sellingboe
Active member
Informal poll here. Perpendicular to the wall, how much space you need for your stroke when frozen to the side and end rails? Is it different because of the distance factor between the two?
How much space for backstroke?
- Thread starter sellingboe
- Start date
What "distance factor"? "Between the two" whats?
In general, I think 6" is plenty.
pj
chgo
I agree with 6". For table spacing, take the surface dimensions of the table (e.g., 50" x 100" for a 9' table), add the length of a cue (58" for me) to each side, and then add 6" to each side for a backswing, and you have good minimum dimensions for space for a table. In this example that is 178" x 228", or 14'10" x 19', for a 9' table.
That's exactly what I used for my table and have had no issues. I don't even have to think about the walls. Also, when I'm frozen to the rail I generally elevate the cue some and use a shorter back stroke so could perhaps get away with an inch, maaaybe two inches less space on each side. But I can also accommodate someone with a 59" cue, or a longer back stroke, etc, if needed.
Shane, with his perma-extension, would not be happy on my table, however.
That's exactly what I used for my table and have had no issues. I don't even have to think about the walls. Also, when I'm frozen to the rail I generally elevate the cue some and use a shorter back stroke so could perhaps get away with an inch, maaaybe two inches less space on each side. But I can also accommodate someone with a 59" cue, or a longer back stroke, etc, if needed.
Shane, with his perma-extension, would not be happy on my table, however.
Ideally, if you put your 58” cue (counting bumper) up against the wall horizontally, the tip should come to the outside edge of the rail which should be 5-6 inches, more like 7-8 inches if it’s a commercial table, which is plenty. You can get by with 4” if that’s all you have.
I like not only enough room to stroke but also enough that I don't feel crowded by the wall. I suppose that's more of a problem for tall people with wide stances. And then there are the methodical players I've seen who stand back from each shot and step into it along the shot line. They need even more space to operate.
As a comfortable but not roomy distance, I'll vote for 60 inches all around the outside of the table.
As a comfortable but not roomy distance, I'll vote for 60 inches all around the outside of the table.
This is your best answer. I'm like Bob here. In my opinion, given the choice, you want a lot more room. The best home room set-ups I've seen always have tons of space, to the point where you don't even have to ask the question, "will this table fit?"
Every person buys a table for a different list of reasons but try to remember the most important thing - will your home table make you want to play at home more? If you can't get to the poolroom, then the answer is an easy yes. If you have a great poolroom to go to and you can go any time you want, you have to make your home table BETTER or you're not going to use it.
Too often, I see people try to make home pool tables work in a space that simply can't handle it. Be realistic. If you can't make it your favorite table to play on, maybe it's not worth doing.
This is a bit off topic, but I read a biography on Allen Hopkins written by his brother. If you have ever watched Allen play then you know he has a unique stroke with little back swing. The reason is because when he was growing up they put a pool table downstairs that didn't have much cueing room and Allen learned to generate power with little back swing.
Ideally.....8-10”.
With Cb under the rail, I found it's best to use a real short backswing. Better chance of straight cue action.
I find this one of the places it is nice to have a slipstroke in your arsenal. It feels much more like a normal stroke when your arm and hand moves much the same and you can generate plenty of power.
On the subject of the thread, I like enough room around the table that I can forget about walls or obstacles. When I was a much younger fella I would get tired of people standing very near or even leaning on the pool table to talk in bars. Careful alignment, a cue butt to the short ribs, a profuse apology! "I didn't realize you had gotten so close to the table, that can be dangerous you know!"
If you have to think about the wall or other obstacles when shooting your space isn't big enough.
Hu
In pool halls in the Netherlands, it's not uncommon that the tables are placed so close to eachother that you have to sit on the rail of the adjacent table to be able to reach your CB if it's under the rail or close to it. That's because room owners want to cram as many tables as they can into their room of course, and you can't fault them for it. Is that generally the same in the US?
These days more players are playing with extensions on their cues full time. I know for my home room people have to unscrew them and shoot with a standard 57", sometimes even with a slightly impaired backswing. For a tournament table I'd expect more room. So you could say in a dream world you'd want over a foot, but in the real world we all have to balance a lot of factors.
Thank Goodness these places are rarely encountered in the US! My part anyway. Sometimes when a place opens that is primarily a bar and has a pool room or pool area they jam in the tables like this. Unhappy customers usually force a change when tables are jammed too close together.
Thank you for a glimpse of how things are in the Netherlands. I take it for granted that I will play on tables with adequate spacing around them and am rarely disappointed.
Hu
I do fault them for it because they do not give their customers a nice experience. Maybe it's OK for those who don't take the game seriously, but I think most serious players would go out of their way to find some other room.
I have had to sit on the neighboring table in the US but not for a few decades.
Speaking only about the poolhall I play at, I know that about 80-90% of the customers are recreative players who barely know which end of the cue to chalk. They don't mind that the next table is close to their table. And at weekend nights it gets real crowded with people (mostly youngsters) trying to have a good time, all tables are occupied all night long. So from the room owner's standpoint, I get that he would rather have more tables in there than provide a great experience for the serious players.
Going to another poolhall won't do me any good, since it's gonna be the same there anyway. So I put up with it, I just go in the afternoons when it's not crowded and play always on the same table, which is the one with the most room around it.