Pocket Size

[Buzzard]

I have been under the impression that tight pockets means that if you put two balls at the pocket opening and they don't go through that the table ia a "tight pocket table" and that a regulation size pocket allows the two balls to slide through. I was told today that regulation means the balls won't go through and that the "bucket pockets" are the non reg ones. Which is correct?

 

[Andrew Manning]

"Regulations" allow for a range of sizes, but what seems to have become the competition standard among serious players is a 4.5" opening. Regulation balls have exactly 2.25" diameter, so that would mean two brand-new balls should just fit in the opening, but not be able to slide further into the pocket. If the balls you're using are either very old or have undergone very heavy use (like pool hall balls) then they'll have worn down to a slightly smaller diameter, so they should probably fit well into the jaws, but still not so deep that they'll slide side-by-side all the way into the hole.

I've seen WPBA ESPN matches that looked like 5.25 or even 5.5 inch pocket openings. But the trend lately seems to be 4.5 inches; that's Diamond's ideal, IPT's regulation, and many pros' standard for playing on tight equipment (John Schmidt's recent 245-ball run DVD boasts 4.5" pockets).

-Andrew

 

[9BallBust-O]

Yeah I played on GC last night that you could fit two balls ( haha two balls ) you could fit 2 balls in and still there was about 1/4 to 1/2 inch room ..... it was stupid crazy big

 

[Snake]

I have a GC3 with tight cut pockets. Here are a few pics.

snake

 

[Black Cat 5791]

I have a GC3 with tight cut pockets. Here are a few pics.

snake

Dude, that is ridiculous. I've never seen pockets that tight. Nice table and room is that at home?

Black Cat

 

[Snake]

Yes this is at my house in the San Fernando Valley, CA. My table plays tough, it's similar to the tables at Hollywood Billiards.

snake

 

[suckershot]

What size are your pockets, Snake? 4-1/4"?

 

[sjm]

I've seen WPBA ESPN matches that looked like 5.25 or even 5.5 inch pocket openings. But the trend lately seems to be 4.5 inches; that's Diamond's ideal, IPT's regulation, and many pros' standard for playing on tight equipment (John Schmidt's recent 245-ball run DVD boasts 4.5" pockets).

WPBA specifications are 4.5 inch pockets, though the tables play quite a bit looser than that because the rails are invariably slidy.

Actually, WPBA pool has consistent equipment from event to event, something the men really need, but haven't seemed to work out yet. The WPBA is fortunate that its productions are handled bt former top-10 ranked pro Peg Ledman. Peg is very serious about playing equipment and makes sure that the playing equipment befits touring professionals.

 

[Gerry]

I found super tight pockets at 4" to 4-1/4" on my last practice table (a GCIV) at home were a detriment to my over all game. They were great for 1 pocket, but I could never get into stroke playing straight pool and found myself getting very frustrated. Of course when I went and played tourneys the pockets were bucket feeling but that wasn't enough because the confidence wasn't there. I think going the same size as MOST tourneys at 4-1/2" with a slightly tougher cut is the way to go for the best all around practice table.

Gerry

 

[Black-Balled]

I am in complete agreement with you, Gerry. I play on a triple-shimmed beast regularly and, while it does make you aim at the hole, it can really pucker one up, psychologically. Also, there are many shots that you just can't execute...

Edit: SNAKE! I want to make you my practice buddy! How long does it take to get to your house from DC?!!

I found super tight pockets at 4" to 4-1/4" on my last practice table (a GCIV) at home were a detriment to my over all game. They were great for 1 pocket, but I could never get into stroke playing straight pool and found myself getting very frustrated. Of course when I went and played tourneys the pockets were bucket feeling but that wasn't enough because the confidence wasn't there. I think going the same size as MOST tourneys at 4-1/2" with a slightly tougher cut is the way to go for the best all around practice table.

Gerry

 

[Andrew Manning]

WPBA specifications are 4.5 inch pockets, though the tables play quite a bit looser than that because the rails are invariably slidy.

Actually, WPBA pool has consistent equipment from event to event, something the men really need, but haven't seemed to work out yet. The WPBA is fortunate that its productions are handled bt former top-10 ranked pro Peg Ledman. Peg is very serious about playing equipment and makes sure that the playing equipment befits touring professionals.

