Diamond Pro-Am or Rasson Victory II

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi ladies and gents,

If you had a choice between a brand new 9ft Diamond Pro-Am and a brand new Rasson Victory II, which one would you choose and why?

If you've never played on both tables, please stay silent :)

Rack those balls
I live in US so i'm goin USA all the way. Diamond makes great tables and easy to get parts if ever needed. Rasson's are building a reputation and i'm sure they play great. Never hit a ball on one so for me i'd go Diamond. You live in Subic? What table do you see over there the most?
 

BuzzSwiss

Registered
I live in US so i'm goin USA all the way. Diamond makes great tables and easy to get parts if ever needed. Rasson's are building a reputation and i'm sure they play great. Never hit a ball on one so for me i'd go Diamond. You live in Subic? What table do you see over there the most?

Mostly Star Billiards table (from Manila but manufactured in Taiwan), or local made table with marble instead of slate, or chinese and taiwanese gold crown copy, and finally some Brunswick Metro.
 

Robert58

AzB Gold Member
Silver Member
Just a thought. The only reason I would have a table at home would be to practice. And the table I would have, is one just like the ones, I am going to play on, when I leave home.
 

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
told me it takes them 12 hours
Was told 10 hours ...at $150 an hour. I'm speechless. But nice looking table fit & finish...seems to play ok. Gave the Rasson some thought but most likely ordering a Diamond Professional. The only reason I considered the Rasson is availability...but would rather buy a table that is proven. Meaning no mystery how it holds up and how it's assembled.
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
Rasson is the only table I dislike more than a Diamond. It has a very weird rail behaviour and pocket cut. I'd stay far clear.
 

GoldCrown

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Rasson is the only table I dislike more than a Diamond. It has a very weird rail behaviour and pocket cut. I'd stay far clear.
It's Diamond or the ugliest GC(6) on the planet. If living abroad and the Rasson is available that is reason enough. I'm sure it's a good/excellent table
 

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It would have been useful to pose the question:
Would a diamond be worth 30% more than the rasson?

Then we could have just said:
How would we know what is worth what to you?
 

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
Rasson is the only table I dislike more than a Diamond. It has a very weird rail behaviour and pocket cut. I'd stay far clear.
They replaced thi
Quantifiable differences:

The Diamond 9' Pro Am And Professional both have Artemis Intercontinental 66 Cushions ( K55 profile)

The Rasson Victory 2 has the Artemis Pool 66 Cushions ( K66 profile )

There is a difference between them and I would definitely say the Diamond is a better playing table.

Just my 2 Cents.

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How about now that Rasson switched to Klematch?
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
They replaced thi

How about now that Rasson switched to Klematch?
No

Billiard cushions should not be used on pool tables. They don't play right, are more expensive and what the f. is the point even? I play Billiards and I don't even want that.

There are plenty of tables that play very well, with much less extreme costs, and do not change traditional pool bank angles and make the table ridiculously fast. It's like if I were to put formula one tires on my Toyota. It's utterly pointless, expensive and would probably make it handle worse for the actual real life purposes. Take the Dynamic tables used on the Eurotour. They play perfectly fine, and allows for excellent pool to be played on them, with minimal grinding of teeth and tearing ones hair out from strange reversing, bizarre rattles etc. They do this at half the cost of even a Rasson. Granted, they may not be all that exciting or of the same high build standard, but if I had to play a tournament, they would by far be my first choice over either of the OP's tables.

If I were the OP and I had made my mind up that it had to be either of the two tables he mentioned, I'd take the Diamond every time. It's made in the US and the build quality is better. Hope he likes coming up 1.5 diamonds short on his two railers...But if he plays tournaments on Diamonds, anyway, it's probably for the best.
 
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realkingcobra

Well-known member
Silver Member
Look at it this way:

Which table would you enjoy the most when playing on it?

Which table would be worth more in the future if you decided to sell it?
You can pretty much kiss at least 60% of the cost away if ever reselling that Rasson!
 

Jude Rosenstock

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've played on both but I've never been involved with any transactions with Rasson before, so it's difficult for me to do a true apples-to-apples comparison. Diamond is a *great* company to work with. I've helped a poolroom purchase a fleet of them and I've helped friends purchase them for home use. I just love how you're working with Diamond from start to finish. They build them, they ship them, they install them. And, if something goes wrong, they'll fix them. So, Rasson is already behind in this race.

As a player, I prefer the Pro/Am. Really, the only table I'd consider comparing it to would be a Gold Crown. I love ball-return and no Rassons have ball-return. As well, although I compete on many different types of tables, the fastest growing brand for me is Diamond. The BCAPL events are Diamond. The Texas Open is Diamond. Turning Stone is Diamond. Most of the events on the DFW Tour are Diamond. And, many events I'd like to play in, like the US Open and Derby City, are also Diamond. My fiancé and I currently have a non-commercial non-recognizable brand pool table and although it plays decent, I can't help but think about the adjustments I'll have to make when I get on a Diamond. I know the Rassons are meant to play very similarly but why live with thoughts of what *might be* different? Just get a Diamond and *know* you've done everything you can to have a home environment as close as possible to what you'll be competing on.

