How does AZB compare to your pool hall?

TheThaiger

TheThaiger

Banned
AZB is pretty much the polar opposite to mine. Mine is full of young people, mainly students, with the odd corporate crowd thrown in from 6-8pm. After that come the barflies and night prowlers.

There are lots of serious English 8 ball players, no serious snooker or American pool players. Most tables are American pool, but are used by the date crowd only. Nobody knows the rules of American pool, in any formats. Most don't know English rules, either, other than the serious players, and even then they only know World rules. There is constant arguing about rules. Rules, rules, rules. Endlessly rules.

No bangers knows any pro players, talks about tournament, talks about the right shot or talks about their technique. Nothing. Nada. No interest. The good English 8 ballers will give you a blow by blow account of every single shot they've ever taken, as if you're interested, and tell it in a way that is impossible to command attention. Win, lose or draw, they never mention your shots. They know, have played, and unluckily lost to, every single pro in the known universe, all hill-hill, and decided by a break and dish. They were contenders, no doubt.

In the daytime, they play loud modern chart music, and people sing along, happily. Lady effing Gaga. Later at night, there are coke dealers in the toilets and people smoking weed out of the window. Chavs come in during happy hour or when prices are dropped nearer closing time, and spoil for a fight.They want to play you and you're afraid to say no. Mass brawls break out at the end of tense football matches, shown on a 30 foot screen. People swear and ***** and moan, endlessly, usually about beer prices. Everyone swears. You swear, you can't help it. You have to.

It's fun and interesting, sometimes frightening and always exciting. You know you're alive. There are characters from all walks of life. People talk freely and gossip, and say things which would get you sacked in the workplace. They say things you secretly agree with, but wish you didn't. There is no recrimination or blame, everything is out in open. You would rather hear it than not, your head is not in the sand, you're not afraid and you're not intimidated.

AZBilliards does not represent my pool hall in the slightest.
 
TheThaiger said:
AZB is pretty much the polar opposite to mine. Mine is full of young people, mainly students, with the odd corporate crowd thrown in from 6-8pm. After that come the barflies and night prowlers.

There are lots of serious English 8 ball players, no serious snooker or American pool players. Most tables are American pool, but are used by the date crowd only. Nobody knows the rules of American pool, in any formats. Most don't know English rules, either, other than the serious players, and even then they only know World rules. There is constant arguing about rules. Rules, rules, rules. Endlessly rules.

No bangers knows any pro players, talks about tournament, talks about the right shot or talks about their technique. Nothing. Nada. No interest. The good English 8 ballers will give you a blow by blow account of every single shot they've ever taken, as if you're interested, and tell it in a way that is impossible to command attention. Win, lose or draw, they never mention your shots. They know, have played, and unluckily lost to, every single pro in the known universe, all hill-hill, and decided by a break and dish. They were contenders, no doubt.

In the daytime, they play loud modern chart music, and people sing along, happily. Lady effing Gaga. Later at night, there are coke dealers in the toilets and people smoking weed out of the window. Chavs come in during happy hour or when prices are dropped nearer closing time, and spoil for a fight.They want to play you and you're afraid to say no. Mass brawls break out at the end of tense football matches, shown on a 30 foot screen. People swear and ***** and moan, endlessly, usually about beer prices. Everyone swears. You swear, you can't help it. You have to.

It's fun and interesting, sometimes frightening and always exciting. You know you're alive. There are characters from all walks of life. People talk freely and gossip, and say things which would get you sacked in the workplace. They say things you secretly agree with, but wish you didn't. There is no recrimination or blame, everything is out in open. You would rather hear it than not, your head is not in the sand, you're not afraid and you're not intimidated.

AZBilliards does not represent my pool hall in the slightest.
Click to expand...
Where are you from?
 
Despite liking the sport, I rarely go to pool halls. I like to once in a while to play matches, but I am bored silly hanging out at one.

I don't think I'm alone in that regard. The only time I hung around pool halls was between girlfriends or wives.
 
TheThaiger said:
[...]

It's fun and interesting, sometimes frightening and always exciting. You know you're alive. There are characters from all walks of life. People talk freely and gossip, and say things which would get you sacked in the workplace. They say things you secretly agree with, but wish you didn't. There is no recrimination or blame, everything is out in open. You would rather hear it than not, your head is not in the sand, you're not afraid and you're not intimidated.

