Pro Players and Pocket Chalkers

W

WillyCornbread

Break and One
Silver Member
Why don't I see any pro players using pocket chalkers (aside from a few snooker peeps with their fancy bag or chalk in pocket)?

With their stylish convenience, and the fact that you don't have to worry about Mika kicking your chalk under the table I would think more would.

I know this post is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I'm half serious - is it because they are considered goofy, or some other reason?

b
 
hang-the-9

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
WillyCornbread said:
Why don't I see any pro players using pocket chalkers (aside from a few snooker peeps with their fancy bag or chalk in pocket)?

With their stylish convenience, and the fact that you don't have to worry about Mika kicking your chalk under the table I would think more would.

I know this post is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I'm half serious - is it because they are considered goofy, or some other reason?

b
Click to expand...

I have no idea why people use them at all, every time I tried, I had to do some odd hand motions to avoid the thing flopping around and getting in the way. I'd use a magnetic chalk holder without an attachment but not one of those with the extra dongle.
 
W

WillyCornbread

Break and One
Silver Member
hang-the-9 said:
I have no idea why people use them at all, every time I tried, I had to do some odd hand motions to avoid the thing flopping around and getting in the way. I'd use a magnetic chalk holder without an attachment but not one of those with the extra dongle.
Click to expand...

I tried, the only benefit I could see was that by attaching the chalk to my right side pocket - it forced me to stop chalking with my bridge hand. But I keep hitting the chalk with my cue so I stopped.

Seems like a fairly convenient and popular thing, odd that I don't recall ever seeing a pro player using one.

b
 
R

RiverCity

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
WillyCornbread said:
I tried, the only benefit I could see was that by attaching the chalk to my right side pocket - it forced me to stop chalking with my bridge hand. But I keep hitting the chalk with my cue so I stopped.

Seems like a fairly convenient and popular thing, odd that I don't recall ever seeing a pro player using one.

b
Click to expand...

IMHO they are a solution to a problem that never existed. Carrying a cube of chalk to and from the table in hand, is not inconvenience enough for me to mess with fishing a fob in and out of my pocket for every shot. YMMV. :thumbup:
 
hang-the-9

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Chuck Fields said:
IMHO they are a solution to a problem that never existed. Carrying a cube of chalk to and from the table in hand, is not inconvenience enough for me to mess with fishing a fob in and out of my pocket for every shot. YMMV. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Once you get into chalk at $10 and up per cube, having some sort of huge attachment on it is more loss prevention than convenience LOL. You loose 10 Kamui Chalks and it's like someone stole a nice McDermott or Joss from you.
 
pwd72s

pwd72s

recreational banger
Silver Member
I started using one because area bars never had decent chalk. I quit going to bars, but now it's just part of my pre shot routine.

One plus is that a pocket chalker saves steps. Rail chalk seems to always be opposite of where you're going to shoot from. Once one passes three score and 10. saving steps is nice when playing over a few hours.

Nothing wrong with copying the top pros though. If everybody did, we'd all be playing cuetec and wearing gloves. ;)
 
Last edited:
xianmacx

xianmacx

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I agree with a previous post. Its a problem that never existed. As for the expensive chalk conversation, IMO again another problem that never existed. Why don't you see the top players insisting on expensive chalk? I think people love gadgets. Its another pool gadget they can buy and discuss with their league buddies. :grin: jk.
 
philly

philly

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
xianmacx said:
I agree with a previous post. Its a problem that never existed. As for the expensive chalk conversation, IMO again another problem that never existed. Why don't you see the top players insisting on expensive chalk? I think people love gadgets. Its another pool gadget they can buy and discuss with their league buddies. :grin: jk.
Click to expand...


Agreed. Master Chalk which I leave on the table works for me just fine. Shane stops in my room a couple times every year during the Expo because we are close to the venue and everyone leaves him alone. He uses house Master Chalk and requests old cubes. Go figure.
 
xianmacx

xianmacx

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
philly said:
Agreed. Master Chalk which I leave on the table works for me just fine. Shane stops in my room a couple times every year during the Expo because we are close to the venue and everyone leaves him alone. He uses house Master Chalk and requests old cubes. Go figure.
Click to expand...

how can he even draw his ball without 20$ chalk?!
 
ugotactionTX

ugotactionTX

I'm in dead rack!
Silver Member
after I bought (and promptly LOST) no less than 3 of them... I gave up. Besides, in retrospect, they are pretty goofy.
 
