Bar Box pool; Is it "real" pool?

cuetechasaurus said:
9-ball on a barbox is an absoloute joke. It's so easy to control a match on a 7footer it's ridiculous. Playing only on a barbox is not good for your pool game, plain and simple. It hurts your accuracy. There are alot of league players that used to be good on 9ft tables, but when they started playing mainly on 7footers, they come back to 9ft tables and can't make a ball to save their life. I know that pool is all about position play, but if your shotmaking accuracy is poor, it's gonna hurt your position play, because the cueball is not contacting exactly where you intend to on the object ball, so it might go in the wrong side of the pocket, and your position can be off by a couple of feet as a result (sorry for the run on sentence).

Barbox 8ball is a different story, however. I'm not sure about pros, but for us amatuers, there is a learning period to play good barbox 8ball. I could play a race to 7 on a barbox playing 8ball, and most times I might miss only one or two balls the whole set, and go hill-hill with someone else, because I hook myself so many times. Remember, 8-ball is the opposite of 9-ball. In 9ball, as you progress thru running a rack, it gets easier and easier, because their is less and less traffic. In 8ball, as you runout (from the break), it gets tougher and tougher, because with each shot you have less balls to shoot at, less options, and of course alot of congestion. Its very typical to run all your balls and hook yourself on your last ball or the 8. So barbox 8ball requires some good strategy and very precise position play. For pros playing barbox 8ball, I think its actually much easier than playing 9ft 8ball, because pros have such perfect position play. So in closing, I guess that it depends on the level of player, on whether 8ball is tougher on a barbox or on a 9footer. For me, I can run out ALOT more racks of 8ball on a 9ft table than I can on a barbox. For 9ball, it's the exact opposite.

FACT: 9ball on a barbox is a joke!
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You have a keen eye for the obvious!!!!!
 
too many posts to read them all so maybe this has been said.

No, its not real pool. Big tables are much harder. Several repeatable tests to that theory...

This has been discussed several times over the years. Usually heated too :)
 
Yes playing on 7ft tables is a JOKE!!!!!

I refuse to play on 7ft tables unless its during my league, which is 8ball, or ITS the only think available, like at a bar, or someones house, Or the person is new and wants to learn and not be discouraged.

Now I stopped playing on 7ft tables a while back and stick with 9ft tables. And Its made me such a better player.

And I see this because when guys want to gamble with me, I tell them ok, lets play on a 9ft and they give me the "whole bla bla bla, i cant play on a 9ft bla bla bla, i've never played on one, bla bla bla, you only play on a 9ft, bla bla bla you need to give me the rack for weight, bla bla bla, i'm a lil bytch lets play on a 7ft table. "

I've played guys who would beat me on a 7ft, when i played on one, and i get them on a 9ft, and they end up leaving the table crying because they cant adjust to the shots and try to play like thier still on a 7ft table.

As for comparing 7ft vs 9ft in tournaments, I've seen two AA / Open players lock up on a 7ft and it becomes a very onesided match.

Two yrs ago I seen Jason Kirkwood play a AA player in a tournament on a 7ft table and Jason won something like 9-2. And in the Finals, Jason beat another AA player 11-0 running out the 11racks!

Now obviously someone of Jason's ability, playing on a 7ft table doesnt show thier true talent level.

Recently I've played several guys, who on a 7ft table would have to spot me weight, and took them on a 9ft table and we ended up playing even, or i would lose on hill hill.

Barbox pool should be for 8ball only. All other billiard games should be played on a 9ft table.
 
I suppose it's real pool, it seems real when I play on one.:D Well, every table has it's challenges they just differ depending on size. I prefer 9 footers but have played a lot on a bar box. Of course I like 12 footers too. Haven't played on recently but I think it's real pool as well.

Ask a road player, he'll tell you real pool is played on any size table where there's action. Learning to play well on any size table makes you a more rounded player.

Rod
 
JPB said:
Yes, pool played on a bar box takes skill. Yes some gamble on it. So what? It is bad for the game and not real pool.

When was pool good? When it was played on 10' tables in places where pool was the priority, not a vehicle to sell a few more drinks.
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So you yearn to specialize in 10' foot tables in pure and perfect pool halls where no music is played or drinks are sold. A specialist is someone who learns more and more about less and less until, finally, he knows everything about nothing.

The issue is the playing field. Golf's strength comes from its courses. This is what adds a sporting element to the game and makes it something people want to devote a lot of time and money to play. If all golf courses were identical the sport wouldn't be that great.
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If the rich diversity of golf courses' playing fields is a virtue, then so is the rich diversity of poorly-maintained bar boxes' playing fields. :p

a pool table can never present the interest of a great golf course since pool is meant to be played on good, consistent equipment and golf is meant to be played in variable conditions.
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These are only the rigid expectations of a constipated mind, not laws of nature. It would very interesting to play pool on a table crafted like a miniature golf course. :)

Pool needs a return to the pool hall. If that can't be accomplished then I guess it can't. But then we can recognize the game is gone.
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We will all miss you terribly, I'm sure. :rolleyes:
 
[

Ask a road player, he'll tell you real pool is played on any size table where there's action. Learning to play well on any size table makes you a more rounded player.

Rod[/QUOTE]


good point,i think david matlock would agree with you,he plays good on big tables but i hear he can make one on a bar box to!:D
 
This thread has reached into the ridiculous, with most posters having no idea what the original question was.

