Will 4 inches pockets be the future of US pool, bar box and big table?
- Thread starter JCL
- Start date
davidbehrens
Member
I think the Matchroom events will mostly continue to use 4" pockets, but other tournaments/money matches/pool halls will not adopt them to the point that they are considered standard in the near future.
4" pockets have advantages and disadvantages. It's entertaining to watch pros struggle and know that they could miss at any moment. It makes the skill standard of the game seem higher. But it also kills other sources of entertainment by necessitating greater focus and preparation on the part of players at the expense of their rhythm, confidence and creativity. Sometimes, it's entertaining to watch someone fly around the table stringing racks and putting a big stroke on the ball when they feel like it, and shrinking the pockets discourages that.
But here's the main problem. Tighter pockets breed more deliberate players, more misses and more safety play, all of which slow down the overall progression of a match. Therefore, televised events will need to include shorter races to compensate for that time. Shorter races are more subject to "inequitable" outcomes--just look at Lo Ho Sum's notoriously choppy run to a 2nd-place finish at this past weekend's Masters.
My opinion is that there should be one or two major tournaments per year played on 5" pockets with a winner-breaks format and significantly longer races. I think the standard of entertainment in those matches would be very high and I think there would be fewer silly upsets.
4" pockets have advantages and disadvantages. It's entertaining to watch pros struggle and know that they could miss at any moment. It makes the skill standard of the game seem higher. But it also kills other sources of entertainment by necessitating greater focus and preparation on the part of players at the expense of their rhythm, confidence and creativity. Sometimes, it's entertaining to watch someone fly around the table stringing racks and putting a big stroke on the ball when they feel like it, and shrinking the pockets discourages that.
But here's the main problem. Tighter pockets breed more deliberate players, more misses and more safety play, all of which slow down the overall progression of a match. Therefore, televised events will need to include shorter races to compensate for that time. Shorter races are more subject to "inequitable" outcomes--just look at Lo Ho Sum's notoriously choppy run to a 2nd-place finish at this past weekend's Masters.
My opinion is that there should be one or two major tournaments per year played on 5" pockets with a winner-breaks format and significantly longer races. I think the standard of entertainment in those matches would be very high and I think there would be fewer silly upsets.
phreaticus
Well-known member
Good post, interesting perspectives and I think I agree. So much pro rotation games are boring now, IMO. I think the classic format where racks can be strung together doesn’t require 5” pockets though. Diamond’s vanilla 4.5” pro cut with their nice facing angles is plenty and represents a great compromise in my view. Most strong players can run 3 packs on buckets, to me 5” pockets makes 9 footers play like bar boxes. Great fun, but not really true pro speed. Just my $0.02
If you don't get a good angle you must hit them harder because you cant cheat the pocket to create angle you have to use speed since the table is slow as all hell. Unless you are super good at compensating for CIT hitting them harder seems to help bring it down to a managable level as well. All i know is if i play my normal game where i hit everything light I get my ass kicked then if I change to a game like his where I hit everything hard I start to do better on that table (but still get my ass kicked).
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
tomatoshooter
Well-known member
You and me both!I've played thousands of games the last year and I'm nowhere close.
tomatoshooter
Well-known member
I don't think the equipment should be standardized. Tennis is played on hard courts, grass, and clay. NASCAR races on tracks from 1/2 mile to 2.6 miles. Soccer fields have a size range. Sometimes playing of soft tables is fun, sometimes the greater challenge of tougher tables is a different fun.
00
You must be a 505 fargo?
Geosnookery
Well-known member
Good points. However, as per television audiences. Snooker has drawn 60 million viewers. Chinese 8 ball 40 million. Almost zero American adults play organized football yet the big games draw tens of millions of viewers.
It’s hard to know what draws a television sports audience. Perhaps those of us who play a sport get overly caught up in the game details when the audience is more focused on personalities or bells and whistles. Cricket is the second largest spectator sport in the world after soccer and I find it a giant snooze to watch. Most Americans will fall asleep watching soccer and most Europeans would die of boredom sitting through a whole baseball game….but large segments of both will watch tennis, golf or car racing.
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It does no matter, you are talking like 505 fargo, I'm wrong?
Ghost of OBC
Well-known member
Just watching the Filler v Sum final from a few days ago. Is this really the future? Taking the extension on a straight in 9 ball, because, for pros, even straight in could go wrong.
The pressure is oddly interesting, but the pace is slow and it just seems so tight.
To the great credit of World Pool Masters, the coverage is great. It is easy to see, the lighting is top shelf. excellent legibility.
On the other side, the silence and the tight tables have a certain operating theatre quality to them. A bit sterile for my liking.
The pressure is oddly interesting, but the pace is slow and it just seems so tight.
To the great credit of World Pool Masters, the coverage is great. It is easy to see, the lighting is top shelf. excellent legibility.
On the other side, the silence and the tight tables have a certain operating theatre quality to them. A bit sterile for my liking.
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How can you say the pace is slow
, did you realized they play with a 30 second clock, and 1 extension x game,Ghost of OBC
Well-known member
Nah mate, somehow that escaped me. I couldn't hear the little buzzer thing going off all the time because I'm effing deaf. Couldn't hear Joshua asking for the extension on the straight-in nine ball either.How can you say the pace is slow
The match is great. These guys can really play. But, there is a bloodless quality to it. Has all the flow of match pistol shooting. Very tight.
Ghost of OBC
Well-known member
What in the name of Mary and Jesus is "bad pocketing?" If the ball goes down it is pocketed, if it doesn't it doesn't. What is interesting about a game with no banks, no kicks, no caroms, and rarely a follow shot? It has all the excitement of watching someone perform vascular surgery. Sure it is precise, but eff if it isn't boring.
Ghost of OBC
Well-known member
NB: Now watching some chap called WalMart in cargo shorts play Scooter for crazy money on a loose Valley bar box. They don't need a shot clock. It is kind of a riot.
Ghost of OBC
Well-known member
Have you uploaded any videos of you playing the ghost challenges? I'd love to see how you play on your table.It's is tight to ensure no bad pocketing, it's true that might no be necessary for the recreational players but it's also true that 4" won't hurt the game, and make it way more interesting Than playing in 4.5 buckets
sellingboe
Active member
IMHO, making pool more interesting to the masses and accommodating the wishes of the hardcore AZB players are mutually exclusive. Precision cuts with deftly applied english are beautiful to watch for the AZB crowd, but to the casually interested viewer, somewhat sterile and clinical. What shot will The Magician be forever known? The Z shot. What did Mizerak do to sell Lite beer in 70s? The Wow factor is missing these days. I already see pros missing banks that they shouldn't and I understand why those shots are taken as a last resort. So maybe the Wow factor is already a relic of a bygone era in the pro game. But there is a lot of hand wringing about the lack of popularity of pool in the U.S. and making it appear more sterile than it already is isn't going to help.