Is there a big difference playing 9-ball on bar tables (3 1/2 x 7) and 9 footers?
Bar table vs 9 footers
- Thread starter karambolista
- Start date
only a couple of feet
Housestick
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yes...very big difference. My dad used to own a bar years ago and thats what I started on. There were many players back then that I could beat with ease on the bar table, but needed weight to play on the 9 foot. Many will argue the gap in difficulty between the two tables. The nine foot is obviously more difficult, but one who always plays on a bigger table should be very carefull when matching up with some of the bar table savy players out there. I've seen many a big table player get broke playing these guys. Both tables are really in many ways different and require a different mind set when playing on each. I would strongly advise starting on a big table though. Bar table pool is for amatures to be brutally honest and this is coming from someone who enjoys playing on them. The key is to be very carefull when matching up on them with guys who play on them everyday unless you've spent some time making adjustments. One big difference on the bar table is cue ball control and position. It's a little more difficult on a bar table because of the proximity of all the balls. On the other hand, making the balls is much easier and you tend to make many more balls on the break. I'm leaving a lot of other differences out. Stick with the big table if you can, but a bar table is fine to learn the basic fundamentals if you have no other option. Hope this helps.
Housestick
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"I think you left one out-
-most people get as good as they are going to get in about 2 weeks."
Come on now..thats not true. There are many guys that have very good games who played strictly on bar tables for decades when they were coming up. Dave Matlock and Reed Pierce come to mind. These guys played on nothing but bar tables for forever and their games translated fine to the 9 footer later in life. You can learn a lot on the little table.
-most people get as good as they are going to get in about 2 weeks."
Come on now..thats not true. There are many guys that have very good games who played strictly on bar tables for decades when they were coming up. Dave Matlock and Reed Pierce come to mind. These guys played on nothing but bar tables for forever and their games translated fine to the 9 footer later in life. You can learn a lot on the little table.
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Because the balls are closer together on a barbox you need to be able to do a lot of specialty shots. You need to be able to caroom, bank, play combos and be good at breakouts. On a 9 ft table you still need to be able to do everything but the balls have a better chance of being open. Chapelle has a chapter on this in one of his books.
Basically if you can control the cueball neither one should give you any trouble.
Basically if you can control the cueball neither one should give you any trouble.
Housestick said:
Are you serious? Reed won the US Open. David is one of the best all around players in the U.S. David just won the Banks at DCC last year and happens to be one of the best 3 cushion players inthe country. Plus he just happens to play pretty sporty on a snooker table.
Face it, they learned to play on a childs table,got bored, and moved on. There are exceptions, but, bar tables promote nothing more than mediocre play.
Housestick
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ironman said:
I'm well aware of all of those facts ironman...both of those individuals when they were coming up played on bar tables though and they had success in a relatively small amount of time after making the adjustment to bigger tables. Reed hardly ever played on a big table untill a few years before winning that open. And thats a fact. I totally agree with you though, a bar table can only take you so far in most cases, but the previous poster was taking it a little too far. I don't know what you're getting at to be honest with you...what you're saying and what I'm saying are the same thing. Did you read my previous post before I made that comment? I told the guy that a bar table was for amatures. I'm not comparing a bar table to a big table. There is no comparison. I'm just saying that its better than nothing.
Housestick
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Haha..bring it on man...you guys are characters. I'll have your liver flapping on my shaft when I'm done with you son on ANY table.
Housestick
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you edited your post rackem...do you not wanna play me anymore????