What the table is telling you is that you have a flaw in your stroke, which means a flaw in your set up, which means a flaw in your PSR. Work on that and forget about the shafts, they are not the issue.
Lou Figueroa
Diamond tables
- Thread starter lilspoon
- Start date
What the table is telling you is that you have a flaw in your stroke, which means a flaw in your set up, which means a flaw in your PSR. Work on that and forget about the shafts, they are not the issue.
Lou Figueroa
I had the same fear of diamonds and gradually overcame it.
I still cry when I rattle a ball but I'm working on that (on both the rattling and the crying lol).
So, you asked for thoughts -
1. Diamond's pockets are tighter, but they're also cut a little different, and that's good.
They are cut in a way that helps the ball find the hole once it passes the points and hits a facing.
The #1 trick to not rattling balls on a diamond: don't hit the rail on the way in. Like if you have a ball near the rail
(not necessarily right on it)... don't slop it in the way a lot of people subconsciously do.
Aim for the 'thin side' of the pocket and let it go off the facing and into the hole.
If you aim at the 'fat side' of the pocket and hit the rail, then the facing, it may rattle at higher speeds.
It's ok to hit the outer facing (blue line), avoid hitting the rail on the way in (red line).
2. Shoot softer. It has fast cloth and springy rails. You don't need to crush a ball.
Try not to leave yourself very straight so you can just roll balls in. This makes shotmaking easier
on any table but is especially true on diamonds.
3. The predator is not spinning balls out of the hole.
I dunno who told you that about Z2's or if you came up with it yourself, but it's a classic example
of pool players coming up with wacky equipment excuses. A ball that hits the facing will not stay up
due to some tiny difference in spin. If it stays up it's because you missed and needed to aim
closer to the heart of the pocket. Most shots are moving too fast for spin
to grab a facing and change the path in any way, and your Z2 is not wildly different from a 314.
4. Switching back and forth between shafts will hurt your game. Pick one and stick to it.
You will only kill yourself with doubt and excuses if you keep switching. I've seen it firsthand,
guys who shoot good but keep agonizing over which shaft to use. Every time they miss a ball they go
to the other shaft (instead of working on the REAL problem that caused them to miss).
Your game will only go up once you take away the shaft excuse and just stick to one until
it's part of your arm. It doesn't matter which one you choose, they both can put balls in the hole.
Just pick one, then sell, give away, or burn the other one. Do not keep it in your bag
or you will be tempted to switch back and forth, and this will hold your game back by at least a ball.
Beat me to it... ^^^^^^ What he said...
Scott
Stick with it, you will come out a much better player than you were before. One month is NOTHING! It's taken me three years to really come to grips with my Diamond monster table, with 4.25" pockets. I admit it, I'm playing pretty good right now. You will hear from me again in the near future. I'm not quite done yet as a pool player. One last dance for me. :wink:
Well first off, you went from a 8ft. to a 9ft. table. The old 8ft. had 5 inch pockets, your new table has 4 1/2 inch pockets. Plus, the pockets are cut a lil different angle. Basically,it's a tougher table than you are used to playing on.
Once you get to playing well on your new table, the other tables will be that much easier to pocket balls.
I've had my Diamond for about 6 years now, my game has jumped up noticeably
I was thinking much the same. There is a huge diffenence playing on an 8 footer VS a 9 footer. If you get out of line, it's much more difficult to get back inline on a 9 footer, plus if you aren't pulling decent shape,those longer shots will begin taking their toll. Me personally, I don't change equipment as this is just another variable to make things more difficult. I would suggest starting with some easy shots, and progressively move the cue ball farther away so the shot becomes harder. You will find a point that you consistency starts to suffer. You wouldn't think that the added distance of a 9 foot VS an 8 foot would make that much difference, but it does. Hang in there and don't get discouraged.
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Well, all the cool kids are 36 - great age. I abhor the thought of turning 37 in May.
Congrats on your improvement. It sure makes the game more fun doen't it!