AZBilliards does not represent my pool hall in the slightest.
Click to expand...

What pool hall?

There's one pool hall in my town. But it's really an older crowd that's just interested in playing bank pool, which is a game I have zero interest in. It bores me to tears.

At this time last year there were 3 other pool rooms located within about 45 minutes of me. All of them are now closed. I can't say that I visited them very often so I guess I'm partly to blame.

For the past year or two I have been hanging out with the league crowd and I've enjoyed it for the most part. The part you wrote about above does ring true in regards to the guys and the places I have been playing in the past couple of years. I've met people from all walks of life and it's help make me much less judgmental than I used to be. Overall, it's been a good experience.

I don't know what AZ represents really. It's constantly changing. People come and go. I find myself being less interested in a lot of the threads that are on here. The ones that do interest me seem to die a quick death. I actually prefer there being more argumentation (of the healthy variety). It's when people take opposite sides of an argument that I actually learn something or change my views on things. I don't really see much of that type of discussion anymore. When it comes to the arguments on AZ, it seems like there's always someone that makes it personal and then the thread gets derailed and people get banned.
 
The pool hall I used to call my "regular" place had a disproportionate amount of arrogant pool players, drunks, and lesbians frequenting it. I'm being totally serious here...not meaning any disrespect to anyone. Just stating the facts.

You can find me these days staying home and playing pool on the home table....my personal bottle of Crown Royal on the counter for anyone who wants to come over, play pool, and share it!!!

Maniac
 
Maniac said:
The pool hall I used to call my "regular" place had a disproportionate amount of arrogant pool players, drunks, and lesbians frequenting it. I'm being totally serious here...not meaning any disrespect to anyone. Just stating the facts.

You can find me these days staying home and playing pool on the home table....my personal bottle of Crown Royal on the counter for anyone who wants to come over, play pool, and share it!!!

Maniac
Click to expand...

Virtually no one in the UK has a home table, so maybe that's why my pool hall experience is so different to this place? I hadn't thought of that.

Maybe the culture of AZB is determined more by the home than the hall. Thinking about it, that does explain a great deal.

Thanks.
 
Based on the responses so far, we've been selling pool all wrong!

We should sell it as family fun. Bring the kids, bring grandma.
 
My pool hall is full of day drinkers (the regulars) and just about any pool player that comes through the door, at least has their own cue. We do get some serious players 3 or 4 days a week. Sunday is free pool from 3pm till close, that's when they all come out!

By the way, I understand a "break and dish" is the UK version of a "break and run", but where in the hell did the word "dish" come from? Now that I question it, where the hell did the phrase "break and run" come from?
 
Never really hung out at pool halls. Played tourneys and matched up, but never made it a social thing. AZB doesn't compare at all in my mind.
 
It more or less is a micro-chasm of the one I used to play at in that everyone is an individual. There are groups that would form, much like the "Kamui Chalk defenders" or the "APA haters", there were people from all over the world that would hang there. The regulars had clever nick names and no one ever called them by anything else. Family squabbles, romantic triangles (although I have yet to see any of these here on AZ), Every now and then when we thought someone needed it we would gang up on them. There were clowns, serious players, too serious players, road players, hustlers, assorted pros every so often and semi pros. The group of rail birds that would sit and bet on just about anything, they never really played but they knew some of the best stories.
Every so often someone new would appear that thought they had the nuts. They would show up with their new vinyl sterling case (1 X 1) and their brand new Woolworth cue and the pocket on that case full of Sportcraft chalk and 4 new screw on tips and had just come from watching The Color of Money. Stevie loved when these guys showed up, a pocket full of money and not a clue. In more somber times when someone would pass away, very few people really knew unless they were mentioned by nick name, then we would have a round to honor them.
We even had our own Nazi, decent player. We would sit and talk for hours about how he had friends of all races in that pool hall so he was more of a separatist and that really wasn't so bad, he was loyal to a fault and would defend a friend with his life. He was a good guy and a good guy to know, you see, he was in a motor cycle club, and if you knew one of them, you knew them all and in spite of some of their politics they were some of the most down-to-earth good guys that there were.
I really miss that place sometimes. In some ways this web location is a lot like that old pool hall, in other ways not so much. Back then, in that place we were family. I really like and enjoy this cyber community of AZ, and though sometimes it has a family sort of feel it's reasonably anonymous. I think it would really be something to get to know some of you IRL (that's In Real Life, for those of you that aren't familiar).
 
