Fast cloth on bar box table question.

burnmarkpubcue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi people,

I have a 8 foot table at home that has the standard cheap thick/slow cloth. I am very skilled at pocketing balls with hitting the cue ball on and close to the vertical cue ball line. about 4 months ago I really started doing my home work and I learned where the cue ball goes with the 30 and 90 degree rule. after I started practicing half and 1 tip english. I became really comfortable with the 1 tip english and on my slow table at home I could really control the cue ball especially because I know the speed of my table!

Now, at my pool hall where we play apa the bar tables have super fast old felt. The cloth looks like it's painted on lol. Here is an example of one of my problem's. When I have a big gap between my cue ball and my intended object ball with a small cut and I need to use bottom right to get position, I HAVE TO PUT THE CORRECT SPEED SO THAT THE CUE BALL KEEPS IT'S BACK ROTATION. BUT THAT CORRECT SPEED IS TO FAST BECAUSE OF THE CLOTH AND THE SMALL SIZE OF THE TABLE.

I hope you people can direct me in the right path. Note: I do plan in the next 3 months to put on the same kind of fast cloth at home.

Thanks for your time,

Sincerely Tony
 
Tony,

A few things for you to consider.

1. You have to develop the speed control and touch in match play very quickly on your league nights. How much time to you spend at your APA location practicing on the tables you play league on?

2. When I play in a new place, the first thing I do is learn the speed of the table I am playing on. I will lag a ball up and back to the center of the table, that is how I judge how hard I need to hit a ball for normal playing speed.

3. If you cannot adjust to the speed of the table, you need to begin looking at simplifying your game, try to play more stop ball patterns so you don't have to move the cueball as much.

Redoing your table will help, but you really need to work on your speed control, and how to change it depending upon the playing conditions.



Hi people,

I have a 8 foot table at home that has the standard cheap thick/slow cloth. I am very skilled at pocketing balls with hitting the cue ball on and close to the vertical cue ball line. about 4 months ago I really started doing my home work and I learned where the cue ball goes with the 30 and 90 degree rule. after I started practicing half and 1 tip english. I became really comfortable with the 1 tip english and on my slow table at home I could really control the cue ball especially because I know the speed of my table!

Now, at my pool hall where we play apa the bar tables have super fast old felt. The cloth looks like it's painted on lol. Here is an example of one of my problem's. When I have a big gap between my cue ball and my intended object ball with a small cut and I need to use bottom right to get position, I HAVE TO PUT THE CORRECT SPEED SO THAT THE CUE BALL KEEPS IT'S BACK ROTATION. BUT THAT CORRECT SPEED IS TO FAST BECAUSE OF THE CLOTH AND THE SMALL SIZE OF THE TABLE.

I hope you people can direct me in the right path. Note: I do plan in the next 3 months to put on the same kind of fast cloth at home.

Thanks for your time,

Sincerely Tony
 
Hi people,

I have a 8 foot table at home that has the standard cheap thick/slow cloth. I am very skilled at pocketing balls with hitting the cue ball on and close to the vertical cue ball line. about 4 months ago I really started doing my home work and I learned where the cue ball goes with the 30 and 90 degree rule. after I started practicing half and 1 tip english. I became really comfortable with the 1 tip english and on my slow table at home I could really control the cue ball especially because I know the speed of my table!

Now, at my pool hall where we play apa the bar tables have super fast old felt. The cloth looks like it's painted on lol. Here is an example of one of my problem's. When I have a big gap between my cue ball and my intended object ball with a small cut and I need to use bottom right to get position, I HAVE TO PUT THE CORRECT SPEED SO THAT THE CUE BALL KEEPS IT'S BACK ROTATION. BUT THAT CORRECT SPEED IS TO FAST BECAUSE OF THE CLOTH AND THE SMALL SIZE OF THE TABLE.

I hope you people can direct me in the right path. Note: I do plan in the next 3 months to put on the same kind of fast cloth at home.

Thanks for your time,

Sincerely Tony

Tony, there's a big difference between an old, worn cloth and a new fast cloth. Old cloths often have a certain amount of grime on them that will add to the slickness of the cloth. Also, they tend to get stretched out and will become loose. There comes a point with a worn cloth where it is almost impossible to execute a decent draw shot. This is not the fault of the shooter. It's just time for a new cloth.

However, with a new cloth, even if the cloth is a fast cloth, you will not have a problem executing a draw shot. In fact, you may find that the cb will draw back more than you expected, just by striking the cb at a moderate speed. The cloth will be pulled tight (hopefully) and it will be clean --- two important elements. And it will have a nap to it, unlike the old worn cloth.
 
Last edited:
Thanks.. I was thinking of setting up the stop shot as much as I can , but in 8 ball on that small table it's dam hard lol. In our league all teams play at one pool hall that has many bar tables set up for only apa play. I played in the apa for 1 year and then took a 5 year break so I guess I have to get used to the tables again. After playing on my table at home I realized that the rails on those box tables are really worn out. Not even my banks where going in. I can't complain though because I remember playing in worse conditions when the teams had hosted their games in small bars around the town. Thanks again,

Tony




Tony,

A few things for you to consider.

1. You have to develop the speed control and touch in match play very quickly on your league nights. How much time to you spend at your APA location practicing on the tables you play league on?

2. When I play in a new place, the first thing I do is learn the speed of the table I am playing on. I will lag a ball up and back to the center of the table, that is how I judge how hard I need to hit a ball for normal playing speed.

3. If you cannot adjust to the speed of the table, you need to begin looking at simplifying your game, try to play more stop ball patterns so you don't have to move the cueball as much.

Redoing your table will help, but you really need to work on your speed control, and how to change it depending upon the playing conditions.
 
Thanks for the info.. If I had it my way, I would set up a collection from apa members to slowly collect enough money to re felt and replace bumpers. Take care,

Tony



Tony, there's a big difference between an old, worn cloth and a new fast cloth. Old cloths often have a certain amount of grime on them that will add to the slickness of the cloth. Also, they tend to get stretched out and will become loose. There comes a point with a worn cloth where it is almost impossible to execute a decent draw shot. This is not the fault of the shooter. It's just time for a new cloth.

However, with a new cloth, even if the cloth is a fast cloth, you will not have a problem executing a draw shot. In fact, you may find that the cb will draw back more than you expected, just by striking the cb at a moderate speed. The cloth will be pulled tight (hopefully) and it will be clean --- two important elements. And it will have a nap to it, unlike the old worn cloth.
 
Back
Top