Waxing the cue ball? WTF is Kaci talking about now?

I won't name names here, but the silicon spray issue has been around for about twenty-five years. Only a few were believed to be doing it. Putting the spray on one's towel, on the outside of one's glove, on the outside of one's pants, or inside the pockets of one's pants were among the ways it was accomplished.
 
These big tournaments can implement a policy to have 4 clean cue balls per table at the start of each match. If the incoming player believes something is wrong with the cue ball, they can make up to 2 requests per match to change the ball.
 
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The main advantage is when one player knows the ball is doctored, the other doesn't. When both recognize the cue ball is playing differently both adapt, no advantage.

I bought a fairly early measles ball. Compared to the well worn red circle cue balls we used in tournament play it rolled long. Going around the table it would roll 12-18 inches long. Not enough for a banger to notice but if somebody was playing tight shape they would.

I prefer playing with clean and polished balls. They definitely play differently than dirty balls. One major thing, they play more consistently than dirty balls. I would like to see the balls used in big events cleaned and polished every evening. It would make for more consistent play and minimize the effect of wax or silicone added by a player. I think some are cleaned daily, it should be standard practice.

Hu
 
Only switching is cheating. It's not just the change-up - but the blind change-up. Frankly I prefer slick balls to say, the ones in the finals. Those dragged wide like any fresh out the box Centennials for instance.
 
Bob Jewett said:
That could also be due to the cue ball being small from wear. Make a ring of six object balls frozen around the cue ball and if there is a gap with the last object ball in the ring, the cue ball is the wrong size. This can be a serious problem for very old cue balls.
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Good thought but the league swaps out the hall’s balls for new-ish Aramith balls.

And this wasn’t a problem for me before the last re-cloth of all their tables.
 
Cheating in any competition is nothing new even at the highest & professional level of competition.

I was away from the game for around ten years and I’ll say I’ve never heard of slicking the cue ball up with silicone. Not to say it wasn’t thing before then I have just never heard about it. But when there’s a will there’s a way when it comes to human beings. I remember as a kid my father and uncle would keep close tabs on each other’s cups of coffee when they were playing. If at least one of them did not have eyes on their coffee at all times they would simply get new cups and only drank cups that they could see getting poured.

I’m not siding with any of the accusations one way or another because I obviously don’t know but I did a little research on how to combat it if it actually is happening:

For pool tournament directors or serious accusations, a Dyne pen test is the most practical, affordable, and dependable method. It’s fast, simple, and visual. If legal or high stakes accusations are involved, send the cue ball to a lab for confirmation.
 
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dquarasr said:
... And this wasn’t a problem for me before the last re-cloth of all their tables.
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New cloth makes draw much easier. So does a polished (but not waxed) cue ball if the cue ball is scuffed from break shots and miscues.

If you want to try wax at home, paste wax or ArmorAll silicone spray will work. Polish the cue ball first.
 
Bob Jewett said:
That could also be due to the cue ball being small from wear. Make a ring of six object balls frozen around the cue ball and if there is a gap with the last object ball in the ring, the cue ball is the wrong size. This can be a serious problem for very old cue balls.
Click to expand...

If the cueball were smaller, there wouldn't be room for the sixth ball.
 
Watch the wax though. Some paste waxes will yellow. Build up can happen as well. Depends on the composition.
Pledge doesn't and wears naturally. (daily just about) Silicone might take some getting used to. It's really slippery.
 
DeeDeeCues said:
If the cueball were smaller, there wouldn't be room for the sixth ball.
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Yup. I've seen nearly a quarter-inch gap for one cue ball. The size of the gap tells you how small the cue ball is compared to the object balls. That particular room also had small object balls, but the cue ball had a lot more wear. (The diameter error is a third of the gap.)
 
Well, I recalled that BCA prohibited the use of waxed or polished pool balls in a sanctioned tournament. Apparently, WPA is the governing body because BCA now references WPA’s rules which strictly forbid using polished balls or waxed cue ball in a sanctioned tournament. The pool balls can only be cleaned using soap and water. Any polished or waxed pool balls must be cleaned and dewaxed using a clean damp cloth moistened with diluted alcohol before play. Pool balls cannot be contaminated with any slippery substance for use in a tournament or otherwise it’s commonly referred to as cheating.
 

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kingwang said:
Latest FB post by Kaci 👀

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=775505734997907
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Holy clipped out of context, Albanian Batman! Call me naive, but I just don't see it.

So Ignacio finally wins his 2nd rack while his opponent Hoang is already on 6 in a race to 8. After he pulls some balls out of the pockets I think Hoang possibly says something to him, to which Ignacio nods, takes off his glove, and walks away (presumably for a restroom break?) Hoang gets up out of his chair and walks away moments later possibly to use the restroom too, idk. Timeout has been taken and while both players are away from the table, the referee racks the balls and leaves the cue ball on the short rail.

Ignacio walks back into the picture first a few mins later, puts his glove back on (which neither he, Hoang, the referee, or anyone else has touched during the entire timeout), goes to the table, picks up whitey, and proceeds to try cleaning it with his glove hand as well as rubbing it against the rail. I've done that before!, as well as people I see in leagues, local tournaments, even gambling sets. Sometimes I would use an occasional cocktail napkin trying to be a nice person to not dirty the cloth back when I only used Master and Predator 1080 chalk because Taom hadn't been invented yet. The cue ball gets cakey sometimes on the Gulf Coast (granted maybe not the exact same humidity as Vietnam.) Oh look, is that Master chalk I see being used by Ignacio? Sure looks like Master chalk.

