There you go complaining about the conditions again>>:thumbup:
I would of spoken with the league operator about that one for sure.
Getting beat by the table conditions
- Thread starter LPHooper03
- Start date
There you go complaining about the conditions again>>:thumbup:
I would of spoken with the league operator about that one for sure.
I played a place last night like the one the op mentioned. They are new to our league, just opened up a bar and are struggling to make it as a bar and grill. They put in a pool league team to try and make more money on a monday night. None of them know much about the game but they are good people.
Anyhow, their table has this felt that reminded me of 3 inch shag carpet from the 70's! The balls were a mix matched set and dirty but the cue ball was a nice new red dot!
When I come across a table like this I just go for simple shots. Stop shots are your best bet. The harder you hit it (within reason) the less chance it will roll off. Just keep in mind that your opponent has to play on the same table so its a level playing field so to speak.
Anyhow, their table has this felt that reminded me of 3 inch shag carpet from the 70's! The balls were a mix matched set and dirty but the cue ball was a nice new red dot!
When I come across a table like this I just go for simple shots. Stop shots are your best bet. The harder you hit it (within reason) the less chance it will roll off. Just keep in mind that your opponent has to play on the same table so its a level playing field so to speak.
This is how I feel as well. Pool the way we know it today is intended to be played on well-lit level tables with good cloth, consistent rails and a good, clean set of matched balls. In my opinion, the tight tolerances of the equipment are part of the beauty of the game.
That said, if you choose to play in a league that plays on tables in poor condition, you have to adjust. Some people enjoy that challenge. I don't.
WPA Rules said:
According who?
'Pool' doesn't have standards in place for anything from speed of cloth, size of pockets, .COR of the rails and so on.
What makes a table 'legal' for play? Where in the record books going back thru time are the specific table 'specs' given for any record currently held?
There may but.....I can't hardly think of another sport where even the specifics of the "goal" itself are not defined in some manor.
:grin-square:
I agree with both of these comments. I play in 2 in house leagues and don't travel anymore due to these scenarios above. I like consistent, good playing tables anywhere I go so I choose these two places. One has valley bar boxes with simonis cloth, level, and very lively rails... great tables if you must play on a bar box. The other has drop pocket tables(8 and 9ft) that used to be in excellent condition but not as much now....however, I would choose these over any bar box and especially one that is slow, has dead rails, and is not level.....to me this is not pool when conditions are like these. Adjust? Why? With tables that are up to the specs we say are acceptable (good rails, level, and good cloth(fast) ) it takes so many of the other factors out of the equation....the better player wins most of the matches in this circumstance in my experience and ( opinion of course) ...
all this being said, I doubt it gets better than a good playing Diamond....I love playing on those tables the most.
This. You need to stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself and adapt to the conditions where you're playing the game. Most bars don't have great equipment. That's just the way it is. I first started playing on a table which, if I remember correctly, was a 6-footer, beer was spilt all over the cloth, it was uneven, balls were messed up and so on... After some practised, I got perfectly used to it. Sure, you can't play a perfect position. Slow balls will moving on parabolic trajectories insted of going straight. Bad cues will make you miss most shots if you try to apply some English. Play simpler shots, hit the balls a little harder, and even if you have no good shot left, either bang the hell out of the largest cluster on the table, or play a good defensive.
Not everyone has pool rooms nearby. Most players are forced to play in bars. You can't simply dismiss bar pool by saying "that's not even pool", as the majority of matches are actually played there. That being said, you can be the greatest poolhall player and still fail to adapt to bar conditions. That doesn't make you a perfect player. Being able to adapt your game to bad equipment also takes a great deal of skill and practise, and believe me, it will pay off in the end.
Looks like someone knows what I'm talking about :thumbup:
Great post but I'll have to partially disagree with you on some parts :sorry: Bar pool is more of a recreational thing, but if your main objective is to win, especially if you play a tournament or you gamble, you need to approach your game there just as seriously as you'd aproach your game in a pool hall.
