Pool & Billiards Library: DVD Additions

Submitted by Pool Shooter Blog

It seems that the recent pool matches on TV have been mostly re-runs, so when the IPT offered competition 8-ball DVDs for less than 5 bucks each, I jumped at the chance to buy a few DVDs featuring my favorite players.

I play these, and others, when I’m on the treadmill in the morning, and during my yoga/stretching and shoulder exercises. The best thing about these DVDs is that I can stop, skip back, replay, slow motion, etc. This really helps to learn what is going on. And of course, the more I play them, the more I can learn.

These new disks feature some of my favorite players: Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Johnny Archer, Earl Strickland, Thorsten Hohmann, Charlie Williams and others. The more I watch their play, the more I can model what they do, how they stroke, position, safety play, etc.

Of course there is more to my Pool & Billiard Library than just competition DVDs. There are lots of instruction books, autobiographies, full-length movies, and reference materials.

To check out the entire FastMikie Pool & Billiard Library, click here!

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Billiards Industry Loses Key Executive to Private Business

Sean Cummings, President of the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) and Brunswick Corporation resigned both positions in order to pursue an opportunity in private enterprise. Brunswick Corporation has in been in business for 160 years.  The BCA was established in 1948.

Whoever takes the position will be the chief of an industry that boasts 36 million players as recently as 2005. Billiards ranks the 8th most popular physical activity according  to the National Sporting Goods Association behind walking, camping, swimming, exercising with equipment, bowling, fishing and bicycling.

One industry executive who wished to remain anonymous told us, “Cummings was the key executive in this industry for over decade and he did a good job. However, billiards has been in this country before cars and football and we’ll be here for quite awhile longer.”

Pool League or bar pool?

Written by Michael Vass

As I mentioned in another post (at my political blog) Monday is my APA 8-ball pool league. There is nothing more rewarding than playing a match that is hard fought and challenging.

Normally I have video of these matches, but today I was behind the 8 ball (bad pun I know). The election had me a bit off balance. But what I can say is that I am now 12 out of 12 matches, and leading my league in individual performance. Of course I have also been raised by a level too (now a skill level 5 and just beat a skill level 7 tonight).

Now I have been asked what is the attraction of playing in a pool league, and why the American Poolplayers Association? Good question.

I have been playing pool for about 26 years now, on and off. So I enjoy being challenged in my matches. Often playing on a regular bar table is less than enjoyable since these tables are generally not kept up. Add to that the problem with drunk players and by-standers and the joy quickly evaporates. And if you are good, or on a winning streak you can get branded a pool shark – which never has positive results.

So a pool league cuts out many of the problems. And it provides players that can have a fun time, and still be very serious about their game. Thus you get to be around like-minded people, have competition, and no one ends up with broken thumbs.

As for which pool league, well that depends on where you are. In my area there are only 2 options. APA or Southern Tier. In Southern Tier there are teams and only 4 players play a match. The games are split between partner play and singles matches. There are a total of 17 games with each player guaranteed to play 3 times with at least 2 partner matches. One player gets the extra game, first team to 10 wins.

Sounds fine except there is a catch. The games are preset. By that I mean the matches go like follows:

Team 1 players 1 & 2 vs Team 2 players 1 & 2
Team 1 players 3 & 4 vs Team 2 players 3 & 4
Team 1 player 2 vs Team 2 player 2
And so on

Thus no one player gets to play consecutive games, nor more than 1 game versus any individual player. And you might get a match where horrible teammate #3 is your partner against the best 2 players of the opposing team. It can be a mess and takes forever. There is no momentum, and after the season ends you might get a bit of money back as a prize. That’s it.

In the APA you get a bit more. You have teams with no more than 8 players. Each player has a skill level between 2 – 9 (higher is better). New players get assigned a 4 for men and 3 for women. You can play any opponent and play a seires of games.

Ie.
Team 1 player 5, level 4 vs Team 2 player 2, level 2
This would be a match with a race to first to 4 games for player 5 or 2 games for player 2.

This goes on for 5 matches (in 8-ball), each worth 2 points. If you get to within 1 game of winning you get 1 point, winning is worth 2 (you can’t get more than 2). The team with the most points wins.

Now this is great because you get to play several games at once. You get to play against the same opponent. And you get a fair chance to win even against great players. In fact you might very well want to put a 2 up against a 7 because the 2 would need to win 2 games before the 7 won 5.

