Bar boxes.... suck?

smokeandapancak

smokeandapancak

what?
Silver Member
Over here where I live it is very hard to find a bar box anywhere... only in clubs or bars, where the focus isnt anywhere near pool. Every single pool room is chocked full of 9 ft tables.... I have yet to find a hall with a coin op table.
I got back into playing since i have been over here (01) and have gotten pretty hardcore lately (last two years). During this time I havent been exposed to bar boxes at all..... and this worries me b/c it seems like most of the places back home only have the little tables (save for a few rooms). I know it should be easier to shoot on 'em, but I had a tough time adjusting during my recent trip Stateside. That and the fact that I just feel kinda stupid rolling up to a quarter table with almost 2k worth of equipment in a purtty leather case!! Its kinda like wearing a tux to a bbq.....

Is this preception totally my on fabrication.... or is it ok to wear my tux to the cook out over there!

p.s i dont want to sound like a snob or anything ... thats just how it is here!!
 
I have just over $2,000 worth of cues and case and play exclusively on bar boxes here in the states:) Plenty of action here on the 7'ers and pretty nice playing conditions too! My opinion....wear that tux with pride.
 
I don't know where you are or where you are from but I would say it sounds like you moved from hell to heaven. In Ottawa, where I live, there is a strong focus on leagues which are operated on barboxes. Therefore the remaining 9's in the bar (4) are usually not well kept and surrounded by morons. The bar is 90% barboxes. Barboxes suck. They drift, roll, rails are dead and are way too low. Did I mention they suck? Barboxes are designed to let people without a stroke still play pool. Stick to the 9's. For us to get a good table we have to cross the river and play in Quebec. That sucks almost as much as barboxes.
 
If the bar boxes are in a pool hall then its perfectly ok, but you dont want to go into a bar with all that equipment, one because it may get stolen, two the competition usually doesn't warrant it, and three you will have zero chance of getting laid when you leave. We have some pubs/bars with 9ft tables and I dont even carry it in there excpet once when some drunk college guy wanted to play 100 a game 8 ball. But usually i dont.

also, bar boxes are for people with little skill and no stroke. they are the great equalizer
 
HitHrdNDraw said:
If the bar boxes are in a pool hall then its perfectly ok, but you dont want to go into a bar with all that equipment, one because it may get stolen, two the competition usually doesn't warrant it, and three you will have zero chance of getting laid when you leave.
Click to expand...

maybe thats why my wife says its ok :D
 
Neil said:
I'll tell you what I just told Cuetechasaurus, I'd like to be there when you say that to Keith McCready.
Click to expand...
Tell him what............... that there arent any bar boxes over here?????
Why would that bother him:confused:
 
I disagree with you

I grew up on 8 and 9 footers (and Snooker table too), and I play and enjoy Bar boxes (the oversized 7 footer) more.

Because:
1) Don't have to use the damn crutch all the time. (I am 5'7")
2) If you know how to play shape, you only have to worry about
what the shots your opponent leaves you.
3) Playing safe is much easier on a bit table, you only have to send the ball to the other end unless you are playing a world beater.
4) Big tables roll a lot faster than a Bar box, so it doesn't take that much stroke, only a good stroke.
5) I don't have the patience for 1-pocket anymore. I don't want to spend a long long time playing 1 game.
6) I have played 45 years, I am not there to practice, I am there to make money or play in a tournament.

Never takes me more than a week to get back acclimated to a big table.
In fact, I am not a scaredity cat, I switched from a bar box (he couldn't beat me there) to a big table (when I hadn't been on one for 2 years) playing $400 sets.

And I like to know what is going out of my pocket as I play, so if I am short of money, I don't end up finding out I got a $20-50 table tab after
the fact.
 
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I've walked into bars with my big cue case. Then unpacked my playing cue, breaking cue, table side cue holder. Then cleaned my shaft - scuffed and chalked my tip, etc...

Then NOBODY wants to play me!

So I got sneaky... I got a sneaky pete (Predator with 314 shaft) which plays exactly like my other fancy cue. And I got a cheap one-cue case.

Now they see I'm playing with a "house cue" and no problem.

Then the other night there were three guys playing and one guy kept winning. No one wanted to play him anymore. So I said I'll play.

Then I played two games and easily won both, then no one want to play anymore. So I said "I'm done, you guys can play..." Then they decided to play again.

Well at least I got to play 2 games!
 
I grew up playing on 8 and 9 foots. Playing on a bar box, to me, is like going to the dentist. It aint fun. It's impossible to work the cue ball around due to the amount of clusters and limited space to work. The rail bounce and cloth speeds are totally unpreditable and the sum total of all these detracting factors makes it a lot more of a luck game and easier for the lesser player to be the victor.

That's just my 2 cents.
 
I think he was referring to bringing his gear to play on a barbox in a pub or bar that has a single table. Not going to a pool hall that has barboxes.
 
not a fabrication

smokeandapancak said:
...That and the fact that I just feel kinda stupid rolling up to a quarter table with almost 2k worth of equipment in a purtty leather case!! Its kinda like wearing a tux to a bbq.....