I defer to your expert opinion; it's just the way the balls would go in after grazing the rail on the ESPN TV table made me think they set it up with giant pockets for the benefit of TV (thinking people want to watch offense, not defense or missed shots). The slippery rail cloth explanation makes sense, though.

-Andrew

 

[SCCues]

Tight pockets

I have a GC3 with tight cut pockets. Here are a few pics.

snake

I have a friend with a GC table with 4" pockets and its not fun for me to play on it since I can't execute some position shots with pockets that tight and your table is much tighter than his. 4 1/2" pocket are as tight as i'd ever want to play on. Super tight tables change the game and make it a shot makers game instead of a power position game.

I like your room and table though, it's just too tight for me.

SCCues

 

[SCCues]

I defer to your expert opinion; it's just the way the balls would go in after grazing the rail on the ESPN TV table made me think they set it up with giant pockets for the benefit of TV (thinking people want to watch offense, not defense or missed shots). The slippery rail cloth explanation makes sense, though.

-Andrew

I've noticed the WPBA tables on ESPN playing like bar tables. I've seen shots hit way up the rail and they still go in the corner pockets. I can't tell for sure since it's on TV, but those ESPN pockets look like ther're about 5". They look huge to me and some of the shots that go in wouldn't go on a table with
4 1/2" pockets.

I'd like to know the actual size of the ESPN table pockets if anyone knows.

SCCues

 

[Jeffrey Gale]

Everybody is talking about corner pockets, but what about side pockets, what's the Reg. size for side pockets, or are they the same size as the corner pockets?

 

[Craig Fales]

I have a GC3 with tight cut pockets. Here are a few pics.

snake

That's how tight the pockets at Plush Pockets are...on EVERY table...the only thing I didn't notice is the angle of the jaws....on yours they are dead parallel to each other...I think they were more in the 4 in. size but you still couldn't get two balls past the points...

What size are your pockets, Snake? 4-1/4"?

You musta missed the pic showing the tape....they're less than 3 3/4"...
________

 

[Cory in DC]

Don't forget about the shelf, which can make pockets effectively smaller. The pool hall where I run my Sunday tournament has bucket pockets, even though two balls don't fit into the pocket at the same time. They are GC's, but for some reason the shelf is exceptionally shallow so they just suck balls in.

On the other hand, the deep shelf on a Diamond means you're usually doomed if you hit the facing with any speed, and that it's tough to go off the side rail on the way into the pocket. Seems like 4.25" Gold Crown with normal shelves might play looser than a 4.5" Diamond.

So wee need a pocket toughness meter that factors in the shelf, the width, and possibly the facing angle.

Cory

 

[9BallBust-O]

No side pockets are a little bigger


SNAKE .. that is one bad A$$ table ... tight and tuff!

 

[suckershot]

I defer to your expert opinion; it's just the way the balls would go in after grazing the rail on the ESPN TV table made me think they set it up with giant pockets for the benefit of TV (thinking people want to watch offense, not defense or missed shots). The slippery rail cloth explanation makes sense, though.

-Andrew

Agreed. I saw one time on ESPN, it was a "Shot of the Match", one of the women executed a long rail bank. It must have hit a least a diamond to a diamond and a half up the rail, and it still went it.

But yes, the new cloth could be a factor. They just redid a few of tables where I play a few weeks ago, and these are the tighter pocket tables (I think one was 4-1/4", the other two are around 4-3/8", they are all definitely smaller than 4-1/2" though). For a while, they were all playing very generously compared to what they were doing before the changing of the cloth.

 

[Gerry]

Here's the pockets on my home table. I tried to clean my pathetic digitals up to give a good idea of the pocket size. While the corners are a little easy, they play perfect for 14.1.....too loose for 1pocket. The sides are a different story. They play alot tighter than they appear. Most likely culprit is the angle of the pocket cut...

Gerry

 

[9 ball]

Can anyone tell me the size of the pockets used at the 2004 wpc in taiwan and the size of last years also because it would be nice to see how tight the pockets got last year in comparison to previous tournaments.

On a side note what size are the pockets on a brunswick metro table when they just come from the factory without any adjustments being made?.