Playing on Bad Tables

Skratch

Skratch

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How do you adjust your play for tables that are less than decent? I like to think I'm a relatively skilled player. On my league night, I give a lot of weight. I feel the table being less than dependable affects my play. I don't get the speed right or the position I want and get hooked when I'm trying to avoid it in the first place. Basically weird things happen that don't on other tables. How do you adjust?
 
Skratch said:
How do you adjust your play for tables that are less than decent? I like to think I'm a relatively skilled player. On my league night, I give a lot of weight. I feel the table being less than dependable affects my play. I don't get the speed right or the position I want and get hooked when I'm trying to avoid it in the first place. Basically weird things happen that don't on other tables. How do you adjust?
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Some of the tables I have the joy of playing on have dead spots in the rails. The speed of the cloth from one table to the one next to it can be as much as 30% in difference. Makes playing the weekly tournaments on them more of a crap shoot than a test of skill.

I do feel it is like making the handicap even larger than it is because the better player can no longer do the better cb control that he could on a decent table. But, it is what it is. All you can really do is not let it get into your head, play larger zone positions, and less english on shots. If you can, get there early and play some on it to get a feel for it.
 
Skratch said:
How do you adjust your play for tables that are less than decent? I like to think I'm a relatively skilled player. On my league night, I give a lot of weight. I feel the table being less than dependable affects my play. I don't get the speed right or the position I want and get hooked when I'm trying to avoid it in the first place. Basically weird things happen that don't on other tables. How do you adjust?
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Play conservatively. Stay away from the fancy stuff. Play safe more often. Get ball in hand whenever possible.

You may not be able to execute up to your level of ability due to the table, but you can still play a smarter game than your opponent.
 
Its frustrating to play down to that level when I know I'm more than capable of more. Thanks for the advice.
 
Skratch said:
How do you adjust your play for tables that are less than decent? I like to think I'm a relatively skilled player. On my league night, I give a lot of weight. I feel the table being less than dependable affects my play. I don't get the speed right or the position I want and get hooked when I'm trying to avoid it in the first place. Basically weird things happen that don't on other tables. How do you adjust?
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I use a speed reference from my home table that I practice on and adjust my stroke speed on the new table till I get the same amount of roll after contact with the object ball. This can be done with just the cue ball, with cueball and object ball for different position paths and for banks and kicks to learn the cushions as well.
 
Skratch said:
How do you adjust your play for tables that are less than decent? I like to think I'm a relatively skilled player. On my league night, I give a lot of weight. I feel the table being less than dependable affects my play. I don't get the speed right or the position I want and get hooked when I'm trying to avoid it in the first place. Basically weird things happen that don't on other tables. How do you adjust?
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You need more experience under the conditions where you have trouble.

I used to have a lot of trouble when switching from large tables to small back when I mostly played at the pool hall but also played in a bar league one night a week. That mostly went away when I had played more.

You may be able to fix some shots by thinking, for example, "The rails are bouncy. I have to play softer than normal and just roll the ball into the pocket." You may play better that way, but to play well you will need to just feel the shots on different kinds of tables.

Get to the goofy table early. Play on it. Get a feel for it.
 
FranCrimi said:
That's just your ego talking. Do you want to win or do you want to show off?
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It would be showing off if I were to be trying to perform shots that weren't necessary. I'm just trying to execute what I think the proper shot would be. Might be my ego talking anyway, but who doesn't talk to themselves during the game to check off that list of things to keep track of. I know being a handicapped league the rating systems always skewed and that I might be over rated. Its just disappointing when I can beat someone convincingly on one table then lose to him on another one (split 8ball/9ball night). Thanks for the earlier advice.
 
Mental toughness means flexibility. If the table conditions are too erratic to guarantee that you can successfully execute difficult position shots, then you have to let it go and stay conservative.

Use your other abilities to win, like playing more defensive shots. Just because you can't do what you know you can do doesn't mean that you are suddenly downgraded in skill. Your mind still works, doesn't it? So, use it.
 
I agree with the previous posts, keep it simple and play safe when needed.

It took me a while to get use to this concept. Being a higher rank in local tournaments I play a lot of 8 to 3 or 7 to 2 races in 9 ball. With Alternate break that would make it a crapshoot on if I could win. But I've been working hard at not trying to run out every rack (this is where i'd eventually mess up and give a way a game or match). I run a few and play position for a safe, then if I can't run out from their I'd make another ball or 2 and play another safe. My opponents don't like it but it is effective. The last tournament my first 3 matches were 8-3, 7-3, 8-3 races... I won 8-0, 7-1, 8-0 and the one game I lost I had rattled the 9 ball. More impressive is that (besides the 9 I rattled) my opponents in those 3 matches never had a shot at an 8 or 9 ball, and the only time they shot at the 7 was if they were kicking at it.

It doesn't matter how impressive your play looks, its about how effective it is.
 
RWOJO said:
It doesn't matter how impressive your play looks, its about how effective it is.
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This!!!....

Look at it this way...your opponent is playing on the crap table too...just grind it out and get the W.....We have a couple of places we play for league with horrible tables...I mean HORRIBLE!...It's rumored that one of the places hasn't recovered the table's since the late 90's and I believe it...lol...I hate playing there because once the QB gets rolling there's no telling where it might end up. I duck a lot more often on these tables even with layouts that I feel are totally runnable just because the table becomes the X-factor. Sure its nice to add a run out to the ol score card but a win is a win...
 
Bad tables suck, I agree with what others have said about playing conservatively. Lol, I remember running a tournament at a pool hall that had a few crappy bar boxes. This one guy who had won 3 or 4 matches on the same table finally got knocked out of the tournament and came over to me crying about how bad the table was and how he shouldn't have lost that game....blah blah blah.

I looked at him and said,"The guy that beat you, he was playing on that table too right?" That seemed to shut him up. It's funny that he didn't complain when he was winning.
 
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