I used to believe that bar table "specialists" would suffer against a similar Fargo Rated player on a 9' table. I see myself as a bar table specialist because most of my pool tournament and league competition has been on bar tables. And at the time had never really played 1-pocket other than a few practice games with some friends.
I read an interesting debate on here and Facebook with
@mikepage about bar table vs big table Fargo Ratings and decided to approach it with an open mind. I practiced for a few days on a 9' table and then entered a 9 ball tournament and a one pocket tournament. I had never seriously played one pocket at that time but I have watched and followed the game a little. To prepare I read Tom Wirths "One Pocket: A Game of controlled aggression" and spent a few hours on the table setting up scenarios.
To my complete surprise I managed to win against the same players that I would have beaten on a bar table and lost to players that I probably would have lost to on the bar table. 9 ball and 1-pocket. I gambled a little bit at 1-pocket and confirmed this. I was surprisingly competitive with players around my own FR (~600) even though they played a lot more 1-pocket.
I think during the debate Mike made a post to the effect that bar table players lack confidence on a 9' table and that affects their play but once they get comfortable they will start playing to their FR. And it doesn't take as long to get comfortable as you might think. That held true for me.
The other thing that I learned is that ball control and pocketing skills have a larger effect on the outcome of the game relative to strategy than I thought, even in 1-pocket. There are nuances in strategy that take time to master, but until you get to a fairly decent level they don't come into play as much as ball control and pocketing. Errors, especially.
Also, I've played Tony 9b on a super tight 9' table and I know how he plays. Most players, even pros, underestimate his rotation game.
