Sacramento

[Poolhalljunkie]

Places to play pool in Sacramento? I will be visiting an old friend in a couple of weeks and want to play some while there. Not sure about gambling, haven't been playing enough lately, also any weekly tournaments. My buddy lives in Roseville. I know of Hardtimes and want to stop by there, just wondering if there were any other places to check out while there?

 

[Fatboy]

jointed cue at fruitridge and 24th is my all time favorite

 

[Cuebacca]

jointed cue at fruitridge and 24th is my all time favorite

That room is like a historical landmark of pool.

Be sure to get a bacon cheeseburger and a milkshake while you're there. Good stuff.

 

[n10spool]

There are three worth going to actually 2 are worth the gas....

Hartimes billiards great place for one pocket and nine ball and a few straight pool players everyone is nice and friendly. 9' gc4 4" pockets in the tournament room. pocket tables only...

Jointed Cue they have 3, antique 5 x 10 billiard tables and another 16+ gc 1,2,3,and 4 tables standard pocket size.

Both have great food and friendly people and alot of tournaments @ both locations.

The other is Diamond billiards they have 5 Diamond tables and a small tournament ball bangers place only a few players mostly kids + another 12 tables mixes of 7,8 and 9 coin ops and local made tables and ashuffle board table..



Give me a shout when your in town or need some solid directions how to get to the places...

Craig
916-825-2036

 

[Poolplaya9]

There are three worth going to actually 2 are worth the gas....

Hartimes billiards great place for one pocket and nine ball and a few straight pool players everyone is nice and friendly. 9' gc4 4" pockets in the tournament room. pocket tables only...

Jointed Cue they have 3, antique 5 x 10 billiard tables and another 16+ gc 1,2,3,and 4 tables standard pocket size.

Both have great food and friendly people and alot of tournaments @ both locations.

The other is Diamond billiards they have 5 Diamond tables and a small tournament ball bangers place only a few players mostly kids + another 12 tables mixes of 7,8 and 9 coin ops and local made tables and ashuffle board table..



Give me a shout when your in town or need some solid directions how to get to the places...

Craig
916-825-2036

I pretty much agree with this assessment. These are the only three rooms worth bothering to visit.

Hard Times is the room you would probably be the happiest with all around, and it is the easiest/closest drive to and from Roseville also. It is the largest, busiest, has the best overall level of players and has the best decor and ambience. The non tournament tables are good, and the tournament tables are great. The clientele on tournament nights is your typical broad spectrum of pool room characters. The non tournament clientele averages pretty young, mostly late teens and twenties. This room probably has my all time favorite poolhall layout ever. Better room layout than Hard Times Bellfower IMO. They also have an awesome tournament room that is seperate and has stadium seating. Azbilliards own "Tom in Cincy" aka "Sactown Tom" is the tournament director there. You should have a pretty easy time finding a gambling game here, the most action of the three.

The Jointed Cue is the least nice of the three by far in terms of decor, however, the place is steep with history. A who's who of all time greats in pool have graced this hall with their presence. It is a plain no frills at all place and looks like it has not had any updates in 30+ years, but lots of historical pictures, tournament brackets and other items on display for ambience. It has the least safe feel of the three but you are still pretty safe here. This room would be your last choice by far for a date night. The tables are pretty good but they sometimes let them get a little worn. The clientele is overall a bit more blue collar or working class of the three, and the tournament clientele is a broad spectrum of typical poom room characters. The non tournament clientele are of all ages, mostly young, probably average age in the early 20's. The overall level of players is pretty good, just a bit under Hard Times. They also have a seperate tournament room with stadium seating, but not nearly as large or nice as Hard Times. If I recall the history correctly, this was the first poolroom in the western US to have a seperate tournament room with stadium seating. The burgers here are famous among pool players all over the US. You should have a pretty easy time finding a gambling game here but it can occasionally be hit or miss.

