14.1 now vs then

Every time I see the comments about huge pockets, I wonder if they ever played on those conditions. The slow cloth makes the game much harder.

Mole Eye said:

Every time I see the comments about huge pockets, I wonder if they ever played on those conditions. The slow cloth makes the game much harder.

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Really?
I believe it's because we've gotten to become more spoiled with the faster cloth, in the past couple of decades, roughly.

Back then, with the slow, nappy cloth, you can do jump shots with a regular cue, make entertaining bank and kick shots, as well as know where the ball is going to.

The truth is that the game has gotten better.

a) Nine footer better than an eight footer

b) Table manufacturers make a more dependable product than in the past

c) Tables tend to be more level today than in the past

d) Simonis cloth plays better than nappy cloth

e) Aramith and Centennials are better than the old composition balls

f) The rails found on today's table play better than the rails of yesteryear

g) Attachable cue extensions are easier to use than the bridge

Here on the forum we entertain ourselves by trying to compare but it's a difficult task. The game has changed .... for the better!

Another thing that has improved conditions these days is way better climate control than existed in poolrooms even compared to 25-30 years ago. Back then in block buildings humidity could be terrible at times, balls hopping when they hit the rails, the cloth would absorb moisture and play even slower than normal.

First a note to jfk: It won't be as much a problem for you as for some since you recognize you are changing style but the change of style is why I warn people to always get plenty of practice on the tables you compete on too. I practiced near daily on a snooker table for several years but I also played nightly on the tables I competed on. I didn't realize at first that the time on the snooker table was impacting my pool game negatively in shot selection and pattern play. Not too hard to deal with if you are aware of the possibility.

Stu, I kinda agree with what you say but at the same time I miss the old tables where you had to weigh many more considerations for many shots. I have to ask, would golf be better if they laser leveled the entire course as flat as possible and kept all grass manicured to the condition of the putting greens? Take away all hazards and obstacles? Take away restrictions on equipment? Most golfers would see far better scores but would the game be better?

Others in the thread have already mentioned what I detailed in another thread so I won't plow that old ground about overall conditions. Some focus solely on the pockets but there was a lot more to the difference in conditions than just pockets.

Pool is evolving, for better or worse. I haven't heard of any equipment protests but some of the cues with extensions would be illegal under some rules I suspect, length and weight. Even if deemed legal for one shot they would be illegal for full time play. Perhaps the rules have changed, perhaps they are being ignored. I don't care and don't think it really matters.

Hu

MisterBanker said:

Another thing that has improved conditions these days is way better climate control than existed in poolrooms even compared to 25-30 years ago. Back then in block buildings humidity could be terrible at times, balls hopping when they hit the rails, the cloth would absorb moisture and play even slower than normal.

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Back then? Hell, "all" of the rooms in my hometown (florence Alabama) are still like that......block building, pisspoor air conditioning etc..etc...

Lol.... one of them has tables that have not been recovered in ballpark of 9 years and it gets played every day...

The other room recovers their tables once ever couple years but, lol... they may as well use indoor-outdoor carpet because they REALLYA suck even after worked on.

What you say is true though for most all rooms today. Not many can be as crappy as florence rooms and even dream of staying open.

A smaller size table offers smaller position areas too, that certainly adds difficulty to high run outs in Straight Pool despite the easier "long" shots compared to a 9ft table.

sizes

Petros Andrikop said:

A smaller size table offers smaller position areas too, that certainly adds difficulty to high run outs in Straight Pool despite the easier "long" shots compared to a 9ft table.

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Size creating longer shots isn't as important as it seems. Generally if a shot is going to be long we play shape to go another direction. That is why I think the distance between shots on an eight and nine foot table is usually only three to six inches, half of the increased size.

Snooker tables look truly monster sized. However generally once you get half decent the table playing size is three by six with an occasional insurance shot at the six or five making the table play six by six while you are running off red balls. Then the object balls have been respotted after being pocketed so you are basically shooting a drill at the end of every game after the red balls are gone. Snooker is harder than pool but once you play it awhile it doesn't seem vastly harder, especially after you get a snooker shaft or entire cue. Pocket shape and smaller balls are more important than the size of the table in my opinion.

