Playing different table sizes

H

Hobbes

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I've been playing APA for over two years now on 8' tables. Suddenly our room closed and we were moved to a venue where we now play on 9 footers. Last session I only lost 3 matches on the 8 footers. This session I can't hit a pocket. I even got a ball in hand situation--and missed!!!

Is the move to a larger table really so different? I have an 8 foot Connolly at home but no matter how much I practice on it, league nights are a different ball game. Am I just nuts, or do I need to change my play drastically?

Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
The angles are different, you have to make the adjustment and not rely on the angles you are used to practicing at home. More concentration is needed , try slowing your pace and taking a bit more time aiming, it will come.

BTW, I have the hardest time going from the 9's to the barbox, takes me an hour to adjust.
 
the change is big for me too. Ive got a brunswick metro at home and I was better of playing league cold than warming up on my table.

The angels are different and balls are closer and theres more clusters on a barbox. (or an 8ft) than as compared to a 9ft. Id say warm up on the league table.
 
I've found that for me, I need to pay closer attention to where the pocket is for the first half hour or so of playing on a larger or smaller table. Instead of feeling where the pocket is, I need to actually look at the angle, path, and contact point to make sure I'm hitting where I need to to make the ball.
 
The longer the ball travels the more accurate you need to hit it to begin with. So a shot that may go in on a 7 or 8 footer can easily miss on a 9. Angles to the pockets are also changed a bit, like bsmutz said you need to watch where you hit the ball instead of going by feel.

Position shots would also be off, you are used to playing on an 8 foot table, when going to a 9 you will need to hit the shots a tad harder to end up in the same area.

Lastly, the view you have of the table, and the mindset that gives you, is off on different sizes. You may come up to the table and see this huge field to work though, that would come into play mentally. The rails look different, where you rest your cue is different. I have run into situations when even moving from one brand table to another changed my game for a while.
 
Hobbes said:
... I even got a ball in hand situation--and missed!!!...!
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YOu are lying. BIH, and you missed?!?!?

Just kidding. I've done the same, more than once:o didn't like the angle. I didn't like the angle of my BIH shot.
 
The only differences, in my opinion (IMO as they seem to call it), are dealing with clusters and table speed. Angles should be the same, right? After all, the length is always twice the width.

Personally, I dislike playing on bar boxes. The lack of distance on many shots mitigates the effects a lesser player's crooked stroke. Assuming the players are used to playing with clusters (as many straight pool players are), bar boxes are an equalizing table.

The argument is often made that you have to be a more precise player on the bar box because of the traffic. I agree, in general. However, if a bar table player has bad enough fundamentals where they can't possibly win on a 9', it's only a matter of time before the better player learns the table speed and out-moves them on the bar box.

If you're having problems pocketing balls on the bigger table, look at your fundamentals first and foremost...NOT the angles, etc. The slightest "hitch" is magnified on a bigger table and doesn't show up on the smaller table. If you really feel you stroke well, it's a mental thing. There is no "feeling" where the pocket is unless someone is blocking your view of it :)
 
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Hobbes said:
I've been playing APA for over two years now on 8' tables. Suddenly our room closed and we were moved to a venue where we now play on 9 footers. Last session I only lost 3 matches on the 8 footers. This session I can't hit a pocket. I even got a ball in hand situation--and missed!!!

Is the move to a larger table really so different? I have an 8 foot Connolly at home but no matter how much I practice on it, league nights are a different ball game. Am I just nuts, or do I need to change my play drastically?

Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...
9 foot tables are easier, I think you're psyching yourself out. By easier, I mean you have larger zones to land in to gain shape and you get less clusters, this allows you to run out easier.

Relax, find your aim point and shoot with a smooth stroke, you'll be fine.
 
Hobbes said:
[...]
Is the move to a larger table really so different? [...]
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Around here we play fairly regularly on 7-foot tables (Valleys) with big corner pockets, and also on 9-foot tables with smaller (but not small) corner pockets. Here are some of my observations about the difference. (We play with red circle cueballs on both)

Some of us pick up these differences quickly, while others of us will never get them.

On the 9-foot tables, it is absolutely essential to get on the correct side of the next ball and to not get straight in. This is not as important on a 7-foot table (unless a cueball path is blocked). You can usually work it out, even creating an angle when you're straight it.

On the 7-foot table, it is more important for the cueball to be "in the clear" than it is for the cueball to be close to the next ball. So on the 7-foot table, you don't try to get as close to the next ball risking getting hooked. On 9-foot tables, particularly tighter ones, you must play a little closer to the the ball.

