Red Circle Ball vs. Measle Cue Ball

I bought ol Measles off of flebay and I have the blue circle aramath super pro set and on new 860 on my Diamond Pro the measle ball rolls at least a foot farther on most shots which means you have to get use to it for sure. I do feel that it is heavier than Blue circle but a man can get use to anything if he has too.--Leonard
 
My experience at Chris's is exactly on par with Flex's. They generally have Centenial balls, but their cue balls are a crazy mix of blue circles, red circles, black circles, red triangles, no circles. I talked to one of the guys there and they did weigh them and indeed found a difference. He said he didn't rember how much, but that it was in the grams, which really didn't help much.

It's common knowledge in the room among the better players that the red circles play lighter than the blue circles. We all know this because as we rotate around different tables during tournaments with different cue balls mixed in and you absolutely have to compensate for this or you will be toast.

I know the weight differences aren't that great but I strongly suspect even two percent difference in weight between cue ball and object ball gets multiplied or even exponential when you start adding all the forces involved.

At the very least you get a two percent effect as soon as you hit the cueball, a two percent effect at impact with the object ball. Perhaps so much energy is needed to get a draw shot moving that perhaps these two percent differences make a significant amount of difference in the remaining amount of energy once the cueball becomes naturally rolling again.

Clearly an expert mathematician is needed here. :D
 
Da Poet said:
My experience at Chris's is exactly on par with Flex's. They generally have Centenial balls, but their cue balls are a crazy mix of blue circles, red circles, black circles, red triangles, no circles.
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This must be why there have been no world champions from Chicago. That and the fact that there are no 24 hour pool rooms.
 
PoolBum said:
This must be why there have been no world champions from Chicago. That and the fact that there are no 24 hour pool rooms.
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lol! I figured it was because a guy pushing a broom can make $30 an hour around here! :D

But you might be right! :D
 
iasaxman said:
In my opinion, people place too much emphasis on the draw ability of a cue ball. If you happen to leave yourself a shot that requires full table draw, you probably played bad shape on the previous shots.

People should be looking at the natural follow english too(1 rail, 2 rail, 3 rail, and so on). Don't believe me, how many elite pros do you see draw the ball all over the table? Very few and far between are they leaving themselve those shots, and if they do, they're more likely to play tangent with varying running english to go 'round the table in whatever pattern suits the next shot.
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There are shots that require a draw shot, as I'm sure you are aware. The other options you mention just may not be available. At that moment, and depending on multiple factors, one ball or the other can make or break the game. There must be a reason just about every money player on table 9 at Chris's in Chicago will play only with a red circle ball. The other balls are available, but you won't find them being used in high stakes games there.

Flex
 
Randy, have you ever compared how different balls play, especially how they cut and throw differently depending on the shot and cue ball being used?

Flex


Most all of my pool playing life! I have been around our sport for 48 years, and learn something new every week.

A few years ago our School Instructors got together and weighed about 50 different balls, both OB & CB.

One of the startling things discovered was that the Centenials are heavier than the Aramith standard sets. That makes the Blue Circle heavier than the Red Cirlce. Not by much, but enough to see the difference.

A couple of years ago I stopped in a very small town in West Kansas to visit an old Pool Hall that was still open. They had the original sets of pool balls (20 years old) still on the tables. Looked like snooker balls.

We have to play under all conditions. The player that adjusts the quickest has the early edge.....SPF=randyg
 
palace

Pushout said:
Johnny Archer brought one with him to Shannon's tour stop at the Palace in Greenville, SC. Don't think he used it in the tournament, though.
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where was archer hiding i did not see him????? :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
Da Poet said:
lol! I figured it was because a guy pushing a broom can make $30 an hour around here! :D

But you might be right! :D
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I am ready to apply. Gladly trade a few bucks an hour for less responsibility!
 
It may just be in my head, but I can notice a slight difference between the two. I honestly feel if I were blindfolded and hit both the measle and the red dot that I would know which was which.
I used to hate playing with the measle ball, but I was forced to a few times, and now I like using it. I feel like I get a better sense of exactly what I'm putting on the ball when I hit it.
 
All I have to say is that the weight difference is significant between the two. You absolutely can draw the red dot further, all else being equal. Also, after commonly slow rolling/pocket speed playing balls with the pro cup, you will find that you have to adjust a little to hit them firmer with the red dot so that the object ball "makes it to the pocket."

By the way, when I say red dot, I am actually refering to the "red circle" cue ball, but please do note that there is actually a red dot in existance (I have no other information about one, and I have never personally used one).
 
I played with the measles cue ball once at a regional tournament (2004 Gran Prix of Latin America) and loved it. I had been playing and practincing exclusively with the red circle, and I when I saw that the matches would be played with the measles ball, I was initially concerned that I might have trouble adjusting. How wrong I was! The ball plays much like a blue circle, and it gives you so much feedback that its hard for me to believe that anyone could have trouble with it. Everyone is different, of course, but I highly recommend the measles cue ball.

P.S.--If the slight increase in weight significantly affects one's ability to draw the rock, the fault is not in the ball, its in the stroke!
 
I don't like the measle ball because it forces me to reveal all of my secret spins. Ha! Ha!
 
seymore15074 said:
All I have to say is that the weight difference is significant between the two. You absolutely can draw the red dot further, all else being equal. Also, after commonly slow rolling/pocket speed playing balls with the pro cup, you will find that you have to adjust a little to hit them firmer with the red dot so that the object ball "makes it to the pocket."

By the way, when I say red dot, I am actually refering to the "red circle" cue ball, but please do note that there is actually a red dot in existance (I have no other information about one, and I have never personally used one).
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I have seen red dot cue balls-they were cheap chinese garbage,


the Measles rock plays very similar to the blue circle, I dont like the red circle-I cant keep a leash on it as well.

I like centennial balls alot more than aramith pro balls.
 
I just don't like the looks of the measles ball. In my opinion, it gives a beautiful game a hoakey beach ball at a rock concert appearance. There is visual feed back, however, just watching and seeing if a regular cue ball goes where you want it to is the ultimate feedback on how well you hit it.
 
A few years ago our School Instructors got together and weighed about 50 different balls, both OB & CB.

One of the startling things discovered was that the Centenials are heavier than the Aramith standard sets. That makes the Blue Circle heavier than the Red Cirlce. Not by much, but enough to see the difference.

.....SPF=randyg
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Thanks for this very valuable information. This comfirms one of my suspicions and it kinda bugs me.

IMO, different manufacturers making sets of balls at different weights is the kind of thing that keeps pool away from "sport" status and more towards "game" status.

This might be the topic of a whole new thread, but as long as pool has been around, I find the fact that we even need to talk about multiple weight cue balls and object balls absurd. :mad:
 
As I already stated in a previous post, the red circle, blue circle, measles, and obect balls are all supposed to weigh the same. In reality, they can vary by several grams due to poor quality control, and due to wear over time. The reason the red circle seems to be lighter is twofold; it is made of a different type of phenolic resin than the object balls (same resin as carom balls), and there is comparatively more weight near the edges of the ball. The first measles cue balls were identical to the red circle, with the exception of the markings. There are now blue cirlce balls being made with the measles spots as well, and they are a brighter white color, and play the same as the blue circle.
 
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