Vintage Bar Table Tutorial
- Thread starter JPB2
- Start date
Humidity is a huge factor.
Makes the balls stickier.
When it comes to chalk less is more.
The old time clips of hustler drilling the chalk vigouesly while looking over the table is misleading. A careful touch up while observing the application is what I strive for. I want a thin smooth coat. Just as when I paint a door.
The change in humidity here going from dry to rainy is making the table and balls behave slightly differently. More likely to leave chalk mark on the cueball. I still get them on occasion but cleaning the balls is always a time out option
Less often is less chance to get a kick or cling. Playing center ball with a natural Rotation at cueball to object ball collision lowering the possibility of a kick is my method. Staying on the right side for the shot with shape is a huge factor.When roaming the Northwet my first task was an honest ass says mint of the conditions and the hazards was first of the first. Survival is still my strong suit. Preparation makes execution a higher percentage wager.
Oh yeah almost forgot, practice practice practice.
I played a lot of bar table pool back then. A good night on a challenge table could yield $50-100. That was a very good days pay back then.
No two bars were the same and the tables played were different! Cue balls, lights, rails, etc. It took getting used too. I would watch carefully until it was my turn to play, learning all I could before I hit a ball. There was no warm up or time to practice. And if you lost you might have a long wait to play again.
You learn to play good from the get go! I was there to make money, not make friends. I was never satisfied until the last guy quit. I loved the feeling of going home with my pockets stuffed with bills. First thing when I got home was to put the money on the table and neatly unfold it, count it and put it away. Then I could go to sleep thinking good thoughts.
I NEVER stalled in bars. I gave them my best game. They all wanted to be the guy who beat me! And I rarely got any heat from anyone. I was friendly but very competitive. That's what worked for me.
No two bars were the same and the tables played were different! Cue balls, lights, rails, etc. It took getting used too. I would watch carefully until it was my turn to play, learning all I could before I hit a ball. There was no warm up or time to practice. And if you lost you might have a long wait to play again.
You learn to play good from the get go! I was there to make money, not make friends. I was never satisfied until the last guy quit. I loved the feeling of going home with my pockets stuffed with bills. First thing when I got home was to put the money on the table and neatly unfold it, count it and put it away. Then I could go to sleep thinking good thoughts.
I NEVER stalled in bars. I gave them my best game. They all wanted to be the guy who beat me! And I rarely got any heat from anyone. I was friendly but very competitive. That's what worked for me.
Finding 2 or 3 places like that where you could make the rounds until you eventually had to move on was what many of us looked for. Farm them. A dollar went much further back then and a $20 8 ball table stake was gold if you could hold it all night.
The only thing that could ruin the action would be some guy whining to the owner about having to play table stakes when he didn't wanna.
Ruin a good thing real quick.
Playing my best game was something I tried to avoid, #1, bcuz I have a lazy streak, #2, bcuz I can't have a blast focusing on execution. I'd rather roll on auto pilot and have fun and bear down when necessary. Only play hard enuf to win. Easier to return that way and kept headaches to a minimum. But that's just how I roll.
I didn't want to wait four or five games to play again. That's lost wages for me.
Some guys would only play for a drink. I'd ask them for the dollar instead. The guys who would bet 3 or 5 made up for it.