Your experience with bar bangers

[Push&Pool]

When you play pool in a bar, it's impossible to avoid bar bangers. I'd like to know what's your general opinion about them. Do you play with them? Do you ignore them? Do you win against them without any problem? Have you ever lost to a bar banger? If so, how did that happen? Have you ever taught a bar player some tricks they had no idea about? Did you learn anything from them? I'd also like to hear some interesting stories about bar banger encounters :smile:

 

[JAM]

LOL! Could you please describe what your interpretation of a "bar banger" is? Thanks.

 

[Gogafem]

What's a bar banger..? Is it someone who goes to a bar to play pool often, but isn't so good?

 

[Push&Pool]

LOL! Could you please describe what your interpretation of a "bar banger" is? Thanks.

Casual players who always play in bars and rarely visit pool halls. They usually don't practise pool, so they know only what they've learned from their personal experience. They prefer playing for fun, although many will gamble. They're known for playing by local bar rules instead of standard versions.

Sorry I didn't clarify that sooner, I though everyone here was familiar with that term.

 

[JAM]

Casual players who always play in bars and rarely visit pool halls. They usually don't practise pool, so they know only what they've learned from their personal experience. They prefer playing for fun, although many will gamble. They're known for playing by local bar rules instead of standard versions.

Sorry I didn't clarify that sooner, I though everyone here was familiar with that term.

I understand now what you are micro-targeting.

Another synonym might be "social shooter" or "recreational player." These folks are interested in having fun, meeting up with their friends, making new friends, and may not care about the nuances of pool that pool enthusiasts on this forum might think are important.

As far as rules go in a bar, I used to play bar pool, and I traveled around the country playing in bars from time to time when I was young and dumb. It is amazing how many variations there are of, say, the game 8-ball.

One rule is if you make the 8 on the break, you win; another rule is that if you make the 8 on the break, you lose.

On rule is 8-ball is neutral; another rule is 8-ball is not neutral.

One rule is you must call all shots, to include if the ball hits the titty going in the pocket instead of straght in; another rule is slop counts.

One rule is honest effort on all shots; another rule is play safe when you can't make a shot. This has caused many a fight in a bar that utilizes the "honest effort" rule when somebody deliberately plays safe and doesn't try to go for the shot.

There are no "standard" versions when it comes to rules for some rotation games. It just depends on what region of the world you live in. :wink:

Having played in both environments -- tavern with bar boxes and pool room with regulation-size tables -- I can honestly say that the best time I ever had in my life with pool was when I was playing in the bars, bar none.

Pool room pool is tense, uncomfortable at times, and doesn't afford the same social benefits as bar pool. This is why leagues are so popular today. League pool is fun.

There are some pool enthusiasts who believe pool should be fun, and there are others, "pool purists," if you will, who believe pool should be played by emotionless robots, never uttering a peep. Which camp do you fall in? :grin:

 

[Gogafem]

Hmm in that case...
At my old pool place where I started they play by their own local rules which in my opinion only degrade better players i.e. they lower down the need for skill.
Let's talk about those who play by standard rules though... If I play with them(And I get a lot of challenges, many of which I simply decline) I really don't like it. They aren't good and I can't possibly play seriously against them. It's just not a top-game motivation... And then there are those annoying ones who tell you suck and they are better than you(A lot of the times overconfident punks who suck and haven't seen you play). A lot of them can be annoying I think. As for those who have manners, they are just visitors of the pool club I'd say. If you don't want to play against them, it's your choice.

 

[Harold Smith]

The one thing I have to chuckle at is when they rack, always spending 5 minutes to get a stripe- solid going around the rack.---Smitty

 

[OoaaronoO]

i am by not means a good player. im ok a, 5 in apa. I know how to shoot play safe and eveything. Well at my job they have some bar bangers who always are talking about how good they are. So i keep my mouth shut likes always. i know in pool you can not look at someone and say they look like they can play or not from general apperance. Anyway they like to gamble and i dont usually. well one of the guys was saying this one guy can shoot 3 rail banks like its nothing. Well in my eyes if your making 3 rail banks on regular basis your a pretty good shot. He wants to play be for $20 a game. i decline, well eventaully we make it to a bar one day after work and we play 8ball by his rules and everything. beat him 6-0. Lets just say no one was talking about pool at work after that..:wink:

when we played there was no money bet

 

