Playing Snooker on a 9 footer

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salimpatel

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I own a 9 foot brunswick and recently have gained interest in snooker. I understand that playing snooker on a pool table wont be like the real thing but I want to try. What can I do to play snooker on the 9 footer? What sized balls do I need and what other equipment do I need?
 
Ball size is totally dependant on table and rails. If you are using a normal 9fter with standard rails, you need the same size balls. 2 1/4.
 
2 1/4" snooker balls are sold, but I'd think it would get a little crowded on 9' table. If I were going to try it, I think I'd rack a rack of 10 balls and use some other balls as the colored balls. You would be a ball short unless you had an extra though .... :(
 
So basically I should get balls that are reguulation for 9 footers? also do you guy know where i can get good snooker balls for a good price?
 
salimpatel said:
I own a 9 foot brunswick and recently have gained interest in snooker. I understand that playing snooker on a pool table wont be like the real thing but I want to try. What can I do to play snooker on the 9 footer? What sized balls do I need and what other equipment do I need?
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It won't be the same, part to the challenge is that the balls are smaller and the pockets, in particular, are very different. Rounded instead of pointed at the pocket openings, making it very hard to pocket a ball at speed. If you're intent on trying it on a pool table, you could use the striped balls for the reds and the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 for the numbers {colors are different}. Use the 8 as a red also. You could substitute just using the proper colors instead of numbers, I believe Snooker balls in England and Canada have no numbers. The 2 is yellow, the 3 is green, the 4 is brown, the 5 is blue, the 6 is pink, and the 7 is black.
Keep in mind that it just won't be the same as on a Snooker table.
 
Try sending Fatboy a message. I played snooker with him on his 9fter and he semed to have all the stuff you would need. He may be able to point you inthe right direction. Snooker is a great game.
 
The advice that's been given here already is all good, and you should also remember that a huge part of snooker is the safety aspect of leaving a lot of green between your opponent's cue and his object ball. Even top snooker pros don't try to run balls down rails or shoot cut shots that a pool player would swing at all day on a 9 footer, because on a 12' snooker table they just don't go (a high percentage of the time). If you're starting out on a pool table, have fun but remember that if you ever step up to a 12 there may be lots of shots you've put yourself into the habit of shooting that just aren't right to take on proper equipment.
 
Americans demand that snooker be played on 12 foot tables only. A very strange position for people to take who play 8-ball on a bar box. :D

If you check out British retail web sites, you will find out that snooker tables come in lots of sizes. Snooker balls come in many sizes. Smallest I've seen offered are 1 3/8".

When you start off with 22 balls on the pool table you have traffic problems to overcome, and you use all the shots you are accustomed to in pool games. Not the same game as on a 12 foot, but scoring is by points, not the pocketing of a single ball. A better game than the usual pool games IMHO.

http://www.fgbradleys.com/fgb-cart/default.asp?cat=28

And here are instructions for marking the smaller tables

http://www.totalsnooker.com/How to put markings on a snooker table.htm

Have fun
 
You should get pocket reducers aswell to give that snooker feel when shooting down the rail. Use the reducers to make 4" pockets and then you'll feel like your playing snooker :wink:
 
I picked up a used set of Aramith Pro Snooker balls, 2 1/4" diameter on eBay last year for about $80. I just wanted a set of 15 solid colored balls with no numbers or other markings and that was the easiest way.
 
Scaramouche said:
Americans demand that snooker be played on 12 foot tables only. A very strange position for people to take who play 8-ball on a bar box. :D
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I've never played it on anything smaller than a 5 x 10. I've only played on a 6 x 12 a few times, only even seen one a few times:p
 
5x10 snooker tables used to be quite common in this part of the country... now you can hardly find one. I think 5x10s were pretty much the norm in the US given that I first saw a 6x12 in Hong Kong.
 
Underclocked said:
5x10 snooker tables used to be quite common in this part of the country... now you can hardly find one. I think 5x10s were pretty much the norm in the US given that I first saw a 6x12 in Hong Kong.
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The son of a player I knew back in NY when I first started playing came home after living in the North West and said that 6 x 12 was the norm where he lived, I think around North/South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming. Grady has a 5 x 10 in his room outside Columbia, SC. The place I played in when I got started playing seriously had a 5 x 10 that was a converted Carom table. They now have a 6 x 12 which the new owner acquired in Canada.
 
I play "snooker" on my 7 footer pool table. I purchased the 22 ball set from Ebay, $9.99 plus shipping. Balls are 2 1/16 (official size). Yes, they are not aramith...but I've played a lot and these balls look still new. Of course, playing snooker in a 7 footer is nothing like the real thing, but it is fun enough. I didn't know that 2 1/4 snooker balls existed, but even on a 9 footer, those balls are too big! (at least if you are going to play with all the 15 red balls, white cue ball and 6 colored balls).
 
Ive played snooker on a 9 foot pool table before, and while its not as challenging as on a snooker table it was still a LOT of fun :)
 
Other than the snooker balls you don't need any equipment, especially if you buy the 2-1/4" balls.

I have a set of Aramith 2-1/8" snooker balls that I've used on a 9' table, and though they're too low for the rails I actually like having to adjust to the smaller size.

You can buy Aramith snooker balls at pooldawg.com and other sites:
http://billiards.pooldawg.com/search?w=aramith+snooker

Currently the states with the most snooker tables are California (49), New York (16), Oregon (17), Missouri (13), Arkansas (11), Michigan (11), Georgia (10), and Florida (10). If you're interested in finding a 5x10 or 6x12 table but aren't sure what might be closest to you, try this map:

http://www.findsnooker.com/maps.html

I haven't kept the map as up to date as the state listings, so cross-check what you find on the map with the listings for a particular state. Always call ahead!
 
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