Bar Table

[Cardinal_Syn]

I swearI freakin laugh at people who act like a bunch of bad asses just cause they can pocket a few balls on them bar tables. I ain't no pro by any means but to play on a bar table and a regular table there's alot of differences. I think by plahing playing on a bar tbale it'll probably take your game down a notch or so. I swear i had some pitcher of beeres played on them "bar" tables and ran a nineball rack just like that which on a regular table is really hard work for me. Maybe it's because of it's smaller size and bigger pockets. But to me playing on a regular table really pays off. When i was still in college and played on them bar tables everyday then played on the regular table was jsut nasty. Too hard. Never again will i play on a bar table only maybe if i was just socialising just like today.

 

[amateur]

Very few percent of guys who play regularly on bar boxes are any good on a 9 footer. There are exceptions, but most of them have a hard time potting from longer distances. Also, watching them use a mechanical bridge is too funny...

But running a rack of 8ball can be a problem on small tables because you might not get the chance to do that very often. You need decent safety and strategy skills to excel in 8ball on a small table. There are also some bar tables which have rather small pockets...like those Valley tables. But even on those, pocketing is still easier than on 9 foot tables from my experience.

Anyway, I find regulation tables far more enjoyable to play on.

Can playing on bar boxes here or there hurt your 9 foot table game? I think not really as long as you don't screw up your fundamentals.

 

[Celtic]

I gotta disagree Amateur, a good safety game was pretty meaningless in the finals of the BCA masters last year between Brian Groce and Tyler Edey. You pretty much had to ero every single break you had in that match or you lost. Tyler missed one shot in the set, Brian never missed in the race to 7 and won 7-4.

Plus sure there are people who can shoot on a bar box but how good are they really if they cannot shoot on a 9-foot? The best players I know on a bar box are still the best players I know on a 9-foot. Go play a bar box champ like Kevin Cardinal on a bar box and after you lose a couple sets sucker him into playing on a 9-foot and lose afew more sets when you find out the guy just shoots great pool (ask Archer and Varner about this bar box champ, they know him from the Northern Lights tourney). If a guy is the best bar box player in his city chances are he will beat most of the city on the 9-foot as well. Sure you get those guys that are in the top 50-100 best players on a bar box that cannot shoot a lick on a 9-foot but do those people matter anyways? And are those guys not still getting their asses kicked on the bar box by 9-foot specialists who just shoot good on either table?

Maybe it is just me but anyone I was better then on a bar box I was also better then on a 9-foot and anyone I was better then on a 9-foot would also not likely beat me on a bar box as well.

 

[Perk]

I agree to a point regarding the majority of bar box bangers. But, bar box PLAYERS are different. They have learned the game and can play it on any size table. Here in michigan, you almost have to play on bar tables to enjoy a bunch of good tourneys. Trust me, there are a bunch of bar table champions flying around here that do really well on the 9' tables. Even beating alot of the known pros. For some doubters out there, feel free to visit and play a few of them on both tables.

Personally, I find that I play about the same on a 9' as a 7' table. The main difference for me is kicking balls. I kick fairly proficient on a 7' table, but I seem to lose some consistency on a 9' table. As far as potting balls and moving around the table, I dont have that many problems. Also, I seem to perform better playing 9ball on a big table than a little one. Only because I break the balls really good on a 9' table, and tend to scratch alot on a 7'.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Cue of Fury]

It's not the table, it is the skill of the player!