Now at the end of the season, the top teams have a playoff. The winner of that goes on to play a regional match, like the say the Central New York State finals. If you win that, you win a full paid for trip to Las Vegas to compete for the National Competition. And that means lots of money, depending on how high you finish there as a team.

Now which would you prefer, bar pool with the drunk guy that thinks you are a shark, Southern Tier where you play maybe 4 games over 5 hours, or APA where you can get in maybe 3 – 5 games depending on skill levels in maybe 3 – 4 hours for the entire team, and you might get the chance to go to Vegas.

So now you can see my enthusiasm and consistency for my pool league. My teams only problem is that we are all good enough that we are all getting moved up slowly and thus harder to win games.

Oh well. Video from 9-ball after my match on Wednesday.

Defensive pool shots - big benefits from not dropping the ball

Written by Michael Vass

I want to take a moment to just go over an aspect of pool that many players have difficulty with. I have to admit that I have as much difficulty with this as most any player. The hardest shot in any pool game or tournament is the defense shot.

Now if you only play bar pool you might have heard this shot referred to as a cheap shot, or dirty pool. That is actually a false thought. The defensive shot is both legitimate and fair. Often it is even a bit of a compliment, as the opposing player is deemed either too good or on too much of a run to be allowed to have a clear shot on the pool table.

Here is a small selection of defensive, difficult, and sometimes unintentional defensive shots from a recent American Poolplayers Association 9-ball match that I had. The opponent I faced was a level 5 and I am a 4. That means that he had to clear 38 balls versus 31 for myself.

We start with a shot that was left to me [I’m the handsome Black guy wearing the stylish hooded sweatshirt found at my online store]. (I realize that this is not the best angle to judge the shots from, bear with me) This is early in the match, and my opponent has left me with the cue nearly touching and to the side of the 1-ball. From this angle there is no easy shot. Running the cue up the table and back to the 1 for a kick shot was out as the 8 was in the way. In the reverse the shot would likely not be strong enough to get the 1 in the corner, and/or leave the 1 set for my opponents run.

In trying for the 1-ball in the side I also have the ability to then control the cue and bring it back such that if it drops I will have a shot on the 2-ball to the opposite side pocket. The added bonus of this shot, and the reason I took the shot was the fact that with a miss it also allows for the cue to be completely hidden from the 1-ball.

This effectively is a defensive shot, because of the low percentage chance of executing the shot and the result to the opponent, but it does not need to be claimed as such since there is a clear attempt at making the shot. The result is a ball in hand for me and an early advantage for that rack.

In the next shot we see that I have a bank and hard cut on the 1-ball in a new rack. The ideal shot is to place the 1-ball into the corner pocket. I of course screwed up this shot, which is low percentage to start with. The key here is the english placed on the cue. The expectation is that the shot will not go as expected. Thus the goal is to limit the danger of the opponent from running the table.

Now there is no complete expectation on this shot. The hope is to leave the cue in the upper portion of the table, and have the1-ball end up against a rail as close to perpendicular to the cue as possible. Again the goal is not to make the shot, but to prevent the opponent from doing so, possibly gaining either a ball in hand or superior position.

While there was no way to guarantee the result, the shot was sufficiently difficult enough that while he was able to contact the 1-ball he could not drop it. And due to the angle and force that was used, a beneficial shot was obtained for me.

In the next rack we see that my opponent has forced the cue behind the 6-ball after striking the 2-ball in an attempt to combo and drop the 3-ball. This leaves a very difficult shot at the 2-ball. Again while this was not the expected result it was an outcome that was hoped to occur since the prior shot had low chance of success. The goal was again to leave the cue in a more difficult position than the opponent had and force an opportunity.

The best shot at the 2-ball was a bank shot around the 6-ball, kicking the 2-ball with the hope of either going in clean, or if off to strike and drop the 3-ball in combo. But the english I used was incorrect, as was the angle, and results in the 2-ball going to the near rail and lining up with the 3-ball and corner pocket. The cue followed back and provides a rather easy shot for my opponent to run the 2, 3, 5 and 6-balls for a large advantage on this rack.

My opponent does this and is now shooting on the 7-ball. Because of the position after striking the 6-ball he has gone too far over and cannot strike the 7-ball directly. This position is an excellent time to play a soft bank shot to the 7, forcing it to just touch the rail and rise even or on the far side of the 9-ball. That defense would cause an attempt at a low percentage bank shot, or an extreme cut for me. Instead my opponent is aggressive (which I generally favor) and looks to strike the 7-ball off the bank with force and top spin. The hope is to then strike the 9-ball and spin the 7 into the corner. The cue should end up below the 9-ball, aligned to one of the corners. This does not happen.

