Pool balls at local bar are terrible?

WVShootist

WVShootist

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So,

I've really only gotten into trying to become good at pool(still not there) the past 3 months. I've played 98% of my pool at my local bar. The past week I've been to two or three places that had balls that hit better, got infinitley noticeably better English off the cue ball, etc. And even though it's the only place that's conveinent for me to play I almost hate going there now because of the balls on the table.

Are there cheap pool balls that suck that my bar is using or am I imagining this due to having better luck abroad? Still making shots, mind you, just the English and overall play at my bar seems lacking now after playing a few different places. (And their tables were just serviced, re-felted)

To better explain, the balls I've encountered that I like seem maybe a tiny bit smaller, with maybe even a glossy look to them. The ones at my bar are dull in appearance.
 
What kind of table are you playing on at the bar?
...and is it coin operated?
 
pt109 said:
What kind of table are you playing on at the bar?
...and is it coin operated?
Click to expand...

Yes, it's a coin operated Valley bar box.

Odd thing is one of the bars with balls I liked better up the street have the exact same table, of course each game 3 or 4 play balls come out of the cue return there too as you make all the balls. So I'm guessing those balls are too small for that table or something, but they do seem to play better.
 
joe76195 said:
Bar boxes are not pool tables. Try to find a real poolroom.
Click to expand...

bAR BoxEs R nOt PoOL tAbLeS
spongebobicon.jpg
 
:sorry:



The balls need to be cleaned with a ball machine.

If you play a lot there, you can take your own balls.


You might be able to find a new set of Elephant balls for $50.



.
 
poolguy4u said:
:sorry:



The balls need to be cleaned with a ball machine.

If you play a lot there, you can take your own balls.


You might be able to find a new set of Elephant balls for $50.



.
Click to expand...

Ah, that might make sense. Would Aramith ball cleaner improve the situation any?
 
Thank you for reminding me.....Getting down to end of 9 month $eason. Got to bring a bucket, 'Dawn' and a sponge down to local home Bar I play Weds night BCA money League 9 ball at and soak the filth, grime, beer, chicken wing sauce off the primo mis-matched dead balls tomorrow after work.

Not a 'real table' just a fake 8' coin op Valley

-Kat:groucho:
 
I'm forced to play on barboxes. Idk your exact situation, but the number one problem if you're playing a lot of bar pool is the weight of the balls. I'm not talking about heavy cueballs either... I mean I'm talking you can hit say a two ball, and the three ball can weigh five grams more because it's from a different set, it's newer, or whatever. The bar I play in for example, has been around decades, and they don't buy new balls, haha. Worse than that, as I was alluding to, balls get moved from one table to the next. I don't personally think dirty balls play all that bad, but maybe that's just me... I mean that's just part of pool, but every ob being a different weight can be tough to impossible to deal with.
 
Ekojasiloop said:
I'm forced to play on barboxes. Idk your exact situation, but the number one problem if you're playing a lot of bar pool is the weight of the balls. I'm not talking about heavy cueballs either... I mean I'm talking you can hit say a two ball, and the three ball can weigh five grams more because it's from a different set, it's newer, or whatever. The bar I play in for example, has been around decades, and they don't buy new balls, haha. Worse than that, as I was alluding to, balls get moved from one table to the next. I don't personally think dirty balls play all that bad, but maybe that's just me... I mean that's just part of pool, but every ob being a different weight can be tough to impossible to deal with.
Click to expand...

Quite often you end up with multiple numbers of the same ball...the worst part is they don't always even care whether its a stripe or not, so you could find 2 two balls and no 10 ball, which isn't great for 10-Ball or 8-Ball!!!
 
WVShootist said:
So,

I've really only gotten into trying to become good at pool(still not there) the past 3 months. I've played 98% of my pool at my local bar. The past week I've been to two or three places that had balls that hit better, got infinitley noticeably better English off the cue ball, etc. And even though it's the only place that's conveinent for me to play I almost hate going there now because of the balls on the table.

