Looking for a few good men (or women) and locations nationwide!

[Zhero]

So much salt in this thread, Jesus.

I support what the OP is doing and I can see professional players have more success in the Chinese 8-ball game. I've been to China multiple times and have played on those tables. Extremely tough games, but also well-built and very fun to play on. If you like challenges this is it, I don't think any other table manufacturers come close to the level of difficulty and competitiveness that the Chinese 8-ball table brings.

After practicing about 2 months on those tables I shoot MUCH better on brunswick/diamond. If my local pool room had one I'd definitely be playing on it.

But that's all irrelevant as OP is not trying to take over the market with these tables. The focus is on the players and the growth of the sport as a whole. It's a sad fact that the American pool scene is going down the drain, I'm sorry to say this but it's the truth. If players see more success in China then they have the right to compete over there. Maybe instead of whining about other people taking over the market, we could all take a moment to think about what we can ACTIVELY do to improve the sport rather than blocking out the competition.

 

[Sandman]

So much salt in this thread, Jesus.

I support what the OP is doing and I can see professional players have more success in the Chinese 8-ball game. I've been to China multiple times and have played on those tables. Extremely tough games, but also well-built and very fun to play on. If you like challenges this is it, I don't think any other table manufacturers come close to the level of difficulty and competitiveness that the Chinese 8-ball table brings.

After practicing about 2 months on those tables I shoot MUCH better on brunswick/diamond. If my local pool room had one I'd definitely be playing on it.

But that's all irrelevant as OP is not trying to take over the market with these tables. The focus is on the players and the growth of the sport as a whole. It's a sad fact that the American pool scene is going down the drain, I'm sorry to say this but it's the truth. If players see more success in China then they have the right to compete over there. Maybe instead of whining about other people taking over the market, we could all take a moment to think about what we can ACTIVELY do to improve the sport rather than blocking out the competition.

Thank you!
It's reassuring to see that many of you do understand the point of this thread. I thought I was crazy for a minute. Perhaps even unclear in my original post. It's good to be back on topic now.
I haven't played as much pool as I'd like to since I got into the industry end of things but more so, even less 8-ball than ANY game. The game of 8-ball in America has unfortunately become associated with amateur and league play mainly. Eight ball is a beautiful game incorporating disciplines from 14.1 pattern play, 1 pocket safety maneuvering, and occasionally a power shot or two from rotation type games. Now, with the addition of the Chinese 8 ball table in my pool room, I was inspired to play the game once again on that table because of the difficulty level alone. It was no longer a simple run out game for me. It was now a true challenge and test of strategy play more than just patterns and pocketing. Last night, I played 8 ball with a customer on my one pocket table (Brunswick GC2 from Mizerak's old pool room) with customized extended rails built to make the pockets 3 & 7/8 inches. I STILL was able to break and run a few racks out and manipulate the cue ball while still pocketing confidently. Why? All thanks to playing 8-Ball on the Joy table I have. They named it correctly. "Joy"

 

[BmoreMoney]

Hahhahaha! 5.5 pockets and no shelf. I love it! I also offer lessons...

Thank you for your input once again. The tougher tables are for those ready to compete at an A class level or so. You will get there one day. Jut put your time into proper practice (not just playing games) but rather, drills, instruction and small competitions for your mental game as well.

Hope to see you at SBE. Do you go there?

Yeah, I love SBE . Unfortunately the last time I made it was 2014. As to the lessons, my speed etc - I've said this before and may sound silly initially but maybe not if you think about it for a second date or two. I really do not want to improve. I've been at my level for years and years and am happy just where I am. To understand this let me tell you a few things. As we all know, pool can mean many different things to many folks. There are so many different reasons people enjoy playing pool and so many games to choose from. I get my enjoyment from the action, Sure Im involved in all kinds do of action, with pool being only one. So ues, I do love pool but the action is what does it for me.

