People Who Bring Their Own Balls To Pool Hall...

Straightpool_99 said:
I suspect my pool hall of using counterfeit measle balls! Also the sets are all mixed up and unmatched and the racking templates are worn out. The hall is really sliding downward lately.

I admit I'm a bit lazy, at least too lazy to bring my own balls..But I'm seriously considering it. I'm at least going to buy my own racking template, because this situation is getting ridiculous! You can't use a normal 9 ball break anymore. You have to absolutely slam the balls and hope something drops!
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Years ago I'd occasionally play 1pocket at a room that had counterfeit RCs.

They were lighter than a normal CB but of course the regulars there got used to them and it was very tough to take down the cheese in this room. One day I was leaning against the wall waiting for my shot and this older guys is standing next to me waiting for his shot at the adjoining table and he's just staring off into the distance and says, "You know. I've been playing 1pocket for years and years. But I come into this pool hall... and it looks like I never picked up a cue before." I chuckled, whispered my intel about the light CBs, and his eyes lit up like he's just been told he won the lottery.

Lou Figueroa
 
Here's something that most players never consider and it's really a genuine common issue.
than readers may have ever considered. Take a quality gram scale to the pool hall and weigh
the cue ball and any 5 randomly selected object balls. If you play 9 or 10 ball, then weigh them
all. You will be astonished on the different weights of the object balls and cue ball.

The cue ball often varies quite a bit from the object balls. I've seen differences of > 11 grams
between different brand cue balls. And the official rules of pool allow for this too. Balls can
permissibly vary as much as 1/2 ounce from one another.

Don't think for a minute that a lighter mass colliding with a heavier mass object of the same approximate
size & identical shape produces the same outcome as if the balls were vice versa, i.e., heavier mass
colliding with a lighter mass. The physics involved produce similar but nonetheless different outcomes
based upon the stroke velocity used. Tangent lines remain unaffected and angles & cuts remain the same,
however, the cue ball roll is affected. Perhaps that's why some players have a favorite cue ball type.
I'm indifferent as long as the cue ball is 168-169 grams which is the weight of the balls in my Centennial sets.
 
Ken_4fun said:
Years ago, I think I was in the "AZ Room" and John Schmidt came in to beat some balls around.



As soon as he gets in there he opens his box of balls and then plugs a cleaner in the wall and starts to run the ball cleaner for a few minutes, then removes the balls wipes them down with a cloth and starts tossing them on the table.



I was like everyone else in the room, stopped playing and wondered what in the hell was he doing? I mean bringing your own balls to play, odd but okay, but bringing your own balls, a ball cleaner, and clothes to wipe then down afterwards seemed a little extreme.



Silly AZ players, we just put balls on the table and play.....:rolleyes:



Always learning.



Ken
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I feel the same in eddies when I show up and will spend about 20 min cleaning the table which feels like practice session in futility. I'll then put my balls on said table ...and to really freak them out sometimes I shoot for 15 min and leave lol. One of the managers once told me I couldn't bring my own balls, unrelated but he was fired like a week or two later.

Pool gods were watching

-grey ghost


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've always walked into the pool room with my own set of balls. You didn't think I was going to walk in there with somebody else's did you?
I know of two guys who bring their own. One is a straight pool player, the other is whatever you want him to be (now, don't read anything in to that).
I'll tell you one thing, playing with your own set of balls is certainly more hygienic than using the house balls. I've caught more colds from using them (house) than any other thing I can think of. :smile:
 
I know a guy that has 2 sets in the car.
Me, i only carry a spotted cue ball for apa when I'm capt. (And lost one of those)....EH
 
Commonplace among better players in England, generally because of the inconsistency of the equipment at different pool halls.
 
I usually take my own. Reason being is my pool hall has 4 different sets of balls. The balls are older as well. Can be a difficult task to get a good rack.
 
I play with whatever set they hand me and then I grab a paper towel, put liquid soap and water on it and clean the balls.
 
I'll keep a measle ball on my case for practice but I prefer having to shoot with varying sets of balls. In early rounds of tournaments sometimes you're playing with a banged up set on a bad table, have to get used to it. I also don't like highly cleaned sets, they tend not to throw predictably or transfer spin to other balls.

