Your experience with bar bangers

[one stroke]

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:

Boy that wad of cash brings back some great memories
I'm not at bonus ball player speed although I given a couple of them a good run for their money but if I still drank ,bar pool especially 5 way ring game was by far was my favorite pool
Woke up a many of morning hung over with wads of cash stuffed in my pockets
God I miss them days
Now that I'm 53 and just play tourneys occasionally there's nothing I look forward to more than the SBE and a little action.
Although I hate that it moved and not to sure if I can make it

 

[WhatRobEats]

Anyone taking interest in and playing pool I'm cool with. Even if they are wobbling and on the verge of taking a nose dive from not being able to handle their booze.

 

[poolguy4u]

I'm a bar banger...

:scratchhead:


I didn't see any of my choices.

My choice would of been----

I'm a bar banger and I'll bang just about anyone.:bash:

 

[BillyKoda]

I don't know why really but this poll bothers me, your answer is in the results though. 95% of the players I know play for fun, you meet some very fine people in bars who play pool and some dipshits. I've seen both types in pool rooms too. I've only been playing a little over 40 years so maybe I missed something along the way?

 

[Sloppy Pockets]

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.

And this causes confusion somehow?:grin:

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:

Well, today is my 61st birthday. No chance of me ever becoming anything more than the banger I've always been at this point. However, I do love the game and have always enjoyed playing whenever I got the chance. I do what I can to support the pros by paying for streams, I go to the local pool rooms now and then to help ensure they will remain around, I buy books and DVDs, even though I know they won't really transform my game, and I just put close to $4K into table, cues, practice balls, etc. I am also planning to attend SBE in a couple weeks. I may even come back with a $2,000 cue lathe, further supporting the industry.

So AFAIC I'm a bar banger wannaB who's as good for pool as any B player out there. And I probably get more enjoyment out of the game than 90% of them, in spite of my serious shortcomings.

 

[LoWang]

I love playing in the bars. I've walked in on a good night and put a 1.25 in the box and played and drank for free all night since the bars normally let the winner control the table.

I've also made plenty of money betting 5, 20 and even 100 bucks a game.

Your win percentage is definitely higher in the bars.

 

[scratchs]

I don't know why really but this poll bothers me, your answer is in the results though. 95% of the players I know play for fun, you meet some very fine people in bars who play pool and some dipshits. I've seen both types in pool rooms too. I've only been playing a little over 40 years so maybe I missed something along the way?

I don't think you have...40yrs brings alot of insight , if your paying attention.." wink witha smile "

 

[Fast Lenny]

I love playing in the bars. I've walked in on a good night and put a 1.25 in the box and played and drank for free all night since the bars normally let the winner control the table.

I've also made plenty of money betting 5, 20 and even 100 bucks a game.

Your win percentage is definitely higher in the bars.

Yeah the worse case scenario is you do not get any money action but get drunk for free all night. I was visiting my buddy in Long Beach and we were out and about, we stumbled upon a small place that was half bar and half taco shop called The Reno Room that had two Diamond bar tables to our surprise.

We did not lose a game all night and had more beers then we could handle lined up, we also won a few bucks playing some cheap $5 and $10 partners. I think the best player in there was actually a good looking blonde chick who wore a fedora cap, sorry no pictures of her but here is one of me and my buddy. It is a cool little spot if you are in that area for some drinks, tacos and cheap pool. :smile:

 

[Fast Lenny]

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

That is true about men focusing on a pool game when it comes to women. I was playing with my friend in this little dive in Middletown NY when we got into a partners game for $20 a man. We are about to lose the game when this lady who is with my friend who had some big tatas bends over in front of the pocket while the guys is shooting the 8. I am thinking its funny but no way will he miss this shot. She flashes the guy and he misses by a diamond, we were laughing so hard including our opponents partner. She certainly earned her free drinks that night.

 

[BasementDweller]

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:

Nice story and nice pic. You must have been really tired that night because no matter how tired I am, at the end of one of those nights I always manage to smooth out all those bills and figure out how I did. I can't go to sleep without knowing exactly how things turned out. :thumbup:

 

[ShootingArts]

Best Reasons to Play the Bar Rooms

You know these kind of things are far more likely in a bar!

Here is the story from Smorg. Because of who Smorg was every word may be gospel, every word a myth, or somewhere in between. That was part of Smorg's mystique, we never really knew who he was or which of his many persona was really him if any was. Maybe they all were?

