I'll blame a table is when it's so unlevel that a slow roll safety is ruined because the ball curved off badly. Yeah, I've heard it all - both people play on the same table. Unfortunately for me, I'm the only one that has to shoot that shot, and that's the only shot to shoot at that particular moment. I also think it's unfortunate for my opponent to have his shot ruined because of a poorly leveled table. You see, you CAN blame the equipment for that, because it wasn't the player that generated the error, it was the conditions. To say that all errors are player generated because they didn't pre-plan or evaluate the conditions is BS. It is unreasonable to think that one should be 100% familiar with a particular table before they play on it. Some tables take many hours of play to figure out all the quirks in it. When you have to think about a table and the conditions - in my opinion, that's a bad table. It should be you and your game vs. your opponent and their game. Both players shouldn't be pre-occupied with the mental burden of being a table detectives. It isn't a contest of who can deal with table problems - if you take that to its logical extreme, you could make a whole new game based on coping with bad conditions. Would you blame Tiger Woods for making a bad shot in the middle of hurricane force winds? The WPA and other organizations have certain minimum requirements for playability...if these are met, then there's nothing to blame but yourself.
I'm not picky either. So long as the equipment is decent and set up right, it never crosses my mind. I never complain about "too fast" or "too slow" when playing in different rooms where one might have 760 and the other 860. I also don't care about cushions that might be more lively or more dead. These are reasonable differences in conditions that a player should be able to deal with and adjust to. I also don't complain about the balls, unless they are outrageously filthy and I get that "skid" every 3 shots.
Another time I'll blame a table is if I rifle a ball into the dead center of a pocket, and the pocket vomits the ball right back out. Unacceptable. I've NEVER had this problem ever happen on a Diamond or Gold Crown table. This is one reason I advocate these tables when people ask advice on what to buy. These tables have properly designed pockets that don't puke balls out. There's a reason why they are chosen to be tournament tables in pro events. I like how I can fire a ball with speed into a side pocket on a Diamond table at an angle, and the pocket will accept the ball. This is despite the pocket being tighter than most other tables. So long as I clear the points on the cushions, and the angle isn't impossible - the pocket should drop the ball - regardless of speed.
There are an awful lot of awful table mechanics. I'd say 9 out of 10 are wannabes. Seems difficult to find the quality guys. There's a couple around here, and they charge an insane amount to do a table - but they do it right. They can even make a poor-brand of table that has lousy pockets that would eject balls play pretty decently. Most pool room owners aren't really into pool in the sense that they really care about conditions. A table is a money making part of the business, and the idea is to spend as little as possible and try and return as much as possible. You spend as little time, effort or money on a table as you can - the limit is when people will refuse to play on it, and there's always someone who will play on it. 2 tables spark (haunt) my memory, one with poorly set up cushions that would hop balls shot at any speed greater than lag speed, and another with such a bad pocket shim job, that any shot harder than lag speed will result in not pocketing a ball. The guy who set these up tables should be shot.
I've seen bad layered tips that have contributed to excessive miscues. I've also seen high-dollar custom cues with joints not true that would cause a wobble and enough run-out at the tip to be a problem. But these should be easily and quickly taken care of as they're within your personal control. I've never blamed that, as I make sure it doesn't become a problem to begin with. When something is within your control and you don't deal with it - then it is your fault.
Beyond that, I'd say everything else is player's fault. You're responsible for shooting a shot a certain way. There isn't much to it. There's direction (aim), spin on the ball, and speed. If you do all of this right - you should be rewarded. If a table causes you to miss when you did everything right - bad table and unacceptable equipment in my opinion.
I blame myself for 100% of what happens provided it wasn't a TRUE equipment problem. Play on good equipment and never think twice about it.
