Which table plays better for 14.1?

center pocket

center pocket

It's just a hobby, but a fun one.
Silver Member
I wanted to ask John Schmidt which table he preferred to play on, Gold Crown or Diamond. Then I thought why not ask every one. Alot of you guys on here are excellent 14.1 players and a view from many is always better than just one person's view. No offense John, your view probably carries a little more weight, barely lol. Anyways what do you guys think? I bet its going to come down to the pockets being the biggest factor on which one is better.

Personally I like both as long as the gold crown is set up good with good cloth.
 
While I've played on both tables, I've not played straight pool on a Diamond. Having said that, assuming you are talking about the deep shelf Diamonds (Pro Cut) I think that the Gold Crown lends itself better to straight pool.

I grew up playing 14.1 and being able to cheat the pocket has always been an important skill to playing the game well. The deep shelves on the Diamond Pro Cut takes away some of this integral part of the game. Also, the Artemis cushions on the Diamond are considered a bit faster than the Brunswick Superspeeds but this isn't that significant a factor in straight pool as you do not need the speed of the cushions to help you get up and back table all the time like in rotation based games. Sometimes a too fast cushion can make some of the delicate position plays at the foot end impossible to accomplish.

Lastly, though this has nothing to do with playability, the Gold Crown 1-3 have rail counters designed for straight pool.

Just my thoughts. Both are great tables and, as you said, both can be made great or crappy by who does the set-up.
 
center pocket said:
... Anyways what do you guys think? I bet its going to come down to the pockets being the biggest factor on which one is better.

Personally I like both as long as the gold crown is set up good with good cloth.
Click to expand...
About 15 years ago, when three new rooms were opening in this area, there was a problem with the cushions on GC3s. We are still suffering from that -- the ball will come off the cushion twice as far or half as far as the table or cushion section next to it. About half the cushion sections where I play have been replaced, and they continue to be replaced as they die. No help at all from Brunswick.

The counters on GCs usually don't work except to take skin off your fingers if you don't jack up enough. The name plate serves the same function.

The GC drop pockets hold 3 balls. Do not attempt to put a 4th ball in at speed. On the other hand, if there is 0 or 1 ball in the pocket, you may also see a reject for a perfect shot. Two balls is safest.

Anyone who has played on a GC could list five other design or manufacturing defects if they have been paying attention.

Maybe the GC5 is worth playing on -- it seems to be a copy of a Diamond.
 
I've never played on a Diamond before, but I have played some tight tables. Personally I prefer an easier playing table simply because they lead to more decent runs. I think one of the largest factor though are the size of the side pockets, I'll typically run more balls if the sides are larger.

I'm not saying I like 5 inch pockets, more like forgiving 4.5 inch or your standard 4.75.
 
GC's are the table of choice for every straight pool player I have ever talked to. The pocket size and shelf depth are not the only reason, the boingy rails have just as much to do with it. It is much harder to due the tricky little kill shots that need to be played when you're on a Diamond.

A lot of times you wont play the patterns correctly on a Diamond because the correct shot becomes missable, so you play an easier shot and then you find yourself not getting into the next rack.

There is a reason that everybody's high runs were performed on a GC or similar table. I believe the highest witnessed run on a Diamond is 160 by Mika at the DCC. Schmidt ran 224 on his Diamond in practice but he has run 400 and 403 on a GC.

The play at this years World Championships on GC's was far more entertaining than the last two years when they were played on Diamonds. Bigger runs and bigger comebacks.

GC4 and GC5 have drop pockets that hold 9 balls each and are flush mounted to the rails. Both have ball returns as an option.

Bill
 
Last edited:
I Have played 14.1 on GC 1,2,and 3 and have as well played on AMF And Gandy.

OF these i am gonna have to say that nothing beats a GC III in mint condition.

I Look forward to one day playing on Diamond, maybe when i own my own !!

Steve
 
Brunswick and Diamond ball returns suck. Y'all need a real table with a 6 track ball return like my Victor.
 
The counters on GCs usually don't work except to take skin off your fingers if you don't jack up enough.
Click to expand...
bob: i know the GC3's and up had those crappy counters that constantly jammed but the GC1's had the nice, "old style" counters that worked quite well. brunswick got greedy when they began installing those cheap counters on their flagship tables.
 
