Why don't more bars lease Diamond pool tables?

V

vintagecollectibles831

Well-known member
When I lived in Evansville IN, it seemed like every single bar in the city had Diamond tables.

Here in Austin TX, it is all Valley tables, with Nasty old Mud Cue balls, in my experience.

Maybe it is just me, but I just can't enjoy playing pool at all, using a Mud cue ball, and I understand that they are varying degrees of bad, with them.

I randomly found this bar in Downtown Austin, which was a really nice and very classic looking bar, and they had a nice line of 5 Valley coin op tables. All with nasty old Mud cue balls on them.

I tried playing / hitting some balls on one of them, and it was just so horrible. I could not even finish, it was so un enjoyable.

I believe that Diamond offers a free lease on coin op tables, for half of the profit, from what I read somewhere a long time ago. Not sure if that is still the case though.

Don't you think that a lot more players would visit a bar if it offered Diamonds, or at least Valley's with a decent set of balls?

And, why is it that most Valley coin op tables usually have these nasty old mud balls, that look like they are maybe 30 years old?

The funny thing is, that the pool scene in Austin is very lively. People just love to play pool here. There are always people on all of the pool tables.

Back in Evansville, where it seemed like every bar had a Diamond, they were always empty, and I rarely ever seen anyone playing on them, other then at the real pool halls.

So, maybe the type of table would not even matter, in these bars. The banger's will enjoy playing on them no matter what.
 
Geography might have something to do with your experience. You moved from the state where Diamonds are made to the state where Valleys are made. Not that there are no Diamonds in Texas, but…

Well maintained or new Valleys play fine, although Diamonds are better. The balls make a big difference, and from your description is a big part of the problem.


Also- depends if an amusement company does the tables or the bar.
 
bars get bar patrons not pool players. that care little about the equipment. so no reason to give up half of their profits and having long down times when a table has problems.

they make their money mostly off drinks and a pool table brings in money and keeps the bar patron there drinking.

no reason not to own a table themselves and have a local work on it if needs be.
 
In the small town I live near it's all Valley tables without the mud balls , I'm not sure what is available in the bars in Great Falls however I'd venture to guess there would be a mix of both Valley and Diamond pool tables .

I for one would prefer diamond 9' tables instead or even better yet 5' x 10' tables with tight pockets !
 
most bars nowadays do not have mud balls, but not expensive pool balls, but do have a cue ball that goes into the return at the break side of the table.

they also dont clean the balls or maintain the house cues often. thats just the way it is playing in a bar.
bars with multiple tables do a better job as they do get some players.
 
JPB2 said:
Geography might have something to do with your experience. You moved from the state where Diamonds are made to the state where Valleys are made. Not that there are no Diamonds in Texas, but…

Well maintained or new Valleys play fine, although Diamonds are better. The balls make a big difference, and from your description is a big part of the problem.


Also- depends if an amusement company does the tables or the bar.
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Yeah, I do not get why all bars have Valley's with sets of balls that appear to be 50 years old, lol. If only they at the very least replaced the cue ball maybe every 5 years, or what it gets worn out or damaged, that would help make the experience more enjoyable.

Sometimes, the cue ball does not even seem to roll straight. As if the magnet were not in the very center of the mud ball.
 
vintagecollectibles831 said:
I read somewhere that Diamond offers a free lease, if the profits are split.
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Bars in my area, southeastern Pennsylvania, do lease Diamond tables. They are 7 footers and have many tournaments.
On a Friday night, Saturday, or Sunday you can take your pick of tournaments.
Some bars have several Diamond bar boxes and the tournaments are well run.
I have a thing for 9 footers.
 
On the above mentioned Valley tables and this varies from bar to bar they have either a wild roll or a dead spot on one or more rails or the object balls will sometimes roll into the cue ball return .

Granted I don't get to shoot / play on Diamond tables I've not experienced those issues with them .
 
Rusty in Montana said:
In the small town I live near it's all Valley tables without the mud balls , I'm not sure what is available in the bars in Great Falls however I'd venture to guess there would be a mix of both Valley and Diamond pool tables .

I for one would prefer diamond 9' tables instead or even better yet 5' x 10' tables with tight pockets !
Click to expand...

Yeah, the good Valley cue balls have some sort of a logo on them, like a green or purple logo, I think. The nasty mud balls do not have any logo on them.
 
vintagecollectibles831 said:
Yeah, I do not get why all bars have Valley's with sets of balls that appear to be 50 years old, lol.
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You ever run one? Most bars run on razor thin margins. Plus the VAST majority of bars are not run by 'pool people', they are never going to drop big coin on fancy new tables. BTW, the D'mond lease program is not all that cheap, 25%down and 5bux/day per table. You'd have to have REALLY busy tables for that to be attractive.
 
Rusty in Montana said:
On the above mentioned Valley tables and this varies from bar to bar they have either a wild roll or a dead spot on one or more rails or the object balls will sometimes roll into the cue ball return .

Granted I don't get to shoot / play on Diamond tables I've not experienced those issues with them .
Click to expand...

Yeah, this table I hit some balls on the other day, the cue ball was not only a mud ball, but it seemed to have a wild roll, like you said. I did not find that enjoyable at all.
 
vintagecollectibles831 said:
When I lived in Evansville IN, it seemed like every single bar in the city had Diamond tables.

Here in Austin TX, it is all Valley tables, with Nasty old Mud Cue balls, in my experience.

Maybe it is just me, but I just can't enjoy playing pool at all, using a Mud cue ball, and I understand that they are varying degrees of bad, with them.

I randomly found this bar in Downtown Austin, which was a really nice and very classic looking bar, and they had a nice line of 5 Valley coin op tables. All with nasty old Mud cue balls on them.

I tried playing / hitting some balls on one of them, and it was just so horrible. I could not even finish, it was so un enjoyable.

I believe that Diamond offers a free lease on coin op tables, for half of the profit, from what I read somewhere a long time ago. Not sure if that is still the case though.

Don't you think that a lot more players would visit a bar if it offered Diamonds, or at least Valley's with a decent set of balls?

And, why is it that most Valley coin op tables usually have these nasty old mud balls, that look like they are maybe 30 years old?

The funny thing is, that the pool scene in Austin is very lively. People just love to play pool here. There are always people on all of the pool tables.

Back in Evansville, where it seemed like every bar had a Diamond, they were always empty, and I rarely ever seen anyone playing on them, other then at the real pool halls.

So, maybe the type of table would not even matter, in these bars. The banger's will enjoy playing on them no matter what.
Click to expand...
Seems like a lot of exaggerating going on here. Valley cue balls may not play like a red circle or a measle ball but they dont make the game unplayable. If you find it to be that bad why are you going to a bar to play pool? There must be a pool hall around that has better tables or find a bar with a Diamond.
 
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