Now, in all seriousness with no BS involved ( yeah right coming from a pool player right? I hear ya, but those that know me know it's true and you and I aren't trying to ,arch up so take it as is lol ☺) . With action being what I enjoy, I truly feel I'm right in the " sweet spot ". Oh btw, I honestly rate myself as a " B " player. I call it the sweet spot because I can run out on occassion, I have a great deal of knowlegde, and hang in in the poo, rooms for years I've pretty much seen it all. As a "B ", I can still spot lower players decent spots if needed and still get there while at the same time I still get what I consider " huge spots " from A's and shortstops and still get there. If I were to progress in my game, those spots wou.do change ( and not for the better imho).

As to playing the pros, I try to avoid that whenever possible ( vast majority of the time ). Why? Well you see them giving out games that most say " that's crazy, stupid, spot! But yet the pros win with them time and time again - vast majority of the time infact. They can AND DO outrun the nuts all the time. While it's great to watch a pro run a set out, it is of no interest to me to have it done to me lol. Most importantly , you can not win any money from them. If they are playing on the or own money ( which is usually short anyway ) then that means they think they have the nuts ( which they always do - I know it's sometimes hard to understand how someone giving up the breaks, 20-3, and a handspan has the nuts - but trust me lol. Now if they are being staked as if the case most often- if you do get lucky enough to win a set the backer wants to pull up or readjust. Just saying. The sweet spot in action are people like myself speed wise or a little less. These folks are often into very good businesses where they have PLENTY OF money to throw around and don't mind losing. More often than not they enjoy a nice close tight match up for their cash, not getting 200 no count or whatever lol.

Tournaments for me has always been what you do to kill time till the fun stuff starts lol. The last thing worth noting is what I've said about matching up with the pros is ( or should be pretty common knowledge ) So why does this still happen you may ask?. Star power is what I call it. Many people are more than happy to throw away xxxx amount of $$$$ just to be able to say they played X. Or maybe so they can I tract with X, for a short period of time. That's all good with me as it Def puts a lot of food on the table for the pros. For me though, I've been around / known enough that honestly the " star power " quickly had worn off probably by the time I was 14 or so. Anyway Sandman, good luck in your endeavors!

 

[BmoreMoney]

Thank you!
It's reassuring to see that many of you do understand the point of this thread. I thought I was crazy for a minute. Perhaps even unclear in my original post. It's good to be back on topic now.
I haven't played as much pool as I'd like to since I got into the industry end of things but more so, even less 8-ball than ANY game. The game of 8-ball in America has unfortunately become associated with amateur and league play mainly. Eight ball is a beautiful game incorporating disciplines from 14.1 pattern play, 1 pocket safety maneuvering, and occasionally a power shot or two from rotation type games. Now, with the addition of the Chinese 8 ball table in my pool room, I was inspired to play the game once again on that table because of the difficulty level alone. It was no longer a simple run out game for me. It was now a true challenge and test of strategy play more than just patterns and pocketing. Last night, I played 8 ball with a customer on my one pocket table (Brunswick GC2 from Mizerak's old pool room) with customized extended rails built to make the pockets 3 & 7/8 inches. I STILL was able to break and run a few racks out and manipulate the cue ball while still pocketing confidently. Why? All thanks to playing 8-Ball on the Joy table I have. They named it correctly. "Joy"

Sandman, as to your topic of Joy tables one thing comes to MI do immediately after reading this post : while admittedly there are some players that will believe they will benifit from playing on an extremely tight table, I think it will just irritate the masses and possibly cause them to quit. The hard core people may like it, but they are a TINY fraction of the pool population in the US. The bulk being leaguers that want their Bb's with 5+ I checked pockets - no?

 

[Sandman]

Yeah, I love SBE . Unfortunately the last time I made it was 2014. As to the lessons, my speed etc - I've said this before and may sound silly initially but maybe not if you think about it for a second date or two. I really do not want to improve. I've been at my level for years and years and am happy just where I am. To understand this let me tell you a few things. As we all know, pool can mean many different things to many folks. There are so many different reasons people enjoy playing pool and so many games to choose from. I get my enjoyment from the action, Sure Im involved in all kinds do of action, with pool being only one. So ues, I do love pool but the action is what does it for me.

