Slow play by pros

[skip100]

I guess we’ll take that as a no

 

[BasementDweller]

of course tight pockets add to slow play. you have to have pin point position to make the shot and have the right angoe for the next. with big pockets you have lots of room to miss your spot to land.

so you do get an edge by studying all the possibilities and then making the best decision instead of just shooting for where it looks to be best.
you have to do that with small pockets to give you the absolute best chance.

still you need to keep the game moving, so the t.d. just has to give slow play warnings. none do and that just makes it worse.
ban for a few tournaments the slow players like we all know who they are. and tell them they will be barred for a year if they dont change.
it will instantly get faster.
the bad part some do it on purpose as they know it throws off the opponent. so it is a viable tactic and perfectly legal as of now.

That's pretty much my view. Just deal with the snails. I think the shot clock is necessary for weak promotions, but someone like Matchroom should be able to deal with the slow players. Using a shot clock isn't all positive as there is quite a bit of drama that is lost when the the game is played to a metronome.

Tick...tick...tick...5
Tick...tick...tick...5

 

[Bob Jewett]

I think the games should be 8 ball or 10 ball, I grew up on 9 ball but slop has changed the outcome of so many tournaments. Why be rewarded for a miss? ....

If you want that to happen to the pro tour, I think you need to convince Emily. Good luck. While you're at it, have her change the five ball back to orange and the four to purple, if she has to have a purple ball.

 

[tim913]

I guess we’ll take that as a no

Hate to destroy your hero worshiping but it happens all the time

 

[tim913]

If you want that to happen to the pro tour, I think you need to convince Emily. Good luck. While you're at it, have her change the five ball back to orange and the four to purple, if she has to have a purple ball.

I’d be interested in the games but will leave the orange 5 ball to Fatboy!

 

[cueball2010]

Too late
the game has changed.
Back in the day, pockets were huge, pocketing was easy and it was all about moving the cue ball.
Today, it's all about pocketing the ball and position is secondary, as long as you see the ball, it good enough.

You could blame tight pockets for this, but this approach started to take over before pocket got tighter than 4.5 inches. Tight pockets is the response of the game to this approach.

When did they reduce pocket size? 30 years ago? What was the size?

With the advances in Cloth, Pocket facings, rails, cue tips, etc.. Don't the pockets play just as big as bigger pockets in the stone age? I feel like the ability to move the ball must have went way up through the roof in comparison to any reduction in pockets size. My first clue would be Dr. Dave and his new, smaller pockets playing bigger then his old bigger pockets.

 

[skor]

When did they reduce pocket size? 30 years ago? What was the size?

With the advances in Cloth, Pocket facings, rails, cue tips, etc.. Don't the pockets play just as big as bigger pockets in the stone age? I feel like the ability to move the ball must have went way up through the roof in comparison to any reduction in pockets size. My first clue would be Dr. Dave and his new, smaller pockets playing bigger then his old bigger pockets.

Don't know when they went with 4-inch pockets; it wasn't like that in 2010. I think that it was 4.5 to 4.75 back then and before.

I agree that a well-maintained table with tight pockets will play wider than a badly maintained table with wider pockets. I wrote about it in the past.

But a lot of players come from countries where tables are not that great and humidity is high.

High humidity will make the rails very bouncy, and the balls will return short, and it'll change from hour to hour, so no rail system works... (somebody said waxing?) This makes players less dependent on banks and CB accurate paths and more on the ability to pocket balls with sometimes very hard shots and extreme cut shots. But with 4 inch pocket, some of those shots are impossible, so you play safe.

I first noticing this change in the game with young asian players like Wu Jiaqing back in early 2000's and pockets were still wider back then.

 

[sjm]

Don't know when they went with 4-inch pockets; it wasn't like that in 2010. I think that it was 4.5 to 4.75 back then and before.

This is just the third full season in which 4" pockets have been used in WNT play. Many of the Matchroom specs in use today (nine on the spot, narrow break box, tighter pockets) were first used at the 2022 European Open and became the norm for the 2023 season.

In 2010, 4 1/2" was the typical pocket size at the 9ball majors.

 

[skip100]

Hate to destroy your hero worshiping but it happens all the time

Did the result of the match likely change? If this happens when you’re up 6-0 or down 0-6 then it doesn’t matter.

Luck is part of 9 ball in every game due to the randomness of the break. You can get lucky or unlucky by being one inch in the wrong direction to be perfectly straight in or having an angle. You can get lucky or unlucky with balls being open or clustering repeatedly on your breaks or your opponent missing and not giving you a shot. Luck and rolls are inherent in 9 ball and pool in general.