Looking to purchase a pool table for my home. Need some advice.

That sounds like the move. What's the difference between shimming the pockets and extending subrails?
When you shim the pockets, you put pads on the facings as the way to narrow the size
When you extend the sub rails, you actually elongate the rail and sub rail and put new rails cut to the length to make the size pocket that you want with the appropriate facing angle
This way there’s no stacking of shims
 
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Doing the rails will have it play a bit better than just shimming the pockets. But it is more involved and may not be worth it on a home table. I had a similar table shimmed to 4.5 toward the end of its tenure with me. Shims are not ideal but 5” pockets on those tables aren’t either. I am not an advocate of super tight equipment but 4.5 is pretty standard now. The shelf depth on that table is different from a Diamond so it will still be a little easier at a given pocket measurement.

I would probably just shim it to 4.5 when recovering it if the rubber is good. Balance the expense and playability. But YMMV etc…
Yep. I wasn't asking in reference to simply shimming the pockets, more why change any of it at all, but understand now where he's coming from and appreciate this as well.
 
IMO, unless your torturing the 10 ball ghost the pockets aren't the problem. When I go play tournaments on 4.5"-4" pockets I don't have any issues adjusting.
No need to tighten them. Like others have said, if you choose to, extended rails is the way.
 
Due to the size of these buckets, unfortunately I am making too many balls on the break 😂

I think I will keep it for 20 years until I am finally frustrated. By the advancement of technology, by then there will be a device that gives me a good layout every time.

Who knows, maybe Pagulayan will come out with the Pristine pool table. For a small payment of $785.99/month
I have an Olhausen with similar size pockets and I don't think I'll reduce the pockets until I can run 3 packs consistently or beat the ghost in a race to 10 with ball in hand after the break.

I have a friend who is slightly better than me and had his pockets reduced to 4.25. He told me that he finds playing on the tight table frustrating because he hardly runs racks now.

Maybe 4.5 as someone suggested might be the tightest you should go if you are not a very good (600 plus Fargo) player.
Just my opinion.
 
I have an Olhausen with similar size pockets and I don't think I'll reduce the pockets until I can run 3 packs consistently or beat the ghost in a race to 10 with ball in hand after the break.

I have a friend who is slightly better than me and had his pockets reduced to 4.25. He told me that he finds playing on the tight table frustrating because he hardly runs racks now.

Maybe 4.5 as someone suggested might be the tightest you should go if you are not a very good (600 plus Fargo) player.
Just my opinion.
Well said. I think 4.5 is a happy medium.
 
I'm looking to pull the trigger and finally buy a pool table. However, I'm not willing to dish out the funds for a Diamond at the moment.

I've been scouring Facebook marketplace for tables in Colorado but all I'm seeing is furniture style tables that are meant for casuals and not a competitive player.

My loft only has room for a 7ft or 8ft, as a 9ft would force me to use a short cue which I don't want to do. 9ft is out of the question.

My question is: when it comes to home tables, which brand would you recommend or think is the best? I will eventually change the felt and rails to reduce the pocket size to play a little tougher than the buckets they come with.

The 4 at the top of my list are Brunswick, Connelly, Olhausen and AMF Playmaster. Which one of these would be easier to customize to make them play tougher for competitive practice?

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated, thanks.
Dealer here, and that advice about measuring first is dead on. Beyond the room dimensions, the real question for stairs is whether you're going with a one piece slate or a three piece. One piece slabs run 700-1000+ lbs as a single unit and turning that on a staircase landing is a two person job at minimum, sometimes needs a third for tight turns. Three piece slate breaks down into 200-300 lb sections which is a lot more manageable for stairs and doorways, and it's what most movers prefer for upstairs installs anyway. Also measure your stairwell width and any turns or landings, not just the room, because that's usually where deals fall apart. Wrote up more detail on the stairs specific stuff here if it helps: https://billiardhome.com/blog/moving-a-pool-table-upstairs. Whatever table you land on, budget for pros to do the teardown and setup rather than DIY, slate cracks are expensive mistakes.
 
I'm looking to pull the trigger and finally buy a pool table. However, I'm not willing to dish out the funds for a Diamond at the moment.

I've been scouring Facebook marketplace for tables in Colorado but all I'm seeing is furniture style tables that are meant for casuals and not a competitive player.

My loft only has room for a 7ft or 8ft, as a 9ft would force me to use a short cue which I don't want to do. 9ft is out of the question.

My question is: when it comes to home tables, which brand would you recommend or think is the best? I will eventually change the felt and rails to reduce the pocket size to play a little tougher than the buckets they come with.

The 4 at the top of my list are Brunswick, Connelly, Olhausen and AMF Playmaster. Which one of these would be easier to customize to make them play tougher for competitive practice?

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated, thanks.
The table you buy will be FAR better than the one you own now, it will give you the ability to PRACTICE, not just play games, do you play in league? If yes, practicing on a table that you will compete on will help, that's my 2 cents worth, hope it helps
 
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