Buckets aren't too picky which ball they suck up. :thumbup:
8-ball on a 7' vs 9'
- Thread starter WhatsTheSpot
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Buckets aren't too picky which ball they suck up. :thumbup:
This is why the nationals in Vegas are tough for a lot of teams. They usually play 9-ball on 9-footers, then they have to figure out how to play 8-ball on those 7-ft Diamonds. I've seen A+-level players who look clueless on the short track. Also, those barbox Diamonds are mad slick.
He means that a barbox has less playing area, and the same number of pockets. The probability of a scratch on a smaller table IS more likely.
Personally, I also think playing 8 ball on a barbox is tougher. You have to be more precise with shape, and there are way more balls clustered up and on the rails. If you have a solid stroke, you should have little problem getting around a big table. Most guys THINK they have a good stroke, when in fact....its really only mediocre.
I still say that there should be more tighter pocket Diamond, Valley, Global, and whatever 7' tables in poolrooms and bars with more than six 7' foots in the joint. People that want to get better on the BB will at least practice on them and the better players will play on them when in action on the BB. I also think having a few open BB tournaments around the country with 4" to 4 1/4" pockets will get the ball rolling for them to be used more by the better players and players that want to raise their game. Johnnyt
Well wouldn't that depend on sho is playing too?
Players whose strategy and position play are better than their shot making will do better on the bar box. Bar boxes put a premium on strategy and precise position.
Players whose shot making is better than their strategy and position play will do better on the 9 footer. The big tables put a premium on shot making.
Players like top pros who have no real weaknesses and whose strategy, shot making, and position play are all pretty equal and phenomenal, will run more tables of 8 ball on a 9 footer. As someone else mentioned, you have a higher average of clusters on the small table, and more chances for things to go wrong with the increased congestion.
Players whose shot making is better than their strategy and position play will do better on the 9 footer. The big tables put a premium on shot making.
Players like top pros who have no real weaknesses and whose strategy, shot making, and position play are all pretty equal and phenomenal, will run more tables of 8 ball on a 9 footer. As someone else mentioned, you have a higher average of clusters on the small table, and more chances for things to go wrong with the increased congestion.
Truely said. Just watch in Vegas and most of the trouble comes from position play when no position is reay needed
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If bar boxes were so tough, the world championships would be played on them. They're not played on one, and for good reason.
Every game is easier on a bar box, compared to the 9'er (with identically cut pockets).
Every game is easier on a bar box, compared to the 9'er (with identically cut pockets).
IMO a much better statement would be: A barbox has less total inches of cushions with the same number of pockets (and usually wider ones at that).
Maniac
This brings up the question about what we mean by "easier". You may have a valid point about running out being easier - I have little experience on the small box I really couldn't say. But the OP makes a good point about the need for more precise position on the BB i.e. that the shorter distances the CB has to travel makes more precise position easier.
But I suspect that it is easier to win on the small table as far as controlling the game off the break. My theory is that it is easier to make a ball off the snap on the small table and whatever increase in the frequencies in clusters and congestion reduces your chances of running out is at least partially offset by these same conditions making it easier to play safe and leave your opponent with no available hole or maybe even kicking.
Good discussion.
I guess you have to compare apple to apples.
Meaning... A friend I know has a pretty nice 7', fast cloth and reasonably tight pockets. An equally set up 9' would make for an 'easier' game of 8 ball over his 7'. The balls cluster all over the place and position requires literal pin point precision versus the 9'.
But when most people say 7' (bar box), most people picture the little coin op tables with HUGE pockets, slow nappy cloth and heavy balls. Obviously this is a whole different comparison. Those tables are made to drop balls easy, they are vending machines. I've seen people run out on these tables that couldn't run 2 in a row on a decent 9' er. Making a half dozen balls on the break like it was nothing.
Meaning... A friend I know has a pretty nice 7', fast cloth and reasonably tight pockets. An equally set up 9' would make for an 'easier' game of 8 ball over his 7'. The balls cluster all over the place and position requires literal pin point precision versus the 9'.
But when most people say 7' (bar box), most people picture the little coin op tables with HUGE pockets, slow nappy cloth and heavy balls. Obviously this is a whole different comparison. Those tables are made to drop balls easy, they are vending machines. I've seen people run out on these tables that couldn't run 2 in a row on a decent 9' er. Making a half dozen balls on the break like it was nothing.
DogsPlayingPool said:
You are exactly right about "easier" needing to be defined--I chose not to even go into that but it certainly needs to be defined here before any meaningful discussion can even take place. What I did instead, for the top pros, is I just chose the most objective measurement I could think of off the top of my head which was their likelihood for running a rack (which may not be the best measurement to use for someone who can't consistently run racks).
I think it comes down to this. For a beginner player, the bar box is going to be "easiest", because they are not yet even capable of strategy or position play. All that matters is which table is easiest to make balls on. For a moderately skilled player, "easiest" all depends on whether their strength leans more towards pocketing balls, in which case they will have more success on a big table, or more towards strategy and position play, in which case they will have more success on a bar table. For the pros, who do everything fantastic, they will run more racks on a 9 footer when it comes to 8 ball. The difference is the congestion and clusters on a bar box which cause things to go wrong, so in terms of running racks, the 9 footer is "easiest" for them. But even with them, whether they are a slightly better shot maker, or a slightly better strategist and position player, makes a difference on which table they could hold a higher world ranking on.