Is Practice on a 10’ Table Advised for Matches on a 9’ Table?

C

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I don’t practice much anymore between our weekly 9-ball tournaments, but curious as to opinions regarding if I’m only doing 2-3 one plus hour solo practice sessions a week, if it would benefit me to be doing those sessions on a 10’ table vs a 9’ table?

My feeling is yes, with the only issue being having to make the necessary adjustments in speed control for cue ball positioning. I’ve found myself often coming up a little short on cue ball positioning on the 10’ table, leaving myself with longer, harder shots than I should.

I’ll just need to make sure to dial back my positioning speed by 10% when playing a match on a 9’ table. I’m hoping I’ll be able to do this, but not sure. Opinions?
 
I practice on a 10' table sometimes to work on my stroke and fundamentals. Other than that, it won't help preparing for a match on a 9' table.
 
ChrisinNC said:
I don’t practice much anymore between our weekly 9-ball tournaments, but curious as to opinions regarding if I’m only doing 2-3 one plus hour solo practice sessions a week, if it would benefit me to be doing those sessions on a 10’ table vs a 9’ table?

My feeling is yes, with the only issue being having to make the necessary adjustments in speed control for cue ball positioning. I’ve found myself often coming up a little short on cue ball positioning on the 10’ table, leaving myself with longer, harder shots than I should.

I’ll just need to make sure to dial back my positioning speed by 10% when playing a match on a 9’ table. I’m hoping I’ll be able to do this, but not sure. Opinions?
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I think there are pros and cons. I own a 9' table and so almost all my play is on that. But if I go to bar/pool hall with buddies and shoot on the 7' tables there I feel much better and more confident because it's all short shots. I just have to adjust to some degree for some shots (like back and forth on a cut down the rail). As someone above mentioned, the bigger table will help you work on your stroke and fundamentals, which will help with any size table.

So I think it could help. You'll feel more confident/comfortable and you should only have a straighter stroke. That said, don't do all your practicing on a 10' because you don't want to be overshooting shots. But a good mix could be beneficial.
 
I feel it can't hurt your game at all you just need to remember the only real difference is long shape shots on a 10' table compared to slightly shorter shape shots on a 9' table which you already realize .
What this did for me when I could practice on a 9' table then play league on a 7' table was that it freed up my stroke so to speak and as you mentioned I to felt more comfortable with my game .
I'd love to have access to a 10' table or even a 9' one that's closer than 130 miles away from home .
 
I have a 5x10 snooker table. I still have the 5x10 pool table but it is broken down. I bought it because I like to play games that lend itself to a big table and snooker. Honestly, if your goal is to simply play well on a 9 foot table, just practice on a 9 foot table. I don't think it makes me any better other than dialing in my stroke. Frankly a snooker table screws you up for pool in some ways as there are shots that are very hard to make at pool speed. For example it is hard to do a long rail cut at speed. League play on a bar size table is basically a different game altogether.
 
I heard on some stream, that this is exactly what Fedor Gorst does - practice on a 10' table he has at home.
 
Mich said:
I heard on some stream, that this is exactly what Fedor Gorst does - practice on a 10' table he has at home.
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Yeah, I recall Earl loved practicing on a 10 foot table as well. For a higher ranked player (relative to most our regular weekly tournament players) I just feel like practicing on a 10’ table gives me an advantage. This of course assumes I have a quality practice session on the 10’ table, experiencing some success.

By contrast, I personally don’t feel a lower ranked player can gain anything other than increased frustration by practicing on a 10’ table or on a tight pocket table, even though some think it will magically improve their game.
 
Playing on a 10’ table helps your game. However, you really want to play on the same size table you’ll use
in a tournament to get ready. Why? The 10’ table will obviously play more difficult and so would a 9’ table
with really tight pockets. But your use of cue ball speed is different on a 10’ because of the larger playing
area. So you stroke the cue ball to cover the larger table to get shape and that same stroke on a 9’ table
wouldn’t achieve the same results. You want to master cue ball speed. Practicing on 10’ tables is fine but
before a tournament, you should be practicing on the same size & brand pool tables as in the tournament.
 
Bavafongoul said:
Playing on a 10’ table helps your game. However, you really want to play on the same size table you’ll use
in a tournament to get ready. Why? The 10’ table will obviously play more difficult and so would a 9’ table
with really tight pockets. But your use of cue ball speed is different on a 10’ because of the larger playing
area. So you stroke the cue ball to cover the larger table to get shape and that same stroke on a 9’ table
wouldn’t achieve the same results. You want to master cue ball speed. Practicing on 10’ tables is fine but
before a tournament, you should be practicing on the same size & brand pool tables as in the tournament.
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I guess the point maybe I failed to make in my original post is that I don’t practice much at all anymore, but I have played pool for 50+ years and can still occasionally hit a gear good enough to occasionally run a 9-ball 2-pack. With my very limited practice time, I just feel like if I can have some success on the 10 foot table, the 9 foot table should seem easier.

