Your thoughts please: Does size matter?

arcticmonkey

arcticmonkey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Straight poolers,

I have had an 8' x 4' table at home for over a year now and my game has come on leaps and bounds since I started playing 14.1.

I'm considering upgrading to a 9' table because even after I play well I keep telling myself "let's see if you would be so good on a regulation table", which leads me to ask you all:

-> How much harder is Straight Pool on a 9' table compared to an 8' table?

Cheers fellas

Arctic
 
Njhustler1

Njhustler1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It's a double-edged sword. On the one hand, its easier because the balls are the same size but there's more room for them to spread. Therefore less clusters and traffic. On the other hand, the cue ball has farther to travel, shots are longer, reaching is more difficult. So...
 
arcticmonkey

arcticmonkey

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
From my limited experience it appears that is this the most challenging aspect of 14.1:

Njhustler1 said:
...less clusters and traffic.
Click to expand...

...and that this is less of an issue for advanced players:

Njhustler1 said:
...the cue ball has farther to travel, shots are longer, reaching is more difficult.
Click to expand...

Which leads me to think that the upgrade to 9' will, on the one hand, lead to more runs ending early due to the cue ball having to travel further, but on the other may actually yield an improvement to my high run number (currently 29).

Thoughts?
 
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selftaut

selftaut

straight pool nut
Silver Member
Nothing wrong with getting your chops down on the 8 footer , learning your patterns and things , but if you ever wanted to play in a tournament it will most likely be on 9 ft. tables , there is a difference to be reckoned with , the cue ball has to travel farther when playing position , shots are longer , if you are thinking of serious play you have to think 9 footer.
 
manwon

manwon

"WARLOCK 1"
Silver Member
arcticmonkey said:
Straight poolers,

I have had an 8' x 4' table at home for over a year now and my game has come on leaps and bounds since I started playing 14.1.

I'm considering upgrading to a 9' table because even after I play well I keep telling myself "let's see if you would be so good on a regulation table", which leads me to ask you all:

-> How much harder is Straight Pool on a 9' table compared to an 8' table?

Cheers fellas

Arctic
Click to expand...

Arctic, I am old school and in my opinion the larger the table the better. When I was playing seriously I use to play most games on a Snooker table with a 2 1/4th inch balls. This to some people is torture, however it will give you confidences on any other table you play on once you dial it in for speed.

For 14-1, I think that for practice and play whether on a 8ft or 9ft table you should have tighter pockets. I would recommend 4 1/2 pockets, for all games, especially 14-1. This will increase your skill a great deal long term, and it will also make playing other places much easier because most tables today have 5 inch plus pockets which will seem like buckets to you.

Have a great day!!!!!
 
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Pushout

Pushout

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm with manwon on this one. It wouldn't hurt to upgrade to a 9 footer, but I'm of the opinion that it's probably not neccessary, considering the cost, etc. I have an 8 foot and don't have the money or room for a 9 footer. I am considering finding a fairly cheap way to tighten the pockets a bit.
 
manwon

manwon

"WARLOCK 1"
Silver Member
Pushout said:
I'm with manwon on this one. It wouldn't hurt to upgrade to a 9 footer, but I'm of the opinion that it's probably not neccessary, considering the cost, etc. I have an 8 foot and don't have the money or room for a 9 footer. I am considering finding a fairly cheap way to tighten the pockets a bit.
Click to expand...

The next time you have the table recovered have the Mechanic tighten up your pockets. They can do it by increasing the thickness of the pocket facing. Just make sure they do not change the angle of the opening.
 
Pushout

Pushout

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
manwon said:
The next time you have the table recovered have the Mechanic tighten up your pockets. They can do it by increasing the thickness of the pocket facing. Just make sure they do not change the angle of the opening.
Click to expand...

That ain't gonna happen for a while. I'm an unemployed full time college student, going to school courtesy of the government's policy of retraining/educating former textile workers.
But thanks for the suggestion.
 