Are there cheap pool balls that suck that my bar is using or am I imagining this due to having better luck abroad? Still making shots, mind you, just the English and overall play at my bar seems lacking now after playing a few different places. (And their tables were just serviced, re-felted)

To better explain, the balls I've encountered that I like seem maybe a tiny bit smaller, with maybe even a glossy look to them. The ones at my bar are dull in appearance.
Click to expand...

It was good to see you out at the 21 Friday night. The more time you spend on those Diamond tables with those clean Aramith Pro balls, the more you'll dislike typical bar room table conditions. Jimmy keeps the balls clean at thr 21. He has a fancy spinning ball cleaner. Now if I could talk him into a separate air conditioner where the 9ft tables are, I'd give the place 5 Stars. It feels a little warm over there for gambling, but I survive, so I rate it a good 4 star establishment. If I'm winning, maybe 4.5 stars....lol.
 
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I never complained about bar-box conditions. Most of the time your playing complete suckers and it almost(not quite,tho) feels illegal robbing them. Seriously though, very few bars give a rats a^* about pool other than the fact they generate $$$. If you find one that's close to being level and has a full set of balls you're doing good.
 
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The worst, absolute worst example of balls affecting play is the cb being smaller than the other balls, like seriously underweight. For the break, the ball bounces of the rack, no matter how hard it's hit, nothing goes anywhere. This should be the first indicator to change it as soon as you can, if you can. I was playing with a beat up old red triangle ball way smaller than the obs the other night, cuts and draw were completely different. It destroys confidence when nothing behaves the way it should. My previous match I was using the red aramith logo cb and managed to win 8-1 with two break and runs. For comparison, I recently purchased a TV set, the cb weighs 169 grams to 168 for the others. Balls become a serious factor when trying to play consistently, just as close to table and cloth conditions, with playing cue like a distant third.
 
garczar said:
I never complained about bar-box conditions. Most of the time your playing complete suckers and it almost(not quite,tho) feels illegal robbing them. Seriously though, very few bars give a rats a^* about pool other than the fact they generate $$$. If you find one that's close to being level and has a full set of balls you're doing good.
Click to expand...

When the cues got so bad at our favorite bar, we'd go outside and chuck 'um up onto the flat roof.

Then the vending company would replace 'em.

There is only one vending company in town now that doesn't care for their tables very well. Their Valley league is crumbling because of that, but they still don't care. The other company does a great job of maintaining their equipment.

If the roof is flat, the balls won't roll off. :wink:


Jeff Livingston
 
WVShootist said:
Yes, it's a coin operated Valley bar box.

Odd thing is one of the bars with balls I liked better up the street have the exact same table, of course each game 3 or 4 play balls come out of the cue return there too as you make all the balls. So I'm guessing those balls are too small for that table or something, but they do seem to play better.
Click to expand...

The worst thing about Valley or Dynamo coin-ops is the cue ball....
...an ill-balanced magnetic cue ball is the worst thing that happened to pool.
So if you're playing real bad some day, use an object ball as a cue ball...
...you might find that it wasn't your stroke that caused all those misses.
 
If the balls clean up well, and the cue ball has a grayish color, Buy a red dot cue ball, or two cue balls that won't work on the return (three is you scratch a lot)

We called the gray cueball a mudball. There are metal flakes distributed throughout the ball which makes a difference on how it rolls. The red dot ball has a metal ball in the center. Think of how a figure skater spins faster when they bring their arms closer to the body.

It can be tough to move the mud ball around if not used to it.
 
Knels said:
The worst, absolute worst example of balls affecting play is the cb being smaller than the other balls, like seriously underweight. For the break, the ball bounces of the rack, no matter how hard it's hit, nothing goes anywhere. This should be the first indicator to change it as soon as you can, if you can. I was playing with a beat up old red triangle ball way smaller than the obs the other night, cuts and draw were completely different. It destroys confidence when nothing behaves the way it should. My previous match I was using the red aramith logo cb and managed to win 8-1 with two break and runs. For comparison, I recently purchased a TV set, the cb weighs 169 grams to 168 for the others. Balls become a serious factor when trying to play consistently, just as close to table and cloth conditions, with playing cue like a distant third.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Here's an example of the light CB....

https://youtu.be/zbCVNarYOZM
 
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