Bad bar tables make me want to quit pool
- Thread starter cluelesscuer
- Start date
Your location says Chicago, so you have a ton of choices of actual pool halls with nice equipment. No reason to play on crummy bar tables.
If i pay to play pool, i expect the equipment to be in decent shape.
Where i live, we have a local pool hall that doesn`t giv a F. about equipment, cleanliness, service, atmosphere etc.
I try to stay away from that dive, but sometimes I`ll go play for an hour or so, just beacause It`s like 100 meters from where i live and each time i have to demand that they give me an decent set of balls, run em through the polisher and lend me a brush, so i atleast can have something close to acceptable standards.
7ft bar boxes where everything is messed up = not interested, the smallest tables i possibly can play on is 8ft
Where i live, we have a local pool hall that doesn`t giv a F. about equipment, cleanliness, service, atmosphere etc.
I try to stay away from that dive, but sometimes I`ll go play for an hour or so, just beacause It`s like 100 meters from where i live and each time i have to demand that they give me an decent set of balls, run em through the polisher and lend me a brush, so i atleast can have something close to acceptable standards.
7ft bar boxes where everything is messed up = not interested, the smallest tables i possibly can play on is 8ft
Bang on the money post.
I like playing on junk tables. Allows me to practice adverse conditions. I view it as a challenge to rise to, not an annoyance to distract me. If you're getting beat 50% of the time, it's YOU, not the table...
It's a head game, if you can't get your head around it you lose...
best,
Justin
I agree - should take a bad table as a personal challenge!
YOU should have seen it in the old days.
Brokn rails
Chpped balls
No otips on house cues
Toothless waitresses
For every one dollar game won, somebody wanting to fight.
It' the best nonw it's every been.
Have to remember that your opponent is playing on the same table as you are. Maybe have to play a little more strategic and out maneuver your opponent.
Our LO is pretty good about maintaining his tables but there was one bar that we had to play Scotch at. We'd look on the schedule and see that we were there that night and pretty much go, "aw FK".
The cloth was terrible, the rails were deader than dead. You could shoot a ball 40 mph into a rail and it would go, Thunk, and stop dead. So, there goes the thought of getting any shape on your next shot. Luckily, the bar stopped sponsoring teams and that was that, but it made for many an unenjoyable evening.
Our LO is pretty good about maintaining his tables but there was one bar that we had to play Scotch at. We'd look on the schedule and see that we were there that night and pretty much go, "aw FK".
The cloth was terrible, the rails were deader than dead. You could shoot a ball 40 mph into a rail and it would go, Thunk, and stop dead. So, there goes the thought of getting any shape on your next shot. Luckily, the bar stopped sponsoring teams and that was that, but it made for many an unenjoyable evening.
Think about it.....a 9' table has 27' of rails and 27.75" of pocket openings (space) while a 7' table only has 21' of rails with 29.5" of pocket openings.............that translates into a 9' table having 8.6% pocket opening area (2 long & 2 short rails) whereas a 7' table furnishes 11.7% pocket opening area of its 4 rails. The pockets on a 7' table, especially the side pockets, are huge in comparison to a standard 9' table. God forbid you use 4.5" pockets like on some Diamond 9' tables I play on. Those pockets can sometimes literally seem demonic like on long cuts, banks & rail shots.
Nonetheless, a 7' table makes a weaker adversary a stronger adversary by way of its larger pockets. Better players play better position which on a 7' table sometimes involves seemingly awful luck such as scratching by accidentally bumping an object ball en route to the desired cue ball position. Or else it's your weaker opponent's God awful slop shots on a 7' table because of its huge pockets. It happens all too often when a better player is matched against a weaker opponent on a 7' table. And you don't always play with 2.25" object balls or cue ball and even the weights vary like crazy too. I mean when was the last time you played with a set of Centennials on a bar table. Regardless, the point is it's easier to park a car in a bigger garage and the same applies to pocketing balls on a 7' table versus a 9' table.
Personally speaking, it's too frustrating playing lesser opponents on a 7' table which only helps them play better. And please no advice about bearing down, focus, and concentrate more, or use more center ball & stop shots etc. on a 7' table......Come on......do the math.......the total pocket opening space on a 7' table is 36% more than on a 9' table (8.6% vs 11.7%). That means the missed cut, rail or bank shots your weaker player experiences on a 9' table tend to drop a lot more often on a 7' table. The better player also enjoys the advantage of the bigger pockets but better players also get hurt more often on a run out because of accidental bumps & scratches. Sure that's the rub of the green for every player....right? Remember that weaker opponents seldom run the table and have not mastered cue ball position other than playing the table shot to shot or perhaps 1 or 2 shots ahead at best. So the weaker opponent misses shots more often and their scratches tend to be a lot less accidental and more from poor shot making skills. The better player has the ability to run a table and in the process, more bad luck things seem to happen on a 7' vs.9' table.
Play your weaker opponent a 10 ball match on a 9' table and the stronger player should dominate since there's no luck or slop involved. The called pocket requirement of 10 ball just makes even more difficult for a weaker opponent to beat a more skilled, better opponent, especially on a 9' table. That's just the facts of life in a pool room. I stopped playing APA because it's played on what I refer to as the "sandbox". Gone are the days where men battled it out on a 10' table. Now that's the way pool was intended to be played and the 9' table was only introduced by Brunswick back in the early 60's to promote increased home recreational play. The 9' table subsequently replaced the 10' table as the standard for championship play (US Open). Now only 3 cushion is played on a 10' table and of course, American Snooker.
