Racking Problems

[WesleyW]

I use the following technique to get the 3 balls tight. After racking, I push the frontball back, so the 3 balls are tight together. On my other hand I've the rack, I tap with the rack on the ball very gentle. You will not harm the plates by doing this, and you will almost always get a good rack.

 

[Billy_Bob]

Buy a set of brand new pro balls and a brand new rack and chances are the rack is not made properly and will not give a tight rack!

Yes many ball racks will not rack properly.

Sometimes you need to put a layer or two of masking tape in the rack to push the head ball back a little. Sometimes need to sand the sides where the 2nd row of balls are.

I've seen triangle racks where each corner would give a different rack!

Another problem is old balls. Old balls will be worn down. Also the 1 through 9 will be more worn than the the other balls due to playing 9 ball. So with old balls, it may be impossible to get a tight rack.

Mix old balls and a bad rack and no one is going to get a good rack.

I know a guy who goes to the tournament early and brings tape. He checks each rack and places tape in the corner(s) as needed on every rack his team will be playing with. Then they get good racks.

 

[RBC]

This is a common problem.

I have to agree with Scott Lee and others that tapping the balls in is not the solution. As a matter of fact, it may very well be the cause of your problem and not the solution. It most certainly hurts your efforts as opposed to helping them.

Here's what I do.

On some tables the front ball will not sit directly on the spot, it will roll slightly to a "low" spot every time. As Scott says, let it go there, and then rack the other balls aroung it.

Also, there are equipment issues where that leave the front few balls floating around in the rack no matter how tight you squeeze them. If this happens, don't just squeeze so hard that you distort the rack. This may get them tight, but when you let up the rack just relaxes back to it's original position and pushes the balls loose again. The solution is to squeeze the rest of the balls together and then push them as a group up to the back of the 3 in front. By pushing them up from behind, you can get them all to touch. They will not, however, be touching the rack, but that is fine. You now have a tight rack for your opponent, or yourself.

Certaily not the only way to skin a cat, but it sure works good for me!

Royce Bunnell
www.obcues.com