Billiards anyone?

Hi guys,

Let's talk pool. 8-ball and 9-ball are my primary games. I've been playing for the last 20 years and have gotten pretty good at it.... I've competed for a few years and done ok... I really love this game. There's something about extreme accuracy and consistency that really gets the adrenaline going.

For some reason, snooker has never really peaked my interest, but I know there are a lot of you snooker players out there..... :thumbsup:

Anyways, I want this thread to be an open discussion about our love of this game. What kind of equipment do you use? What do you play? Any particular rules you play with? Which professional player do you look up to? Etc....

I last year picked up a Predator 4K7 cue (with the Z2 shaft).....dang!!! This cue kicks butt! Someday, when life permits, I want to go competitive again... in the meantime, Friday nights are pool nights for me!

By the way, Ronnie Alcano is my favorite pro...... love watching him play!

WP

Im really horrible...

But once in a while i get lucky and get a few shots in. :rock:

I learned to play pool while i was in the childrens hospital up in Denver, Co. I had never really played before then i learned in my three(3) weeks there. now i am pretty good, and i have my own pool table out in our shop that i play whenever i can.

I'm pretty bad at pool, but it's fun to try. If I sink more than 2 balls in a row, that's really pretty good for me.
I can disassemble pool tables pretty well, though, having moved many of them over the years.

I haven't played in a long time, but when I was in high school, I practically lived in a local arcade that had four of them. I played for hours every day. After the arcade closed, I used to play at the bowling alley (along with pinball) and then at a really nice pool hall that opened up in my city. I've only run the table (8-ball) once or twice, but I used to think that I was pretty good.

Check out this stick....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300083003935&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020

Thats WOW!

DrJ said:

Check out this stick....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300083003935&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020

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That's a sweet one! To think, my friends and I have always been calling these legendary sticks "Bauwabushkas." I guess we must have misunderstood Tom Cruise, way back then.

There was an old guy that went to my old arcade who used to bring a custom Helmstedder (sp?), which he said cost, either, $2000, or $6000 (can't remember). What I do remember is that the connecting screw in the center was made of wood and not metal like you normally see.

skalomax said:

Im really horrible...

But once in a while i get lucky and get a few shots in. :rock:

Click to expand...

I do believe the subject at hand is billiards.:touche:

:lolsign: you guys crack me up.....

I'm not much of a player now...I don't have a table anymore...but I always really enjoyed watching the classic games, Straight Pool and Carom Billiards (with no pockets)...if you go back to the original movie The Hustler, there was no 7/8/9 Ball played...(and of course in Britain there is Snooker, which at one time I was told was the most viewed "sport" on TV there)....

But yeah, a drink or two, and some Eight Ball or Nine Ball would be about my speed as a player...we'd like to get a table now, but are not sure we want to give up a whole room in the house for it.....

WAVE_PARTICLE said:

:lolsign: you guys crack me up.....

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Well since we're talkin' pool, shouldn't that be...you guys break me up...or would it be rack me up...oh, never mind....

IMO, pool is the greatest indoor game by a long shot.

It's been a couple of years but 8 ball and a little snooker to tune up. I dislike 9 ball but will play it.

I never play for more than $5.00. I prefer not to gamble on pool. No trash talk is preferred. Light trash talk is acceptable. Heavy trash talk is unacceptable.

Low end McDermott or Meucci, sometimes a Sneaky Pete.

I break with my shooter and jump with my shooter unless the establishment provides jump ques and has house rules about jumping to save their felt.

BCA or local league.

WAVE_PARTICLE, your years of studying colliding electrons gives you an unfair advantage. Considering your experience with "miniature 3-D billiards", I would play you but you would have to wear a patch over one eye to level the field. I require this of cell tower frequency engineers as well.

I play 8-ball, about 1-2 times a week in a local bar with friends since a half year so im pretty much a newbie. No competive playing either...

However, i thought about getting my own cue. I feel that with the POS cues at the bar theres no way i'll ever make any significant improvements. (Actually, POS would be a compliment for those cues, most of them are flat at the tip.)

