Playing pool without a rack? Professional tournament

[jaime_lion]

So I'm watching this video on YouTube and it looks like they're playing pool without a rack. Why would they be doing this?

 

[Joe_Jaguar]

Even Google is not your friend

 

[rexus31]

Most likely clear paper reinforcements applied using something similar to this:

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

You didn’t hear? One of those guys is allergic to the wood in the rack.

 

[dr_dave]

So I'm watching this video on YouTube and it looks like they're playing pool without a rack. Why would they be doing this?

The table was "trained." With a trained table, no rack or template is required to get a good rack. For more info, see:

Table Training and How to Get a Tight Rack​

 

[jaime_lion]

The table was "trained." With a trained table, no rack or template is required to get a good rack. For more info, see:

Table Training and How to Get a Tight Rack​

so how does this affect the balls rolling over the area and stuff? Seems to me they wouldn't roll perfectly or what not.

 

[Texas Carom Club]

so how does this affect the balls rolling over the area and stuff? Seems to me they wouldn't roll perfectly or what not.

You mean like a crappy bar table and junk?

 

[JazzyJeff87]

You mean like a crappy bar table and junk?

Werd

I did this with my old table. It doesn’t really affect the rolls. I played a lot of one pocket and I don’t remember ever having an issue even with a lot of play in the rack area.

 

[jaime_lion]

You mean like a crappy bar table and junk?

I would probably only use this technique at the good coin operated bar tables at our pool hall.

 

[dr_dave]

The table was "trained." With a trained table, no rack or template is required to get a good rack. For more info, see:

Table Training and How to Get a Tight Rack​

so how does this affect the balls rolling over the area and stuff? Seems to me they wouldn't roll perfectly or what not.

The only time I have noticed an effect is if a ball is coming to rest very close to one of the indentations in the rack area, in which case the ball might settle a little funny as it stops; otherwise, I have not noticed any effects on ball motion.

 

[Bob Jewett]

The only time I have noticed an effect is if a ball is coming to rest very close to one of the indentations in the rack area, in which case the ball might settle a little funny as it stops; otherwise, I have not noticed any effects on ball motion.

The effect of the common spot sticker (about an inch in diameter, used to prevent cratering under the head ball) is much worse than the training dimples. The worst case I saw of this was in a US Open (9B) in a match between Darren Appleton and Efren Reyes. Efren had played a shot and the cue ball was rolling slowly and was going to end up behind a ball near the spot. Then the cue ball hit the sticker and took an abrupt left turn leaving Efren with a nice shot on the next ball. "I got lucky," indeed.