Where do the most serious pool players live, or go to looking for good competition?

J

justinb386

Banned
I know this question probably sounds really stupid and silly, and I am just curious about pool halls where on any day you can walk in and find a game for any skill level of players (from C players all the way up to AAA players hanging out)?

I am very curious about pool halls that are filled with games going on on any night of the week.

Places where the most serious players hang out at.

I have been to some very nice pool halls in the past, but most of the time, the nice pool rooms that I have been in were pretty dead (no action going on).

I would really like to know of some cities where the most pool players live (not just players that like to play in APA or BCA league once a week, because I know that is most cities), and some really good pool halls to visit (where action of any speed can be found on any night of the week).

It is just my dream to be able to walk in to a pool room on any night of the week, and find big action going on many (or maybe all) tables, and I am curious of pool halls out there that are like this.

I never been to any big cities (like New York, or other big cities), so I imagine that there are many pool halls like this in the big cities.

I am just curious about the smaller cities (like under 750,000 people).

I am stuck in a small city for now (with no car), but would love to visit some nice pool halls (with lots of action going on, on any day of the week) someday.

Thanks.
 
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If I had the bankroll to go get the games I need,I'd be able to tell you more accurately,but with you in Southern Ill I'd suggest going around Chicago.

Of course,Metropolis will lead you to Paducah,Ky,and there is a pretty strong young kid around that I was told was staying right with Eric Durbin not too long ago,and I also hear he will bet his own and has some fairly stout backers as well.

I can remember going to Starcher's in Akron and there being something like 100 players that came around at least weekly,and 20-30 that were nightly regulars that all played Eric's speed or BETTER,probably up to around Hennessee (top 20 in America maybe?).

There were people that couldn't run 4 balls regularly that would play 20 dollar 9 ball on a 9 footer too.

I've heard all kinds of people say over the years they went to such and such town and couldn't get a game. That may be true,but it also means they didn't look in every available place within an hour or 2.

A warrior ALWAYS finds a game if they look hard enough.

True,if you went to Chicago and beat someone out of a few grand it might be on the internet soon,and your pic may show up on someone's phone asking for a line.

The bottom line is there ARE games to be had,even at Shane's speed.

In my mind,in this economy and with technological advances like the net and cell phones with cameras,you almost have to treat looking to find an opponent the same way a detective looks for a suspect,or the way good people look for a decent job,with diligence,street smarts,and good old shoe leather ;). Tommy D.
 
Thanks for the replies. I wonder if you were referring to Justin Bergman (from the St. Louis area), but he is not really a kid anymore. I have seen Jonathan Hennesee and Eric Durbin play years back. They played really great, and I imagine they still do (but it has been over 10 years since I seen them play). I would love to see Hennesee play again. I heard he owns a pool room now in Manchester TN.
 
Times are changing

I believe that the days of elevating your game by going on a road trip are over. The cost of living is too expensive to keep up with winnings. I also believe that has caused the us a dip in talent over past few of years. Simply, you have to play great talent to elevate your game. I believe that the future of pool lies in the cities where that has tons of talent.

Just talking about $20 a game brings out this point. I worked at a room in 1990 (Pro Billiards) in Charlotte and there was always action in every direction. At least 3 or so races for $800 to 5g's at all times from midnight until 3 or 4 am. There were lines of people waiting to play poker machines (with 10 or 11 working). Gambling was smoking. World beaters all over. But that was then...and now is now!!!
 
I really miss the 90's too (the mid 90's for me). There were so many very strong players around back then (even in the little city of Carbondale IL, where I am from). There was always action to be found on any day. I was in my teens back then (born on 1980), and was just starting out. Being around (and shooting with) all of those A players really made me into a pretty strong player, but things are nothing like they used to be (no action to be found anywhere, in the small city where I am from), and that has really hurt my game (because I have lost interest, because there are no strong players to even practice with). It just seems to be dead everywhere (nothing ever going on), but it is a small town with very few very serious players. I recently moved to Evansville IN, and hope to find some good competition here (that will help bring my game back to where it was at many years ago). Everywhere I go here seems to have all Diamond tables, so I really do like that about Evansville. I have not gotten out late enough at night to see any good players yet, but I hope to soon.

