To me pool is not boring. Baseball is right up there with soccer and darts as boring.
Has anyone thought of modifying pocket shape?
- Thread starter parogen
- Start date
To me pool is not boring. Baseball is right up there with soccer and darts as boring.
Hey, why stop there, make it an even dozen inches
Make corner pockets 4.25” on 9’ tables and 4.5” for 7’ tables because of leagues.
Side pocket size accordingly reduced but championships like the US Open should
revert back to being played on 10’ tables like it used to be. The game is tremendously
harder as those of us with 10’ table experience will attest and the high runs are lower.
If you want to test players’ skills in championship play, it should be done on 10’ tables.
Side pocket size accordingly reduced but championships like the US Open should
revert back to being played on 10’ tables like it used to be. The game is tremendously
harder as those of us with 10’ table experience will attest and the high runs are lower.
If you want to test players’ skills in championship play, it should be done on 10’ tables.
Quite the opposite......the harder the golf course, the better the audience viewing.
Case in point....British & US Opens. No tougher golf course conditions anywhere.
Seeing people run lots of balls does not represent the real pool playing community.
But seeing SVB or any other noteworthy name on a 10’ table with tight pockets, now
that is a match worth seeing. Lesser players dread playing on 10, tables or even 9’
tables with reduced pockets. Many pros don’t relish playing on them either. But there
is little dispute, ‘except perhaps for the unfamiliar, that superior players have the edge
on the aforementioned tables versus the majority of the pool playing community
iMO, the harder the table, the better my chances of prevailing in a match. There’s minimal
slopping a ball in a called pocket and run outs are harder. The challenge is a reward in
and of itself. Victory becomes all the more sweet when you are pushed and tested to win.
Everyone has a preference for the conditions of competition in any sport or endeavor
and I’ve always pushed myself to perform under challenging scenarios. I’ve done this
with pretty much everything from pool to shooting, skiing, archery and most things. IMO,
I’d rather run a rack of balls on a 10’ table than 2 racks on a 9’. It’s just darn tougher & more satisfying.
Matt B.
p.s. Before naysayers comments appear, “Yes”, I’ve run that many balls on both tables.
Case in point....British & US Opens. No tougher golf course conditions anywhere.
Seeing people run lots of balls does not represent the real pool playing community.
But seeing SVB or any other noteworthy name on a 10’ table with tight pockets, now
that is a match worth seeing. Lesser players dread playing on 10, tables or even 9’
tables with reduced pockets. Many pros don’t relish playing on them either. But there
is little dispute, ‘except perhaps for the unfamiliar, that superior players have the edge
on the aforementioned tables versus the majority of the pool playing community
iMO, the harder the table, the better my chances of prevailing in a match. There’s minimal
slopping a ball in a called pocket and run outs are harder. The challenge is a reward in
and of itself. Victory becomes all the more sweet when you are pushed and tested to win.
Everyone has a preference for the conditions of competition in any sport or endeavor
and I’ve always pushed myself to perform under challenging scenarios. I’ve done this
with pretty much everything from pool to shooting, skiing, archery and most things. IMO,
I’d rather run a rack of balls on a 10’ table than 2 racks on a 9’. It’s just darn tougher & more satisfying.
Matt B.
p.s. Before naysayers comments appear, “Yes”, I’ve run that many balls on both tables.
I like your idea of using 10 foot tables for major tournament play. However, logistics play a part, and the Diamond one piece slate 10 foot tables would be extremely hard for Diamond to sell after the tournament is over. The 3 or 4 piece slate 10 foot tables would require a lot more time/effort/expense to set up and keep level throughout the playing of a tournament as opposed to the one piece slate tables Diamond currently uses.
I'm confused, which US Open 9b championship was played on 10' tables??
I assume he’s referring to 14.1 world titles, which used to be played on 10 footers pre WW2, before 9 foot tables replaced 10 foot tables for pro tournament play, around the time period I assume Brunswick and other table manufactures stopped production of 10 foot tables.
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I may be confused, but I don't think any 9b championship was ever played on a 10-foot table.
For 14.1, according to Ursitti's records, they changed to 9-foot tables in 1950 for the US and World Championships. Or at least that's the first mention I could find of 9-foot tables.
