Robert Byrne has published more books on the pool hall culture than any other author. In 1993 he wrote a feature for Billiards Digest entitled "My Dream Room", in which he listed twenty-three features that he would have in his ideal pool hall, the penultimate billiard center.
I re-joined forces with a frequent collaborator recently, top pool teacher Donny Lutz and we have always found Byrne's list very well thought out and of potential value to any room operator, so we put it into practice.
The original list included:
1) Stuff on the walls; artwork, posters, announcements, memorabilia, snapshots, clippings, tournament results.
2) A comfortable place to sit and talk, spread a newspaper, or play a game of chess or checkers.
3) Plenty of places for players to sit.
4) A good place to spectate.
5) Semi-private tables.
6) No salt-lick talc cones!
7) Carpeting.
8) Straight house cues with decent tips.
9) Unobtrusive music.
10) A variety of games (snooker, billiard or bumper pool tables).
11) An occasional freebie.
12) Under-the-table baskets for coats, cue cases, etc.
13) Employees who are dressed neatly.
14) House players – one or more players to hang out to keep an eye on things, play with individuals customers, and answer questions about events, lessons, etc.
15) Overhead strings of beads for keeping score.
16) A bridge at every table.
17) Decent chalk. Giving players deeply worn chalk is too cheap for words.
18) Clean balls and brushed tables.
19) Lots of events. Tournaments of every kind imaginable.
20) Good cloth on the tables, clean restrooms, plenty of ashtrays, wastebaskets and places to set drinks.
21) People answering the phone who can answer questions about leagues, tournaments, etc.
22) House rules posted on the wall.
23) Books, magazines and videotapes.
Byrne went into detail about his wish list in '93 and more recently...
24) ...We added one more item: A smoke free environment.
We scored all our local Gainesville, Florida billiard parlors based on this list, and were not surprised at the relatively low scores. The best score turned out to be the Game Room inside the Reitz Union at the University of Florida, scoring 14 out of the 24 possible points.
Several other establishments were close behind, with the remainder scoring between 6 and 9. Six and nine are numbers I like to face on the pool table balls, and not in scoring a game room as having one-fourth to one-third of what it takes to enjoy play.
The results were not our opinion; they were based on Byrne's list. They tell us that all Gainesville, Florida establishments have room for improvement, and little excuse for lack of business in a competitive environment.
We're both hoping your local pool hall fares better on this survey. Please share with About.com's readers your local and favorite pool hall's reviews and results.
As an author and entertainment commentator, I'm an InsidePool columnist and your friendly neighborhood Guide to Pool & Billiards at About.com.
Donny Lutz is a BCA and ACS Certified Instructor, (the only instructor active in both organizations in Florida) and was recently named by Pool & Billiard to the "Top 20 Pool Instructors."
Grab a lesson from one of us soon at your local pool hall.
