Pockets

[DrCue'sProtege]

i was watching some of the U.S. Open on ESPN this week. they were playing on the Diamond Pro table i believe, and it seemed to me like the balls were going into the pockets quite easily. some of the balls going down the rails that fell in kinda surprised me, because i dont think they would have fell on my Gold Crown IV. but yet, the way things looked on TV, the pockets on that Diamond table seemed smaller than my Gold Crown.

i guess my question is whether its possible for balls to drop on tables with smaller pockets, than it is for tables with bigger pockets? i am talking here, of course, about balls that come down the rail, and sort of "Wipe Their Feet" before they fall in, if you know what i mean.

DCP

 

[wayne]

i was watching some of the U.S. Open on ESPN this week. they were playing on the Diamond Pro table i believe, and it seemed to me like the balls were going into the pockets quite easily. some of the balls going down the rails that fell in kinda surprised me, because i dont think they would have fell on my Gold Crown IV. but yet, the way things looked on TV, the pockets on that Diamond table seemed smaller than my Gold Crown.

i guess my question is whether its possible for balls to drop on tables with smaller pockets, than it is for tables with bigger pockets? i am talking here, of course, about balls that come down the rail, and sort of "Wipe Their Feet" before they fall in, if you know what i mean.

DCP

The pockets on the diamond tables I have played on are cut quite a bit deeper than the Gold Crowns I've played on. The result is if you shoot softly down the rail some shots will go in that wouldn't on the Gold Crown. However, if you shoot hard it has the opposite effect (if it isn't hit perfect), the ball will rattle around in the Diamond pocket and shoot back out whereas the Gold Crown is more forgiving. They really do play different in a number of ways and both take some getting used to.

Wayne

 

[sjm]

i guess my question is whether its possible for balls to drop on tables with smaller pockets, than it is for tables with bigger pockets? i am talking here, of course, about balls that come down the rail, and sort of "Wipe Their Feet" before they fall in, if you know what i mean.
DCP

Though a diamond pro will generally play tighter than the Gold Crown 4, don't forget to factor in the rails. If the Diamond pro has just been set up and the rails are still slidy, it can play looser than it normally would.

 

[buddha162]

yeah, new cloth really makes a difference even on tight pocketed tables.

 

[Rich R.]

No everyone at the Open had an easy time with the pockets. There were a lot of people missing.

After one of his matches, I asked Tommy Kennedy about the size of the pockets. He estimated them at about 4 1/2 inches.
They were tough tables, but, as someone else said, the new cloth makes them a little more forgiving.

 

[JustPlay]

Did anyone see Efren Reyes shoot the 5 ball into the rail (against Corey Deuel) and missed the ball by a half-diamond and the ball still went in and everyone was surprised, including the commentators and even Efren! The US Open 9-ball tournament pockets were 4.5 inches.

The balls were still going in. This is a perfect example of why ESPN should stop usuing the bucket 5+ inch pockets for all of there events. 4.5 inch pockets pose no threat to bad play by the top players in these tournaments.

 

[sjm]

Did anyone see Efren Reyes shoot the 5 ball into the rail (against Corey Deuel) and missed the ball by a half-diamond and the ball still went in and everyone was surprised, including the commentators and even Efren! The US Open 9-ball tournament pockets were 4.5 inches.

The balls were still going in. This is a perfect example of why ESPN should stop usuing the bucket 5+ inch pockets for all of there events. 4.5 inch pockets pose no threat to bad play by the top players in these tournaments.

How true, JustPlay. I really find the trend in men's pool toward looser equipment realy puzzling. This, by the way, is not the trend on the WPBA, where equipment specifications are taken much more seriously.

Time to go back to tight equipment so we can separate the men from the boys.

 

[mjantti]

How true, JustPlay. I really find the trend in men's pool toward looser equipment realy puzzling. This, by the way, is not the trend on the WPBA, where equipment specifications are taken much more seriously.

Time to go back to tight equipment so we can separate the men from the boys.

Agreed ! They're trying to make pool a spectator sport and normal audience wants to see a lot of run-outs. Personally I like tighter tables so that every ball is not considered a hanger... I think it looks stupid when a player misses the pocket but somehow the ball gets sucked in. The surprised look on the player's face tells it all... "how on earth did I make that...". Cheating the pocket is a common pocket billiard strategy, but unwanted cheating the pocket...

 

[timbo.hobo]

The pockets on the tables for the '04 WPC were way wide too. Not sure of measurements, but I swear there were six hungry hippos on those tables. I admire snooker players for their supreme accuracy. I wonder what nine-ball will be like if played with the same pocket widtch to ball width ratio as snooker?

Tim.