The aggressive stance here leads to striking the 9-ball and thus a ball in hand for me. Now my draw on the 7-ball is not as much as I had hoped for. But there is a decent percentage chance of making the cut to the corner. This is also aggressive, but there is no other ball on the table and since any other shot missing leave an easy shot at the 9, I went for it.

Aggressive shots are fun, and look great. But as a far higher ranked teammate often reminds me,

“Making the harder shot may look cool, but most of the time they will cost you the match.”

Aggressive shots on a 9-ball are costly, but far less so than on other balls on the table as they lead to runs by the opponent. Once I dropped this 9, I gained the break for the next rack. That break added another 1 ball to my total besides the 4 I gained for the last rack (1, 7,and 9). That put me at 5 versus my opponents 6 for the entire last rack and I was still shooting. The advantage at this point was decidedly mine.

I ran 3 more balls and screwed up the 4-ball, knowing that this would lead to a run on the rack. Never over think your shots. Never plan to hard on the next shot before you make the shot at hand. And be glad of luck, which is how the 4-ball ended up behind the 9 and opposed to the cue. Ultimately that rack was split, with me still holding a lead from several of the defensive shots, and luck, described above.

I threw in the nice cut of my opponent be cause I liked the shot. He took most of that rack.

But in the rack after I was left with the 1-ball in front of the cue facing the side. The next several shots are an example of taking the shot at hand and understanding but not focusing on the shot to follow.

I’m no pro - obviously, but I believe that the defensive shots, and increasing the difficulty of the opponents shot whenever more effective than taking a very low percentage shot, shows it’s own reward. I won that match 31 to 23. The defensive and opposing difficult shots provided me a 10 to 4 advantage on an opponent that is a good player, higher ranked and expected to win. That advantage plus the fact he had nearly a rack more balls for a win were why I won the match.

Defensive and high difficulty shots are critical to a winning game. Just some thoughts and possible tips.

The joy of black felt pool tables in a tournament

Written by Michael Vass

So Saturday I was at an American Poolplayers Association tournament. The showdown was for single 8-ball matches, with the winner of each level division going on to the national trials in Las Vegas. Obviously I was looking to win.

The tournament was in a town called Yorkville, in New York. It was held at Hippo’s pool hall. The start time was stated as 9am for registration. 82 players from the central New York area had qualified and 25 of them were in my division, the level 4. (Levels of players go from 2 – 9 with 9 being highest).

That all sounds simple enough, but some 9+ hours after the start I finished my day. That wasn’t because I won, that was just for me to finish my games and lose. Suffice to say it was a long and less than pleasant experience. The worst of which were the tables we had to play on.

My big gripe about the competition, besides the fact that it took me 5 hours before I played my first match, was that several games were to be played on black felt tables. All the tables were even and 3.5’x7’. The pool hall does have 20 tables that are 4.5’x9’, but according to rules, since there were 8 smaller tables all the matches had to be played on them instead.

Now I don’t know if you have ever played on a black felt pool table. They were created, as I am told, back in the 70’s so you could use a blacklight and play in the dark. Which might be great with glow in the dark balls and a few friends over. But in a pool hall, with regular lights and balls, in a competition, it sucks.

Black felt, with black felt on the bumper rails, means that there is no depth in the table. It is almost impossible to get a solid bead on the corners of the pockets. And shooting the 8-ball is pure hell. A black ball on a black table going into a pocket on even the best lit table would be a challenge, and the lighting was just ok.

But I have to ask, is there anyone who actually owns a pool table with black felt? I’ve played on blue and green, even red once. But black was a miserable first. I have to say that combined with the lethargy of sitting around, and practicing on and off, for 5 hours and then having to play on that table really killed my spirits. I’ve never had to play such an awful tournament, and I’ve been playing in pool tournaments for some 20 years now.

I have no doubt that the national tournament in Las Vegas is better. I have no doubt that even on these smaller tables the felts will be green, maybe blue at worst. But would you bother to go through this kind of pain just to get to Vegas? Would you want to play on a black felt table?