StraightPoolIU

StraightPoolIU

Brent
Silver Member
For 14-1, I think that for practice and play whether on a 8ft or 9ft table you should have tighter pockets. I would recommend 4 1/2 pockets, for all games, especially 14-1. This will increase your skill a great deal long term, and it will also make playing other places much easier because most tables today have 5 inch plus pockets which will seem like buckets to you.
Click to expand...

I think that is really the secret. I only have room for an 8 footer in my house, but I constantly play with pocket reducers. As long as I put in a lot of time on a tight table transitioning to the bigger table really isn't a problem IMHO.
 
Str8PoolPlayer

Str8PoolPlayer

“1966 500 SuperFast”
Silver Member
Try a 5x10 on for size .....

Back in the Day ... 1950's - 1960's ... We played 14-1 on 5x10's most of the time ... I can't even see that far nowadays, let alone make a clean shot all the way down the table ... That said, I really prefer the 4.5 x 9 footers for ALL games (except Caroms & Snooker, of course) ... I also play a lot of One-Pocket and the longer tables prove to be a greater adversary on the long shots ...
I just can't warm-up to 4x8's and 3.5x7's but a lot folks are limited to those sizes due to square footage constraints in their homes ...
The main thing is ... You are Playing Pool and that's all that matters ...
 
S

seb9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think a 5 by 9 is easier because the pockets are bigger and since the table is bigger, there is less of a chance you over run position.

I have a 4 by 8 table and the pockets are tight tight tight because it's a old table that i fixed up and well when i play on a 5 by 9 i can see all the difference in the world on how easier it is.
 
manwon

manwon

"WARLOCK 1"
Silver Member
seb9 said:
I think a 5 by 9 is easier because the pockets are bigger and since the table is bigger, there is less of a chance you over run position.

I have a 4 by 8 table and the pockets are tight tight tight because it's a old table that i fixed up and well when i play on a 5 by 9 i can see all the difference in the world on how easier it is.
Click to expand...

Hello, what Country are you from?
 
T

Takumi4G63

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think it is significantly harder on a 9 foot table. I've played a lot of straight pool on both sizes and the shots are so easy to make on an 8-footer for me. Clusters really are not much of an issue. I would definitely recommend going to a 9-footer if you are serious about pool.
 
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Takumi4G63

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
seb9 said:
I think a 5 by 9 is easier because the pockets are bigger and since the table is bigger, there is less of a chance you over run position.

I have a 4 by 8 table and the pockets are tight tight tight because it's a old table that i fixed up and well when i play on a 5 by 9 i can see all the difference in the world on how easier it is.
Click to expand...

You make it sound as if all tables come with a standard pocket size. Try playing on a 9 footer with 4.5" or smaller pockets, vs. an 8-footer with the same. If the pocket size is the same then the shots will always be more difficult in the long run.
 
Omar

Omar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
One thing that no one has mentioned is that you have more break shot options on a smaller table. For example, on a seven foot table there is so little distance between the rails and the rack that pretty much anything can used as a break shot.

I am not advocating playing the game on a table that small. I only did it once about 20 years ago to demonstrate the rules to a couple of bar buddies. I ran a 36, and my high run on a real table was about three at the time.
 
V

VKJ

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
IF YOU HAVE ROOM for a 9 x 4 1/2 then get it. Especially since your already doing good on the 8x4. If you were a beginner I would say stay with the 8x4 but everything in pool is on a 9x4 1/2, it is the standard by which all and anything and everything is judged and based. Tournys, records etc,etc,etc. All pool room use 9x4 1/2 tables because it is the standard. Its as if you had a basketball net set up in you home driveway that was lower than standard.

It almost doesn't matter if the larger size is more or less challenging because you still will never know your true speed untill you simply play mostly if not exclusivly on a 9x4 1/2.

Good luck
 
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