I play on an 8-ball bar box league here on Monday nights. Its a travelling league where you play at several different locations. So, last night we get to this bar and the table conditions are horrendous! Mud ball....table unlevel...dirty balls...etc. I realize all of this going into the gate, so I shoot my normal game. During my first game, I have a nice run going and I have to take a ball down a rail two diamonds out from the pocket. I slow rolled it and the ball tapered off and didn't go in the pocket. Now this just messed up my break and run out...so I'm pissed. I let the table get the best of me and I dogged my next 3 shots (in this same game mind you). I find it very difficult to play consistently when I get screwed over by the table conditions. How do you all adjust your game (and mindset) to play on subpar conditions?
Getting beat by the table conditions
- Thread starter LPHooper03
- Start date
This is one of the many reasons I stay clear of bars if I want to play pool. You can't even call that pool.
Isn't there a poolroom near by where you can ask about in house leagues? In the long run, you will be a much better player and enjoy the game that much more. JMHO.
Isn't there a poolroom near by where you can ask about in house leagues? In the long run, you will be a much better player and enjoy the game that much more. JMHO.
I played in a bar the other night where I was one color and the 8 out on winning the set and I had to sit on a waist high shuffleboard table to get down on the ball. Needless to say I lost the match. On the other end of the bar was a huge piano and you had to almost touch the ceiling to hit a ball on the rail. It was quiet an experience. I loved the atmosphere though. There was a wood burning stove and a dog running around. It was different.
Adam
Adam
That is the reason why I quit the VNEA after 8-years of traveling to crappy bars with slow cloth,
old dirty (and sweaty) balls, and plastic racks that you can barely rack the balls with.
It was ironic when the team from the worst bar I have ever traveled to (Guadalajara's) came to our bar (Stardust) with their own level, and almost got their asses kicked :smile: by a couple of the regulars.
In-house leagues are coming back in a big way.
old dirty (and sweaty) balls, and plastic racks that you can barely rack the balls with.
It was ironic when the team from the worst bar I have ever traveled to (Guadalajara's) came to our bar (Stardust) with their own level, and almost got their asses kicked :smile: by a couple of the regulars.
In-house leagues are coming back in a big way.
If you shot 3 more times... You beat yourself
You and your opponent played on the same table
Conditions
I play in a Thursday night league and 3 or 4 of the dive bars we play at are like that. Like easy-e said, I shoot everything firm to take table roll out of the equation for the most part. I use top spin to get shape because I don't have the stroke to pull those mud balls back very much. Think of it as a challenge or it will eat you up.
We once played in a bar where the table was in a back room with an open hole in the ceiling. There were snow flakes falling on the table and you could see your breath. My fingers were numb and I could barely make a shot. The floor in front of the urinal was squishy with piss. I was scared I was going to fall through the rotting floor. I'm glad they dropped out of the league, so I didn't have to go to jail for burning that place down lol.
I play in a Thursday night league and 3 or 4 of the dive bars we play at are like that. Like easy-e said, I shoot everything firm to take table roll out of the equation for the most part. I use top spin to get shape because I don't have the stroke to pull those mud balls back very much. Think of it as a challenge or it will eat you up.
We once played in a bar where the table was in a back room with an open hole in the ceiling. There were snow flakes falling on the table and you could see your breath. My fingers were numb and I could barely make a shot. The floor in front of the urinal was squishy with piss. I was scared I was going to fall through the rotting floor. I'm glad they dropped out of the league, so I didn't have to go to jail for burning that place down lol.
True,but having played in bars almost exclusively, I can say I've learned to block out everything outside of physical contact once I'm down on my shot.Ibet if everyone on this forums who makes a thread complaining about sharking were to spend 3 weeks playing in bars exclusively, they'd stop complaining so much.
Get over it! You have to adjust your game. You don't quite, you don't ask to move to a new location...you adapt! I've played league for 20 years and I've seen every type of table, you deal with it. Golfers do it every week, every course has different green speeds, they adapt. Did you even hit any balls before league? Maybe go there a day or so before league and see what the tables are like and how to change your game. Granted, the equipment you described probably sucks, but if you had 3 chances after that, you didn't want to win...or deserve to.
Hard to believe that someone would want to quit & play in a nice place, when they can travel to shit holes every week.
I didn't really quit, I just got bored with the martyrdom.
you'd mentioned at the beginning that the table wasn't level, and you slow rolled a shot?! :sorry: c'mon
Strongly disagree with the whole "deal with it" or "get over it" attitude.
Pool is a precision game and the equipment needs to reflect that.
If it doesn't, you're playing a different version of pool, something recreational
just to pass the time. You're not playing serious pool anymore.
Demand better. Talk to the room owner. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
The owner may basically only replace cloth and fix the table when he starts to hear complaints.
He isn't propping a level on the table every week to make sure it rolls true,
it's something he ignores until there's a problem (and maybe ignores even then).
If you make any sort of attitude adjustment, it shouldn't be "well, I can still play good
pool on bad equipment if I just hit 'em harder, play the rolls, etc."
...instead the way I see it is, "ok, league night is just for fun and hanging out.
We're gonna play awful pool on awful equipment. But we're gonna have fun."
This relaxed attitude might sound like you're gonna start playing casual, careless pool,
but I find the more I relax and stop getting angry about the equipment, the better I play.
Pool is a precision game and the equipment needs to reflect that.
If it doesn't, you're playing a different version of pool, something recreational
just to pass the time. You're not playing serious pool anymore.
Demand better. Talk to the room owner. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
The owner may basically only replace cloth and fix the table when he starts to hear complaints.
He isn't propping a level on the table every week to make sure it rolls true,
it's something he ignores until there's a problem (and maybe ignores even then).
