New Here? - Introduce Yourself

CrookedShot said:
Hey Everyone,

Same old story that's I've read here quite a few times. Started playing pool at age 8, got serious about it around age 12. Had some residents at a retirement home a family member worked at coach me for a couple of years. By 13 I was hustling other kids at the local video game arcade and teen club, through high school and college I played local 9-ball tournaments. After college, I took a corporate IT job working 60+ hours a week for the next 20ish years. In that time my wife and I only dusted the old college cues off a dozen times in total.

My child hit age 10 in the middle of covid lockdowns, regardless I took some saved up cash and got her a kid's Athena cue, having found my old student-wage college kid import cue with crack in the shaft and making horrible noises, I got myself a new Meucci, and also replaced my wife's warped shaft from her college cue. I've spent that last 3 years doing a combination teaching my daughter technique and trying to get my stance and shot back to at least some degree of where it used to be before I had a twisted spine and three focal points over 9 feet. She's outgrown her cue at this point and I'll be moving her up to a full size cue in the next 3-6 months (she may get my Meucci, I've got my eyes on a couple other options for me.)

That's my tale, hopefully I'll be back up to local competition level playing within the next year or so, and my kid and I can enter some tournaments as a dad-daughter team.
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My kids didn't show any interest. That is great that you can spend the time with your daughter.
Joining a league has really helped my game!
 
Hello, new guy here, Rob from NJ. Originally from Brooklyn, where my father owned an eleven table room back in the 1960s. Me and my brother started playing there as kids, and loved hanging out with and learning from the regulars. Besides playing, we cleaned tables, and anything else my dad needed to help keep the place going. Saw a lot of great players over the years, and a lot of money exchange hands. When we moved to NJ, after trying it for a few years, the commute became too much for him, and he sold the place in 1973. Pool disappeared from our lives for a long time, until we were old enough to start playing in bars and local pool halls. Fast forward to 2000, and me, my wife, and three young kids came home after being on vacation, and there was a note on the kitchen table saying, “call me, you just bought a pool table.” So I called my dad, and he asked me to go with him to look at an old table that was for sale. I resisted at first (too busy with life, kids, job), but soon relented. When we got to the owners house, he led us to a damp, moldy basement, and there was a disaster of a reclamation project, covered in boxes of junk, with loose rails, damaged wood, etc. I thanked the guy, and told him that it needed much more work than I had the time to put into it. Somewhat surprised, the guy said, “but your father already put down a deposit and said you’d take it.” After a stern side discussion with my dad, reminding him that I had no room for a nine foot table in my house, he said, “so we’ll finish the basement.” So we took the table apart, carrying each of the three sections of slate up the stairs by ourselves. He spent weeks repairing all of the damaged wood, pockets, structure, etc. We then assembled the table in my basement, except for the rails and cloth. We covered the table in heavy gauge plastic, making it a work bench for the next few months as we finished the basement in old English style with dark woods and brass rails. I then finished up the table and rails, covering my first table since I was a kid. We still own that beautiful 1922 Brunswick Regina. I don’t play nearly as much as I’d like to, but the game will forever be in our lives both as a pastime, and a link to our dad (still around, but unable to play anymore at age 89). Happy to be here.
 
Chaunce33 said:
Hello, new guy here, Rob from NJ. Originally from Brooklyn, where my father owned an eleven table room back in the 1960s. Me and my brother started playing there as kids, and loved hanging out with and learning from the regulars. Besides playing, we cleaned tables, and anything else my dad needed to help keep the place going. Saw a lot of great players over the years, and a lot of money exchange hands. When we moved to NJ, after trying it for a few years, the commute became too much for him, and he sold the place in 1973. Pool disappeared from our lives for a long time, until we were old enough to start playing in bars and local pool halls. Fast forward to 2000, and me, my wife, and three young kids came home after being on vacation, and there was a note on the kitchen table saying, “call me, you just bought a pool table.” So I called my dad, and he asked me to go with him to look at an old table that was for sale. I resisted at first (too busy with life, kids, job), but soon relented. When we got to the owners house, he led us to a damp, moldy basement, and there was a disaster of a reclamation project, covered in boxes of junk, with loose rails, damaged wood, etc. I thanked the guy, and told him that it needed much more work than I had the time to put into it. Somewhat surprised, the guy said, “but your father already put down a deposit and said you’d take it.” After a stern side discussion with my dad, reminding him that I had no room for a nine foot table in my house, he said, “so we’ll finish the basement.” So we took the table apart, carrying each of the three sections of slate up the stairs by ourselves. He spent weeks repairing all of the damaged wood, pockets, structure, etc. We then assembled the table in my basement, except for the rails and cloth. We covered the table in heavy gauge plastic, making it a work bench for the next few months as we finished the basement in old English style with dark woods and brass rails. I then finished up the table and rails, covering my first table since I was a kid. We still own that beautiful 1922 Brunswick Regina. I don’t play nearly as much as I’d like to, but the game will forever be in our lives both as a pastime, and a link to our dad (still around, but unable to play anymore at age 89). Happy to be here.
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Great story! Thanks for sharing. Welcome to AZ🙂
 