Is this preception totally my on fabrication.... or is it ok to wear my tux to the cook out over there!...
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. I used to carry by "big" case around but now I just bring it to tournaments and league. For weekend play, I carry my old Fury DL in a 1-cue case. I wouldn't even do that except that it's hard to find a decent bar cue in any of the places I hang out in.
In my league, there is a guy who was a serious player back in his college days. Every week for league he walks in, grabs a bar cue off the wall, and proceeds to play excellent pool.

Vinnie
--------------
Stroke
 
Yeah, carrying in your own cue can be an effective birth control device! :D


Around here, there is such a wide variety. Some barbox places have a bunch of pool regulars who show up with their own cues and some barbox places have a bunch of pool regulars that don't. It really depends on the crowd.

But either way, there is just something extra great about beating folks with a house cue. :D
 
I think I may have sent the wrong message out in my first post......
I havent ever played a real match on little table.... never seen one in place where i would feel commfy bringing in my gear....I just wanted to make sure it wasnt out of place over there
 
HitHrdNDraw said:
If the bar boxes are in a pool hall then its perfectly ok, but you dont want to go into a bar with all that equipment, one because it may get stolen, two the competition usually doesn't warrant it, and three you will have zero chance of getting laid when you leave. We have some pubs/bars with 9ft tables and I dont even carry it in there excpet once when some drunk college guy wanted to play 100 a game 8 ball. But usually i dont.

also, bar boxes are for people with little skill and no stroke. they are the great equalizer
Click to expand...
So I guess that means that you really CAN'T play pool if you loose to a lesser player on a bar box...right? A "TRUE" pool player can play on any kind of pool table and not cry about the equipment!

Glen
 
smokeandapancak said:
Over here where I live it is very hard to find a bar box anywhere... only in clubs or bars, where the focus isnt anywhere near pool. Every single pool room is chocked full of 9 ft tables.... I have yet to find a hall with a coin op table.
I got back into playing since i have been over here (01) and have gotten pretty hardcore lately (last two years). During this time I havent been exposed to bar boxes at all..... and this worries me b/c it seems like most of the places back home only have the little tables (save for a few rooms). I know it should be easier to shoot on 'em, but I had a tough time adjusting during my recent trip Stateside. That and the fact that I just feel kinda stupid rolling up to a quarter table with almost 2k worth of equipment in a purtty leather case!! Its kinda like wearing a tux to a bbq.....

Is this preception totally my on fabrication.... or is it ok to wear my tux to the cook out over there!

p.s i dont want to sound like a snob or anything ... thats just how it is here!!
Click to expand...
Are you saying your mad because you only find bar boxes.....in bars?

You have it made. I wish there were nothing but nines here. So I am stuck playing in bars.
 
smokeandapancak said:
I think I may have sent the wrong message out in my first post......
I havent ever played a real match on little table.... never seen one in place where i would feel commfy bringing in my gear....I just wanted to make sure it wasnt out of place over there
Click to expand...

It's just fine! When there are tournaments, everybody brings in the heavy "artillery". Fancy expensive cues, big cue cases, etc.

But just playing for fun on a Saturday night or whatever and no good players are there - just "bar bangers", then they might be reluctant to play you if they see all the fancy equipment.

And then keep a constant watch on your cues. I put my sneaky pete in my case when not playing and take it to the bathroom with me. They would pick it up with a quickness if I left it unattended and then break with it. Or it could walk away.
 
belmicah said:
Are you saying your mad because you only find bar boxes.....in bars?

You have it made. I wish there were nothing but nines here. So I am stuck playing in bars.
Click to expand...

No no........ not mad ... its just that the scene back home is all boxes ....APA style ...... I would like to start playing on some boxes to get a little time in but i cant find anything here......and 9fts are hard to find there...

I was mainly wondering if people actually break out the gear to play on the coin ops.... over here you would be laughed out of the place if rolled in and set up 2 cues and a j/b and blah blah blah ... That is what I have dealt with for the last 6 years s its kinda rubbed off on me...
 
smokeandapancak said:
Over here where I live it is very hard to find a bar box anywhere... only in clubs or bars, where the focus isnt anywhere near pool. Every single pool room is chocked full of 9 ft tables.... I have yet to find a hall with a coin op table.
I got back into playing since i have been over here (01) and have gotten pretty hardcore lately (last two years). During this time I havent been exposed to bar boxes at all..... and this worries me b/c it seems like most of the places back home only have the little tables (save for a few rooms). I know it should be easier to shoot on 'em, but I had a tough time adjusting during my recent trip Stateside. That and the fact that I just feel kinda stupid rolling up to a quarter table with almost 2k worth of equipment in a purtty leather case!! Its kinda like wearing a tux to a bbq.....

Is this preception totally my on fabrication.... or is it ok to wear my tux to the cook out over there!

p.s i dont want to sound like a snob or anything ... thats just how it is here!!
Click to expand...

ha that's all they had at this place i used to go to but it was hard to complain it was free. i know what you mean though. it made my game real shakey too shooting all time on smaller tables made bigger tables feel like snooker tables. i don't do it anymore unless i'm trying to win cash or drinks
 
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