Could the difference in the cushions between pool and snooker account for this? Specifically what I’m thinking of is potting a thinnish ball near the rail. My table originally had slow shaggy cloth and I could hold the ball off the rail on some fairly thin cuts. But when I switched to fast Simonis I need to go back and forth otherwise I’d end up on the wrong side of the table. Thankfully, the cue speed required to do either was roughly similar.
Does Practicing on Fast Cloth (760) Make You Better on Standard Speed Cloth (860HR)?
- Thread starter FeelDaShot
- Start date
The cloth itself is super fast. Double or more it seems. My room had 760 on the 9' GC's, and 300 on their unheated 10' GC carom table. It was night and day difference. Years later, the room deleted the GC carom and replaced it with 2 modern Chivelette 10' heated carom tables, still with Simonis 300. The heating increased the speed a bit more. Simonis 300 is also much more expensive than 760 or 860. I don't know the cost first hand, I'm just going by what the room owner told us at the time
That was my experience as well. The room I was at was all 760, but it was a bit humid. It was a basement room, and near a creak. It had 760 for 15 years. One year the owner bought all new GC4's. They came with 860 from the factory as part of the deal. Every player hated it, whether 9 ball, straight pool, or 1 pocket (all were regularly played in this room). It was slow as molasis. The next recover went back to 760, and all was good again.
WobblyStroke
Well-known member
I'd def prefer to practice on as similar conditions to what I will be competing in rather than search for benefits by playing on a different speed cloth.
One room I play in rn is geared towards a social crowd and doesn't host any leagues or tournaments so the owner decided to experiment with cloth (I guess) and tried out a few at once for a direct comparison on his equipment. They have 8 9footers and 2 7 footers. Of the 8 9 footers, one plays absurdly slow and even I with a big stroke have issues moving the ball around so have to play for bigger angles than I ever have (plus the rails are on dead side). It's laughable how easy it is to hold balls even off thin cuts. Regs call it 'the swamp'. Another table has 760 on it and plays like a skating rink in comparison and requires its own adjustments in tactics and pattern play as the higher speed cloth forces you to use multiple rails for position often. Two other 9 footers have simonis 860 but play a bit slower than you would expect probably due to poor maintenance. And the rest are close to 860 but different brands, some a touch faster some slower but basically same range. No real players go there lol, but I love it for a changeup. You can work on your finesse game or multi rail position on the fast table, your slow table patterns and power stroke on the swamp, or anything in between, all in one place. But it's best used as a changeup not a go-to.
So ye, if you want to tune up your position play by playing on faster cloth which is more sensitive to minor differences in shot speed and develop better touch, fine, find a place that has a fast table and spend a few hours on it. Want slower conditions and the stroke and tactical requirements that go along with that? Find a table and play a few hours. But your main practice table that you will be logging the vast majority of your playing hours on should be as close to what you will be playing on competitively. You don't want to have to adjust to less familiar conditions in the games that actually count.
One room I play in rn is geared towards a social crowd and doesn't host any leagues or tournaments so the owner decided to experiment with cloth (I guess) and tried out a few at once for a direct comparison on his equipment. They have 8 9footers and 2 7 footers. Of the 8 9 footers, one plays absurdly slow and even I with a big stroke have issues moving the ball around so have to play for bigger angles than I ever have (plus the rails are on dead side). It's laughable how easy it is to hold balls even off thin cuts. Regs call it 'the swamp'. Another table has 760 on it and plays like a skating rink in comparison and requires its own adjustments in tactics and pattern play as the higher speed cloth forces you to use multiple rails for position often. Two other 9 footers have simonis 860 but play a bit slower than you would expect probably due to poor maintenance. And the rest are close to 860 but different brands, some a touch faster some slower but basically same range. No real players go there lol, but I love it for a changeup. You can work on your finesse game or multi rail position on the fast table, your slow table patterns and power stroke on the swamp, or anything in between, all in one place. But it's best used as a changeup not a go-to.
So ye, if you want to tune up your position play by playing on faster cloth which is more sensitive to minor differences in shot speed and develop better touch, fine, find a place that has a fast table and spend a few hours on it. Want slower conditions and the stroke and tactical requirements that go along with that? Find a table and play a few hours. But your main practice table that you will be logging the vast majority of your playing hours on should be as close to what you will be playing on competitively. You don't want to have to adjust to less familiar conditions in the games that actually count.
I think practicing in all different environments makes you better overall. When I play on slow cloth, I develop my ability to make shots with more powerful strokes, which is a good skill to develop for any time you need a more powerful stroke (which you might need on fast cloth in certain circumstances). When I practice on faster cloth, I develop touch and finesse, which is another skill that can be useful in all conditions. So, yes, practicing under different conditions can help you play better the conditions you play in the most by forcing you to develop certain skills that you otherwise would use less frequently.
The taiwan brand made by andy cloth, is pretty fast, due to its nylon content, especially when it's just been put on. Only thing I never like about it. It's got a strange texture.
Some 760s will play faster than others, just as, some 860s will be faster than others.
The environment, it's kept in. Will all have an impact, on how thay feel at different times.
The last 860 I had, played very slow. Thats why I like the 760.
Playing on one, and then the other one. It's just more about ajustment, than anything else.
At first, it's a big shock to the system, even when you know, what there like.as the balls just don't stop rolling. After a few racks, you soon get the hang of it.
It will help you in the long run.
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My personal experience is that it did not Faster cloth made the game easier for me. I grew up in the sloth cloth era as well as the big ball table for bar table. The first time I played on Simonis, I had 2-pack in 9-ball, which I hadn’t come close to before. So much easier to move the ball.
Many years ago, the pool room I played in was lagging behind the times. While most rooms had graduated to Simonis, my home room was still using thick, slow nap cloth. All the players complained so much about the slow tables that the room owner decided he’d had enough. We walked in one day and all the 9 footers had brand new 300 on them. Room owner told us, “That should be fast enough for you.” Nobody was happy. 
The tournaments were a comedy of errors. Nobody wanted to match up with anyone. That lasted about 3 weeks, then he recovered the tables with 860.
The tournaments were a comedy of errors. Nobody wanted to match up with anyone. That lasted about 3 weeks, then he recovered the tables with 860.
For the first few years of my billiard life, snooker was my best game….I was used to nappy cloth (directional)Many years ago, the pool room I played in was lagging behind the times. While most rooms had graduated to Simonis, my home room was still using thick, slow nap cloth. All the players complained so much about the slow tables that the room owner decided he’d had enough. We walked in one day and all the 9 footers had brand new 300 on them. Room owner told us, “That should be fast enough for you.” Nobody was happy.
The tournaments were a comedy of errors. Nobody wanted to match up with anyone. That lasted about 3 weeks, then he recovered the tables with 860.
….but the most $$ I won in one session was on a 5x10 with carom cloth….it was like somebody took the handcuffs off.
more things are possible on fast cloth
There certainly were gc carom tables. There were two in the room I came up itn.
As I recall, they had same cloth as the pool gcs in the room and compared to modern 3c tables, definitely 'dead'.
Ghost of OBC
Well-known member
I don't think one helps the other either way. I do know I hate switching. The closest room to me has very slow cloth, but my league room has Andy 860 equivalent. Practicing at the closer room is worse than useless. I think standardized equipment would be a great thing for pool in the US. I hate having to drive looking for similar conditions to practice before a tournament. Can you imagine being in the NBA, "oh, the Bulls play on ice courts with the tiny rim and the jello backboard, I guess we gotta go find a similar set up to practice our free throws before we play them."