Do you carry your own cue ball to pool halls??

The_JV

'AZB_Combat Certified'
Bring your own rocks into my local spot and you are clearly 'Nerd of the Day'. ;)
What do the guys at your local hall call the dudes that spend ~500 on a CF shaft or a >1500 cue that doesn't make them a lick better...?....lol. Just busting your chops, and I remember being one of those guys who would scoff at the dudes bringing in their own snooker balls. That said, and fast forward 30yrs and I've had to justify my 'road set' to my buddies. I use that comparison, and it typically shuts them up.

Nothing worse than playing with a off weight, off dimension CB. What are the measle CBs worth ~$40...?
 

ChopStick

Unsane Poster
Silver Member
Yes. I even have a separate case for it that clips onto my cue case. Here's why and how to check it for yourself. Poolroom cueballs are smaller than regulation size. The older the ball, the more it is off. Cueballs get dirtier, more chalk on them, than the rest of the balls. Chalk is an abrasive. When the balls are cleaned, it wears them down over the years. Take two object balls and put them on the rail with some space between them for the cue ball to fit. Take the rack or any straight edge and put it on top of the balls. Pass the cueball under the edge between the balls. The poolroom cueball will pass under the edge clean without touching because it is worn down smaller than the rest of the balls. A new cueball will not do that. It will stick because it is the same size as all the other balls.

Also, for you guys that play on bar tables, If the table is on a tile or concrete floor, I can guarantee that the cue ball is not round. It will have flat spots on it because of all the times it has jumped the table and bounced across the floor.
 

easy-e

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
For tournaments it should be a hard "no". For practice, why not bring the ball you're trying to get used to? I bought a set of cyclop balls for the home table because I wanted to get used to them for the league I was playing in.
 

pw98

Registered
Should I get one??
You might want to if the cue balls at your pool hall are super worn out. At one pool hall around here they have Red Circle cue balls that must be 2-3mm small than the object balls. They are hard to follow and way too easy to draw. Which causes me to screw up position constantly. I've found that if I use a measle cue ball that isn't worn out my shot making goes way up (it seems easier to aim correctly) and my cue ball control does too.
 

The_JV

'AZB_Combat Certified'
the APA rule book says you must use what is supplied by the house
WOW. APA actually has a rule i agree with. Miracles never cease.
I've actually had a run in with this rule. In my experience the only opponent that opts to use the garbage ball is the guy trying to pull a move. I would never consider using my full set on league night. That said, what I would do before league began was walk around the room in search for a good CB, and swap out the garbage one on our table.

Mouthbreathers a couple of years ago decided to dump all the sets into the sink and wash them together. Zero chance to get a matching set ever since.
 

Z-Nole

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I’ve reached the age where I don’t give two shits what people think about what I do or don’t do. It took me one or two APA matches as an alternate to realize that wasn’t for me but I can understand the cue ball rule for them, amd if I was gambling I wouldn’t want to play with the other guys cue ball. Cornerman will disagree but the place I play has fantastic gold crowns with David Gregory replaced rails and centennial balls, but some of the cue balls are a little dinged up. So bought my own. Who cares, right?
I also catch a ton of shit because I bought my own cigar ash tray and leave it there. Who wants to put a nice cigar in those dirty old ash trays??
 

The_JV

'AZB_Combat Certified'
I’ve reached the age where I don’t give two shits what people think about what I do or don’t do. It took me one or two APA matches as an alternate to realize that wasn’t for me but I can understand the cue ball rule for them, amd if I was gambling I wouldn’t want to play with the other guys cue ball.
Nice, and I agree...

However I think you may be surprised at how often potential action opponents jump at the chance not just to use a decent CB but a full new set. Everytime I even mention that I had a new set in my car. The guy I'm gambling with typical is in shock I didn't bring them in right away...lol. Much like everyone wants to play on the newly clothed table, so do they want to play with a quality set of balls.
 

FrankieD

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm bumping this thread. I never thought I'd be the guy to bring balls to a pool room, but I am slowly becoming a full fledged equipment snob. I had my first singles play league last night at a bar that I had not ever been. They had 4 Diamond barboxes, but the balls were absolute junk. They were hands down the worst, mismatched, filthy, clay looking pool balls I had ever seen. The cut shots seemed to play weird and the rack wouldn't get tight.

