I guess not many people have had the chance to play a lot on these tables and some may be curious about how they play?
Well, let me start by saying I'm a pool and snooker player, but these pockets...they are tough! Even tougher than most snooker pockets. Balls along the rails, especially those who are fractionally off the cushion are amazingly difficult. When the cloth has been broken in even a ball in hand shot is not a given. You really can't do anything with the cueball and still expect to pot these consistently.
That being said, it's perfectly possible to run racks of 8 ball on this kind of table, if the balls cooperate. The table will expose every bad fundamental habit you have, brutally. If your stroke is bad, you'll not have a good time.
The table I've been playing on is the "Joy" brand, with very thick slate, nice responsive cushions and what appears to be high quality snooker cloth. It plays just like cloth should, which I expect many of you may never experience. If you're used to 760/860 Simonis, this plays quite differently. The cueball is more under control, yet you still have quite a nice speed to get around. It's not slow at all. It's not as hard wearing as normal pool cloth, but man I wish this was the standard! The nap hardly comes into play but it's there of course. You really don't want to roll any balls on this table. Sure, the balls roll amazingly true because of the thick slate and overall high quality of the table, but you have so little margin for error that it is better to use a bit more speed to get a true cutting angle. You can't slow roll and slop balls in anyway, though you can get a little bit more of a margin for error if the ball is inside the pocket. The pockets are fair though. You will not be surprised by balls hanging up, like you will on a tight pool table. If you hit the cushion or bend of the pocket before the ball enters, it has no chance what so ever to go in
8 ball really is a different animal on this table. It brings out the best of both regular 8 ball and UK 8 ball and takes it to the next level! It's still a runout game, but can be played very tactically as well, depending on your skill set.
So far I'm a big fan.
Well, let me start by saying I'm a pool and snooker player, but these pockets...they are tough! Even tougher than most snooker pockets. Balls along the rails, especially those who are fractionally off the cushion are amazingly difficult. When the cloth has been broken in even a ball in hand shot is not a given. You really can't do anything with the cueball and still expect to pot these consistently.
That being said, it's perfectly possible to run racks of 8 ball on this kind of table, if the balls cooperate. The table will expose every bad fundamental habit you have, brutally. If your stroke is bad, you'll not have a good time.
The table I've been playing on is the "Joy" brand, with very thick slate, nice responsive cushions and what appears to be high quality snooker cloth. It plays just like cloth should, which I expect many of you may never experience. If you're used to 760/860 Simonis, this plays quite differently. The cueball is more under control, yet you still have quite a nice speed to get around. It's not slow at all. It's not as hard wearing as normal pool cloth, but man I wish this was the standard! The nap hardly comes into play but it's there of course. You really don't want to roll any balls on this table. Sure, the balls roll amazingly true because of the thick slate and overall high quality of the table, but you have so little margin for error that it is better to use a bit more speed to get a true cutting angle. You can't slow roll and slop balls in anyway, though you can get a little bit more of a margin for error if the ball is inside the pocket. The pockets are fair though. You will not be surprised by balls hanging up, like you will on a tight pool table. If you hit the cushion or bend of the pocket before the ball enters, it has no chance what so ever to go in
8 ball really is a different animal on this table. It brings out the best of both regular 8 ball and UK 8 ball and takes it to the next level! It's still a runout game, but can be played very tactically as well, depending on your skill set.
So far I'm a big fan.
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