Fatboy said:
HAHAHA!!!
His name is Duy Ho - he's Vietnamese. He is no longer a kid but ALL the guys his age were strong players. Duy doesn't play anymore he just got married and owns a limousine service.
Pool hall in Honolulu..?
- Thread starter Peer
- Start date
HAHAHA!!!
His name is Duy Ho - he's Vietnamese. He is no longer a kid but ALL the guys his age were strong players. Duy doesn't play anymore he just got married and owns a limousine service.
digitalcrack said:
Hey who is this???
Yes I do come by every so often - if it's worth it$$$ LOL. But I am ALWAYS just a phone call away!!!
Fart sniffer said:
It's Keali'i - yes very good player - very good temper - has a lot of potential too!
Jimmy M. said:
You are very correct about that Jimmy - u can play till your legs fall off - lol!
The action here is awesome! But now the room is no longer 24 hours it closes at 4 a.m. I think the longest I stayed in action was 72 hour straight!!! I must've been young and stoopid when I think about i....but there is action everyday and every night - we are pretty fair in matching up and money amounts don't really matter much there. + or - 500 was like my average...DAILY!!!!!
acedotcom said:
Sadly, Jay no longer hangs at Brian's. I played with him in a ring game in April and he couldn't make a ball!! We used to gamble daily when I was playing.
Hey Phoebe, you still play? You won't remember me since the last time I played you was probably 7 years ago. Do you know what happened to Devin Luankah (i could never spell his last name). Did Jordan and Kurt ever move to California? Just some questions that popped into my head.
I'm back from Hawaii...
So thanks to all your recommendations of Hawaiian Brian's, I naturally decided to check it out... and man, was I in for a sad surprise!
I don't know how to put this gently, but compared to what I'm used to (back in Scandinavia and here in Northern California) the Brian's place sucks, big time. The entire place is dirty, including floors, tables and balls -- several times I had to go to the bathroom to clean my hand(s) as my bridge hand got sticky & blue by the dirty table-cloth. The balls were trowing big time since they had probably never been washed, the rails were broke/inconstant, and the table that had the tightest pockets (table #39) had yet wider pockets than the widest of our Shoreline Billiards here in Bay Area... AND THEY DID NOT SERVE ANY BEER!
Well, if any of you Hawaiians are coming to Northern California, check out Shoreline Billiards (especially table #4) and you'll be in for a nice surprise.
-- peer
So thanks to all your recommendations of Hawaiian Brian's, I naturally decided to check it out... and man, was I in for a sad surprise!
I don't know how to put this gently, but compared to what I'm used to (back in Scandinavia and here in Northern California) the Brian's place sucks, big time. The entire place is dirty, including floors, tables and balls -- several times I had to go to the bathroom to clean my hand(s) as my bridge hand got sticky & blue by the dirty table-cloth. The balls were trowing big time since they had probably never been washed, the rails were broke/inconstant, and the table that had the tightest pockets (table #39) had yet wider pockets than the widest of our Shoreline Billiards here in Bay Area... AND THEY DID NOT SERVE ANY BEER!
Well, if any of you Hawaiians are coming to Northern California, check out Shoreline Billiards (especially table #4) and you'll be in for a nice surprise.
-- peer
Sorry you had such a bad experience at Brians. Now its become such a hangout for a big bunch of high schoolers. But there are a couple of tables in the back which the regulars usually play on. Which are a different quality.
You should have asked for Brian or his partner Aki personally. I know Brian is getting up in age and he hasnt been in great health. Remember it is a place where Rodney Morris came out of and there used to be a table for his matches only. There was some quality 9 ballers a while back then.
You should have asked for Brian or his partner Aki personally. I know Brian is getting up in age and he hasnt been in great health. Remember it is a place where Rodney Morris came out of and there used to be a table for his matches only. There was some quality 9 ballers a while back then.
Peer said:
Sadly to say as a regular of Hawaiian Brians you are completely right. They used to have people vacuum the tables every morning and workers were required to clean the balls. The balls are absolutely fillthy and the tables has chalk dust all over the place. I can feel the grime on the balls when Im racking. Some tables are better then others in terms of the rail consistency. The air is filthy. Don't go in there when you are sick because you will get even sicker. The managers do not know how to manage and the workers there do not work. Pool is dying in Hawaii in terms of interest in the game. Most of the time the place is occupied with a bunch of bangers who hurt the equipment and don't even know it. There are maybe a dozen pool players that come by to play on a regular basis but thats about it. Ever since Aki left Hawaiian Brians the Pool Hall went to crap. I'm quite disappointed at how things turned out but regardless Hawaiian Brians is still the best place to play pool on Oahu.
hmmm... yeah... in the years that i've been playing there, i'd have to say, the hey-days are long gone. on the other hand, the old timers drool when i walk into the room. i think i have a reputation for being "dead money". too much ambition, too much money, not enough skill.
that being said, i'm sure you can get action on tables 27-29.
that being said, i'm sure you can get action on tables 27-29.
