8' Harder Than a 7' Table?

[greyghost]

I have an 8'OS (pro 8, 8.5ft whatever you want to call it) brunswick classic at the house. The corners are cut at 4 1/4" and the sides are 4 3/4". The table very much does play like its a nine foot, especially with the tight pockets.

I side with Jay on this tho, as long as its a good table then I'll play on it...hell I used to love to rob guys playing one pocket on an open bar box of all things. Some games I prefer on different tables.

I love bar box 8 ball as it has some really strong precise cue ball movment, and some great patterns. 9 ball is way too easy on the 7' unless its a tight table.

Short rack banks is a good steal from a fish on the 7' too. Overall I would prefer to play on a 9' or 10' tho. I used to shoot alot on a 10' and always liked it very much. I would pratice all day long on the 10' and then go get in action on the tight 9' and it was like shooting in the atlantic ocean.

I don't think its the shot itself on the big tables that players have trouble with, I think its just the CB travel. If you can move the CB your not always going to be shooting a par 5.

A little hint for better positioning and CB movement,...Start swinging the CB to the inside sometimes and not always to the outside. I watch alot of people shoot and they only swing around the table one way. Don't limit your self to 180 degree CB positioning.

Grey Ghost

 

[Wolven]

I read where Ralf Souquet(sp) won't play on a bar box , this might be due to stroke or it may be due to pride. He said it was like playing mini-pool. Maybe it could be a blow to the ego to not fair well on a smaller surface.
QUOTE]

Perhaps he just doesn't enjoy it, and I can sympathize with that because I don't enjoy playing on bar boxes.
Personally I like 9ft tables and virtually never play on 7ft tables.
What I notice is that when going to a smaller table, for a couple of hours it is impossible to miss after that it is back to reality.

IMHO, going from a smaller table to bigger is a lot harder. People complain a lot more when transitioning to bigger surface not the other way around.

BTW. For a feel player change in table size would affect the shot pictures.

 

[Big Arm]

Wow! Interesting post. Now I am second guessing my choice of an 8 footer for the man cave.

 

[jay helfert]

GOOD POST

also i know alot of guys that only play on 7 footers because thats what the amature tourney s are on....valley/global 7 footers....if im playinga and practicing for state tourn im not gonna play on a 9 footer every day 2 weeks before the tourney...im gonna play on a 7 footer...

other guys will think they do better playing on 9 footer all the time and come down to a 7 footer a few days before the tournament....

i think theyd be better off spending a good 2 weeks on that 7 footer if they always play a nine....also guys play on 9 footers with a red circle cueball( i like this ball better too) ....but the valleys take a different cueball
also if the tourneys on a valley...im not gonna practice for it on say a diamond 7foot
smart table...

that cueball makes a big difference....and diamond tables have a style thats all there own.

Good point here. It takes time to adjust from the big table to the bar table and vice versa. I remember seeing many big table champions come to L.A. and try to play the Mexican bar table champions. Funny thing happened, they didn't get there.

I think it would take a good player a minimum of a week of solid play to make the adjustment to playing on a bar table with the different angles, different cue ball and very difficult position. Saying that, I've always felt it was even harder to go up from the 7' table to the 9'. That's a huge adjustment to make and only a handful of bar table champions ever did it. I found it much better to split time between the two tables, thus staying in stroke on both.

An example of the difference for me was trying to play Bakersfield Bobby back in the 70's. On a bar table I had zero chance against him. When he came into my poolroom, I could play even with him on the 9' table. I might even win. Big, big difference moving up to the big box.

 

[RD3P]

I have an 8'OS (pro 8, 8.5ft whatever you want to call it) brunswick classic at the house. The corners are cut at 4 1/4" and the sides are 4 3/4". The table very much does play like its a nine foot, especially with the tight pockets.

I side with Jay on this tho, as long as its a good table then I'll play on it...hell I used to love to rob guys playing one pocket on an open bar box of all things. Some games I prefer on different tables.

