The fall session has began at Pantana's Pool hall and we have room for more players.
We play have APA (American Poolplayers Association) on Monday and Tuesday nights. Due to growth, we may be starting a Thursday night division starting in the fall.

APA is the World's largest amateur pool league organization
Equalizer handicap system makes it fair for everyone so you don't have to be a shark to play.

Right now on Monday nights we have 8 ball format and Masters. Masters is for the more experienced.
6 Teams and 45 Players for 8 ball and 4 teams for Masters.

Tuesday night is Double Jeopardy and there is a mix of 8 and 9 ball formats.

Please stop by and see us if you're interested. If you sign up a new team, as a team captain you'll get a new 2 piece pool cue.

Pantana's Manager - Jeff Green
APA Pool League Division Reps - Chris Vester & Andy Bowen
Chris - chrisvester@gmail.com
Andy - ajambowen@gmail.com
http://www.apa-raleigh.com | http://www.poolplayers.com

9/12/2008 5:53:51 PM

For those of you that might be thinking: "I'm not good enough to play", consider this; 75% of APA members are beginner to intermediate players, meaning you don't have to be a Pool Pro to play. The only thing you really need, is the desire to have fun!

9/15/2008 1:29:28 AM

He speaks the truth, pool is fun. Pantana's is one of my favorite spots too. Good tables with plenty of room around them, not too smoky, and decent music is always playing without you having to load up the jukebox with dollar bills.

9/15/2008 4:02:28 PM

Very good call. I prefer the continuous music over the dead air now and then with the occasional, crap who played this!!! I hear from management that all the taps should be flowing again soon and they're working on some specials for league nights, so come check us out!

Oh yeah... correction to the first post.

Quote :

"we may be starting a Thursday night division starting in the fall."

I meant in the Spring.

[Edited on September 15, 2008 at 4:08 PM. Reason : additional info]

9/15/2008 4:06:20 PM

I play league at Pantana's. Chill place. I recommend it.

[Edited on September 17, 2008 at 12:27 PM. Reason : ]

9/17/2008 12:26:54 PM

It is a lot of fun. And there's always that chance of your team winning the city tournament at the end of each session and qualifying for Nationals in Vegas (travel paid for by APA).

9/17/2008 12:28:59 PM

Quote :

"For those of you that might be thinking: "I'm not good enough to play", consider this; 75% of APA members are beginner to intermediate players, meaning you don't have to be a Pool Pro to play. The only thing you really need, is the desire to have fun!"

hey, you pegged me

i'm really not very good at all, but i do like to play...is there a membership fee, or just fees the night of play?

will people hate me because i'm awful?

9/17/2008 3:41:54 PM

Actually new members that are low in rank and aren't the greatest in the world are like gold. Many APA players will gain a lot of experience and get a lot better at pool and eventually their handicap will go up.

During the matches, teams are allowed only allowed to play a maximum of 23 total handicap level out of the 5 players playing that night. So over time, the team members ranks will go up making it harder to play 5 players strategically and stay under 23. So again, new players... players that aren't that good... Are very welcome!

As far as fees go. The APA does have a membership fee. It's once a year and $25. Since it's so late in the year, your membership would be pro-rated the following year. With this membership, there are certain perks and discounts that I won't go through here. But what's most important to a lot of APA players is that all of the pool halls that host league offer discounts to APA members on both pool play and on merchandise.

As far as the weekly dues. You only pay if you play. Teams are between 5-8 people. Most teams fill their roster to give themselves more options to compete with, so you won't play every week. Depending on what night you want to play and what night will depend on the fee for playing. I'll list a few.

