Japan Open pocket sizes, are they nuts?

[CreeDo]

A 4" opening for a 2 1/4" ball is not tight, not even close. its just more challenging. Tight pockets are on the pyramid tables, and yet I see guys running 8 balls on them. If pool wants to be taken seriously by non pool players then smaller pockets that don't let you hit the middle diamond and still go in is the way forward.
[snip]
Pool is in dyer state and making the game look respectable through tighter pockets, strict uniform code, a governing body and players that show respect to others and the game is the only way people will take it seriously.

? What on earth does pocket size have to do with wearing a vest and black pants?
You're muddying the topic here.
You are on to something though if you're saying pool looks easy to the spectator,
and that kills some of the appeal of watching it and hurts its popularity on TV.

Hitting a tiny ball 300 yards and landing in a 20 sq. ft. target is amazing.
Shooting a long jumper 22 feet while being elbowed in the chest is amazing.
Making almost any typical shot in pool? Doesn't look very amazing.

BUT, if you shrink the pockets will pool look amazing? And will people therefore tune in?
Nope. Because the average view won't even NOTICE that a pocket is one inch smaller.
And if the commentator points it out, they'll shrug and say "so what".
They've played their whole lives on 5 inch pockets, they will not go "OH WOW!"
when they see a long cut go into a 4 inch pocket.
That won't turn a dull game into something totally captivating.

They will only say "he missed that shot and I made it last week at the pool hall".
This will not move pool forward. It will just make pool even MORE boring,
because it makes good players look like clowns.

 

[Pidge]

? What on earth does pocket size have to do with wearing a vest and black pants?
You're muddying the topic here.
You are on to something though if you're saying pool looks easy to the spectator,
and that kills some of the appeal of watching it and hurts its popularity on TV.

Hitting a tiny ball 300 yards and landing in a 20 sq. ft. target is amazing.
Shooting a long jumper 22 feet while being elbowed in the chest is amazing.
Making almost any typical shot in pool? Doesn't look very amazing.

BUT, if you shrink the pockets will pool look amazing? And will people therefore tune in?
Nope. Because the average view won't even NOTICE that a pocket is one inch smaller.
And if the commentator points it out, they'll shrug and say "so what".
They've played their whole lives on 5 inch pockets, they will not go "OH WOW!"
when they see a long cut go into a 4 inch pocket.
That won't turn a dull game into something totally captivating.

They will only say "he missed that shot and I made it last week at the pool hall".
This will not move pool forward. It will just make pool even MORE boring,
because it makes good players look like clowns.

When did I say pocket size has to do with wearing a vest and pants? You tell me. I did say a strict uniform was IB order... No one wants to see a world renowned player walking around in his Sunday slacks. Look the part and people will take it seriously.

I think you will... Pockets look noticeably smaller even at .5 of an inch but they don't play noticeably smaller. You can stick with your buckets Creedo, see how far it gets you

 

[Pidge]

Anything could be tried, IMHO a 3.636" pockets will lead to a different game, not necessarily a "better" one...

Yeah the genreal difference between rotation games and snooker is that rotation has to be played in order. So the pocket to ball ratio shouldn't be the same.

If a pro is finding it tough going on a 4" pocket table then they aren't a pro in my eyes.

I play on 4" pockets now, and I've adapted and realised how the game has to be played on such a table.

 

[Celtic]

In respect to one pocket you don't really want a super tight table.

From my experience it is the complete opposite. The 1-pocket players want tight tables to add to the challenge and "chess-like" aspects of the game and get rid of the 8 and out offensive style of play. Almost any large 1-pocket cash game I have ever seen has been played on tight pockets.

 

[Celtic]

There's a lot in that but speeding it up is priority number one.

Speed of play and pocket size are not related all that much, some of the slowest play ever seen in this sport has been on 4.5 inch pockets.

The game most definitely needs a time management system. Instead of a simple shot clock for each shot I would like to see a rolling shot clock that uses the last 10 shots a player has made. The player must never have the last 10 shots they have played take longer then ~180 seconds. You can take 40 seconds looking over a tough shot, but that simply means you must play faster once the table is manageable in order to avoid a time violation. This would encourage fast play on the easy outs and make people conserve their time for when they really need it.

Snooker has very tight pockets and very tough conditions but they have time clocks and there is rarely ever an issue with slow play. They also don't have annoying warning beeps and "extensions", players are simply expected to play a certain pace and they do. Pool does not need to go anywhere beyond that.

 

[CJ Wiley]

10' Tables are the "real deal" for professional players

People like to compare golf and pool. Well all golf majors aren't played on the same course. They're all tough, but some are tougher than others.

Major open tournaments should be played on tough tables, and some tournaments should have slightly tougher tables. I would say any World event and the US Open should be played on 10' tables.

You are exactly right!

10' Tables are the "real deal" for professional players and the tougher the better.....slower cloth would help a lot on the 9' ones too....maybe Simonis can make a Pro Speed soon.

 

[TheNewSharkster]

That's a good tough table from what I can see. The pockets look to be cut right but the size looks to be the smallest I'd want to play on. If that was in a regular pool room, I don't think any of the casual players in the US would have a chance to make balls in there, some of the bar tables the play on you can hit the rail half way up and the ball will roll into a pocket.

It was a normal pool hall. I play in the US and on the bar box the majority of the time. I had some problems at first. The small pockets were actually helping me compensate my aim properly when applying left/right spin. If I could play on those tables all the time I totally would.