I do not have or make the time to have any interest in practicing for an hour before the weekly tournament starts as many players here do. If I haven’t figured it out in 50 years, one hour is not going to make any difference!
 
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I would say yes but only in the sense that it would force you to dial in your mechanics. If you already feel good about those and have a consistent and straight stroke, it's probably not going to do much to help.
 
it is fun playing on a 5x10 table. I love it. But there is no way it makes me better as it is just different. I have been playing on 10 foot tables as my home table for over 20 years (since 1999). I have been playing pool for about 50 years as well. The cloth is generally faster than on 9 foot tables as it needs to be. Pattern play is different. Safety play is different as well. Often leaving a ball on the opposite rail is safe enough for anyone that would play me. If my goal was to practice for 9 foot tournament play, I would practice on a 9 foot Diamond with tight pockets.

Maybe I am not good enough for it to make a difference and my old man skills are diminished. I still usually win more than I lose. They are a blast to play on and I got one once I could afford to buy one and had the space.
 
Who makes a 10 foot POOL table these days? Just curious. Olhausen used to. Perhaps custom. Any ones I would see now would be ancient battle scarred veterans. My pool table - not the snooker table came out of a pool hall in W Kansas. It is likely from the 30s or 40s. T-rails. Cigarette burns etc.

Sorry to spam this thread. It is just this topic is interesting to me.
 
Unless you’re already putting in hours and hours of practice, I’d say negligible.

As in, you’d be far better off to go practice 20hrs a week on a 9ft then 5hrs a week on a 10ft.

But, if you’re say a 700+ Fargo and putting in 20hrs or more a week, you might see some added benefit to adding in the 10ft. Or tighter pockets or other stuff.


Most mistakes non top level people in any discipline do is to mess up the timing and such of their training. You don’t start doing mitt work or hooks before you get very good at jabs and crosses.

So, the answer is like most….in the right situation and timing, it can help.
 
cjl0s said:
Who makes a 10 foot POOL table these days? Just curious. Olhausen used to. Perhaps custom. Any ones I would see now would be ancient battle scarred veterans. My pool table - not the snooker table came out of a pool hall in W Kansas. It is likely from the 30s or 40s. T-rails. Cigarette burns etc.

Sorry to spam this thread. It is just this topic is interesting to me.
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Diamond. Though I imagine it’s special order and around $12k.
 
It is always easier to go smaller table than you practice. 10ft practice do no harm.
Anyways. I would not recommend practice on 7-footer before 9ft tournament or match.
 
I think there's a lot of merit to "practice what you will play on" but if you practice on harder equipment it's a nice confidence boost when you play on softer equipment. I think the biggest downside to practicing on a bigger table is that you may have more traffic to deal with on a smaller table, especially if you go down to a 7'.
 
ChrisinNC said:
I don’t practice much anymore between our weekly 9-ball tournaments, but curious as to opinions regarding if I’m only doing 2-3 one plus hour solo practice sessions a week, if it would benefit me to be doing those sessions on a 10’ table vs a 9’ table?

My feeling is yes, with the only issue being having to make the necessary adjustments in speed control for cue ball positioning. I’ve found myself often coming up a little short on cue ball positioning on the 10’ table, leaving myself with longer, harder shots than I should.

I’ll just need to make sure to dial back my positioning speed by 10% when playing a match on a 9’ table. I’m hoping I’ll be able to do this, but not sure. Opinions?
Click to expand...
Yes, keep practicing on the 10 foot table. You gain the most when you get on the wrong side of the ball. I believe if you develop the stroke to use low inside english and go three rails for shape on a 10 ft table, when it comes up on a nine ft table it is so much easier. There are other situations like getting straight in when you wanted a little angle. That massive draw shot that comes up to get back in line is more demanding on the bigger table.

I like to freeze the cueball on the end rail and shoot shots where the object balls are within two diamonds of the opposite rail. If you can make those shots on a 10 ft table you have a distinct advantage on the 9 ft table. You may even decide to shoot more rather than play safe on the smaller table because of the confidence you have from your practice.
 
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cjl0s said:
Who makes a 10 foot POOL table these days? Just curious. Olhausen used to. Perhaps custom. Any ones I would see now would be ancient battle scarred veterans. My pool table - not the snooker table came out of a pool hall in W Kansas. It is likely from the 30s or 40s. T-rails. Cigarette burns etc.

Sorry to spam this thread. It is just this topic is interesting to me.
Click to expand...
Buffalo’s has a 10’ table, it plays great
 
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