I love bar box 8 ball as it has some really strong precise cue ball movment, and some great patterns. 9 ball is way too easy on the 7' unless its a tight table.

Short rack banks is a good steal from a fish on the 7' too. Overall I would prefer to play on a 9' or 10' tho. I used to shoot alot on a 10' and always liked it very much. I would pratice all day long on the 10' and then go get in action on the tight 9' and it was like shooting in the atlantic ocean.

I don't think its the shot itself on the big tables that players have trouble with, I think its just the CB travel. If you can move the CB your not always going to be shooting a par 5.

A little hint for better positioning and CB movement,...Start swinging the CB to the inside sometimes and not always to the outside. I watch alot of people shoot and they only swing around the table one way. Don't limit your self to 180 degree CB positioning.

Grey Ghost

on a 9 footer there is more room to move around the table using natural shape...if a player understands this...the distance the cueball hase to move isnt that big of deal because they have room to move naturally.
basically when you realize...you dont have to force your stroke you will be fine. 7 footers there usually isnt room to come around 2 and 3 rails for shape...on a 7 people have to be more precise with the way they move the cueball....and tend to use more funny englishes and less rails

hope this makes sense the way i wrote it.

 

[Ralph Kramden]

On 9 foot table you have 27 (324 inches) feet of rail perimeter, versus 21 feet (252 inches) for the 7 foot table. On paper 30 inches of total pockets on either size isn't a significant factor, unless I'm missing something.

9 foot table has 40 1/2 square feet compared to 24 1/2 square feet on a 7 foot bar box, requiring more precising positioning on a BB.

No, your not missing anything.

I was just pointing out the fact that the playing areas, in proportion to the the pocket openings, are different.

If the pockets were just one hole, the entire end of a 7 foot table would be missing.

A 9 footer has a lot more rail to work with and less chance of scratching.

As far as requiring less precision on a 9 footer. I disagree.

 

[JE54]

Then how about a 7ft diamond pro cut compared to an 8ft diamond pro cut ?

 

[david(tx)]

I read where Ralf Souquet(sp) won't play on a bar box , this might be due to stroke or it may be due to pride. He said it was like playing mini-pool. Maybe it could be a blow to the ego to not fair well on a smaller surface.
QUOTE]

Perhaps he just doesn't enjoy it, and I can sympathize with that because I don't enjoy playing on bar boxes.
Personally I like 9ft tables and virtually never play on 7ft tables.
What I notice is that when going to a smaller table, for a couple of hours it is impossible to miss after that it is back to reality.

IMHO, going from a smaller table to bigger is a lot harder. People complain a lot more when transitioning to bigger surface not the other way around.

BTW. For a feel player change in table size would affect the shot pictures.

Thats right , i wasn't trying to say he was looking down his nose , it is his preference. I just enjoyed playing no matter what. I think playing 8 on 7's is a good place to learn to move the cue and other balls in tight places.


I wish the bar table standard table was 88 x 44 , it is perfect for 8 ball in my opinion.I think the 9 is better for 9 ball , 10 ball etc. You almost never see top level snooker played except around the foot rail , same with straight pool . i mean half the table surface.

 

[greyghost]

Thats right , i wasn't trying to say he was looking down his nose , it is his preference. I just enjoyed playing no matter what. I think playing 8 on 7's is a good place to learn to move the cue and other balls in tight places.


I wish the bar table standard table was 88 x 44 , it is perfect for 8 ball in my opinion.I think the 9 is better for 9 ball , 10 ball etc. You almost never see top level snooker played except around the foot rail , same with straight pool . i mean half the table surface.

yea but the only reason for that is b/c its a closed break game just like one pocket...then again when coreys on the cut break he's only using half the table too lol.

 

[DelaWho???]

My uncle has an 8' Olhausen which plays easier than my 7' Diamond. The pockets are cut a bit differently than the diamond, though they are the same size. The rails on the diamond are livelier than the olhausen