Best U.S. Pool Rooms (For Equipment)

cardiac kid said:
Best Billiards in Vegas is awfully nice!

Lyn
Click to expand...

Last time I was in Vegas (Nov 2013) the 9-footers desperately needed new cloth. I think the restaurant section is closed; too bad, it had good food.

Equipment is only as good as the maintenance it gets.
 
Last edited:
So sorry for your bad experience. Hard Times just had all their tables installed with Artemus Germany rubber and covered with 860 Simonis by Ernesto Dominguez, in Dec 2013.

The left side of the room still has 5 inch pockets, but you either could not get a table on the right side of the room or in the tournament room. There are 8 tables in front that are set up just as the tournament room. New Rails for the 16 tables.

Also, unless you ask for them, Centennials are reserved. ProCup balls are also reserved for the tournament room ball sets only.

Those 'cheapo' racks are old, but are still very functional. The old ball sets (18 of them) also are in the process of being replaced. These do cause inconsistencies in racking.

I don't know how 2 month old cloth can be called 'shabby'. An inspection will be made.

arcticmonkey said:
At Hard Times, is the equipment on the left side of the room different to that on the right? I was there last week and played on a few 9ft tables on the left and was not impressed by the equipment at all. The balls had chips in them, the racks were cheapo plastic, each table had several roll-off spots and the pockets and cloth were shabby.
Click to expand...
 
staypuff578 said:
Hard times billiards in Sacramento has 41 Gold Crown III's, two valley barboxes, arcade games, and great food. I think they're one of the best I've ever been to.
Click to expand...

I have to second this... Hardtimes Sacramento is the best! Tons of tables, great people, and very nice food/beer selection. Plus they just had Ernesto Dominguez replace all their cloth & rails. Tight Gold Crowns with new rails and Simonis --- I'm a REAL happy camper. Best tables I've ever played on and those tight pockets really bring out the best in my game. Everywhere else looks like buckets comparatively.
 
Last edited:
kollegedave said:
I know there has been a thread or two about the best rooms in the U.S. However, when people post their "best" rooms they are inevitably placing different values on the quality or quantity of action in a room, the menu, tournaments or lack thereof, etc.

I would like to know what rooms are the best if you were to consider only a room's equipment.

I have limited experience in rooms across the country, but I can't imagine places keep better equipment than Shooters in Olathe, KS and Amsterdam Billiards in NYC.

What places have top notch equipment that I am missing?

kollegedave
Click to expand...

First of all, Dave, it was great seeing you at the Derby.

Equipment means different things to different people. To me, it means all of these: tables, balls, house cues, bridges, and the overhead table lights. Whether all of these are maintained, kept clean, and replaced where necessary, is also of pertinence.

I'm going to have to agree that Amsterdam Billiards has fantastic equipment! It is just one of many reasons I love playing there.

If rooms having both billiards and pool are considered, I'd also give a shout out to Carom Café, Sang Lee and Michael Kang's room in Queens, New York.
 
markgw said:
Gary's Victor Billiards in Victorville California has great equipment!! A diamond from the Mosconi Cup in 2010. He has Gold Crown 5's that play perfect!! Rare that you find tables that are that well taken care of. Gary Henry really takes care of his tables and his patrons for that matter!!
Click to expand...

That is a great room. Staff treats you more than right very friendly. Place is clean, tables, lights everything is really nice.
 
Last edited:
I have great access to two fine poolhalls/sportsbars in Albuquerque. Doc & Eddy's has new Diamonds, 8-9' and 8-7', and a pretty good menu. New management is giving it a good shot to make Doc's the finest poolhall in the SW. But Slate St. in Rio Rancho, a suburb, is also a fine spot to play pool on 15-9' Gold Crowns and they also have a pretty good menu. I have regular games and play in tournaments at both, so I feel pretty fortunate.
 
Mr. Cues 2 in Atlanta Ga. 9ft and 8ft Gold Crowns.

6 Pockets in Decatur Al. This is a new room with new 7ft and 9ft Diamonds with plenty of space between them.

At home in Chattanooga, both Diamond Billiards and Chattanooga Billiard Club East (8ft and 9ft GC's)
 
I am going to second that! Gary Victor Billiards in Victorville is a fun place to play! We just were there and played on a great Gold Crown 5. It was right by the front door and a wonderful breeze was coming in the door, really great equipment! It was clean, un crowded, plenty of room between the tables. A must if you are in the area!
 
In Portland OR I would say Sam's Billiards has the best tables. They also have a full size snooker table which are fairly hard to come by around here. They have a ton of 9ft tables and a couple of 8 foot tables as well. They take very good care of their equipment and host league nights and tournaments. They also make their drinks extremely strong. You can't go wrong shooting there.
 
Speaking solely equipment , shooters in Grayslake IL has 16 9 foot blue label diamond pro-ams and 6 diamond bar boxes.

But we also have people that don't know where the rack goes- saw this over the weekend. I was going to say something but then also noticed they were breaking from the wrong side (with ball return tables) - think about for a moment and te steps involved.
image.jpg
 
I wold say, in the dc area...coryindc's house is the best.

The pool rooms here have shown absolutely no effort or concern to provide great conditions. The only exception I can think of was first break's purchase of all new diamonds, but the balls are 2nd tier and do not get cleaned often. Cloth there is also pretty old between changes.

That said, I don't pay the bills. I am sure I'd have a different perspective, if I did.:shrug:
 
I found five Diamond 7' smart tables in the Longbranch in Belgium, Illinois recently. Very well taken care of and isolated in their own playing area.
 
Virginia Tech's pool hall on campus is by far the best college pool hall out there. I might even lean towards saying it's #2 in VA, behind Q-Masters.

16 Gold Crown's III/IV/V's(?) (1 double-shimmed, 1 triple), 1 Diamond Pro-Am, and a 6x12 snooker table. All leveled and re-felted yearly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top