Diamond Billiards is the smallest of the three but still a nice size room. It is a nice clean place. The tournament clientele probably averages the highest age and maturity level of the three, maybe around early 30's, and friendly. The tournamet level of play is pretty good IMO, but definitely overall the lowest of the three. The tournament players are not bangers as might have been implied in the quote above. Many of them play the tournaments at both of the other two rooms as well. The non tournament clientele is mostly young, late teens and early twenties and all bangers. The tournament tables are diamonds and are absolutely awesome. The non tournament tables are ok, probably about the same as the tables at the Jointed Cue, and not as nice as the tables at Hard Times. Tournament nights have a pretty good group of people and are a good time. Do not bother with their "C" tournament (Wednesday I think), that will be bangers. They have two other tournament nights with good level of play. It is NOT worth going here at all though if it is not a tournament night because it WILL be bangers only on non tournament nights. You can usually find some kind of gambling game on tournament nights only, but it can be hit or miss and definitely not nearly as much action here as the other two places.

I would say don't miss Hard Times for sure, there is something there for everyone and you are sure to enjoy your time. Between the Jointed Cue and Diamond Billiards, they are totally different and it depends on what kind of experience you are looking for. Go to Jointed Cue for the history, burgers, and if you want a more serious player experience and don't care that the place is in need of a good cleaning and refreshing. Go to Diamond Billiards if you want a relaxed laid back tournament night with older/more mature players.

 

[Str8PoolPlayer]

You can find a 9-Ball "B" Tournament at the Jointed Cue on Mondays for $5.00 ...... and the "A" Tournament on Tuesday for $5 - $20 (you will pay $5), and they both start at 8 p.m. ... Single Elimination, so it goes rather smoothly and is over before 11 p.m. even with a full roster of players ...

The "Double Deluxe Cheeseburger & Fries" is World Famous, and the Chili-Cheesburger Plate is also #1 ...

You'll find a great group of friendly players at both Tournaments ...

I just might be there next Tuesday ...

 

[thebaby]

i would love to play

Places to play pool in Sacramento? I will be visiting an old friend in a couple of weeks and want to play some while there. Not sure about gambling, haven't been playing enough lately, also any weekly tournaments. My buddy lives in Roseville. I know of Hardtimes and want to stop by there, just wondering if there were any other places to check out while there?

i play out of hardtimes in sacramento,my name is frank.i love to play one pocket or nine-ball.i love to gamble,if you ask somebody they can get a hold of me.hope to see you then.

 

[Fatboy]

That room is like a historical landmark of pool.

Be sure to get a bacon cheeseburger and a milkshake while you're there. Good stuff.

i have been there hundreds of times, man i miss that room it almost makes me want to move back to Sac.

 

[Franky]

Great descriptions guys. I'll have to drive over to these rooms and check them out some weekend.

 

[JonnyB]

Several Sacramento Tournaments

Sacramento Tournaments: (most start around 7:30 if not mentioned)

-Monday:
Jointed Cue - 9-Ball (B) single elim to 4, $5

-Tuesday
Jointed Cue - 9-Ball (Open) single elim to 4?, $5-$20 variable(may have changed)
Hard Times - 8-Ball (Open) Line Tournament, $10 play for 2+ hours and count your wins, win and move up the line, lose and move down.

-Wednesday:
Hard Times - 9-Ball (B) single elim race to 4, $5

-Thursday:
Hard Times - 9-Ball (USPPA) single elim, race to 5, $10
Diamond - 9-Ball (B) single elim, race to 4 or 5, $5? (been a while, I play in the USPPA)

-First Satuday of Month:
Hard Times - 1-pkt (Open) Double Elim, race to 2 on both sides, $20 (1pm)

-Sunday:
Hard Times - 9-Ball (Open) Double Elim, 6 on winners & 4 on 1-loss, $15 (1pm)
(If it is the Sunday after the first Saturday the above is $25 entry)
Diamond - 8-Ball (Open) Double Elim, 2 on both sides

There are some other halls around town, some with small tournaments:

TC's (Fulton Ave) - Couple decent GC's in back, small tournaments
Hot Shots (Bell St) - Tables are funky - can you handle the karaoke?
6 Pocket (Folsom Blvd) - Looks lively, never stopped in.
Sharky's (Florin Rd.) - I haven't been there in 10 years.

