I'm sick of practicing at the bars
- Thread starter mrpool06
- Start date
Snapshot9 said:
Scott...You obviously have no knowledge of the pool 'topography' in Montana.
There are NO billiard rooms anywhere in the entire state. Billings is the largest city (100K+), and has no poolrooms either. There is the bar that the OP talked about, which has barboxes on one side, and a few 9' tables on the other side. It is still a bar. The nonsmoking place is called Breakers, and it is a billiard supply store, with several different tables available to rent. It is not a poolroom either...forget about a billiard room! Breakers is, however, the nicest place to play in Montana. There is one other 'poolroom', in Missoula (400 miles west of Billings), called Palace Billiards, but it is, imo, fairly rundown.
The closest thing to a 'billiard room' would be the gamerooms at Montana State (Bozeman), with 15 GCIV's; or UM (Misssoula) with 12 9' tables.
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Scott,Scott Lee said:
Wasnt there a place in Bozeman that was pretty nice....I think it was called Minnesota Fats or something like that? I recall it being a very nice pool room with nice tables....very upscale. Not sure if it stayed open long.
Btw, I've been playing pool ~10 years now, long enough to know that I'm doing the right sport. I love pool, but sick of the bars!
The BCA league in Billings is great. Don't get me too wrong, most bars are fine....a few are shady. I'm guessing the one you're talking about was The Wheel (kind of a biker bar). A teammate, in fact our whole team, almost got jumped there during a league night last year, because he looked at a guy coming out of the bathroom. I reported the incident to our league president......The Wheel now does not have a team, nor does the league play there anymore.Da Poet said:
Scott Lee said:
Well all of you Montanians are welcome to come play up here in friendly Alberta, there are a lot of very nice "Billiards rooms" in Calgary and Edmonton the 2 major centres <---- Canadian spelling eh.
There are some pretty sporty shooters like Edwin Montel and you don't need a passport to get across the border. (well coming North anyways)
Well when it comes to playing in bars, we've had problems in what u were facing. To circumvent this, we'd simply make a league out of the bars. And have the bars compete each other on a friendly basis. The bars would make probably more, or at least have more consistency. The "young punks" really won't be there much since the league would be taking over the pool tables for the nites being played, or least would get educated and mature themselves to take the game to a more mature level. Finding someone to co-ordinate all of this would be the hard part.mrpool06 said:I've hit a point recently where I've gotten sick of the people in some of the bars/pool halls (I don't have a pool table at home). There is one pool hall here in particular (Bullwackers) where I won't even go....a person gets dirty looks & bad vibes from some of the regulars there (I know several other players who feel the same way); I swear some of those guys live there, do they have jobs?? Alot of the bars have the "young punk" types hanging out there as well....I usually don't have problems with people like this, but am just getting sick of being around them....usually are unfriendly.
Thankfully, we do have a non-smoking/non-drinking pool hall here in town that has a decent crowd.
Anyone else get sick of bars? I have room in my family room for a table, but it'd take up the whole room, & my wife would kill me!
As for pool halls, im going to experience that in the very near future. But I don't think that's going to be a problem for the team that I am bringing in there. Simple reason for this is the strength in numbers.
As for getting a pool table in the house... well, you could use a canned response: "This will bring the friends and family closer together." My roommate does not like the idea of me putting a pool table in the middle of everything. But once I showed him the floor plan, he really saw the goal of me getting more friends and family together, instead of dead real estate.
Just my 2 cents.
mrpool06 said:
Yeah, that must have been the place. It was raining heavily and I was just in town for the evening when I stopped by. I want to say it was about 3-4 blocks away from the Crystal Inn which was across the street from the hotel I was staying at. It was just a random exploratory thing. Good to hear that places like that are not the norm there.
Klopek said:My take on the comment "maybe pool isn't for you" is; these are the kind of people (myself included) that play pool and frequent poolhalls. If OP can't stand these types of people, maybe he should take up golf or tennis where everyone is clean shaven and gainfully employed. I can't speak for the others, but that's the impression I got from the comment.
Sometimes a patron can be insecure and too sensitive when dealing with the poolhall junkies. Play them, beat them and they'll look at you differently. Running to the safety of a warm basement table only shelters a person from real life further. That's my two cents.
The fellow in your avatar, Irving Crane, also frequented pool rooms and although I never met him I don't think he was a low life. I'll give my own opinion which is that my favorite places to play other than my basement are the pool rooms where the owner doesn't hesitate to kick people out and not allow them back.
I get sickened by some of the poolhalls too... Action rooms are hard to practice in, uppity rooms are crowded with party-goers, then you got your poolhalls which aren't serious and the equipment is messed up.