Nonetheless, a 7' table makes a weaker adversary a stronger adversary by way of its larger pockets. Better players play better position which on a 7' table sometimes involves seemingly awful luck such as scratching by accidentally bumping an object ball en route to the desired cue ball position. Or else it's your weaker opponent's God awful slop shots on a 7' table because of its huge pockets. It happens all too often when a better player is matched against a weaker opponent on a 7' table. And you don't always play with 2.25" object balls or cue ball and even the weights vary like crazy too. I mean when was the last time you played with a set of Centennials on a bar table. Regardless, the point is it's easier to park a car in a bigger garage and the same applies to pocketing balls on a 7' table versus a 9' table.
Personally speaking, it's too frustrating playing lesser opponents on a 7' table which only helps them play better. And please no advice about bearing down, focus, and concentrate more, or use more center ball & stop shots etc. on a 7' table......Come on......do the math.......the total pocket opening space on a 7' table is 36% more than on a 9' table (8.6% vs 11.7%). That means the missed cut, rail or bank shots your weaker player experiences on a 9' table tend to drop a lot more often on a 7' table. The better player also enjoys the advantage of the bigger pockets but better players also get hurt more often on a run out because of accidental bumps & scratches. Sure that's the rub of the green for every player....right? Remember that weaker opponents seldom run the table and have not mastered cue ball position other than playing the table shot to shot or perhaps 1 or 2 shots ahead at best. So the weaker opponent misses shots more often and their scratches tend to be a lot less accidental and more from poor shot making skills. The better player has the ability to run a table and in the process, more bad luck things seem to happen on a 7' vs.9' table.
Play your weaker opponent a 10 ball match on a 9' table and the stronger player should dominate since there's no luck or slop involved. The called pocket requirement of 10 ball just makes even more difficult for a weaker opponent to beat a more skilled, better opponent, especially on a 9' table. That's just the facts of life in a pool room. I stopped playing APA because it's played on what I refer to as the "sandbox". Gone are the days where men battled it out on a 10' table. Now that's the way pool was intended to be played and the 9' table was only introduced by Brunswick back in the early 60's to promote increased home recreational play. The 9' table subsequently replaced the 10' table as the standard for championship play (US Open). Now only 3 cushion is played on a 10' table and of course, American Snooker.
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I sure wish all these "better players" who lose all the time on bar boxes were in my area...
Everything everyone has said about smaller tables and bigger pockets "favoring" the lesser player is true. However, just like everything else, people just have to exaggerate it. It's a small difference. Much smaller than people are making it out to be. I don't know anyone that play better than me on a 9fter that I beat up on, or even play even with on a bar box. Nor do I see any of these players running away from the bar box if I'm flashing money around.
As for the matches I lose to lesser players on a bar table?
I can't recall a single one in my life where I thought I played well, and the table gave the match away. If people are crying about lesser players making less mistakes because of the table, they're looking at the game entirely wrong.
Everything everyone has said about smaller tables and bigger pockets "favoring" the lesser player is true. However, just like everything else, people just have to exaggerate it. It's a small difference. Much smaller than people are making it out to be. I don't know anyone that play better than me on a 9fter that I beat up on, or even play even with on a bar box. Nor do I see any of these players running away from the bar box if I'm flashing money around.
As for the matches I lose to lesser players on a bar table?
I can't recall a single one in my life where I thought I played well, and the table gave the match away. If people are crying about lesser players making less mistakes because of the table, they're looking at the game entirely wrong.
My opinion has always been that if we are both playing on the same table by the same rules, I either win or I got out played.
I kind of agree...the game is just to simple for them on a bar box. I honestly think the 8 ball will be more interesting
Someone needs to tighten the hell out of those pockets.......
.......and make 'em use the "mud" cue ball !!!
You're gonna have to do something outside-of-the-box to make an Earl and Shane match on a barbox interesting.
Maniac
too small playing area, terrible cloth, bad rails, dirty balls, walls in the way - think of these as OBSTACLES. they make you a better pool player.
cluelesscuer
New member
If you were offered by some crazy promotion one single eight ball game vs SVB where you get one million dollars if you win, and you had your choice to play either on a 7 ft table or a 9 ft table, which one would you choose?
I know I would choose 7 ft in a heartbeat because these is more luck involved.
I know I would choose 7 ft in a heartbeat because these is more luck involved.
cluelesscuer
New member
In fact, to further state my point...I would choose an unlevel table, dead spots on the rails, terrible cloth, walls in the way, etc. to the point where the game is no longer pool, but some other game.
No better way to take down someone like SVB but to play him at something other than pool
No better way to take down someone like SVB but to play him at something other than pool
Quick correction: it's the corner pockets that are bigger on the 7 foot. The sides are actually a lot smaller.
No question about it, I'd choose the 9' table. 9' table, 8 ball is a lot easier than on a 7' table.
Some of these guys need to actually measure the pockets on a barbox sometime. They will be shocked to find out they are only 4 1/2"!
P.S. It's not the opening that makes most barboxes play so easy.