Bar Table • Heavy Cue Balls • Pool Tips •

[JoeyA]

I play on 9 foot Diamond Tables almost exclusively and when I go to the little 7 foot tables, you would think that it would be an easy transition, but for me, it's not.

I was wondering if some of you good bar table players who play on both would mind offering some good advice for quickly adjusting to the bar tables.

Please refrain from the traditional poke in the ribs, "Don't miss" and such. I'm hoping that maybe myself and others in the future might profit from this thread.

I would like to know what you have to do to make your game more consistent on the bar table, especially if you are used to playing on the larger tables.

I'll start it off by mentioning a couple of things that others have shared with me and you probably already know but look forward to hearing A COUPLE OF YOUR BEST adjustments that you make.

1. Most shots are easy on bar tables because the distance to the object ball is never that far away, so take a slightly off angle shot instead of trying to make perfect shape. (Don't know about this one).

2. The corner pockets are your friend as they are normally large in size and forgiving. Try to avoid the side pockets.

All right, now you bar table champs, post your ♫GOLDEN SÈCRETS ♫

Best Regards,
JoeyA

 

[The Saw]

Toughest thing for me to adjust to is the rails and CB. I like to take the CB and 2 object balls and practice 3 cushion billiards, even 2 cushions, to lock down the CB, rails and speed all at once......

 

[WoodyJ]

1. Bring a magnetic cue ball of your own and use it whenever possible.

http://www.poolndarts.com/index.cfm...10D&Fuseaction=Catalog.Product&productID=3606

2. I play league on barboxes. Have a 9' at home plus recently I picked up a cheap used barbox off craigslist to practice on.

3. Book: The Eight Ball Bible (written for barbox play)

4. When playing with a barbox rock cue ball. Draw is your enemy and follow is your friend.

5. If barbox rules are in play and safeties are considered chicken$hit pool, (a) look for two-way shots and (b) miss on purpose when you can't run out (to say break up a cluster or block a pocket).

 

[Mike Templeton]

Forget about the side pockets. There will be obvious shots there, but you are usually better off to go ahead and play position for the corners. With the easier shots in corner pockets, there is usually more success not playing the more precise position for the sides...

Mike

 

[hbend]

One cheap easy fix is buying an Aramith magnetic ball. Pretty close in weight and feel as a standard ball, but won't get stuck in the table. I carry one in my bag, cuz I hate trying to control a mud ball.

Edit: Guess Woody beat me to this one!

 

[hbend]

Another one that has bitten me in the ass more times than I can count is: Don't Slow Roll Anything! More often than not the table is not level and the ball will inevitably drift away from your target line.

 

[JoeyA]

Very nice.....

Very nice information so far...... Thanks!

 

[justaguy]

or here...

http://www.azbmarketplace.com/products/Green_Logo_Aramith_Cue_Ball-402-0.html

 

[Fatboy]

JoeyA,

here is my breif story, I hope you learn something from it. I sure did.

I didnt hit a ball on a bar box for 5 yrs and that night i played one game, before that It had been well over 10 years, i never liked the small box.

tattoo shop I go to has a barbox, guys there like to play(they think i'm a champion-LOL) I'm honest and tell them my real speed-there is zero action. So one night I was going there earily to play a guy who works there. I took my player cue-with a med triangle tip on it. within 30 minutes I had a flat triangle tip, i wasnt happy. the cue i was playing with is a soft hitting cue, much the oppsite of a SW. It was horrible cue was to flexable for the heavy CB and my poor tip went RIP when I got back to Vegas.

Solution: I bought a stiffer cue with harder tips, now I get great action on the CB and the tip stays nice and crowned. And the bar box there has dead rails so you really have to pound it some times to get the distance you like, forget using spin to go long off a rail, if you spin the CB and it hits a rail it just kills the spin and the rock stops shortly there after. It really needs to be thrown away and replaced. But I like the guys there so I play for 30-60 minutes(when I go there), give lessions-like how to put chalk on the right way etc. I bought them all good decal cues and 2 better cues, they treat them good. So I got them all fired up and now they play alot more and ask questions etc. Anything to put cues in peoples hands. back to the tip/CB thing:


to sum it up, my player that I use daily on a big table was a POS on the small box with the heavy rock, with a regular rock on a Diamond smart table and a measles CB it would be deadly. So match the tip to the CB is my suggestion, I had to buy a cue cause mine was like spagetti with the heavy ball.

 

[Johnnyt]

Stop-shots, Stun-shots. Try not to have to go anound the world for position. A 7' standard Valley is all pocket=air=scratch a lot. In 9-ball try to go up and down table short rail to short rail. With all balls on the table position must be good, if not pin-point. Even when there is only a few balls left on the table; they can become BIG balls fast when going long on position because you don't have much table to work with. I've never read the 8-ball bible, but those that have says its good.

