Two things I don't understand about snooker

[Cameron Smith]

1 - Why do the not allow chalk on the rail. Chalk in your pocket is nasty. Not only does your pocket get full of chalk which is a problem doing laundry but he runs through the pocket onto your leg. I wash the chalk off my hands when I'm done. Snooker player wash it off the hands and their leg. Why would they make a goofy rule like that?

2 - Why do snooker players drag the butt of the cue around the table on the floor? The butt of the cue picks up whatever anybody brought into the pool hall on the soles of their shoes from outdoors. When they grip the cue it transfers to their hand. Blue chalk on their leg, dog **** on their hand.

1. I just like lining up and chalking without having to step back in to put the chalk back on the rail. It's not a big deal, but I guess it's just habit.

2. Learned behaviour. You see other good players do it, so you do it too. Nothing to do with energy consumption. A healthy person shouldn't struggle to carry a 16-18 ounce cue for 2-4 hours.

 

[Oze147]

There is no rule against chalk on the rail, but there is a rule against measuring distances and gaps. So in certain situations a chalk could be used to mark a spot on the table, for example to escape from a snooker.

So it would be no problem, if a player puts the chalk on the rail right next to him and carries it around the table the whole time.
So why do they have it in their pockets?

First of all snooker chalk is different from pool chalk. I heard sometime, that it has less fat in it. This explains, why you can carry it in your pocket without getting any stains. But this also means, that you have to chalk more often during snooker than during pool, so most players have integrated the chalking of the cue into their preshot routine and for that they want the chalk somewhere near them. Its a different thing if you have to walk around a 12ft. table to get your chalk because you forgot it on the other rail.
I guess the dragging of the cue on the floor has kind of the same reason. Snooker players have a different chalking technique than most pool players, so they put the butt of the cue on the floor and chalk the tip while the other hand grabs the cue near the top and if you do a few steps while doing this, you just drag your cue on the floor.

 

[RiverCity]

First of all snooker chalk is different from pool chalk. I heard sometime, that it has less fat in it. This explains, why you can carry it in your pocket without getting any stains.

Where do people come up with this stuff?

 

[Oze147]

Where do people come up with this stuff?

IRC it was Domenic Dale who told me that...but as I think about it, he didn`t mean "fat" as an ingredient, but used the term to describe how the different chalk types stick to the cueball and can cause a kick.

 

[J0HN0]

Hello.

I've played a fair bit of snooker and watched more, I can't be bothered to scroll back and look who, but they're correct, there aren't any rules about chalk on rails, but definitely there are about marking the table, which would be handy sometimes with the size of the table & the lack of diamonds / markers.

TBH I think it's more of a sporting / gentlemen's (if I can still say that) thing where when you arrive at the table it's "your" table and you wouldn't want to be moving other peoples "stuff" around before making your shot, so in turn you wouldn't leave your own "stuff" on the table for them, it's not a big deal but it's there.

On the cue dragging thing, many snooker cues don't have bumpers due to them often being threaded for QR extensions etc (due to the table sizes) so dragging them would be damaging them, I hadn't noticed that, but I'll definitely look out for it now...

 

[LeonD123]

The thing I hate the most when I play pool is players leaving their chalk on the table.

Even when it’s their turn to play. Looks so sloppy.

 

[ChrisinNC]

1 - Why do the not allow chalk on the rail. Chalk in your pocket is nasty. Not only does your pocket get full of chalk which is a problem doing laundry but he runs through the pocket onto your leg. I wash the chalk off my hands when I'm done. Snooker player wash it off the hands and their leg. Why would they make a goofy rule like that?

2 - Why do snooker players drag the butt of the cue around the table on the floor? The butt of the cue picks up whatever anybody brought into the pool hall on the soles of their shoes from outdoors. When they grip the cue it transfers to their hand. Blue chalk on their leg, dog **** on their hand.

I've never figured out why in the world we have to replace the rubber bumpers on the end of our house cues as often as we do at our poolroom, as they wear down to nothing. All I can figure is players that drag their cues around, or players that bang their cues on the floor. However, with carpeting, you still wouldn't figure that would wear out the bumpers as fast as it does. I'm assuming snooker players who drag their cues around the table while playing have to replace their rubber bumpers quite often!

 

[pt109]

First of all snooker chalk is different from pool chalk. .

I’m calling bullshit on this.

 

[buckets]

I think the main reason for these things is to give people ammo to ask pointless question on internet forums....

Short Bus Russ

i mean is there anything more important?

