best playing table

[Franky]

I play all games and value playability slightly higher than good looks. I'll probably be purchasing a table in the next couple of months so I'm looking for some feedback from people who have played on these tables.

I've heard that the corner pockets on a Diamond can spit out balls hit with moderate speed and above. Is this really an issue? If I shoot the center of the cueball down the rail at a point about half an inch from the point of the facing with a hard centerball stroke, does the ball drop or get spit out? I like the looks of the Diamond pro, but will not purchase one if this ball doesn't drop with regularity.

I've liked the newer Brunswicks too, including the Metro in black.

 

[CaptiveBred]

I dont like Diamonds for a couple reasons -

1 - 1 piece slate is WAY to hard to move. I can move and set up a 3 piece by myself and that, eventually, becomes important. Sooner or later your friends will be dreading that phone call or you will be paying a pro to move it and crack it for you in the process

2 - (This is a big one) Their rails are too wide. This becomes really obvious when you can't stretch for that shot anymore. Diamond rail widths need to be smaller to make the table more playable. Its a playablitiy issue I noticed every single time I played on one.

3 - The ball returns take a lifetime to spit out a ball. It may seem petty but it gets real annoying waiting six months for the CB to pop out after a scratch or waiting a fort night for the 9 to come out so you can rack. The ones I played on really did take a long time. There must be some lengthy, complex, maze under there...


I don't think Diamonds spit well hit balls out. The recut the pocket angle to make up for "tight" pockets. People always say they are tight but never mention the pocket geometry has been changed to accept well hit balls. I think they pocket balls well. Certainly better than shimmed up pockets on Gold Crowns...

Somebody with more table time could tell you better but, IMO, they accept balls as well as you could expect a tight table too...


Gold Crowns and all the clones are my choice. The only thing I do not like are the curved rails. Chalk is always falling off them



All I really care about in a table is -

Level

Table geometry is perfect

Cushions are installed at the correct hight and are of average speed (why would anybody want fast cushions when they will rarely play on another table with them????)

Correctly installed cloth

IMO, all table are capable of that so any slate table has the potential to be a great playing table.


Its the installer who makes, or breaks, the playability of a table. Getting a top notch table mechanic should be your #1 priority in the table purchase decision for a serious player. Everything else in meaningless if it does not play true...

 

[Railbird Hero]

I love the Metro Tournament Edition!! Once YOU own it an PLAY on it you will not even notice tight pockets anymore. Then when you go out to play on another person/poolhalls table it will be like you cant miss if you try. Im exaggerating a little here but there is truth to it. If I had it my way I would have The Metro. Another table I love more than your listed options are Connelys. Built like a bomb shelter. Good Luck.

 

[Fatboy]

Diamond makes the best lights-hands down.

I perfer GC's I like the rails, they are to flat or narrow or something on Diamond tables-infact they might be a better quality table, they look better but I dont like the rails and the deep shelf pockets. I like the GC1's alot, they dont look very good but if you can find one that hasnt been moved a zillion times they are great-Jpinted Cue in Sacramento has them, there might be a few GC2's in there as well, i'm not sure, but the rails on the GC-not the cushion but the rails are what I like, bridging off them is natural to me-I just cant get used to Diamond's.

Diamond is now making a 1pc slate 9' table that will be the standard in tournments(my prediction) because of the ease of setting them up, instead of the 3 piece slates. I just wish their rails were different.

 

[DiamondDave]

Its the installer who makes, or breaks, the playability of a table. Getting a top notch table mechanic should be your #1 priority in the table purchase decision for a serious player. Everything else in meaningless if it does not play true...

I couldn't agree more! As a pool table dealer I will be the first one to tell you this is a FACT!

I've played extensively on Gandys, Diamonds, all the GC's, Metros, Murray, etc. Currently my store has an Olhausen Champion Pro from one of the last Atlantic City Skins Tournys on our showroom floor. This table is the toughest table I've played on including a friends GC with about 3 1/2 inch pockets. Pocket difficulty is determined by the size AND angle of the cushion facing. That Olhausen table will spit out any ball that is not fit perfectly into the pocket because of the way the pockets are cut eventhough the pockets aren't extremely small.

Any reputable pool table manufacturer (hint: avoid EBay like the plague!) makes a well playing table. If properly set up by a skilled installer they will play very well and make the owner very happy. Talk to the people who you buy the table from and try to get a feel for how experienced their installers are. Also, if you are going into a pool table dealers store, look at how well the table in the showroom are put together. Remember this though, most companies, mine included, don't fully assemble there floor tables. What I mean is we don't properly seam the slate. What you want to look at is how well the cushions are covered, how even the fold is in the side pocket, no ripples at the bottom of the cushion, how tight the bed felt is and how tight the felt is inside the pockets. Even though the slate is not properly installed (on floor models) all of these items should be.

