Russian pool?

L

Lora_Ann

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Good evening one & all.

I just got home from a wonderful & somewhat mind-bending pool experience. I went to a newer billiard supply house and was invited into the back VIP room for something I was assured I had never experienced.

No... This doesn’t belong in the "Pool Porn" thread, sorry to disappoint.

The owner, who spoke with a heavy Russian accent, introduced me to a 6' X 12' table with what looked like 2 3/4" pockets. They were shaped much like a snooker pocket and the balls must have been at least 2 1/2"!!! Success looked as likely as shooting a hoop at the local county fair.

Needless to say I found it quite a challenging game & pocketing a ball required extreme force. One fellow commented that the ball should actually “hop” the edges of the pocket to gain entry. Never even heard of this technique.

My feeling of alienation was compounded by the fact that all balls were white (with tiny numbers in black) which made choosing the next ball quite an exercise.

This owner possessed minimal English skills and was unable to fully communicate the rules of the game. From what I gathered, it is a rotation game that requires incredible skill and the ability to drink until blind.

Is anyone familiar with this variant & its rules? I would like to return the favour by learning the game & perhaps win a rack or two...

Lora
 
Lora_Ann said:
From what I gathered, it is a rotation game that requires incredible skill and the ability to drink until blind.

Is anyone familiar with this variant & its rules?

Lora
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Timberly can help you with this, I'm sure. TIMBERLYYYYYYY...are you home from work yet?? :D
 
6 mm difference between the ball & a corner pocket openings. Sheesh, there's only 15mm on the side!

Talk about your tight pockets.
 
6 X 12 table, small balls, lots of red balls and non-numbered odd-coloured balls. Hmm, snooker anyone?

Barbara
 
Barbara said:
6 X 12 table, small balls, lots of red balls and non-numbered odd-coloured balls. Hmm, snooker anyone?

Barbara
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I think you got a wrong read, Barbara.

The balls are HUGE and the pockets are much tighter than a snooker table. No similarities at all between the rules. Have a look at the videos and check out this cool & wonderful game.

Hmm, chess anyone?
 
You can use any ball as a cueball one point a pot to 8 ("in offs" are a point) there's usually another colour ball also not sure about it is my understanding of it I believe just with like any other game there're a few versions of the game.
 
I did a table not to long ago for a customer who spoke of a trip he took to russia where he found his way to a pool hall. He said they played a game using larger balls but due to the bad atmosphere his party did not want to stay.
 
Lora_Ann said:
Good evening one & all.

I just got home from a wonderful & somewhat mind-bending pool experience. I went to a newer billiard supply house and was invited into the back VIP room for something I was assured I had never experienced.

No... This doesn’t belong in the "Pool Porn" thread, sorry to disappoint.

The owner, who spoke with a heavy Russian accent, introduced me to a 6' X 12' table with what looked like 2 3/4" pockets. They were shaped much like a snooker pocket and the balls must have been at least 2 1/2"!!! Success looked as likely as shooting a hoop at the local county fair.

Needless to say I found it quite a challenging game & pocketing a ball required extreme force. One fellow commented that the ball should actually “hop” the edges of the pocket to gain entry. Never even heard of this technique.

My feeling of alienation was compounded by the fact that all balls were white (with tiny numbers in black) which made choosing the next ball quite an exercise.

This owner possessed minimal English skills and was unable to fully communicate the rules of the game. From what I gathered, it is a rotation game that requires incredible skill and the ability to drink until blind.

Is anyone familiar with this variant & its rules? I would like to return the favour by learning the game & perhaps win a rack or two...

Lora
Click to expand...

The game was probably a variation of Russian Pyramids called "Amerikanka".
I watched this game being played once in a place in the "Little Odessa" section of Brooklyn. I was amazed at just how hard they hit their shots and how hard it must be to pocket the oversize balls in such tight pockets.
 
In Russian pyramid there are several disciplines: Amerikanka (you can shoot any ball using any ball as a cueball, quite fun and easy), Pyramid (you can only shoot with the red cueball) and other variations. You can also pocket the cueball used caroming off the object ball.

The reason why they shoot hard has to do with the pocket jaw material. The pocket rubber decompresses with a hard stroke, making the pocket bigger. If you shoot in the corner from a shallow angle, you can make some shots only with a hard stroke. Soft softs won't be sucked in the hole. We have quite a few of these Russian billiard tables here in Finland and we have our own game called Kaisa which has almost similar balls and similar tight pockets, but player only on a 10' table with a totally different ball set: 2 cueballs for each player, 2 reds and one yellow ball.

Hmm, I think my high run on a full size Russian pyramid table is 6 or 7 balls. No ball is an easy ball in Russian billiards. :rolleyes:
 
Lora_Ann said:
6 mm difference between the ball & a corner pocket openings. Sheesh, there's only 15mm on the side!

Talk about your tight pockets.
Click to expand...


I've always wanted to try Russian Pyramid but wow does it sound tough, I can barely pocket balls on a pool table let alone those tiny pockets!


P.S.

Lora could you check your PM's for me please? I believe I sent you a PM a while back and never got a response!
 
Aside from where Lora Ann found this table...where else and how many could there be located throughout the US? I've never seen one and you sure as hell won't have an easy time finding a room large enough to fit one in a house, even for an avid Russian player.
 
mel said:
Hey Dima, you're boy Evgeny is gambling right now in Q-Master with some dude from
Tennesse.

You better hurry if you want to catch the action!!!
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come on guy no need to name names here. also I'm not the person you're referring to. Is this filipino mel? Who's stalev playing? j hennessee?
 
An invitation

drivermaker said:
Aside from where Lora Ann found this table...where else and how many could there be located throughout the US? I've never seen one and you sure as hell won't have an easy time finding a room large enough to fit one in a house, even for an avid Russian player.
Click to expand...

Hey DM,

Why not take a small trip up here to Toronto? I'll introduce you to Ivan and we can get acquainted around this his table? Just a thought in a moment of weakness ;)

Lora
 
Lora_Ann said:
Hey DM,

Why not take a small trip up here to Toronto? I'll introduce you to Ivan and we can get acquainted around this his table? Just a thought in a moment of weakness ;)

Lora
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Thanks for the offer, but I don't go north of the Mason-Dixon line after Sept.

There's always a chance it'll get cold. The further south I can go , the better. ;) :cool:
 
drivermaker said:
Thanks for the offer, but I don't go north of the Mason-Dixon line after Sept.

There's always a chance it'll get cold. The further south I can go , the better. ;) :cool:
Click to expand...

Thin-skinned in person yet certainly not on the 'net. What irony this technology has wrought :)
 
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