Cleaning the balls

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chemrvos1972

Registered
Recently I'm fairly deep at a regional tourney and my next opponent want's to clean the balls as he say's they are sticky ( we were playing on a table I just played on). I went ahead and let him.
My question is do I have to let the guy do this? as I feel it might change the break speed needed and the balls should go a little longer and quicker( not 100% on this) I was kinda dialed in on the break the previous set also. Maybe I should talk to some td's also...was like 4k 1st with calcutta so it was worth a couple bucks.
 
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garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
chemrvos1972 said:
Recently I'm fairly deep at a regional tourney and my next opponent want's to clean the balls as he say's they are sticky ( we were playing on a table I just played on). I went ahead and let him.
My question is do I have to let the guy do this? as I feel it might change the break speed needed and the balls should go a little longer and quicker( not 100% on this) I was kinda dialed in on the break the previous set also. Maybe I should talk to some td's also...was like 4k 1st with calcutta so it was worth a couple bucks.
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Not really a big issue to me. If in doubt just ask the TD.
 
lfigueroa

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
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chemrvos1972 said:
Recently I'm fairly deep at a regional tourney and my next opponent want's to clean the balls as he say's they are sticky ( we were playing on a table I just played on). I went ahead and let him.
My question is do I have to let the guy do this? as I feel it might change the break speed needed and the balls should go a little longer and quicker( not 100% on this) I was kinda dialed in on the break the previous set also. Maybe I should talk to some td's also...was like 4k 1st with calcutta so it was worth a couple bucks.
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Do have to let him clean them?

I don't think so. I suppose the guy could just be a purist who likes to play with clean equipment. Or, he could be looking for an edge by changing the behavior of the balls. Even more nefarious, maybe he wanted to grease up the CB with something like silicone.

So basically in this situation I'm telling the guy,"Just played on the table and the balls are fine -- let's play." The furthest I might go, if he wants to argue the point, is to flip a coin to see if they get cleaned.

Lou Figueroa
 
L I F D 1

L I F D 1

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Put into washing machine with LIQUID DETERGENT (not powder) and BLEACH.
Then POLISH TWICE.
 

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CocoboloCowboy

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I would pose the question to the TD like this. My opponent wants the ball cleaned & polished before we play. Please make a ruling, Mr. TD, it's your decision.

TD's are like God, and if you do not like the TD answer, or decision, play or pickup and go home.
 
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surffisher2a

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Clean and polish, no way -- too much time wasted.

Wipe them down quick with a microfiber towel to get chalk marks / etc off the balls, sure.
 
Black-Balled

Black-Balled

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I will admit that I have asked a TD to have clean balls/ table for lat round matches, bit I don't wait until the match is called to do it, and I will certainly brush a table, rather than play on a field of powder.

Having a set of balls ready to be swapped in is really a negligible task, for most rooms, and tables/ balls can get really ratty after a long day of play.

I think it is only reasonable to have equipment in its best shape for finals and semis of an event.

That said, the change from burger and wing greased balls to fresh out of the polisher can be quite drastic, in terms of playing characteristics and I can understand why one might object to the change.
 
JazzyJeff87

JazzyJeff87

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BryanB said:
So did you lose the match and are complaining about it?
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Couldn’t help yourself? It seemed like a request for info for future reference to me.

And I suspect LIFD read the title only :) caught you nonchalantin lol.
 
Bavafongoul

Bavafongoul

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If you are winning, then don’t clean the balls and tell your opponent to keep playing.
But if you are losing, then wash those balls, bless ‘em & hopefully change the match.
If the score is even, flip a coin but don’t go agree with your opponent just to be nice.
 
Danimal

Danimal

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You have a debatable right to question your opponent’s request to clean the balls.

Your opponent also has a reasonable right to object to you playing consecutive matches on the same table late in the night. You’re both still deep in the event, so you’re both strong players, right? Playing on the same table twice, you probably have the break down and the rails and speed dialed in.

Neither of these requests are invalid amongst experienced tournament players.

Or, you both could be cool and let the little things slide.
 
