Racking question

[Aaron_S]

What do you feel is the most important thing about racking, that the balls be a) as tight as possible, or b) racked as close to the center of the spot as possible? I've always put the emphasis on trying to get all of the balls touching, but I know some people who are very adamant that the 1-ball (or whatever the head ball is) be dead center on the spot. I'm sure everyone here has experienced tables (or racks) that made it impossible to get a tight rack centered on the spot without hammering the balls into the slate (which I try to avoid at all costs), so how do you compromise? Also, along the same lines, is a ball that's sitting on the top edge of the spot still on the spot, or does it have to be dead center?

 

[Snapshot9]

I would say ...

What do you feel is the most important thing about racking, that the balls be a) as tight as possible, or b) racked as close to the center of the spot as possible? I've always put the emphasis on trying to get all of the balls touching, but I know some people who are very adamant that the 1-ball (or whatever the head ball is) be dead center on the spot. I'm sure everyone here has experienced tables (or racks) that made it impossible to get a tight rack centered centered on the spot without hammering the balls into the slate (which I try to avoid at all costs), so how do you compromise? Also, along the same lines, is a ball that's sitting on the top edge of the spot still on the spot, or does it have to be dead center?

many things are important, although most players will overlook some of them. If the head ball is touching the spot, any part of it, it is considered on the spot. Hammering the balls is a big NO-NO, and ruins the table for players later on. In Texas Express rules, it is a loss of game to the racker, bet you didn't know that!!!

Many times, just switching balls around in the rack will work, because some balls could be slightly smaller, and not rack right in certain spots.

 

[Aaron_S]

In Texas Express rules, it is a loss of game to the racker, bet you didn't know that!!!

I did not know that, but it's a great rule, imo.

Many times, just switching balls around in the rack will work, because some balls could be slightly smaller, and not rack right in certain spots.

True, it may not always be the fault of the table or the rack, it could very well be the balls themselves. Good point.

 

[Sore_Aintya]

Hammering the balls is a big NO-NO, and ruins the table for players later on. In Texas Express rules, it is a loss of game to the racker, bet you didn't know that!!!

Man I could only imagine the fight that would surely follow after that call.

 

[BRKNRUN]

What do you feel is the most important thing about racking, that the balls be a) as tight as possible, or b) racked as close to the center of the spot as possible? I've always put the emphasis on trying to get all of the balls touching, but I know some people who are very adamant that the 1-ball (or whatever the head ball is) be dead center on the spot. I'm sure everyone here has experienced tables (or racks) that made it impossible to get a tight rack centered on the spot without hammering the balls into the slate (which I try to avoid at all costs), so how do you compromise? Also, along the same lines, is a ball that's sitting on the top edge of the spot still on the spot, or does it have to be dead center?

I knd of always thought that as long as the base of the 1-ball is touching any part of the spot, it is a legal rack...

I almost always end up at the very top of the spot by the time the rack stays tight...

 

[mszelis]

Tolerance

Many times, just switching balls around in the rack will work, because some balls could be slightly smaller, and not rack right in certain spots.

I remember hearing awhile back as to why this helps:
(For those of you who already know this, please ignore this post. I was told this a couple of weeks ago and found it very interesting. However, feel free to correct me if I have stated something wrongly. )

For those of you with an engineering background, there is something called tolerance. Because something can only be made so many times with repeatable precision, it is given a tolerance value. In pool balls, this may be a very small length, but it makes a difference. A rack of balls is created to a set tolerance level, and thus all the balls in that rack are the same size (hypothetically). If you were to switch a 15-ball between two different racks then they shouldn't be the same size. Because of this, the balls would not fit perfectly when racked. This is exactly what happens in pool halls. Balls get mixed up and instead of having 15 'perfect' racks, you have 15 different racks. In order to fix this, moving a different sized ball to one of the corners will help make the rack tighter.

 

[desert1pocket]

I remember hearing awhile back as to why this helps:
(For those of you who already know this, please ignore this post. I was told this a couple of weeks ago and found it very interesting. However, feel free to correct me if I have stated something wrongly. )

For those of you with an engineering background, there is something called tolerance. Because something can only be made so many times with repeatable precision, it is given a tolerance value. In pool balls, this may be a very small length, but it makes a difference. A rack of balls is created to a set tolerance level, and thus all the balls in that rack are the same size (hypothetically). If you were to switch a 15-ball between two different racks then they shouldn't be the same size. Because of this, the balls would not fit perfectly when racked. This is exactly what happens in pool halls. Balls get mixed up and instead of having 15 'perfect' racks, you have 15 different racks. In order to fix this, moving a different sized ball to one of the corners will help make the rack tighter.

The balls also get smaller with wear. In a set that has seen a lot of play, the 1 ball and cue ball will be much smaller than the rest (because they get the most wear), and 2-9 will be smaller than 10-15. This can be seen by placing the 1 between some higher nubered balls and putting a straight edge (like a wooden rack) across the 3 balls. If the ball set is a few years old, there will be a gap between the 1 ball and the straight edge.

 

[Tokyo-dave]

I've also heard that racking the balls so that the numbers touch eachother can also help close gaps between balls. Don't remember the reason, but I remember reading somewhere that over the years as the balls wear and become not only smaller, but also lose there roundness, the numbered surfaces are the least vulnarable to wear so the balls maintain their original size from numbered edge to edge. Don't know if it makes sense, but when I have problems with racks, matching up the numbers has seemed to help in some cases.
dave

 

[chunchin]

In this part of world(Taiwan), the rule or courtesy of pool hall demands
that in the 9-ball game the upper half balls of the rack must
touch each other and the rack can be moved up or down a bit.
Due to the wear of cloth, one ball in no way can sit still on the spot, so we choose the closeness above the position.