Playing on bad equipment

S

Still_Learning

Shortstop in Training
Silver Member
Do you find, as I did yesterday, that your game drops off significantly when you're playing on bad equipment? I'm used to fairly clean balls, level tables, etc. I spent several hours yesterday on an unlevel table with dirty balls and dead rails. I had to shoot harder because of the dead rails and to counteract the additional "cling" dirty balls give, and as a result, innocent-looking pockets started spitting balls back out. And table-length slow-rolls? Forget it.

Fortunately the guy I was playing was having just as many issues, but frankly, I felt like a beginner yesterday, which I'm not. I played a lot of defense to compensate. :)

So, do all you better-than-I-am players adjust quickly to bad equipment, or does it hurt your game too?
 
don't know if I qualify

Don't know that I qualify as better than you but everyone adjusts their game for bad equipment and dirty balls. Table length cuts become a more viable shot than the easy bank. Forcing the other player to kick two rails or more is much more of a lock up safety too. Unlevel tables you should be able to gobble up. You find the rolls and use them. I used to play on an old nine footer that you could shoot a ball at a slight angle at the second diamond and it would fall in the corner. I banked many a money ball into that funnel! I knew all I had to do was aim anywhere a little short and shoot pocket speed and it would get sucked down.

Which brings up an obvious point, when you have your work cut out is coming in as a stranger and playing a local on bad equipment. If they are any good at all they are likely to take you.

Hu



Still_Learning said:
Do you find, as I did yesterday, that your game drops off significantly when you're playing on bad equipment? I'm used to fairly clean balls, level tables, etc. I spent several hours yesterday on an unlevel table with dirty balls and dead rails. I had to shoot harder because of the dead rails and to counteract the additional "cling" dirty balls give, and as a result, innocent-looking pockets started spitting balls back out. And table-length slow-rolls? Forget it.

Fortunately the guy I was playing was having just as many issues, but frankly, I felt like a beginner yesterday, which I'm not. I played a lot of defense to compensate. :)

So, do all you better-than-I-am players adjust quickly to bad equipment, or does it hurt your game too?
Click to expand...
 
There's a bar/poolhall near my house that hosts weekly tournaments. Their equipment is horrendous. 6 home tables with drop pockets, brunswicks i believe. the rails are sunk in on the top of the tables from people sitting on them, some of the pockets are duck taped together, the rails are dead in some spots and bouncy as hell on other spots ALONG THE SAME RAIL! There are some areas where if you try to bank a ball the english will NOT take at all. There are rips on the felt, spots from drunken idiots trying to masse balls. Also, the tables aren't level at all. If you start from the top rail, about an inch from the side rail and slow roll a ball down table it will 8/10 times end up in the bottom corner pocket. In order to get a tight rack, you have to put the 9ball on the spot, or put the 2 balls above the 9ball on the spot or else the rack will be loose. I'm assuming that is from the drunken idiots slamming the head ball with an object ball because they saw someone do it.
I used to play about 2 balls under speed when i played on those tables because you have to hit every shot with a full stroke. any type of spot shot will not roll in unless you hit it with english and spin it in instead of trying to aim and cut the ball. It took me about a month of playing to get used to the tables enough to start cashing in their events.

I completely agree with shootingarts when he said a stranger vs a local player on bad equipment has a strong disadvantage. I agree because i've used that bar as a trap for gambling, ie. i would tell someone that i'd play them at that room because i know they will not be able to compensate for the shitty equipment in time.

I've won several bad games this way :)

Now-a-days, i know the tables well enough to play pretty close to speed on those tables. I know to never bank a ball, never shoot long shots, and expect to scratch on the side pockets every time i use a top rail for position.
 
ioCross said:
There's a bar/poolhall near my house that hosts weekly tournaments. Their equipment is horrendous. 6 home tables with drop pockets, brunswicks i believe. the rails are sunk in on the top of the tables from people sitting on them, some of the pockets are duck taped together, the rails are dead in some spots and bouncy as hell on other spots ALONG THE SAME RAIL! There are some areas where if you try to bank a ball the english will NOT take at all. There are rips on the felt, spots from drunken idiots trying to masse balls. Also, the tables aren't level at all. If you start from the top rail, about an inch from the side rail and slow roll a ball down table it will 8/10 times end up in the bottom corner pocket. In order to get a tight rack, you have to put the 9ball on the spot, or put the 2 balls above the 9ball on the spot or else the rack will be loose. I'm assuming that is from the drunken idiots slamming the head ball with an object ball because they saw someone do it.
I used to play about 2 balls under speed when i played on those tables because you have to hit every shot with a full stroke. any type of spot shot will not roll in unless you hit it with english and spin it in instead of trying to aim and cut the ball. It took me about a month of playing to get used to the tables enough to start cashing in their events.

I completely agree with shootingarts when he said a stranger vs a local player on bad equipment has a strong disadvantage. I agree because i've used that bar as a trap for gambling, ie. i would tell someone that i'd play them at that room because i know they will not be able to compensate for the shitty equipment in time.

I've won several bad games this way :)

Now-a-days, i know the tables well enough to play pretty close to speed on those tables. I know to never bank a ball, never shoot long shots, and expect to scratch on the side pockets every time i use a top rail for position.
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Sounds like the tables I play on in a weekly Wednesday night tourney. Only difference is there are no rips in the cloth (yet). These tables are so bad, you play for free.
 
Overall Ill play alright on bad equipment, if its a bar table its so easy to pocket balls it doesnt really matter. But on a full length table if the equipment is bad, it can end your run, so after one bad roll ill just stop playing, because to me it isnt worth it.
 