Monday we have 8 ball. If you play 8 ball, it is $9. Pantanas puts balls out starting at 6pm and there are practice tables so even if you aren't playing a match, you can pretty much practice against other people and meet people and get better at it.
Monday also has Masters. Masters is more for the experienced players as it's not handicapped. It's a combination of 8 ball and 9 ball in an even race to 7. Masters is $10

Tuesday night we have Double Jeopardy. Double Jeopardy is 8 and 9 ball. Most of the time your team for 8 ball and 9 ball is the same team. There are exceptions where there may be someone on your 9 ball team that isn't on the 8 ball team and just the opposite. This isn't too common, but there are some cases. On Tuesday night if you play 8 or 9 it's only $6 if you play both it's $12

I hope this has answered your questions. I'm happy to answer.

9/17/2008 10:12:44 PM

I've gotta throw a couple of things in here just so you people are aware...

Playing pool isn't that expensive, but drinking is. When you start at 7 and may end up staying until midnight or later (and this will bring us to a second point - more on that later) you may be inclined to have a beverage or six. One night isn't bad, but you're doing it (possibly) every week. And then if you play multiple nights (for example, I play in a non-apa cash league on Tuesdays and Double Jeopardy on Thursdays) then things start adding up pretty damn quick. Of course you don't have to drink and sometimes I will decide not to for one reason or another, but that is not very often. Basically what I'm getting at is that it could cost you as little as ~ $25 per month (or less if you don't play every week - see above) or as much as $100 per month and upwards, depending on your habits.

My second point goes back to the length of time required to play. You play one person a pre-determined number of games each night (I'll let jamerson elaborate if you're interested in how it works) but you play all the games consecutively. If you are the first person to play on your team you'll most likely be done by 8. Some matches take longer than others (I've seen a match go for 2.5 hours recently) and some are very quick (20 minutes or less). But it doesn't always work out that you shoot first - I often end up shooting last and have had several occasions where I don't even start playing until midnight. Most of the time you're done well before then but it does happen sometimes. My point here is that if you can't commit to staying out past 9:30 or 10, then you should really think about it before you join a team. Most of you are college students so that shouldn't be an issue, but I've had (and still have) people on my team who whine when they haven't started shooting by 9:30. Also, it would be very considerate that if you feel like you aren't going to continue playing til the end of the session that you let your team know sooner than later. We've been burned by dropouts halfway through the session. What ^ said about the 23 handicap rule is where this sucks the most. The session before last we went to the city tournament and could only qualify 4 players, so we had to win 3 of 4 games instead of 3 of 5.

Lots of words, I know, but it's a perspective from someone who's experience the pros and cons of organized pool. I still maintain that it's a lot of fun and if you're at all interested you should try it at least for one session.

jamerson, is there any chance of a non-smoking night at Pantanas?

[Edited on September 18, 2008 at 1:47 AM. Reason : .]

9/18/2008 1:46:31 AM

That's a tough question. I'll find out and get back to you.

9/18/2008 9:32:50 AM

It's not that tough of a question jamerson. No, there will be no smoke free nights

9/18/2008 10:35:25 AM

Snooker's has a smoke free league night. So again, I'll ask and get back to you.

9/18/2008 10:52:18 AM

Yeah, I play at Snooker's on Thursdays for that very reason but space is tight in there and not many places to sit.

9/18/2008 12:39:03 PM

I'll have to check with Jeff to see how business is normally on Thursday nights. If it's slow, I may be able to start another division there on Thursdays with the no smoking policy for that 1 night, just like Snookers.

I really like New York billiards. I'm a smoker, but in that place, even with a bunch of people smoking it's not bad, because of the high ceilings. And you're less likely to leave smelling like smoke.

To far and too expensive for me though.

9/18/2008 12:50:54 PM

we had out free cigs on monday nights at PB's

9/18/2008 3:55:09 PM

I'm only good at pool when I'm wasted, and preferably at a strip club.

9/18/2008 4:05:51 PM

The camel reps do come out like clockwork on Monday nights to give us free cigarettes.

9/18/2008 4:30:53 PM

Anyone want to come shoot some on Sunday?

This is me at Pantana's

9/19/2008 2:59:30 PM

What are the hours and fees for Pantana's and other pool places around here? It sounds like I won't have the time for the team play discussed in this thread but I'd still like somewhere to play once in a while.