The fact is that poolhalls make their money from yuppies (for the upscale ones) and hoodlums (for the low-end ones), and I can't stand either crowd.
No, I'm not quitting pool. So what do I do? I rotate. And whenever I can, I go practice during off-peak hours. When I do have to share space with unsavory characters though, I try my best to use it to practice my ability to focus and not allow distractions to creep into my game.
I certainly envy those with a pooltable at home, but in New York that's virtually an impossibility.
The fact is that poolhalls make their money from yuppies (for the upscale ones) and hoodlums (for the low-end ones), and I can't stand either crowd.
No, I'm not quitting pool. So what do I do? I rotate. And whenever I can, I go practice during off-peak hours. When I do have to share space with unsavory characters though, I try my best to use it to practice my ability to focus and not allow distractions to creep into my game.
I certainly envy those with a pooltable at home, but in New York that's virtually an impossibility.
"Young punks"
I thought I'd explain the "young punk" type that irritates me:
The type with smart-ass looks on their faces, who sit there & smirk & analyze people around them, then make comments to their buddies & laugh about it.
Don't get me wrong, there are "old punks" that hang out in bars as well!
I thought I'd explain the "young punk" type that irritates me:
The type with smart-ass looks on their faces, who sit there & smirk & analyze people around them, then make comments to their buddies & laugh about it.
Don't get me wrong, there are "old punks" that hang out in bars as well!
mrpool06 said:I've hit a point recently where I've gotten sick of the people in some of the bars/pool halls (I don't have a pool table at home). There is one pool hall here in particular (Bullwackers) where I won't even go....a person gets dirty looks & bad vibes from some of the regulars there (I know several other players who feel the same way); I swear some of those guys live there, do they have jobs?? Alot of the bars have the "young punk" types hanging out there as well....I usually don't have problems with people like this, but am just getting sick of being around them....usually are unfriendly.
Thankfully, we do have a non-smoking/non-drinking pool hall here in town that has a decent crowd.
Anyone else get sick of bars? I have room in my family room for a table, but it'd take up the whole room, & my wife would kill me!
If you're serious about the game and improving, I will tell anyone who will listen to do whatever they can to put a real pool table in their house.
I don't care if you have to take a loan and add on to you house, buy a cheaper car, or work weekends for six months, the sacrifice is well worth it. Sometimes I'll close the doors and play on my home table all night long.
As far as the wife goes, mine uses it for laying out and cutting material, gift wrapping, etc. and it's the center of attraction when we have parties at the house. She's the one who insisted we put a pool table in the house and I'm really happy she did.
Chris
I enjoy going to pool halls but I'm very specific in which ones I go to. Especially since I always shoot alone.
I'm easily annoyed by people. I'm jaded. I admit that. I like people. But then again I don't like people. It's kind of weird. It's like I can get along with anyone and manipulate people into liking me. But all in all I can't stand but a handful of people.
Basically for me to enjoy myself at a bar it has to fit perfectly into my little world. Which is part of the reason I think I'm attracted to pool so much.
It's an activity in which I can go out and socialize or atleast people watch. Yet overall people leave me alone. Because people are generally not great at pool and don't want attention drawn to them. So they'll be quite. But if you say something to them they aren't going to be overshy nor over talkative. It's perfect for me.
Now I do understand the stare of the regulars who seem to have no job at all. At a pool hall here in Atlanta I would always get a tripple shimmed table. I was in love with the table. Tight pockets, it was a Diamond, and the waitress who usually served that table was a damn good waitress. She didn't try to talk to me but acknowledged I was there regardless if I ordered 200shots of Tequila or didn't get a single thing.
Anyways I'd see some regulars stroll in not long after I snatched the table. I could just see it in them that it bugged them I had the table. And on top of that I didn't gamble.
A home table is the way to go if you can. If not find a good hall or even a bar with decent tables. If it is a higher end bar with hourly tables most people in their can't play. And they won't bother you at all if you have a nice stick. It doesn't even matter if you can shoot. Men are afraid you'll be better than they are in front of the women. And women don't do a thing unless they feel the rest of their friends will approve. So women will leave you alone if you are by yourself on a pool table. With you being married that can be a good thing.
I'm easily annoyed by people. I'm jaded. I admit that. I like people. But then again I don't like people. It's kind of weird. It's like I can get along with anyone and manipulate people into liking me. But all in all I can't stand but a handful of people.
Basically for me to enjoy myself at a bar it has to fit perfectly into my little world. Which is part of the reason I think I'm attracted to pool so much.