If anyone prefers this, without a blacklight, I really would love to hear your thoughts why. But if anyone is waiting to see me play in Vegas, it won’t be in the singles finals this year. But the team competition is still open. We shall see.

A 4 ball break in 9-ball pool league match by me

Written by Michael Vass

Ok, time to take a break from the political blogging, and all the polispeak spin surrounding the bailout talks that are on-going. It’s time for something a bit light.

Now as I have mentioned before, I am in an APA pool league for 8-ball and 9-ball. For my lifetime of playing in the APA I am at 61% win ratio for 8-ball and 53% win ration for 9-ball. Not too shabby.

Yesterday I was playing in the 9-ball league. I had the luck of pulling out a player 2 skill levels above me for my match. This made the game quite a challenge for me.

We started the match with me breaking, and the first game went 4-6 against me. But I rallied back in the next game for a 7-3 win. Again I got spanked 1-9 in the next game, followed by a 7-2 win for me. The rest of the games went 5-5, 3-6, and 3-3 for a nice win for me.

But the real point of the post is this video is a personal best. In the 2nd match I had the break again, and I love 9-ball because of this. The break is the best part of 9-ball, and I went for it. Especially since I had fallen behind and was losing momentum to a better player. This is how that second 7-3 match went. The break is the best break I’ve had on a level long pool table in 9-ball.

Now I realize I could have cut the 9, or gone for the bank shot to the long left corner. But I thought I was in position for the 9 to be kicked (reverse bank) to the side or the far right corner of a miss and bank. It’s a shot I practice and am usually able to make some 30-40% of the time. Of course I didn’t make it. But do you think it was a bad shot to take?

8-ball poolshot dilema

Written by Michael Vass

Hey there fellow pool players. I have a bit of a question for you.

The scenario is that you are playing APA rules 8-ball. You are in the final shots of your match and if you win the game you win the match.

Your opponent is a decent player, and is in a potion where they can run the table if you miss. They have just taken a shot that was meant to drop a ball, but also will leave you in a difficult position if they missed. And they have missed.

What you see on the table is your last object ball at the 2nd diamond (length-wise) about half an inch from the cushion. The cue ball is near the center of the table, about ½ inch to the center of the table from your object ball.

Behind the cue ball, centered at the side pocket is the 8-ball. About 1/4 inch away and even with it is one of your opponents balls. You opponent has two other object balls that are positioned at near opposing corner pockets.

So what is the shot you take?

It is highly probable that a shots straight on will result in a bank shot that will miss all pockets. With top right English, which will bank the object ball into the cross corner pocket, you will have the cue strike the 8 and lose. If you go for a double bank shot to the corner pocket closest to the object ball you have the lowest percentage chance to make the shot, and still risk the cue striking the 8-ball. And a cut shot is severely improbable. Oh, and a scratch or missing the object ball gives the opponent ball in hand, and assures you will lose.

My choice was a reverse bank (or kick shot) to the corner which then leaves the cue perfectly positioned for the 8-ball. But the problem is that this would also leave the opponent in a prime position to run the table.

Now several of my teammates prefer a defensive stance, looking to get themselves into a prime position for the win. I am far more aggressive in my game play (perhaps the most aggressive on my team). Which do you think was the best choice?

I present the video so you can see exactly what happened, but I’d love to hear your opinions.

[Yes, I know part of the video is shaky. I wasn’t filming so please bear with me on this.]

8-ball or 9-ball: which is the harder pool game?

Written by Michael Vass

Now I was at my 8-ball pool league game yesterday and yet another question was brought up. This time it had nothing to do with the size of the table (which I continue to assert that playing on bar pool tables is an advantage vs. a full table) but the game in and of itself.

Which is harder, 8-ball or 9-ball?

That’s a tough question as both are games that require a lot of skill and strategy. And the size of the pool table does make a big impact. The larger the table, the less balls are likely to bunch together and the more shots that are likely to be made. But let’s assume the table size is not a factor.

With 8-ball you have potentially double the number of balls to navigate around off the break. That means you must be more accurate with the initial shot and control of the cue ball is vital. A bad Cue ball placement can end a run faster than anything else.

Additionally there is the question of shot order. This is something that 9-ball players really have no concept of. Unlike in 9-ball you can hit any of your balls in any order. Thus if you go for the duck in the corner rather than taking the harder cut shot to the side pocket you may lock yourself behind the opponents ball or leave yourself a lower percentage follow-up shot – like say a double bank.

