8 foot vs 8 foot pro table

I listened to everyone on here and bought a 9 footer when it was time but I think that it's a little overrated for a recreational player. I'm all for getting better but in reality it's extremely unlikely you or I are ever going to be world class players regardless of what size table we own. Get an 8 footer and buy yourself the space, you won't regret it.
 
CGM said:
I listened to everyone on here and bought a 9 footer when it was time but I think that it's a little overrated for a recreational player. I'm all for getting better but in reality it's extremely unlikely you or I are ever going to be world class players regardless of what size table we own. Get an 8 footer and buy yourself the space, you won't regret it.
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if i do remove the column, i will have ample space for either....

what do you recommend then? would a 9 footer be too difficult for my friends or beginners?

Doesn't 9 footer just look better though too?
 
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vasilios said:
I have a 9 footer set up and the closest point ball to a wall is 64 3/4 -
my cue is 58 1/2 and have occasionally touched the wall during a shot -



bill
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I would like to understand this better, because it's not intuitive for me. From my point of view, you will never draw the cuestick back beyond (behind) your bridge, right? Your bridge hand is going to be somewhere on the top rail at the extreme. So how would you ever have to draw the cue further out than the top rail?
 
jviss said:
I would like to understand this better, because it's not intuitive for me. From my point of view, you will never draw the cuestick back beyond (behind) your bridge, right? Your bridge hand is going to be somewhere on the top rail at the extreme. So how would you ever have to draw the cue further out than the top rail?
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Oh ya you get to swinging and stroking playing good and think you can make everything -
Then all of a sudden on a shot you got your finger tips on the rail and added 2 inches to the rail width -
Pull the stroke and dink hit the wall -
Happens all the time in pool the fingertip bridge extension -


bill
 
moneymm22 said:
if i do remove the column, i will have ample space for either....

what do you recommend then? would a 9 footer be too difficult for my friends or beginners?

Doesn't 9 footer just look better though too?
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If your friends aren't good it won't matter what size table you play on. Of course they will make more balls on a loose valley than a tight 9' diamond but I don't think they will enjoy the game more or less regardless of what table you choose. All of my friends and family are horrible but they always want to play when they come over so my 9'er hasn't scared them off.
 
CGM said:
If your friends aren't good it won't matter what size table you play on. Of course they will make more balls on a loose valley than a tight 9' diamond but I don't think they will enjoy the game more or less regardless of what table you choose. All of my friends and family are horrible but they always want to play when they come over so my 9'er hasn't scared them off.
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ok good thank you for your help.
 
And remember: any pool is better than no pool.

(Unless it is a swimming pool. That sounds like a punishment)
 
It depends highly on your competitive nature if you would much prefer the 9ft or not.

Before I got my big table, I would frequent a hall that had 12 8ft and 2 9ft GC. I would always want to play on the 9ft. Have workers that are D+ players and they didn't mind the big table.

Now I have a 4.5" pocket 9ft Diamond at home and my family that comes over still have a good time on it. Even my nephews that are around 10yrs old wont stop playing on it.

I was ready to knock down one wall to make more room for a big table, but it was actually more than adequate. I am about 14.5ft wide.

With that said, maybe you can do a GC with regular pockets.
 
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anyone have a good measurement of sofa or other another piece of low furniture distance from the table? is 36" enough to make your shot or will back foot have to be altered at that distance?
 
moneymm22 said:
anyone have a good measurement of sofa or other another piece of low furniture distance from the table? is 36" enough to make your shot or will back foot have to be altered at that distance?
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anyone?

im designing the room, and am down to the inch....

36" to pool table edge good? i would think really 30" would be good because your foot usually goes under the table edge right?
 
moneymm22 said:
anyone?

im designing the room, and am down to the inch....

36" to pool table edge good? i would think really 30" would be good because your foot usually goes under the table edge right?
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Cue ball against the rail, normal stance, my front foot is at least 30" and need a good 4 feet for both feet, my long skinny legs, etc. Not understanding the foot under the table part, but planning for your cue to go over objects doesn't really gain you very much at all.
 
moneymm22 said:
designing my home pool table room. def more for casual use and fun.

is there a big different between the 2 sizes? 44x88 and 46x92

i def dont want to outgrow the regular 8' table and wish i went with the bigger table.

the the 8' pro tables rarer and hard to find to buy?
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The oversized 8-foot table would proportionately be considered as an 8-1/3' table. If your room allows slightly more than enough room for an 8-foot table, but not enough room for the 9-foot table you would prefer to have (such as 14' by 18') is the only reason you'd likely choose an oversized 8 over an 8-foot table. I think oversized 8's may still be offered by Olhausen and Brunswick.
 
jeephawk said:
Cue ball against the rail, normal stance, my front foot is at least 30" and need a good 4 feet for both feet, my long skinny legs, etc. Not understanding the foot under the table part, but planning for your cue to go over objects doesn't really gain you very much at all.
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So for your feet you think 48” from playing surface is needed? Or from rail?

Seems like overkill to me no?
 
