Diamond tables...WHY?

R

riding9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Why do players like shooting on diamond tables so much? They don't play natural, meaning they come up short compared to Brunswick and other name tables. I believe they play short because the rails are so springy which causes them to play fast and short.

Why do you like them?
 
riding9 said:
Why do players like shooting on diamond tables so much? They don't play natural, meaning they come up short compared to Brunswick and other name tables. I believe they play short because the rails are so springy which causes them to play fast and short.

Why do you like them?
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It's not the Artemis rubber that's the problem. On a Brunswick GCIII the Artemis play true.
 
Yer not supposed to hit the rails, the object of the game is to hit one of six little holes they drilled in the table.
Just teasin ya, last week in Vegas was the first time I had the opportunity to play on a Diamond. I prefer the Diamond bar boxes over Valley any day of the week. Played on a 9 foot Diamond, jaws were pretty tight and took some gettin used to but after that, nothing wrong with them.
 
riding9 said:
Why do players like shooting on diamond tables so much? They don't play natural, meaning they come up short compared to Brunswick and other name tables. I believe they play short because the rails are so springy which causes them to play fast and short.

Why do you like them?
Click to expand...

Perhaps its because the new rail rubbers Brunswick (and others) have used for the last fifteen years play wrong! In the States, we all grew up with them. It may also be the rubber nose heights are incorrectly set on tables other than Diamonds from the factory. In the field, I find once a first class table mechanic has worked on a table, the differences nearly disappear. I find the Diamonds, big and small, play correctly. It might be why the Europeans have dominated pool in recent years. They are used to Artimis rail rubbers. Just my two cents.

Lyn
 
riding9 said:
Why do players like shooting on diamond tables so much? They don't play natural, meaning they come up short compared to Brunswick and other name tables. I believe they play short because the rails are so springy which causes them to play fast and short.

Why do you like them?
Click to expand...

because they play good.
when you make the pockets small this is by far the best table.
if you have a gold crown with the same size pockets it will play looser.
 
diamonds

The leather on the upper pocket is nice because it doent stick up above the rail.It is easy to use a normal bridge on nearly any shot and not have to jack-up or protect your cue from sharp edges and rubber.

The Diamond coin-op tables use a red circle cue-ball wich most people prefer over the Aramith or other heavy or plugged cue-balls.


IMO just a well designed pool table for competitive pool.They took away everything that grumpy players like me can complain about.Diamonds take a bit of getting used to but once one makes the atitude adjustment they tend to prefer them.
 
cardiac kid said:
Perhaps its because the new rail rubbers Brunswick (and others) have used for the last fifteen years play wrong! In the States, we all grew up with them. It may also be the rubber nose heights are incorrectly set on tables other than Diamonds from the factory. In the field, I find once a first class table mechanic has worked on a table, the differences nearly disappear. I find the Diamonds, big and small, play correctly. It might be why the Europeans have dominated pool in recent years. They are used to Artimis rail rubbers. Just my two cents.

Lyn
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Interesting angle on this and I must say I agree. My Diamond pro plays so good right now that it is like a dream. I have tried the diamond system on this table and it plays true on every one that I have tested. The simple 3 rail from one corner to the other is text book. When I hit the spot on the rail adjacent to the rail diamond with a hint of running english it drains dead center in the other corner and this happens for any pocket either direction.
 
smoooothstroke said:
The leather on the upper pocket is nice because it doent stick up above the rail.It is easy to use a normal bridge on nearly any shot and not have to jack-up or protect your cue from sharp edges and rubber.

The Diamond coin-op tables use a red circle cue-ball wich most people prefer over the Aramith or other heavy or plugged cue-balls.


IMO just a well designed pool table for competitive pool.They took away everything that grumpy players like me can complain about.Diamonds take a bit of getting used to but once one makes the atitude adjustment they tend to prefer them.
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What he said...and the pockets are tighter, which is nice for one pocket. Three railers come up short on our diamonds but you can adjust for it or not use the shot as often. It is just a joy to play on 9 foot Diamonds. When I switch and try to play on another brand, it makes me want to quit pool. Some Valley bar boxes make me feel the same way (this might be because of the bowling ball cue balls though).
 
location, location, location

Cuebuddy said:
Interesting angle on this and I must say I agree. My Diamond pro plays so good right now that it is like a dream. I have tried the diamond system on this table and it plays true on every one that I have tested. The simple 3 rail from one corner to the other is text book. When I hit the spot on the rail adjacent to the rail diamond with a hint of running english it drains dead center in the other corner and this happens for any pocket either direction.
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Like a business or real estate, a lot of how a Diamond plays depends on location. I suspect that it plays longer in Colorado than it does down here in the swamp. I play on Diamonds because they are in the best pool hall around and are the best kept up. I do struggle with the rails a bit though. The pockets spit balls noticeably worse in New Orleans than they do on the Diamonds in Dallas with the same size pockets too. I did like the rails and all a bit better in Dallas.

Hu
 
Diamonds are nice tables. Compared to a GC, they both have their plusses and minuses.

I played alot on the diamonds in Reno last year and they played easier than my GCI.

Russ.....
 
ShootingArts said:
Like a business or real estate, a lot of how a Diamond plays depends on location. I suspect that it plays longer in Colorado than it does down here in the swamp. I play on Diamonds because they are in the best pool hall around and are the best kept up. I do struggle with the rails a bit though. The pockets spit balls noticeably worse in New Orleans than they do on the Diamonds in Dallas with the same size pockets too. I did like the rails and all a bit better in Dallas.

