garczar said:

Final64. Single elim: https://pub.joy-zhongba.com/racingc...AY47nNXNklW_kM0oXr_aem_2DJBMRMeQj1ExJC0e3--MA

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Thanks for finding this and posting.
Seems like the bottom half of the bracket is tougher than the top.

Black-Balled said:

3c players these days are around the 12mm diameter.

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Is that the world's class players?
I remember being at a three cushion tournament and the program had profiles of all the top players. I was shocked at the cues they I played with and the dimensions.

Bob Jewett said:

The WPA table specs include how parallel the facings are. There should be a specified amount of closing as you go into the pocket. This is very, very important for how the pocket plays.

I saw Fedor give a side pocket a long, hard stare after a ball popped back out. Are they really 4"?

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4" is what I heard the commentators say. I don't know if they were correct.

Edit: I take that back. Let me check back.
Ok, the commentators said the pockets were 4 1/8" corners and 4 1/2" center.

middleofnowhere said:

That's something I wrote. Danny played with a big shaft for years. Then one day he comes in and decides to sand down his shaft to a 12.5 on my lathe. He said and I quote that Lassiter used to say he could not see how players played with those fat shafts.
Danny did say later that it improved his game.


At the old Congress billiards in Miami golf on the 6 x12 was the big game. Rex Williams was in town and hung around for a while. He played some golf when he was there. Surprisingly he was world champion snooker player
But could not beat the golf players at the Congress. As you know golf tables have roll offs that have to be memorized.
Point is though, the players got fascinated with his snooker cues. It was not long before they were using these weird cues with the tiny tips playing golf.
I always found it interesting how billiard players hitting those big balls use those short cues with like 10 mm tips. I wonder what the physics of that is. I knew Bob Byrne. He in his books he shows playing pool with a billiard cue. I always thought that was a mistake and was giving the wrong info to the reader trying to learn pool.

Ray Schuler made me a cue once for pool. Unfortunately it had too many billiard aspects to it. From butt to shaft taper you could not play good pool with it.
Now we have CF that not too many years ago would have sounded ridiculous to players.
The game after a century plus from the first custom built cues is still evolving.
I remember seeing pictures of pool tables in old western photos from the eighteen hundreds. Could imagine what it must have been like playing back then.
I don't know where I am going with this. I should just get out of bed and do something useful.

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3c players these days are around the 12mm diameter.

VVP said:

The Predator ARC table with the 4" side pocket seems to be unplayable even at the pro level. You can see players avoiding it if they can. Can the pocket be cut differently and still maintain the 4" width?

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The WPA table specs include how parallel the facings are. There should be a specified amount of closing as you go into the pocket. This is very, very important for how the pocket plays.

I saw Fedor give a side pocket a long, hard stare after a ball popped back out. Are they really 4"?

InsertCleverNameHere said:

AT ALL TIMES. And don't you forget it.

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Except breakfast.

Nobody should have that for breakfast.

Dimeball said:

Learn to read the gaps

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I learned to read the gaps back in the day when 8 on the break was a win playing 8 ball. I would stifle the giggle when they thought that a gap behind the head ball was a good idea.

qolbrand said:

thanks, thats motivating to hear.

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here’s a condensed version of yesterdays heartaches.

roll off got me on the 11 at the end. gotta remember to keep the cue ball just above that speed.

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I'm going to introduce you to a concept called an "insurance ball", you may allready know it, but here it goes: Whenever you break up a cluster, it's a good thing to keep a ball near a pocket, such that if you get stuck up against a ball, you could still easily pocket it. Usually then, it will be on the side you are shooting the shot from. When you chose to break the cluster using the 4 ball, you should have kept the 1 as an insurance ball. This concept is of special importance when breaking the cluster from underneath, as it is very easy to end up with no shot or end up having to shoot over balls etc. The challenging bit here is getting on the 4 without using the 1, which is why I don't think it was the right play in this instance. I'd stay above the ball to give myself some margin of error, even if it gives less power to breaking the cluster.

There is also another way to go which has much less challenging position play and it's removing the 5 (and whatever balls you need to get on it). And then using the 14 to get on the 3 IF IT GOES INTO THE RIGHT CORNER (if not disregard). You will almost automatically make a new breakball, breaking the cluster at the right speed. If you play it right you will have shots to shoot up table. You won't have an insurance ball per se, but it's less critical when breaking from the side. Also, since the ball you are using to break is inside the cluster, you will have a lot more control over how the balls spread out, than you did with the 4.

There is a 3. option that might be better than the other two, because it lets you keep your breakballs and lets you attack the cluster early. Also you can probably pick the cluster off cleanly if you shoot the 6 ball off first. So there are two potential ways to use it to attack the cluster using the 6.

Matt_24 said:

I remember hearing somewhere that Danny DiLiberto used a 14mm shaft originally, and was a great player with one, but when someone convinced him to switch to the 13mm or lower, his game elevated even more.

Click to expand...

That's something I wrote. Danny played with a big shaft for years. Then one day he comes in and decides to sand down his shaft to a 12.5 on my lathe. He said and I quote that Lassiter used to say he could not see how players played with those fat shafts.
Danny did say later that it improved his game.


At the old Congress billiards in Miami golf on the 6 x12 was the big game. Rex Williams was in town and hung around for a while. He played some golf when he was there. Surprisingly he was world champion snooker player
But could not beat the golf players at the Congress. As you know golf tables have roll offs that have to be memorized.
Point is though, the players got fascinated with his snooker cues. It was not long before they were using these weird cues with the tiny tips playing golf.
I always found it interesting how billiard players hitting those big balls use those short cues with like 10 mm tips. I wonder what the physics of that is. I knew Bob Byrne. He in his books he shows playing pool with a billiard cue. I always thought that was a mistake and was giving the wrong info to the reader trying to learn pool.

Ray Schuler made me a cue once for pool. Unfortunately it had too many billiard aspects to it. From butt to shaft taper you could not play good pool with it.
Now we have CF that not too many years ago would have sounded ridiculous to players.
The game after a century plus from the first custom built cues is still evolving.
I remember seeing pictures of pool tables in old western photos from the eighteen hundreds. Could not imagine what it must have been like playing back then.
I don't know where I am going with this. I should just get out of bed and do something useful.

Ah the morning after league night is contemplation time.
The I Ching provides interesting contemplation and perhaps insights.
Even after a successful venture, assessment honest analysis is required.
Diligence pays dividends.

Hope you get to feeling better Uncle Ted. Been there the last couple of months myself dealing with issues.