P

PoppaSaun

Banned
I love how so many people complain about how people put chalk on the rail of the table upside down, but when a really good solution to that problem comes along, it is demeaned it as goofy or a sign of a poor player.

I started using a pocket chalker because I was playing at a friends place and he didn't want chalk left on his table or dropped on his light-colored carpet. He kept extra chalkers and loaned/gave them to people.

Once you get used to it, they really do a lot for keeping the table and your hands clean.
 
F

Franky4Eyes

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Most people I see using them are in that phase of having to own every accessory out there.
Nothing wrong with that.
Or, it was a gift from someone and holds sentimental value.
In a bar situation, I can see the value of keeping your
personal chalk near and dear.
Snooker players usually just put chalk right in their pocket.
Personally, I'll leave my chalk on the shelf, or drink table,
that's near by. I cover my chalk in leather from leftover wrap material, so it matches the cue I'm using.
Anybody trying to claim it's theirs would have to be a nut.
Maybe, I'm the nut for leather wrapping a piece of chalk.
Haha
 
BRussell

BRussell

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I don't use one, but I disagree with people who are saying they are useless.

I see good league players using them a lot. It gets to be part of their pre-shot routine. They don't lose their chalk, they keep it off the table, and they have a repeatable motion to use their chalk.

Snooker players keep their chalk in their vest pockets - it's pretty similar, but pool players are wearing jeans rather than vests so the pocket holder makes sense.

I agree that you don't see pro pool players use them very often, but I wouldn't assume pros don't use them due to some rational reason. It's just as likely to be a popularity trend that doesn't relate to anything but popularity rather than actual usefulness.
 
QuietStorm

QuietStorm

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Chalking should be almost automatic, but the pocket chalker was definitely a conscious effort and almost a hinderance to my pre-shot routine. I've been using the Kamui magnetic chalk holder for a few weeks and it works like a charm. Now I get annoyed when I have to move the house chalk out of my way.
 
fastone371

fastone371

Certifiable
Silver Member
The only time my chalk comes out of my bag is when the house chalk is drilled 3/4ths of the way thru. I don't want broken chalk bits flying all over nor do I want chalk all over the ferrule of my cue. I simply grab my cue and my chalk is always resting right nearby and leave it on the rail until my turn is over. As far as walking around thew table to grab my chalk it does not bother me as I prefer to circle the table between shots to get a good look. The times I forget to grab my chalk when I leave the table seems like the exact same time my opponent picks up the only chalk that previously wasn't on the table and proceeds to grind his tip into it for 10 minutes simply to create a massive mound of chalk dust while he debates the merits of hitting his only possible shot, a stop shot nonetheless, at medium or hard speed while his pocket chalker carefully fitted with $28 per cube Kamui dangles from his back pocket.:angry::angry::angry::angry:
 
ugotactionTX

ugotactionTX

I'm in dead rack!
Silver Member
never said leaving it on the table was the answer...

the only time my chalk is on the table is while I'm shooting, the rest of the time its in my hand, or pocket. If my opponent can't locate a piece I will gladly share (even if its mine), but I tell them beforehand "you're welcome to use mine but you'll have to keep asking me for it" its just a habit to take it with me from the table.



PoppaSaun said:
I love how so many people complain about how people put chalk on the rail of the table upside down, but when a really good solution to that problem comes along, it is demeaned it as goofy or a sign of a poor player.

I started using a pocket chalker because I was playing at a friends place and he didn't want chalk left on his table or dropped on his light-colored carpet. He kept extra chalkers and loaned/gave them to people.

Once you get used to it, they really do a lot for keeping the table and your hands clean.
Click to expand...
 
philly

philly

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ugotactionTX said:
the only time my chalk is on the table is while I'm shooting, the rest of the time its in my hand, or pocket. If my opponent can't locate a piece I will gladly share (even if its mine), but I tell them beforehand "you're welcome to use mine but you'll have to keep asking me for it" its just a habit to take it with me from the table.
Click to expand...

3 cushion players do the same minus the leaving of it in the their hands. They chalk between shots and if they miss a billiard they pick the chalk up, sit down, and place their cube next to them and pick it up when again they get back to the table.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top