SouthernDraw said:
I believe that the days of elevating your game by going on a road trip are over. The cost of living is too expensive to keep up with winnings. I also believe that has caused the us a dip in talent over past few of years. Simply, you have to play great talent to elevate your game. I believe that the future of pool lies in the cities where that has tons of talent.

Just talking about $20 a game brings out this point. I worked at a room in 1990 (Pro Billiards) in Charlotte and there was always action in every direction. At least 3 or so races for $800 to 5g's at all times from midnight until 3 or 4 am. There were lines of people waiting to play poker machines (with 10 or 11 working). Gambling was smoking. World beaters all over. But that was then...and now is now!!!
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The Carolinas. The pool rooms seem to have survived several recessions, no problem...plus, you can find every level of play and action. Don't know about NYC, hard to imagine there wouldn't be action forever somewhere up there. I grew up in Houston, but don't recognize the place...left there in the early 80s, all the good rooms either closed or they've gone to pot, terribly maintained equipment, no action, or real rough trade. I know there's some great rooms there, but you might drive 50 miles to get to one (Houston is huge, folks), depending on what part of town you're in. Having played all over, I'm partial to the East Coast...from Florida up to New England, lots of great rooms, tournaments, regional tours, etc.

That said, I wouldn't relocate based on availability of pool rooms...that's a recipe for disappointment, if they all start closing down you're stuck.
 
The Philippines. Most of the top pros that gamble have made a pilgrimmage there at one point or another.
 
It seems that there are not many real pool halls left (what I mean about a real pool hall, is the type of pool hall that is just pool, and not a bar/restaurant). All of the pool halls these days seem to be bar/restaurants. Owners seem to think that if people can't order food and have a drink, than the business will not last, so all pool halls these days are bar/restaurants. So, if the restaurant fails, then the pool hall fails too. I really miss my old pool hall. It was just a pool hall (12 8 foot tables, and an arcade). It ran out of business (after 10 years), and that is probably because it was not a bar/restaurant. So it seems that no real pool halls survive (or not many).

West Point 1987 said:
The Carolinas. The pool rooms seem to have survived several recessions, no problem...plus, you can find every level of play and action. Don't know about NYC, hard to imagine there wouldn't be action forever somewhere up there. I grew up in Houston, but don't recognize the place...left there in the early 80s, all the good rooms either closed or they've gone to pot, terribly maintained equipment, no action, or real rough trade. I know there's some great rooms there, but you might drive 50 miles to get to one (Houston is huge, folks), depending on what part of town you're in. Having played all over, I'm partial to the East Coast...from Florida up to New England, lots of great rooms, tournaments, regional tours, etc.

That said, I wouldn't relocate based on availability of pool rooms...that's a recipe for disappointment, if they all start closing down you're stuck.
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Hillsboro, MO

just south of St. Louis. Action there all the time any level. In the last couple of months Jeanette Lee, Chris Bartram, Durbin, CJ Willey, Justin Bergman, Andy Quinn, several guys from Indy, I am a shitty c player but have great action there all the time.
 
I imagine that you are referring to Ride The Rail billiards. I never knew that the really big names (like CJ Willey) went through there. I just know of Andy Quinn and Justin Bergman from St. Louis. Andy Quinn is such a great player. I wonder if he still plays as good as he did 10-15 years ago. I love Ride The Rail billiards. Great pool hall. I miss that place. I have not been there in around 14 years.

Brendan Sulliva said:
just south of St. Louis. Action there all the time any level. In the last couple of months Jeanette Lee, Chris Bartram, Durbin, CJ Willey, Justin Bergman, Andy Quinn, several guys from Indy, I am a shitty c player but have great action there all the time.
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justinb386 said:
I know this question probably sounds really stupid and silly, and I am just curious about pool halls where on any day you can walk in and find a game for any skill level of players (from C players all the way up to AAA players hanging out)?

