Hi Duke,
I'd like to state this first: I have watched your videos and have most respect for your judgement and 14.1 skill.
That being said, I don't know if you would offer this up to a whole world of top flight snooker players used to 12' tables, 3.5" pockets and slow cloth...I can think of a few of them who could probably run 100 on the 4" 5x10! Recently I played on a 12' table for 2 hrs, three days in a row and on the end of the third night went over to a GCIII with 4.5" pockets and it looked like a sandbox, almost a joke really. It made me feel so silly thinking I was good when I ran 50 balls on a 9' table. Really, compared to the skill, accuracy and fundamental technique required by that snooker equipment, the 9' table is a relative 'joke'. Just saying, 5x10 is tough, 4" pockets with 2.25" balls is tough but pro snooker equip is even tougher and guys are putting up 147's in pressure situations...
Pool table may look like sandbox but did you make huge runs after playing snooker?
snooker pockets are tighter but balls are also smaller and at snooker you only need to go rack once or twice per frame.
I practice some times snooker also because it sharpens fundamentals.
Shotmaking is more difficult in snooker but game structure is that you don´t need to shoot hard shots really. If you do need to shoot hard shots you don´t make good breaks.
Also you can make 100 break at snooker by 13 reds and 13 blacks, its 26 balls and maybe 1 hit to cluster.
Straight pool 100 need 100 balls pocketed. Plus you need to go on rack multiple times.. so comparing snooker and straight pool runs are not really good way to look at things IMHO.
I was 19 years old and played snooker 3 months after i made my first century break. I needed 13 years to make it straight pool...
I did not play snooker nearly 5 year period and I had trick shot show on small billiard happening and one junior snooker player asked if i play game after show and i tell O.K.
When i was racking 9-ball rack he told me he want to play snooker.. I just tell him i´m pool player and i don´t really play snooker(there was Pro snooker player also doing exhibition) so i can suck maybe..
After he break i made 98 break at pool cue.. i could make hundred but i tried get last ball out from cushion and missed color coz of that.
Snooker tables normally have heating and fast cloth at pro level.
But Snooker pro players are awesome and if they get practice on any pool table they will make hundreds for sure but not on 5 tries tight pockets. Or maybe they do but they need to bet 2500$ for doing that 5 tries. I don´t think anybody takes that bet.:wink:
I also practice nowadays really tight tables (dunno american measurements but they have really brutal pocket cut angle ...) and running about hundred is really HARD especially if cloth if little worn out and racks does not get apart well...