more difficult is not necessarily better....

Jaden · 2008-02-25T05:42:12+00:00

I have to say that tables that are more difficult to play on are not necessarily better. Mysefl and another player/poster were having a discussion earlier tonight and we were discussing the fact that diamond tables like to spit out balls. He made the comment that diamonds are the great equalizer, that is they make it more difficult for the better player to dominate the lesser player. I don't think this is the case, but it's possible and that is for one reason. This player was also saying that playing on a diamond with 4.5" pockets is more difficult than playing on a GC with 4" pockets and that I have to say is just wrong. I can understand how it could be interpreted that way and although I'm beating around the bush, I AM getting to it. The answer is that, yes, at certain angles and speeds the diamonds like to eject balls... This is a problem though. This doesn't mean that you have to be a better player to win on diamonds. Because after thinking about it, these sh6ts that were missed were actually hit IN THE POCKET. These were good hits. I mea, how can anyone expect a pocket to not accept a ball if you hit it within the pocket facing. There should be no table that rejects a ball at any speed if it is struck so that it lands in between the two facings, yet that happens on a diamond table from time to time. You learn over time to adjust your play and not hit certain balls at certain angles as hard, but I think that that takes away from the game and doesn't do the game justice. I have a table that is put together similarly to a GC and has four inch pockets and it plays more difficult than a diamond. I challenge anyone to come play on the table and say differently, but it also will accept a well hit ball at any speed. Diamonds will sometimes eject a ball that is struck as perfectly as one can from certain angles and I think that that is wrong. I think that the best way for the better player to win is to play on one of Ernesto's modified 4 inch pocket GC's . And I think that the better player should be the one who wins, not the player who has adjusted their game to the way a table plays or rather is used to the way a certain table plays. So is it the great equalizer, maybe it is, but is that a good thing. Not in my opinion.