Many Many Bars with a handful of tables.

Gil's Service (Franklin Blvd in Elk Grove) - USPPA Sun 1pm and Weds
CandleRock Lounge (Watt Ave) - Bowling alley's bar, 6ish 8' tables
Blue Cue (28th St) - Meat Market, purple tables.. said enough?
R-15 (R St.) - Bar with 4 coin ops - fairly new. Full bar if that helps you shoot.
.....

As mentioned repeatedly in this thread, Hard Times, Jointed Cue and Diamond are the big 3 places to visit.

JonnyB

 

[JonnyB]

Sacramento, CA Tournament Update

Update:

Monday: TC's is back playing USPPA 9-ball single elim, $13

Thursday: HardTimes USPPA is no longer.
Thursday: HardTimes 10-Ball (Open) single elim to 4, $10

Monday and Tuesday: Jointed cue takes the summer off for their tourneys, though I'm not sure when the exact cut off date is.

Wednesday or Thursday: I hear there is a 9-Ball (B) at Hot Shots but I don't know the particulars.

Next weekend is the HardTimes first of the month and many of California's best show up for One Pocket on Saturday and 9-ball on Sunday. Sadly I will be out of town so the GOOD players will miss my financial contribution.

Jonny B.

Sacramento Tournaments: (most start around 7:30 if not mentioned)

-Monday:
Jointed Cue - 9-Ball (B) single elim to 4, $5

-Tuesday
Jointed Cue - 9-Ball (Open) single elim to 4?, $5-$20 variable(may have changed)
Hard Times - 8-Ball (Open) Line Tournament, $10 play for 2+ hours and count your wins, win and move up the line, lose and move down.

-Wednesday:
Hard Times - 9-Ball (B) single elim race to 4, $5

-Thursday:
Hard Times - 9-Ball (USPPA) single elim, race to 5, $10
Diamond - 9-Ball (B) single elim, race to 4 or 5, $5? (been a while, I play in the USPPA)

-First Satuday of Month:
Hard Times - 1-pkt (Open) Double Elim, race to 2 on both sides, $20 (1pm)

-Sunday:
Hard Times - 9-Ball (Open) Double Elim, 6 on winners & 4 on 1-loss, $15 (1pm)
(If it is the Sunday after the first Saturday the above is $25 entry)
Diamond - 8-Ball (Open) Double Elim, 2 on both sides

There are some other halls around town, some with small tournaments:

TC's (Fulton Ave) - Couple decent GC's in back, small tournaments
Hot Shots (Bell St) - Tables are funky - can you handle the karaoke?
6 Pocket (Folsom Blvd) - Looks lively, never stopped in.
Sharky's (Florin Rd.) - I haven't been there in 10 years.

Many Many Bars with a handful of tables.

Gil's Service (Franklin Blvd in Elk Grove) - USPPA Sun 1pm and Weds
CandleRock Lounge (Watt Ave) - Bowling alley's bar, 6ish 8' tables
Blue Cue (28th St) - Meat Market, purple tables.. said enough?
R-15 (R St.) - Bar with 4 coin ops - fairly new. Full bar if that helps you shoot.
.....

As mentioned repeatedly in this thread, Hard Times, Jointed Cue and Diamond are the big 3 places to visit.

JonnyB

 

[Str8PoolPlayer]

I'll be there ...

Update:

Next weekend is the HardTimes first of the month and many of California's best show up for One Pocket on Saturday and 9-ball on Sunday. Sadly I will be out of town so the GOOD players will miss my financial contribution.

Jonny B.

I'm gonna make it over there for 9-Ball on Sunday ... I think they are doing $1000.00, but not certain ?