Best size pockets for one pocket

phillyviper1

phillyviper1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ok so i was at the poolroom today trying to match up with a guy playing one pocket. He wanted to play on a table that had 4 1/2 inch pockets I THINK THERE WERE MORE LIKE 5 INCH. i told him the pockets are to big so lets play on a tight table. SO MY QUESTION IS WOULD YOU RATHER PLAY ONE POCKET ON A TABLE WITH 4 INCH POCKETS OR 4 1/2 TO 5 INCH POCKETS
 
One pocket is a different game with large pockets. I think 4 - 4 1/4" is the right size.

One pocket becomes more offense oriented with large pockets.
 
Iam a better mover then a shooter, so i like tite pockets.

4.5 or bigger pockets takes away to much from the game of 1 pocket.

Chances are my opponet will shoot at his pocket more then me, so he can shoot flyer all he wants at tite pockets. it will catch up to him!
 
I think with bigger pockets, the balls go in more often..

Seriously, what difference does it make as long as they are the same size on both sides of the table...and why are you yelling?
 
phillyviper1 said:
Ok so i was at the poolroom today trying to match up with a guy playing one pocket. He wanted to play on a table that had 4 1/2 inch pockets I THINK THERE WERE MORE LIKE 5 INCH. i told him the pockets are to big so lets play on a tight table. SO MY QUESTION IS WOULD YOU RATHER PLAY ONE POCKET ON A TABLE WITH 4 INCH POCKETS OR 4 1/2 TO 5 INCH POCKETS
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4 1/2 are fine. You don't want pockets that are so tight that all you have to do is put a guy up table to be safe. The game has to have an element of threat. I prefer a game that is more offensive, not make one and play safe till all the balls are up table. It is possible really small pockets may be preferred by a weaker player thinking it allows more mistakes without the other player getting out on him. It also requires less skill to get a ball out of a really small pocket.
 
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Size of pockets playing One Pocket

If you are playing on a Brunswick, a 41/4 inch or smaller is fine. But if you are playing on a Diamond, their standard 41/2 inch pocket Pro AM Table is perfect. The deeper shelf on the Diamond makes all the difference in the game.
 
logical said:
I think with bigger pockets, the balls go in more often..

Seriously, what difference does it make as long as they are the same size on both sides of the table...and why are you yelling?
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If you played 1P you would see the difference, the smaller pocket make it easier to get balls hanging in the pocket out.--Smitty
 
One pocket should be played on 2 inch pockets so the object balls have to be jumped into the hole. However, even if this were the case, people who lost would claim their opponent slopped something in on them and that they needed to make the shelves deeper and the pockets even tighter.

I find it funny to hear someone say yeah well this guy beat me in one hole but the pockets were 4 1/2 inch buckets if we'd been playing on a tight pocket table he wouldn't have beaten me, he wouldn't have pocketed a ball.....

If they can't beat a person on a standard sized pocket maybe they should practice more till they can instead of complaining about the size of the pockets, the nap of the cloth and everything else.

I've got some lovely news for those folks, if your opponent consistently beats you, it's not the table's fault, it's not your cue, not your tip, and not your chalk. And you're never going to beat those guys until you realize that you need to improve your playing ability.

I fully believe if people would stop making excuses and instead spend the time practicing and develop their game they would actually win more. Sadly many of those who have every excuse in the book will just b!tch and moan and never get any better.

For some it's getting their opponents money that means everything, they don't care if they become a good player so long as they match up well get a spot big enough to win and take home the cash.


Just remember this, if you're consistently losing to the same player, he isn't getting lucky every time, it's not the table, not your cue, your tip or your chalk, it's you.

Now I'm going to step into my fireproof suit and await the onslaught of people who will say I just don't understand how it is. :)
 
One-Hole Pocketses Precioussss

Spoken like a gentleman.

Standard pockets are good to go. One-Hole will punish you thoroughly no matter what size pockets you use, but I do like a nice balance. I practice on a tight table shimmed to the gills and cuss a blue streak all the while. But it does help me to be very sure that I am pocketing dead center.


dr9ball said:
I find it funny to hear someone say yeah well this guy beat me in one hole but the pockets were 4 1/2 inch buckets if we'd been playing on a tight pocket table he wouldn't have beaten me, he wouldn't have pocketed a ball.....

If they can't beat a person on a standard sized pocket maybe they should practice more till they can instead of complaining about the size of the pockets, the nap of the cloth and everything else.

I've got some lovely news for those folks, if your opponent consistently beats you, it's not the table's fault, it's not your cue, not your tip, and not your chalk. And you're never going to beat those guys until you realize that you need to improve your playing ability.

I fully believe if people would stop making excuses and instead spend the time practicing and develop their game they would actually win more. Sadly many of those who have every excuse in the book will just b!tch and moan and never get any better.
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+1 for 4" ..... Who said it should be easy. Same for 8, 9, 10 & 14.1

We played on GC's with 4" pockets at Hard Times Sac. for a couple years and it was challenging.
Should the Table not be elemental to the overall difficulty of the game ?

At the top of my 14.1 game in the 1960's Tournaments were played on 5'x10' tables
exclusively with 4.5" pockets, and I often practiced with 2.25" balls on a 5x10
Snooker table to hone my accuracy and ball speed prior to Tournament play.

I'll never know for sure, but it may have contributed to my winning the U.S. Navy
14.1 Championships 1961-1965, with a high-run of 236 in '65.

Yes, tight pockets require focus, so leave the Tablets & Smartphones in the Car
and "Play Your Best Pool".
 
4 1/2 pocket for me is fine
interestingly some beleive a tighter pocket favors the weaker player because its tougher for the stronger player to run balls
other beleive the opposite a tighter pocket favors the stronger player because he will be more accurate and it will easier for him and harder for the weaker player to make balls
 
I feel that it is harder (or impossible) to bank balls near the larger pockets.

Harder to remove balls close to the jaws.

Easier to scratch when playing removing opponents balls near the pocket.

Example:

Myself and a local room owner play regularly. We play close to the same level. Playing on the gold crown with 4 /14" pockets a game takes 30 to 45 minutes with a lot of moving.

We recently played on a gold crown with 4 5/8" pockets because it was close to the counter while he was working. The games were 5 minutes, 8 minutes, 16 minutes and 3 minutes.

We shot at everything, and we play fairly well.

I am not saying it favors a certain player. I am not saying it is bad.

Just different.
 
I think the game is more interesting on standard pockets. 4.5" minimum and maybe 5.

- lots of banks, and one of the only popular games where 2 and 3 rail shots are typical.
These shots are tough enough without having a tiny unforgiving pocket.

- It's already a game where just coming close can give you an advantage.
Creating more 'close misses' with small pockets might change the game,
but not necessarily for the better. If a nicely struck ball rattles and hangs in the hole,
and the other guy is forced to give it to you, It just slows down an already notoriously slow game.

Let players have their reward for trying the occasional tough and semi risky shot.
 
Pretty much a no brainer that the larger the pockets the easier the game.

I like 4.25" pockets. Not too tight but enough to make you focus harder.

4.5 makes the banks and long shots go in more with a larger margin of error.

Not real good for a mover because the extra room means a lot more shots to defend against.
 
Pockets

There is a lot more to it than pocket size. The cut of the pocket, length of he shelf and whether there are shims or not, can make bigger pockets play tougher than smaller ones.

I have played on 4" pockets that played easy if the shot was hit with good pocket speed, and 4 1/2" pockets that spit the shot out when not hit with perfect speed.
 
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