I know most owners barely have money to keep the booze coming, and after some idiots start stealing balls and chalk, damaging cues on purpose, spilling their drink on the cloth, they usually give up (not that I could blame them) and leave the players to deal with the conditions as they are. Constantly fixing the equipment becomes very unprofitable, so I wouldn't recommend annoying the owners, as they might kick you out of the bar if you become too persistent.
Instead, suck it up and work on your game. Remember that everyone plays on the same table and in the samr conditions, so the player with better adaptation skills will come out as a victor. After all, I almost never saw a game of soccer being canceled due to rain, mud in the terrain or snow. It's also not that easy to kick a wet ball accurately around the field with low visibility, but players get used to the conditions and learn how to compensate. Those who can't don't play in a professional league.
I think of Bar Table players (in Bars) as the Marines of the billiard world. We overcome, we adapt, and most of all we realize that our opponent has to play in the same environment and on the same table we do. Playing Bar Table in a bar is not for the weak of heart. Every bar table, even the level ones', have their own personality, and generally their own beer and food stains on the felt. Just remember that the harder you hit the balls the truer they roll, and some tables are like playing on a putting green with little hills and valleys and contour changes. Don't think you'll be playing your regular game on a table like the one you describe, but try to adapt as fast as you can. What else can you do?
Dunnn, that avatar is smokin'!
Dunnn, that avatar is smokin'!
Last edited:
Generally I agree with the idea of playing seriously at all times.
Unfortunately even if you play carefully, table roll and other hazards will bite you.
Can't avoid them all. So it adds extra luck to the game.
Just speaking for myself... playing hard only to have lady luck wreck the outcome really puts me on tilt.
So my best recourse is to try to keep a relaxed, almost carefree mindset. This prevents getting into a funk.
If I go into "serious mode" and then I get shafted by the equipment, it's just going to wreck my evening.
So to answer the OP, this is what works for me and allows me to overcome the frustration
and play good solid pool.
No decent owner will kick you out for asking them to address the tables. I've done it plenty of times.
They generally either tell you it's planned for the future, or say "the money's just not there right now".
They don't get defensive and kick you out. Maybe if you did it every day until they snapped.
Apples and oranges.
I never saw bowling played underwater either. If the roof leaks, should a bowler
'suck it up' and accept water hazards as a normal part of the match?
The idea seems to be shitty equipment is common, therefore it's acceptible.
It's not. Good equipment is also reasonably common... vote with your wallet.
PS: Not sure if you got the memo but league play is considered casual
Professionals are banned from most leagues, 99% of us don't play in a "professional" league.
League play should be casual...it's there to promote pool and get people out with friends and all that other warm and fuzzy stuff! 
is it casual? More often not, no. There's almost always a few teams who treat this like the US Open and that's fine. For the most part, it's fun. I went to play with some great friends and only got serious when we had too. It was a blast and that's really the only reason I stayed in league is because our team was fun...we played well, but we had a lot of fun. The fun didn't stop based on the equipment, that was part of life and when we saw a certain bar on the schedule....we knew what was in store and we still played great. If you can be choosy, knock yourself out. But you will run into places, even some of the most coveted of rooms or venues that have some sub-par equipment....it's life.
is it casual? More often not, no. There's almost always a few teams who treat this like the US Open and that's fine. For the most part, it's fun. I went to play with some great friends and only got serious when we had too. It was a blast and that's really the only reason I stayed in league is because our team was fun...we played well, but we had a lot of fun. The fun didn't stop based on the equipment, that was part of life and when we saw a certain bar on the schedule....we knew what was in store and we still played great. If you can be choosy, knock yourself out. But you will run into places, even some of the most coveted of rooms or venues that have some sub-par equipment....it's life.I had a very similar experience this past weekend.
I had been playing at a particular league location 1-2 times a week for the past 2 months. It's NOT a bar. Just pool hall. Every week that I go, the conditions get a bit better, as it's under new ownership. We tell the owner what needs to be done to get it more up to snuff. He and his house man try to make upgrades/improvements.