[Fast Lenny]

i am by not means a good player. im ok a, 5 in apa. I know how to shoot play safe and eveything. Well at my job they have some bar bangers who always are talking about how good they are. So i keep my mouth shut likes always. i know in pool you can not look at someone and say they look like they can play or not from general apperance. Anyway they like to gamble and i dont usually. well one of the guys was saying this one guy can shoot 3 rail banks like its nothing. Well in my eyes if your making 3 rail banks on regular basis your a pretty good shot. He wants to play be for $20 a game. i decline, well eventaully we make it to a bar one day after work and we play 8ball by his rules and everything. beat him 6-0. Lets just say no one was talking about pool at work after that..:wink:

Were you betting $20 a game when you skunked him or was it for fun? He might be priming you up before he turns it on.

 

[OoaaronoO]

just for fun.. i had someone who wanted to back me but i dont him dont worry about it. i jsut wanted to see him shoot.

sorry should have put that in there

 

[Fast Lenny]

I have had lots of fun playing bar pool as most have who like to partake in drinking. The action is easier in a bar then in a poolroom but its certainly not safer. The thing about playing in the bars is you can get into a fight over $5 a game or who has quarters up on what number but 99% of the time you can beat most people in there and if you cannot you will know pretty fast usually if its a tough or bad game. I enjoy having drinks and playing in the bars even if its for just a beer or with a friend.

I used to run around from bar to bar when I lived in NY just scuffling around looking to play and make a few dollars. I knew people in all these roadhouse bars whether it was the bar tender, bouncer or owner and had friends who hung out in these places so I felt okay doing this with little fear of something bad happening even though things did not always go smoothly. I would do a loop in like a 20 miles radius and go from place to place from 10pm until 4am a few nights a week. Plenty of times I would go out and come back with a bunch of crumbled bills in my pocket, all those five and ten dollar bills add up. I have played games for $50-$100 a rack with guys who were terrible, you do not know sometimes when its going to happen but it just does in certain spots.

I would not try that now as I live in Phoenix and Las Vegas so I do not run around dive bars scuffling pool and only go just to drink. I realize now its a risky deal going into places all by yourself, here in Phoenix lots of people pack guns too, haha. I did go out with the guys to this country bar many months back in Vegas called Stoney's, they had a bunch of bar tables there so me and a few of the guys from Bonus Ball went and I got into some $10 a game action which turned into $20 and then $50 playing a nice guy from Iowa. I made a couple hundred and had a good time, it had been awhile since I looked for and got some bar room action. Here is a picture of the aftermath I woke up to in the morning, good old crumpled cash. :smile:

 

[Fast Lenny]

Just a tip when playing in the bars, get the rules straight if you can and if the person is way too drunk and can't understand them then do not play them. I would usually play bar table rules like most of these guys wanted to with no ball in hand but had two rules, scratch on the break is not a loss and if you do not hit the 8 ball its not a loss but you must try and hit your ball. If you are planning on going there looking for some cheap thrills and action then do not bring your cue and case in, a good piece of chalk is good to have with you though. I also used to keep a couple push on tips in my car in case all the bar cues that sometimes had them were really bad off.

P.S. Make sure you tip the bar tender well and or buy "that guy" a beer, there is always a guy in there who is in control of things who everyone respects and no one messes with. Make sure not to play "that guy".

 

[ShootingArts]

make life interesting and profitable

I made my living in the bars for a few months at a time years ago and always hit the bars anywhere I traveled. Back then I have to say that most bar room players were B-A-D! On the other hand I played Mike Massey in a low dive when he was a young player and a solid threat to win big tournaments. I played Johnny Archer and Danny Medina in bars too. I have also gotten spanked by local heroes in bars a few times. Pretty sure I played Scotty Townsend a couple times in a bar in Bridge City. Came out on the short side of somebody he sure reminds me of but that was many years ago. Bottom line, bar table play is a specialty in itself and you never know when you will run into a wickedly skilled player on the little tables or a terribly ratty old big table in a one horse town. I have gotten spanked by absolute nobodies on terribly crappy tables that they knew every roll and bad spot on. one of my favorite places to play many years ago always had lots of bugs on the table making the obstacle course interesting. June bugs or bigger it paid to move, wasn't time to move every little bug before every shot.

