What is the correct shelf depth for corner pockets of most pool tables? Mine is a 9 ft Diamond pro am. It has 2” depth. And I measured it correctly! Plays pretty bad imo. Of coarse I’m old and will never play pro status but would still like for a ball to go when it’s hit pretty good but they won’t.
Corner pocket shelf
- Thread starter gbs52
- Start date
There's not really a standard. You can check a bunch of real-world examples here:
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
I'm guessing you have pro cut pockets (4 1/2"). It's not much help now but you should have ordered league cut (4 3/4") or 5" pockets from the factory. The pro cut is quite a bit more difficult, the opening is smaller obviously but combined with deep shelves you can definitely hang balls. I like it but I can see having a different preference.
They have deeper shelves than coin ops and other brands but they are a fair pocket.
Silicone the jaws and shoot softer.
Yes they are 4 1/2” pockets. I had an 8 ft Diamond with 4 1/2” pro cut pockets. The shelf was about 1 1/4” rather than the 2” I have now. It played the way a table should imo. I’ve talked to other 9 ft. Diamond pro am owners with supposedly same specs. They say theirs don’t play so badly as mine. They have played on mine but I haven’t played on theirs. It will probably be leaving. I watch the pros play a lot. I don’t see the same hanging up balls as I have at all. I talked to Diamond which was useless. Table only 5 mo old.
What's your avg humidity? Also, try polishing the balls. They'll bounce deader but drop more easily. I still think wiping silicone on the facings would be the easiest fix.
The best fix IMO is CPG. Simply shoot straighter.
The best fix IMO is CPG. Simply shoot straighter.
Not sure I can agree that a league cut, 4 3/4" Diamond will play easier than a pro cut 4 1/2" will. In my experience with the two tables that would not be true. I have a Diamond Professional league cut 4 3/4", bought new at the start of covid at home, and also play one of my leagues on Diamond Pro Am's with pro cut 4 1/2" pockets. Balls are noticeably easier to pocket on the 4 1/2" pro cut pockets, with less rattling of the balls. Yes the 4 3/4" league cut pockets are easier to hit a ball in, but they rattle more.
My league play starts the beginning of September to the end of April so I have a lot of experience on both. Not only that we have fellow league players at our house to play at times and they also comment on how our league cut pockets play harder.
It will be interesting this year as the other league we play has ordered new Diamond tables to replace the Valley tables they had.
My take now on this is, if I were to ever order a Diamond table for home again, it would be with the pro cut pockets.
My local spot has 9' Pros(original models)/7' ProAms with the big pockets and a 9' ProAm with ProCuts. The league cuts are like shooting into a laundry basket. The ProCut 9footer is a great table, tough but fair. There is no way the League cuts play tougher than ProCuts. Never noticed ANY undue 'rattling' on the big pocket models. If you're missing balls on LC's you just play bad.
I gotta agree with Czar of Gars above, I occasionally play in Waukesha where they have a hall with league cut Diamonds albeit bar boxes but they played considerably easier than the "normal" pro cut Diamond bar boxes. if there is one thing I can say about Diamond is that their tables are very uniform (red to red, blue to blue at least). Most times when I see a ball rattle on a Diamond its because they shot the ball too hard and hit the rail a diamond from the pocket, you cant expect to make those shots on a Diamond, maybe a Valley but not a Diamond, that's just playing fair if you ask me. To me there is nothing more unfair than to see a ball swallowed up by a pocket that hits the rail a foot or more from the pocket.
Attention to “table difficulty” is getting in the weeds. If you have a table that is “difficult” as far as pocket size or deep shelf pockets it’s only going to make you a better player if you play on it consistently. You will subconsciously make adjustments that it will naturally be part of your game in time. You will be pocketing balls in the ocean when you play on other tables if your attention is placed on the right things. If the table is in a poolroom and you are competing on the table you have to realize that your competition is also playing on the same table. You are on the same obstacle course, the track is the same length, you are shooting at the same targets. For the most part, the only table that is difficult is a crooked table. There is way too much in the game of pool to think about to let “table difficulty” to creep into your mind if you want to improve. Excuses are everywhere if you are looking for one. You are lucky to be able to practice on a table that plays “tough”… it only makes you stronger. Table Difficulty is a made up thing that is a distraction. Stay out of the weeds.
Last edited:
I agree to what most think without playing on this particular table you really don’t know for sure. I’ve played on others just like mine that does not play like this one. Those table owners agree too that mine doesn’t play like theirs. I watch a lot of pool and I see balls going in constantly that will not on this one. I know it sounds like I’m a cry baby but I wish some of you lived close enough to give an on the table evaluation. I’m in south central Ky.