Someone needs to come out with a book or dvd on tips playing on 7' Diamond tables. It a different game on them. Johnnyt

 

[coolcue]

On a 9ft table you have a lot of space to work with so when you get on a bar table there seems to be more tight clutter to work around. And of course the heavier CB requires some adjustments also.

 

[Big Perm]

Joey,

My keys to success on the bar table:

Stop shots - as often as possible
Limited english - keep it simple - follow, draw, stop
Cue ball control - keep whitey still
Think simple patterns
Break out clusters early and often

That's all I got :thumbup:

 

[supergreenman]

Joey,

My keys to success on the bar table:

Stop shots - as often as possible
Limited english - keep it simple - follow, draw, stop
Cue ball control - keep whitey still
Think simple patterns
Break out clusters early and often

That's all I got :thumbup:

Really this is the first post that has had any real good advice.

14.1 players I find have the easiest transition to a bar box just because they are used to CONTROLLING THE CB.

I'd like to add a couple of points to Big Perms list.
- clear out the balls on the side of the table the 8 ball is on first.
- move up one side of the table and down the other as you work your pattern using the side pockets for the transition.
- don't bump balls
- really, don't bump balls
-really really, don't bump balls unless you need a break out
- since I repeated a couple of points, I'll repeat what Big Perm said, keep it simple. use stop shots and natural ball paths, try to avoid using more than 2 rails to get shape.
- firm confident strokes and little or no slow rolling a ball.

As for bringing your own Cue ball. Yeah right!!!!! Do you think I'm going to let you use your own cue ball if you're playing against me? How about in a tournament? Not likely.

 

[SPINDOKTOR]

Roll the balls in the hole, my only advice for a would be Bar boxer but U also might want a cue with a smaller diameter tip, when I played only on BAR boxes I used 11.5mm Elk Masters and the cue weight was around 19.5 oz..I use 18 oz on 9 footers with a 12.5mm tip

Joey,

My keys to success on the bar table:

Stop shots - as often as possible
Limited english - keep it simple - follow, draw, stop
Cue ball control - keep whitey still
Think simple patterns
Break out clusters early and often

That's all I got :thumbup:

 

[supergreenman]

Roll the balls in the hole, my only advice for a would be Bar boxer but U also might want a cue with a smaller diameter tip, when I played only on BAR boxes I used 11.5mm Elk Masters and the cue weight was around 19.5 oz..I use 18 oz on 9 footers with a 12.5mm tip

I've seen more players miss shots because of unintended spin caused by small diameter tips.

It happens so often I actually smile when I see an opponent walk to the table with a snooker cue or a cue with a small diameter tip.

Seriously, novice players especially should stay away from cues with small diameter tips.

 

[Fieldhammer]

I find that less cue ball movement is key to success on a bar box. Select patterns that minimize cue ball movement.

For example, settle for a longer shot where you can shoot a stop shot rather than a short cut shot where you have to move the cue ball a foot or two and bounce off one cushion.

I wrote an article about the adjustment from a 9' to 7' table a few months ago.

http://www.billiardcoach.com/home/2009/11/19/billiards-big-table-to-bar-box

 

[SPINDOKTOR]

idk I mean I wouldnt tell someone thats a novice to not play with a smaller diameter tip. My first cue had a 11 mm tip and I learned just as easy or difficult as any other player..

when you learn the game, use one cue but a bar box cue on a normal everyday barbox is going to be a lil differnt for me than a simonis clothed 9 footer, granted you can learn to play with anything, and unwanted spin is a good excuse as any for a missed shot...Im saying, the tip size isnt as important as tip placement, so if a guy missed a shot cause he hit the cue ball bad, he would have missed it likely with a larger diameter tip too...

I've seen more players miss shots because of unintended spin caused by small diameter tips.

It happens so often I actually smile when I see an opponent walk to the table with a snooker cue or a cue with a small diameter tip.

Seriously, novice players especially should stay away from cues with small diameter tips.

 

[Blackball75]

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=180941

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=180064

 

[Myk]

Joey, I switch from a TOUGH 9 foot Olhausen to loose bar boxes every week. The biggest thing that helps me while adjusting to the speed of the smaller tables is to use the big corner pockets to allow myself to hit a ball fatter or thinner to control how far whitey rolls after contact.

And as many others have said, keep it simple with very little spin.

 

[boggs41076]

It's hard to add anything now without repeating some of the above advice but here goes.

I try to play patterns that will offer natural position with minimal english and cb movement. I always try to keep from letting the cb go to try and get shape at all cost if it does mean shooting a longer shot and i always stay away from banking unless it is the last ball , the 8. The barbox in the bar i play on sometimes has extremely dead rails and is a terror to bank on.