Feedback Wanted: Actively Managed Pool Hall/Table Finder

D

djn014

New member
Hi everyone!

Long story short, I've always had trouble finding go-to resources for reliable information on places to play pool. So, I wanted to work towards a reliable U.S. map of places to play pool, whether it be at a bar, a dedicated pool hall, or even a bowling alley. I'm working daily on improving my pool hall finder, and doing a lot of manual work to get the initial product up and running.

Eventually, the goal is to lean on the awesome pool community to assist in keeping things up to date and providing information regarding these location. Due to the nature of Google, and the world in general, it will likely not ever be 100% up to date, but all reasonable people would understand that is impossible. But, the goal is to be as close to 100% as possible!

I would love for you to test out my Pool Hall Finder and share any ideas you'd like so we can help better our pool-loving community!
 
Are you aware of this thread and site?

GoPlayPool US Pool Rooms Directory Sponsored by AZ Billiards

2nd UPDATE to the original Post: All zip codes finalized and as promised, "Nearby Search" is now available both on the desktop/mobile and The App. Much Easier to find locations and listings close to where you are. Featured Rooms section is also added to The App. It is also on the Home...
forums.azbilliards.com
 
Bob Jewett said:
Are you aware of this thread and site?

GoPlayPool US Pool Rooms Directory Sponsored by AZ Billiards

2nd UPDATE to the original Post: All zip codes finalized and as promised, "Nearby Search" is now available both on the desktop/mobile and The App. Much Easier to find locations and listings close to where you are. Featured Rooms section is also added to The App. It is also on the Home...
forums.azbilliards.com
Click to expand...

I have seen this tool, yes! It's a great idea, hopefully it comes through.
 
Just checked the site on Android phone. I think it's really nice! Something like this for Europe would be great as well as it can be hard to find a decent table.

-When I select a city and a distance I kind of expect the window to zoom in and out accordingly. Now nothing seems to happen when I select a different distance. I would also like to click a "search" button. I.e. You select the town, a distance and then click "search". Or am I overlooking such a button?

-Use different color pins for different types of venues. Blue for bowling, green for café and red for pool hall for instance.

-When I click a pin, I do see a website, but I can't open it. That would be convenient.

-Can people suggest pool places?
 
DaWizard said:
Just checked the site on Android phone. I think it's really nice! Something like this for Europe would be great as well as it can be hard to find a decent table.

-When I select a city and a distance I kind of expect the window to zoom in and out accordingly. Now nothing seems to happen when I select a different distance. I would also like to click a "search" button. I.e. You select the town, a distance and then click "search". Or am I overlooking such a button?

-Use different color pins for different types of venues. Blue for bowling, green for café and red for pool hall for instance.

-When I click a pin, I do see a website, but I can't open it. That would be convenient.

-Can people suggest pool places?
Click to expand...

The auto-zoom, increasing the size of the search button on mobile, and location type filter are all in the plans!

But yes, you can currently search. On mobile, you may just have to click on the open space to the right of radius, because the search icon is so dang small.

I'm currently working on the location type filter, and for the first release, it will include pool halls, bars with tables, and bowling alleys with tables.

We will also be hyperlinking the websites soon as well.

I have included a link on the page to submit new pool places, and make updates to existing ones. It may not be live yet for everyone due to cache, but you can see that form here!

EDIT: We are also currently working on categorization of: Number of tables, brands of tables, and types of tables (pool/snooker/carom).
 
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djn014 said:
Hi everyone!

Long story short, I've always had trouble finding go-to resources for reliable information on places to play pool. So, I wanted to work towards a reliable U.S. map of places to play pool, whether it be at a bar, a dedicated pool hall, or even a bowling alley. I'm working daily on improving my pool hall finder, and doing a lot of manual work to get the initial product up and running.

Eventually, the goal is to lean on the awesome pool community to assist in keeping things up to date and providing information regarding these location. Due to the nature of Google, and the world in general, it will likely not ever be 100% up to date, but all reasonable people would understand that is impossible. But, the goal is to be as close to 100% as possible!

I would love for you to test out my Pool Hall Finder and share any ideas you'd like so we can help better our pool-loving community!
Click to expand...
Looks good, we can never have to much information about places to play, good luck!
 
Saturated Fats said:
What's the source for the ratings?
Click to expand...

Google's rating out of 5.
That's simply the best rating I can apply right now until we have more actual verified reviews. It's not perfect, but I think it still offers a look at what has a decent reputation and what doesn't.
 
djn014 said:
Google's rating out of 5.
That's simply the best rating I can apply right now until we have more actual verified reviews. It's not perfect, but I think it still offers a look at what has a decent reputation and what doesn't.
Click to expand...
The problem in general with Google ratings is that they are very compressed. Almost no one has a rating as low as 3.5 or better than 4.7 unless there has been some kind of campaign or the business is really, really bad. That's for all the ratings, not just pool halls. I did once experience a coffee shop that I found out later had a Google rating of 1.7. The people who gave it a 2 were generous.:eek:
 
Bob Jewett said:
The problem in general with Google ratings is that they are very compressed. Almost no one has a rating as low as 3.5 or better than 4.7 unless there has been some kind of campaign or the business is really, really bad. That's for all the ratings, not just pool halls. I did once experience a coffee shop that I found out later had a Google rating of 1.7. The people who gave it a 2 were generous.:eek:
Click to expand...

Yep, it's kind skewed. But there's no real better solution, especially since there are going to be trolls no matter what method you try to use to gather reviews. This is why any reviews are going to have to be reviewed, which is more time consuming, but over time can create more trust in the long term.
 
Bob Jewett said:
The problem in general with Google ratings is that they are very compressed. Almost no one has a rating as low as 3.5 or better than 4.7 unless there has been some kind of campaign or the business is really, really bad. That's for all the ratings, not just pool halls. I did once experience a coffee shop that I found out later had a Google rating of 1.7. The people who gave it a 2 were generous.:eek:
Click to expand...
It's also become expected that 5 is the default and you can only go down from there. Anything below a 5 is varying degrees of bad. That's really silly, there's no point in distinguishing varying degrees of insufficient, especially at the cost of being unable to distinguish between good and superlative.

I bought a used guitar neck and body, the seller said the frets were pretty good but had some wear. They weren't. They were tolerable. It wasn't bad enough to give him a bad review, but I can't give him 5 stars.
 
I love the idea. I travel a lot and I'm frequently looking for more and/or better places to play.

I used to be able to drop a line to Scott Lee and ask him where the good places were in the vicinity of my next stop. Of course he would know because he had given lessions all over the country. He steered me to a lot of good places - and no bad ones. Thanks Scott.
 
Saturated Fats said:
I love the idea. I travel a lot and I'm frequently looking for more and/or better places to play.

I used to be able to drop a line to Scott Lee and ask him where the good places were in the vicinity of my next stop. Of course he would know because he had given lessions all over the country. He steered me to a lot of good places - and no bad ones. Thanks Scott.
Click to expand...

That's awesome! Personally, I have always wanted to go on a solo road trip, golf, and play pool all over. Haven't done it yet, but this is the next best thing - creating a resource for many to find great options all over. We're adding more places every week, and won't be done any time soon. Up to over 1000 now (not quite all of them are live yet), and currently testing some user experience improvements.
 
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