Going from 9' to bar box problem

nelldrake

nelldrake

Waterskier/pool addict
Silver Member
I sometimes have problems after playing on a 9' table for about four hours then going to the 7' for APA league match. I can be shooting really well (for me) on the 9'. Then when I get on the 7' I can't seem to do well at all. This doesn't always happen but enough to concern me. Can anyone shed any light on this? Maybe my expectations of shooting well are too high or maybe I am just tired. This is really puzzling me.:(
 
Do you have to play your league matches on the 7'? Room rule? LO rule?

This always confuses me, as we have pretty much all 9's here, which is what we play APA on as well.

No advice from me, I've played one time on a 7' table. I'll be interested in the responses.
 
you need better speed control and the ability to adjust quicker for it.

besides that theres no diff except for the fact that you will shoot at the side pockets more on the BB than on the Bigtrack, but be careful as the side pocket shots have a tendency to leave you less options for position depending on how you get on the ball.
 
agree!

speed control much too underestimated. Think the drills to learn really speed-control are just showing to clear, how bad some ppl play-and then they change back to hammer some 9-ball :)

lg
Ingo
 
APA on 9' versus 7' tables

All of our APA matches are played on 7' Diamonds. You can shoot your match on the 9' (we have two) if the other player agrees but they are accustomed to the 7 footers and are afraid of the 9 footers. (Especially against someone who spends a lot of time playing 14.1 and one pocket on the big table...lol)
 
I am working on speed control, Grey Ghost, by playing one pocket. BTW I watched one of your one pocket matches on Ustream. You shoot great... I like your hat!
 
You are right, Ratta. I am trying to get better at cueball control (speed, etc.).
 
nelldrake said:
All of our APA matches are played on 7' Diamonds. You can shoot your match on the 9' (we have two) if the other player agrees but they are accustomed to the 7 footers and are afraid of the 9 footers. (Especially against someone who spends a lot of time playing 14.1 and one pocket on the big table...lol)
Click to expand...

Gotcha!

Interesting.
 
There can be some very huge differences, depending on what kind of tables you are playing on. We recently had to travel to a room with Valley bar tables (our room is all Brunswick 9 footers) and there was immediately a problem with the oversize cue ball. This ball requires you to adjust your aiming on all cut shots, because the oversize ball changes the actual contact point when you aim your shot. Another problem can be with a heavier cue ball which will be harder to control your draw.

You didn't say if you play 8 ball or 9 ball, but smaller tables will often hit you with another problem....more clusters. A 9 foot table has about 36 sq feet of playing surface...a 7 footer has about 25 sq feet. That is HUGE!!! There is much less room for all those balls on the smaller tables, so they tend to be a lot closer to each other.

People seem to think that a smaller table is automatically easier, but if you aren't ready for them, they can drive you nuts. If you play a lot of league matches on the bar tables, you probably want to get some practice time in on them.

There is a lot to adjust to when you move from one size table to another.

Steve
 
nelldrake said:
I am working on speed control, Grey Ghost, by playing one pocket. BTW I watched one of your one pocket matches on Ustream. You shoot great... I like your hat!
Click to expand...

That is good remember speed control is the core of what you do with the CB, if you can't control the rock its always a crapshoot.

Thanks for the compliment by the way, that must have been one of the mini tournaments. I never played on the tv table during the main event but i believe i played like 4 matches on the tv table the during the 3 mini's.

As for the hat I love that thing got it up in colorado some years back, alot of times when i shoot ill take it off and put all my stuff in my pockets in it, lol its like a travel bag for my phone and smokes and such.

That little red/white jacket i wear often when i play as well. I often get very cold in places and I'll really start to shake bad bad bad and it very much affects my play. The jacket is light and fits well so it doesn't hamper my movements or get in the way of my stroke.

I wish ray had saved the video of the matches I would have really have liked to have gotten a copy to review. I darn sure wish they had put me on the tv table when i played dennis strickland as I won that match going 7 and out, 7 and out....jesus everything went perfect the way i picked it apart and i froze him every time.....tho he only shot 3 or 4 times lol. He says "dam kid how good do you shoot?" lol nice compliment....then gabe and ralphie shot my nuts off lol.....so is life :)

-Grey Ghost-
 
for me I don't see much of a difference... only rare shots on a 9 footer are more than 7 feet anyway... if you are playing good position it's a non issue..

1 rail position . no difference.. 2 rail position no difference...


3 rail position... well ok there is your one glaring difference.. so thats the one I use to tune my speed..

get good at 3 rail kicks on your home table... then bounce a few 3 railers to warm up....:thumbup:
 
Thanks, Steve, for responding. To clarify, I was playing on a Diamond 9' and moved to another tavern with 7' Diamonds. Cueballs were identical. This doesn't always happen but it did Thursday night and I really am at a loss as to why my game fell apart. Sometimes I shoot well on the 7' Diamonds but this time I couldn't seem to get my act together. Might have just been a bad night and the move to a different environment. Only the pool gods know.
nelldrake@lakemartin.net
P.S. This afternoon I will be playing 14.1 and one pocket on the 9' Diamond and will move to the 7' Diamond at the same pool hall for APA league. I will see what happens.
 
If that is the case, I think the biggest part of the problem you are running into is that there is much less space to work in, so there are more clusters, and close balls, and less room to maneuver the cue ball around the table.

Most players will have a preference for one or the other. But it is definitely a different game on the smaller tables.

Steve
 
Yes, I do definitely prefer a 9' table but I was just missing shots that are easy for me (on the 7') and then I think I got frustrated and started shooting too hard which only compounded the problem. Tonight I will think about what I am doing and try to concentrate more on the shots and letting go of that horrible night last Thursday.
Nell
 
I have had issues when I go from 9's to 7's as well.

One thing that has helped me is adjusting my bridge to fit the table a bit. My natural bridge is about 12" with a long stroke. When I get on a small table I cut my bridge and stroke down a bit. It seems like that helps my speed control and accuracy on the bar boxes.
 
yep

9 ft= wide open
7 ft = congestion
as a result, position is even more reliant on speed control. less is more.
the cueballs can get you as well.
 
One major difference is on the 9 footer you can usually get the cue down pretty level with a nice smooth stroke.

On the bar table your kind of jacked up a little because it's short and the rails are closer.

This change is huge. We used to say he has that little bar table stroke.
 
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