5-pin marking at pool hall etiquette

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Nogbert

New member
I think I know the answer, but would it be an extreme no-no to mark the cloth on a public pool table using the cue chalk provided to say mark the positions for pins in 5-pin etc? I'm talking about 5x 2-3mm spots in the center of the table. My gut says that is would be prohibited, but do pool hall owners actually care? Such minimal marking could easily be cleaned up/brushed off at the end of the game I would think. I may cross post this in the pool room owners forum too

Thanks
 
You could use "donuts" to mark the positions. They come off easily and don't leave a residue. An alternative is to mark small crosses with a tailor's pencil, which rubs off. I would not use pool chalk. I think you better ask about marks. I routinely use donuts without asking or management complaining.

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Don't use donuts. The thickness of the donut throws off the balls wildly as very slow speeds and makes the game unplayable.

I use faber castells to mark the pin locations when I play 5-pins. (I have marked center table exactly with a sharpie and add the white dots occasionally) I've also used these pencils in public on pool tables and nobody has ever complained, though 5-pins with pockets is a much lesser game, but still can be fun.



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The width of the castle, according to the UMB rules is 132mm. So the spacing of each pin is 66mm on center. Since a carom ball is 61.5mm and each pin base diameter must be 7mm, the clearance is 59mm between pins. Per the rules you need 2.5mm ball-pin total overlap horizontally.

If you are using pool balls and 7mm pins, just space your pins 66 - (61.5-57.2) ~= 62mm on center. You can print out an template with a printer.

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Bob Jewett said:
You could use "donuts" to mark the positions. They come off easily and don't leave a residue.
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A possible caution...

The ones I've used in the past left invisible patches of glue which caught dirt and turned dark over time - but maybe that was because I left them on too long before removing them. After experiencing that (and especially in a public room) I wouldn't leave them on even overnight.

Unless they've changed...

pj
chgo
 
nataddrho said:
Don't use donuts. The thickness of the donut throws off the balls wildly as very slow speeds and makes the game unplayable.

I use faber castells to mark the pin locations when I play 5-pins. (I have marked center table exactly with a sharpie and add the white dots occasionally) I've also used these pencils in public on pool tables and nobody has ever complained, though 5-pins with pockets is a much lesser game, but still can be fun.



View attachment 882448


The width of the castle, according to the UMB rules is 132mm. So the spacing of each pin is 66mm on center. Since a carom ball is 61.5mm and each pin base diameter must be 7mm, the clearance is 59mm between pins. Per the rules you need 2.5mm ball-pin total overlap horizontally.

If you are using pool balls and 7mm pins, just space your pins 66 - (61.5-57.2) ~= 62mm on center. You can print out an template with a printer.

View attachment 882449
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im actually thinking more about danish pin billiards that is played on a pocketed table to begin with. in this case the donuts would be totally underneath the pin so this is probably a good option for me.
 
Nogbert said:
im actually thinking more about danish pin billiards that is played on a pocketed table to begin with. in this case the donuts would be totally underneath the pin so this is probably a good option for me.
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It really depends on how you make points. In Italian 5-pins the best shots are offensive in that you knock over the pins with your opponents object ball, and defensive in that you barely roll through the pins, and when they are reset the ball is "trapped" inside the castle and he has to kick multiple rails to get to your ball. With donuts near balls almost coming to rest, they can change the direction of the ball and completely disrupt the defensive part of the shot, sometimes into a losing position.

If you are just smashing through pins without any other thought then it isn't a game with finesse and donuts won't matter.

Anyway, even if you decide to use a pencil, it is not an extreme no-no as you have originally asked, unless it is perhaps the TV table with streaming matches.
 
A customer did that at a pool hall I was going to about 15 years ago. He marked a bunch of lines for some drill he was doing. Big long lines. He used Master's chalk. The owner was pissed. It was super difficult to get off.

A few tiny marks in the middle would be way better than what this customer did.

But if donuts do work in your particular case without messing up the gameplay, they are great.
 
nataddrho said:
Don't use donuts. The thickness of the donut throws off the balls wildly as very slow speeds and makes the game unplayable.
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The donuts are not nearly as bad as the spot sticker you see on most pool tables.

Also, until the OP has 2mm precision on his ball placement, any deflection due to a donut is a very minor part of his inaccuracy. "Wildly" ??? No.

And if it's really a concern, I think the clear donuts may be thinner than the white ones. They are also harder to see.
 
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