Barbox Suprise!

Chicken_Blood

Chicken_Blood

Carpe Poultry
Silver Member
I had something weird happen to me. I have moved to a small country town that only has barbox tables (Bad cloth, dead rails, out of level, dirty balls, etc). At first I thought that my game would get worse (I normally play on immaculately maintained equipment).
Funny thing is, that after playing on these barbox tables exclusively for about two months I found that my game had moved up a level. I went back home and played on the 8’ and 9’ tables and just killed them.
Here is what I think happened. I have always played with great equipment (Great tables, custom cue, etc). I think I got lazy playing with equipment that was always in great condition; I mean I didn’t have to worry about dirty cloth, dirty balls, roll offs or dead rails. Playing on unforgiving tables has made me pay more attention to my basics.
 
Chicken_Blood said:
I had something weird happen to me. I have moved to a small country town that only has barbox tables (Bad cloth, dead rails, out of level, dirty balls, etc). At first I thought that my game would get worse (I normally play on immaculately maintained equipment).
Funny thing is, that after playing on these barbox tables exclusively for about two months I found that my game had moved up a level. I went back home and played on the 8’ and 9’ tables and just killed them.
Here is what I think happened. I have always played with great equipment (Great tables, custom cue, etc). I think I got lazy playing with equipment that was always in great condition; I mean I didn’t have to worry about dirty cloth, dirty balls, roll offs or dead rails. Playing on unforgiving tables has made me pay more attention to my basics.
Click to expand...

Another thing I think alot of people forget about when it comes to playing 9ball on a barbox vs plaing on a 9footer is the fact that it can bring up your safety game, and cluster breaking skills. If you can run out on consistenly on a barbox with all that crap in your way and small space to manuver in, you will feel as free as a bird when you move to a 9footer. You have to be more precise with your position play as well. One drawback is the long shots though. You can't get practice on those long green shots.
 
Chicken_Blood said:
I had something weird happen to me. I have moved to a small country town that only has barbox tables (Bad cloth, dead rails, out of level, dirty balls, etc). At first I thought that my game would get worse (I normally play on immaculately maintained equipment).
Funny thing is, that after playing on these barbox tables exclusively for about two months I found that my game had moved up a level. I went back home and played on the 8’ and 9’ tables and just killed them.
Here is what I think happened. I have always played with great equipment (Great tables, custom cue, etc). I think I got lazy playing with equipment that was always in great condition; I mean I didn’t have to worry about dirty cloth, dirty balls, roll offs or dead rails. Playing on unforgiving tables has made me pay more attention to my basics.
Click to expand...

I hope we helped...:)

My buddies want me to cover my table with Simonis, but I keep it a little dirty, a little rough with a few worn spots, etc. I also intentionally keep the lighting a little dim, so as to emulate bar conditions. I do this to keep myself in practice for the conditions I'll encounter out in the real pool world.

I'd prefer a perfect table at home, but I think some of the value of it would be lost if I made it that way. Maybe if I bought a bigger house I could have several tables in various conditions and practice approriately...nah, then I'd just have to maintain them. Too many toys take too much time.

Jeff Livingston
 
Probably because on good equipment you are expecting a certain result, so you are not too worried about how you are going to get there. On a table with uncertainties though it makes you pay more attention to how hard you hit the balls, to what area, off of what rail, adjusting for the table roll, etc. etc.

So when you come back to a table that plays well you are so in tune with controlling speed and stuff that you play better than you did before. Does that makes sense or am I crazy for thinking that way?
 
I play better 9ball on a 10foot snooker table than I do on a 9foot with generous pockets. I think the reason for this is that I have so much room to run the cueball around with that I never really have to worry about getting hooked on the next ball or running into something on the way.
 
christopheradam said:
Another thing I think alot of people forget about when it comes to playing 9ball on a barbox vs plaing on a 9footer is the fact that it can bring up your safety game, and cluster breaking skills. If you can run out on consistenly on a barbox with all that crap in your way and small space to manuver in, you will feel as free as a bird when you move to a 9footer. You have to be more precise with your position play as well. One drawback is the long shots though. You can't get practice on those long green shots.
Click to expand...

Chris,
Well, if you only have a 9 footer at home, you can do what I do - put out 30 balls at a time instead of 15. You still have all the traffic, but also have the long shots to contend with. Try the grid drill with a ball at the intersection of every diamond (and also on the rail next to each diamond) - it requires 39 object balls. Try to shoot them all off without touching another ball. When you can succeed you are ready for the tour.
 
Williebetmore said:
Chris,
Well, if you only have a 9 footer at home, you can do what I do - put out 30 balls at a time instead of 15. You still have all the traffic, but also have the long shots to contend with. Try the grid drill with a ball at the intersection of every diamond (and also on the rail next to each diamond) - it requires 39 object balls. Try to shoot them all off without touching another ball. When you can succeed you are ready for the tour.
Click to expand...
Better yet, try the Matrix. It's in the Pro Skill Drills book.
 
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