Does this make shooting 9 ball look easy?

Nine ... corner

BANNED
Silver Member
I've never had the privilage to play this game but really ... it certainly looks like a differerent world than what I'm used to shooting! :o

800px-Snooker_table_selby.jpg
 
It is, indeed! To start with, a 6 x 12 is like a room all by itself. I've only played on one a few times, mostly on 5 x 10. I've played both American and what I guess you'd call International rules.
It actually looks even larger in the picture.
 
Not only is the table enormous, but the balls are smaller and the pockets are too. The rails are rounded into the pocket. If you don't hit the pocket perfectly, the object ball tends to get spit back out. Playing position on a table that large means getting the ball to a place that you can reach.
 
What's the big deal. Even this guy can run out on a snooker table.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpeBugHSCnU

--Jeff

He said in 2005: "At the moment I am an awful pool player. I have got to get used to heavier balls, different angles from the cushions, things like that.
"Snooker players are perfectionists but in pool you leave yourself with shots you would not dream of taking on the snooker table like potting balls off cushions. There is a diamond system to the table which is simple if you know how to work it. If you don't it isn't.
"That's why snooker players get thrashed by American pool players because it is not as easy as it looks. I think there is more luck involved in pool than snooker but I still think there is a tremendous skill level in pool that goes unseen.
"Once I started playing pool over the last couple of weeks I have realised it is a very difficult game and there is an art to it. If you compare it to snooker, with big holes in pool surely you shouldn't miss but it is not as simple as that. There are a lot more tactics to the game - which I need to learn and that will take time."
 
its a wonderful game, i played it lots in the late 80's, it was my favorite. A fw years ago i put a box like the one in the OP in my house but didnt play on it much, my head was into 1P. If I lived in a area where snooker was THE game, i wouldnt miss pool much. Problem is there is 0 snooker where i live and playing both is harder for me now than when i was 19 years old.
 
The last time I played on a snooker table it was awful. The table had the tightest pockets I have ever seen,a ball would just fit in the pocket. If you touched the rail tip,,it did not go in.
I really don't believe they are all like this. I see Osullivan shooting balls in on a run ,,and think of my experience. And I think ,,no way!!! And I mean,,there is no way the table I played on can be the same as the one he is playing on.

I think I was on a bad table!!!lol I swear I could not make a ball if it was 4" from the pocket ,,straight in!!! Or ,,that it was very difficult!! 4" from the pocket,,with BIH and it took total concentration to make the ball!!! lol

I have never played on any other snooker tables,,so it has tainted my opinion on them. lol
 
The last time I played on a snooker table it was awful. The table had the tightest pockets I have ever seen,a ball would just fit in the pocket. If you touched the rail tip,,it did not go in.
I really don't believe they are all like this. I see Osullivan shooting balls in on a run ,,and think of my experience. And I think ,,no way!!! And I mean,,there is no way the table I played on can be the same as the one he is playing on.

I think I was on a bad table!!!lol I swear I could not make a ball if it was 4" from the pocket ,,straight in!!! Or ,,that it was very difficult!! 4" from the pocket,,with BIH and it took total concentration to make the ball!!! lol

I have never played on any other snooker tables,,so it has tainted my opinion on them. lol
That wasn't a snooker table. It was a tricked-up table intended for golf or some other gambling game. The snooker people are very careful about regulation pockets and have templates that tournament tables are to be checked against. There are lots of stories of records not being recognized on snooker tables because they either didn't meet the spec or simply were not checked.
 
I mostly play pool and recently had some snooker session. I must say it has improved my pool game in some areas:

- I was awful with open bridge, but I am more confident with open bridge now
- better center ball, follow and draw shots
- better accuracy, you have to play perfectly accurate shots to pocket balls on a snooker table
- straighter stroke, and more familiar with back pause when stroke

Now I see how some snooker players move to pool and their pool playing looks so effortless.
 
Last edited:
That wasn't a snooker table. It was a tricked-up table intended for golf or some other gambling game. The snooker people are very careful about regulation pockets and have templates that tournament tables are to be checked against. There are lots of stories of records not being recognized on snooker tables because they either didn't meet the spec or simply were not checked.

I am a believer.
 
He said in 2005: "At the moment I am an awful pool player. I have got to get used to heavier balls, different angles from the cushions, things like that.
"Snooker players are perfectionists but in pool you leave yourself with shots you would not dream of taking on the snooker table like potting balls off cushions. There is a diamond system to the table which is simple if you know how to work it. If you don't it isn't.
"That's why snooker players get thrashed by American pool players because it is not as easy as it looks. I think there is more luck involved in pool than snooker but I still think there is a tremendous skill level in pool that goes unseen.
"Once I started playing pool over the last couple of weeks I have realised it is a very difficult game and there is an art to it. If you compare it to snooker, with big holes in pool surely you shouldn't miss but it is not as simple as that. There are a lot more tactics to the game - which I need to learn and that will take time."

Not sure what he meant by this, because a snooker table doesn't have diamonds on it...
 
I used to play snooker until most pool halls nearby got rid of the 6X12s. Snooker is not real popular here in Montreal anymore.

The game is quite different from 9/8 ball. The game is more challenging in some areas but easier on other areas.

In snooker, most shots are made with little English and you almost never force a ball. Cue ball travel after contact is usually left at a minimum. You will rarely see cue ball placement using more than one cushion hit after object ball contact (unless you're running the colors).

Another big difference is that you never worry about pocketing the cue ball. You have to be quite unlucky to pocket the cue ball. When switching from snooker to 9/8 ball, a lot of snooker players will pocket the cue ball quite often during the first few games. This is possibly due to the fact that we play with very little English, natural cuts often gets the cue ball in a pocket on the other side of the table.

Another different aspect of snooker is that the table sits a little higher than a regular 9 ball table (don't have the exact measures, maybe an inch higher). Sounds silly but I find it more tiresome to play on a bar box as opposed to a 6X12 since you have to bend lower (I'm not a flexible guy).

On the tougher side of things, when playing snooker, the cloth used on snooker tables is much heavier. You have to consider the nap (the "hair" direction of the cloth). If you pass your hand in one direction of the table, the cloth will feel smooth. Passing your hand in the other direction of the cloth will fell rough. This makes a big difference in table speed depending on direction and also makes a difference with the way the cue and object balls react to english (side spin). When moving toward the top of the table the cue ball will drift in the same direction as the side applied but when moving toward the baulk cushion the ball drifts in the opposite direction to the side. :)

I used to play with in the 90s with a guy who ran many 147s (shouldn't be hard to figure out who it is). Needless to say he was the best snooker player in Canada back then but was a much weaker when playing 9 ball.

At the end of the day, snooker may be harder but it is harder for your opponent as well. It all comes down to practice.


Cheers
 
I used to play with in the 90s with a guy who ran many 147s (shouldn't be hard to figure out who it is). Needless to say he was the best snooker player in Canada back then but was a much weaker when playing 9 ball.

Never let the truth and professional experience disrupt a good myth, I say.
 
Back
Top