I completely disagree with your view of league and pro cut. I’m not a top player and I can tell the difference. Buy your view top players wouldn’t know the difference between 4 1/4 and 4 1/2 either. Even the wannabes know a tight table from a loose one, not that 4 3/4 is loose, it’s no bucket for sure. Even 4 3/4 limits banking and takeouts playing 1P. That’s why I said 4 1/2 will work for all games. I thought you’re a top player and you wouldn’t notice?
Maybe that’s a good thing if you don’t want you guests coming over all the time!
My point is, all three cuts are going to be pretty demanding. None of them play as easy as a Brunswick which was the standard for generations.
Just think if you only had a snooker table to play on you’d probably quit playing pool
Some of those Brunswick’s, Gandy’s, and Ohausen have goofy pocket angles and spit out balls like crazy. Yes the Diamond tables generally play tougher.
and yeah, when I'm dialed in, I've gone entire sets without noticing I was playing on 4" pockets. That's just how it feels sometimes. When you're playing well, either you're hitting them clean or you're not. There's not a whole lot of in-between.
Very good point about 14.1 and to a lesser extent 8 ball where there is more traffic and the larger pocket offers more angles. That’s why I believe 4 1/2 is the best compromise for all games.
I agree. There are certain approaches where you hit the facing of the pocket on a Brunswick and it'll rattle. Hit the same spot from another angle and it goes right in. Usually on Diamonds, when you hit the facing, it goes in.
That depends on what your goals are in 14.1. 4.5" for 14.1 is *very* challenging. Most 14.1 players insist on playing on 5" pockets (even bigger, sometimes). I'm not sure what the specs were for Schmidt's runs but I'l bet it was bigger than 4.5". For any straight pool players looking to buy a Diamond, I would strongly recommend league cut.
i actually play at a room with pro cut diamonds and a new room opened near me with league cut (8 foots though). If you can think of a test that’s easy to set-up and isn’t table size specific, I’ll post video.
Yes 1/4 inch is a big difference. I would say 75% of all the balls I miss would have gone in with another 1/4 inch of pocket opening. Buy the pro pockets they really aren't that tight.
Keep in mind the age of the Simonis since it was installed will affect the forgiveness of the pockets. I would say league cut pockets with one year-old Simonis will play as tough if not tougher than pro cut pockets with brand new Simonis. There is that big of a difference in how forgiving a pocket will play based on how new/old the cloth is.