How is the table oriented in the room?
Pros with brand new, ultra slick cloth and their ability to use "helping english"and speed to make balls will make it look easy.
Can have the bull nose at the shelf edge slate cut back some. We had a room owner do this on Diamonized Gold Crowns and it made a notable difference.
A brand new set of quality balls, with a brand new cloth, and perfect climate control low humidity all will cause balls to enter pockets much easier than a set of table and equipment circumstances that are polar opposite of this set - up. When I watch many pro events on the tube, I see balls hit a half diamond away on the rail from the pocket and still go into named table 4 1/2 inch pockets.
Going into most rooms today with Diamond 4 1/2 inch pockets- if the room does not maintain pro tournament type table and ball set- up and climate control-------- you will be totally frustrated as the pockets will reject balls that one sees the pros pocket on TV.
THIS is my main issue with Diamond 4 1/2 tables in MOST commercial rooms- the maintenance standards are not sustained for the benefit of players who desire to be more serious about their play.
For rooms that I see using sloppy table mechanics to " convert" Gandy's , Brunswick's etc. to Diamond pro cut imitations- the results are even worse - tables that I would not gamble even 5 cents on- bc the results on every shot are so unpredictable in every way!
Going into most rooms today with Diamond 4 1/2 inch pockets- if the room does not maintain pro tournament type table and ball set- up and climate control-------- you will be totally frustrated as the pockets will reject balls that one sees the pros pocket on TV.
THIS is my main issue with Diamond 4 1/2 tables in MOST commercial rooms- the maintenance standards are not sustained for the benefit of players who desire to be more serious about their play.
For rooms that I see using sloppy table mechanics to " convert" Gandy's , Brunswick's etc. to Diamond pro cut imitations- the results are even worse - tables that I would not gamble even 5 cents on- bc the results on every shot are so unpredictable in every way!
That pocket is definitely out of spec for BCAPL/CSI play. WPA says pocket shelf measured from a line nose corner to corner to the shelf should be less than 2.25". Maybe it passes WPA spec. Close.
Here’s something that comes to my mind. How many pros are buying a Diamond table that plays as tough as mine does? They make 3,500 plus tables a year. Are most tables going to pros that can shoot dead straight and apply lots of English on a long shot and still pocket the ball or are most sold to average pool players. How many are really pros out of 400 or so at the major tournaments? If this is their standard, I just wish Diamond would make it clear to buyers how tuff the table is going to play before they spend a lot of money. These tables are a quality tables built here in our great USA. Personally for myself if knowing what I know I would have purchased something else. Instead of selling and taking a beating, I’ve actually been thinking of trying to cut these 2” shelves back to 1 1/4”.
Comparing this picture to one of my table and they look the same. I have never measured the shelf on my table so I can’t say for sure but the biggest problem I have pocketing balls on my table is me.
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
That looks like mine. Are all pockets the same? Could the installer not have centered the rail bolts in the slate holes? If they were pushed to one side it could make one end of the table have slightly deeper shelves.
I'm not trying to be disparaging but it could be technique. I don't know your skill level so please don't take this as an insult if you know these things. There is a sweet spot to hit the pocket and it varies wildly depending on where you're shooting the ball from. On some shots you have to shoot off the pocket facing away from the rail for the pocket to accept the ball.
With less deep shelves that stuff doesn't matter as much and pockets will pretty much accept any shot. On deep shelves you have to play the pocket depending on the angle. In other words, center pocket isn't the same center pocket from everywhere. You have to shoot at the most accepting part of the pocket and sometimes even use helping english.
As previously stated as your table gets wear/dirt the pockets become more difficult. I've had good luck rubbing them with a microfiber cloth, but you could put light silicone spray on them.
If you've not shampooed your cloth it really helps too. Do it after a play session and let it dry overnight. You basically put a cap full of woolite in about a gallon bucket of water as hot as you can stand to dip your hand in. Use a microfiber cloth and wring it out as much as you can then evenly wipe the cloth with it. Do a couple diamonds length on your table then rinse and wring out again and continue the process. Cleaning your table this way makes a world of difference. I don't really do the rails but I do clean the facings when I do this. I use V10 chalk so I only do this once every 6 months or so. Back when using Masters I had to do this every month and you would be surprised how blue the water would get, even with vacuuming the table at least once a week.
For regular cleaning I use a "Roomba" style vacuum, it was just under $100 at Walmart. Just set it on the table at the end of the session and let it work. It can even clean with the lights off.