Inside Canberra's only dedicated pool and billiard club

Pool. Something to do when you’re down at the pub with your mates to help fill the gaps in conversation, right? Until now, maybe.

Brian Zhang and Wen Tang, a Chinese-Australian couple who moved from Sydney to Canberra earlier this year, have transformed the top level of 26 Mort Street in Braddon into Canberra’s only dedicated pool and billiard club.

HeyCan Pool & Billiards Club opened on 21 September and it’s already hosted the 2024 Oceania Heyball Open, and on 1 November, players from all over Australia will attend the Australian Pool Player Association’s national championship.

The rest of the time, it’s open daily to anyone who wants to wander up the stairs and try their hand at pool.

“My husband is a big enthusiast for pool, starting in high school,” Wen says, before adding that she’s more along for the ride.

In reality, they met among friends in a Sydney pool hall, where Brian would play nearly every night.

“There are two pool halls with more than 40 tables each in Sydney, and both of them are so busy, like you have to wait two hours every night to get a table,” Wen says.

“But when we moved here, we noticed there are no tables outside of bars, and they’re all the smaller seven-foot tables – the English ones.”

Despite warnings of “just because you like it, doesn’t mean everyone else will”, the couple set about finding a venue both big enough and central enough for a local Canberra pool hall – no mean feat.

In July, they found “the perfect one” on Mort Street, and it was then a busy two months renovating the space, rigging up the lighting, ordering the tables and other furniture, and putting it all together – all to professional specs.

“There are so many details, and because I’m not very interested in it, I thought we’d just need some tables and cues and we’d be ready to play,” Wen says.

“But my husband was very into the details and everything related to the business.

“The landlord is very nice, and he did part of the renovation before he handed it over to us, which saved us quite a lot,” Wen adds.

Unlike those you’ll find in the pub, 10 of the pool tables here are built to American specifications and are roughly eight feet in length, and the remaining eight to Chinese specifications, being slightly larger at nine feet.

The pocket openings are also larger on the American tables and cut at a steeper 45-degree angle.

In China, pool is called ‘heyball’, hence the club’s name. Wen says these tables are popular enough among locals who hear of it for the first time and “would love to try”, even if the American pool tables are more well-known.

In a corner of the room are VR gaming options and two Mahjong tables, which Wen describes as “kind of like a board game”. Some more gaming machines are on the cards at a later date.

For now, only soft drinks and snacks are available while the club works through the liquor licence application process with the government, but ultimately, Wen says it will never be just about the drinks.

“Brian’s plan is to see more people just come here to play and make this venue a very professional place,” she explains.

“A lot of customers come here to ask, ‘Do you have a beer?’ and it’s a very natural thought because previously all pool tables were in a bar and as a decoration, so it’s not easy to transfer their thinking.”

Accordingly, the club holds weekly heyball tournaments every Tuesday and American pool tournaments every Thursday, open to anyone for $15 entry and with $100 cash prizes for the winners.

Every Sunday afternoon, Brian also runs beginner training sessions in billiards for $20 per person.

So far, Wen says the approach has been well received by everyone, from national pool bodies to families walking in off Mort Street.

“It’s a very gentle sport. You can do it after dinner, and it’s a mature game you can do with your grown-up kids,” she says.

“It’s a very casual thing. You don’t have to sign up, you can just show up here and play.”

Hey Can Pool and Billiards Club, at 26 Mort Street, Braddon, is open from 12 pm to 12 am, Monday to Wednesday, 10 am to 2 am, Thursday to Saturday, and 10 am to 12 am, Sunday.