Pocket angles

T

tjohnson

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
On several recent threads the topic of pocket angles has come up. It seems that the standard for corner pockets is 141°. I measured the angle on my GC1 and got 142°, pretty close. After google searching the topic I saw this on the WPA website:

"Vertical Pocket Angle (Back Draft): 12 degrees minimum to 15 degrees maximum.

Horizontal Pocket Cut Angle: The angle must be the same on both sides of a pocket entrance. The cut angles of the rubber cushion and its wood backing (rail liner) for both sides of the corner pocket entrance must be 142 degrees (+1). The cut angles of the rubber cushion and its wood backing (rail liner) for both sides of the side pocket entrance must be 104 degrees (+1)."

So it seems there is some variation allowed by the "rules", from 141° - 143°. What is the reason that most people go for 141° instead of 142°? And the wide variation of allowable vertical angles (12° - 15°) seems strange. Is this value less critical to how the table plays?
 
tjohnson said:
On several recent threads the topic of pocket angles has come up. It seems that the standard for corner pockets is 141°. I measured the angle on my GC1 and got 142°, pretty close. After google searching the topic I saw this on the WPA website:

"Vertical Pocket Angle (Back Draft): 12 degrees minimum to 15 degrees maximum.

Horizontal Pocket Cut Angle: The angle must be the same on both sides of a pocket entrance. The cut angles of the rubber cushion and its wood backing (rail liner) for both sides of the corner pocket entrance must be 142 degrees (+1). The cut angles of the rubber cushion and its wood backing (rail liner) for both sides of the side pocket entrance must be 104 degrees (+1)."

So it seems there is some variation allowed by the "rules", from 141° - 143°. What is the reason that most people go for 141° instead of 142°? And the wide variation of allowable vertical angles (12° - 15°) seems strange. Is this value less critical to how the table plays?
Click to expand...

Pockets accept balls a little better at 141 and 102. Down angles help with various pocket shelfs.
 
I just seen this post after I posted a similar question inquiring how to check my pocket angles and stuff. Do you guys have a website or video that shows how to check the various pocket angles and such? Thank you


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sixwillwin said:
I just seen this post after I posted a similar question inquiring how to check my pocket angles and stuff. Do you guys have a website or video that shows how to check the various pocket angles and such? Thank you


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums
Click to expand...

You can search for an old post from jz mechanix where he linked to an olhausen rail job. There are a couple f pics in there. Search "olhausen rattle"
 
realkingcobra said:
The WPA has never built pool tables, made pool balls, or manufactured cloth....what are they the experts in again?
Click to expand...

Interesting. In other sports, there is commonly a sanctioning body that sets the rules for "official" matches, tournaments, etc. Part of the rules often involve equipment even though the sanctioning body does not manufacture the equipment. For instance, the NFL specifies how much footballs should be inflated, but the NFL doesn't make footballs. And the NFL-specified pressure, some would argue (I'm looking at you, Tom Brady), is not ideal yet those are the rules.

Is there an official sanctioning organization for US or international pool tournaments/championships? If so do they specify things like pocket angles, etc. for the tables that are used in tournaments? I'm not arguing that the angles specified by the WPA are ideal, I'm just wondering if there is a pool sanctioning body that specifies these kinds of things.

thanks!

EDIT: after doing some online research, it looks like it's the WPA.
 
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