Rating go down from valley to diamond?

Johnnyt

Johnnyt

Burn all jump cues
Silver Member
I know some on here play on different leagues and play on Valley’s and Diamond Smart tables in the bars and pool rooms. What is the difference of your speed from one to the other? Like if you feel you’re a “B” player on a Valley, are you still a “B” player on a Diamond or do you drop a bit? Johnnyt
 
I actually play better on the Diamonds. I run a a weekly tournament on Valleys, and shoot league on a combination of Diamonds, Valleys and an assortment of other tables. I find myself slowing down and concentrating more while playing on a known harder table, not to mention that the halls/bars with Diamonds tend to keep better care of their equipment. When playing on Valleys I sometimes tends to get a little too loose at times.
 
TheOneGnat said:
I actually play better on the Diamonds. I run a a weekly tournament on Valleys, and shoot league on a combination of Diamonds, Valleys and an assortment of other tables. I find myself slowing down and concentrating more while playing on a known harder table, not to mention that the halls/bars with Diamonds tend to keep better care of their equipment. When playing on Valleys I sometimes tends to get a little too loose at times.
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I concur with this -- I play better on Diamonds. Mostly because I trust the Diamond equipment more, and I feel I don't have to be fearful of "touch" type shots rolling off. With Valleys, I tend to put a lot more punch into my stroke and play for stop/stun shots, rather than letting the cue ball roll for position. I'd been bitten too many times with bad roll-offs on Valleys, so I find myself punching balls with authority on those tables. Then, when I get to the side pockets on a Valley, I'm extra careful, because Valleys are the only pool tables in existence where the side pocket apertures are EXACTLY EQUAL to the corner pocket apertures, so the "tunnel" to that side pocket is much smaller when approached from an angle. (Normal pool table measurements dictate that the side pocket apertures are larger than the corner pocket apertures for this very reason, to give the same "tunnel" dimensions to pocket the ball as the corner pockets offer. However, it appears the designers at Valley never got the memo.)

Hope that helps!
-Sean
 
I agree with Sean. The side pockets on the valley's are brutal. I think I play better on the diamonds. I play on a 9ft diamond at home, and the bar boxes play the same, just more clusters. The valley tables play completely different.
 
I play a lot better on a Valley table than the Diamond. The Diamond tables at the Carom Room are very unforgiving and super fast, while the Valley tables at my local pool room and my buddys house are slower and VERY forgiving. Even my 11 year old son will make the comment "that shot would have missed on a Diamond" lol. Of course if you changed the rails and shimmed the pockets on a Valley, then its a different story. All in all though, Id still rather play on a Diamond. Ive broke and ran a few racks on a Valley, and even though it felt good, I knew that the table was playing too easy. I like the challenge of the Diamonds. In theory, it should make me better, lol!



Joe
 
The springy rails and the deep corner pocket shelf depth of a Diamond results in very little margin when shooting long shots along the long rail. If your OB contacts the side rail except very, very close to the pocket you will miss the shot.

That, in of and by itself, makes a Diamond more challenging than a Valley.
 
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