My regular pool hall is a little more civilized.
There are casuals (can name Jeanette Lee and Minnesota Fats),
semi-casuals (can name Johnny Archer, Earl, maybe Efren)
and only a handful of pool nuts, of which maybe half are on AZ.

No fights, no gangster types, young crowd on dates.

I would not trade mine for yours. I don't come there to "feel alive",
take up bungee jumping if you need that thrill. Or just walk home using back alleys.
I'm there to play pool and I'm happy to have a minimum of bullshit interfering with that.

Similarly, on AZ, I'm here to talk pool and would like less BS.
I can get that you're probably still smarting from the ban,
but personally I'd like to see more (or more consistent) moderation,
not the wild west where anyone can say anything.
Every other thread would be politics, funny gifs, and namecalling.
 
Lesbians?

Maniac said:
The pool hall I used to call my "regular" place had a disproportionate amount of arrogant pool players, drunks, and lesbians frequenting it. I'm being totally serious here...not meaning any disrespect to anyone. Just stating the facts.

You can find me these days staying home and playing pool on the home table....my personal bottle of Crown Royal on the counter for anyone who wants to come over, play pool, and share it!!!

Maniac
Click to expand...

"not meaning any disrespect"...then why lump lesbians with arrogant players and drunks?
 
Well, Thaiger, I like AZ because it DOES remind me of numerous pool halls
that I have fond memories of.
And, when the action was slow, we discussed almost anything...politics,
religion, racism, sports, education...pretty well nothing was barred.

And in a good action room, violence was unacceptable....
....'cause the action dries up, so not only management, but the regulars
kept it away.

Many modern rooms foster disrespect for the game by playing loud music...
...the unenlightened are catering to people that aren't going to support
the game in the long run.

You would have liked the rooms that I liked.
 
TheThaiger said:
AZB is pretty much the polar opposite to mine. Mine is full of young people, mainly students, with the odd corporate crowd thrown in from 6-8pm. After that come the barflies and night prowlers.

There are lots of serious English 8 ball players, no serious snooker or American pool players. Most tables are American pool, but are used by the date crowd only. Nobody knows the rules of American pool, in any formats. Most don't know English rules, either, other than the serious players, and even then they only know World rules. There is constant arguing about rules. Rules, rules, rules. Endlessly rules.

No bangers knows any pro players, talks about tournament, talks about the right shot or talks about their technique. Nothing. Nada. No interest. The good English 8 ballers will give you a blow by blow account of every single shot they've ever taken, as if you're interested, and tell it in a way that is impossible to command attention. Win, lose or draw, they never mention your shots. They know, have played, and unluckily lost to, every single pro in the known universe, all hill-hill, and decided by a break and dish. They were contenders, no doubt.

In the daytime, they play loud modern chart music, and people sing along, happily. Lady effing Gaga. Later at night, there are coke dealers in the toilets and people smoking weed out of the window. Chavs come in during happy hour or when prices are dropped nearer closing time, and spoil for a fight.They want to play you and you're afraid to say no. Mass brawls break out at the end of tense football matches, shown on a 30 foot screen. People swear and ***** and moan, endlessly, usually about beer prices. Everyone swears. You swear, you can't help it. You have to.

It's fun and interesting, sometimes frightening and always exciting. You know you're alive. There are characters from all walks of life. People talk freely and gossip, and say things which would get you sacked in the workplace. They say things you secretly agree with, but wish you didn't. There is no recrimination or blame, everything is out in open. You would rather hear it than not, your head is not in the sand, you're not afraid and you're not intimidated.

AZBilliards does not represent my pool hall in the slightest.
Click to expand...

Tim:

This is probably one of the most interesting threads and posts to come along in a while. You're right about the "flotsam and jetsam" thing that is part and parcel with a "Main" forum.

However, to have the expectation to come here as if it were a virtual pool hall, like you were going to enjoy a pint o' suds with your mates over some pool (and all the banter and environmental background chatter therewith), you're making a big mistake. And, you'd be setting yourself up.