 

[buckets]

1 - Why do the not allow chalk on the rail.

it's just different etiquette from pool

billiards players do the same thing

 

[StraightPoolIU]

I like the idea of keeping the chalk in your pocket fot all of the stated reasons in this thread, but personally I don't like it getting my pockets dirty or getting my fingers blue when plucking it out of my pocket. I've used various chalk holders before but never found one I liked. Also you rarely see good players using them so it kind of seemed like the equivalent to iron covers in golf.

 

[smashmouth]

Well, if you are playing a slow-roll safety on new cloth and are coming off two cushions, and the foul-and-a-miss rule is in effect, it will help to place chalk as a target on the cushion so that you can adjust it in case you fail to hit the ball on and are required to play the shot again from where the balls were.

uhhh no Jewett

no snooker players do this, lol

go spend time on the scene in the UK prior to babbling about things you don't know

 

[Swighey]

uhhh no Jewett

no snooker players do this, lol

go spend time on the scene in the UK prior to babbling about things you don't know

Pretty sure he said they don't do this because....


Anyway, chalk? it's a custom, a trend, a fashion, an unwritten rule. The way it's done. I prefer chalk face up on the table but as long as all players have chalk within easy reach it's no big deal.

Dragging the butt of the cue? Pool players (me included) lean towards seeing the cue as an extension of their body, snooker players (me ncluded) tend to see it as a tool to get things done.

 

[Bob Jewett]

uhhh no Jewett

no snooker players do this, lol

go spend time on the scene in the UK prior to babbling about things you don't know

I was simply pointing out to the poster I was responding to that there can be advantages to marking the rail at snooker. I was not saying that I have ever seen anyone do it, and in fact I haven't.

As for the UK scene, the first time I played snooker in London was in 1972 and the most recent was in 2014.

As for marking the rail on a snooker table, there's Byrne's story about Bob Bills marking a rail (with a piece of chalk) in a golf game. Pretty funny. You may want to look it up.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I mentioned Street's handbook for referees. John Street was the dean of referees in the UK. He helped create a referees' handbook to train refs and make the officiating more uniform. Here's the cover:



And here is the relevant section about chalk on the rail (page 106):



(Emphasis mine.)

The official rules of snooker themselves do not mention the word "chalk" anywhere in the document and as far as I can tell in a brief search do not explicitly forbid marking the table. See for yourselves:

https://www.wpbsa.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/official-rules-of-the-game.pdf

 

[alstl]

1. Keeps the rails clean. I play with chalk in my pocket on occasion. Never run into any of the issues you mentioned.


2. Snooker matches are long. They need to conserve energy and one way is to drag the butt of the cue and only lift it off the floor when they are ready to shoot.

It was an attempt at humor but for a semi-serious reply - I put the chalk on the rail chalk side up and I don't get any chalk on the rail.

Regarding dragging the cue to conserve energy I see pool players in 8 ball, 9 ball, 10 ball who play from opening time to closing time. I see tournaments where they find an open table and practice between matches. I see guys get a table and gamble on the side during tournaments. None of them have to drag their cue to conserve energy. The cue weighs around 20oz.

I really don't care what they do but it seems odd to see it.

 

[smashmouth]

I was simply pointing out to the poster I was responding to that there can be advantages to marking the rail at snooker. I was not saying that I have ever seen anyone do it, and in fact I haven't.

As for the UK scene, the first time I played snooker in London was in 1972 and the most recent was in 2014.

As for marking the rail on a snooker table, there's Byrne's story about Bob Bills marking a rail (with a piece of chalk) in a golf game. Pretty funny. You may want to look it up.

holee facck are you old, lol

stick to "carom" old timer


i'll keep an eye on you moving forward....... cause you simply just talk too much shit

almost 2018 jewett, teach your kids and your senior wife something

ha ha

 

[Texas Carom Club]

holee facck are you old, lol

stick to "carom" old timer


i'll keep an eye on you moving forward....... cause you simply just talk too much shit

almost 2018 jewett, teach your kids and your senior wife something

ha ha

We got a real winner here don't we folks

 

[pt109]

uhhh no Jewett

no snooker players do this, lol

go spend time on the scene in the UK prior to babbling about things you don't know

holee facck are you old, lol

stick to "carom" old timer


i'll keep an eye on you moving forward....... cause you simply just talk too much shit

almost 2018 jewett, teach your kids and your senior wife something

ha ha

Sorry to see you’re having a bad day....seems like you’re mad at the world.
...is there anything we can do to ease the pain?

 

[Bob Jewett]

We got a real winner here don't we folks

He's been that way since he arrived -- his posts have a remarkable consistency. Like mushy peas with broken glass in them. Probably due to the Guinness.