It's an activity in which I can go out and socialize or atleast people watch. Yet overall people leave me alone. Because people are generally not great at pool and don't want attention drawn to them. So they'll be quite. But if you say something to them they aren't going to be overshy nor over talkative. It's perfect for me.
Now I do understand the stare of the regulars who seem to have no job at all. At a pool hall here in Atlanta I would always get a tripple shimmed table. I was in love with the table. Tight pockets, it was a Diamond, and the waitress who usually served that table was a damn good waitress. She didn't try to talk to me but acknowledged I was there regardless if I ordered 200shots of Tequila or didn't get a single thing.
Anyways I'd see some regulars stroll in not long after I snatched the table. I could just see it in them that it bugged them I had the table. And on top of that I didn't gamble.
A home table is the way to go if you can. If not find a good hall or even a bar with decent tables. If it is a higher end bar with hourly tables most people in their can't play. And they won't bother you at all if you have a nice stick. It doesn't even matter if you can shoot. Men are afraid you'll be better than they are in front of the women. And women don't do a thing unless they feel the rest of their friends will approve. So women will leave you alone if you are by yourself on a pool table. With you being married that can be a good thing.
I've always chosen pool halls (oops, billiard rooms) over bars. Usually the tables are in better condition and you don't have the loudness and unpredictability of the bar scene. That being said, ever since I learned how to play snooker, I usually only go to places that have a snooker table. I've never been asked to play for money or even asked to play a game when playing snooker. Some people will ask how it is played (but rarely pay attention enough to be able to tell someone else afterwards), but usually nobody bothers me at all. However, it is great fun to match up with someone who plays well enough to make a game competitive in a bar. My experience has been that good players in bars know the etiquette and the rules so there isn't any arguing. If there is a crowd and the table is full of quarters, I've learned that I'm not going to like the action very much, so I'll sit out in those circumstances. Same thing if I'm playing and the place starts to get crowded and noisy. Time to leave or just drink and enjoy the interactions without getting too involved.
After talking to the one of the BCA league operators in our vicinity, I found out that you can start your own league playing on home tables. She said you need a minimum of 6 teams with 3 players/team. This sounds like a much better situation than bar league, since home players usually have better equipment in better condition than you'll find in most bars. Plus you could buy your own 6-pack for about what a bar charges for 2 beers. I don't know if this would be a good alternative for the OP given his location, but it may be worth looking into. It may be worth advertising around that you are looking for a practice partner with his own table at tournaments and league nights at your local establishments.
After talking to the one of the BCA league operators in our vicinity, I found out that you can start your own league playing on home tables. She said you need a minimum of 6 teams with 3 players/team. This sounds like a much better situation than bar league, since home players usually have better equipment in better condition than you'll find in most bars. Plus you could buy your own 6-pack for about what a bar charges for 2 beers. I don't know if this would be a good alternative for the OP given his location, but it may be worth looking into. It may be worth advertising around that you are looking for a practice partner with his own table at tournaments and league nights at your local establishments.
eybsmutz said:
We do a lot of work for "Billiard Country Clubs".
One neighborhood is hardcore here in Atlanta. Some ex-football coach runs it. It's funny too. I don't even have a clue how many Gold Crowns are in this neighborhood. But plenty of 3s and 4s. They post current rankings on the mailboxes.
The funniest part is watching him tell other people how to put their table up. He'll go through a house "This has to go and this needs to be knocked down. If you open this it will give you cue length. You theatre room can go into that smaller room. Get a plasma so you can fit a tv" And almost mandatory Tournament Green Simonis 860.
These homes also range between $500,000 to $1,000,000. And people are knocking out walls to fit a 9ft table. And no one questions him either. Not even the wives.
> Me too! The only place in my town,that doesn't have bar tables,is now infested with tournament poker players. It has gotten to the point where the last time I tried to go there to hit some balls,I was told pretty much verbatim that if I wasn't there to play poker,I wasn't welcome. At least the bar tables in town get recovered once a year or more,and occasionally have fresh ball sets,much more that I can say for the old-timer's room. I'd probably give a lung or testicle for a Gold Crown or Diamond that wasn't a 2 hour drive. Tommy D.
Oh my word, lighten up brother. I wouldn't consider Irving Crane or any pro pool player as a degenerate. They have employment, however gainful. I'm referring to the players that never seem to leave and all the "decent" people think are "filthy poolbums". I fit this description quite nicely, but if you walk over to me, I'll gladly play you a friendly game.alstl said:
When you play pool, just dance with the one you came with. Stop worrying about what the people on the other tables think and play your game.
If someone's hassling you, challenge them to a game. If they accept it's a good way to earn some respect. If they decline, they're forced to shut up because you now know they have no heart.