Exaggerated preference for corner pockets over side pockets on the Valleys.

Common to play "safes" on the 9-foot table where the cueball and object ball are left near the middle of opposite short rails. You may try for intervening balls, but they're not essential. You just don't want to leave those open shots (protected only by green space) on the Valleys.
 
Different angles?

selftaut said:
The angles are different, you have to make the adjustment and not rely on the angles you are used to practicing at home. More concentration is needed , try slowing your pace and taking a bit more time aiming, it will come.

BTW, I have the hardest time going from the 9's to the barbox, takes me an hour to adjust.
Click to expand...
The angles would be exactly the same no matter what size you play on. The length of the table is always 2x the width. It sounds like you are missing balls because the length of the shot migt be increased. his might be due to some quirk in your stroke that a shorter table lets you get away with. Be sure to stay down and follow through on each stroke.
 
Black-Balled said:
YOu are lying. BIH, and you missed?!?!?

Just kidding. I've done the same, more than once:o didn't like the angle. I didn't like the angle of my BIH shot.
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thats the funniest thing i've heard in a while
 
supergreenman said:
9 foot tables are easier, I think you're psyching yourself out. By easier, I mean you have larger zones to land in to gain shape and you get less clusters, this allows you to run out easier.

Relax, find your aim point and shoot with a smooth stroke, you'll be fine.
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i agree 100% . the pockets are still where they were 50 plus years ago when i started playing. long shots are still long shots on 7 8 9 10ft tables
get over worring about the size of the table, it'll be easier to play shape
now.
 
Hobbes said:
I've been playing APA for over two years now on 8' tables. Suddenly our room closed and we were moved to a venue where we now play on 9 footers. Last session I only lost 3 matches on the 8 footers. This session I can't hit a pocket. I even got a ball in hand situation--and missed!!!

Is the move to a larger table really so different? I have an 8 foot Connolly at home but no matter how much I practice on it, league nights are a different ball game. Am I just nuts, or do I need to change my play drastically?

Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

It's all in your head. The shots and angles are the same, they may be a little longer then your use to but not by much. Cutting a ball into the corner pocket on a 8 foot table is the same as a 9 foot table. Cue ball speed comes into play to get to your next ball but that will come with time.
 
Thanks for all of the input everyone. I think all of you are right in one regard or another. Buckle down time, eh?
 
tucson9ball said:
The angles would be exactly the same no matter what size you play on. The length of the table is always 2x the width. It sounds like you are missing balls because the length of the shot migt be increased. his might be due to some quirk in your stroke that a shorter table lets you get away with. Be sure to stay down and follow through on each stroke.
Click to expand...

Angles change.. picture in your head a cut shot to the corner pocket on a 8' table. Don't move the balls a bit, and stretch the table out to make it a 9 footer. You are now hitting the table a diamond in instead of the pocket. To make the exact same shot on a 9' table you need to cut it thinner (or fuller depending on which side of the ball you are shooting at).
 
I grew up and have been playing on 9 foot tables my entire pool career. Whenever I switch to an 8 footer or a bar box I feel like everything is right there and with a bar box the pockets are like buckets. I'm confident enough in my speed control that I don't have a problem adjusting for position play. But, if I do a few days on either of those smaller tables and then move back to the grand daddy I can't make a ball for the life of me. It takes quite a few sets to get back into a comfortable rhythm and start making balls and stop undershooting positions.
MULLY
 
selftaut said:
The angles are different, you have to make the adjustment and not rely on the angles you are used to practicing at home. More concentration is needed , try slowing your pace and taking a bit more time aiming, it will come.

BTW, I have the hardest time going from the 9's to the barbox, takes me an hour to adjust.
Click to expand...

So a 45 degree angle on an 8ft isnt a 45 degree angle on a 9 ft? I think that the distance is the biggest factor to consider....most everything else is confidence. JMO.

Southpaw
 
hang-the-9 said:
Angles change.. picture in your head a cut shot to the corner pocket on a 8' table. Don't move the balls a bit, and stretch the table out to make it a 9 footer. You are now hitting the table a diamond in instead of the pocket. To make the exact same shot on a 9' table you need to cut it thinner (or fuller depending on which side of the ball you are shooting at).
Click to expand...


Yeah, I can see what you're trying to say here but c'mon, if he's seeing the angles that poorly then he needs to find another hobby. I'm guessing the original poster is jawing the pocket or just hitting outside of it on the big tables. It's the extra distance.
MULLY
 
mullyman, you're right, I'm jogging in the pocket or just hitting the corner. Not so far off that I'm hitting the rails. Maybe it is just the distance...
 
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