So, anyone of the more experienced players here got some advice what cue to get for a newbie? Shouldn't be too expensive (im thinking arround 20 bucks), and available in europe. Thanks!

Icebreak said:

WAVE_PARTICLE, your years of studying colliding electrons gives you an unfair advantage. Considering your experience with "miniature 3-D billiards", I would play you but you would have to wear a patch over one eye to level the field. I require this of cell tower frequency engineers as well.

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LOL! That's a good one....but to me, it was the other way around. My years of playing pool (since age of 14) actually helped me with my understanding of kinetics and thermodynamics in university......who knew? :laughing:

WP

Raptor# said:

So, anyone of the more experienced players here got some advice what cue to get for a newbie? Shouldn't be too expensive (im thinking arround 20 bucks), and available in europe. Thanks!

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Getting your own cue is key to achieving a consistent game and advancing your learning. At your price point, however, it's hard to differentiate what cue is better over another. You would need to go above USD $100 if you want something that makes a difference.

When I started out, I just picked any old cue.....but stuck with it and learned the basics. Once you feel you are good enough to take advantage of what other quality cues can offer, you can pull the trigger on a really good one.

Quality cues can offer more control over your english (spin) as well as increased accuracy and better feedback on the cue. Factors such as warped cues, vibration, cue deflection, etc.... are things that causes errors in your game..... Minimize these factors and you will find a huge performance increase.

:thumbsup: WP

I enjoyed many miss-spent hours of my youth shooting pool. Haven't done it lately. Never got very good at it, but it was great fun. Everytiime I return to Pittsburgh to visit an old buddy we end up in a poolhall reliving our youth.

Geoff

personally I prefer to play pool (8 or 9 ball), but when it comes down to viewing it on tv, I find snooker far more entertaining. tried it myself a couple times, but its just too damn hard and the tables are WAY to big....


regards, holger

I bought myself a nice Meucci cue a few years ago, and I love it. Spent about $500-600 for it, if I remember correctly.

Waaaaaaay back, when I was a young Marine, playing pool was about the only recreation there was in the barracks. I actually got quite good at it. I used to go to the local pool hall in town and rent the snooker table. I wouldn't play snooker though; instead, I would simply play 8 ball, with the snooker sized balls. The balls and the pockets on the snooker table are a good bit smaller, and the margin for error is a lot slimmer. Once you got used to playing on the snooker table, and could make balls with any level of consistency, switching over to a bar table was like shooting ducks in a barrel.

Nowadays, I still play some, but not enough to enter tournaments seriously. My main pool enjoyment involves teaching my smart alecky Son a lesson now and then. He's getting decent and likes to talk smack. I almost have to seriously concentrate when playing him now. Last time we played, I whooped him 8 out of 10 games.

Raptor# said:

I play 8-ball, about 1-2 times a week in a local bar with friends since a half year so im pretty much a newbie. No competive playing either...

However, i thought about getting my own cue. I feel that with the POS cues at the bar theres no way i'll ever make any significant improvements. (Actually, POS would be a compliment for those cues, most of them are flat at the tip.)

So, anyone of the more experienced players here got some advice what cue to get for a newbie? Shouldn't be too expensive (im thinking arround 20 bucks), and available in europe. Thanks!

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You should probably save up a bit more than that, and just use a house cue in the meanwhile. Most cues that can be purchased for $20 are trash. Even the house usually pays more than $20 for their maple cues. House cues when taken care of or new are nice to use. Around the $100 mark you can find a decent cue. $100-$1000 puts you in a nice mid range and above $1000...well they are pretty nice. One company I have talked too (Southwest) about getting a cue made, had a 2-3 year wait behind it.

Anyways, practice with a house cue while you save up a bit more and then buy something a little nicer.

I currently use McDermott (mid range) and have use Meucci and Joss in the past with happy results. Another brand that has caught my eye lately is Pechauer.

Anyways sorry to ramble....good luck.

Ryan