Well, I had been gearing up for this past weekend, where it was to be a small, money-added tourney at this location. My best friend/road partner and I figured that since it was going to be a handful of normal locals (who we tend to rake over the coals), me and him (who are kinda in-between, as it's not our normal haunt, but we're frequenting it more and more), and then out-of-towners.........we should have a bit of an advantage, since we were really familiar with the equipment now.
Well, we get there and warm-up. I notice something doesn't feel right, but I chalk it up to "it must be me syndrome". Even tho I hate to think that way.
So, we have 17 players signed up and I'm in the lone "play-in" match that would make it even. Basically everyone else gets a bye into the 2nd round, except me and another guy. Everything is set and we lag for it. I win. Just as I'm about to break, they tell me to stop. The tourney is supposed to start at 2 p.m. and a late-comer shows up at 2:15 p.m. So, without any warning or even asking the rest of the field, they scramble to change the bracket.
After a few minutes of mumblings, somehow, and I have no clue how this happens, but I'm STILL in a set in the 1st round.......only I'm playing against the guy that showed up late. My original opponent somehow now has a bye. My road partner gets HIS original bye taken away from him and is told to grab a table for the other "play-in" set against someone.
In the middle of the set, a dog starts to run around thru the pool hall, at one point going right between my legs as I'm getting down on a shot. Slightly annoying, but it doesn't last long. After a few minutes, the dog disappears.
I can tell something isn't right with my game. The tables are playing WAY tighter and WAY slower. I can't draw the ball to save my life. I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. I end up gutting it out to win that set 5-1.
The next set, I end up playing a guy who is literally 4 speeds above me in this league. To boot, he's the former owner of the place. He re-covered all but 1 of these tables himself. He knows the place and the equipment, especially the the table we're playing on, inside and out. I'm doing my best to fade all the variables around me, when I realize something. I'm sweating. Every time my friend and I have played at this place for the past couple of months, it's been at night and the weather has been cool. Doors and windows closed. This is an early Saturday afternoon. It's unseasonably warm and VERY humid. They have all the doors and windows wide open. The pockets have tightened up and the cloth has slowed down. A LOT. The legend of "it's the humidity" hits me.
I'm trying to fade all of this and the score is 3-3. He needs 9 to my 5. I'm staring at getting on the hill and he's starting to realize that I'm probably underrated and more of a handful than he bargained for. He's generally a run-out machine, but is smart and sees the same thing I'm seeing with the conditions. He switches tactics and begins to play lock-down defense. Now, I love safety play as much as anyone, so I'm not crumbling mentally like I see so many do when that happens. I just can't seem to do anything about it. He plays a couple of the dirtiest safeties I've ever had handed to me, plus even when I do kick and hit a ball, it leaves him wide open. He begins to pull away and I lose 9-3. I'm disappointed, but not too upset about it. I'm still wondering where my game has gone and why I can't seem to adjust well to these conditions.
The next set, I'm up against my road partner. I tell him that I don't understand how that can happen. I've already won a match and we were on opposite sides of the bracket. He hasn't won anything yet. In fact, he's lost his only match. He tells me that the brackets are all fubared and it is what it is.
We battle back and forth, both playing like crap, and he gets me 4-2. I pull him aside and tell him to look around and to feel the sweat on his brow. It's the humidity. He says that it never occurred to him and he was wondering why he was jawing so many balls, can't draw to save his life, etc. etc. He proceeds to get whacked the next match 4-0 against a local player that's the same level we are, but really not our caliber (he just got moved up to our level and my friend and I are going to move up 2 levels after this season is over).
So, about 2 hours later, I get in touch with a couple of friends who are way more seasoned than I am and they tell me what to do in humid conditions. So, I start shooting a few racks on a side table with my buddy and my game snaps back pretty quickly. It still doesn't feel totally right and I can't draw the ball very well, but I'm playing better.
Suddenly, another player walks up to me and my friend and says, "Compare this CB to the one you're using." Holy crap. I hold them at the same time and.....damn. We've been playing with mudballs the entire tournament. I knew they looked older and dirtier than what I had been used to seeing in there over the past couple of months, but I thought it was just my imagination. Someone got to digging around behind the counter and there sat all of the nice, newer, cleaner, lighter CB's.