Hello all. From CA, 58 y.o. I've been lurking for a while, picking up bits and pieces of information. I figured it was time to join and say hi. I've been play at home for a while now (still a beginner) on a full size Brunswick Orleans I replaced the cushions, felt and redid the woodwork on. I'm a general contractor by trade, the woodwork was easy, the rest, not so easy. I had to make it look like furniture for the wife or it would have to go in the garage and not the living room!

I'm hoping to get some advice and learn a few things here.

Thanks!
 
Hello from MS. Welcome! I enjoy woodworking too. It seems the more I play pool, the more I realize how much more there is to learn. I just got back into pool about 3 years ago after being off the table for about 20 years and the learning curve is steep but I can't get enough! I say join a league. I have learned so much from it.
All the best,
 
Hello, my name is Craig, i live in the midlands of S. Carolina and I recently found this forum and decided to join. I am a member on a few other non pool related forums and try to help others when I can. I've been playing pool off and on since I was around ten years old. That was close to five decades ago. My Uncle had a table at his house and he would teach me.

Anyway I've been looking for a table for about a year and a half and none I was interested in were ever close to me. Sunday a week ago a Brunswick Gold Crown II popped up on FB marketplace so I went that day and bought it. From what I've read these were made in the mid 70's. I wanted a solid wood table that looks like a pool table and not a piece of furniture. I've got an upstairs room in my shop about 20x24 where it will live.

I've just been activated on my account and it took a while so I'll start another thread to post up some pictures and probably ask for some tips and things to make certain it gets setup properly. Looking forward to learning and hopefully becoming a contributor here.
 
Longtime lurker on the forums, thought it was about time I made an account.

I'm from the Intermountain West, and have been playing pool for only about 8 years. My journey began in the college poolroom at 18, my interest grew with the mentorship of an older neighbor who was happy to guide my progress. I moved into league play for a few years before shifting my focus to games like 14.1, 1P, snooker, and golf for small action against guys who don't give out their wisdom for free.

I'm interested in reading more about cuemaking, posting future billiard furniture/accessory projects I'm planning. In addition, I want to keep up with various pool scenes, use the marketplace, participate in discussions, read old road stories, network and more.

Thanks for approving my account, I look forward to being here!
 
Long time snooker player, living far from home.
The nature of where I am living, means the only friends who will play snooker here, are the ones who know they will win comfortably (then humble brag about it lol), no one who might lose risks a game.
Got tired of this, and started playing on the Chinese 8 tables, which is a bloody fun game!
A friend introduced me to the American tables since December, and I have been playing there 4/5 times a week since.
Really enjoy 8-ball, 10-ball and 14.1 - still getting to grips with 9ball... but for the most part here, they play 1/9/2 with the 1 on the spot (my break is needing some work in this format)... I actually prefer 9 on the spot, and sinking the 1 in the middle. A lot more success, and closer matches with friends in this breaking format.
I got roped into a pretty big tourney, and won one of the three matches I played (and at that time I'd only played 9ball three times in my life), and I am pretty sure that's how I caught this virus! :ROFLMAO:
Looking forward to annoying you all with some random questions from time to time!
 
Greetings and Salutations AZ Billiards Crew! I have been lurking for a year as I just got serious about pool again but the time has come where I will need to post things instead of just consuming them. My GC III should be set up some time in the next two months and the real training can begin. I hope to be able to to contribute to the community and share some of my pool journey as I have learned a lot by lurking.
 
I've been on the side reading forums for awhile.
Haven't played pool since I was 14.
Still not playing, just reading the forums.
Hello.
my account has 500 sports cash
what is that?
 
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Long time lurker that finally signed up for an account. Glad to be here!
I've flirted with pool my entire life. Growing up, my uncle had a table. In grade school my father had one in the house. It wasn't until around 2001 when some friends needed someone for a team that I started to play regularly. Over the past few years, I've really started to pick more and more up, and little by little I'm putting it into my game. I finally built the room of my dreams, with my Xbox, PC setup and pool table. I'm an APA 5, ~470 Fargo. I also stream weekly tournaments, as well as 4-5 larger weekend tournaments a year. I've met some incredible people playing this game. Hopefully I can meet a few more along the way.
 
Long time player that recently started getting active in pool again. Been reading this website like crazy. Love the ask the cuemaker section. Have learned lots. The pool landscape has changed some since i played regularly back 2003-4. Originally from Utah, but now live in Oklahoma.
 
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