Practice table 4" pockets or 41/2" pockets?

P

PaulGonzales

Registered
Hello Instructors of AZB,

I have been playing pool since November last year. When I started to play I always played on tables with 4" pockets.

Now my question is should I keep practicing on these tables? sometimes I got frustrate because I can't pocket a single ball or if I pocket the ball then I don't have a good shape for the next one. The thing is when I focus so much on making the ball I made the ball but my position for the next ball is terrible and when I focus on my position for the next ball I miss the ball but the cue ball ended up just exactly where I wanted to for the next ball.

The place where I play has like 18 tables. 5 of them are 4" pockets, 2 is 4 1/2" pockets and the rest are 5".

I always play on tables with 4" pockets because everybody seems to play there.. With "everybody" I mean the people who is serious about pool and want to improve their game.

Also - I got a procup ball (6 red dots ball) and I always practice with that but a lot of people tells me that is to heavy and harder to play and that I better practice with the ball that comes with the set of balls which is one with a red circle.

Any advice for a new player non relative with my question will be appreciate it (drills,practice game,etc)

I will appreciate your comments on my thread.

Thanks in advance,

Paul Gonzales

PS: Sorry for my bad English, I'm foreign.
 
i am not an instructor so this could be the wrong advice
i would say 4 1/2 inch pockets so that you get used to making balls
and for confidence especially since you are a beginner
as you improve you can practice on the 4 inch pockets
im curious what others will say
 
Your english is fine, better than some of the "natives"... :)

4" pockets are pretty tight, personally I wouldn't recommend beginning or intermediate players play on that tight of a table. Even a 4 3/8" or 4 1/2" pocket table, like the Diamonds or Centennials I play on, throw out balls if you are not accurate or careful of speed on certain shots.

I grew up playing on Brunswick Gold Crowns that probably had 5" pockets, trust me I still missed plenty... :) I would suggest learning and playing on those, especially if the quality of the tables is the same. Maybe some more esteemed people here will disagree with me, but to me it's like playing the golf from the back tees when you shoot 100 - you can do it, but you won't get as much enjoyment out of it as playing where you should be based on skill level.


As for the cue ball, if you have a standard measles cue ball it does play just a tad heavier then the red circle and others. I don't know if it is, but I know I can move a red or blue circle ball easier than the measles ball. It shouldn't really affect your play though, and the measles ball is pretty standard these days and easier to see spin etc. The difference isn't dramatic, I think you will adjust pretty quickly to conditions like that especially as you gain experience.

Good luck!
Scott
 
scottjen26 said:
Your english is fine, better than some of the "natives"... :)

4" pockets are pretty tight, personally I wouldn't recommend beginning or intermediate players play on that tight of a table. Even a 4 3/8" or 4 1/2" pocket table, like the Diamonds or Centennials I play on, throw out balls if you are not accurate or careful of speed on certain shots.

I grew up playing on Brunswick Gold Crowns that probably had 5" pockets, trust me I still missed plenty... :) I would suggest learning and playing on those, especially if the quality of the tables is the same. Maybe some more esteemed people here will disagree with me, but to me it's like playing the golf from the back tees when you shoot 100 - you can do it, but you won't get as much enjoyment out of it as playing where you should be based on skill level.


As for the cue ball, if you have a standard measles cue ball it does play just a tad heavier then the red circle and others. I don't know if it is, but I know I can move a red or blue circle ball easier than the measles ball. It shouldn't really affect your play though, and the measles ball is pretty standard these days and easier to see spin etc. The difference isn't dramatic, I think you will adjust pretty quickly to conditions like that especially as you gain experience.

Good luck!
Scott
Click to expand...

Thanks for your comments Scott.

I'll keep your advice in mind.
 
Like Scott said, I would practice on the 4 1/2" pockets, since that's what you're going to find at serious tournament play. One of the best ways to practice is to take ball in hand every time you come to the table. If you're playing alone, and you miss...set the shot back up, make the correction, pocket the ball, and continue your run. If you're playing with a partner, they get ball in hand, when you miss...etc.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
Paul, I'm not that familliar with 4 inch pockets ---- I have enough trouble trying to play with 4 1/2 inch pockets.

But my guess would be that 4 inches is a little extreme. It seems to me that it would then become more like a snooker game than a pool game. One of the things that makes pool so different from snooker is that you can do things with side spin to shots along the rail that are really great fun and very specific to pool.

With snooker, you have to be more conservative along the rails. I think if you want to play on tables with pockets tighter than 4 1/2 inches you might as well get the full benefit and play snooker on a real snooker table.
 