I woke up this morning and bought an Aramith pool ball case. Screw it, I'm bringing my own set next week. Whoever I play will share in the luxury and I am going to play ignorant to any ACS rules forbidding me from bringing my own set.

What do you think? Is this a butthead move or the right play?
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm bumping this thread. I never thought I'd be the guy to bring balls to a pool room, but I am slowly becoming a full fledged equipment snob. I had my first singles play league last night at a bar that I had not ever been. They had 4 Diamond barboxes, but the balls were absolute junk. They were hands down the worst, mismatched, filthy, clay looking pool balls I had ever seen. The cut shots seemed to play weird and the rack wouldn't get tight.

I woke up this morning and bought an Aramith pool ball case. Screw it, I'm bringing my own set next week. Whoever I play will share in the luxury and I am going to play ignorant to any ACS rules forbidding me from bringing my own set.

What do you think? Is this a butthead move or the right play?

Drop some hints to the bar manager about how cheap and good Dynaspheres are as well as to whoever does the league.
 
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WobblyStroke

Well-known member
Forgot which book I read about this in, but there was a guy that used his case CB as a hustle. He got one that was the right size but was just under regulation weight. For the high level of play of those money matches, by the time his opponents got used to the CB reacting that little bit differently and throwing off their shape, he had enough of an edge to beat guys better than him.

As for actual good balls, I play em sometimes as a cpl guys I play bring their own. I need to hit with em for like 10min before our sets just to get used to the decreased throw, esp long distance when balls are close together and the OB has to travel the length of the table. Filthy poolhall balls just behave different. The adjustments for throw are massive in comparison to a pristine set. I do have an emergency CB at home just in case but I don't go to spots where I need to bring it.
 

FrankieD

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Drop some hints to the bar manager about how cheap and good Dynaspheres are as well as to whoever does the league.
Good idea. It's also less selfish. I am new to this bar and this league operator, so I feel a little weird having such strong a opinion as kind of a nobody.
 

FrankieD

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Forgot which book I read about this in, but there was a guy that used his case CB as a hustle. He got one that was the right size but was just under regulation weight. For the high level of play of those money matches, by the time his opponents got used to the CB reacting that little bit differently and throwing off their shape, he had enough of an edge to beat guys better than him.

As for actual good balls, I play em sometimes as a cpl guys I play bring their own. I need to hit with em for like 10min before our sets just to get used to the decreased throw, esp long distance when balls are close together and the OB has to travel the length of the table. Filthy poolhall balls just behave different. The adjustments for throw are massive in comparison to a pristine set. I do have an emergency CB at home just in case but I don't go to spots where I need to bring it.

With your conscious awareness of the difference in playability, would you still prefer the clean premium set if you did not have 10 - 15 minutes to warm up first?
 

WobblyStroke

Well-known member
With your conscious awareness of the difference in playability, would you still prefer the clean premium set if you did not have 10 - 15 minutes to warm up first?
If I thought I could make up the difference of a few missed balls I'd regularly make then ye I'd go with the clean set. I mean, if I could get 5min that would be enough, I'd just have to hit nothing but the max throw type shots and see how they're moving.
 
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FrankieD

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I appreciate it. I will make sure my opponent gets at least a few minutes with the set to ensure we're on the same page. It only seems fair.
 

rjb1168

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
If you go to league night and the vendor has a $5.00 cue ball for the table that plays like crap,
Then you would bring your own when you are the home team. You just can't move the ball around
with English like you can with my aramith cue ball. I have played away match's that had a bad ball and
when the match was over while putting my stuff away I switched my ball for their ball without anyone
knowing. Then on the way home it went in the river! I just bought a new one for our team. This is a bar
league playing on barbox valley's. That was years ago, now they usually have red dot Aramith but I still
bring mine when we are home.
 

Benelli

Well-known member
I play with predators at home and found when visiting rooms on business trips that either the cue ball was crap or I could not read it as well as I could the pred CB.

Bought a spare pred CB, and a Ballsak carrier that I clip on my laptop bag, and even though I may be using house cues at least having my preferred CB makes any practice and play feel more productive.

So yeah, I guess I'm a CB Nerd/Snob now...
 
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