Now, in all seriousness with no BS involved ( yeah right coming from a pool player right? I hear ya, but those that know me know it's true and you and I aren't trying to ,arch up so take it as is lol ☺) . With action being what I enjoy, I truly feel I'm right in the " sweet spot ". Oh btw, I honestly rate myself as a " B " player. I call it the sweet spot because I can run out on occassion, I have a great deal of knowlegde, and hang in in the poo, rooms for years I've pretty much seen it all. As a "B ", I can still spot lower players decent spots if needed and still get there while at the same time I still get what I consider " huge spots " from A's and shortstops and still get there. If I were to progress in my game, those spots wou.do change ( and not for the better imho).

As to playing the pros, I try to avoid that whenever possible ( vast majority of the time ). Why? Well you see them giving out games that most say " that's crazy, stupid, spot! But yet the pros win with them time and time again - vast majority of the time infact. They can AND DO outrun the nuts all the time. While it's great to watch a pro run a set out, it is of no interest to me to have it done to me lol. Most importantly , you can not win any money from them. If they are playing on the or own money ( which is usually short anyway ) then that means they think they have the nuts ( which they always do - I know it's sometimes hard to understand how someone giving up the breaks, 20-3, and a handspan has the nuts - but trust me lol. Now if they are being staked as if the case most often- if you do get lucky enough to win a set the backer wants to pull up or readjust. Just saying. The sweet spot in action are people like myself speed wise or a little less. These folks are often into very good businesses where they have PLENTY OF money to throw around and don't mind losing. More often than not they enjoy a nice close tight match up for their cash, not getting 200 no count or whatever lol.

Tournaments for me has always been what you do to kill time till the fun stuff starts lol. The last thing worth noting is what I've said about matching up with the pros is ( or should be pretty common knowledge ) So why does this still happen you may ask?. Star power is what I call it. Many people are more than happy to throw away xxxx amount of $$$$ just to be able to say they played X. Or maybe so they can I tract with X, for a short period of time. That's all good with me as it Def puts a lot of food on the table for the pros. For me though, I've been around / known enough that honestly the " star power " quickly had worn off probably by the time I was 14 or so. Anyway Sandman, good luck in your endeavors!

I completely understand. I was an action player at age 17. Tournaments were to kill time until finding someone to match up with. Nowadays by me, people only chase tournaments and run home as soon as they get knocked out or pretend to want action (maybe just attention) and bark for 2 hours negotiating a ridiculous game and never play. It doesn't even excite me anymore. Anyhow, my new interest is to help uplift pool in America. Yes, I like a challenge. LOL Thanks for the good wishes. Maybe I'll see you at SBE THIS YEAR! :thumbup:

 

[Sandman]

Good post Mr. Kickin.
I dont know why but it sure seems like people who try to advance pool get a lot "attitude" from some members. If members dont have anything positive to add in a thread why bother posting at all?? People wonder why long time members leave, think this could have something to do with it??

Thank you Fastone. I appreciate you seeing that. It most definitely IS the reason so many of us avoid posting on here much anymore. There's always a few that ruin it for everyone unfortunately. I was taught the same thing. If you have nothing positive to add, just keep moving along. At the same time, I have no problem putting negativity or ignorance in it's place either. I will not be bullied by those who think, simply because they have a mouth (or fingertips) that it should be used at every moment.

 

[ceebee]

Is the whole idea to get Chinese 8-Ball into America, WITH the Chinese table too... I'm sure Diamond, Brunswick & Olhausen can make 9 foot Snooker tables, if there is a market.

Ed's idea for playing different game, in hopes of building a following for Chinese 8-Ball, might be OK & actually work. I played Snooker for years, so I like the game. My partner just gave me a 10 foot, 6 leg Arcade Snooker Table for me to practice my Golf Game. I'll practice my 8-Ball game on it too. My cushions have been modified, to play with Pool Balls.