Magic Ball Rack?

nathandumoulin said:

Has anyone else seen this yet? Or better yet, has anyone else tried it yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akkS7b9tEbs

If so, I have a few questions:

1) Doesn't the template change the roll of the balls?

2) What happens when a ball lands on top of the template after the break? How are you supposed to get it out of the way?

3) How could you possibly use this for 14.1? Or 8ball even? Seems to me like a rack should be universal.

4) Is it just me or is the 9-ball break on the related video clip not a bad rack? I mean, the 9 rolls straight towards the corner pocket.

Click to expand...

I have one and the questions you are asking are the same ones I've been wondering since I've seen it. This rack is only for 9 and 10. I agree, maybe they can make a 15 ball rack, but it does alter the balls path. In straight pool or one hole where the balls stay in the pack, it would not play the same. The balls act differently.

I broke and mishit and left a couple of balls lying on the rack. I suppose there is really nothing you can do about it except wait until the balls are cleared.

Other than that, it does rack the balls frozen every single time.

nathandumoulin said:

Has anyone else seen this yet? Or better yet, has anyone else tried it yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akkS7b9tEbs

If so, I have a few questions:

1) Doesn't the template change the roll of the balls?

2) What happens when a ball lands on top of the template after the break? How are you supposed to get it out of the way?

3) How could you possibly use this for 14.1? Or 8ball even? Seems to me like a rack should be universal.

4) Is it just me or is the 9-ball break on the related video clip not a bad rack? I mean, the 9 rolls straight towards the corner pocket.

Click to expand...

very interesting lol

I got a couple of these and was real impressed. The balls rack perfectly each and every time, whether it be the 9 ball or 10 ball rack( which can also be used for 9 ball racking as well) .

On breaking the balls, it doesn;t appear that the rack changes the roll of the balls as the rack is real thin and I believe it has a type of a teflon type coating on it.

I've had a ball every once in a while stay within the rack, and as long as it's not touching the rack, you can move the rack over and lift it off the table without disturbing the ball. Other than that, if a ball is on the rack after the break, then you have to agree with your opponent at the beginning of the match that you do a clean lift and replace.

I think with 14.1, if would probably not work especially if the balls aren't broken up big, but in 8ball, the break is usually pretty substantial and you usually get a decent spead, so you should have minimum interference from the rack.

I understand that a 8 ball rack is in the works.

I bought 3 and have left 2 of them ( 4 - 9 ball racks in total) at my home hall I play at for everyone to try out. So far, the reviews have all been positive and interest has been keen. Hope this was helpful

Regards
Walter

nathandumoulin said:

Has anyone else seen this yet? Or better yet, has anyone else tried it yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akkS7b9tEbs

If so, I have a few questions:

1) Doesn't the template change the roll of the balls?

2) What happens when a ball lands on top of the template after the break? How are you supposed to get it out of the way?

3) How could you possibly use this for 14.1? Or 8ball even? Seems to me like a rack should be universal.

4) Is it just me or is the 9-ball break on the related video clip not a bad rack? I mean, the 9 rolls straight towards the corner pocket.

Click to expand...

Useless product, more trouble then it is worth. No matter how thin it is it will alter the roll of a ball that is coming to rest on the edge. It could be the difference between a ball being open and becoming frozen to another ball due to rocking off the edge of the rack. I believe the racking of pool balls and some of the inconsistencies are a part of the game. The game is not meant to be played by robots in perfect conditions. A skid here and there or a ball jumping out of a pocket ,even a small roll off are all part of the game the same as a funny hop by a ball in baseball that gets away from the player. The game is not meant to be perfect. In fact, this rack add an imperfection to the game contrary to it's intentions.

First time i seen this was watching the clips of the Philippine Open and balls were droppn.

Here's a previous thread on the product. Oscar Dominguez used it at the Philippine 10ball Open and said it worked great.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=155450

It seems like something to try out, for sure! How can you go wrong for $5?

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

I couldn't watch it. The cameraman must have been 15 beer under. It made me dizzy just watching the clip.

nathandumoulin said:

The part that gets me is that the 9ball clearly went straight towards the corner pocket on the first break shot. If it racks the balls perfectly, then how is this possible?

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I've spoken about this to the guy who shot the video and it appears it's just a hefty dose of Sod's Law that the one time in a hundred that you get an imperfect rack is the one time you were videoing it.

I've also spoken to a lot of people who have used it and they bare witness to this being the case as most often the nine ball is still frozen to the foot spot or very close to it, which incidentally still permits the rack to be removed - this is the reason for the hole in the centre of the template.

We're selling them like hotcakes over here (Europe) and the main reason for buying these type of racking template style products is that when you are running tournaments you can greatly increase the number of matches played per day because use of these speeds up racking and prevents tampering/reduces arguments about racks.

This is certainly very important in the UK (and the rest of Europe) where pool clubs/tournament venues often have quite limited numbers of tables - but vast numbers of entrants.

They just help the whole process run faster and smoother.

I hope this helps.

(Just for completeness/fairness, I'm not a totally impartial observer... We are the exclusive distributor of this product in Europe - but European pool tournaments have been using racking templates for many years before this product came along - it's just that this one has less impact on game-play and is less destructive.)

I like it, feel it's a definite improvement over any triangle shaped rack and know it will definitely speed up play.
The 9 may have moved cuz some balls there may be out of shape, probably the 9 ball. Quite often the 8,9 & 1 ball wear down or compress down more than the other balls that's why sometimes when playing 9 ball I'll use a different striped ball for the 9.

this is what I have found best for a home table. I love it;.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjXTkLx8M3E

I would love to see it at the pool hall. I have yet to have a problem with a ball rolling off

mikeiniowa said:

this is what I have found best for a home table. I love it;.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjXTkLx8M3E

I would love to see it at the pool hall. I have yet to have a problem with a ball rolling off

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Agreed, luv it.
In the pool room the cirlces would need to be replaced every so often as they turn into oval shapes when getting a lot of play but still much better than triangle racks. This is how I have my table but have it tapped in and have it tapped in 3 different spots, middle of spot and a tiny bit high & low so you can switch it up a bit.