Best Pocket Size

R

Roll Out

Registered
Well, after much thought I went with 4 inch pockets with a 141 degree pocket rail angle and 14 degree down angle (as well as Artemis K66 Intercontinental cushions) on my Brunswick Medalist. Made this choice as I didn't want to be intimidated by any pool table I may run into playing serious pool. (It is primarily a home practice table, plus I like one pocket.) The pockets will accept a firmly hit ball down the rail.
Found that my form had to improve to adjust to the tight pocket requirements. My stroke is now smoother, softer and straighter. Surprisingly, my rotation play has actually improved. The table forces me to plan better, focus more, and control both my body and mind much more than I ever have before. In short, it's forced me to work harder and made me stronger.

Tom
 
Str8PoolPlayer

Str8PoolPlayer

“1966 500 SuperFast”
Silver Member
The Perfect Pocket Size is the one I'm reaching in to remove the wad of 100's I just won.

Second most Perfect would be 4 1/4" or less. I like being challenged by the Table.
 
Pidge

Pidge

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Perfect sized pockets for home use would be the same as what you will play on in league, for cash or what ever. Tight pockets don't make you more accurate, or a better player. Improving the stroke does that. What tight pockets do in the pro game is show who has the better stroke. I don't know if anyone has ever played on and English pool table, if pro pool had pockets like those it would be dull to watch. They reject perfectly good shots down the rail, you can't touch any part of the rail before hitting the pocket and shots at speed get rejected all too often, so what you see in English pool is players hitting and developing the same style stroke...softly softly.....and never will improve much because of this - they simply have no variety in their stroke and way of playing.

This being said, hitting a rail a diamond out and watching the ball drop is frustrating when your opponent does it unintentionally. I've adjusted my table to what I see fit for the professional game. 4inch pockets, not set too far back. Makes it enjoyable to play on.
 
ProZack

ProZack

Zack's "On the Road" Cue Repair
Silver Member
4 1/4

IMO I bought a Diamond with 4 1/2 in pockets and at my skill level they were to big. So when Diamond brought my new table I told them to reduce the size to 4 1/4 in.
It makes me stay down and concentrate on every shot.
 
Pidge

Pidge

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Having a pocket 1/4 of an inch smaller? Really? I doubt I could even tell the difference in play. I think the game of pool should be ideally played on tables with 3.75 inch pockets at the highest levels, that would make you stay down!
 
P

paolo2144

Registered
Pidge said:
Perfect sized pockets for home use would be the same as what you will play on in league, for cash or what ever. Tight pockets don't make you more accurate, or a better player. Improving the stroke does that. What tight pockets do in the pro game is show who has the better stroke. I don't know if anyone has ever played on and English pool table, if pro pool had pockets like those it would be dull to watch. They reject perfectly good shots down the rail, you can't touch any part of the rail before hitting the pocket and shots at speed get rejected all too often, so what you see in English pool is players hitting and developing the same style stroke...softly softly.....and never will improve much because of this - they simply have no variety in their stroke and way of playing.

The converse of the above is true, i have many Canadian/USA friends who cannot adapt to the accuracy of potting required on a British pool table. Shots which would be simple on a USA Diamond pool table such as down the rails are much harder in British pool, not only that you cannot cheat the pockets in the same way.

Also just watch the likes of Shane & Earl struggling in Chinese 8 ball and missing a ton of pots because their stroke is not accurate enough and they cannot power balls in and cheat pockets. If Shane was to devote his time to say Chinese 8 ball he could become really proficient but it would require him to change his stroke.

All in all USA pool on Diamond table with 4.5 inch pockets is a completely different game to British/English pool and Chinese 8 ball and different skill sets required.
Click to expand...
 
hang-the-9

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Roll Out said:
Curious what people think is the best pocket size for different games. Is 4 1/4 inches good for all games or only good for one pocket? Or is that too loose for serious one pocket? I assume that 4 1/2 is good for all rotation games but some people think that's too loose and that 4 3/8th is best. Straight pool seems best at 4 3/4 as that allows attempting rack shots, etc.
Obviously shelf depth and rail angles matter, but assuming the pockets take a firmly hit shot, what size do you prefer and why.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Your question already has all the answers in your post, some like this, some like that LOL I don't like pockets under 4.5 and not much over that, it's enough to make you aim properly but large enough where you don't have to aim like a pro to have fun on it.
 
