4 1\2 or 4 3\4

Colormegone2002

Colormegone2002

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What do you guys think for a home table.Mind you that I'm not any where

close to A or B speed.But I know many of you guys have had your tables refurbed.

Any suggestions or things you would have done differently?

Do most of you like your 41\2 inch pockets with the rails recalibrated or would you

have gone a little bigger?

Give me some ideas please and thanks
 
I've been playing on 4" & even slightly less lately on 9' Diamond Tables.

I think a good 'compromise' would be 4 1/4 inches.

But it really depends on how deeply into the pocket that the shelf is cut & even at what angle the cushions are cut.

It's not an easy solution.

Best Wishes & Good Luck with whatever you decide.
Rick
 
My home table is set up at 4 1/2 as that is the spec
for many of the tournaments. Two balls locking up
in the jaws at the 50 yard line is good enough for me.
 
I have owned 3 tables in the last 10 years.

1. GC1 with 4.75 pockets
2. Diamond with 4.5 pockets
3. GC1 with 4.75 pockets. (current table)

I sold the diamond and went back to a GC for a couple reasons, the biggest was the aesthetics of the table, but I also wanted bigger pockets. I noticed when I owned the Diamond I played a lot less on it. It was no fun for guests to play on and even myself, sometimes I just wanna bang balls around socially. A 4.5 diamond with old cloth take 100% focus IMO. I have had the GC1 back for about 8 months and I have noticed I am enjoying the game more again and playing more.

Ian
 
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Colormegone2002 said:
What do you guys think for a home table.Mind you that I'm not any where

close to A or B speed.But I know many of you guys have had your tables refurbed.

Any suggestions or things you would have done differently?

Do most of you like your 41\2 inch pockets with the rails recalibrated or would you

have gone a little bigger?

Give me some ideas please and thanks
Click to expand...

Definitely 4.5". It's tough enough but not so crazy that you can't play social pool with friends. It's also what most tourneys are on, being the Diamond standard.

IMO, you want to practice on what you will play on--not looser and not tighter. Otherwise, the patterns you practice won't be the same as when you play. Tighter than normal pockets are probably good for honing pure shot-making but not for honing shot-making+position/patterns. Again, just my opinion.
 
I agree if you are more of a casual player 4 3/4 and if you want a little more of a challenge 4 1/2. I have a 4 1/2 GCIII and love it. It was also upgraded to the K66 Diamond rails by RealKingCobra though.
 
5" buckets. For real. That's what my home GC is and I would not have it any other way.

Matching up on tight pockets at the local hall is no problem.

A home table is for practice, for being in stroke, and for having fun.

Keep the tight pockets for one pocket gambling sessions!

IMO of course:)
 
iusedtoberich said:
5" buckets. For real. That's what my home GC is and I would not have it any other way.

Matching up on tight pockets at the local hall is no problem.

A home table is for practice, for being in stroke, and for having fun.

Keep the tight pockets for one pocket gambling sessions!

IMO of course:)
Click to expand...

Exactly. I think developing a fluid stroke and building confidence are more important than practicing shooting into small pockets. Especially for your self described skill level.
 
If your not at least a strong B player, or One Pocket player, keep your table at 4 3/4. It will be more enjoyable for you and your guests to bang balls around. You can always shim up later on your next table cloth cover, if you feel the pockets are too big.
 
Tighter pockets (but not too tight) are better for practice in my opinion. I would go with the 4.5, but I probably wouldn't spend money to redo the table. I would just look for one in good condition with medium tight pockets.

I used to have my table tighter but the shims weren't perfect so it bounced funny when it hit near the edges of the pockets. For that reason I had the extra shims removed when I moved to my current house. As far as being less fun for social play, it wasn't a big problem because my friends loved being able to blame the tight pockets for all of their misses. They still try it and I feel bad when I have to point out that my pocket sizes are pretty close to average now.
 
Try playing on tight pockets if you can before modifying. You might regret tightening them.
 
I think anything less than 4 1/2" is a bad idea and just ridiculous. The tightest "regular" tables you come across will be 4 1/2' for tournaments and league play. When you go tighter than 4 1/2" its almost like playing a different game, it might make you pocket balls better on bigger pockets, but only maybe, and it changes the way you play. You cannot cheat a real tight pocket as easy, its tougher to shoot down the rail, rail first shots get real tough, etc.... Oh, and it also prevents you from scratching as easy which to me is a bad thing. I dont want to show up at a tournament and find out I cant keep the QB on the table because I can follow or draw out of certain shots at home on my 4" pocket table but the same shots wont work on the 4 1/2" pocket table. I had my GCII tightened up to 4 1/2", I think I would have been happy at 4 3/4".
 
Colormegone2002 said:
What do you guys think for a home table.Mind you that I'm not any where

close to A or B speed.But I know many of you guys have had your tables refurbed.

Any suggestions or things you would have done differently?

Do most of you like your 41\2 inch pockets with the rails recalibrated or would you

have gone a little bigger?

Give me some ideas please and thanks
Click to expand...

I like 4 1/2 inches. I would not go smaller for many reasons, one of which is that it literally changes the game to go less than that.

When I bought my table, I didn't know much about table setup, and just had standard pocket sizes put in, which ended up at 5". I hate that, because everywhere I go, the pockets are smaller", and that is not the adjustment you want to make.

While you are not a great player now, I imagine you aspire to improve. If you ever get to where you are a bit more serious about the game, you will not like large pockets. Don't make the mistake of going smaller than 4 1/2, as it will just frustrate you and everyone that plays on the table. There are ways to make your pockets smaller for specific drills and practice, which may benefit, but they need not be less than 4 1/2" for game play.
 
Cory in DC said:
Definitely 4.5". It's tough enough but not so crazy that you can't play social pool with friends. It's also what most tourneys are on, being the Diamond standard.

IMO, you want to practice on what you will play on--not looser and not tighter. Otherwise, the patterns you practice won't be the same as when you play. Tighter than normal pockets are probably good for honing pure shot-making but not for honing shot-making+position/patterns. Again, just my opinion.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with this well stated post.
 
Thanks for the advice guys,I think I'm gonna go with 4 3\4 and maybe I won't get really

frustrated from so many misses. There's a place in Clarksville ,Tn that I may go check

out with 4 1\2 ".

This is a Gandy Big G and I know I'm gonna sink svereal dollars in it to get it fixed and I

have every intention of buying a Diamond table, hopefully within a year so I hope

it's worth it. If I can't get a lot of my money back on it, I guess one of my kids will

have a pretty good table.

BTW,I'm no where near a B player.lol, though I'd sure like to be
 
Colormegone2002 said:
What do you guys think for a home table.Mind you that I'm not any where

close to A or B speed.But I know many of you guys have had your tables refurbed.

Any suggestions or things you would have done differently?

Do most of you like your 41\2 inch pockets with the rails recalibrated or would you

have gone a little bigger?

Give me some ideas please and thanks
Click to expand...

Leave your pocket sizes alone. Learn to be a pool player not a pool shooter.
 
I finally got 4.75 and I am happier than ever with my table
5inches is fine too

if I get a Centennial I am going close to 5 inches

its no fun to miss,its no fun for your friends to struggle

to heck with improving

big pockets help you to improve
who wants to invite their friends over to struggle

the fact that you can afford a table and have a place to put it proves that you are enjoying the game and have no aspirations to be a pool bum





dean
 
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