We put the mudballs back behind the counter and toss the nice CB's back on the table. Guess what? My complete game comes back instantaneously. I'm kinda miffed at that point. Everything that I had worked on for the past couple of months is there and it feels great.
Why did we stop the tourney to let another player in after the brackets were set and I was ready to break? I don't know.
Why did my original opponent suddenly get a bye and I'm left to face the late-comer? I don't know.
If they re-drew all of the players again, what are the odds that I get the same play-in match AGAIN, in the exact same spot in the bracket? I don't know.
What are the odds that my road partner draws the other play-in match? I don't know.
How do I draw my buddy in the loser's bracket, when I've already won a match and he's won nothing? And we were on opposite sides. I don't know.
Why is a dog running around during the tournament? I don't know.
Why did someone switch the nice, light, clean CB's that we had been using for the past couple of months......for old, dirty Dynamo mudballs.....especially for a money-added tournament? I had just played there 3 nights earlier and the good CB's were being used. I don't know.
What I do know is that I learned a couple of valuable lessons this weekend. I finally understand the importance of humidity when it comes to playing conditions. I understand why some players have CB preferences. I also understand that I need to nut up and learn to recognize and adjust to conditions quicker.
The final thumb in my eye is when I find out that somehow, someway, I actually won a match on the winner's side......yet, I finished dead last in the tournament. Several players went 2 and out and finished ahead of me.
Not the best of Saturdays for me. I'm going back for revenge this week. But, I'm doing it on the table.
We all have to nut up at some point.
I had been playing at a particular league location 1-2 times a week for the past 2 months. It's NOT a bar. Just pool hall. Every week that I go, the conditions get a bit better, as it's under new ownership. We tell the owner what needs to be done to get it more up to snuff. He and his house man try to make upgrades/improvements.
Well, I had been gearing up for this past weekend, where it was to be a small, money-added tourney at this location. My best friend/road partner and I figured that since it was going to be a handful of normal locals (who we tend to rake over the coals), me and him (who are kinda in-between, as it's not our normal haunt, but we're frequenting it more and more), and then out-of-towners.........we should have a bit of an advantage, since we were really familiar with the equipment now.
Well, we get there and warm-up. I notice something doesn't feel right, but I chalk it up to "it must be me syndrome". Even tho I hate to think that way.
So, we have 17 players signed up and I'm in the lone "play-in" match that would make it even. Basically everyone else gets a bye into the 2nd round, except me and another guy. Everything is set and we lag for it. I win. Just as I'm about to break, they tell me to stop. The tourney is supposed to start at 2 p.m. and a late-comer shows up at 2:15 p.m. So, without any warning or even asking the rest of the field, they scramble to change the bracket.
After a few minutes of mumblings, somehow, and I have no clue how this happens, but I'm STILL in a set in the 1st round.......only I'm playing against the guy that showed up late. My original opponent somehow now has a bye. My road partner gets HIS original bye taken away from him and is told to grab a table for the other "play-in" set against someone.
In the middle of the set, a dog starts to run around thru the pool hall, at one point going right between my legs as I'm getting down on a shot. Slightly annoying, but it doesn't last long. After a few minutes, the dog disappears.
I can tell something isn't right with my game. The tables are playing WAY tighter and WAY slower. I can't draw the ball to save my life. I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. I end up gutting it out to win that set 5-1.
The next set, I end up playing a guy who is literally 4 speeds above me in this league. To boot, he's the former owner of the place. He re-covered all but 1 of these tables himself. He knows the place and the equipment, especially the the table we're playing on, inside and out. I'm doing my best to fade all the variables around me, when I realize something. I'm sweating. Every time my friend and I have played at this place for the past couple of months, it's been at night and the weather has been cool. Doors and windows closed. This is an early Saturday afternoon. It's unseasonably warm and VERY humid. They have all the doors and windows wide open. The pockets have tightened up and the cloth has slowed down. A LOT. The legend of "it's the humidity" hits me.