Hu

As an aside, ShootingArts, are you Eric Hu?

I knew Fast Larry on his poolchat web site. Don't worry! I'm not one for taking on enemies as a show of blind loyalty. I don't know all the details of what went on between you guys, but I saw enough of Fast to know that he would make some enemies and probably not try to repair the relationship. Two strong-minded people will sometimes fall out very dramatically.

sjm said:

The truth is that the game has gotten better.

a) Nine footer better than an eight footer

b) Table manufacturers make a more dependable product than in the past

c) Tables tend to be more level today than in the past

d) Simonis cloth plays better than nappy cloth

e) Aramith and Centennials are better than the old composition balls

f) The rails found on today's table play better than the rails of yesteryear

g) Attachable cue extensions are easier to use than the bridge

Here on the forum we entertain ourselves by trying to compare but it's a difficult task. The game has changed .... for the better!

Click to expand...

MisterBanker said:

Another thing that has improved conditions these days is way better climate control than existed in poolrooms even compared to 25-30 years ago. Back then in block buildings humidity could be terrible at times, balls hopping when they hit the rails, the cloth would absorb moisture and play even slower than normal.

Click to expand...

The worst thing about thick cloth is you get a lot of bad hits.
Even on straight shots, where skids won’t hurt you much, the balls rarely contact each
other at their centers....the moving ball is airborne...and sends the object ball airborne.
As for nostalgia about needing a more powerful stroke, the faster stroke is easier to
perform under pressure than the finesse that is required on fast cloth.

And fast cloth makes more things possible....spins stays on much longer.
..snooker is being played at the highest level ever...partly knowledge has increased....
...but a big reason is they’r playing on faster cloth...
...let them go back to 38 oz cloth, a lot of those hundred runs will disappear.

And as the Banker says, climate control has had a big effect on all games.
3-cushion and snooker being played on heated, dry tables is breaking records.

not Eric Hu

Pin said:

As an aside, ShootingArts, are you Eric Hu?

I knew Fast Larry on his poolchat web site. Don't worry! I'm not one for taking on enemies as a show of blind loyalty. I don't know all the details of what went on between you guys, but I saw enough of Fast to know that he would make some enemies and probably not try to repair the relationship. Two strong-minded people will sometimes fall out very dramatically.

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Hu is a nickname I started using with that spelling in the late sixties long before I knew it was a common Asian surname and the name of a fairly well known god! Having a president named after me has some stroke but having a god named after me ... :thumbup:

This has been my sign in at tournaments since the seventies and is my sign off on tens of thousands of technical drawings. Makes me chuckle thinking that people will be looking at all of those drawings at the nuke wondering who the hell HU is long after I am gone!

Hu

ShootingArts said:

Hu is a nickname I started using with that spelling in the late sixties long before I knew it was a common Asian surname and the name of a fairly well known god! Having a president named after me has some stroke but having a god named after me ... :thumbup:

This has been my sign in at tournaments since the seventies and is my sign off on tens of thousands of technical drawings. Makes me chuckle thinking that people will be looking at all of those drawings at the nuke wondering who the hell HU is long after I am gone!

Hu

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Hu....the great thing about being a human being is that you’ll never be gone....
...I still read Plato once in a while...his pertinence is ageless...
...haven’t seen him around lately

pt109 said:

...I still read Plato once in a while...his pertinence is ageless...

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But could he run 100 balls...?

MisterBanker said:

But could he run 100 balls...?

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He wasn’t in love with the game enough to run a hundred....
...it was a Platonic relationship.

i learned how to play in the early '60s on an Anniversary table with slow cloth and composition balls.
i ran a 101 on that table with a house cue.
back then we didn't know any better.
i was 16 years old and thats the table,cloth and balls i played with.
you had to hit break shots at warp speed and clusters took more force also.
and because of that learning even on today's fast tables i'm more comfortable whacking a shot in rather then slow roll.

If i have shoot a real tough shot for the cash its going in quick as opposed to a slow roll.

pt109 said:

He wasn’t in love with the game enough to run a hundred....
...it was a Platonic relationship.

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I guess he doesn't come out of his cave much any more.


I take it the double hemlock is a reference to his old gang too? I've never liked drinking games...