Secaucus Fats
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Rings or tapped dimples..wouldn't both tend to affect a slow rolled ball (knocking it off the original line of travel)? Please note, I'm not knocking either one, but I am curious about any possible unwanted effects. 
Eurotour.. Racking the balls with your hands?
- Thread starter HitHrdNDraw
- Start date
The only "bad" thing I could think of is that the pros (especially the pros) are well versed in finding a sweet spot to break from and this may make a longer string of runouts more likely since the rack is that much more predictable.
From a spectator standpoint, that's not a bad thing, but when you're the guy sitting while the other guy is stringing racks, it might suck.
That said, Charlie Bryant tapped my home table 1 1/2 years ago and with very little maintenance, I don't have to use my rack at all.
From a spectator standpoint, that's not a bad thing, but when you're the guy sitting while the other guy is stringing racks, it might suck.
That said, Charlie Bryant tapped my home table 1 1/2 years ago and with very little maintenance, I don't have to use my rack at all.
I can see the advantages to both systems, but my question is with the plastic rings. Isn't there a chance that the cue ball could skid or react oddly if say you hit a draw shot on top of the ring? I'm envisioning a weird reaction of plastic on plastic.
Then again, if they are using the systems in big events......I must be missing something.
G.
Then again, if they are using the systems in big events......I must be missing something.
G.
Hello to everyone, my name is David Smith. My partner Dale Craig and I invented the Rack-M-Rite Racking Template in 1999 when I was competing on the Camel Tour. It was first used in Alexandria VA on the Planet Pool Tour and then used in all three of the 2000 Billiard Channel Tour tournaments. Ralf Souquet bought several and took them home from the last tournament and it spread to the Euro tour.
We will have a few samples of our newer version available soon if anyone is interested.
We will have a few samples of our newer version available soon if anyone is interested.
Rings or tapped dimples..wouldn't both tend to affect a slow rolled ball (knocking it off the original line of travel)? Please note, I'm not knocking either one, but I am curious about any possible unwanted effects.
If you play right you shouldn't have to slow roll a ball, just sayin'
Hello everyone, the only place I have ever seen this system is in Japan and the company that manufactures them in Japan has a patent on the system. To my knowledge, they are the original creators of this system. I have just emailed them to get confirmation and proof of this and will post their reply once I have received it. It is called Rack Spot.
In any case, it doesn't interfere any more than the foot spot does.
Secaucus Fats
Banned
Well allrighty there, I guess that settles it. And here I was, shooting lots of shots in straight pool at pocket speed. Silly me! Glad you cleared that up for me.:duck:
Hello David, I have just finished researching US patents on racking systems and found yours (United States Patent USD433724) it is nothing like Rack Spot....
The rack seals used in Japan (thats what they call it around here), are perfect if you want a good rack. Plus, they affect the roll of the balls less than the magic rack. The only time you ever really notice a difference in roll is if a ball happens to stop right on top of the circle, in which case, it will just go to the center of the circle (which is honestly only a cm wide so there isn't much difference). The biggest problem with this rack system is THE RACK IS TOO GOOD. I can make the wing ball and get shape on the 1 with a soft break way too often.
This is a common flawed argument people make about tables that have dimples, or rolls, or some other problem.
"Well as long as you hit 'em firm, you'll be fine"
On almost every shot you make, whether it's 8 ball, 9 ball, or straight pool, there is a certain ball that rolls slowly. In fact it rolls to a dead stop eventually.
This is why the rule for 9ball in Euro-tours (and same was for the WTC) is that 3 balls should pass into the kitchen and by that eliminating the soft break.
One thing I've noticed with the tapped table is that the 9ball does not move... no 9balls on the break....
The bottom line is everyone gets the SAME rack, so if the format is alternate break and 3 balls have to cross the head string....you have a LEVEL playing field, no arguements that can get ugly and the events go much quicker and much more smoothly. Also with the rings being visible, the average recreational player can easily learn how to rack. One of the reasons I put it on my table initially was so that I could get a good rack from my husband (who doesn't play tournament) lol, and I don't have to check the rack or re-rack it myself!
To samurai :
You have to know that we are speaking about two realy different methodes here !!
Your method cames from Asia, i would say since about 5 years there
It is a thin paper-, or now plastic template which is placed under the balls when somebody breaks.
After that it should be removed when possible - that´s possible 99 percent of the time,
because there are only templates for 9 Ball and for 10 Ball.
Now there should be the new 8 Ball Template coming out soon, and then we will see the removing thing
:grin-square:
The system we use over here in Europe is the American patent Dave Smith introduced in 1999, i think.
Ralf brought it over to Europe and its amazing, and yeah we name it "TAPPED TABLES",
because we are tapping small dimples in the cloth of the table by using this template !!
There are 15 holes in that template and they are placed extremely near to each other.
I mean a little bit nearer then balls could be in reality, thousands of an inch nearer.
Now if you TAP the table, there are little dimples in the cloth and the balls fall together perfectly each time.
