Hard Times Billiards

My Favorite Billiards Spot. Has a good setting and vibe is very chill. They also play good music. Staff is very chill as well. Played with Edgar a few times, he’s a cool guy.

Have come to this pool hall too many times to count. It’s great to just roll in and enjoy some time with friends. The tables are not that great, but they do alright for a chill night. The prices aren’t low, but they also are not too high either. The place is never packed, and parking is always available.

This is such an awesome pool hall. Almost no wait time as there are plenty of tables to choose from. Parking lot is pretty big. They also hold tournaments here so you can see some high skilled action.
Although they have food there, there is a Jack in a Box across the street and a 7 – 11 as well.
Definitely check this place out, however, if you are a pool hall junkie, you most likely already have.

Place is massive and I’d imagine it would have to be pretty packed to fill all of the tables. We came here around 7:30 on a weeknight and immediately got a table in the back. I like that they charge by the hour and give you the balls up front. There are not a ton of screens in the main pool area to watch a game or anything, but I like that because it forces you to focus on shooting pool and your brahs or girls haha. Some of the décor/​tables are a bit beat up — but I like that because it keeps the prices down.
This seems to be a «cash preferred» place. They had trouble managing the credit card machine when I paid with one, seems like it hadn’t been used in awhile.

I used to play here on the regular about 10 years ago and living in San Pedro now, it’s not the closest but definitely my preferred place to go. It is the epitome of an old school pool hall. The building has two main areas– The tournament side has ten regular 9 foot tables, with Simonis cloth and tighter pockets. You’ll often find pro or B rated players making things interesting. The stands along one side are for spectators but they also serve to split the room from the general table area. The general table side has two 12′ snooker tables, about six or so 3-​cushion billiard tables, three 7′ bar tables and thirty plus 9′ pocket billiard tables (all Brunswick Gold Crowns except for one Diamond table in the tournament room). Little Al Romero is upstairs offering custom cue sales and cue repairs. Table rates from open to 6pm, 7 days a week for single player are $ 4.25/hr. (seniors 62+ are $ 3.25) and go up to $ 6.95 after 6pm. 2+players will pay $ 7.50/hr., going up to $ 10.95/hr. after 6pm. On Fridays and Saturdays, the rate is $ 11.95. All of these rates are a lot lower than all of the pool halls I’ve found in L. A (maybe equal to the Golden Cue in S. El Monte). The tables can be a bit dirty at times but that’s a pretty standard aspect of going to a pool hall. I can’t offer much advice on the food but it exists. Love this place. It’s a classic.

Walked in after midnight on a cold dark night, cocked my hat (Frank Sinatra style) to the side, smokey this place was not but it use to be, this place wreaked of nostalgia and memories for me, and hit me like a kick in the nuts (memories) from way back when I was a little lad, shooting pool with my boys I grew up with. Goodtimes or should I say «Hardtimes» was the spot back in the day for us, and still is when we gather up and rejoice the «Old days», «The Bad days», the all or nothing days. troubled youth days that never gave a hoot’ haha! It surely brought back some memories to comeback to this old joint, and shoot some pool with the old hustlers, and be skooled’ and hustled but in a sense it made no cents to keep going, so as fast as I came in I rolled out (Cocked my hat like frank sinatra) split, in that dark cold night, after midnight.
— Cheers

This is the home of Champions and its a true statement. I have been playing at this location for over 2 years and I absolutely adore the competitive spirit that lives in every player here. The biggest flaw with this place is the air. This place has no air and its always really hot. Its normally hotter inside compared to outside. So if you want to play with really good pool players want limitless action but ok with 100 DEGREE temperature its a great spot to shoot pool.

Best pool hall on the west coast. Good tournaments and lots of action. Lots of pros if you like to watch good pool.

Pros:
Plenty of parking. Plenty of tables. Very short wait times on busy evenings. Depending on the day/​time you come, you may catch some of the worlds greatest pool players during their tournaments. There is a snooker table. Very affordable rates.
Cons:
The pool tables in the main room need some serious reconditioning. Balls were not clean/​polished. Made for a very annoying clumpy sticky game. The house cues, well universally they are usually pretty bad. The tables in the tournament side look good, but not sure if just anyone can play there. The Hard times in Sacramento you can play on the tournament tables for a dollar more. The lady at the register wasn’t sure if non-​tournament players could play on that side when tournaments weren’t going on. The affordable rates invite many undesirable types.
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I came here just coz I’ve seen many of my favourite international players roll through here. Not sure I would come back just to play on some ratty tables though. I’ll pay the extra 1 – 5 dollars for a better conditioned table & polished billiard balls at other places.
Overall, if you just want to play for fun with some friends, and at a very affordable cost — then this place is perfect for you. For players who have grown to be connoisseurs of the game, you may want to find another spot or enter their tournaments.