Personally my favorite table out of everything out there would be the Metro. To me, its the perfect blend of style, performance and affordability. A commercial grade table that looks that good in the $5k range? Yeah, I'll take mine in Black with 860 Simonis green.

Dave

 

[uwate]

Either a GC or a Diamond for sure, but there is another table that IMO shoots as well as these two. Kim Steele tables (hope I spelled it right). Not even sure if KS tables are still being sold, but the ones I played on were awesome.

 

[NineBallNut]

While the playability of a table is subjective to personal perspectives and quality of setup, I don't think you can go wrong with either the daimond or brunswick gold crown. Diamonds are a tighter playing table than the gold crown and some like that. I like the fact that the metro tournament edition has tighter pockets, I just don't like how the rail curves outward. If they made the gold crown with tighter pockets that would be the nuts! Kind of surprised Olhausen tables weren't mentioned here.

 

[socks]

personally i like olhausen

 

[seymore15074]

I like tight Gold Crowns...the whole "tighter pockets" debait should be left out, ALL tables can be shimmed however you want them...

Oh, and I've had far more balls rattle in a Gold Crown than in a diamond, if you hit the hole on a Diamond, it's in there...

I would figure the main difference is the rails. I'm not sure if they are a slightly different height or thickness or something...but the Diamonds seem to have faster rails; I could be wrong, though.

 

[Andrew Manning]

For the pockets on a Diamond, they'll accept balls very well if you don't hit the adjacent rail on the way in. If you do, however, then the deep shelf comes into play, because as the ball bounces between the facings, there's solid slate under it, instead of the lip on a gold crown that allows those balls to drop. As mentioned already, Diamond has put thought into their pocket geometry to come up with a table that accepts a well-aimed ball, but rejects the sloppy ones. Brunswicks are less predictable, in my experience.

In my opinion, the Diamond rails make a huge difference. For 9-ball playing multi-rail position and a lot of kicks, or for banks and one pocket playing a lot of bank shots, the Diamond rails return the ball with much more predictable speed and angle than Gold Crowns, which are generally full of dead spots.

Also, being a tall player, I like the wider rails of a Diamond. Stretching for shots is rarely an issue for me, and the wider rails make it much easier to put a good stroke on a CB that is on or near the rail, especially if you normally use a slightly longer bridge (mine's 10-13 inches for bed-of-the-table shots).

-Andrew

 

[Black Cat 5791]

For the pockets on a Diamond, they'll accept balls very well if you don't hit the adjacent rail on the way in. If you do, however, then the deep shelf comes into play, because as the ball bounces between the facings, there's solid slate under it, instead of the lip on a gold crown that allows those balls to drop. As mentioned already, Diamond has put thought into their pocket geometry to come up with a table that accepts a well-aimed ball, but rejects the sloppy ones. Brunswicks are less predictable, in my experience.

In my opinion, the Diamond rails make a huge difference. For 9-ball playing multi-rail position and a lot of kicks, or for banks and one pocket playing a lot of bank shots, the Diamond rails return the ball with much more predictable speed and angle than Gold Crowns, which are generally full of dead spots.

Also, being a tall player, I like the wider rails of a Diamond. Stretching for shots is rarely an issue for me, and the wider rails make it much easier to put a good stroke on a CB that is on or near the rail, especially if you normally use a slightly longer bridge (mine's 10-13 inches for bed-of-the-table shots).

-Andrew

I agree with all that you've said, what people missed are the fact that the Diamond table was designed the way it is with a purdpose. The rails were made wider so that bridgeing would be easier, and with more variety. The pockets don't spit balls out, you just need to hit a good shot. The Pro-Am model has the 1 peice slate, the Pro model has a 3 peice slate layout. As for the ball return I don't know, I have drop pockets. The pocket cuts are proprietory to Diamond so that was also done with a purpose. The table is a challenge to play on but, it will make you a better player.

Black Cat

 

[JimS]

For the pockets on a Diamond, they'll accept balls very well if you don't hit the adjacent rail on the way in. If you do, however, then the deep shelf comes into play, because as the ball bounces between the facings, there's solid slate under it, instead of the lip on a gold crown that allows those balls to drop. As mentioned already, Diamond has put thought into their pocket geometry to come up with a table that accepts a well-aimed ball, but rejects the sloppy ones. Brunswicks are less predictable, in my experience.

In my opinion, the Diamond rails make a huge difference. For 9-ball playing multi-rail position and a lot of kicks, or for banks and one pocket playing a lot of bank shots, the Diamond rails return the ball with much more predictable speed and angle than Gold Crowns, which are generally full of dead spots.

Also, being a tall player, I like the wider rails of a Diamond. Stretching for shots is rarely an issue for me, and the wider rails make it much easier to put a good stroke on a CB that is on or near the rail, especially if you normally use a slightly longer bridge (mine's 10-13 inches for bed-of-the-table shots).