Mostly I loved bar room play, it financed me and my friends drinking many a night when I was drinking hard when I was young and dumb and admittedly drank far more than I should. It was a social thing too and I had developed three speeds of play back then. Social "date" speed, bar room banger speed, and belly to the ground serious gambling gear. It was kinda funny, probably because it was my first and last stop of the night my local corner bar developed into a pretty good action spot. I played the regulars for the usual small bets and won some and lost some but it was a given if somebody came through the door wanting serious action I would play them and uncork a bigger game than I usually used. When the stranger left I would drop down to my usual game and everybody was cool with that.

Local rules make things interesting for a traveling man. I have ran into some odd ones such as calling every touch on a rail or inside rail and last pocket or bank the eight. We played a little different from the folks that liked to come from Houston too and since the ones that traveled seemed to have a pretty high AH quotient I got a lot of pleasure out of telling them they weren't in Houston anymore when they whined or fussed about local rules.

Pretty much all of us started off as bar room bangers and I almost always try to give them some time and play them if they come to my table looking for a game. If they are awful I win but I don't embarrass them just to prove I can. Never know who might be watching anyway and the old hustling days die hard. I cut my teeth and paid my dues in bar rooms. Fun, excitement, danger, like JAM there was a time I absolutely loved bar room pool. Nothing like hitting a strange bar or a string of strange bars every night in strange towns, walking in bare handed and grabbing any stick off the wall to do battle with.

Hu

 

[Red Shoes]

Some of them are "soooo bad", they are GOOD. Not worth gambling "unknowns" in a bar setting..."Gone" are the days when you could go into a bar and find "action" worth the effort (all the "goofs" are at the casinos). So what you are left with is a guy who is trying to impress his girlfriend or buddies for $20 or $50...Now if he has just been embarrassed for "x" amount of money...GUESS what the next move is to regain his "manhood"?

 

[Fast Lenny]

I made my living in the bars for a few months at a time years ago and always hit the bars anywhere I traveled. Back then I have to say that most bar room players were B-A-D! On the other hand I played Mike Massey in a low dive when he was a young player and a solid threat to win big tournaments. I played Johnny Archer and Danny Medina in bars too. I have also gotten spanked by local heroes in bars a few times. Pretty sure I played Scotty Townsend a couple times in a bar in Bridge City. Came out on the short side of somebody he sure reminds me of but that was many years ago. Bottom line, bar table play is a specialty in itself and you never know when you will run into a wickedly skilled player on the little tables or a terribly ratty old big table in a one horse town. I have gotten spanked by absolute nobodies on terribly crappy tables that they knew every roll and bad spot on. one of my favorite places to play many years ago always had lots of bugs on the table making the obstacle course interesting. June bugs or bigger it paid to move, wasn't time to move every little bug before every shot.

Mostly I loved bar room play, it financed me and my friends drinking many a night when I was drinking hard when I was young and dumb and admittedly drank far more than I should. It was a social thing too and I had developed three speeds of play back then. Social "date" speed, bar room banger speed, and belly to the ground serious gambling gear. It was kinda funny, probably because it was my first and last stop of the night my local corner bar developed into a pretty good action spot. I played the regulars for the usual small bets and won some and lost some but it was a given if somebody came through the door wanting serious action I would play them and uncork a bigger game than I usually used. When the stranger left I would drop down to my usual game and everybody was cool with that.

Local rules make things interesting for a traveling man. I have ran into some odd ones such as calling every touch on a rail or inside rail and last pocket or bank the eight. We played a little different from the folks that liked to come from Houston too and since the ones that traveled seemed to have a pretty high AH quotient I got a lot of pleasure out of telling them they weren't in Houston anymore when they whined or fussed about local rules.

Pretty much all of us started off as bar room bangers and I almost always try to give them some time and play them if they come to my table looking for a game. If they are awful I win but I don't embarrass them just to prove I can. Never know who might be watching anyway and the old hustling days die hard. I cut my teeth and paid my dues in bar rooms. Fun, excitement, danger, like JAM there was a time I absolutely loved bar room pool. Nothing like hitting a strange bar or a string of strange bars every night in strange towns, walking in bare handed and grabbing any stick off the wall to do battle with.

Hu

I think majority of players start out really playing in bars like you said, starts out as a social thing and you get the bug. The equipment in most are terrible with tables full of holes, stains and not being level. The cues are usually terrible, I do not check if they are straight, I just want a somewhat good tip on the cue.