This place is pretty big inside and has a nice vibe inside. Their jukebox has many hits to choose from. From the outside, it looks kind of run down with people smoking outside but I love that look! Price is about $ 9 an hour. Its cheaper if you go earlier in the afternoon. This place can get loud at times but hey, its a billiards hall, right? It would have it nice vibe if it weren’t for all the commotion. There is almost never a wait time, considering they have like almost 20 tables inside. They also have arcades which are pretty awesome to play with. Enjoyable time on my every visit here. They even have a big screen tv by their eating area where one can go to watch any sporting event that is being televised. Recommended for anybody looking to go out on a cheap date but a guaranteed fun time as well.

I’ve been to quite a few pool halls but this is my favorite. The late hours, the quiet atmosphere, and the solid equipment all make for an enjoyable time. It’s great that there are a lot of tables so I’ve never had to wait.

Place seems a little dingy in the beginning, but it’s a pool hall! There are more than enough pool tables to keep one occupied on a weekend night, and they also have a private room on the side for the «pros». The place is loud, but not so loud or obnoxious where you can’t hear your friends at the pool table. The tables are well maintained, there are a variety of pool sticks and accessories, and the prices are so affordable. For a cheap date night, I would come here or go bowling!

Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower is still one of the top halls in the world. The best in the world (Efren Reyes, Santos Sambajon, Dave Hemmah, Ronnie Alcano, Jose Parica, etc) have and still do play there. And if the top pros aren’t there you still have your pick of players that have beat them from time to time in all the games like Carrom Bola, 1-​Pocket, 9-​Ball, 10-​Ball, 8-​Ball, Snooker… you name it! A lot of times it’s a good place to just come sit down and improve your game by merely watching how the players move the balls or their mouths (it’s all strategy). Hard Times is also a great place to take a date for music, pool, food and fun!

Smells like cigarettes inside.

Friendly people. Lots of tables. The real deal. I love this place! Just go out to eat and drink and then stop by Hard Times to shoot a few games of stick!

HT’s is THE player’s paradise! Brunswick tables, tight 4.25″ pockets, and Simonis cloth. Spectator bleacher seating on the tournament room side, 3 cushion, snooker tables, video games, snack bar… total entertainment for an enjoyable time!
Professional players always make HT’s a destination when in Southern California. (ie. this weekend, Mika Immonen, Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Alex Pagulayan, Santos Samboyan are practicing and wagering here). In fact, I’m going back tonight to watch more action!

This pool hall is HUGE… there where table 21, so there are at least +21 tables. What can I say about this place? It’s a nice place to spend your day.
The cost is roughly $ 9 per hour when we went, I think its cheaper before 6pm. The crowd there was very nice, and the hot looking guys where a plus. Definitely coming back here again

Friends and I used to come here all the time back in high school. It’s fairly large in size and enough tables for everyone. The location isn’t all that great, but its not all that bad either.
Unlike some reviews that say the place is «ghetto» it really isn’t. It can seem a bit shady sometimes, but don’t let that fool you. It’s a chill place to go and kick back with friends.

Great authentic pool hall. Grew up learning pool here as a kid in the mid eighties. Great venue for better pool action than a social scene.

This place, despite other reviews, is not «ghetto». It’s a fracking pool hall. If everything was decadent and gorgeous, that’s a sure fire way of knowing there is too much talking and not enough playing. Who needs the distraction anyway?
I used to live in Calabasas (Malibu) and once, I drove by myself from Calabasas all the way to Bellflower to play pool at this place because I heard this is where you play if you want to get noticed. This is also where you go if you want to watch and learn something. That was a LONG drive my friend and well worth it!
And there’s no doubt about it… right when I walked in, my eyes immediately got drawn to the room off to the side that had the small stadium seating (umm AWESOME). Where I come from, everyone kind of hovered behind a small wall all up in the player’s space. This was different and much more to my liking.
I shot a few games on the table nearest to the door and immediately had people coming up trying to play, so there’s definitely no shortage of competition or eager players looking to shoot or make friends there.
Over all, I just kind of felt at home when I was there. It was a nice feeling and I’ll definitely be going back.