I fail to understand the confusion difficulty in deciding which table to choose between, there's only a 2" wider and 4" longer difference in playing surface between the two sizes of tables. If it's that big of a decider, one is to small, one is to big....then just buy a Diamond 8ft ProAm....its playing surface is 45"×90"....in between both of those two tables.....damn
 
I mostly compete on 7' tables. When I went to buy my GCI it was listed as an 8' table which means it would have been a Pro 8 but was actually a 9' table. I would have just as happy with a Pro 8 as I am with my 9' table. If I found a Pro 8 GC in nice condition I might even consider selling my 9' table and buying the Pro 8. To me there seems to be little difference between the Pro 8 and 9' tables but a big difference between a standard 8' and a Pro 8' tables. I would even be happy with a 7' table at home as long as it was a Diamond. So few people are interested in playing games where table size really matters like 14.1. If it were me I would just be happy that Im getting a table at home. :smile::smile:
 
jeephawk said:
Cue ball against the rail, normal stance, my front foot is at least 30" and need a good 4 feet for both feet, my long skinny legs, etc. Not understanding the foot under the table part, but planning for your cue to go over objects doesn't really gain you very much at all.
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LOL, hang on a minute and I'll run back down to the basement.

Edit: oops, was replying to above comment questioning my measurements and suggesting overkill - I have a pretty confined space and will be paying to have someone move my table when the cloth is replaced in a couple of weeks, so I know from "overkill", lol. Don't box yourself in if you can avoid it!
 
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48 inches from the edge of my table apron to the middle of my rear foot, a couple more inches to the back of my upper thigh, add a few more inches if your sofa will hit your butt. I guess those are my measurements, lol.

You could probably just mark your edge of table to edge of rail distance, mark it on your dining room table, grab a cue and a tape measure and have at it!
 
FYI, I'm just an average recreational home pool player - learned on an antique (even then) Brunswick 9 footer in my grandpa's cellar at the farm (big old fuzzy wooden support post right smack against the center of the head of the table, lol, but clear shooting otherwise), we had a regular 8 foot table when I was a kid in our basement, most of my friends had regular 8 foot tables, that's what we knew. My old Anniversary is the 8 foot "pro" size. I'd love a 9 foot table, but mine has a lot of sentimental value and I like the slightly larger size vs. the regular 8 for sure and it fits the best, but when I wasn't visiting at the grandparents, the 8 footer was perfect at our house and would still enjoy it if that's what fit. Now, for me, if all I had room for was a 7, I wouldn't have a table - sounds weird but I guess no different than the 9 foot or nothing guys or gals.

OP, you say you want to have fun, not too serious, but in another post you suggest you want a 9 footer because if "looks better" - I think you are hung up on what the pros play? Nobody that visits will care if it's 8/8.5/9 and any table will look great in a room it fits in and will look awkward and play awkward in a room it doesn't fit in.

I'm no pro (but am loving reading all sorts of things on this site) but I can speak from decades of just enjoying playing at home with family and/or friends and there is no point getting a table that won't work in your room or trying to justify ways to make it fit - i.e., trying to talk me out of what I know my measurements are, or trying to convince yourself you are lining up shots with one of your feet under the table! It's easy to figure out the distances you need for using your cue, heed the advice of not leaving yourself short! And if one post is all that will possibly interfere at an angle (not parallel) and you need a slightly shorter cue for one shot, no big deal.
 
jeephawk said:
FYI, I'm just an average recreational home pool player - learned on an antique (even then) Brunswick 9 footer in my grandpa's cellar at the farm (big old fuzzy wooden support post right smack against the center of the head of the table, lol, but clear shooting otherwise), we had a regular 8 foot table when I was a kid in our basement, most of my friends had regular 8 foot tables, that's what we knew. My old Anniversary is the 8 foot "pro" size. I'd love a 9 foot table, but mine has a lot of sentimental value and I like the slightly larger size vs. the regular 8 for sure and it fits the best, but when I wasn't visiting at the grandparents, the 8 footer was perfect at our house and would still enjoy it if that's what fit. Now, for me, if all I had room for was a 7, I wouldn't have a table - sounds weird but I guess no different than the 9 foot or nothing guys or gals.

OP, you say you want to have fun, not too serious, but in another post you suggest you want a 9 footer because if "looks better" - I think you are hung up on what the pros play? Nobody that visits will care if it's 8/8.5/9 and any table will look great in a room it fits in and will look awkward and play awkward in a room it doesn't fit in.

I'm no pro (but am loving reading all sorts of things on this site) but I can speak from decades of just enjoying playing at home with family and/or friends and there is no point getting a table that won't work in your room or trying to justify ways to make it fit - i.e., trying to talk me out of what I know my measurements are, or trying to convince yourself you are lining up shots with one of your feet under the table! It's easy to figure out the distances you need for using your cue, heed the advice of not leaving yourself short! And if one post is all that will possibly interfere at an angle (not parallel) and you need a slightly shorter cue for one shot, no big deal.
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thanks everyone for all the help and advice, im def going with a standard 8 (44x88 playing surface).

Now, I am just trying to also fit in furniture around the room and trying to figure out how much room i need for standing around the table. i dont have a cue nor a table to go measure the approx distance.

apparently my wife will only allow for this pool table extension room if it includes a secondary TV room for the kids. so i need to know how close the sofa can go to the edge of the table.
 
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