9Ball, 10Ball, 8Ball, Straight Pool, Rotation, One Pocket - each game with ONE to FIFTEEN BALLS:grin-square:
We use this system here on all EURO TOURS and EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS for over 5 or 6 year now !?
I own a Billiard Room with 13 Brunswick 9 foot tables and all my tables are tapped since app. 5 years.
I do that every time i change my cloths and retap it a little all 6 to 8 weeks.
Hope i could help and explain the difference between these two methodes.
Best regards,
Erich
You have to know that we are speaking about two realy different methodes here !!
Your method cames from Asia, i would say since about 5 years there
It is a thin paper-, or now plastic template which is placed under the balls when somebody breaks.
After that it should be removed when possible - that´s possible 99 percent of the time,
because there are only templates for 9 Ball and for 10 Ball.
Now there should be the new 8 Ball Template coming out soon, and then we will see the removing thing
:grin-square:The system we use over here in Europe is the American patent Dave Smith introduced in 1999, i think.
Ralf brought it over to Europe and its amazing, and yeah we name it "TAPPED TABLES",
because we are tapping small dimples in the cloth of the table by using this template !!
There are 15 holes in that template and they are placed extremely near to each other.
I mean a little bit nearer then balls could be in reality, thousands of an inch nearer.
Now if you TAP the table, there are little dimples in the cloth and the balls fall together perfectly each time.
9Ball, 10Ball, 8Ball, Straight Pool, Rotation, One Pocket - each game with ONE to FIFTEEN BALLS
:grin-square:We use this system here on all EURO TOURS and EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS for over 5 or 6 year now !?
I own a Billiard Room with 13 Brunswick 9 foot tables and all my tables are tapped since app. 5 years.
I do that every time i change my cloths and retap it a little all 6 to 8 weeks.
Hope i could help and explain the difference between these two methodes.
Best regards,
Erich
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To samurai :
You have to know that we are speaking about two realy different methodes here !!
Your method cames from Asia, i would say since about 5 years there
It is a thin paper-, or now plastic template which is placed under the balls when somebody breaks.
After that it should be removed when possible - that´s possible 99 percent of the time,
because there are only templates for 9 Ball and for 10 Ball.
Now there should be the new 8 Ball Template coming out soon, and then we will see the removing thing
The system we use over here in Europe is the American patent Dave Smith introduced in 1999, i think.
Ralf brought it over to Europe and its amazing, and yeah we name it "TAPPED TABLES",
because we are tapping small wholes in the cloth of the table by using this template !!
There are 15 wholes in that template and they are placed extremely near to each other.
I mean a little bit nearer then balls could be in reality, thousands of an inch nearer.
Now if you TAP the table, there are little wholes in the cloth and the balls fall together perfectly each time.
9Ball, 10Ball, 8Ball, Straight Pool, Rotation, One Pocket - each game with ONE to FIFTEEN BALLS
We use this system here on all EURO TOURS and EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS for over 5 or 6 year now !?
I own a Billiard Room with 13 Brunswick 9 foot tables and all my tables are tapped since app. 5 years.
I do that every time i change my cloths and retap it a little all 6 to 8 weeks.
Hope i could help and explain the difference between these two methodes.
Best regards,
Erich
Thank you for the explanation, I have never seen your method. The Rack Spot is not the same as the Magic Rack which is the one that is removed after the break. Rack Spot are 9 rings that are fixed to the cloth, and stay on the cloth until you change it. The rings are much thinner than the Magic Rack template and has minimal affect on the roll of the balls. It is also visual so therefor easy to teach the average recreational player how to use it. Your method makes sense for the pros as we are much more demanding of performance, however I have never heard any of the pros complain about Rack Spot, and it has been in use for some time now in Japan. I was first introduced to it over there in 2000.
I had to edit something in my post, because i meant DIMPLES not WHOLES or HOLES.
Sorry, but these are the english problems of europeans when they start to write to fast and to much.
So in all there are three different methodes out there now
,and it seems like they are all working great and all the pros like it.
Because you have a PERFECT RACK each time you break and you need no time for that.
I think we go in the right direction with these RACKING SYSTEMS.
1. The one with your small rings on the table which stay there.
2. The one with making DIMPLES in the cloth with the template (TAPPING)
3. And the new templates, which will be removed after the break if possible (MBR - Magic Ball Rack)
WOW - i hope i got that all correct now. :grin-square:
Erich
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You did :grin-square:
I still prefer a triangle, nothing like the sound of pool balls being racked for your break....
If the cloth is clean and in good condition and the balls are clean and not too warn out then you can get a good rack with a straight triangle.
Thanks for the "YOU DID" :thumbup:
For sure the sound is great, you are completely right, but i am playing now for app. 20 years,
and there is no way that you can make a perfect RACK with only a Triangle - sorry.
Show it to me, and i will show you the little mistake (gap) in the rack.
I will find one for sure
:grin-square:But if you work with these templates or let´s say with the TAPPING, because that i know,
you will not find and gap between any of these balls and that every time.
And there will never be people around that table asking about why they need 10 minutes to build up a rack each time.
There will never be spectators in our sport, if we need that much time to rack, you know !?
Erich
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