Amsterdam - July 9
- Thread starter "Popeye"
- Start date
I am told that Plan B is the place to play, out by the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum. Everyone in Amsterdam speaks English.
Lou Figueroa
Well I went to Poollokaal De Gracht . Here's my pool layover story:
I finished up a working trip in the UK, and had a late flight to Amsterdam where I had a layover till my flight home at 8am the next day. My flight landed at 9pm and checked into a trendy hotel at the airport called CitizenM. I dropped my stuff and went back to the airport to catch a train for about six euros into Centraal Station. I walked around for a bit, checked out some bars, and headed to Poollokaal De Gracht since it was one of the top ranking halls in the city and within thirty minutes of the station.
Upon arrival, it had a great bar setup and ample tables and dart lanes. The barman/pool manager was super friendly. I put back a few Grolsch on tap and had a pressed salami sandwich with a sweet honey dip; this was really good. I started playing on the challenge table to get a lay of the land, and got some action from a local player from Russia on an adjacent table. We played 10 Euros a game where I quickly won the first two, and then played a race to three for 20 Euros. I won the first, then scratched the 8-ball during the next game, ran out the next, and scratched the 8-ball again. On the hill hill game, it came down to where I touched the tip of the cue on a ball I was bridging over which gave him ball in hand to run out 3 balls. He quit, when we broke even.
I went back to the challenge table, which was free, as long as your were taking part of the libations and got to connect with some of the locals. Everyone was great. One guy bought a cue lathe off Chris Hightower, while another had a really nice Mobley player. I played with them for about an hour and saw the Russian guy lost to guy who worked in the hall and tried to get a game going again.
I fared much better this time and won the first two and was up 20 Euros. We doubled up and I cleared the table to win 40 quickly. He paid up disgruntledly and left. I went back to the challenge table and played till 2am; scotch doubles. I paid my tab, which was mostly beer, some table time, and the sandwich. For the night, it as 22 Euros. They even gave me a t-shirt from their hall; this was a great gesture! I said my goodbyes, but had a hard time getting an Uber. I finally got back to my hotel at 3:30am and had a quick drink at the hotel; 24hr bar. I crashed for a couple hours and headed to the airport at 6:30am.
This was a great pool focused layover. I’m looking for a similar experience in Singapore next month, when I’m there for work. If you’re ever in Amsterdam, checkout Poollokaal De Gracht, this was a player hall with great staff, amenities, and action! [Facebook Reviews]
I finished up a working trip in the UK, and had a late flight to Amsterdam where I had a layover till my flight home at 8am the next day. My flight landed at 9pm and checked into a trendy hotel at the airport called CitizenM. I dropped my stuff and went back to the airport to catch a train for about six euros into Centraal Station. I walked around for a bit, checked out some bars, and headed to Poollokaal De Gracht since it was one of the top ranking halls in the city and within thirty minutes of the station.
Upon arrival, it had a great bar setup and ample tables and dart lanes. The barman/pool manager was super friendly. I put back a few Grolsch on tap and had a pressed salami sandwich with a sweet honey dip; this was really good. I started playing on the challenge table to get a lay of the land, and got some action from a local player from Russia on an adjacent table. We played 10 Euros a game where I quickly won the first two, and then played a race to three for 20 Euros. I won the first, then scratched the 8-ball during the next game, ran out the next, and scratched the 8-ball again. On the hill hill game, it came down to where I touched the tip of the cue on a ball I was bridging over which gave him ball in hand to run out 3 balls. He quit, when we broke even.
I went back to the challenge table, which was free, as long as your were taking part of the libations and got to connect with some of the locals. Everyone was great. One guy bought a cue lathe off Chris Hightower, while another had a really nice Mobley player. I played with them for about an hour and saw the Russian guy lost to guy who worked in the hall and tried to get a game going again.
I fared much better this time and won the first two and was up 20 Euros. We doubled up and I cleared the table to win 40 quickly. He paid up disgruntledly and left. I went back to the challenge table and played till 2am; scotch doubles. I paid my tab, which was mostly beer, some table time, and the sandwich. For the night, it as 22 Euros. They even gave me a t-shirt from their hall; this was a great gesture! I said my goodbyes, but had a hard time getting an Uber. I finally got back to my hotel at 3:30am and had a quick drink at the hotel; 24hr bar. I crashed for a couple hours and headed to the airport at 6:30am.
This was a great pool focused layover. I’m looking for a similar experience in Singapore next month, when I’m there for work. If you’re ever in Amsterdam, checkout Poollokaal De Gracht, this was a player hall with great staff, amenities, and action! [Facebook Reviews]
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