I'm trying to fade all of this and the score is 3-3. He needs 9 to my 5. I'm staring at getting on the hill and he's starting to realize that I'm probably underrated and more of a handful than he bargained for. He's generally a run-out machine, but is smart and sees the same thing I'm seeing with the conditions. He switches tactics and begins to play lock-down defense. Now, I love safety play as much as anyone, so I'm not crumbling mentally like I see so many do when that happens. I just can't seem to do anything about it. He plays a couple of the dirtiest safeties I've ever had handed to me, plus even when I do kick and hit a ball, it leaves him wide open. He begins to pull away and I lose 9-3. I'm disappointed, but not too upset about it. I'm still wondering where my game has gone and why I can't seem to adjust well to these conditions.
The next set, I'm up against my road partner. I tell him that I don't understand how that can happen. I've already won a match and we were on opposite sides of the bracket. He hasn't won anything yet. In fact, he's lost his only match. He tells me that the brackets are all fubared and it is what it is.
We battle back and forth, both playing like crap, and he gets me 4-2. I pull him aside and tell him to look around and to feel the sweat on his brow. It's the humidity. He says that it never occurred to him and he was wondering why he was jawing so many balls, can't draw to save his life, etc. etc. He proceeds to get whacked the next match 4-0 against a local player that's the same level we are, but really not our caliber (he just got moved up to our level and my friend and I are going to move up 2 levels after this season is over).
So, about 2 hours later, I get in touch with a couple of friends who are way more seasoned than I am and they tell me what to do in humid conditions. So, I start shooting a few racks on a side table with my buddy and my game snaps back pretty quickly. It still doesn't feel totally right and I can't draw the ball very well, but I'm playing better.
Suddenly, another player walks up to me and my friend and says, "Compare this CB to the one you're using." Holy crap. I hold them at the same time and.....damn. We've been playing with mudballs the entire tournament. I knew they looked older and dirtier than what I had been used to seeing in there over the past couple of months, but I thought it was just my imagination. Someone got to digging around behind the counter and there sat all of the nice, newer, cleaner, lighter CB's.
We put the mudballs back behind the counter and toss the nice CB's back on the table. Guess what? My complete game comes back instantaneously. I'm kinda miffed at that point. Everything that I had worked on for the past couple of months is there and it feels great.
Why did we stop the tourney to let another player in after the brackets were set and I was ready to break? I don't know.
Why did my original opponent suddenly get a bye and I'm left to face the late-comer? I don't know.
If they re-drew all of the players again, what are the odds that I get the same play-in match AGAIN, in the exact same spot in the bracket? I don't know.
What are the odds that my road partner draws the other play-in match? I don't know.
How do I draw my buddy in the loser's bracket, when I've already won a match and he's won nothing? And we were on opposite sides. I don't know.
Why is a dog running around during the tournament? I don't know.
Why did someone switch the nice, light, clean CB's that we had been using for the past couple of months......for old, dirty Dynamo mudballs.....especially for a money-added tournament? I had just played there 3 nights earlier and the good CB's were being used. I don't know.
What I do know is that I learned a couple of valuable lessons this weekend. I finally understand the importance of humidity when it comes to playing conditions. I understand why some players have CB preferences. I also understand that I need to nut up and learn to recognize and adjust to conditions quicker.
The final thumb in my eye is when I find out that somehow, someway, I actually won a match on the winner's side......yet, I finished dead last in the tournament. Several players went 2 and out and finished ahead of me.
Not the best of Saturdays for me. I'm going back for revenge this week. But, I'm doing it on the table.
We all have to nut up at some point.
On bar tables with crappy cloth you can address this by avoiding bank shots entirely (the rails are usually off and are inaccurate).
Also I shoot more straight on shots and try to avoid the rails in general since that is where you end up with weird results mostly. I also shoot balls in straight and with a lot of force to prevent them from rolling off.
When playing on bar tables with slow cloth I also pick up all the lint off the table and smooth the cloth with my hand before shooting a lot of shots to avoid any "distractions" on the way to the pocket.
Playing on crappy tables is part of the bar pool scene unfortunately. I am lucky enough to have a lot of diamond bar boxes with simonis in my area but other area of the country are not as fortunate.