Hu
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Like most tables mine plays vastly different depending on the condition of the balls. This has never been so obvious to me until I built a ball polisher. I believe the Artemis rubber plays great with a neutral ball meaning not to clean not to dirty,but I have seen the balls do some freaky things coming off a rail when they are hot off the polisher more so on Artemis then other rails that I have used. One of these days I will meet up with you on one of these Cajun tables (don't make me start another crawdad thread:grin:).
 
Gumbo Tonight!

Cuebuddy said:
Like most tables mine plays vastly different depending on the condition of the balls. This has never been so obvious to me until I built a ball polisher. I believe the Artemis rubber plays great with a neutral ball meaning not to clean not to dirty,but I have seen the balls do some freaky things coming off a rail when they are hot off the polisher more so on Artemis then other rails that I have used. One of these days I will meet up with you on one of these Cajun tables (don't make me start another crawdad thread:grin:).
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Tonight it was chicken and sausage file gumbo! :D :D

You are right, the balls do matter too of course. Seems like they may be a weak area at the hall, they seem a little dirty. Unusual, I got a little cue ball the last time I was there too. I don't have a good place to carry a cue ball and hate toting my own but it seems to be a good idea. I went to a place in Baton Rouge and they handed me a set of balls with a walnut sized cue ball. Figured they wanted to see what I would do so I just ambled out to the truck and grabbed my own.

The door's always open and the swamp is only a couple hundred yards away. Come on down and we'll catch or kill something to cook. The bald eagles are getting plentiful around here. I haven't ever had eagle gumbo but I'm thinking about it!

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
Tonight it was chicken and sausage file gumbo! :D :D

You are right, the balls do matter too of course. Seems like they may be a weak area at the hall, they seem a little dirty. Unusual, I got a little cue ball the last time I was there too. I don't have a good place to carry a cue ball and hate toting my own but it seems to be a good idea. I went to a place in Baton Rouge and they handed me a set of balls with a walnut sized cue ball. Figured they wanted to see what I would do so I just ambled out to the truck and grabbed my own.

The door's always open and the swamp is only a couple hundred yards away. Come on down and we'll catch or kill something to cook. The bald eagles are getting plentiful around here. I haven't ever had eagle gumbo but I'm thinking about it!

I guarantee you will love it, tastes like rattle snake:wink:.
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All I know is after playing on a diamond table every year at the super billiards expo for 4 days and then coming home to bar boxs sucks. It's like staying at a 5 star hotel and then coming home to run down house in the ghetto.
 
Table to table,location to location,I always know what I'm going to get.First rate.
 
JMuck said:
Table to table,location to location,I always know what I'm going to get.First rate.
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Good post.

I think consistency is the key. Prior to the Diamonds with Artemis and Pro-cut pockets, you could expect anything when playing on a new table. They may or may not have been shimmed, they may or may not have the proper rubber on them. Like Muck said, when I walk into a room and see a Diamond, I know how its going to play before I even hit a ball on it.
 
riding9 said:
Why do players like shooting on diamond tables so much? They don't play natural, meaning they come up short compared to Brunswick and other name tables. I believe they play short because the rails are so springy which causes them to play fast and short.

Why do you like them?
Click to expand...


First off you get GREEN. Now my $.02 on the subject.

I personally do not get of OMG Factor of It a Diamond thing, and if I was going to Play in Last Wages, I would find a place to practice on that had some Diamonds before I went to adjust to the Diamonds. But I don't PLAY in Lost wages so who cares.

Most Tournaments, and Leagues in the Valley of the Sun are played on Dynamos, and Valley Bar Boxes, followed by Brunswick Gold Crowns, so I personally like the Big Gold Crowns Where I live, & play mostly we got 29 Gold Crowns, so that is what I am use too.

Honestly a well maintained Table, and Clean Balls is more important to be than a Diamond, or dirty Diamond.

Also IMHO if you can play pool, and are a REAL POOL PLAYER, you have the ability to adjust to Table, Cloth Speed, or what ever the playing condition are.

If i hit the Power Ball Lotto, and had a place for a Table at home it would be a ? Well I worry about that when I win the Power Ball.
 
Cowboy,

If you have never played back to back bar box events, one on a Valley and the other a small Diamond, you would think its a non-starter. Last year, after leaving the BCAPL event, I returned for the ACS. I counted four different cue balls. A friend said five. I (and others) got j-hooked several times by an out of spec cue ball. The Diamonds are real pool tables. Just smaller. If only for being able to use a real cue ball without weights or size differentials, the Diamonds would be my choice every time.

Now if you want to tell me I should have adjusted to the cue ball and tried to play different routes between balls. I would agree. My question is why should I have to? If Brunswick cared even slightly about the players, they would re-engineer the Valley tables to play correctly. There is a reason virtually no one puts Simonis 860 on a Valley.

Finally, what has Brunswick done for the game of pool and the players in the last fifteen years? It's pretty obvious what Diamond has done. Greg and his crew will get my vote every time!

Lyn
 
riding9 said:
Why do players like shooting on diamond tables so much? Why do you like them?
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First 3 words that come to mind are: DERBY CITY CLASSIC! Diamond is supporting pool better and more often than any other manufacturer...period! They should be supported.

As far as the tables, they play awesome and consistantly. You always know what to expect in all conditions. The deep shelves in the pockets makes you hit the balls properly to make them, even if they are not shimmed tighter. The leather pockets allow you to play any shot where the cueball is on or near the rail without altering your stroke or the level of your cue, and you will not find a more solid table other than a 2" slate on a Europen billiard table.

As far as the rails playing shorter, once you get the hang of them and the differences in speed, you have more bank options that may not be available to you on other tables (of course you may lose a couple options too).

Dave
 
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