Peer said:So thanks to all your recommendations of Hawaiian Brian's, I naturally decided to check it out... and man, was I in for a sad surprise!
I don't know how to put this gently, but compared to what I'm used to (back in Scandinavia and here in Northern California) the Brian's place sucks, big time. The entire place is dirty, including floors, tables and balls -- several times I had to go to the bathroom to clean my hand(s) as my bridge hand got sticky & blue by the dirty table-cloth. The balls were trowing big time since they had probably never been washed, the rails were broke/inconstant, and the table that had the tightest pockets (table #39) had yet wider pockets than the widest of our Shoreline Billiards here in Bay Area... AND THEY DID NOT SERVE ANY BEER!
Well, if any of you Hawaiians are coming to Northern California, check out Shoreline Billiards (especially table #4) and you'll be in for a nice surprise.
Yes....so sorry you had a bad experience.
BUT.....remember....everyone pool hall is different and has different atmoshpere's.....YOU as a pool player have to adjust. THAT'S what makes it a challenge. Not every pool hall has tip-top conditions and equiptment....that would make the game too easy for God's sake.
Come on... no one said it was going to be conditions you are used to back home?? Right? And it was posted before that it is a non-alcoholic establishment...did you miss that?
Just to correct you....#39 does NOT have the tightest pockets, #27 does.
Food for thought: If you can play there (with it's so-called shitty conditions) then DAMN.....you probably could play anywhere...right?
I hate the grumbling and dissing....I am truly sad that I didn't bump into you....cause some of us CAN play pretty good on such terrible conditions
Sorry Phoebe but there is room for constructive criticism. I know Brian from the 60's. Im from the Nuuanu area but live in Cali now for business. Old Brians on Keamokuu use to be nice.But the place has really gone downhill. The tables need some reconditioning and the place needs some cleaning up. I use to play at Diamond Billiards owned by Freddy who ended up buying Ye Billiard Den in Los Angeles a famous action joint where Brian played out of when he was on the road. I also played in a great place in Chinatown on King street but this was before you were born also on Kalakaua next to the old Lau Yee Chai.
Youre right there was and are some great 9 ball players from Hawaii nei. I remember that Efren came to Hawaii in the early days and played Blackie and Efren lost. I use to sell newspapers outside the Mindanao pool hall when I was a kid.
Youre right there was and are some great 9 ball players from Hawaii nei. I remember that Efren came to Hawaii in the early days and played Blackie and Efren lost. I use to sell newspapers outside the Mindanao pool hall when I was a kid.
Its too bad that pool is dying in Hawaii. A few years back, David Grossman told me about the times he went to Hawaii. Grossman loves to surf and fish but he was really impressed with the level of pool playing in Hawaii. What he told me that I found really interesting was he found Hawaiians to have ALOT of heart. He told me of how he would get matched up against players, who didnt know and didnt care who he was. They would play and the minute he beat one guy, the next guy would get up and play his heart out. David was being steered around by this one fellow, and after a few weeks the one guy says, well you have beat everyone around here...so the only thing I guess to do is for you to play me now. This was after this guy had watched David play top speed to beat everyone. As it turned out, this guy wasnt even as good as some of the other guys, but he wanted his chance to beat David. Maybe its the nature of Hawaiians to be show no fear...after all they get up and paddle out in double overhead waves...but it was interesting to hear him talk of the culture in the pool room and how its a bit different than in the mainland USA.
I dont care if that place is gone to the dumps, if I ever go to Hawaii, I'm gonna have to check it out.
I dont care if that place is gone to the dumps, if I ever go to Hawaii, I'm gonna have to check it out.
bruin70 said:
there are actually two. there's the university gameroom which is on campus and hosts 8 tables that are crap and kids play on them (but if you're lucky, you might bump into some very talented kids with money).
the other one is puck's alley. a strip mall next to the university. the place always scared me because it was located in the back of a dark parking lot. seems like the type of place where you could get jumped if you won some money that somebody wasn't ready to let go of. on the other hand, i hear they got some of the best condition tables and balls around. some super fast cloth too.
uwate said:
i'm not sure it's about heart. i think locals just hate getting beaten by someone outside of the islands. we don't get many road players around since there is no road that joins us to another state! so the same people keep playing one another and i guess its hard to see a "tourist" come and take everyones money.
SCCues said:
yup. i was lucky to have been heavy into pool a few years ago before "rocket" left for the mainland. i met him a few times while he was practicing. really friendly. even took pictures with me during his practice time.
