Hello from California

[TheStranger]

Just scored myself at a billiard shop yesterday an 18oz Dufferin Spirit Ash Antique 3/4 cue and I LOVE it. A lot better than my previous maple one-piece (also from Dufferin, but of lower quality), very little deflection, extremely responsive. :snooker:

Here's a shot of it from an online store that has it:

http://www.billiard-place.com/images/06D7P260183-lr.jpg

[TheStranger]

Okay, finally played snooker with the cue at Emeryville's Broken Rack, against the same mate as my previous trip there.

I won 2-0 in two gritty, low-breaking games (when our highest break is 12, the blue and pink in my clinching run in the second game, a final of 97-71... ) but the first was truly a cracking battle, as we were 44-all before the colors, and I was ahead 53-51 when my friend potted the pink to take a 57-53 lead.

He plays the black safe near the bottom cushion, with the white near the top cushion.

I elect to play a similar safety to the one Steve Davis used in that pivotal final frame at the Crucible in 1985...except, of all things, the black rebounds onto the bottom cushion from there...into the top left pocket, giving me a three point victory! :snooker: Somehow I have to thank the napless cloth of that table for that fluky conquest, I was in such shock when it went in.

[TheStranger]

Apparently California has MANY more snooker tables than I thought!?

http://www.poolrooms.com/california.htm

[Rethunk]

Apparently California has MANY more snooker tables than I thought!?

http://www.poolrooms.com/california.htm

Do you still post on this forum?

I'm a fellow American trying to find snooker tables near Boston. A love of snooker is what got me into playing pool--sort of the reverse of what happens for most players here in the States--and I'd really like to get back into the game.

I'm slowly building up a list of snooker tables in pools halls in New England, and I hope to expand the list over the coming year and make it available online using a customized Google Map.

[TheStranger]

Do you still post on this forum?

I'm a fellow American trying to find snooker tables near Boston. A love of snooker is what got me into playing pool--sort of the reverse of what happens for most players here in the States--and I'd really like to get back into the game.

I'm slowly building up a list of snooker tables in pools halls in New England, and I hope to expand the list over the coming year and make it available online using a customized Google Map.

I'd love to see a customized Google Map for NorCal one day even though there are few places that will be marked on it for sure - beyond the places I've been to in Franklin and Emeryville, and one or two in the San Jose area...I'm not sure there are any other snooker tables in this half of the state at all.

[Rethunk]

Finally hit up the hall with the full sized snooker table, in the San Francisco/Oakland suburb of Emeryville.

Is there a web site or other listing for the pool hall? I'd like to include it in the list of snooker tables I'm collecting. My plan is for the list to include listings for 6 x 12 tables and 5 x 10 tables. I'm even thinking of including the addresses of pool halls that had snooker tables but have since closed--such closing may have left behind disgruntled snooker players.

I played a frame by myself and then did some straight-shot practice around the blue spot, testing my Dufferin cue and the house cues...turns out my maple Dufferin cue doesn't feel quite as good as one of the heavier 19oz house cues, I had great results practicing screw with one of them (on a straight pot, I was able to screw the white right back into the other center pocket!). The Dufferin cue is well-balanced but just feels overall a bit too light; another factor as to my lack of consistency with it also might have been the rather hard tip it came with.

Do you have a sense of how cues from different snooker manufacturers compare? For example, it would be helpful to know that a Trevor White is the "Joey Gold / Cognoscenti of snooker cues", for example.

Is your Duffering a two-piece cue? I'm interested in trying out a two-piece cue with a 3/4 joint.

The staffer there did say that they may be getting a shipment of new snooker cues soon. :snooker: I'm planning to hit the place up with a mate of mine tomorrow afternoon.

I'm very curious to hear more about the snooker cues. Are they Riley house cues or the like?

[TheStranger]

Is there a web site or other listing for the pool hall? I'd like to include it in the list of snooker tables I'm collecting. My plan is for the list to include listings for 6 x 12 tables and 5 x 10 tables. I'm even thinking of including the addresses of pool halls that had snooker tables but have since closed--such closing may have left behind disgruntled snooker players.

http://thebrokenrack.com/ - 6 x 12 table, but with napless cloth

The place I've been to in Franklin (near Sacramento), Gil's Service, does not have a website. They do have a 5 x 10 table

Is your Duffering a two-piece cue? I'm interested in trying out a two-piece cue with a 3/4 joint.

I have two Dufferins, a one-piece maple that warped after a month, and a two-piece 3/4 ash that I absolutely love using (both for snooker and pool).

I'm very curious to hear more about the snooker cues. Are they Riley house cues or the like?

At Gil's Service they were Riley cues IIRC, not sure about the place in Emeryville.

Some time from now I need to go to the billiard hall with three snooker tables in it in Mountain View (not far from San Jose).

http://www.californiabilliardclub.com/

[odin]

Hi guys nice to you have you here, if you ever in Los Angeles we have a big place (Embassy) http://www.snookerusa.com/ they have plenty of tables (riley’s 12ft) and I know that there are some folks in Northern CAL that get together every week end to play I think they are in the bay area you can probably find them on SF Craig’s list that’s where I saw them. If any of you is ever in the LA area PM me I always have time for a frame or two

[Rethunk]

Hi guys nice to you have you here, if you ever in Los Angeles we have a big place (Embassy) http://www.snookerusa.com/ they have plenty of tables (riley’s 12ft) and I know that there are some folks in Northern CAL that get together every week end to play I think they are in the bay area you can probably find them on SF Craig’s list that’s where I saw them. If any of you is ever in the LA area PM me I always have time for a frame or two

Odin, I've certainly heard of Embassy, and if I'm out in LA I'll definitely look it up and send you a PM. Does the pool hall have a site separate from the USSA site?

