A question for usa pool and a snooker player
- Thread starter Wity
- Start date
i'd say that you're right, there is a little more deflection in pool than snooker, if you consider 'average' cues. attributed as you mentioned to the use of larger tips relative to the size of the ball. the difference isn't terribly huge though and the newer low deflection shafts really cut the deflection a lot. you definitely use more side spin in pool though
King_Nothing
Pool! Pool! Pool!
Also the heavier balls in pool, as compared 2 the lighter snooker balls causes deflection. So if pool cues can absorb that jerk due to the heavier balls, they can be made into low deflection shafts
I dont know, I cant count how many times I've walked into a pool establishment and picked up the biggest peace of crap off the wall cue and dominated opponents that have extremely high-tech fancy very expensive pool cues.
Most pool players use the term squirt for the idea of an off center hit
'pushing' the cue ball off line.
People who claim to know contend this is almost directly related to the
mass of the first centimeter of the shaft.
IMHO - the relatively super soft tips favored by snooker players,
as compared to a typical tip on a pool cue, also have an effect. Please note,
I have no direct evidence for this opinion, it just seems to fit with my
own personal experience.
Dale
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It's (unscientific) evidence, but when I would go back & forth between a snooker table & a pool table (years ago), I noticed a significant reduction of "deflection" on the snooker table. I can only attribute this to the differences in the balls as the cue was the same.
it should really be the other way around....given that the cue is the same, the lighter balls will squirt more than heavier balls.
This should be true. Less friction = more deflection, I should think.
Wity, if you've got the time and inclination, then you can read this paper about deflection:
http://www.sfbilliards.com/Shepard_squirt.pdf
or a quick summary:
http://www.sfbilliards.com/sqrt.htm
Or this copy-and-past summary of the summary:
Both of these are linked from Bob Jewett's page of useful links:
http://www.sfbilliards.com/misc.htm
Bob also wrote an interesting article in a recent issue of Billiards Digest about accuracy relative to grip, and how a snooker stance may benefit accuracy. The article will likely end up in his collected list of articles (which currently includes everything through 2010):
http://www.sfbilliards.com/articles/BD_articles.html
All that said, McChen made a point about how much one might use side (what we call putting "English" on the ball) in pool rather than in snooker. For many shots in pool there's much more leeway in using a bit of sidespin. I probably used more side when I'm playing pool (which is an old, bad habit). Consciously or not, with the wider and more forgiving pockets of a pool table one may also develop a tendency to bang the balls into the pocket with much greater speed than necessary (which you might call putting "American" on the ball).
http://www.sfbilliards.com/Shepard_squirt.pdf
or a quick summary:
http://www.sfbilliards.com/sqrt.htm
Or this copy-and-past summary of the summary:
Both of these are linked from Bob Jewett's page of useful links:
http://www.sfbilliards.com/misc.htm
Bob also wrote an interesting article in a recent issue of Billiards Digest about accuracy relative to grip, and how a snooker stance may benefit accuracy. The article will likely end up in his collected list of articles (which currently includes everything through 2010):
http://www.sfbilliards.com/articles/BD_articles.html
All that said, McChen made a point about how much one might use side (what we call putting "English" on the ball) in pool rather than in snooker. For many shots in pool there's much more leeway in using a bit of sidespin. I probably used more side when I'm playing pool (which is an old, bad habit). Consciously or not, with the wider and more forgiving pockets of a pool table one may also develop a tendency to bang the balls into the pocket with much greater speed than necessary (which you might call putting "American" on the ball).
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