ShootingArts

ShootingArts

Smorg is giving St Peter the 7!
Gold Member
Silver Member
rebirth of an old thread

This is the rebirth of an old thread from 2014. I apparently posted in it somewhere because it came up in my User CP. Not going to dig for what I said six years ago but today I think less than 4.5 inch corners changes the game too much.

Had to chuckle about the claims of lack of accuracy of Shane and Earl! Not adjusted to what the pockets will accept, yes. Accuracy? Don't be silly!

In the days of my misspent youth I played on bar tables, eights, super eights, nine footers, ten footers, and a viciously tight old snooker table that made Riley championship table pockets look like buckets. I regularly ran 56 and stop on the snooker table, played all of the tables just fine. Not a question of accuracy, a matter of what you are used to. My favorite was and remains a five by ten, I don't care about the pockets. Pool or snooker, tight or generous. Very big pockets give you three lanes to play and opens up playing shape a great deal. There is a lot of pleasure in manipulating the cue ball with those big pockets to pocket balls in. Possible to play tighter shape than playing tight pockets.

Regardless of pockets, it won't be long before the best player is winning.

Hu
 
hang-the-9

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
ShootingArts;6713076[B said:
]This is the rebirth of an old thread from 2014.[/B] I apparently posted in it somewhere because it came up in my User CP. Not going to dig for what I said six years ago but today I think less than 4.5 inch corners changes the game too much.

Had to chuckle about the claims of lack of accuracy of Shane and Earl! Not adjusted to what the pockets will accept, yes. Accuracy? Don't be silly!

In the days of my misspent youth I played on bar tables, eights, super eights, nine footers, ten footers, and a viciously tight old snooker table that made Riley championship table pockets look like buckets. I regularly ran 56 and stop on the snooker table, played all of the tables just fine. Not a question of accuracy, a matter of what you are used to. My favorite was and remains a five by ten, I don't care about the pockets. Pool or snooker, tight or generous. Very big pockets give you three lanes to play and opens up playing shape a great deal. There is a lot of pleasure in manipulating the cue ball with those big pockets to pocket balls in. Possible to play tighter shape than playing tight pockets.

Regardless of pockets, it won't be long before the best player is winning.

Hu
Click to expand...

I hate when I don't notice the date LOL

Usually old posts are dug up by new members although not even sure how, maybe a link in a web search.

paolo2144
Registered
paolo2144 is on a distinguished road

Status: Offline
Posts: 12 <----
 
Bavafongoul

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Blue Fin

Here are photos of the pockets on the front tables at Blue Fin before it had to close.

For practice, I’d use Pro Pocket Reducers; upon removal, the pockets seemed huge.

You can see how much room there is even with tight pockets in the solitary OB Photo.
 

Attachments

  • 7133B3BE-4724-4EA8-A690-9CA609AA4C50.jpg
    7133B3BE-4724-4EA8-A690-9CA609AA4C50.jpg
    204.2 KB · Views: 146
  • 6955ABE1-EEC3-4C42-AE7D-2C0513C6C5F7.jpg
    6955ABE1-EEC3-4C42-AE7D-2C0513C6C5F7.jpg
    202.9 KB · Views: 146
  • E203518F-DE28-4223-A935-7D50ED1FC7D1.jpg
    E203518F-DE28-4223-A935-7D50ED1FC7D1.jpg
    206.9 KB · Views: 154
  • C1908D87-14F6-41D6-AC6E-E717A7BB968B.jpg
    C1908D87-14F6-41D6-AC6E-E717A7BB968B.jpg
    200.8 KB · Views: 152
  • 402D4975-7128-4C8D-979D-0A59194B6582.jpg
    402D4975-7128-4C8D-979D-0A59194B6582.jpg
    205 KB · Views: 149
S

straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Roll Out said:
Well, after much thought I went with 4 inch pockets with a 141 degree pocket rail angle and 14 degree down angle (as well as Artemis K66 Intercontinental cushions) on my Brunswick Medalist. Made this choice as I didn't want to be intimidated by any pool table I may run into playing serious pool. (It is primarily a home practice table, plus I like one pocket.) The pockets will accept a firmly hit ball down the rail.
Found that my form had to improve to adjust to the tight pocket requirements. My stroke is now smoother, softer and straighter. Surprisingly, my rotation play has actually improved. The table forces me to plan better, focus more, and control both my body and mind much more than I ever have before. In short, it's forced me to work harder and made me stronger.

Tom
Click to expand...

:wink:
All that and more. The whole thing is about marksmanship; period. The tighter the hole, the more you are restricted to actual ball lines. As far as having no room to cheat, you'll be forced to discern between straight in (mathematically unlikely) and the actual angle(s) you're facing.
 
G

Geosnooker

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ronnie O’Sullivan equates American pool tables to playing mini golf...it’s fun but not enough challenge.

That’s how I see choosing a table for home use. You want it to be fun but also a challenge. Otherwise it will get a bit boring. My 9 ft Dufferin table has 4.5 inch pockets. I’d prefer 4 inch if I had the option. We tend to get to know the nuances of our own table so it becomes a bit ‘easy’. In league we play on 9 ft Dufferin tables, but a different model, and the same size pockets are more of a challenge...different cloth, rails, wear, etc.

I also have a 12 foot Snooker table. Again, I play every day and ‘know’ my table. I can run up 40 to 60 breaks every day. I get on our pool hall and Legion tables abd ‘may’ get a 40 point break in an evening.

Anyways, you want more of a challenge on your own table. A 7 or 8 ft table with 4.75 inch pockets is ‘ho hum’. Best home tables have smaller pocket size. Pocket shape is trickier to assess. I enjoy playing by myself at home and need a challenge.
 
P

paolo2144

Registered
ShootingArts said:
This is the rebirth of an old thread from 2014. I apparently posted in it somewhere because it came up in my User CP. Not going to dig for what I said six years ago but today I think less than 4.5 inch corners changes the game too much.

Had to chuckle about the claims of lack of accuracy of Shane and Earl! Not adjusted to what the pockets will accept, yes. Accuracy? Don't be silly!

In the days of my misspent youth I played on bar tables, eights, super eights, nine footers, ten footers, and a viciously tight old snooker table that made Riley championship table pockets look like buckets. I regularly ran 56 and stop on the snooker table, played all of the tables just fine. Not a question of accuracy, a matter of what you are used to. My favorite was and remains a five by ten, I don't care about the pockets. Pool or snooker, tight or generous. Very big pockets give you three lanes to play and opens up playing shape a great deal. There is a lot of pleasure in manipulating the cue ball with those big pockets to pocket balls in. Possible to play tighter shape than playing tight pockets.

Regardless of pockets, it won't be long before the best player is winning.

Hu
Click to expand...

Earl and Shane's stroke and style of play was specifically developed over years of play on USA pool tables.

In 9 ball on a 9 ft diamond table with 4.5 inch pockets you need a much more powerful stroke to move the ball around the table than say English Pool on a 7ft table. However the bigger pockets allow for that, and indeed part of being a great 9 ball player is being able to make use of the whole pocket "cheat" the pocket.

On an UK pool table or indeed snooker table, accuracy is much more important than power as the cue ball does not need to be forced around the table as much. However the tight pockets require a more compact and accurate cue action/stroke to have a high success rate.

Now could Shane and Earl have adapted their cue actions if playing UK pool all the time, yes of course they could have because they are great players, but it would require them to modify their game. Just as UK pool players usually struggle for a while when starting to play 9 ball, they need to learn to modify their game and technique to adapt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top