It is very easy to get sidetracked and focused on the playing conditions. This won't make you play any better unfortunately.
Last, but I think most importantly. I REALLY like playing with a low deflection shaft over my other cues in the past on tables with slow cloth. The extra spin that I can get with less effort I feel like helps me move around easier in crappy conditions.
Also I shoot more straight on shots and try to avoid the rails in general since that is where you end up with weird results mostly. I also shoot balls in straight and with a lot of force to prevent them from rolling off.
When playing on bar tables with slow cloth I also pick up all the lint off the table and smooth the cloth with my hand before shooting a lot of shots to avoid any "distractions" on the way to the pocket.
Playing on crappy tables is part of the bar pool scene unfortunately. I am lucky enough to have a lot of diamond bar boxes with simonis in my area but other area of the country are not as fortunate.
It is very easy to get sidetracked and focused on the playing conditions. This won't make you play any better unfortunately.
Last, but I think most importantly. I REALLY like playing with a low deflection shaft over my other cues in the past on tables with slow cloth. The extra spin that I can get with less effort I feel like helps me move around easier in crappy conditions.
Generally I agree with the idea of playing seriously at all times.
Unfortunately even if you play carefully, table roll and other hazards will bite you.
Can't avoid them all. So it adds extra luck to the game.
Just speaking for myself... playing hard only to have lady luck wreck the outcome really puts me on tilt.
So my best recourse is to try to keep a relaxed, almost carefree mindset. This prevents getting into a funk.
If I go into "serious mode" and then I get shafted by the equipment, it's just going to wreck my evening.
So to answer the OP, this is what works for me and allows me to overcome the frustration
and play good solid pool.
No decent owner will kick you out for asking them to address the tables. I've done it plenty of times.
They generally either tell you it's planned for the future, or say "the money's just not there right now".
They don't get defensive and kick you out. Maybe if you did it every day until they snapped.
Apples and oranges.
I never saw bowling played underwater either. If the roof leaks, should a bowler
'suck it up' and accept water hazards as a normal part of the match?
The idea seems to be shitty equipment is common, therefore it's acceptible.
It's not. Good equipment is also reasonably common... vote with your wallet.
PS: Not sure if you got the memo but league play is considered casual
Professionals are banned from most leagues, 99% of us don't play in a "professional" league.
Well, like it or not, Lady Luck plays a huge role in bar pool. I've learned to accept it from the start. I try not to get mad if my opponent lucks 2 balls in with one shot, cause I often luck in 3 in the following turn :grin: Speaking of luck, I actually built my whole playing style around "getting lucky". I've learned most shots, deflections, certain areas where you need to deliver power blows etc. to increase the chances of lucking something in when a better player or bad table conditions don't leave you a good shot. It may seem unreliable at first, but after I practised it, I can say that in nearly two thirds of my matches I somehow "got lucky". In bar pool, luck can also be skill :wink:
I think you take "playing seriously" too drastically. To me playing seriously doesn't mean "life doesn't make sense if I lose", it only means I'll try hard to win. Actually, I have the most fun when doing my best to win the match, not when I play like crap and don't give a damn about the result. Sure, I always feel better when I played well and won, or even if I lost but gave my best shot, but playing bad certainly won't ruin my evening.
Great thing you have such owners there
I wouldn't even there asking the owners I know to create better conditions when we all know some kid will damage the cue again and steal the chalk. I'd feel guilty if that happened.Bowling underwater may be a little to extreme (
), but you could compare the bar pool issues and hazards to bowling on a low quality, wet surface, with damaged balls and uneven pins. Sure, that wouldn't be the best bowling you ever tried, but you could still do your best to adapt, try to win, and enjoy the match at the same time, regardless of bad conditions.PS: Under "professional league", I meant soccer leagues, not pool ones
These are surely some great methods to counter the conditions the best way you can, good job :wink:
Your opponent is playing on the same table as yourself.
That is still not much consolation is it?
Just makes it not for a very enjoyable evening out.