When I come here, I do so as a super nobody. I'm just a screenname, that perhaps some people "recognize" (and when I say "recognize," I mean familiarity -- not awards or respect or anything like that). I expect to be able to participate, banter (within the rules), and contribute. I pay my dues, because I like having this virtual environment and supporting it. I even contributed some of my professional/technical expertise in helping the owners and moderators troubleshoot some forum hardware and software performance problems some time back. I was proud to do this. I didn't expect anything in return. And, I'm most certainly NOT a moderator nor possess moderator privileges or powers, even though I hear whispers through the grapevine (and on the Jimbo's Army site ;) ) that some folks believe I am one.

I certainly don't think this is a virtual "Cheers" episode or anything I'd expect when I walk into my pool hall. (Which, concerning the latter, I expect to be recognized -- and not just familiarity -- as a loyal returning customer, who helps the establishment by steering more customers the establishment's way, thus helping the business. I help out with the leagues, as well as inviting people to the establishment's Facebook page and website. I help with advertising. And the owners/proprietors "recognize" these efforts with quid pro quo benefits that normal Joe / Jane Doe walking in off the street do not get.)

When I come to AZBilliards, I don't expect to be patted on the back when I walk in the door. Rather, I think of this site as a virtual interactive newspaper. I read articles, and I have the ability to respond to them (in much the same way as online newspapers do these days -- you can respond to articles at the bottom). When I've had my fill, I leave. It used to be that I spent a lot of time here. No more. I come to this site on a whim, say, on a 5 min. break at work, do my reading / responding, then minimize that browser window to move onto something else. I may or may not be able to return to that browser window again that day.

That's really it in a nutshell. No expectations other than to read, respond, laugh, shake my head, do the occasional face-palm, etc.

Your pool hall sounds like a lot of fun, and along the same lines as what pool halls are here.

-Sean
 
We don't have any actual pool halls here, per se, but two places to go and play. One is a sprawling sports entertainment complex, with a bowling alley, huge arcade, mini golf, and TVs everywhere, sports bar style. 17 nine footers to play on. Predictably, a younger crowd, very few serious players, beyond those of us who play league there.

The other place is a private fraternal club, The Eagles, where we have 5 nine footers, and also play league out of. This club skus older, of course. More people who play somewhat seriously, as well, but probly not in what most folks here would call "serious pool players."

AZB is a far more hostile environment than either place I play at. Beyond good natured ribbing, there is none of the craziness in person that I see here. It's a smallish community, so most of us know each other, which may contribute to that fact.
 
I live in the booming metropolis of Amsterdam, NY. Population 18,000. We have a real nice little pool room that belongs elsewhere. Eight 9 footers, 6 BBs. All Diamonds in great condition. Nobody is ever there when I go there.

I hear they have two league days, but I don't play league so I don't go there then. The only other times I've seen it busy was once or twice a year when the Joss Tour comes there, but you can't play then, either. Such a shame, beautiful little room with great equipment. They even have a Diamond ball cleaner they use every time you return the balls.

If they had some old guys hanging out that I donate real cheap to learn some one-hole or 14.1 I'd go there a lot, but why bother if there's nobody I want to play? Might as well stay home and practice on my own table.

I dunno... Does that sound like AZB? :/
 
Donny Lutz said:
"not meaning any disrespect"...then why lump lesbians with arrogant players and drunks?
Click to expand...

Because they are in there....in force. Disproportionately more so than any other pool hall I've ever been in. It is not what I would envision as being a "place for family fun"...and I have shuddered and shook my head at the times people brought their children in there on league nights.

That said....everybody in there has a right to be there...and be whatever kind of person they want to be. But please, don't hit on my wife (lesbians...and yes, it did happen once), wreck your car into mine when you leave (drunks...and I've seen this happen too to other people), and don't pull that cocky, arrogant, "I'm God's-gift-to-pool" bullshit on me either...I don't welcome it.

When someone else's lifestyle/vices start to infringe on my personal life...then I must remove myself from the perpetrators presence. That is why I no longer go to the pool hall on a regular basis anymore...and not that one at all.

Sorry if I offended you, Mr. Lutz. It wasn't my intention to offend...only stating facts and reasons why I am no longer a regular there...why I have chosen to stay home more. I have always liked/agreed with your postings on here and hope that you see that I wasn't trying to be malicious towards anyone.



Maniac (probably a bit more "old-fashioned" conservative than some)
 
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