I think you are wrong. It slows the game down in POOL. Not in time at table. In the speed of balls. The stroke etc. it leaves a boring game. If it made a more exciting game then maybe you can explain why pool has declined in popularity and viewership since cloth and pocket and table changes.
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Yep, Matt's suggestion would be the death of pool when it comes to the "average" fan.
Having said that, the diehard fans/players would absolutely LOVE doing exactly what Matt said.
Jeff
apparently the public finds it boring too
very few fans attend the matches
many players who have played all their life find no enjoyment watching
tournament pool
i have attended a few national championships and seldom watch a single
match while spending time talking about other things with former championships
it is my opinion that pool is more of a players game,but there are a few
that like it
i just bought a restored centennial with 5 inch pockets and i am enjoying playing
a lot more than i did on my tight gold crown,pool is becoming fun again
very few fans attend the matches
many players who have played all their life find no enjoyment watching
tournament pool
i have attended a few national championships and seldom watch a single
match while spending time talking about other things with former championships
it is my opinion that pool is more of a players game,but there are a few
that like it
i just bought a restored centennial with 5 inch pockets and i am enjoying playing
a lot more than i did on my tight gold crown,pool is becoming fun again
You REALLY think 10ft tables will EVER be common again? Never happen
Totally agree. Also the guy has never owned/run a room. Tight pockets are BUSINESS KILLERS. Yeah its ok to have a couple tight tables for better players but the rest, IMO, should be 4.75-5" corners. Customers want to see balls go in, that's what brings them back. One last thing, 14.1 on tight pockets is a joke. Totally alters(a lot say ruins) the flow and strategy of the game.
No wonder everyone's lining up to be a part of this community! /s
And there has been no consideration to change the angle, not even for pro play? As an example: https://youtu.be/TGDXRzkHFZ4?t=2822
As much as I'd enjoy playing this shot in my own games, I don't think I particularly like watching this shot cheated in at the highest level. The margin of error for shots close to the rail that can be cheated, is much higher compared to a shot in the middle of the table. Widening the angle of the pocket, while keeping the width of the mouth of the pocket the same, could change these effects.
I'm not for increasing table length and not really fond of the idea of morphing the game closer and closer to snooker for no reason. Snooker pockets remove the rail shot as a consideration, which I think is a key part of pool. And same for table length, you make it long enough, it's going to become snooker with slightly easier pockets, what's the point?
I had a lot more to say (but my draft got deleted) about underdogs/"huge favorites" having no meaning, when Shane vs a credible pro becomes more like a toss up, 60% for Shane to win (or whatever % less than 80%). How the run out is too easy for most pros on a reasonable layout, but the run out should be like an ace serve in tennis. It should be harder to execute, but we are getting "ace serves/shots" in most runnable layouts. There's no sense of elitism among pros, most matchups are a toss up between how many unlucky breaks/layouts they get.
However, if the pros/fans like to see their opponent run out after they miss, I'll take back my opinions.
There can be a tool to apply these modifications to the table. This is only for pros competing at the highest level, not the standard for all casual players. I just think the pockets can be harder, especially for removing the amount of cheating in rail shots while keeping the mouth width for regular shots. Without turning to the snooker rounded pockets.
When the run out is a significant portion of the total rack time and considering how there are no major differences in run out ability between pros, I think this is an area that the audience might not be able to voice as "boring." When watching a youtube video, I skim the run out part and go to the next rack. It's virtually no risk for the pro, and consequently for the viewer that means it's dead time. If we make the pocket harder with those angle changes, it could at least eliminate some cheating, increasing run out risk, and ultimately create more elitism between the pros.
In that video link, one of the main reasons it went is the new cloth. I've seen tables of ALL kinds play easy right after new,slick cloth is installed. Give that table about 2wks of solid play and that shot doesn't go. Ever play on 9ft blue-label Diamond?? IMO that is the best compromise in pocket-size/facing angle/shelf depth. Tough but fair.
Mike Phelan did some work on that and he might chime in but I haven't seen him post in a while.
It's hard to even comment here, when people think that a ball grazing off a cushion, with just the right speed, new cloth and clean balls....is some how cheating, and the shot shouldn't be allowed. Why don't we just make the pockets so tight, that everyone just quits playing this damn game and starts watching cornhole being played, or better yet, shuffleboard. All those that complain about the pockets can't play in the first place, which is why they want the game to be harder for the Pros, it's stupid, plain and simple.
Agree totally.