My first experience playing in a bar was one walking distance from my house, my mom worked there so I would sneak down and play video games and some pool. I remember being in there late one night and playing grown men and I think I beat like 7 guys in a row, I was like 11 years old. It was the first time I saw someone pissed off at pool, this one guy was being laughed at for being beat by a kid and I still remember that look on his face. The thing that sold me on how "cool" the bar could be was when I went down there one night and I saw this gorgeous blonde lady walking around with an ocelot on a leash, I was corrupted.

Thanks for your stories, I always enjoy them.

 

[mortuarymike-nv]

bars

Casual players who always play in bars and rarely visit pool halls. They usually don't practise pool, so they know only what they've learned from their personal experience. They prefer playing for fun, although many will gamble. They're known for playing by local bar rules instead of standard versions.

Sorry I didn't clarify that sooner, I though everyone here was familiar with that term.

If I decided to go shoot pool in a pool hall it would be a 350 mile round trip drive to the nearest pool hall.

When I lived in the big city all I did was shoot in a Pool hall.

Now when I shoot pool there is a bar in town that will open a bar box and let me play for, 4 bucks all day long .

Most of the time I just practice and rather try to play when the least amount of drunks are out.

Yes I guess I am a bar box banger.

I rather only play in a pool hall.

To me the real truth is on the table, shoot till you miss and shut the hell up.
If you want to talk about the game do it between racks.
Most of the people I play are that way. The ones who talk while I am shooting, I dont normally play.
MMike

 

[ShootingArts]

Wow

I think majority of players start out really playing in bars like you said, starts out as a social thing and you get the bug. The equipment in most are terrible with tables full of holes, stains and not being level. The cues are usually terrible, I do not check if they are straight, I just want a somewhat good tip on the cue.

My first experience playing in a bar was one walking distance from my house, my mom worked there so I would sneak down and play video games and some pool. I remember being in there late one night and playing grown men and I think I beat like 7 guys in a row, I was like 11 years old. It was the first time I saw someone pissed off at pool, this one guy was being laughed at for being beat by a kid and I still remember that look on his face. The thing that sold me on how "cool" the bar could be was when I went down there one night and I saw this gorgeous blonde lady walking around with an ocelot on a leash, I was corrupted.

Thanks for your stories, I always enjoy them.

I'm jealous about the ocelot on a leash, never saw that. Funny how some ladies stick in our minds. I followed one all the way around a big mall in Terre Haute many years ago. Not stalking or to hit on her, just seemed impossible for her to walk like that without at least one extra joint in each hip!

To keep sorta on topic, I have ran into a few ladies who were bar table monsters too. A couple were lookers and good players. Never saw them beaten, men aren't good at focusing on two things at once. :thumbup:

Hu

 

[Rico]

ball bangers

I REMEMBER SOME OF THOSE BAR BANGERS IN THE 70S N80S Like Dave Matlock,John Shupit,Frank the Barber JOE SALAZAR, Fat RANDY,Dave YAGER,Allen Hopkins(yahe played on the barbox),LARRY HUBBART, KEITHAND OF COURSE Buddy. Those bar bangers it was like stealing . ONLY FOR THEM.

 

[chefjeff]

Hmm in that case...
At my old pool place where I started they play by their own local rules which in my opinion only degrade better players i.e. they lower down the need for skill.
Let's talk about those who play by standard rules though... If I play with them(And I get a lot of challenges, many of which I simply decline) I really don't like it. They aren't good and I can't possibly play seriously against them. It's just not a top-game motivation... And then there are those annoying ones who tell you suck and they are better than you(A lot of the times overconfident punks who suck and haven't seen you play). A lot of them can be annoying I think. As for those who have manners, they are just visitors of the pool club I'd say. If you don't want to play against them, it's your choice.

A good rule of thumb:

You have to be able to beat bar bangers everytime. Do that and win against the good player 50/50 or so and you're close to the top of any league. That's a necessary step to playing very well.

But you have to be able to consistently beat the bangers even if you don't want to play them. No excuses will do. If you can't beat them always, you're stuck.

Jeff Livingston

 

[Cornerman]

I didn't see the choice that said: "I like myself just fine."

Freddie <~~~ rather likes the "recreational player" term