Table height

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

OK so I know some of you guys are taller or shorter. Well I’m not that tall. Anyway is there a trick to adjusting to table height with your stance? When I play at home I have my typical stance head position etc. when I go to the hall for some reason the table is like 4 inches lower. It makes me feel like a giant and throws my natural stance way off and it is hard to adjust it. On the plus side of this I can reach farther shots easier. Like an extra foot. this might apply more to taller people who have higher tables at home. Is there a good way to adjust without throwing off your whole stance? I personally bend at the knees but my ass feels like it’s down by the floor over there. I’m talking the hall table is probably 3-4 inches lower than my home table. Maybe not that much lower, but very noticeable.

 

[pw98]

OK so I know some of you guys are taller or shorter. Well I’m not that tall. Anyway is there a trick to adjusting to table height with your stance. When I play at my home table I have my typical stance head position etc. when I go to the hall for some reason the table is like 4 inches lower. It throws my natural stance way off and it is hard to adjust it. On the plus side of this I can reach farther shots easierSo this might apply more to taller people who have higher tables at home. Is there a good way to adjust without throwing off your whole stance? I’m talking the hall table is probably 3-4 inches lower than my home table. Maybe not that much lower, but very noticeable

My friend thinks shoe height makes a difference in cases like this and you could try no shoes when playing at home and tall shoes when you go out.

You could also look into lowering the height of your table because a 3-4 inch difference is a lot. The most there is around here is a 1 inch difference at one hall where the owner is fat and tall so he set the tables up high to help with his gambling. This causes my friend and I issues because we are about 5'8 and will set up for a shot that we are sure we can reach then find out we can't reach it.

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

I looked around the tables today and it looks like there’s about 2 inches of padding around the tables and not under them. So in a sense if it’s leveled all the way down as low as it can go and then two more inches it’s a lot of inches

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

Oh and one more thing to add it’s only at the one hall the other ones that I go to tables are higher and not that bad to adjust to. Buy the shoes could maybe do it

 

[ibuycues]

Table height has been the reason for several AZB threads here over the years.
I seem to remember that WPA specs call for table height to be between 29 1/4” and 31”.
Probably 30” or thereabouts works for most people.

I do agree you will come upon different table heights in different places, different from yours at home.

As someone said, shoe type makes a difference. Also, maybe set up your position on shots
around where your cue is, not just a standard “bend” for you.
Good luck with it.

Will Prout

 

[jimmyco]

Try different shoes. With 2" padding around the table, either go with high top basketball shoes or 8" laced work boots.

Walking in that place must feel like you're in a bouncy house.

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

Maybe it was throwing me off because of where the table hit my leg. Idk.
So for anyone wondering. I did take note of a few things. When the table is lower you definitely can reach farther. And if someone isn’t paying attention the line of sight is different. This was literally causing my bridge hand to be placed farther away from the cb. I had to keep adjusting it. And it was causing me to raise up more on shots or be jacked up. Ive never paid attention to these details much before, but there has been something off any time there. Today it made more sense after realizing how low they were compared to what I’m used to.

Maybe next time I should make sure to check the height and adjust stroke first instead of on the fly…..adding a tape measure in the cue case compartment today.

And I guess going to that hall in slippers from now on.
Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

Snooker tables are higher than standard pool tables. Anyone have an issue transitioning from one to the other due to height difference?

 

[Island Drive]

bed ht. 31''.....Being 6'6'' I'm used too it. If it's too LOW then it's a personal choice to play or not.

 

[mrpiper]

While this sounds over simplified, I am a martial arts instructor and I teach stance and foot position for optimal balance as a vocation. You can weaken your ability to balance and to punch (use a cue stick) by adjusting your stance from front to back. The reason is that this creates difficulty in maintaining a consistent distance to your target. In both Billiards, and Martial Arts, maintaning a VERY consistent distance from your object is key to a consistent and successful strike. To maintain proper balance and retain consistent ability to strike, stance should be adjusted by widening your feet from left to right. If shoulder width apart is your natural stance, move your forward foot to the outside until your waist is at YOUR personal comfort as relating to table height. This way, you reach your comfortable "waist to table" stance and you always maintain your same distance from each shot you would have made. Hope that helps. Finally, this is not simple. Widening your stance takes a little practice because you have to maintain where the center of your head is from left to right. Simply sliding ONE foot to the left or right creates an off center stance. You have to make sure you are aiming with your eyes and not your stance if that makes sense. Doing this, everything will fall into place with just a few shots.

