El Taco Snooker & Pool Centre
October '07 saw the opening of a unique snooker and pool centre in Alhaurin de la Torre. Owners Frank and Peter have created a modern relaxed environment with a mixture of Snooker, Pool, Carambola and Darts. El Taco is also an excellent spacious venue for parties and celebrations. The club offers discounts for members and runs regular competitions and speciality nights. El Taco is currently looking for people keen to play pool and darts in local leagues.
For more info call Frank or Peter on 645 069 000 / 666 140 355
Poligono Industrial, Alhaurin de la Torre (next to Meroil Garage)
Open Every Day 12 til late
Mondays + Thursdays - FREE ENGLISH POOL NIGHT
Tuesdays - Darts Night
Wednesdays - Texas Hold Em Poker Night with Campoker Club
Thursdays - English Pool League Night (new players welcome)
Every Saturday Night - American Pool Competition €5 Entry
REDUCED Daytime Rates Mon - Fri (12-18.00) - All tables €5 p/h Members
(€6 Non)
Carambola
One afternoon last week I had the privilege of listening to a regular EL TACO visitor playing flamenco guitar, while sitting at the bar and enjoying a whisky-cola. Although he plays superbly, Pedro is a little shy and only picks up the guitar when the mood is right and often asks me to put on some background music at the same time to drown out his delightful play. His good friend Orlando (our coffee supplier), like me, wants the world to hear Pedro's playing and constantly pushes the microphone towards the sound box of the guitar, sparking a rapid fire exchange of bickering, whose pure Andalúz dialect often goes straight over my head.
On this particular day, Pedro was in the mood to play and entertained us (and
our Pool and Snooker players) for over an hour. Self expression is in the Spanish blood and eventually it has to come out.
It is this that brings me to the fine game of CARAMBOLA. The game has been popular throughout Spain and particularly Belgium and France for decades, although its roots are believed to be in Britain with further development of the game in the U.S. It is played on a table without pockets and a super-fast cloth, with a heating element under the slate to maintain a temperature 5 degrees above room temperature. This increases the speed of the cloth and keeps the balls running at a constant velocity.
Only 3 balls are used - a white, a yellow and a red. The 2 players use the white and red respectively and try alternatively to make a CARAMBOLA by hitting the opponent's ball and the red ball in one shot. This scores one point and the player can then continue to play until he fails to strike both of the other balls. There are higher levels of the game, requiring the player to strike 1, 2 or 3 cushions with the cue ball between striking the other 2 balls.
Experienced players will play these cushion shots using a lot of side or effect on the cue ball to create the correct angles to make the final contact on the second ball.
It can be a game of great finesse but also a game of extravagant combination shots. As I watch the various players on our table here at EL TACO it becomes clear that each player's style reflects their own individual personality. CARAMBOLA is a game of self expression and one that I am taking great pleasure in learning.
If you would like to try CARAMBOLA, our table awaits you and there will always be someone here to introduce you to the game. And who knows - maybe Pedro will be at the bar, Flamenco guitar in hand.
Peter (El Taco)
Snooker
Mid December saw the U.K. Snooker Championships decided in my old town of Telford. Ronnie O'Sullivan lifted the title, playing some devastating snooker during his demolition of Steven Maguire. During the tournament he narrowly missed one chance of a maximum 147 break - just missing a double on the final red. However, at 8 frames each in the semi final of what is regarded as the second most important snooker tournament of the year, he achieved his 8th competitive 147, equalling Steven Hendry's record. Ronnie has to be, without doubt, the most naturally gifted player to ever lift a cue. Thankfully, the game has always thrown up people like O'Sullivan through the years - ones who rub the establishment up the wrong way but rise to be the best in the world.
The game of snooker is certainly enjoying something of a resurgence at the moment with slicker T.V. coverage and marketing and we are delighted at EL TACO to see players dusting down their cues and returning to the game. Surprisingly, we also have a lot of Spanish players here. Snooker is widely watched here and the locals appreciate the quality of the tables and the level of skill required to master the game. Serious American Pool players use snooker as practice to improve their potting and cue ball skills. If you can play snooker, you can really play any type of billiards game to a decent level, although not the other way around!
Happy New Year to everyone - hope to see you soon on the green baize!
Peter (El Taco)
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