Staying with the equipment that we have already, it maybe easier to adjust the speed of the cloth by heating or cooling the slate like some of the 3 cushion tables.
Glen Real king Cobra the table guy
, Actually came up with a plan about heated tables. I cant say what it is as I dont have his permission to talk about it. But I can say that it is revolutionary-pure genius. The way tables are heated will be changed forever when he is done. Right now its expensive especially for a room with 40-50 tables, wow thats a lot of juice every month for a room owner to pay. Glen invented a solution that will be the standard for carom players world wide(and possibly pool players-not bar boxes). I cant say more than that.
Heated tables are great because it standardizes playing conditions, I play more pool in Vegas than LA and am used to dry tables, which are easier to play on. There are some fun things you can do on a wet table like swerveing the CB around a edge of ball thats in the way. On a dry table that dosent work-the CB just slides and the CB just goes in a straight line, its possible to swerve the CB just takes a lot more english and is much more difficult to do, on a wet table the CB bites the cloth real nice and curves so much easier. Top players can make it work on wet or dry tables most of the time, sometimes if the ball in the way is close to the CB, its just not possible to get the CB to bite the cloth soon enough. Like wind in golf you just have to adjust for it and read it, its difficult to do.
When I get to LA after I play a month everyday in Vegas I'm 100% lost on wet tables(that was the case, read on i fixed that), its very difficult to adjust. There is lots of difference, However its not as noticable if your used to wet tables and go to dry tables then the adjustmet is easier given my experience and also what I have seen from other players. But from dry to wet takes me longer to adjust. If I'm playing often on wet and dry tables then the adjustment is easy-if i'm used to both conditions at the same time. Then for players like Scott Frost it dosent matter, and other top speed players who play more on dry tables they can go play on a wet table and are fine and can adjust in 30 minutes to what ever conditions, it takes me longer even if i'm instroke on either wet or dry.
I really learned this the hard way-I played for a year straight in Vegas and was playing good, I went to the US Open(I didnt play in the tournement) but I went to the pool Room Barry ownes and tried to play-just cheap $50 sets, geez I couldnt move the rock and when I did Lord knows where it was going. Needless to say I never got to playing right on wet equipment, I got home to Vegas and played great. This was the first time in my life I really noticed the difference.
Then a few months later I went to LA on real wet tables and blew $1000 in a game in 45 minutes. I couldnt get the speed right, nothig was working. Same problem again going from dry to wet was tough. I didnt learn my lession in the $50/set game, after I blew the dime I was pissed and learned my lession. When your travelling around alot, which I have done in the past you learn to adapt to the equipment quickly, but it has been years since I did that. I played 18 months in Vegas on dry tables and got spoiled.
When I moved to Vegas around 91 I had awalys played on wet tables in Ca my whole life (i didnt know the difference), My game went up a notch. I figured it was just because I was playing full time and didnt have any stress in my life at that time, while that may have been part of it, the other part looking back was switching to dry tables and like I said that never occoured to me, i'm a slow learner.
Nowdays with my experience I stand behind what I said in this post, It took me a very long time to learn what it takes gifted players a week to figure out. But better late than never. Since I learned about this it did take some time to get to where I can adjust to a wet table reasonabley quickly. Nowadays I'm used to both worlds and that makes me a more seasoned player, I see top players attempt shots on dry tables that are impossible because they are used to wet tables, not often but sometimes. The reason I see this is because in Vegas we have lots of people passing through town and they arnt used to the dry tables. But believe me they figure it out fast, unlike me. It took way to long.
I dont know why it took me so many years to learn this, but it did
one last thing, I believe its possible to play one pocket at a higher level on wet tables, it might take more skill, talent, practice, what ever. The reason I think its possible to play better on wet tables is because with the increased friction between the cloth and CB the more creative shots are possible, but for 14.1, any rotation game, carom games then dry cloth will prehaps bring out the highest level of play, especially in snooker where they change the cloth 2-3 times during one tournment-they want the cloth fast as possible.
now if I could just remember what end to put the chalk on......that will take another decade to figure out.LOL
Best
Eric
I hope this was a good post, its a bit choppy-it started small and I added thoughts and I cant spell correct it cause i'm on a Mac and dont know how. I did my best, my own spelling is improving for the first time in my life, i'm gonna be 44 in a few days you'd think I could spell by now, but i missed that class, Happy New Year to everyone. Even the haters, try and not hate-even if you still hate me try and not hate something else, life will be much more enjoyable. I know I was a hater for just over 50% of my life, when I stopped hating things just got better. I dont hate anymore, I dislike things but hate is so strong it carries over into other things, I know I learned that the hard way too. So even if you still hate me, please try and not hate something else and see how your life will change for the better.