Thank you for your input guys.

I think everybody agree that 4" pockets are extreme.

The thing is when I started playing pool I saw most of the people playing on 4" pockets and they still do, so that is why I play on those tables.

I know people at my pool hall that can runs 2 or 3 tables in a row on those tables. So I always ask myself if they can do it why I can't? anyways I will start my practice today on 4 1/2" pockets table.

One day like 2 months ago or so Amar Kang and Rodney Morris came to my pool hall (Family billiards - San Francisco CA) and lucky me I was practicing next to them. They were playing on 4" pockets tables. Amar was playing against Rodney and he was up like 12 to 2 or something like that. Morris was missing a lot. To me seems that Amar plays better than Morris for what I saw that day but then Morris always do better than Amar on professional tournaments. Why do you think is that?.

Do you think that people who can run 3 or 4 tables or run at least 6 or 7 balls on 4" pockets tables will do better on biggers tables which is the ones that are on the tournaments?
 
PaulGonzales said:
Thank you for your input guys.

I think everybody agree that 4" pockets are extreme.

The thing is when I started playing pool I saw most of the people playing on 4" pockets and they still do, so that is why I play on those tables.

I know people at my pool hall that can runs 2 or 3 tables in a row on those tables. So I always ask myself if they can do it why I can't? anyways I will start my practice today on 4 1/2" pockets table.

One day like 2 months ago or so Amar Kang and Rodney Morris came to my pool hall (Family billiards - San Francisco CA) and lucky me I was practicing next to them. They were playing on 4" pockets tables. Amar was playing against Rodney and he was up like 12 to 2 or something like that. Morris was missing a lot. To me seems that Amar plays better than Morris for what I saw that day but then Morris always do better than Amar on professional tournaments. Why do you think is that?.

Do you think that people who can run 3 or 4 tables or run at least 6 or 7 balls on 4" pockets tables will do better on biggers tables which is the ones that are on the tournaments?
Click to expand...

I think I can answer your question about why Rodney was missing on the 4 inch pocket table. Rodney is a rhythm player. Tight pocket tables can take a player right out of their rhythm. Players who are slow and deliberate will do better on tight pockets than rhythm players who suddenly are faced with having to slow down and be more deliberate when it goes against their natural instincts to play that way.
 
Agree with Fran, playing on 4" pocket tables or with triple shimmed pockets is more an exercise in concentration than anything else, you have to be very precise and careful. Like playing on a tricked out golf course (like a major setup with faster greens, longer rough, etc.) vs the normal setup.

Here in Jax our major weekly tourney shifted rooms a while ago, and went from Olhausen tables that were 2 balls wide (so about 4 1/2") to Diamond Procut tables (2 balls won't quite fit, so maybe 4 3/8"? plus tougher shelf design). The best players in town are more careful now and everyone was missing a LOT when first playing. Certainly no one is just running out a set anymore, that's for sure. If you have people in your room consistently running 2 - 3 racks on the 4" tables I'm glad they are across the country from me... :)

Scott
 
Drill on the 4" and then move over and practice and play on the 4.5"

Drills are about fundamentals and focus.... The 4" pockets will make you focus and will definitely expose stroke flaws or PSR errors dealing with head position or stances where you are trapping the cue or leaving it out in the breeze.........
 
I'm very interested in this subject also. I just had my table redone and had the pockets made tighter. Mine are 4 inches at the outside points.

Where are you guys measuring from ? Mine are pretty brutal, so much that Im considering having the guy come back and make them wider.

thoughts ?
 
Last edited:
Corner pocket outside points.

All of this fascination with the pocket openings, when there are other factors that influence how the pocket plays, (miter and down angles, shelf depth, facings, cloth wear) to name a few.

There are excellent discussions of these factors in the Ask the Mechanic sub-forum.

In the meantime, play pool and have fun while you do it.

Txstang1 said:
I'm very interested in this subject also. I just had my table redone and had the pockets made tighter. Mine are 4 inches at the outside points.

Where are you guys measuring from ? Mine are pretty brutal, so much that Im considering having the guy come back and make them wider.

thoughts ?
Click to expand...
 
Tony_in_MD said:
Corner pocket outside points.

All of this fascination with the pocket openings, when there are other factors that influence how the pocket plays, (miter and down angles, shelf depth, facings, cloth wear) to name a few.

There are excellent discussions of these factors in the Ask the Mechanic sub-forum.

In the meantime, play pool and have fun while you do it.
Click to expand...

Wait a minute, I was supposed to be having fun playing pool? :eek: :scratchhead: :thud:

:D:D:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top