I thought I'd seen it all...

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
Got "hustled" on gaff table

I just had the most frustrating night of pool in my life! I was playing a guy for a neglible amount of money on what I can only describe as the most fugged up table in the history of pocket billiards. Strangely it had relatively new cloth and was dead level...unfortunately that is where the good news ended. Lets start with the cloth..it was not only new, but clearly overstretched to the point where the balls were sliding like on wet ice. It was completely impossible to hold position for any ball. If you had more than a half ball cut, the cueball was going for a long walk around the table...

While most new tables break long on banks this table had cushions that played impossibly short and fast, to the point where I've never seen anything like it. Balls where bouncing off the cushions like shot out of a cannon. The spin would grab in totally unpredictible ways, where you'd think the spin would grab the cueball would go straight. Then on the next shot you'd really juice up and the cueball would fly off..

It was a very humbling experience (but fortunately not too expensive). I felt like a complete beginner on this table and every adjustment I made failed. It tried not hitting the cushions...that didn't work because of the fast cloth. Even rolling slowly into the cushion made any sort of control impossible. Then I tried playing the speed, going four cushions instead of two etc...but because of the shortness of the rebound and strange grabbing spin that didn't work either. The rails were not uniform in any way so basically the game became a pure guessing game position vise, and as a result a shotmaking contest, as position was very difficult if not impossible to control. The only way to run a table was to play into vast open areas and take what the table gave...I even tried TOI for chrissakes...If I would ever be foolish enough to go back, I'd bring a 12oz cue with a 14mm tip, that's the only thing I could think of that might work for this.

Have any of you been in a situation like this before? What did you do? Did it work?
 
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bender_lu

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
had a similar experience during a league match.

On that table the cloth itself was pretty "normal", even slower than on our hometables, but the rails shot the balls out like you said "shot out of a cannon". i remember dawing the CB into the rail with some minimum spin and at really low speed. it came out like on a trickshot and ran uptable, to the rail and back :eek: i took tons of speed out and tried to get as straight as possbile on most shots to not to have do use the rails, taking some long shots over a positionnal shot including this unpredictible rails.
Did work more or less, luckily my opponent had the same problem, so i could take the points for my team.
Now if there is a match against this team, i refuse to play on this particular table (the other 7 tables were quite good).
 

alphadog

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Sounds like you played at Volcanos in Hurst Tx.

Some tables/ equipment really require a new game plan.
 

jeffj2h

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This is a therapeutic thread. Thank you.

Reading this whining I am now over the similar whining I have been engaging in for several weeks

I practice on 860 and usually play league on 860. Then we were moved to another place that has rug cloth a few weeks ago and I keep coming short in position when I need to go 2 or 3 rails around the table.

I *****ed and moaned to myself but meanwhile my opponent had the same problem. I will now try to ***** and moan less and compensate more.

Thank you.
 

victorl

Where'd my stroke go?
Silver Member
There are a couple places in my area where the tables play like ice. I went to a tournament at one a while back, and it seemed like everyone was using a short, jabby stroke. I was like, "man, this is going to be easy, nobody's got a stroke!"

Then I started my first match and my lag came back, bounced off the foot rail and shot back almost to the headstring. That's when I realized that everyone was jabbing because that was the only way to control the cue ball!
 

Fuji-whopper

Fargo: 457...play some?
Silver Member
Sounds like an old Diamond table, they used to play exactly like that. Try killing every shot and decelerate through every ball, play one rail position if possible and keep it as simple as possible.
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
This is a therapeutic thread. Thank you.

Reading this whining I am now over the similar whining I have been engaging in for several weeks
Happy to help, anytime:wink:

I practice on 860 and usually play league on 860. Then we were moved to another place that has rug cloth a few weeks ago and I keep coming short in position when I need to go 2 or 3 rails around the table.

I *****ed and moaned to myself but meanwhile my opponent had the same problem. I will now try to ***** and moan less and compensate more.
I can assure you that my opponent did not hear a single word about the conditions from me (it was his table). I just thought it was a bizarre situation, that's all.
Thank you.

You are welcome:smile:. Any tips on how to compensate are appreciated, btw.
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
What kind of table was it?

I don't know actually? Some kind of Gold Crown copy, not sure of the brand. I don't think the problem was with the table's design, as much as a crappy mechanic setting it up. There was definitely something inconsistent in how the rails were playing, the rubbers were new, but there were spots were they did not play as fast as others. One of the short rails gave a lot more bounce than all the others..I'm not claiming I should have won, or anything like that, I just thought it was pretty bizarre. I've played on all sorts of tables, but I've never before been taken out of my game like this.
 
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Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
Sounds like an old Diamond table, they used to play exactly like that. Try killing every shot and decelerate through every ball, play one rail position if possible and keep it as simple as possible.

Thanks for your suggestion:smile:. I did try to simplify things, I just couldn't get it to work. It was definitely a learning experience for me. It was definitely not a Diamond btw. Diamond tables are extremely rare here. I have, however heard that they play sort of like this (but more consistent, obviously) so it was a good guess.
 
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victorl

Where'd my stroke go?
Silver Member
On fast tables, like Fuji-whopper said, I like to use drag shots to kill the cue ball a lot more often, and also avoid using running english whenever possible.
Another thing is when playing position, I'll pick a spot well before the final landing spot and aim for that. It's a million times better than playing shape as usual and simply trying to shoot softer.
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
On fast tables, like Fuji-whopper said, I like to use drag shots to kill the cue ball a lot more often, and also avoid using running english whenever possible.
Another thing is when playing position, I'll pick a spot well before the final landing spot and aim for that. It's a million times better than playing shape as usual and simply trying to shoot softer.

Thanks for your reply. Good ideas.
 
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