What he said: ^^^^^^
I'm a pool player but have played on a 12' snooker table at a friends house twice week for the past several years. Some things I've learned:
(1) Edit: The balls on a 12' international snooker table are 2 1/16" (versus 2 1/8" for 10' American snooker and 2 1/4" for pool). Much smaller than pool balls.
(2) The rules are different from American snooker. I haven't played American snooker but understand that a legal hit is like in pool (i.e., after the cue contacts an object ball something must either touch a rail or go in a pocket). International snooker on a 12' table only requires that you contact the object ball with the cue ball. So, way easier to play a safety/snooker. For example:
(2a) if you've made a red and are on a colored ball that's near a rail you can kick the cue off the rail and bring it to rest just touching the colored ball and hide behind it, or
(2b) if you are shooting a red ball and it's to the side and behind a colored ball you can hit the red straight ahead and bring the cue ball to rest behind the colored ball, or
(2c) if you are shooting a colored ball and are close to it and don't have a good shot, just barely touch the colored ball with the cue ball and leave the cue behind the colored ball
(3) Most pool players at first try to shoot pocket speed (i.e., too slow). Then when they miss it sets the opponent up. Shoot a bit harder than you normally would and when you miss the ball will often squirm its way out of the pocket and land a foot or two away along one of the rails. If you are shooting down a rail and the object ball barely touches the rail on the way to the pocket, the ball is not going into the pocket. So, shooting softer and hoping the object ball will rattle its way in the pocket like in pool in is foolish because if you don't hit the pocket dead center it's not going in.
(4) I use my regular pool que (12.65 mm tip). I've tried my friend's snooker cues but I never got used to them. At first go with your pool cue that you are used to. You won't be able to get much draw -- just deal with it and hit the cue ball on the center line (i.e., no left or right english or screw as they call it). Then try out your friends snooker cue after you get used to the table and rules. I'll probably eventually get a snooker que but I'm in no hurry.
(5) My friend's table has more than half a dozen bridges of varying shapes. Plus, two longer pairs of what he calls the big lumber. The short lumber is a 7-8 foot bridge paired with the same length cue. The big lumber bridge and cue are 9-10 feet long and the cue has a noticeable sag in the middle due to gravity when in use.
(6) There are no spots or diamonds on the rails. So, when I need to kick at something when I'm snookered, I first figure out where I need to hit the rail (with no side spin) and lock my gaze on that point on the cushion until I'm down on the cue ball and shoot. Whereas, in pool I just figure out where I need to hit the rail relative to a spot and don't need to fix my gaze before shooting.
(7) When I started playing the record for a run on this table was 27 points. I've beaten that a number of times but don't remember my exact high score (somewhere in the high 30s). I'm a B pool player and hold my own in our local league. So, unless you're a pro or semi-pro, if you can make 20+ points in a run, give yourself a well deserved pat on the back! You are a player and 147 is the maximum.
(8) No jump shots or masse shots allowed. But, curve shots are and will get you out of a lot of snookers. Seems odd to me since on a curve shot the ball leaves the table a little bit.
(9) Snooker will quickly point out any flaws in your stroke. If you miss, figure out why before you sit down and be prepared to work on your stroke.
(10) We pool players tend to stretch to shoot a shot versus using the bridge. Use a bridge!
(11) When you go back to playing pool you will quickly notice if you hit a pocket dead center or touched the rail on a rail shot. What you used to think was a good shot when a ball goes in will often make you say that wasn't good at all -- the pockets on a pool table a just huge and want to suck the ball in.
If you haven't already seen him play, after you've played a few games go on youtube and search for: Ronnie O'Sullivan 147. You'll be amazed at the action he gets on the cue ball and he seemingly shoots equally well both right and left handed.
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