Curious to see what size bucket people are playing on when it comes to their practice or playing time with this game.
Curious to see what size bucket people are playing on when it comes to their practice or playing time with this game.
I used to play at a place with furniture-style Olhausen tables with leather pockets. The side pockets were known for spitting out perfectly centered balls.Aside from the the pocket width issue, one thing that bugs me is the way some Brunswick tables with plastic pocket liners will spit the ball back at you when shot straight in forcefully (something that never happens with leather).
I agree with your post, but I guess I'm a masochist, as I practice all my 14.1 on two very tough tables. A 9-foot table with 4-1/8" corners and Andy Pro cloth (which makes the pockets play smaller than Simonis 860 cloth does), or on our 10-foot table with 4-3/8" corners and Andy Pro cloth. It's no wonder why I very rarely can run more than 28 balls and have never run 50 balls on either of those tables, although my personal best high run was 98 on a 4-3/4" pocket table.The game was designed around nothing LESS than 4 7/8 corner pockets and THAT is a fact- you can play on anything you want, but anyone less than a pro or very close; will not get their 100 ball runs very often on less than 4 7/8 due to aspects of the game requiring break out speeds at times, cheat the pocket position, combos, down table shot elections, etc. that come up often in long run situations.
When old timers talk of " every neighborhood having a 100 ball runner-" they refer to the 4 7/8 pocket standard on older felt cloth, not Simonis cloth either.
If you are running 20 to 30 balls fairly often on 4 1/2 pockets and really fast cloth - try for a month on 4 7/8 and a bit slower cloth and I guarantee the 14.1 game becomes much more enjoyable as you see the runs mount into the 50s - not talking anything but enjoying an experience in pocket billiards for those that are humble enough to accept their shortcomings and really love the game at the same time. You will experience some great dead stroke 14.1 run mania that is a natural high for the pool player in you!
I play on three GC4's. One is 4&1/8, one is 4" even and the evil biach is 3&7/8". I miss on all three.Curious to see what size bucket people are playing on when it comes to their practice or playing time with this game.
While playing on smaller pockets could well improve your accuracy, if you have ever had two balls jam & hang up in a corner pocket (suspended equadistant at the edge of the shelf drop) and thus possibly ending your run (a likely source of disagreement/friction), you might then prefer pockets that are slightly larger.
I agree with your post, but I guess I'm a masochist, as I practice all my 14.1 on two very tough tables. A 9-foot table with 4-1/8" corners and Andy Pro cloth (which makes the pockets play smaller than Simonis 860 cloth does), or on our 10-foot table with 4-3/8" corners and Andy Pro cloth. It's no wonder why I very rarely can run more than 28 balls and have never run 50 balls on either of those tables, although my personal best high run was 98 on a 4-3/4" pocket table.
I just enjoy the challenge (and I guess the frustration) of practicing on those tables - very hard to explain. I'm just afraid if I go to the bigger pocket tables to practice, I'll never be able to return to the tight tables with any degree of confidence.