If you play with a snooker cue I'd be curious to hear about your experience shopping for one.

[Rethunk]

Preview of snooker tables believed to be in California

I've identified 26 locations in California that have, had, or are reported to have snooker tables. I've yet to call them to confirm the details.

Here are the listings for CA that I have so far. More to come when I post the complete list for the U.S.; currently I have 183 listings in total.

Green Room
4006 San Fernando Rd
Glendale CA 91204 (818) 548-0739 http://www.you-are-here.com/building/green_room.html

Cue-T's Snooker Club Inc
128 W Garvey Ave
Monterey Park CA 91754 (626) 288-3999

Shooters
24450 Lyons Ave
Santa Clarita CA 91321 (661) 287-5888

Elks Lodge 222 Elks Ln
San Luis Obispo CA 93401 (805) 783-2545 Yes http://www.elks.org/Lodges/LodgeFaci...odgeNumber=322

California Billiard Club
881 E El Camino Real
Mountain View CA 94040 (650) 965-3100 http://www.californiabilliardclub.com/

Embassy Billiards Club
220 S San Gabriel Blvd
San Gabriel CA 91776 (626) 286-8100 http://embassybilliardsclub.snookerusa.com/

Eight Ball Pool Hall
806 Baker St
Bakersfield CA 93305 661-325-4453

Shooters Sports & Grill
10226 Indiana Ave
Riverside CA 92503 (951) 785-9588

Hard Times Billiards
17450 Bellflower Blvd.
Bellflower CA 90706 (562) 867-7733 http://www.hardtimesbellflower.com/

The Broken Rack
6005 Shellmound St
Emeryville CA 94608 510.652.9808 1 http://www.thebrokenrack.com/index.html

Shoreline Billiards
1400 N. Shoreline Blvd. Suite C-1
Mountain View CA 94043 650-964-0780 http://www.shorelinebilliards.com/index.html

Break Zone Biliards
2533-A Pacific Coast Hwy.
Torrance CA 90505 (310) 325-POOL

Burbanks Elks Lodge #1497
2232 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank CA 91505 818 848-5508

Buffalo Biliards
8492 Gravenstein Hwy
Cotati CA 94931 (707) 794-0824

Edgie's Billiards
235 S Milpitas Blvd
Milpitas CA 95035 (408) 942-9500

Johnny's Snooker
126 E Kern Ave
Tulare CA 93274 559-688-7060

Elks Lodge #652
445 Herrick Ave
Eureka CA 95503 (707) 442-6652 http://www.elks.org/Lodges/LodgeFaci...odgeNumber=652

Elks Lodge #1993
7212 Melrose St
Fullerton CA 90621 (714) 522-2853 http://www.elks.org/Lodges/LodgeFaci...dgeNumber=1993

Elks Lodge #906
1040 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica CA 90405 (310) 452-3557 http://www.elks.org/Lodges/LodgeFaci...odgeNumber=906

Unite Snooker Club
5825 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90028 323-466-6567

Gaslamp Billiard Palace
379 4th Ave
San Diego CA 92101 (619) 230-1968

Elks Lodge #1378
315 Esplanade
Redondo Beach CA 90277 (310) 372-8488 http://www.elks.org/LODGES/LodgeFaci...dgeNumber=1378

Simi Valley Billiards
2261 Tapo St
Simi Valley CA 93063 (805) 955-0628 http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endID=38441913

Stix Billiards
7985 Vineyard Ave.
Rancho Cucamonga CA 91730 (909) 989-1205 http://www.myspace.com/stix_billiards

Ego Snooker
1596 S 7Th
San Jose CA 95112 408-294-4615

Gil's Service
10413 Franklin Blvd
Franklin CA 95757 (916) 684-2261

[TheStranger]

Thanks for the post, Rethunk!

Here's one that MAY have had it at one point, but not sure if it still does, in San Jose:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/romleys/3264680291/

I called Buffalo Billiards a while ago (about 7 months or so ago at least?) and I don't think they have the snooker table anymore.

Supposedly some pub on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco once had it but when I went there last summer, they had only a coin-operated pool table.

[Rethunk]

Thanks for the post, Rethunk!

You're certainly welcome. I've added a few more to the list since then, but they're getting harder to find.

Here's one that MAY have had it at one point, but not sure if it still does, in San Jose:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/romleys/3264680291/

Thanks! I'll be giving them a call once I finish the first draft of the list.

Westside Billiards
1050 W San Carlos St
San Jose CA 95126
(408) 947-1499

I called Buffalo Billiards a while ago (about 7 months or so ago at least?) and I don't think they have the snooker table anymore.

Supposedly some pub on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco once had it but when I went there last summer, they had only a coin-operated pool table.

Thanks again for the additional info. Every little bit helps.

I'm still hoping that I'll find a snooker table in Boston, perhaps in a private club. No luck yet.

[..KiD DyNaMiTe..]

Welcome, steer clear of Compton

[Rethunk]

Supposedly some pub on Geary Boulevard in San Francisco once had it but when I went there last summer, they had only a coin-operated pool table.

I think this is it:
The Pig & Whistle
2801 Geary Blvd
San Francisco CA 94118
(415) 885-4779
http://www.pig-and-whistle.com/

I'll give them a call anyway. Who knows, maybe they'll know of the location of a snooker table.

[Rethunk]

Welcome, steer clear of Compton

Compton, CA? Yeah, not the family's first choice for a vacation spot, but if there was a snooker table there...