Just think when Efren was growing up, he played under miserable conditions....no AC, basically tables were outside causing the rails to be unpredictable, cloth was surely awful and the balls may have never been cleaned. But, look what it did for his game. Being able to adjust to the conditions is something all great players have overcome at some point. JMO.

Southpaw
 
Just think when Efren was growing up, he played under miserable conditions....no AC, basically tables were outside causing the rails to be unpredictable, cloth was surely awful and the balls may have never been cleaned. But, look what it did for his game. Being able to adjust to the conditions is something all great players have overcome at some point. JMO.

Southpaw
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whilst what u say is true, efren didn't have any alternative.

i think part of the problem here is when you are used to good equipment. it then takes some enjoyment out of the game.
 
RunoutalloverU said:
Overall Ill play alright on bad equipment, if its a bar table its so easy to pocket balls it doesnt really matter. But on a full length table if the equipment is bad, it can end your run, so after one bad roll ill just stop playing, because to me it isnt worth it.
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Hmmm... ahh... say what?????????:confused:
 
The one who makes the adjustments to the equipment first is usually the one who wins. It's rare to find perfect tables anywhere you go. Learning how a table plays (slow, fast, short, long, etc) is something we all have to deal with from time to time.
Steve
 
The local "pool room", and I use the term loosely, has tables that, when the ball comes off the cusion at medium speed, it's in the air. Plus, it's almost impossible to fire a ball into the center of the pocket and not have the pocket spit it out. All eight Murray Professional tables do this. I seldom go there anymore.
 
Still_Learning...Few places are going to be like ABC! That's why M.D. #5 is so good. It gives you the ability to ease off or speed up your basic stroke speed, and then be able to adjust a couple of speeds either way, for adapting to a particular table quickly. You still practice that don't you? Remember your ultimate goal...it's ALL about trust in your stroke! Keep the faith! :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Still_Learning said:
Do you find, as I did yesterday, that your game drops off significantly when you're playing on bad equipment? I'm used to fairly clean balls, level tables, etc. I spent several hours yesterday on an unlevel table with dirty balls and dead rails. I had to shoot harder because of the dead rails and to counteract the additional "cling" dirty balls give, and as a result, innocent-looking pockets started spitting balls back out. And table-length slow-rolls? Forget it.

Fortunately the guy I was playing was having just as many issues, but frankly, I felt like a beginner yesterday, which I'm not. I played a lot of defense to compensate. :)

So, do all you better-than-I-am players adjust quickly to bad equipment, or does it hurt your game too?
Click to expand...
 
After knowing how to match up I say the second most important thing is figuring a strange table out quickly. I played just about all bar box for the last 25 years of my playing days and I always tried to get on a strange table cheap for a few games before betting high. A bad table can be your friend. Johnnyt
 
Yes my play suffers on bad tables that's why I try not to play on them anymore. After years of dealing with this issue I have all but decided to stay away from places that don't show any respect for their pool players by not taking care of their equipment. There are only a few places that I go to play at anymore. I see no need to spend my money at a place that I find not to be deserving of it.

If/When I win the lottery I'm going to build the absolute best pool hall West of the Mississippi and East of the Rocky Mountains. Then you all can come and play. I'll even give any/all AZ Billiards members a 50% discount on all tables. :D
 
Pushout said:
The local "pool room", and I use the term loosely, has tables that, when the ball comes off the cusion at medium speed, it's in the air. Plus, it's almost impossible to fire a ball into the center of the pocket and not have the pocket spit it out. All eight Murray Professional tables do this. I seldom go there anymore.
Click to expand...
I don't blame you. I'd pass on playing on those tables myself.....

James
 
For me, it seems to depend on my mood at the time. If I expect decent equipment at a place and find junk, I'll not focus on playing and be distracted by the number of things wrong with the table. On the other hand, If I'm at a place where I expect these challenges, sometimes I'm able to see if I can figure the rolls to my advantage before anyone else can.
 
Well, I know of a table in Turkey Quarter, NC that you guys will just love. I would almost play anyone a race to two on that baby. It will take you twenty minutes of straight playin' to figure this gaf table. Rails (2) DEAD, cuts in the cloth, leans away from the bar, mudball, duct tape on the end rails, no air condition or heat. Just my kind of place.
 
I usta hate playing on bad equipment, because I lost my game, and had to over hit alot of my shots.

Well when I moved, back in april, I went to a place with no pool hall. And didnt play all summer( played softball ). A local bar/bowling alley, had 3 barboxes, with new rails and cloth ( mercury ). I totally forgot how fast the tables I usta play on were. So I basically was hitting everything hard, so the table rolls wouldnt take.

Well fast forward to Nov, after playing on said tables from end of Sept, till then and now. I go back to the old pool hall I played at and the tables were like playing on ICE!!!!!! everything was fast. But after about 30mins of playing, I got the speed down. Plus, I was able to cut, bank, and do everything I was able to do, JUST 50% better, on those tables, cuz I was so usta playing on bad tables.

And I was still rated the same, too, so I rolled over alot of the guys I wasnt able to beat, before I left.

So playing on bad equipment isnt always the worst thing for your game. It vastly IMPROVED my game alot.

But, the next day, I went back to the slower tables, and had trouble shooting the shots I had be accustom to making cuz I adjusted to the faster tables where everything I had to hit soft.

Right now, I'd rather play on the slower/bad tables, than the good tables.
 
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