Buy a carom or pool table?

[pt109]

For my home, I have the room for either.

I've had many many discussions about this, pros and cons for each option.

What do you think?

Get a 5x10 Brunswick...preferably an Anniversary...but a Gold Crown will do also.
you can get three sets of rails....pool, snooker, and 3-cushion...I would think some billiard restoration sites will have them....if you can get an Anniversary, fill those hollow legs with sandbags for extra weight.

 

[fastone371]

Get a 5x10 Brunswick...preferably an Anniversary...but a Gold Crown will do also.
you can get three sets of rails....pool, snooker, and 3-cushion...I would think some billiard restoration sites will have them....if you can get an Anniversary, fill those hollow legs with sandbags for extra weight.

View attachment 610725

Such a beautiful table.

 

[Black-Balled]

Such a beautiful table.

But too big for this thread!

 

[pt109]

But too big for this thread!

Op says a 10 foot will fit.

 

[Black-Balled]

Op says a 10 foot will fit.

And so he does.

Oopsie me.

 

[Quesports]

If I had that 'enviable' choice. I would probably get a ten foot Verhoeven. There are pool tables just about everywhere.

Carom is such an elegant game especially when it is played at a high level. I miss the days of playing at Chris's on Milwaukee Ave. As much as I like pool and I love pool, but at home a carom table would be so freaking cool. Put in a nice air handler, light up a good cigar and pour your favorite bourbon and play some carom with a good friend. Yeah that is what I would want all day and night!

 

[KissedOut]

Is the carom table going to be a 10'heated table?

If not, no carom table.

Disagree. The perfect is the enemy of the good.

 

[KissedOut]

Why not a barbox then?

Seriously: if you can't do a 10' modern carom table, don't bother. If 9 is as big as you can go, stick to pool table.

Most European 3C players start out on 8 foot tables. When I went to the 3C World Championship in Bordeaux I met a guy from Holland who told me that hed́ been playing 3C for years but had only been allowed to play on a 10 foot table for the last couple of years. In his club you have to achieve a certain average (0.5?) before you are allowed to move up from 8 ft. to 10 ft. In Europe they also have serious tournaments with well known players on 8 footers. And I just posted a Caudron run of 32 on an 8 footer. If it is good enough for Freddie . . .

Your comment is akin to saying if you can´t buy a 9 foot Diamond pool table don´t bother getting anything. Snobbishness of the highest degree.

Plus, I go back to the fact that you can find places to play pool pretty easily, but having even an 8 foot carom table is a wonderful rare thing.

 

[KissedOut]

Get a 5x10 Brunswick...preferably an Anniversary...but a Gold Crown will do also.
you can get three sets of rails....pool, snooker, and 3-cushion...I would think some billiard restoration sites will have them....if you can get an Anniversary, fill those hollow legs with sandbags for extra weight.

View attachment 610725

The problems with that theory are

1) changing rails takes significant efforts, and

2) there is no cloth that is suitable for all three disciplines.

 

[pt109]

The problems with that theory are

1) changing rails takes significant efforts, and

2) there is no cloth that is suitable for all three disciplines.

Paul Schofield changes his 5x10 to a carom table in the summer at GC Billiards.
...a couple times a year is not a hardship.
You can save the cloth as you change.

personally, I wouldn’t change the cloth...I’ve played 9-ball and one pocket and snooker on carom cloth..
....I like it.

 

[Black-Balled]

Most European 3C players start out on 8 foot tables. When I went to the 3C World Championship in Bordeaux I met a guy from Holland who told me that hed́ been playing 3C for years but had only been allowed to play on a 10 foot table for the last couple of years. In his club you have to achieve a certain average (0.5?) before you are allowed to move up from 8 ft. to 10 ft. In Europe they also have serious tournaments with well known players on 8 footers. And I just posted a Caudron run of 32 on an 8 footer. If it is good enough for Freddie . . .

Your comment is akin to saying if you can´t buy a 9 foot Diamond pool table don´t bother getting anything. Snobbishness of the highest degree.

Plus, I go back to the fact that you can find places to play pool pretty easily, but having even an 8 foot carom table is a wonderful rare thing.

Can't say any of that is wrong, but I would still want a 10' billiard table...and a 9' pool table.

 

[erriep]

Most European 3C players start out on 8 foot tables. When I went to the 3C World Championship in Bordeaux I met a guy from Holland who told me that hed́ been playing 3C for years but had only been allowed to play on a 10 foot table for the last couple of years. In his club you have to achieve a certain average (0.5?) before you are allowed to move up from 8 ft. to 10 ft. In Europe they also have serious tournaments with well known players on 8 footers. And I just posted a Caudron run of 32 on an 8 footer. If it is good enough for Freddie . . .

Your comment is akin to saying if you can´t buy a 9 foot Diamond pool table don´t bother getting anything. Snobbishness of the highest degree.

Plus, I go back to the fact that you can find places to play pool pretty easily, but having even an 8 foot carom table is a wonderful rare thing.

some years ago in France, about straight rail ranking, when playing on small tables (9' aka 2m80) you had to reach >20.00 general average in a round robin official tournament (game in 200 points , big corners) during a season to be able to compete the next year on 10' tables aka 3m10 .

Believe me or not , to reach 20 general average isn't easy (!!!) in a 8 player round robin tournament . ( 20.00 average meaning 200 points in 10 innings ). It took me years of daily training and some tournaments ...
Many players never reach this average, because it soooo hard to learn the technics, the tactics and to pratice a lot . And you have to find good partners to play/train in your poolroom ! Straight rail is an extremely difficult discipline IMHO , and that's why small games are slowly dying in Europe...IMHO.

(at 3 cushion, if my memory is good, 25 years ago you had to reach 0.600 general average on 9' tables (30 points) to be able to compete the next season on 10')

8' or 9' carom tables are perfect to train at straight rail and balkline when you are a "normal" player !
(except when you are Belgian or Dutch , so, not a normal player then <-- Belgians are incredibly strong small games players )

 

[Texas Carom Club]

Playing straight rail for the last 5 yrs, I concur, reaching 20 points for general average is freaking tough.


Agree with everything he said
Belgians and dutch are the best. Shame these great games don't get the praise they deserve, they are so hard and not as sexy as 3c, very easy to quit and give up on them.