There are negatives about bar pool, but most of those negatives don't fall on enthusiastic pool players, but rather on Friday night players not interested in the future of pool. The lack of understanding of how good this game is a problem that unfortunately is spread by bar pool on drink night.

But, as long as the balls and cues are the same, then bar pool is "real pool." Whether an amateur or a professional cares to put it on the same level as play on a 9' table is moot and unrelated. There are crappy 9' tables that nobody on this board would consider "real pool," so size isn't an issue.

If there are organized tournaments and associations dedicated to the further advancement of OUR sport, and they happen to be dominated by the bar table scene, then it is as real as it gets with the ability to touch more players than without them. This would included the huge national tournaments of the big 3 of amateur pool.

Finally, when we watch the top players play on the bar table , to consider it "a joke" is a joke. It might be easier for many to play on a small table, but that doesn't lessen the fact that you're normally shooting against someone and that there is true competition, and that the better player is going to win in the long run just like any other pool competition. Shooting the Ghost on a bar table has zero bearing on whether or not bar pool "is real pool." It might say something about the comparitive ease of the game, but that's not the question nor is it the intent of the game.

Without bar pool, many people wouldn't even be playing this game, and many people wouldn't be supporting the industry... OUR industry.

Fred
 
Cornerman said:
This thread has reached into the ridiculous, with most posters having no idea what the original question was.

There are negatives about bar pool, but most of those negatives don't fall on enthusiastic pool players, but rather on Friday night players not interested in the future of pool. The lack of understanding of how good this game is a problem that unfortunately is spread by bar pool on drink night.

But, as long as the balls and cues are the same, then bar pool is "real pool." Whether an amateur or a professional cares to put it on the same level as play on a 9' table is moot and unrelated. There are crappy 9' tables that nobody on this board would consider "real pool," so size isn't an issue.

If there are organized tournaments and associations dedicated to the further advancement of OUR sport, and they happen to be dominated by the bar table scene, then it is as real as it gets with the ability to touch more players than without them. This would included the huge national tournaments of the big 3 of amateur pool.

Finally, when we watch the top players play on the bar table , to consider it "a joke" is a joke. It might be easier for many to play on a small table, but that doesn't lessen the fact that you're normally shooting against someone and that there is true competition, and that the better player is going to win in the long run just like any other pool competition. Shooting the Ghost on a bar table has zero bearing on whether or not bar pool "is real pool." It might say something about the comparitive ease of the game, but that's not the question nor is it the intent of the game.

Without bar pool, many people wouldn't even be playing this game, and many people wouldn't be supporting the industry... OUR industry.

Fred
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TAP, TAP, TAP
 
pools pool whether novices on any table or 'pool players'. Theres a thousand different tables in this game.
I found nine foot tables easier to play cause theres more room and the pockets are bigger.
Seven foot tables are tough on tight pockets for shots down the rail. Theres no hitting the cushion first then going in.
And not get snookered or going 'in off' thats another thing. The speed which the cueball goes and how far it can travel then collide with a ball then go in off.
Navigation.
Thats the thing.
Plus its just a little more random. So you can be lucky.
Big tables arent that hard.
 
9 Foot tables are tough when an opponent is firing back at you.
8 Foot tables are tough when an opponent is firing back at you.
7 foot tables are tough when an opponent is firing back at you.

When your playing serious pool there is no such thing as an easy size or easier size table unless your robbing a lamb. I've seen many good players go broke on a bar box. When the heats on the word(s) "easy or easier" usually disappears real fast when you start to dip into you pocket.. Yes, bar box is "real pool".
 
Assuming equal equipment quality and condition...

Is barbox pool real pool? Well, all the elements are there, so why not. But is it real pool?? My opinion is... its not as fun on a barbox, but I love pool. I'd rather play on a barbox than not play at all. I will still enjoy it, but I'd much rather shoot on a full sized table. It's a lot more fun and challenging, in my opinion.
 
Who says that "real pool" only has to be played on a 9-foot table? To each, their own. If you like playing on a bar box, that's great too.
 
Yes bar boxes are easier to run out on, it would be silly to argue otherwise.

I think that it may even the playing field somewhat between a great player and a pretty good player (maybe that's why John Schmidt and other pros would rather not play on them?) but the better player should still win most of the time.

Between two great players, the size of the table shouldn't matter. The runout percentage is going to go up, so what? You still have to beat the other guy to win.

I think to dismiss it as not being "real" pool is not fair. It's easier for sure but it's still pool.

DHakala... you're gonna get whooped if Mark Hadad or Tony P. or any one of 20 other guys decide to take you up on your offer... lol.

Alex
 
Serious money

cardsfan said:
"Serious 9-ball money", no-way, never! But Cuetechasaurus was commenting on how 9-ball on a barbox "is a joke" and it's easy to run-out because of the pocket size. My disagreement lies in the "ease" of running-out on a 7' pro-cut Diamond barboxes compared to your typical Valley barbox. Two different challenges.

But serious money on a 7 footer, no way! Bigger the bet, bigger the table!
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Serious money, yes. Not $500 a set, but 10 ahead for $25K. On a bar box in a little bar located outskirts of St. Louis. Anyone traveling " on the road" knows of this place and the players involved. Happens all the time.

As far as top bar box players, 9 and 8 ball, I wouldn't leave out Chad Vilmont or James Barracks. They rank right up there with Madlock and Bowman.
 
Ok, heres something to ponder about


If the BarBox table was never made, would anyone complain about playing on 9ft tables? If thats all that was available to use?
 
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