 

[rexus31]

 

[David in FL]

Snooker tables are higher than standard pool tables. Anyone have an issue transitioning from one to the other due to height difference?

Table height is the least of my problems playing snooker…

 

[kling&allen]

I play barefoot at home and it's always an adjustment when I go out. If I were smarter I would wear shoes for practice at home. Or play barefoot all the time.

 

[boogieman]

I play barefoot at home and it's always an adjustment when I go out. If I were smarter I would wear shoes for practice at home. Or play barefoot all the time.

I play in crocs everywhere. I started using them at home, since I could just slip them on when going down to the basement. Turns out they are super comfortable on concrete so I just started wearing them anytime I'm going to play pool.

I wore some tennis shoes with an aggressive grip while playing in league one night and it felt really weird, so now I just stick to crocs.

 

[Willowbrook Wolfy]

While this sounds over simplified, I am a martial arts instructor and I teach stance and foot position for optimal balance as a vocation. You can weaken your ability to balance and to punch (use a cue stick) by adjusting your stance from front to back. The reason is that this creates difficulty in maintaining a consistent distance to your target. In both Billiards, and Martial Arts, maintaning a VERY consistent distance from your object is key to a consistent and successful strike. To maintain proper balance and retain consistent ability to strike, stance should be adjusted by widening your feet from left to right. If shoulder width apart is your natural stance, move your forward foot to the outside until your waist as at YOUR personal comfort as relating to table height. This way, you reach your comfortable "waist to table" stance and you always maintain your same distance from each shot you would have made. Hope that helps. Finally, this is not simple. Widening your stance takes a little practice because you have to maintain where the center of your head is from left to right. Simply sliding ONE foot to the left or right creates an off center stance. You have to make sure you are aiming with your eyes and not your stance if that makes sense. Doing this, everything will fall into place with just a few shots.

Now this is perfect! Shoes would give a little adjustment. I didn’t even think to widen the stance. It makes more sense than bending at the knees or the waist because you can keep your natural body angles on the hips and waist. I like to watch videos by Dr Dave and other pool people sometimes. They can be nice refreshers. He had one on a comfortable stance. But it wasn’t specific to a situation like this where the actual stance isn’t the problem, the height is. Piper you are a godsend. Thank you!

 

[buckshotshoey]

Sometimes I have to go to league directly from work. And sometimes forget my tennis shoes. Playing in work boots feels like I am 10 foot tall. Big adjustment to stance to offset it. And still cant get completely comfortable.

 

[Tooler]

While this sounds over simplified, I am a martial arts instructor and I teach stance and foot position for optimal balance as a vocation. You can weaken your ability to balance and to punch (use a cue stick) by adjusting your stance from front to back. The reason is that this creates difficulty in maintaining a consistent distance to your target. In both Billiards, and Martial Arts, maintaning a VERY consistent distance from your object is key to a consistent and successful strike. To maintain proper balance and retain consistent ability to strike, stance should be adjusted by widening your feet from left to right. If shoulder width apart is your natural stance, move your forward foot to the outside until your waist as at YOUR personal comfort as relating to table height. This way, you reach your comfortable "waist to table" stance and you always maintain your same distance from each shot you would have made. Hope that helps. Finally, this is not simple. Widening your stance takes a little practice because you have to maintain where the center of your head is from left to right. Simply sliding ONE foot to the left or right creates an off center stance. You have to make sure you are aiming with your eyes and not your stance if that makes sense. Doing this, everything will fall into place with just a few shots.

One of the best post I’ve read in a while.