Unpredictable tables!!

Patso44

Patso44

Underdog
Silver Member
I need a question answered to anyone that like to answer it. I went to a tournament at my college and played on some really sH#*#y tables tonight. Now compared to the field I was probably one of 2 top players that would have won. I didn't win the tournament obviously. I found myself fighting with the tables all night long. Now I understand I shouldn't get discouraged about my game when you have rolls like that on those tables but I can't understand what I should do to have a chance to control such circumstances. The cue ball rolled all over the place. It was like playing on ice. They were so unpredictable, it was ridiculous.

Does anyone have an answer to this problem? Let me know!
 
Patso44 said:
I need a question answered to anyone that like to answer it. I went to a tournament at my college and played on some really sH#*#y tables tonight. Now compared to the field I was probably one of 2 top players that would have won. I didn't win the tournament obviously. I found myself fighting with the tables all night long. Now I understand I shouldn't get discouraged about my game when you have rolls like that on those tables but I can't understand what I should do to have a chance to control such circumstances. The cue ball rolled all over the place. It was like playing on ice. They were so unpredictable, it was ridiculous.

Does anyone have an answer to this problem? Let me know!
Click to expand...

You could try using a firmer stoke, and playing "stop" position.

On long, fairly straight shots, especially when the cue ball is near the end rail or hanging in the pocket, I get good results using a jump stoke.
 
Patso44 said:
I need a question answered to anyone that like to answer it. I went to a tournament at my college and played on some really sH#*#y tables tonight. Now compared to the field I was probably one of 2 top players that would have won. I didn't win the tournament obviously. I found myself fighting with the tables all night long. Now I understand I shouldn't get discouraged about my game when you have rolls like that on those tables but I can't understand what I should do to have a chance to control such circumstances. The cue ball rolled all over the place. It was like playing on ice. They were so unpredictable, it was ridiculous.

Does anyone have an answer to this problem? Let me know!
Click to expand...
Did the cue ball roll in a straight line or did it curve a lot?

On a table where you really can't tell exactly where the cue ball is going to end up, keep things simple. Just try to get the cue ball back to the center of the table. If you're going to be playing on those tables a lot, you need to get in some practice time on them before any tournament -- enough time that the way they roll starts to seem natural to you.

Good luck.
 
reply

Lets say I would shoot a spot shot. I am on the left side of the object ball shooting into the right corner pocket. I want to bring the cueball to the middle of the table so I would put a little top left english, about 10 o clock. I know that when I strike the object ball, the cueball will hit the foot rail then side rail and move to the center of the table. When I got down on a shot and shot it, the cueball took its path and then after the second rail the cueball rolled off and over to the opposite side pocket and scratch. Understand that I did not strike this ball hard, it had pace to make it back to the middle of the table. It was pretty ugly. I think the only way to solve the situation is not to place on these tables. But if I cant, what can i do to prevent less of these bad rolls to affect me.
 
Patso44 said:
Lets say I would shoot a spot shot. I am on the left side of the object ball shooting into the right corner pocket. I want to bring the cueball to the middle of the table so I would put a little top left english, about 10 o clock. I know that when I strike the object ball, the cueball will hit the foot rail then side rail and move to the center of the table. When I got down on a shot and shot it, the cueball took its path and then after the second rail the cueball rolled off and over to the opposite side pocket and scratch. Understand that I did not strike this ball hard, it had pace to make it back to the middle of the table. It was pretty ugly. I think the only way to solve the situation is not to place on these tables. But if I cant, what can i do to prevent less of these bad rolls to affect me.
Click to expand...

If everyone in the tournament is playing on the same tables, and you're one of the top two players, then you should be able to make the appropriate adjustments and still be the favorite in the majority of matches... The better player is the better player is the better player.

That being said, I think it's easier to contend with poor equipment when playing 8-ball rather than 9-ball... What game were you playing?
 
Bad tables

Shooting more speed will take care of some bad roll off. Give up on finesse shots and probably banks as well. Stop shots when possible. Play simple pool. Many shots in your arsenal won't work.
 
Patso44 said:
Lets say I would shoot a spot shot. I am on the left side of the object ball shooting into the right corner pocket. I want to bring the cueball to the middle of the table so I would put a little top left english, about 10 o clock. I know that when I strike the object ball, the cueball will hit the foot rail then side rail and move to the center of the table. When I got down on a shot and shot it, the cueball took its path and then after the second rail the cueball rolled off and over to the opposite side pocket and scratch. ...
Click to expand...
No normal table will do that. It is normally impossible to scratch two rails (end, side) to the opposite side pocket on a spot shot. One thing you can do if this is the only place to have tournaments is to offer to help the management to make the tables more level. It should be pretty easy to show them that the tables are not level.

From what you said before, it seems that the table is also very fast. That's much easier to deal with if it is also flat. The combination of the two -- not level and very fast -- will destroy all of the position shots you know now except maybe for stop shots. It is possible to learn to play on such a table, but I think you would spend your time better by trying to get it fixed.
 
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