We had one place and fortunately no longer where we played Scotch. The rails were so dead that you could pound the cue ball into the rail as hard as you like and it was if the ball and rail had velcro on it. A big thunk.
Fortunately, our LO keeps the tables up and we no longer have to experience these conditions.
There was one place that has 5 tables. They used to move 3 of them for a weekly buffet in that area and the LO would have to come in once a week to re level them.
Sometimes he couldn't make it and a couple of the tables were horrendous. A slow roll from one end to the other and the ball would roll out the entire width of the table.
We would go up to the bar and grab a handful of coasters. A couple of big boys would lift the table and we would be shoving coasters under to get it to an acceptable level.
Slow rolls are a out of the question so a bit of harder hitting and the crossing of the fingers is in order.
That is still not much consolation is it?
Just makes it not for a very enjoyable evening out.
We had one place and fortunately no longer where we played Scotch. The rails were so dead that you could pound the cue ball into the rail as hard as you like and it was if the ball and rail had velcro on it. A big thunk.
Fortunately, our LO keeps the tables up and we no longer have to experience these conditions.
There was one place that has 5 tables. They used to move 3 of them for a weekly buffet in that area and the LO would have to come in once a week to re level them.
Sometimes he couldn't make it and a couple of the tables were horrendous. A slow roll from one end to the other and the ball would roll out the entire width of the table.
We would go up to the bar and grab a handful of coasters. A couple of big boys would lift the table and we would be shoving coasters under to get it to an acceptable level.
Slow rolls are a out of the question so a bit of harder hitting and the crossing of the fingers is in order.
There is a HUGE difference though in playing on slow cloth with overall bad conditions regularly and playing on them once a month. The difference is huge and is definitely an advantage for the home court player.
The home court player would have issues on fast cloth as well but not quite as extreme.
The home court player would have issues on fast cloth as well but not quite as extreme.
Power Blows eh?
I think your talents are wasted writing guides on pool, you should be doing BradyGames books for video games.
I mean that seriously, you'd be great at it. Maybe if they made a fun arcade-style pool game
with special moves and characters you could level up to unlock them.
Note Quote text is edited to shorten the post
There is a saying that was told to me sometime ago. It is true, and should be taken to heart.
A Road-Player ALWAYS brings his "B" game.
These things you should assume will happen. You need to deal with it.
Jumbo cue-balls in tourneys, CB's with craters in them, Tables with dead rails, etc. are sub-par for a tournament format (IMO). Tournaments should be won on talent, not the luck of a roll caused by a bad table. How are you supposed to hit a decent 2 rail shot that will get you out of trouble on a table with a lazy rail? :frown::frown:
Funny, There was a table at the last Turning Stone event that "broke" to the right. All the PRO's recognized this , and took advantage of it. Some still did not know,.... and it gave the ones that did a good advantage.
If I want the white ball to roll off of a straight path I'll play golf. If I want the white ball to roll fairly true I'll play pool. It takes the fun outta the game if you're playing on POS equipment. I don't mind if the balls roll off an inch or 2 when there within a foot or 2 of stopping,but anything more than that is total BS. If the game is for fun, that's one thing, but if it's league or tournament then the owner ought to feel enough responsibility to have his/her tables in good(if not great)playing condition. Dead rails, dirty balls, old worn out cloth are some more pet peaves of mine.
I used to complain about poor table conditions and often use to let it get the best of me. That was until I got a Super SL7 on my team and he proceeded to break and run on every table we play on including the ones I used to complain about. Now I figue out a way to adjust, and I too have been able to break and run on some of those exact tables.
Hahahaha
I actually used to write posts about certain games on forums and some other sites, but this term I invented myself 
A game like that would be a great idea, sounds like a lot of fun! Considering all the types of games they make today, maybe one day we see something like this.
There are tournament table specs available from the WPA here. I prefer to play on tables that conform to those specs, but at very least, I expect a fairly level surface, decent cloth and consistent rails if I'm going to play a tournament.
Those specs don't cover bar boxes, and I don't really consider bar box pool the same game as pool on a well-kept 9 footer. Like I said before, some people enjoy that game and excel at it, but it's just not my thing.