-Andrew

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Just about perfectly said. Playing on a Diamond is a challangeing experience but very rewarding when you've played well. The table will take well aimed shots and some poorly aimed shots if the speed is right. If a shot is slightly off the deep shelf will keep it from dropping. The cushions are a joy to play on. YOu can count on shots responding the same time after time and in all circumstances. I've had mine about 5 years now with absolutely no problems.

 

[JoeyInCali]

Gabriel's.

 

[pooltableproCP]

Olhausen...hands down!

 

[shamadam]

O.K. My preference is not at the top, but what you learn on is what you love. I've played on a bunch of older tables, and by far the Gandy Big G is my fave. Now, this is biased because the pool hall that I play at have gold crowns an big G's. Thats all. I've never played on a diamond or a Metro or anything that resembles a new table. LOL. I probably just wasted a bunch of time for everyone.

 

[VIProfessor]

O.K. My preference is not at the top, but what you learn on is what you love. I've played on a bunch of older tables, and by far the Gandy Big G is my fave. Now, this is biased because the pool hall that I play at have gold crowns an big G's. Thats all. I've never played on a diamond or a Metro or anything that resembles a new table. LOL. I probably just wasted a bunch of time for everyone.

The only problem I have with the Gandy table is that the few that I have played on have been absolute buckets! Just shoot from the hip in the vicinity of the hole and you'll be fine. That may be OK for many players, but it just won't prepare you for serious competition, particularly in the present age where 4 1/2 inch pockets are considered more than wide enough!

I can testify that even in the absense of competition on which I could sharpen my axe, the Diamond table with pro pockets significantly improved my game. If you play good position and patterns, and if you strike the ball cleanly, the Diamond table will reward you. If you get sloppy with your pocketing, your angles or your distance, woe be unto you and IMHO, that's the way a table should play.

P.S.--That "strike the ball cleanly" sounded like Billy I., didn't it? Ouch!

 

[Opie]

The only problem I have with the Gandy table is that the few that I have played on have been absolute buckets! Just shoot from the hip in the vicinity of the hole and you'll be fine. That may be OK for many players, but it just won't prepare you for serious competition, particularly in the present age where 4 1/2 inch pockets are considered more than wide enough!

I can testify that even in the absense of competition on which I could sharpen my axe, the Diamond table with pro pockets significantly improved my game. If you play good position and patterns, and if you strike the ball cleanly, the Diamond table will reward you. If you get slopy with your pocketing, your angles or your distance, woe be unto you and IMHO, that's the way a table should play.

P.S.--That "strike the ball cleanly" sounded like Billy I., didn't it? Ouch!

I also have played on Gandy's and it did indeed have buckets. Another thing about the Gandy table was the height of the rails. While Diamonds and GC's play tougher in all other aspects, getting your cueball stuck on the rail on a Gandy leaves you in a much tougher spot than on other tables. I personally think Diamonds play the best overall. Have you ever noticed the difference in a Diamond side pocket and a GC side pocket? The Diamond sides are cut more open than a GC. Even a pro-cut Diamond side will accept many more balls than a loose GC, especially when cutting a ball in at a steep angle. The GC just have bigger, more pointed tits.

 

[BigCat]

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Just about perfectly said. Playing on a Diamond is a challangeing experience but very rewarding when you've played well. The table will take well aimed shots and some poorly aimed shots if the speed is right. If a shot is slightly off the deep shelf will keep it from dropping. The cushions are a joy to play on. YOu can count on shots responding the same time after time and in all circumstances. I've had mine about 5 years now with absolutely no problems.

Agreed. I own a Diamond Pro/Am and it's well worth the challenge.

 

[mikepage]

Gabriel's.

Bingo!

I spoke to Ty Wilson in Vegas last week. Ty owns a wonderful room in Minneapolis (Two Stooges). Several years ago Ty wasn't sure what the best table was, so he bought about a dozen each of Pinnacles (similar to Diamond), GC IVs, Kim Steeles, and Lemachers. Now Ty has only Gabriels.

Ron Dobosenski recently opened a room in and around Madison, WI. When he asked Ty his opinion of the best tables, Ty said Gabriels hands down. And that's what the Blue Chalk Club now has.

 

[jsp]

Bingo!

I spoke to Ty Wilson in Vegas last week. Ty owns a wonderful room in Minneapolis (Two Stooges). Several years ago Ty wasn't sure what the best table was, so he bought about a dozen each of Pinnacles (similar to Diamond), GC IVs, Kim Steeles, and Lemachers. Now Ty has only Gabriels.

Ron Dobosenski recently opened a room in and around Madison, WI. When he asked Ty his opinion of the best tables, Ty said Gabriels hands down. And that's what the Blue Chalk Club now has.

Mike, what is the price of a Gabriel compared to a Diamond Pro?