9/20/2008 4:01:24 PM

There are several nice pool halls within a reasonable distance from campus. I can name a few for you.

Pantanas (same building as cup a joe) on hillsborough st. They're open from 2-2 everyday. League nights are Monday and Tuesday. There's a travelling dart league that's there on some Wednesdays.

Snookers is in the same shopping center as Rite Aide and Whole Foods. Not sure of their hours but I do know that on Sundays they don't charge for pool between 3pm and 6pm providing you spend $6

There's Champions at mission valley, but their tables and their cues in my opinions just plain suck.

Babineus Cary is a nice pool hall, and New York billiards is very nice (it's in North Raleigh)

Brass Taps on Capital Blvd has a lot of tables. It used to have a bad reputation for a rough crowd a while back.

That's about all I have off the top of my head. Anyone else, please feel free to add to my list here.

9/20/2008 10:40:41 PM

^ yeah brass taps does have a really rough crowd, always has....but I mean it is in mini city

and NY Billiards is really nice but its expensive, you need a membership or pay a cover, and its pretty much an asian only hotspot

don't forget about sharky's on duraleigh that place isn't too bad

9/21/2008 5:45:58 PM

Brown's is on Atlantic Springs drive off of Spring Forest, about 1/2 mile from NY Billiards. I play there sometimes just because it's close to my house.

Hot Shots is in the MacGregor shopping center in Cary, near Tony's Oyster Bar.

If you're further out from Raleigh some others are:

Mojo's in Apex - it's right off of Hwy 64.

On The Snap in Fuquay-Varina - it's right off of Hwy 55 on Dickens Rd. They have really nice tables but the pockets are tight. They also have a bigass projector and a bunch of flat panel tv's too.

[Edited on September 22, 2008 at 1:27 AM. Reason : .]

9/22/2008 1:27:03 AM

Hi everyone,

It's almost time for the Spring session to begin. If you're interested in playing some pool, having a good time and meeting new people, it's a good place to do it.

We'll have 4 new teams joining us on Monday night and 3 new teams joining us on Tuesday night. There should be a few more before things officially kick off on January 12th.

If you'd like more information or have any questions, please feel free to contact me at the following email address.

chrisvester@gmail.com



[Edited on December 10, 2008 at 4:36 PM. Reason : ]

12/10/2008 4:35:16 PM

htf does spring session start in december ?

and do any hot chicks come out or is it all dyke Karen Coor types like on ESPN2 ?

12/10/2008 4:59:40 PM

Quote :

"and NY Billiards is really nice but its expensive, you need a membership or pay a cover, and its pretty much an asian only hotspot"

you got that right, never saw so many asians playing pool in one place before. it's a nice place though.

the location isn't convenient for me, but i'd go there again if i was in the area.

12/10/2008 6:26:14 PM

The Spring session starts on January 12, and we have some nice lady pool players. I've got word of 2-4 new teams adding on Monday night and 4 teams adding on Tuesday night. We have plenty of room left. Just a few of us our going to be hanging out up there this coming Monday. It's not a league night, as we're skipping this week. But we are doing a potluck and some of us that are in town will be hanging out and shooting some pool. If you're interested, come out and meet me. If you can't find me just ask for me. My name is Chris Vester. I am happy to answer any questions and I'll shoot some with you too if you want.

I look forward to some new faces in January. The teams are picking back up, and once we get our league going strong, the owner/management should put some money into fixing up things for us.

Anyways, it's a good time and a way to meet some cool people. I hope to see you out there.

12/18/2008 1:04:36 PM

Update: We have 4 new teams expected on Monday night to add to the 6 teams. On Tuesday night we're expecting 5 new teams to add to the 4 teams we already have. Would very much like to add a 6th team to make it even. If it's uneven we will have a bye in the schedule. We have a few people that aren't on a team that are trying to either form a team or join a team. If you'd like to play let me know.

12/31/2008 11:41:40 AM