Where are the top 5 pool rooms in the that you have personally played in.

1. JOB Billiards, Nashville TN - simply the best pool room I've ever been in.
2. Star Billiards, Ft Walton Beach - a close second. Great equipment, service, players, etc. Lots of fun. I lived there when I was stationed in FL. Andy Gross made me feel right at home (RIP), Robin and Peggy were super nice, and there was a nice waitress there who dated Rick Howard the cuemaker for many years who always treated me like a little brother (probably why Rick gave me such a good deal on his cue...LOL). There were also a lot of fun weekly tournaments that were very fair and "winnable" by any caliber of player. Why? Because I won them a few times, and I was at best a mid-grade B player - capable of streaks of greatness once when a full moon was out.
3. Melrose Billiards, Nashville TN (on 8th Ave south) - old time pool hall, wrote about in Buddy Hall's book. You go down those steps and enter the old timey era. It was right down the street from my highschool (Overton). Skipped many classes to go shoot there. Old Brunswicks, HUGE snooker table (on steroids), great house cues.
4. Snooker's, Nashville TN - it sucks now, but was my home room when I was a kid. There were lots of C players working on their games and a few good players. Lots of gambling amongst these C players as well. It was always busy with playing/gambling/good stuff. We'd come together as a group and go to other pool rooms to see what we could get into. Lots of fun. A sentimental favorite.
5. Fast Eddie's, Shirlington VA. This CAN be a fun pool room. There are quite a few characters there. Mediocre but sometimes strong gambling (and I'm on the lower mediocre scale, so I don't say that as an insult). I usually have a really fun time when I go, and in the end that is what matters.
 
My favorite pool rooms and the rough time frame I visited:

1. Hard Times, Bellflower, CA (late 80s)
2. Peg's Pocket, Miami, Fl (early 80s)
3. California Billiards, Mountain View, CA (late 80s)
4. Starcade Billiards, Ft Walton Beach, Fl (mid 90s)
5. The Pool Room Marietta, GA (present day)

Honorable mentions:
Hollywood Billiards, Hollywood Florida (present day)
Harley's Rack and Cue, Jacksonville, Florida (1990s)
Murphy's Brass Rail Athens, GA (1990s)
Mothers Billiards, Charlotte, NC (1990s)
Chinos in Oakland, CA (late 80s)
Chris's Billiards, Chicago Il (early 90s)
 
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Harold's Pool Parlor, Roselle, IL (defunct)

24/7/365. Great games. One-pocket. Even the occasional insult by various pool luminaries.
 
I have played in a lot of great rooms but the most impressive by far was The Hollywood Athletic Club, which was built in the 20's. I played there only a few times, when I was still fairly new to the game; but it was a beautiful room. Sadly, it was sold and the new owners tried to turn it into a club and it went under just a few months later. That is pretty sad, since it had been very successful for over 70 years.
 
-JOB Billiards in Nashville....all time favorite
-Las Vegas Cue Club...what a dump...I'll never go back.
-Mr. Cues II
-Gametime in Greenville
-Mr. Cues in Norcross (the original)
-Murphy's Brass Rail in Athens, GA
-Players in Augusta, GA....closed. Saw The Canon make three nines on the break in a row to win 7-6!
-A room in Laurel, MD that was very nice...but $25/hour...can't remember the name of it.
 
1. amsterdam billiards - nyc
2. action billiards/starchers - akron, oh
3. masters - queens, ny
4. rack 'em - outside of chicago
5. park slope billiards - brooklyn, ny
 
I haven't been to all that many pool halls, and practically none on the east coast, but some memorable ones I've visited are:
College Billiards in San Diego (before it got scary)
Hardtimes Bellflower
Table Steaks in Denver (the original one)
Chris's Billiards in Chicago
Amsterdam Billiards in NYC
 
Cuaba said:
1: "Rack em Up" at R.C.A. Plaza, Bangkok Thailand.

2: "Magoo's" in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

3: "J.O.B. Billiards" in Nashville, Tennesee.

4: "Megabreak" in Pattaya, Thailand.

5: "Amsterdam Billiards" in N.Y.C.

I can think of some great rooms in Manila, Tokyo, Singapore, & Hong Kong, but I can't remember the names.
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Dang, dude.... you need to get out more. :eek: Nothing in Europe?? :D
 
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My Top 5

#1 Jointed Cue Billiards
#2 Hardtimes (sacto)
#3 Kc's Midway
#4 Hardtimes (la)
#5 Championship Billiards (modesto)

I Love Seeing Jointed Cue Billiards On Here A Few Times, It Means A Lot I Worked There For 9 Years. Terry Stonier Was The Best, Man The Stories I Have Of That Place Are Still Fresh Im My Mind. Thanks To David And Sandy Stonier For Keeping It Alive And Making It My Favorite Place To Play And Dont Forget About The Cheesburgers And Shakes

Angel
 
My favorite pool halls in no particular order (couldn't pick just 5:D) :

Hard Times Billiards, Bellflower, CA
Hard Times Billiards, Sacramento, CA
Stix, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
The Jointed Cue, Sacramento, CA
California Billiards, Mountain View, ca
Embassy Billiards, San Gabriel, CA
Sometime, Tokyo, Japan
 
I loved the original Hard Times in Bellflower. Bet you can't guess who designed the lay out?

I also love the new Hard Times in Sacramento.

Hollywood Billiards in Hollywood, CA is a gorgeous room as well.

