On the Hunt for the Best Game of Pool in Wichita Falls
Where is our city's best billiards hot spot?
The sport known as billiards has it’s origins in ancient times, having evolved from various outdoor stick and ball games, to the indoor pastime we know today. Although many use the terms “billiards” and “pool” interchangeably, billiards is a larger term encompassing all types of cue sports, whereas pool is a more specific reference to the pocket billiards we so commonly play today.
TheFUSE spent a recent weekend in search of the best place to play a game of pool in Wichita Falls, and our main conclusion: Wichita Falls has a lot of good places to enjoy a game.
I asked around about a good place for pool and got a number of recommendations with Fast Eddy’s the most frequently mentioned. After consulting the web, we chose to visit Broad Street Billiards on night one, a Friday, and we would visit Fast Eddy’s and West End Pub and Pool on the ensuing night.
Broad Street Billiards was the most unique location, residing in the former cafeteria of what was once Austin Elementary School, and the ambience was cool and inviting. To rent a table, you grab the placard off any open pool table and take it to the bar, where they give you a cue ball and start the clock at 8 bucks an hour. Our server Savannah was exceptionally attentive and had a smile in her voice and on her face all night. We found her very pleasant.
By contrast, Fast Eddy’s and West End Pub and Pool are both in strip mall locations, but each has its charms. Fast Eddy’s seemed to be the place to go if you’re serious about pool. They had a lot of tables in their own well-lit section, and open availability on a Saturday night. Fast Eddy’s has name recognition in Wichita Falls.
To its credit, West End Pub and Pool felt like a perfected balance between a pub and a pool hall — our bartender was a rock star, handling tons of customers and servers all by herself, and there was comfortable seating near the tables, so everyone in our party could have a good view of the action without having to stand the entire time. A table at West End was only $6 an hour, but be prepared for a much younger crowd to arrive as a Saturday night progresses.
There were other, more subtle conveniences in certain places… Broad Street had coat and purse hooks under some of their tableside seating areas, and they seemed to have the most room between tables, leaving less chance that anyone takes a cue in the ass from their neighbor. The table we played was “ball return” style, preferred by many, and the cafeteria’s old stage now functions as an elevated, dedicated area for darts.
On the flipside, the exterior of Broad Street’s location is the least-inviting of the places we visited. Make sure you see the inside before you judge it.
West End’s variety of tables was impressive, with a few coin-op tables along one wall, and both 7-foot and 9-foot tables, too. And at West End, the tables were actual pocket tables, where the ball remains in the pocket when you sink it, popular with purists.
In the end, we found something to like about every place we visited. It turns out you don’t have to hunt very hard to find a great place for a cold one and a relaxing way to spend a few hours in Wichita Falls.
Have you visited any of these pool halls? There are other places to catch a quick game of pool in the Falls, of course — do you have a secret favorite spot? Let us know in the comments.
Follow theFUSE on Facebook
Follow theFUSE on Instagram
You missed Fat Albert's. It's an institution in this town. All tables are 50 cents a game. It's a dark and dingy space but worth a visit.