14.1 on 7 footer

I would not recommend this as a way to train/practice. An 8 ft. table would be a better balance for maneuvering through each stage of the rack. It is more likely on a 7ft table that you will have more clusters more often, and the path of the cueball being obstructed as well. Honestly, practicing on a 7ft. table will only teach you how to play on a 7ft table. For straight pool, where the object of the game is to have a continuous run, a larger table is more forgiving when you are planning your way through a rack.

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You can use 14.1 rules on a 7' table, but it's hardly 14.1. That's not to say it can't be fun, but it basically just turns into a crowded shooting gallery that doesn't really resemble 14.1 in terms of strategy and patterns.

Yes. Don't. You won't gain enough by it to make it worth while.

John Schmidt told me he had run 170-something on a 7' Diamond.

Bob Jewett said:

Twice I saw John shooting on 7' Diamonds at the BCA Expo. Within three tries both times he ran 180. There was a lot of congestion but all the combos, kicks and caroms were easy. And John ducks in and around the balls pretty well.

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woodhams said:

Has anyone played 14.1 on a 7 foot pool table..........maybe good to learn how to break clusters

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I've played and practiced Straight Pool on all table sizes and most brands, and have come to the conclusion that contrarily to what some people believe, it's tougher the smaller the table, with the possible exception of 10- versus 9-foot, which is a toss-up in terms of pros and cons, in particular if one happens to be short like me.

Apart from clusters, the main problem is the area between foot rail and rack: the smaller the table, the worse the congestion in general. I do however believe my own game has profited in simplicity of pattern play, added to the fact I'm less afraid of using the middle pockets than most, thanks to the fact that in our neck of the woods, 8-pro size tables (that's 8 and 1/3 for those who are too young to know this) were most common, followed by 7-footers, when I was a teenager - having said that, my 8-Ball probably more so even than my Straight Pool (less space = greater tendency for balls blocking each other's way to a pocket).

Greetings from Switzerland, David.

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While I have never played 14.1 on a 7 ft, someone once stated to drop the last row and play 10.1. Less clusters; good practice for end patterns.

This is a timely thread as I was about to post almost the exact same thing. I recently started playing 14.1 to improve my pattern play, touch, and ability to break out clusters. Recently watched John Schmidt's 366 ball run and Mike Sigel's how to run 100 balls on youtube to learn how a pro thinks through a long run.

Unfortunately there are only 7 footers near me and they're all in typical bar condition (dirty, dinged up balls, inconsistent rails, bad cloth, etc.). I've found that I have to hit every break shot with a blast stroke in order to minimize the clutter at the foot of the table and get the balls to separate decently. Balls tend not to break apart very well since they're so dirty; they hardly separate when you bump into clusters. It's also a lot easier to get the cue ball stuck to an object ball when attempting to go into the stack or break out a cluster (again due to the dirty cloth and balls).

I really like the idea of playing 10.1 on a 7 footer instead, gonna have to try that out next practice session.