Anyone play Billiards?

Glad to hear things are going well for you.

Love billiards!! Those diamond tables are hard to beat.

I got started in a youth league when I as 7-8, and then stuck with it pretty regularly until college. Played in a handful of local tournaments growing up, but it's definitely a hobby I find more joy in from the casual perspective rather than competition. Haven't had the opportunity to find/try a snooker table, but it's always seemed like a cool concept.

That second hall you posted looks rad as well, glad you're getting to enjoy it again after all those years!

You are more likely to find a snooker table than an actual billiard table. I had both in the pool hall I grew up in. The snooker table was 5 x 10 and the billiard table was 6 x 12. Snooker was much more fun. Billiards is kind of boring. 

I love the game, had a table at home growing up. Now retired in the Minnesota North Woods, pool is a great escape from the winter. Have a table now, we shoot on Wednesday afternoon here, A buddy 20 miles up road has an awsome setup with 2 tables, we shoot on Sunday afternoons there. I also shoot in the local league. I don't  ice fish or snowmobile, so it really keeps me from going insane. FWIW, I live next to one of the best Musky lakes in Minnesota, open water soon!

Yes, the top pic is my place, I'm single, so my hobbies can take the place over. My friend built their house for 2 pool tables. Not a overly big house, a large living area, glass on 2 sides overlooking the lake. His wife is a very good shooter also, she will take your lunch money!  Three horseshoe pits in the yard, but that's another story

Have you guys experimented with carbon fiber cues yet? I've been running the same McDermott since around 2002, and it's held up great over the years. Everyone raves about CF though, and how much more consistent they are.

Are the CF shafts generally compatible with the old McDermott’s? I figured they would be, but a coworker mentioned he had to get a really specific sizing to match his up.

I’ve had the same tip on mine for all 24 years, and I’ve never used a break stick. I honestly have no idea how it’s lasted this long. A testament to their quality I guess 😂

The boring one is 3 cushion billiards. Straight pool and 9 ball were my games until I started playing the bar leagues. All 8 ball for that which is fine too. I had a 9 foot table at home so when we hit the bar the 7 foot tables felt small and easy compared to my home table. 

If you look up the name Verne Peterson you will see that he owned a place called the Billiard Palace in Bellflower, CA. I worked there for Verne.  Anybody who was anybody came there in the 60's and 70's. Cole Dixon, Ronnie Allen, Larry Liscotti, Kieth McCready, Fats, Richie Florence many many many more. I saw some legendary players. Before the place opened, I would sometimes help Verne assemble tables and stuff. When we finished we would play straight pool on one of the finished tables. We would play to 125 and he would spot me 100 and I never beat him. He was top ten in the pro rankings in the 50's and 60's. If you google Billiard Palace in Bellflower you will find quite a few stories about the place. I was 16 at the time and had already dropped out of school. 

2 years ago had a local builder make me a custom, came with 2 shafts, a wood and a carbon. I shot with the wood one once, I really like the hit of the carbon. I have a weighted 24oz for break. Recently I bought  temu $100 wonder for an extra house stick, doesn't hit as nice as my custom, but not bad for the price. My builder said they don't always get them full of the foam, which creates a dingy hit. You can get one for any stick, just have to match the joint. 

 My custom and my break sticks.

Shooting pool is a lot of fun I Cant remember what the league was but I shot for a few years and moved up to a 3 and our team went to Baltimore for what was like the LL regional.

My team had a good coach that taught me how to hide the ball so I could get ball in hand.

We had a table at our house but it was a home made piece of shit that my dad got cheap somewhere.. It had lumps and bumps and leans the pockets weren't that much bigger than the balls and the cushions were just a little too high for the balls haha but I spent so much time on it from when I could just see over the edge to when I turned 18 so I was well practiced for the tables in pubs.. 

My proudest moment was one time I was hanging out with my girlfriend and her friend in a pub and they were playing against some dudes who were doing their best to make fuckwits of themselves and unfortunately they had the girls pantsed (Maybe that's just an Aussie thing I'll explain below if so haha) and the 8 was lined up pretty good for them and they were carrying on about it, but luckily my girlfriend's friend went to the toilet so I asked if I could have her shot, they agreed. I was hoping I'd at least just sink one and I did, then another, then another haha and I ended up sinking all my balls then the 8 haha.. 

To get 'pantsed' is when you don't sink any of your balls and they sink all theirs and the 8, and you then have to do a lap of the table with your pants around your ankles.. I've never actually seen anyone forced to do it but the legend is well known haha 

Reese, the only pool you’ve ever played has been in your pocket.

We had a pool table in the basement when I was growing up and I spent nearly every night down there through high school. Later on, my knowledge of the game paid off in the form of many free beers and a couple of titles with my pic hanging on a bar room wall to this day. I'm not what I once was but every now and then I'll pick up a stick, scuff the tip with a key, load it with chalk and commence to running a table. I can get in a zone where I see lines on the table directing me in the exact sequence that I need to run it.