Pocket size

Three.Two.N.D. · Feb 20, 2012

In the proces of getting pockets tightened on my table at home and was wondering what size yall would suggest for them? Going to have none other then Donny (sdbilliards) who I have heard nothing but great things about. I was thinking probably around 4.25 or 4.5 corners. Tried to do search here but nothing came up probably from me trying to use words that are too common in the forums. Thanks in advance for all the help.

bignick31985 · Feb 20, 2012

I think Diamonds are 4.5" and I love those.

I played on a table at my brother's college and the pockets had to be 4" or smaller and NOTHING went, lol.

dearnold · Feb 20, 2012

Three.Two.N.D. said:
In the proces of getting pockets tightened on my table at home and was wondering what size yall would suggest for them? Going to have none other then Donny (sdbilliards) who I have heard nothing but great things about. I was thinking probably around 4.25 or 4.5 corners. Tried to do search here but nothing came up probably from me trying to use words that are too common in the forums. Thanks in advance for all the help.

Kinda depends on your objectives. If you're aiming on playing tournaments and want the pocket to match most closely to what you will be playing on, that is one thing. If you are trying to have some family fun, that is something else. It's really personal preference. Before you shim those things up too tight, you might ask yourself how much you enjoy the frustration of rattling balls in the pocket.

Okie · Feb 20, 2012

I just went through this. I decided that 4.5" pockets gave a nice balance between an enjoyable game (kids and wife) and a good practice table.

Baxter · Feb 20, 2012

Diamond's standard pocket size is 4.5", and the Pro-Cut pockets are 4.25".

I play on a shimmed Pro-Cut table with pockets that are 4". Personally, I wouldn't go anything bigger than 4.25", but it's all a matter of personal preference and what you're trying to get out of the table. If it's a bang-balls-around-with-friends table, 4.5" would be fine. If you're a serious player (tournaments, gambling, etc), I would go with 4.25" or maybe a little tighter like 4 1/8th". 4" can be a bit too much for most people.

Fatboy · Feb 20, 2012

Three.Two.N.D. said:
In the proces of getting pockets tightened on my table at home and was wondering what size yall would suggest for them? Going to have none other then Donny (sdbilliards) who I have heard nothing but great things about. I was thinking probably around 4.25 or 4.5 corners. Tried to do search here but nothing came up probably from me trying to use words that are too common in the forums. Thanks in advance for all the help.

your in good hands, he will do a great job for you.

if you plays lots of 1P the 4.25 is cool. I like bigger pockets personally because I like to cheat the pocket and create angles etc. So 4.5" is what I like. having said that i have 4.25" or a hair smaller pockets on my box, lol. the reason is with big pockets I tend to get lazy and then when i move down to smaller holes I get beat. so while i enjoy bigger pockets, i dont have them because they are not good for me.

Renegade_56 · Feb 20, 2012

Also consider the shelf depth,,,,,if they are like alot of the Diamonds I play on, 1" or so shelf and 4 1/4" pockets, then they are about all you want,,,,,,,,, easy to get alot of hangers with almost perfect shots,,,,,,,speed comes into play alot more, which makes position play somewhat harder to accomplish.

slach · Feb 20, 2012

Good question. I went from 4 3/4" buckets to 4 1/8" on my home table, a Gandy Big G, hoping it would sharpen me up and improve my league play on standard 4 1/2" GC's. After a year of aggravation jawing balls with marginal improvement at league I changed to 4 3/8" pockets and I'm happy I did (surprising what difference 1/4" makes). I think being able to loosen up, cheat the pocket, take some risks and just having more fun outweighs whatever accuracy benefits the smaller pockets provided. At least for me, not much more than a banger.

BTW, as the pocket size changes the angle the pockets are cut at also should change, just adding a 'shim' at the same angle isn't ideal.

MSchaffer · Feb 21, 2012

Baxter said:
Diamond's standard pocket size is 4.5", and the Pro-Cut pockets are 4.25".

I play on a shimmed Pro-Cut table with pockets that are 4". Personally, I wouldn't go anything bigger than 4.25", but it's all a matter of personal preference and what you're trying to get out of the table. If it's a bang-balls-around-with-friends table, 4.5" would be fine. If you're a serious player (tournaments, gambling, etc), I would go with 4.25" or maybe a little tighter like 4 1/8th". 4" can be a bit too much for most people.

No...Pro-cut pockets are 4.5". That is very tight, and just about right for serious players. 4.25" pockets are too small unless you are a 1-pocket player, professional, or bullshit artist. 4.125" is just plain silly unless you are a top level pro or 1 pocket player.