If you make any sort of attitude adjustment, it shouldn't be "well, I can still play good
pool on bad equipment if I just hit 'em harder, play the rolls, etc."
...instead the way I see it is, "ok, league night is just for fun and hanging out.
We're gonna play awful pool on awful equipment. But we're gonna have fun."
This relaxed attitude might sound like you're gonna start playing casual, careless pool,
but I find the more I relax and stop getting angry about the equipment, the better I play.
Every table is different, even the good ones.
The better players in every sport are the ones capable of recognizing and adjusting to those day to day variables.
Consider it a challenge, overcome it and become a better player.
You wanna complain about variable conditions? Take up golf and get back to me.
The better players in every sport are the ones capable of recognizing and adjusting to those day to day variables.
Consider it a challenge, overcome it and become a better player.
You wanna complain about variable conditions? Take up golf and get back to me.
So you have another bar/room that is willing to take your team or the "bad equipment" team? Do you realize that some bars rely on leagues as part of their income, that's why they host them. Have you went to the bar owner and explained to him that maybe it was time for his table to be updated/repaired?
League operators will take any and all establishments that wish to host a team. Some have excellent equipment, some have horrible equipment. Sure, it would be nice to pick up and move to a room with great tables, but it's easier said than done. If you've exhausted all options, at the end of the season, move to another bar/room. If they have room to host another team, great, if not, now what?
Life is not perfect, nor is pool. I guess I'm a little shocked at the mentality of "we deserve to play on great equipment". The reality of it is, there is crappy equipment out there that you are forced to play on. As I stated, get over it and adapt. I've played in plenty of tournaments at some high end rooms and guess what, the table rolled off a little. You know how I knew? I took the time to check out the equipment PRIOR to my match, so I knew what I was up against and adapted. I won. I've played in many bar tournaments where the tables aren't even as good as the ones you speak of, so I chose to suck it up, play and let the chips fall where they may. I had to fire in balls, there was no slow rolling anything and I played as best I could. With that in mind, I won't be going back to that bar again, it's a tournament so really, no big loss. League, you are stuck for however many weeks the season lasts. You can continue to make excuses about how bad the equipment is, you can modify your game or you can quit.
Yes, we should all be so lucky to play on the best and most prestine equipment out there, but it's not always the case. So what happens when you hit a speed bump in your life?
Every table is different, even the good ones.
The better players in every sport are the ones capable of recognizing and adjusting to those day to day variables.
Consider it a challenge, overcome it and become a better player.
You wanna complain about variable conditions? Take up golf and get back to me.
NAILED IT! :thumbup:
Ditto
One of the first things I do at a table I have never played before is roll the darn thing. If that ball "curls" at the very end, its got issues and I have to look deeper. If you are going to play serious pool, you need good equipment. I did not say it had to be the best, but in good condition.
You shouldn't have to deal with crappy equipment period. PRO's don't do it; why should we ??
One of the first things I do at a table I have never played before is roll the darn thing. If that ball "curls" at the very end, its got issues and I have to look deeper. If you are going to play serious pool, you need good equipment. I did not say it had to be the best, but in good condition.
You shouldn't have to deal with crappy equipment period. PRO's don't do it; why should we ??
So you have another bar/room that is willing to take your team or the "bad equipment" team? Do you realize that some bars rely on leagues as part of their income, that's why they host them. Have you went to the bar owner and explained to him that maybe it was time for his table to be updated/repaired?
League operators will take any and all establishments that wish to host a team. Some have excellent equipment, some have horrible equipment. Sure, it would be nice to pick up and move to a room with great tables, but it's easier said than done. If you've exhausted all options, at the end of the season, move to another bar/room. If they have room to host another team, great, if not, now what?
Life is not perfect, nor is pool. I guess I'm a little shocked at the mentality of "we deserve to play on great equipment". The reality of it is, there is crappy equipment out there that you are forced to play on. As I stated, get over it and adapt. I've played in plenty of tournaments at some high end rooms and guess what, the table rolled off a little. You know how I knew? I took the time to check out the equipment PRIOR to my match, so I knew what I was up against and adapted. I won. I've played in many bar tournaments where the tables aren't even as good as the ones you speak of, so I chose to suck it up, play and let the chips fall where they may. I had to fire in balls, there was no slow rolling anything and I played as best I could. With that in mind, I won't be going back to that bar again, it's a tournament so really, no big loss. League, you are stuck for however many weeks the season lasts. You can continue to make excuses about how bad the equipment is, you can modify your game or you can quit.
Yes, we should all be so lucky to play on the best and most prestine equipment out there, but it's not always the case. So what happens when you hit a speed bump in your life?
I traveled for years, played on 4-different teams continuously, and although the Valley tables were rarely good, it was the bars themselves as well as the traveling that got me, not the table conditions.
So far, the in-house leagues I play in offer better tables, better food & drinks, and women that you can talk to without getting into a fight.
Denver is not a small town anymore, and you never know what bar is going to get in to the VNEA or BCA/ACS.
I recently subbed a little as a favor for a BCA team, and one of the bars let us smoke inside just because they didn't give a **** about the smoking laws.
Not complaining, I smoke, but gee wiz, it was the worst bar I've ever been in, and I played pool in Warez, Mexico / 1970.
At 60-years old, I'm going going through that crap anymore.
I'm used to bad table conditions, like this one at my house.
We call it the torture table.
BTW, the league operator comment was funny>>:smile:
I played pool in Rocky Point, Tijuana and San Felipe...Some of the balls were chipped..no doubt from being slammed into someone mouth and the cueballs were dented...all over! It was spectacular!
Nice torture table...I like it! :thumbup: