pool hall warning
 

Whenever you see someone with a stance like this? Beware...he may know what he's doing. ;)

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1216053224.jpg

chin right under stick - I just don't like the flat platform, been a curled index finger guy but then agin, it ain't got me too far in the hall or bar...

The stick is low to the table, eyes sighting staight down the stick, stick in a good position to stay in the same plane, extreme focus on where the ball is going on a hard slice rather than where he wants the ball to go. I wouldn't bet my skills against his.

The pic was taken by John, the counter guy @ The Cue Ball, Salem, Oregon. Every month they hold a 9 ball tourney. A points thing. Winner of the year long series plays "Jim" the hall owner, for $500. This a handicap series, so a lesser player has to win less games in a "race" than the higher ranked player. The above pic is Matt Horner, kind of an honorary nephew of mine. His dad & I were "best buddies" for many years...until his dad died in an industrial accident.

Anyway, Matt uses a variety of bridges, depending on the shot. Professional players not allowed to play in this series, but Matt is the only player to have earned a "4-A" ranking, which is:

4A Frequently runs multiple racks and maintains control of the table

Mike, better practice with an open bridge...it helps you sight down the cue to not have your finger in the way. Closed bridge for hard shots & draw shots...but for soft shots? Well, try that open bridge...:)

Do you guys have any snooker tables over there? I used to frequent a joint in Dallas called "Clicks" and a 'big" table to them was a 9 footer. I searched all over Big D for a snooker table and found one - in the whole metroplex. I did ok against the better 9ball players on the 9' tables but when I took them to the 12' table they were borderline terrified. :D

I love billiards and if I'm ever that way I'll try and bust some racks with ya!

Check out the website:

http://www.thecueball.com/

Snooker, 3 cushion, 9'...the only tables this place doesn't have are bar boxes.

On Thursday afternoons, a 3 cushion round robin is played. One of the regulars is a kindly older gentleman in his later 80's. VERY respected among the regulars.

Don Malarkey...the real life Don Malarkey, not the actor who portrayed him in "Band of Brothers".

You can find real life heros in pool halls...:) Also a few ne'r do wells...;)

When Cindy & I play there? You can find us on one of the back tables, where the low skill set plays.

Poolhall warming?

What next?

Naw...the place has air conditioning. :rolleyes:

Many moons ago when I played pool I'd sight down the stick just like that but with only one eye open.

Ya hafta do that when you start seeing double.

Paul - I think it's the look on his face...

I played at that place all the time when I was in college.

A Willamette Grad? Prertty good law school, I hear.

that is what my friends who went there say, good management school too. The College of Liberal Arts has slipped some if you ask me

You mean dead serious, like an old west gunslinger? If so, you're right. Matt doesn't mess around when it comes to pool. I just got off the phone with him.
Playing one lower ranked player, the guy lucked out...got the 9 on the break twice in a row. Matt needed 7 wins to win the match...this guy only 3. Matt ran 6 racks straight...played a safety in the last game, then ran out when his opponent had to give the cue ball back. 9 ball is a game of skill and strategy, with a (too high in my opinion) percentage of luck mixed in.

The pool game with luck being only a small part? Straight pool, AKA 14-1, as played in the movie "The Hustler" with Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats, Paul Newman as "Fast" Eddie Felson. One hell of a flick, even if you don't play pool...

Tobra? You were fortunate to attend a private University...and you gotta be a pretty bright guy to have done so. Willamette doesn't accept dummies.

But yeah...I imagine many Willamette students played pool under the watchful eye of Jim Lebold...owner of The Cue Ball. He started the place in the early 60's...
it remains as a true pool hall because he owns all the buildings on the block. True pool halls are dropping off the landscape like drive-in movies these days. I consider both to be a sad loss to the landscape of america. Jim Lebold must feel the same way, because I'm thinking the hall doesn't pay for itself. It's about the love of the game for Jim.

I always figured that place had to lose money, it was always a cheap night of entertainment. Reason you see so many college kids is because they are broke from paying tuition.

Or worrying about how to pay off 6 figures of student loan debt...;)

A tip of my hat to Jim for keeping this hall open...just a short walk from the Willamette campus to the hall...but you already know that. Cindy & I make the trip when we have the time. Those 1940's Brunswicks are just sooo cool. Like stepping into a time machine.