I love how everyone's idea of what 'buckets' are get smaller and smaller. My son plays baseball, and the numbers everyone talks about are pitching velocities. Ever year, players (and their Dads) would talk about how much faster they are throwing. Truth be told, when a radar gun was actually put on them, they were almost unilaterally throwing much slower. The general rule of thumb was to ask how fast they were throwing, then subtract 7 mph...seemed pretty accurate.

We are going to have to employ that here in pool as well: "What size pockets do you prefer?" Oh...I am a pool God...better than everyone else...I think that 4 3/8" is pretty easy, but fair." {add 3/8"}...really needs 4 3/4" pockets to be easy, but fair.

fathomblue · Feb 21, 2012

Sounds like we have differing opinions here. Can anyone step up and confirm what size "Pro Cut" pockets are? Corner AND side?

What size do the standard pro tournaments employ?

What size do the guys in the TAR matches usually ask for?

What is the range of acceptable pocket ANGLES?

MSchaffer · Feb 21, 2012

According to Glen Hancock (RKC):

Diamond's ProCut pockets are 4 1/2" in the corners and 5 1/16" at the sides just to let you know. And all Randy did at the Golden Fleece is install new cloth on the tables, he didn't recalibrate the rails to stop the banking short or playing springy, I'll be the one that takes care of that when I get back up to Washington state...as Randy has no idea as to what needs to be changed to modify their rails.

Glen

That was a quaote taken from his response over in the Talk to a Mechanic forum.

JoeyInCali · Feb 21, 2012

fathomblue said:
Sounds like we have differing opinions here. Can anyone step up and confirm what size "Pro Cut" pockets are? Corner AND side?

What size do the standard pro tournaments employ?

What size do the guys in the TAR matches usually ask for?

What is the range of acceptable pocket ANGLES?

4 1/2 corners, down angle is about 12-14*.
Sides are 5 1/4.

I had my GC Diamondized.
4 1/2 corners are tough enough.

jay helfert · Feb 21, 2012

4.25" is nice and snug, great for some serious One Pocket. 4.5" is a nice size for good players who like to play 9-Ball and Straight Pool. So take your pick. Side pockets should correspond in size with the above (5"-5.25").

Okie · Feb 21, 2012

jay helfert said:
4.25" is nice and snug, great for some serious One Pocket. 4.5" is a nice size for good players who like to play 9-Ball and Straight Pool. So take your pick. Side pockets should correspond in size with the above (5"-5.25").

That would explain my preference for 4.5". I have not been blessed with the bug for one hole yet. Recently did acquire the bug for 14.1 though. Loving learning how to play it!

Slickstick9 · Feb 21, 2012

I went smaller and wish I had 4.5". That should be perfect.:thumbup:

TATE · Feb 21, 2012

Three.Two.N.D. said:
In the proces of getting pockets tightened on my table at home and was wondering what size yall would suggest for them? Going to have none other then Donny (sdbilliards) who I have heard nothing but great things about. I was thinking probably around 4.25 or 4.5 corners. Tried to do search here but nothing came up probably from me trying to use words that are too common in the forums. Thanks in advance for all the help.

4.25 is a good size for corners for a practice table. The table will play tight but will be playable. Whatever the corner size you decide on, don't go under 5" on the sides.

If you're a pretty good player and stay in stroke, 4.25 won't give you much trouble and should improve your game (helps draw attention to sloppy habits and makes you pay attention to small details) . If you are an occasional player and/or out of stroke a lot, 4.5" would be better.

deanoc · Feb 21, 2012

i prefer the original gold crown sizes 4.75 to 5 on the corners
and whatever they were at side,for one pocket or anygame

more important is the angle of opening,if they are wide they actually kick out shots and actually play tight even unfair

players are said to have improved in golf,but the size of the hole remains the same

Cuebuddy · Feb 21, 2012

I add an inch to the width of my pockets for every ten years that I age.
So when I turned 50 I went from four inch pockets to five, it keeps it fun since my eyes aren't as good as they used to be.
Plus it gives me something to look forward to when I hit the big 60

JC · Feb 21, 2012

My take

Donny at SD built me some rails for my 9' GC3 and the corner pockets are exactly 4 7/16 which is also exactly the size of the pockets on the diamond smart tables we have here in town. The down angle and bevel angle is also exactly the same as the smart tables. The GC3 shelf is 1/4 inch shorter than the diamonds which also makes a difference. If a person were in to splitting hairs my opinion would be that the ideal size for a GC would be just slightly smaller than mine. Perhaps only 1/16 of an inch though, down to 4 3/8. Sounds like nothing but every little bit changes things. All said my table plays pretty sweet with the Artemis rubber and proper rail extensions.

tlingit · Feb 21, 2012

Hi all I thank 4.5 is about the ideal size,

Pocket size

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