitchen. No ball in hand anywhere you like, unless you don't like your teeth.
If you don't have a good shot hit it warp speed, as slop shotsl count, and maybe it will find a home in some pocket. Note,if you do make one like this, expect a lot of cursing and lip from the guy you are playing. Worst case, you fight it out.
If you are playing for anything, don't try to quit while ahead unless you are good with your fists, or the end of a heavy pool cue.
At any moment, for any reason, you could end up in a fight if you are winning too many games as by now almost all the players are drunk.

Now it's been probably 25 years since I shot pool in a bar, and not in a pool hall, but that is pretty much the way it was here in south Texas. Texans have the right to carry now days, so I sure as hell stay out of bars now days.:smile:

As to the question, it's someone that plays seldom, can't play very well, and usually hits the balls way too hard. Their priority is NOT to get better at pool, but they still like playing every now and then, usually while getting drunk.
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Yep! You nailed it perfectly!
 
lorider said:
Then why not give a more apt description ? Low level player ? Inexperienced player ?

Recreational player ?
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Low level.... my clubhouse is full of Bangers. Players that have never improved...do not really understand pool. Slam balls. Do not understand position.
 
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cueman said:
Bar = Means where he normally plays or the size table he normally plays on.
Banger = Means he is not very good.
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Yep, pretty much sums it up. I usually thought of BB's as so-so players who only play on little tables. Doesn't have to be IN a bar but sticks to bar-boxes. Doesn't have much pool knowledge and isn't really interested in learning.
 
hotelyorba said:
My association ith the term 'bar banger' would be, the type of player that seems to have a need to shoot each and every ball at max speed (which gives a nice bang from the back of the pocket) with no concern where the CB will end up.

He then often looks around to see if people saw how hard he shot that ball, because ego is a factor with these types.

I'm convinced the Bar Banger will actually think he is a good player because he shoots them in that hard. I'm also convinced that no-one with a little bit of pool knowledge will think that too.
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I agree with this explanation.
 
To me, a bar banger is one who has no respect for the finer points of the game.
....he might even have a stroke......but feels thinking is for nits.
 
lorider said:
Then why not give a more apt description ? Low level player ? Inexperienced player ?

Recreational player ?
Click to expand...


There has always been a contentious relationship between pool rooms and bars, as far as pool goes. Even though back in the day, many pool rooms were not the type place you would take a new date to or let your kids go in, bars were much farther down the evolutionary scale. Most pool rooms had decent equipment and conditions. Bars, conversely, did not. In bars, the house cues were almost always nearly un-useable. If they weren't doubling as wooden bananas, the tips, if they even *had* tips, were cheap and half the time half falling off. The table cloth was often beer-stained, filthy, ripped. Many times, the front and back doors were left open so in Spring and Summer ( and even more of the year, if you lived out west or in the south ), the result of which was, you could sometimes go boating in a canoe on the tables, due to the humidity. The rails were dead, the tables not level and the cue ball was nearly big enough to go bowling with. Even Mosconi would have issues drawing his rock farther than a foot or so.

In pool rooms, the good players, by and large, played with finesse. They didn't fire every shot in. The atmosphere in pool rooms was usually calm and quiet. There was no loud music playing. There was ( not often, anyway ) no screaming, no drunks falling down, no "acting out", no physical altercations. In bars, there was all of that and more. And, by and large, bar players did not play with finesse. Because of the over-sized cue ball and the bad conditions, many players shot hard and did a lot of hoping. This was not lost on pool room players. To players who grew up in a pool room, bar pool was, well... uncivilized. And ugly.

Now, all that said, there WAS a lot of action in bars. So many pool room players would go to bars just to gamble. And almost always won, as they were, for the most part, better players. Was it easy moving that bar rock around? No... but it wasn't that big a deal. You could get used to it fairly quickly. But once the cheese was snapped off, most of those players went right back to the pool room. And believe me, bar players didn't appreciate the fact that pool room players would come into their territory and take down the cash. Which simply served to add fuel to the fire of mutual dislike. East was East and West was West and never the two did meet, except to gamble.

So, as far as pool went, the world-class players ( with VERY few exceptions ) all came from pool rooms, not bars. And, as such, bar players were looked on as red-headed step-children. And, for the most part, the favorite bar game, 8 ball, was not played by the players from pool rooms. They played 9 ball or 1 hole or 14.1. The only people who really ever played 8 ball in a pool room were the kids. So all of this led pool room players to start referring to bar players as "bar bangers". That is where the term originated. It meant someone who learned to play and continued to play on, inferior, dirty, unlevel, dead-rail, big-rock "toys" ( read: 7' tables ). To pool room players, the only positive thing bar bangers brought to the table ( pun intended ) was cash.

So, there you have it. That's where "bar banger" came from. And, yes, I've used more than a few gross generalizations. But the points are all, I believe, valid.
 
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cueman said:
Bar = Means where he normally plays or the size table he normally plays on.
Banger = Means he is not very good.[/QUOTE

^^^^ this, plus


3) thinks he is better than he is
4) has no interest in trying to play better or correctly
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michael4 said:
cueman said:
Bar = Means where he normally plays or the size table he normally plays on.
Banger = Means he is not very good.[/QUOTE

^^^^ this, plus


3) thinks he is better than he is
4) has no interest in trying to play better or correctly
Click to expand...

3. I was the opposite . I never thought I was as good as people / opponents said I was when given compliments my first venture into leagues was due to a guy who invited me on his team after beating him 3-4 times playing in a bar. He aaked what league i played in and I told him I had never played in a league. He asked why . I told him I never thought I was good enough. He replied I was better than any one on his team so I figured ...why not join ? Turns out his captain did not want me when he found out I was a " bar banger " who had never played leagues. I joined another team and that captain found out I was better than any one on his team when we played them. Btw. I have met many players...especially league players....who were not as good as they thought they were.

4. I was always interested in learning. That first league I mentioned above was bcapl....no one was ever interested is teaching lower levels. I have seen more teaching going on in apa....regardless of the misconception people have that apa players do not want to improve.
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