At the same time you must be concerned with the percentage, or confidence you have, in the shot you are making. If you are attempting a low percentage shot, you must factor in where you will leave the cue ball for your opponent. The ideal placement would involve placing your object ball in to control of a pocket while hiding the cue in a place on the table to negate a clean shot or mandate your opponent to take a low percentage shot – hopefully leading to a run for you.

These are just a few of the things to consider in 8-ball.

For 9-ball life is much easier. The table is essentially wide open. A run is much more doable for players of most any skill level. Dropping the 9-ball off the break is dramatically easier than the 8 in 8-ball. You have far less worry about ball in the way, and any combination that leads to the 9 dropping is a winning shot – as opposed to in 8-ball where the 8 dropping early is an instant loss.

Of course it is harder to force an opponent into making low percentage shots. Thus control of the cue is perhaps more important than in 8-ball. But you have some 25-50% more space on the table to work with.

For me the choice is obvious. 8-ball is the harder game. There are more factors to deal with and more outcomes based on each strike of the cue to an object ball.

There is one caveat though. If you play 8-ball consistently, switching to 9-ball will take practice.

If you are accustomed to 8-ball and switch often what happens is that you will play mid-percentage shots for position. In 8-ball this is a smart move and allows you to control pockets, or arrange for future runs in the game. In 9-ball this means you will be slaughtered.

By playing to arrange future shots you are placing the object ball into position for your opponent to take the run you hope for in the future. A ball that is capturing the pocket will become a duck for the opponent. A run is as easy for you as them, and moreso if you are setting it there for them.

Plus the 8-ball player loses the advantage of more balls potentially in the way or to create a need for low percentage shots. And as I mentioned, shot order is out the window.

This is how I feel about playing pool. I am in both an 8-ball and 9-ball pool league. But what do you feel?

Does size matter … in pool tables

Written by Michael Vass

So at my most recent pool league match I, again, wound up in an argument over the question about the size of the tables in use. In my league every pool table is the standard bar table – 3.5’ by 7’ – with the exception of my team which is in a pool hall and are 4.5’ by 9’ (both are considered legal by the league). So the question is does the size of a pool table matter, and if it does who benefits.

Now in my league many of the lesser players absolutely hate playing at my home pool tables. The pool tables at Guys & Dolls are all level, clean, maintained and have plenty of space between all 10 tables. When teams come to our home they can practice while games are ongoing, have room to sit, and have the best tables in the league to play on.

When my team is away we play on bar tables. They are mostly all unlevel to varying degrees, usually the only table in the bar, coin-operated, and several get moved during the week. Adding to this is the fact that practice for both teams is limited to before the match starts. And the size of the cue ball is bigger and heavier than regulation.

Now the away tables vary on how bad they might be. The local VFW has brand new tables and they are kept in excellent shape. The rest of the league is not as sensitive on their maintenance. In fact there are 3 tables that are known to be horrendous. One has a 4 inch lean to the left, 2 others are turtle backed – literally the center is higher than the pockets. One of those turtle backed pool tables also has a lean to the right of 2 inches.

So who has the unfair advantage?

In my opinion the local teams are at the advantage (my team always plays more away games than home as everyone complains about our tables). Both because they practice and are used to the difficulties of the various bar tables. Going from one table to the next is merely adjusting to the slightly more or less table lean, more or less table roll, and so on. And on the bigger table they have the advantage (more in 8-ball) in that they can play short and set up every shot for themselves [depending on the ability of the opponent of course].

In their argument we have an unfair advantage. They say the angles are harder to figure out, speed is difficult to determine, and the speed of the felt is very fast in comparison.

But for my team we are dealing with shorter angles, slow felts, have to hit softer shots, and the balls are more likely to cluster than on a bigger table this limiting shots.

Now it’s a given that a good player can adjust to any table. That is not the question. The question is if there is an inherent advantage between playing on one type of table as opposed to another.

I say bar pool table player have a massive advantage, they believe the reverse.

What do you think?

Pool tricks around the world

Written by Michael Vass

Well I was looking around as some billiards trick shots and I ran into this French pool video. This is a great trick shot, but I have to wonder how difficult it was to practice and work out the shot.

Not to be out done the Japanese have a bit of pool finesse as well. Here is a video clip of a Japanese television show featuring a guy that really knows how to make a shot. I have to say that I was really impressed with the champagne glass shot and the best to me was the 16 ball trick shot.