I am very curious about pool halls that are filled with games going on on any night of the week.

Places where the most serious players hang out at.

I have been to some very nice pool halls in the past, but most of the time, the nice pool rooms that I have been in were pretty dead (no action going on).

I would really like to know of some cities where the most pool players live (not just players that like to play in APA or BCA league once a week, because I know that is most cities), and some really good pool halls to visit (where action of any speed can be found on any night of the week).

I hope that nobody will fake fun of me about my question.

It is just my dream to be able to walk in to a pool room on any night of the week, and find big action going on many (or maybe all) tables, and I am curious of pool halls out there that are like this.

I never been to any big cities (like New York, or other big cities), so I imagine that there are many pool halls like this in the big cities.

I am just curious about the smaller cities (like under 750,000 people).

I am stuck in a small city for now (with no car), but would love to visit some nice pool halls (with lots of action going on, on any day of the week) someday.

Thanks.
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Manila???? You don't have to worry about a car...you can ride Jeepneys like I do... 8 peso's minimum fare for the first four klicks. Lot's to do in Manila other than pool....especially with the young ladies...:wink:
 
lol, I would love to go to Texas (if I had the money for travel expenses). That is where some of the best cue makers live, and I imagine that is where a lot of the strongest competition is. I am pretty weak B player these days, so I know that I am not good enough to go out on the road (looking for action). I was just curious about some really nice pool halls (where lots of good competition is, at all level of play) to visit for someday in the future. I am also curious about cities where the most people love the game of pool (places where you can go to any bar, and find like 10 stacks of quarters waiting in line to play the winner of the next game). I know that was a silly comment to add, because those types of players play pool just for fun (but also because they love the game), and mostly not really serious about the game.

seven_7days said:
You seriously calling out a guy from Southern Illinois who admittedly has no car to come play YOU in Tx?
Pretty weak dude.
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seven_7days said:
You seriously calling out a guy from Southern Illinois who admittedly has no car to come play YOU in Tx?
Pretty weak dude.
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Guess you don't make it out of you're moms basement enough to find or that there are other forms of transportation these days. Hers some examples since you apparently have no idea....bus, train, plane, rental cars, etc. get away from the screen and keyboard and step outside for a little while. There's a world passing you by. I don't even know who you are but come to Texas and hit me up. I'll give you the 7 out and the break.
 
Wow, that is a really big spot to offer to a player that you do not know. I remember Justin Bergman offering a spot like that to an entire room at a big tournament that they have once a year at Ride the Rail billiards (in St. Louis).

Prodigy1 said:
Guess you don't make it out of you're moms basement enough to find or that there are other forms of transportation these days. Hers some examples since you apparently have no idea....bus, train, plane, rental cars, etc. get away from the screen and keyboard and step outside for a little while. There's a world passing you by. I don't even know who you are but come to Texas and hit me up. I'll give you the 7 out and the break.
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Doesn't matter what spot you give the other guy if you know you can win. As soon as he makes a mistake I'll just run out or lock him up. Will be easy money
 
I understand, but if you are spotting a player the breaks, than you do not know you can win (unless you know who you are up against). I think the break spot is a very big spot (maybe even bigger than offering just the 7 or 8 ball). I think that you had better know who you are offering a spot like that too (before making that big of a bet). Sounds like you are a very strong player (with a lot of experience, and confidence), so I guess that you already know how big of a spot the break is. I think that any strong B player is very capable of breaking and running out to the 7 ball, so I think that offering an unknown player the 7 out and the breaks is a pretty risky spot to offer to a player that you do not know (but I understand that some players are so strong that they are willing to take that gamble, if not betting too much).

Prodigy1 said:
Doesn't matter what spot you give the other guy if you know you can win. As soon as he makes a mistake I'll just run out or lock him up. Will be easy money
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