Tight pocket tables

At what point does a pocket become considered tight?

  • Less than 4.75"

    Votes: 8 5.6%

  • Less than 4.50"

    Votes: 66 46.5%

  • Less than 4.25"

    Votes: 50 35.2%

  • Less than 4.00"

    Votes: 15 10.6%

  • I prefer snooker

    Votes: 3 2.1%
  • Total voters
    142
StevenPWaldon

StevenPWaldon

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have been wondering this a while, since everyone plays on different equipment : What are AZBers notions of what constitutes a tight pocket? It seems like every joint has a few tables that are tight pocket tables, but a tight pocket in one pool hall might be considered a bucket in another. Opinions?

Here's a photo of one of the pockets at my local joint. They measure a hair under 4". Anyone have a tighter table you play on?

broadwaypockets.jpg
 
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I dont think youre going to find too many pockets smaller than that. I mean its fun to play on a tight table, but any smaller than that and there are certain things you wont be able to do that you really should be able to do. I mean for practice its great, but why hold yourself to a higher standard than what they play with in the WPC.
 
Mostly they're used for practice, or gambling on games other than 9-ball: back-pocket 9-ball, one-pocket, last pocket 8-ball.

The last thing I want to see is one-pocket being played on a bucket.

And I don't think it's a "higher standard." It's just a different one. A lot of the Taiwanese play on pockets as tight as these.

RunoutalloverU said:
I dont think youre going to find too many pockets smaller than that. I mean its fun to play on a tight table, but any smaller than that and there are certain things you wont be able to do that you really should be able to do. I mean for practice its great, but why hold yourself to a higher standard than what they play with in the WPC.
Click to expand...
 
Tight pockets arn't bad if the pocket shelf is not too deep and the rail angles are right. The wrong combination of these three variables can make a table unplayable. A friend of mine had a no name table with 4.75" pockets that would spit out any thing that touched the rail. There was no such thing as pocket speed and the sweetest run down the rail would rattle.
 
Steven,

I think the shelf is as big an issue as the point to point dimension as far as playing severity is concerned. Diamonds have a far deeper shelf than the table in your photo. Playing on my own Diamond, the shelves robs me more than the points ever do.

_Rick
 
The front tables at Edgies in Milpitas, CA might be a shade tighter than the one in your picture. I wish I had a picture to post. They're GCs, too, so the shelf is similar. I agree that the deeper shelf on a diamond makes for a much tougher pocket. Does anyone have a picture of two balls jammed into a pro-cut diamond pocket?
 
teebee said:
Tight pockets arn't bad if the pocket shelf is not too deep and the rail angles are right. The wrong combination of these three variables can make a table unplayable. A friend of mine had a no name table with 4.75" pockets that would spit out any thing that touched the rail. There was no such thing as pocket speed and the sweetest run down the rail would rattle.
Click to expand...
I have that or at least a similar problem on my table. I don't have tight pockets, but an extremely long shelf. The pockets measure 5.25, but look how deep the balls are in the pockets. Is there a way to rememdy this problem.(tighten pockets and decrease shelf length)...with the help of a professional of course?

BTW...it's not a cheapo table. It's a GCI.
 

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  • ShallowPockets.jpg
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Buckets

mattman said:
I have that or at least a similar problem on my table. I don't have tight pockets, but an extremely long shelf. The pockets measure 5.25, but look how deep the balls are in the pockets. Is there a way to rememdy this problem.(tighten pockets and decrease shelf length)...with the help of a professional of course?

BTW...it's not a cheapo table. It's a GCI.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you need the pockets tightened up and that would decrease the shelf. I remember Greg from Diamond talking about it in a thread. Those are pretty big pockets.
 
Jamie Farrell had a Gold Crown in his basement years ago when he lived in the Chicago area.He must have had 6 shims on each pocket.They were easily less than 4 inches.
I am telling the truth,he did not miss a ball when I played him the few times I did there!
 
I think once you get above 4.75 you're getting into the bucket zone, and below 4.25 it's considered tight... like really tight. I love tight pockets :D
 
Yeah it's fun to play on tight pockets sometimes.

An old timer I know named Chinese Frank only plays on tight pockets. He was complaining about the pockets that I posted above, saying they're not tight enough. Imagine!

Hierovision said:
I think once you get above 4.75 you're getting into the bucket zone, and below 4.25 it's considered tight... like really tight. I love tight pockets :D
Click to expand...
 