Now as I’m going through these international, televised, pool events I continue to think about why the Olympics refuses to add the game to the competitions. It just doesn’t make sense.

I mean look at this next video. The table may not be regulation size, and it may not be in Las Vegas or some other fancy place, but you cannot question that he spent a long time working to be able to do each of these shots.

Yet not to be outdone are Americans.

Now please, someone, explain to me why a game with so much diversity and challenge is not in the Olympics.

New Olympic sport – Pool

Written by Michael Vass

On Monday I was out with a friend after my pool league tournament to get something to eat, and noticed the Olympics on the television. At the time the trampoline competition was on. And it got me wondering. The question was why is pool not part of the Olympic Games?

Now for a bit of disclosure I should mention that I am in 2 pool leagues. I play 8-ball and 9-ball in the APA (American Poolplayers Association) for the Central New York area. I have been playing pool for over 3 decades on and off; and if I must say so myself, I’m quite good. So I have a somewhat biased opinion.

But the question is valid I think. I mean the Olympics have international competitions, as does pool. There are amateur and professional versions of the game. It requires skill, discipline, and the ability to handle pressure. It is a game that millions watch via television and in person. Even better is the fact that the game is incredibly old. While its origin is unknown it is known that it entered America about 1565 via Spain.

Now the Olympics has competitions as fun and interesting as cycling – where competitors race around in a oval, fencing – which just everyone is involved in, Greco wrestling – which outside of high school ahs been completely replaced by the WWE, cross country skiing – which is drama itself to watch, volleyball – which draws viewers for the people in skimpy clothes no doubt and is as widely played as Greco wrestling, and the aforementioned trampoline gymnastics – which virtually anyone can do in their backyard. I won’t even get into synchronized swimming.

The fact is that the Olympics are mostly boring. While a race like event is interesting, most of the other events are boring as hell. Just be thankful that Cricket – a game that can take days to play one match – was discontinued. There are multiple events that people watch just because of the skimpy clothes of the athletes. And there are far more no one watches at all. Then there are the competitions that are based on judges’ opinions, which every Olympics caused cries of bias and cheating.

Pool is very simple to understand. It’s obvious who wins. The rules are simple to understand. And there is no lack of people or countries that play the game. Look in your town or city right now. I virtually guarantee that you are no more than 30 minutes from a pool hall in over 50% of the world. No other Olympic sport can boast such popularity or familiarity by the world populace. A kid in England plays the same game as a kid in Tampa, as in Taiwan, as Minsk. Heck, multiple movies have been made about the sport or involving it, I think the Olympics have 1 maybe 2.

But what are the Olympics thinking of adding instead of pool? Rugby. Now that is popular, in nations that England once ruled, but it has nowhere near the fan-base. And the rules are not known or understood just by watching a game.

How about Squash? I bet if I went down the street in 100 cities around the world I might find 10 random people that either know the rules and/or have watched a game. I doubt that I can find better than 5 people in those same cities combined that have watched the game.

Are they kidding? There over 5 million people that play pool in the Philippines alone. Just this past weekend a friend of mine went to the APA Las Vegas national competition (his team barely succeeded in beating mine for the trip) where the first Japanese APA team was invited to play as well. And from what I was told they were good.

Honestly, I am unaware of a single reason why pool is not an Olympic sport. There is nothing that compares to it in the list of sports being considered currently. It is more popular than ½ the current events. It’s honest. It’s fast. It’s just about the only competition that men and women can compete in together (actually is there an Olympic sport where they compete together?). And it can be played indoors or outside, summer or winter, day or night.

But if it would make a difference, I bet that any pool player in the world would be willing to wear a skimpy skin-tight outfit if it meant that they could win an Olympic gold medal.

Fifteen Hundred Dollars Gets You a Meeting with the Pros

Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante are two of the most well known billiard players in the world. In fact, they may go down as billiards royalty when their careers are over.

Here’s your chance to visit and learn from these pros. Top Hat Gameroom in Jacksonville Florida is hosting a two day event to learn from Efren, Francisco, Tony Robles and Thorsten Hohmann.

The fee is $1500 and according to information that we have received, the class will only be open to 50 students. It’s a bit unclear but it seems that Predator Cues, The Billiard Factory and Cue and Case are hosting what may be an only chance to learn from the best.

Here’s the contact info. for the gameroom:

616 SR 13 N, Fruit Cove, FL 32259
(904) 230-5464
Website.