The *only* reason I would get a Rasson over a Diamond is aesthetics. They're definitely prettier. Not sure when, but when we move, we will be getting a commercial-style table. If the new house has a game room, that table will definitely be a Diamond. If the table is going in the living room or the dining room, then aesthetics will be part of the discussion. I think Diamonds look great but they're sporty, very utilitarian-looking, and my future wife (also a pool player) will probably balk at the idea of making any presentable part of the house look like a poolroom. Rasson's Victory table really provides the perfect compromise for these scenarios.

In sum, if you are choosing between these two tables, you're in a good place. I can't see how you won't be happy. On a scale of 1-10, I think the Diamond Pro/Am is a solid 8. It loses points for being very utilitarian but hey, it's a commercial table built for poolrooms, and they don't age. Rasson gets a 7, maybe an 8, too. It's prettier and that's important in a home but its lack of ball-return and its lack of presence in the commercial market in the United States makes it less desirable for me as a competitive pool player. The perfect 10 would be if Diamond made a table with ball-return that looked like Rasson's Victory table but played like a Pro/Am.
 

jtompilot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've played on both but I've never been involved with any transactions with Rasson before, so it's difficult for me to do a true apples-to-apples comparison. Diamond is a *great* company to work with. I've helped a poolroom purchase a fleet of them and I've helped friends purchase them for home use. I just love how you're working with Diamond from start to finish. They build them, they ship them, they install them. And, if something goes wrong, they'll fix them. So, Rasson is already behind in this race.

As a player, I prefer the Pro/Am. Really, the only table I'd consider comparing it to would be a Gold Crown. I love ball-return and no Rassons have ball-return. As well, although I compete on many different types of tables, the fastest growing brand for me is Diamond. The BCAPL events are Diamond. The Texas Open is Diamond. Turning Stone is Diamond. Most of the events on the DFW Tour are Diamond. And, many events I'd like to play in, like the US Open and Derby City, are also Diamond. My fiancé and I currently have a non-commercial non-recognizable brand pool table and although it plays decent, I can't help but think about the adjustments I'll have to make when I get on a Diamond. I know the Rassons are meant to play very similarly but why live with thoughts of what *might be* different? Just get a Diamond and *know* you've done everything you can to have a home environment as close as possible to what you'll be competing on.

The *only* reason I would get a Rasson over a Diamond is aesthetics. They're definitely prettier. Not sure when, but when we move, we will be getting a commercial-style table. If the new house has a game room, that table will definitely be a Diamond. If the table is going in the living room or the dining room, then aesthetics will be part of the discussion. I think Diamonds look great but they're sporty, very utilitarian-looking, and my future wife (also a pool player) will probably balk at the idea of making any presentable part of the house look like a poolroom. Rasson's Victory table really provides the perfect compromise for these scenarios.

In sum, if you are choosing between these two tables, you're in a good place. I can't see how you won't be happy. On a scale of 1-10, I think the Diamond Pro/Am is a solid 8. It loses points for being very utilitarian but hey, it's a commercial table built for poolrooms, and they don't age. Rasson gets a 7, maybe an 8, too. It's prettier and that's important in a home but its lack of ball-return and its lack of presence in the commercial market in the United States makes it less desirable for me as a competitive pool player. The perfect 10 would be if Diamond made a table with ball-return that looked like Rasson's Victory table but played like a Pro/Am.
So why do you like the ProAm so much? They look like a box car.

The Professional looks better to me and if someone likes the looks of a GC, then you have options and can make it look similar.
 

Jude Rosenstock

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So why do you like the ProAm so much? They look like a box car.

The Professional looks better to me and if someone likes the looks of a GC, then you have options and can make it look similar.
I thought I was pretty explicit but I'll say it again. It has ball-return. It's the only Diamond that has it and no Rasson has it. As well, it's the table most commonly found in the tournaments I play in and the tournaments I wish to play in.

I agree. It's not very appealing aesthetically but if my next house has a game room, and the table isn't sitting in the dining room, I can furnish the room to be more like my pool studio. The Pro/Am will fit right in.
 

Nick B

This is gonna hurt
Silver Member
Diamond, Gold Crown, Some of the Euro-makes... Rasson is way down the list. Play "hollow" and get real gaffy once the slide comes out of the cloth.
 

jtompilot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I thought I was pretty explicit but I'll say it again. It has ball-return. It's the only Diamond that has it and no Rasson has it. As well, it's the table most commonly found in the tournaments I play in and the tournaments I wish to play in.

I agree. It's not very appealing aesthetically but if my next house has a game room, and the table isn't sitting in the dining room, I can furnish the room to be more like my pool studio. The Pro/Am will fit right in.
Sometimes I’m a little dense. For some reason I just couldn’t grasp that the Professional was drop pocket only.
 

Nyquil

Well-known member
Diamond no question. Built in the USA, great looking table and built like a tank. Glen also brings up a great point. Resale would be awful on the rass. If I ever get really sick or something I could sell my 9ft pro am for around what I paid for it as long as I keep it well maintained. Diamonds wait list I have a feeling will continue to get longer due to supply and demand.
 
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