Lightly wiping chalk smudges off a ball is okay but I don't like when somebody starts spraying cleaner on balls and trying to shine them. They're going to pick of up a film of chalk, dirt, and oil no matter what, so all you do when you strip all that off with a cleaner is start a brief period where the balls will be inconsistent until they all rolle around enough to be evenly coated with normal table grunge.
 
If the place you go has garbage balls why not?

Good set of balls plays much different than junky ones. Found this out firsthand this year when I got new Aramiths. It was as if I got new cloth, the play was literally faster, balls livelier.

I'd clean em before I left the house.
 
For practice, I see nothing wrong with bringing your own balls for consistency, especially if the equipment on location is subpar.

I have played in tournaments where a player brought his own cue ball or set of balls and switches it out before the match starts; due to house rules and tradition, it was acceptable to use their substitute ball(s) because they were cleaner and nicer, but this definitely threw my game off and I think it's not fair especially if you've been practicing or playing matches on different equipment the rest of the time.

I've played matches with mud balls and then a player will take out his own CB for the next match, completely throws me off.
 
Done with BCA Bar League for this reason. Inconsistent, cloth, rails and the balls are generally chipped & filthy. No one gives a sh%t because that's there home bar and they are accustomed to the speed, the dead rail, different mis-matches ball weights because where they spend their time. Also, bar owners do not play so why would they care.

Most see it as an advantage and frown on changing anything out. This included using a 'Red Dot' by a few teams last season. Frikin joke. In addition, even if it was accepted, and you brought your own quality set they would be chewed up in no time due to crappy pockets installation.

I now play BCA League 2 nights a week at a room with GC's, Centennials. They are consistent and I am really enjoying it. My analogy is it's like playing a crappy Muni or well kept Golf Course, big difference on the greens where you make your money.

I do not own my own table due to room requirements in my Townhouse to put one or I would have a GC or Old Gandy and nice set of Centennials.

Have a good day:groucho:

-Kat,
 
Funny story about last night...I just became an authorized dealer for Delta-13 racks and many of our teams, including mine, have purchased a package deal that includes an engraved Delta-13 Elite rack with custom-printed leather inserts (for looks and quieting the loud metal rack) plus the Delta rack/ball carrying case.

Having just received my package in the mail, I was excited to break it out on league night. Only the team we played against contained the matriarch of our league, an 85 yr old woman whose late husband handmade the wooden racks currently used at this bar. And even more incredible is that the one game that I got to break was against said matriarch.

I dared not use my shiny new rack against her lest she whack me with her stick.

PS. If anyone wants one of these packages, PM me for a special discount price. Package does not include balls but I will include any set that you want for an extra charge that is less than most online retailers.

deltatanya.png
 
sbpoolleague said:
Funny story about last night...I just became an authorized dealer for Delta-13 racks and many of our teams, including mine, have purchased a package deal that includes an engraved Delta-13 Elite rack with custom-printed leather inserts (for looks and quieting the loud metal rack) plus the Delta rack/ball carrying case.

Having just received my package in the mail, I was excited to break it out on league night. Only the team we played against contained the matriarch of our league, an 85 yr old woman whose late husband handmade the wooden racks currently used at this bar. And even more incredible is that the one game that I got to break was against said matriarch.

I dared not use my shiny new rack against her lest she whack me with her stick.

PS. If anyone wants one of these packages, PM me for a special discount price. Package does not include balls but I will include any set that you want for an extra charge that is less than most online retailers.

deltatanya.png
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Honest question, I've used the Deltas and they are nice, but what advantage if any do they have over a good quality wooden rack other than 5 times the price???
 
BmoreMoney said:
Honest question, I've used the Deltas and they are nice, but what advantage if any do they have over a good quality wooden rack other than 5 times the price???
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Wood racks stick to balls over time. The dirtier the balls / rack is, the worse the sticking and the harder it is to rack. The Delta-13 rack is expensive but not from a team standpoint. Our team bought Cyclop balls, Russian Magic chalk, and now the Delta-13 package. Cost averaged over the years these will last us and we're talking pennies more per league match to play with the best.
 
sbpooleague,

I've sent you a PM regarding the package you've put together for the Delta Elite.
It may be time to get an early Xmas present since I don't have any new cues arriving.
But I am still in the market for a custom leather 3x6 or 4x8 hard leather case.


Matt B.
 
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