I've been in a zillion pool rooms, and many stood out. The old Billiard Tavern upstairs in San Diego was a great room. I liked University Billiards In Minneapolis (I think I got the name right). The old Forest Park Billiards in Dayton was a helluva room. I also liked Ye Billiard Den in Hollywood from many years ago.

I'll never forget old time rooms like The Palace in San Francisco and The Central Club in Oklahoma City. Big rooms, action of all kinds everywhere, and a great lunch counter. Forest Park had this too. And Guys and Dolls in Manhattan was an amazing place in the 60's. Much more interesting then 7/11.

Of course, my favorite room was my last one, Jay's Billiards in Inglewood, CA. It had a short life, less then four years, but what a blast, every day was fun! And we had the biggest games in L.A. back then. DAILY!
 
#1 Hard Times-Bellflower, Ca
#2 Boyce's- Hesperia, Ca (my dads old room0
#3 Jointed Cue-Sacramento, Ca
#4 Chris' Billiards-Chicago, Il
#5 Tie Cue-Topia-Las Vegas, Nv
Mr. Cues-Riverside, Ca. (not nice by any means, but always a ton of action)
 
Fatboy said:
5 best:

Hardtimes both of them.

Jointed cue in Sacramento-my all time favorite.


Honerable mention:


Golden 8 Ball in phoenix was too loud but I awalys made $$$ there, in both locations, the big one I did better in, but a bad crowd of kids, day time only joint.
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Did I ever run into you?

Golden 8 Ball and Hardtimes was my home away from home (and at home) for many more years than my wife likes:D
 
Love2Play9Ball said:
Please list your personal top 5 pool rooms that you have personally played in. Why do you feel your personal top five room are the best.

If you can only think of 1 also add to the thread.

If you are out of the U.S.A. list your favorites also as some might be away from the U.S.A., and what to play pool on vacation, or a business trip.
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1) California Billiards, Mountain View CA -> maybe the best in the country (9', 8', 12' snooker, 10' billiards). Set off section for tourneys/spectating.
2) Amsterdam Billiards (formerly Corner Billiards) NYC - great place, but pricey.
3) Diamond Billiards Dallas, TX - Best 9' equipment, bar none
4) Carom Cafe (Sang Lee's place) Flushing NY - Best 3C anywhere in the US. Streaming 3C, world championships, 12' snooker tables
5a) Golden Q Queens, NY - lots of action
5b) Racks Cafe Queens, NY - Best kitchen in a pool hall ;)

*Giz-n-Hums San Angelo, TX - OK, not that great, but it's the room I grew up in, and pool is cheap. Plus, Mike Massey named a trick shot after us - "The Giz-n-Hum mess"

-td
 
One Nice Room

Country Retreat Billiards
near Boone, NC.

Chris Alridge, owner

Bet that kid(Coe) that played in the Johnson City Tourney plays there.
 
Hardtimes, Bellflower
Chalkers, San Francisco, now gone but what a fern barn!
Boston Billiards Club
 
So many options and styles to choose from

In no order

Hardtimes Bellflower - Love the setup ..overall a great room
Herman and Ann's- Dothan Al - for what it lacks in looks it amde up for in prices, hospitality and action. They offered top notch and well kept
bar tables, snooker and nine footers and even had 3 domino tables going almost from open to close. I think its slowed since I last was there but
many places have.
California Billiard Club - Great setup except for parking. Always in great shape. Good food and equipment all setup with viewing and traffic around the room in mind.
Murphy's Brass Rail - Loved going in there. Could have done better in the food department but I think Murphy fixed that when he came. It was just
The Brass Rail. Always a good time and well maintained equipment at reasonable prices
Speakeasy Billiards in Sanford NC.... I was only around there for about a month but it was great while I was there. There was action and the tables were in great shape and the people friendly.

Others that I have liked
Hollywood Billiards - Hollywood Ca -- Very very nice but too pricey IMO. $4.50 for a coke is too much. Might be one of the nicest room in the country though. Very good food and the staff is usually friendly.
$17+ per hour is a little steep for a guy going in to shoot 5 hours though.
For the clients it draws the prices dont matter.
Chattanooga Billiard Club - Both the old location and the new. The old one is filled with history and atmosphere. The new one is very nice and
offers great amenities.
Shooters - Burnsville Mn -- Only there for a couple nights. Thats why its not higher on my list. Great room and I would love to live near a place like this.
Some pool room in Downtown Fargo ND -- nothing was great but the place was filled with good friendly people and good prices. Three of us were there and all three felt like we were leaving behind friends. Heck we even left with their money and they were nice.
Starcade Billiards - Ft Walton -- hard to be objective in this one as I was good friends with Andy. He and Robin did a great job of making everyone feel at home. The front bar was for the more roudy times but the back was for just old fashioned pool. RIP Andy
 
CrownCityCorey said:
HardTimes - Bellflower, Ca
Hollywood Billiards (old and new) - Los Angeles, Ca
Las Vegas Cue Club - Las Vegas, Nv
Hollywood Billiards (now closed, was also Cochran's and Cue Club before) - San Francisco, Ca
California Billiard Club - Mountain View, Ca

I'm kinda partial to the west :D
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Me too.

CB too
 
Another good room just came to mind. Its in a sub of Chicago. Glenn Rogers and Jeff Carter hang there. Its called The Red Shoes. Got some class. Don:cool:
 
pulzcul said:
Another good room just came to mind. Its in a sub of Chicago. Glenn Rogers and Jeff Carter hang there. Its called The Red Shoes. Got some class. Don:cool:
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actually it's just called "Red Shoes". it's John Zaksas's place. great room and lot's of action if you want it.
 
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