Cheers and happy shooting,
JL
.I had the same fear of diamonds and gradually overcame it.
I still cry when I rattle a ball but I'm working on that (on both the rattling and the crying lol).
So, you asked for thoughts -
1. Diamond's pockets are tighter, but they're also cut a little different, and that's good.
They are cut in a way that helps the ball find the hole once it passes the points and hits a facing.
The #1 trick to not rattling balls on a diamond: don't hit the rail on the way in. Like if you have a ball near the rail
(not necessarily right on it)... don't slop it in the way a lot of people subconsciously do.
Aim for the 'thin side' of the pocket and let it go off the facing and into the hole.
If you aim at the 'fat side' of the pocket and hit the rail, then the facing, it may rattle at higher speeds.
It's ok to hit the outer facing (blue line), avoid hitting the rail on the way in (red line).
2. Shoot softer. It has fast cloth and springy rails. You don't need to crush a ball.
Try not to leave yourself very straight so you can just roll balls in. This makes shotmaking easier
on any table but is especially true on diamonds.
3. The predator is not spinning balls out of the hole.
I dunno who told you that about Z2's or if you came up with it yourself, but it's a classic example
of pool players coming up with wacky equipment excuses. A ball that hits the facing will not stay up
due to some tiny difference in spin. If it stays up it's because you missed and needed to aim
closer to the heart of the pocket. Most shots are moving too fast for spin
to grab a facing and change the path in any way, and your Z2 is not wildly different from a 314.
4. Switching back and forth between shafts will hurt your game. Pick one and stick to it.
You will only kill yourself with doubt and excuses if you keep switching. I've seen it firsthand,
guys who shoot good but keep agonizing over which shaft to use. Every time they miss a ball they go
to the other shaft (instead of working on the REAL problem that caused them to miss).
Your game will only go up once you take away the shaft excuse and just stick to one until
it's part of your arm. It doesn't matter which one you choose, they both can put balls in the hole.
Just pick one, then sell, give away, or burn the other one. Do not keep it in your bag
or you will be tempted to switch back and forth, and this will hold your game back by at least a ball.
My advice is to read and take to heart everything that Creedo says. That was a great post Creedo.
kollegedave
I still 3 fouled him on his birthday, right or wrong
jtarewicz15
Registered
In 8-12 mo your potting ability is going to jump a full speed. I'd kill for a 9' Diamond in my house. I'd even doub shim the pockets
Congratulations on your improvement!!!
You have done well, but I'm sure others that get a Diamond and go through the same injury to confidence will find this thread and benefit from all the excellent advice given so far.
One thing I'd like to add:
If it gets to the point that you are scared of your new Diamond table, find a really excellent player in your area, and have him (or her) come over to your place for a couple of hours.
Seeing someone else run racks on your table will eliminate distrust in your pockets, force you to confront your stroke/aiming flaws, and encourage you to keep improving.
Even after owning my Diamond for 9 years or so, I wasn't fully adapted until nineball6970, RFranklin, Thin_Ice, and a few others I met on AZB came over and showed me how to take control of the table and run racks on it. My game has improved a LOT since then.
-Blake
You have done well, but I'm sure others that get a Diamond and go through the same injury to confidence will find this thread and benefit from all the excellent advice given so far.
One thing I'd like to add:
If it gets to the point that you are scared of your new Diamond table, find a really excellent player in your area, and have him (or her) come over to your place for a couple of hours.
Seeing someone else run racks on your table will eliminate distrust in your pockets, force you to confront your stroke/aiming flaws, and encourage you to keep improving.
Even after owning my Diamond for 9 years or so, I wasn't fully adapted until nineball6970, RFranklin, Thin_Ice, and a few others I met on AZB came over and showed me how to take control of the table and run racks on it. My game has improved a LOT since then.
-Blake
True that. John Brumback came over to my basement ring game and ran out on my diamond pro so much that it was sick. Great players are great on any table, period. And yes, I had way too much fun donating that day.