(Tampa Tubby Bob)
(*<~ It was on my way home from New Orleans two weeks ago ...... <insert flashback music here> I stopped at my brother's workplace and was talked into spending two days at Spring Break assisting the young girls in their wet T-shirt competitions and bikini contests. Man, I've still got it and so do they.

Anyway, that brother lives ON THE BEACH (about 100' to the surf) of the Gulf of Mexico in a beautiful 3 bedroom home with ALL the amenities (I'd like to swap places with him- including significant other). He lives just east of Panama City in a little beach community called St. Joe Beach. There is a place there (within crawling distance of the house) called "Regan's Pub & Oyster Bar" Est. Nov.14th 2000 157,920 Oyster's Shucked (when the t-shirt was printed).

After a hard day of rubbing up against nubile young things in Panama City we ended up at Regan's depleting their oyster stock and keeping the 'shucker' employed. The bar area had a 4x8 pooltable and the proximity to the beach and the breeze had it in the lower 50's. I had on my Planet 9-Ball jacket with the BIG logo of a planet that looks like a 9-ball (duh).

All the locals wanted to challenge my brother and I to some partners 8-ball and we obliged. We won every game for hours, no matter what rules they made up along the way. We stopped to take a break and eat MORE oysters and one of the players asked me what I 'did' in Tampa. I told him that I was a professional pool player (my brother almost blew an oyster out of his nose).

This fellow named Jim-Bob wanted to play me heads up. I told him that I'd play, but I wouldn't play cheap. He told me that he didn't care WHAT we played for as he racked the balls and I prepared to break. I'd told him that I was called Tampa Tubby and as I smashed the balls I exclaimed that I was playing him for his 'Bob'. At first, he thought that I was kidding, but as it dawned on him that I was serious he became VERY nervous. All activity stopped in the building as EVERYONE came to sweat this game. The most serious game to ever take place in St. Joe Beach,Fl.

I got down to the eightball and Jim-Bob said that I had to 'bank it' AND we were also playing last pocket 8-ball. I'd made my last ball in the side pocket and was in trouble with the way his balls were laying on the table. When I asked if I could play the eight off of one of his balls and he said yes, I kicked the eight from near the end rail and off his ball into 'my' side pocket. GAME OVER. I'd won 'the Bob'. Everyone laughed and cheered while now calling me "Tampa Tubby-Bob".

At the same time,everyone now called Jim-Bob simply JIM. Jim was divestated. It was sinking in that he had lost his 'Bob' and he didn't like it one little bit. People were now calling him 'Bobless' and his boss (who was present) threatened to fire him and make him 'Jobless Bobless'. He's been 'Bobbited'. He wanted a re-match. I said NO. I told him that I would return in exactly one year and play him ONE GAME and give him an opportunity to win his 'Bob' back.

I've spoken to my brother a few times since I've left St. Joe Beach and he assures me NO ONE has called him Jim-Bob since he lost and that the word has spread up & down the beach. They're planning a big 'special day' for next year and my return. I'm thinking about breaking out my sling,walker, eye-patch, etc. to make it REALLY exciting. I know that I dance to beat of a different drum (at least I didn't insist that he throw in a moon pie), but everyone seems to like it (so far). I didn't get a BOP on the nose. Life is good. Does it get any better than this?

He really did show up at a pool get together wearing eye-patch, arm in sling, removable cast on his leg, and using a walker. Seems he was supposed to gamble with someone that only knew him on the internet and he was looking to get a nice handicap!

Doug had a thousand more stories and nobody loved life or enjoyed making his own fun more than he did. He will be missed for years to come.

Hu

 

[Fast Lenny]

Great story Hu, he was one of a kind and will be missed.

 

[Push&Pool]

To all people who might have felt offended by being called a banger, I'll say I'm sorry as my intention wasn't to insult anyone. I also didn't include poll options for casual players/bangers as this thread was mostly directed to "pool hall visitors" and top players. I had some debats and arguements with some pool enthusiasts here before (bar-related topics) so I wanted to hear their general opinion about bar players. I enjoyed reading everyone's stories and posts though.

I'm personally a hardcore banger and I never stepped into a real pool hall in my life. And that's just the way I like it. Pool without the social component, rule variations and fun in general isn't my thing. I still like to take my matches seriously, and I always play to win :smile:

P.S. If you used to play in a poolhall, or even if you played in bars your whole life, but you practised, took instructions, read pool literature, participated in tournaments etc. then you're not a real banger.