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chemrvos1972

Registered
Yes we were down to the semi's, they had 2 tables left they were using a stream and non stream table. I really like and respect my opponent though, but I don't think's he's above looking for a small edge. (he's a U.S open 9ball champ..yeah he play's good lol) I guess the final answer is whatever the TD say's.
 
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chemrvos1972

Registered
CocoboloCowboy said:
I would pose the question to the TD like this. My opponent wants the ball cleaned & polished before we play. Please make a ruling, Mr. TD, it's your decision.

TD's are like God, and if you do not like the TD answer, or decision, play or pickup and go home.
Click to expand...

This is truly the bottom line!
 
alstl

alstl

AzB Silver Member
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surffisher2a said:
Clean and polish, no way -- too much time wasted.

Wipe them down quick with a microfiber towel to get chalk marks / etc off the balls, sure.
Click to expand...

Be careful about using some of that stuff. I've heard products like magic eraser can scratch the balls.

To the OP I would let the guy clean them and then check to make sure he did a good job.
 
Black-Balled

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
No, below is actually the correct answer.

If you've been on the table, you got a feel for the way it is playing.

If you aren't the above guy, you benefit from elimination of that familiarity.


Bavafongoul said:
If you are winning, then don’t clean the balls and tell your opponent to keep playing.
But if you are losing, then wash those balls, bless ‘em & hopefully change the match.
If the score is even, flip a coin but don’t go agree with your opponent just to be nice.
Click to expand...

r
 
hang-the-9

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Black-Balled said:
I will admit that I have asked a TD to have clean balls/ table for lat round matches, bit I don't wait until the match is called to do it, and I will certainly brush a table, rather than play on a field of powder.

Having a set of balls ready to be swapped in is really a negligible task, for most rooms, and tables/ balls can get really ratty after a long day of play.

I think it is only reasonable to have equipment in its best shape for finals and semis of an event.

That said, the change from burger and wing greased balls to fresh out of the polisher can be quite drastic, in terms of playing characteristics and I can understand why one might object to the change.
Click to expand...

Thing with doing it before is that you may not know how the balls look like until you get to the table. I'd have no issues at all with someone cleaning off a set of balls, I do it all the time if I see something as I'm racking, just use my shirt.

Anyone that would actually stop someone from cleaning off dirt or fixing something is being a bit of an ass.

I had a tournament I was in being played on tables where some of the corner pockets were actually bellow the table so if you shot at anything past a slow roll they would hop the table and be a foul. I started to check under the table to tighten the bolts to raise the pockets and someone actually got pissed off telling me "don't go around fixing the tables" LOL. I mean really, who complains when something is getting fixed so it's in normal condition. Next two guys that were at one of the tables went and found me before they started to play and asked me to go "fix" the table for them.
 
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Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

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hang-the-9 said:
Thing with doing it before is that you may not know how the balls look like until you get to the table. I'd have no issues at all with someone cleaning off a set of balls, I do it all the time if I see something as I'm racking, just use my shirt.

Anyone that would actually stop someone from cleaning off dirt or fixing something is being a bit of an ass.

I had a tournament I was in being played on tables where some of the corner pockets were actually bellow the table so if you shot at anything past a slow roll they would hop the table and be a foul. I started to check under the table to tighten the bolts to raise the pockets and someone actually got pissed off telling me "don't go around fixing the tables" LOL. I mean really, who complains when something is getting fixed so it's in normal condition.
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Billiard champion Robert Cannefax (who published a diamond system pamphlet) had a remarkable solution to an equipment problem. When he was asked to play on a table where the cloth was slow, he took out his pen knife and slit the cloth. He never played in tournaments again.

I think the players should not get involved in cleaning the balls. Just ask the TD to provide a clean set of balls.

I'm reminded of one horrible match I had at the Sands. My opponent sweat like a pig on a spit. Wet hands. He used a lot of powder. When he racked, the balls became covered with talc mud. Every shot was a skid. I should have listened to Sigel and played every shot with outside english. Instead, I lost. In retrospect I should have asked for a clean set of balls after the first rack and not allowed my opponent to touch any ball.
 
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