StevenPWaldon said:
I have been wondering this a while, since everyone plays on different equipment : What are AZBers notions of what constitutes a tight pocket? It seems like every joint has a few tables that are tight pocket tables, but a tight pocket in one pool hall might be considered a bucket in another. Opinions?

Here's a photo of one of the pockets at my local joint. They measure a hair under 4". Anyone have a tighter table you play on?

broadwaypockets.jpg
Click to expand...

These look like about 4.5" to me (2 balls wide measured at the jaws).

pj
chgo
 
Wow. That's insanely deep.

mattman said:
I have that or at least a similar problem on my table. I don't have tight pockets, but an extremely long shelf. The pockets measure 5.25, but look how deep the balls are in the pockets. Is there a way to rememdy this problem.(tighten pockets and decrease shelf length)...with the help of a professional of course?

BTW...it's not a cheapo table. It's a GCI.
Click to expand...
 
They play a bit under 4". These two balls won't fit to the drop, so there's no way it could be 4.5"

Patrick Johnson said:
These look like about 4.5" to me (2 balls wide measured at the jaws).

pj
chgo
Click to expand...
 
rikdee said:
Steven,

I think the shelf is as big an issue as the point to point dimension as far as playing severity is concerned. Diamonds have a far deeper shelf than the table in your photo. Playing on my own Diamond, the shelves robs me more than the points ever do.

_Rick
Click to expand...

This is exactly correct. It is a combination of pocket shelf depth, pocket facing angles, gate height, and pocket opening diameter.

Personally, the shelf in that picture is very, very short. I also own a Diamond and the pocket shelves are much deeper which makes the pockets play much tougher.

As to the original poster's question: pretty much every serious pool hall in California has nasty tight pocketed tables. Ernesto Dominguez loves to make those tables ridiculously tight. He says "it's good for your game" LOL ;)

Ray
 
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StevenPWaldon said:
They play a bit under 4". These two balls won't fit to the drop, so there's no way it could be 4.5"
Click to expand...
I think pocket width is customarily measured at the jaws, where the balls are sitting in the picture. That way when people compare pocket sizes they're comparing the same things.

pj
chgo
 
I play at the poolroom in Atlanta and the diamond triple shim pockets are a ball and a half.I will try to get pics.:eek:
 
It's true. A lot of good places in California have nice tight pockets.

Funny story: I knew a regular at Hollywood Billiards who preferred to play one-pocket. However, the action there was dismal at best. All the real one-pocket action was in Santa Monica at the House of Billiards. He went once and lost, or maybe broke even at best. He never returned. When I asked why he wouldn't go back, he complained night and day about the buckets for pockets, rails that slide, the damp Santa Monica air, and how anybody can make a ball on those tables. After all, Hollywood Billiards has the tightest tables!

Now, I started playing pool at the House of Billiards in Santa Monica. When I moved to West Hollywood and became friend with the management at Hollywood Billiards, I made that my new home. And I realized they had the identically cut/shaped pockets.

So on my next trip to the House of Billiards I'm talking with some of the rail birds about this guy, and pocket sizes. And when I mention that Hollywood Billiards has tight pocket tables as well, not a *single* one of them would acknowledge it. They all claimed Hollywood has buckets for pockets, and nothing is tighter than tables 11-13 at House of Billiards.

The most hysterical thing? Both rooms have Ernesto maintain the tables, and to the same specs. Yet the players would ignore this fact.

Remembering those conversations is actually what made me post. Not only do people have differing views of what is tight, but when two tables are cut identically they still have to argue!

BigCat said:
As to the original poster's question: pretty much every serious pool hall in California has nasty tight pocketed tables. Ernesto Dominguez loves to make those tables ridiculously tight. He says "it's good for your game" LOL ;)
Click to expand...
 
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StevenPWaldon said:
They play a bit under 4". These two balls won't fit to the drop, so there's no way it could be 4.5"
Click to expand...

IIRC, pockets are customarily measured at the gate, not the drop. Where did you take the measurement on that table?

Ray
 
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LILJOHN30 said:
I play at the poolroom in Atlanta and the diamond triple shim pockets are a ball and a half.I will try to get pics.:eek:
Click to expand...

you mean that table over next the the entrance door next to where they put that coin table? i think thats a brunswick. that thing has nasty tight pockets.

for everyone else, by poolroom, i think he means marietta billiard club that johny and kim own now.

also olhausen's have that deep shelf like diamonds that make the pockets alittle hard to play.
 
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