I love a good conspiracy theory but there's no hard evidence. Could he have put something on his hand/fingers out of the view of the camera? I guess but I just don't see anything from this set that would lead me to believe something is fishy besides the pho.
  • (6-2 Hoang) Back from timeout, Ignacio opens rack 9 with a scratch on the break. Smoking gun guys! He only wins the rack because Hoang dogs the 9 with too full a hit.
  • (6-4 Hoang) Rack 11 Ignacio is given the last 3 balls to run out and starts by channeling his inner De Luna with a draw shot on the 7 that travels 10-11 diamonds in length lol. Pretty sure it was the most action I've seen on the cue ball in the entire set.
  • (6-5 Hoang) Rack 12 Ignacio dogs a shot on the 6, which he only wins because Hoang rattles a 7 into a corner pocket selling out the rack.
  • (6-6 tied) Rack 13 Ignacio should've been on the hill first but dogs the 9, leaving it near right of the foot spot and whitey frozen or damn near frozen on the short rail. Hoang comes with a great shot to get to the hill!
  • (7-6 Hoang) Hoang opens rack 14 with a dry break. Damn you wax!!! So how does Ignacio capitalize? By missing a shot on the 1, leaving it hanging in the corner pocket to which Hoang runs out.
I don't know why Kaci didn't at least post something from the Saudi event if he felt that strongly about it, instead of this burger of nothing that's less tasty than plant-based meat. Side note to add to the conspiracy for conspiracy sake: while trying to find Eklent/Patrick's match (starting to think it wasn't streamed), I watched the first 2 racks of Shaw/Roda. After Roda shoots a straight in 9 to the corner pocket to take rack 2, either he puts his bridge hand in his left pocket or forced perspective lead me to believe he did while maybe simply wiping his hand on his backside before trying to fish balls out of pockets for the referee to rack. That's waaaaaaaaaaay more suspicious than this Ignacio clip and I'm really only mentioning it because Jayson said he's going to put up a video about wax/no wax on balls.
 
g0ds gReeN said:
Holy clipped out of context, Albanian Batman! Call me naive, but I just don't see it.

So Ignacio finally wins his 2nd rack while his opponent Hoang is already on 6 in a race to 8. After he pulls some balls out of the pockets I think Hoang possibly says something to him, to which Ignacio nods, takes off his glove, and walks away (presumably for a restroom break?) Hoang gets up out of his chair and walks away moments later possibly to use the restroom too, idk. Timeout has been taken and while both players are away from the table, the referee racks the balls and leaves the cue ball on the short rail.

Ignacio walks back into the picture first a few mins later, puts his glove back on (which neither he, Hoang, the referee, or anyone else has touched during the entire timeout), goes to the table, picks up whitey, and proceeds to try cleaning it with his glove hand as well as rubbing it against the rail. I've done that before!, as well as people I see in leagues, local tournaments, even gambling sets. Sometimes I would use an occasional cocktail napkin trying to be a nice person to not dirty the cloth back when I only used Master and Predator 1080 chalk because Taom hadn't been invented yet. The cue ball gets cakey sometimes on the Gulf Coast (granted maybe not the exact same humidity as Vietnam.) Oh look, is that Master chalk I see being used by Ignacio? Sure looks like Master chalk.

I love a good conspiracy theory but there's no hard evidence. Could he have put something on his hand/fingers out of the view of the camera? I guess but I just don't see anything from this set that would lead me to believe something is fishy besides the pho.
  • (6-2 Hoang) Back from timeout, Ignacio opens rack 9 with a scratch on the break. Smoking gun guys! He only wins the rack because Hoang dogs the 9 with too full a hit.
  • (6-4 Hoang) Rack 11 Ignacio is given the last 3 balls to run out and starts by channeling his inner De Luna with a draw shot on the 7 that travels 10-11 diamonds in length lol. Pretty sure it was the most action I've seen on the cue ball in the entire set.
  • (6-5 Hoang) Rack 12 Ignacio dogs a shot on the 6, which he only wins because Hoang rattles a 7 into a corner pocket selling out the rack.
  • (6-6 tied) Rack 13 Ignacio should've been on the hill first but dogs the 9, leaving it near right of the foot spot and whitey frozen or damn near frozen on the short rail. Hoang comes with a great shot to get to the hill!
  • (7-6 Hoang) Hoang opens rack 14 with a dry break. Damn you wax!!! So how does Ignacio capitalize? By missing a shot on the 1, leaving it hanging in the corner pocket to which Hoang runs out.
I don't know why Kaci didn't at least post something from the Saudi event if he felt that strongly about it, instead of this burger of nothing that's less tasty than plant-based meat. Side note to add to the conspiracy for conspiracy sake: while trying to find Eklent/Patrick's match (starting to think it wasn't streamed), I watched the first 2 racks of Shaw/Roda. After Roda shoots a straight in 9 to the corner pocket to take rack 2, either he puts his bridge hand in his left pocket or forced perspective lead me to believe he did while maybe simply wiping his hand on his backside before trying to fish balls out of pockets for the referee to rack. That's waaaaaaaaaaay more suspicious than this Ignacio clip and I'm really only mentioning it because Jayson said he's going to put up a video about wax/no wax on balls.
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thanks for adding the context. 👍
 
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