Sausage, I believe the rail counters ended with the GC3. The 4's and 5's that I've seen don't have them. I own a GC4 and if you look at the pic of the GC5 on the Brunswick website it doesn't have them either.
 
Last edited:
I have played straight pool on both GC's and Diamonds. I currently own a 9 ft. Diamond Pro-Am and I practice 14.1 on it constantly. I can tell you this... Diamonds are excellent tables and, IMO, play better than GC's. But if you are looking to make high runs or just focus on 14.1 specifically, then GC's are a better bet for doing that. However, Diamonds will make you focus more on shotmaking, which I think is a good thing for anyone's game.

Playing 14.1 on a Diamond with pro cut pockets is tough... I know from personal experience. But when I go and play 14.1 on a GC, I feel like I'm playing on a Valley Bar Box. It's a matter of philosophy and what's important to the player. There are times that I wish I could practice 14.1 on a GC (especially when I see all the videos posted on this forum of good runs) and all other games on my Diamond, but in the end, I think consistently practicing on a Diamond is better for my game.

Just my .02.

Ray
 
Last edited:
I can't say which is better, having never played on a Diamond. But if a ball hit perfectly up the rail will jaw on a firm stroke, that table I don't like. I don't know if Diamonds do that, but some GC's with wide angle pockets do. My GCIII wasn't bad for this, but I've played on some GCIII's that are terrible for it.

Any table you play 14.1 on should have a ball return.
 
I've been playing my straight pool on an Olhausen, and those tables are really unforgiving. I'd like to see how I'd do on a GC.
 
I owned a GCI for 20 years, sold it, bought a Diamond Pro which I have now owned for 12 years. There is no doubt 14.1 is much more difficult on the Diamond. Even the most innocuous shots on the Diamond are missable. Watching all the posted videos on GCs, I constantly see shots made that would never have fallen on my table. But, its a relative measure, it just takes an adjustment of expectations. Yet, I would probably argue that a Diamond will force one to become better mechanically (almost out of frustration!).
The table commands that you bear down on every shot. Thin cuts along a rail, for secondary breaks, long shots, and side pocket cuts are often run stoppers. IMHO, 30 or 40 on a Diamond is a real good run requiring high quality execution and precision shot making. In June, while in Detroit, I did play on a GC; I found my shot making pretty spiffy.

Rick
 
Well thinks for all the replies. After Bill said the diamonds arent good for straight pool I got a little discouraged. I already put my down payment on a diamond pro am. I didnt let it bother me though and some of you confirmed what i was thinking. I am mainly a 9-10 ball player and shot making is of a high importance. Yet I want to run hundreds in straight pool, and will some day. I will practice my 14.1 game and will be even more proud of my runs on the diamond.

Currently my high run on a diamond pro am with pro cut pockets is 32

highest run ever is 42
 
Gold Crown l

I have played on both Diamond & Gold Crown l's and I prefer the Gold Crown. There is no better table for straight pool. Many times during a match you have to cheat pockets and even play balls softly off the rails to pocket long corner shots. Even when I play 9 ball & 8 ball, I play those games like straight pool (cheating pockets & using the rails) it works for me. Maybe I am too much of an Old School player and all the pool rooms back home (east coast) had Gold Crown's. It seems to me that tables that have shimmed pockets take away a lot of the playing skills that come up during a match. Also, I believe that all the tables from years ago played like what I am describing: The Anniversary, The Centennial, AMF's All great tables.
Just one man's opinion.
 
center pocket said:
Well thinks for all the replies. After Bill said the diamonds arent good for straight pool I got a little discouraged. I already put my down payment on a diamond pro am. I didnt let it bother me though and some of you confirmed what i was thinking. I am mainly a 9-10 ball player and shot making is of a high importance. Yet I want to run hundreds in straight pool, and will some day. I will practice my 14.1 game and will be even more proud of my runs on the diamond.

Currently my high run on a diamond pro am with pro cut pockets is 32

highest run ever is 42
Click to expand...

Center pocket,

I would'nt be discouraged at all in choosing the Diamond over the GC.

I play at home on a GC3 that I had shimmed on the tight side, which in hindsight is too tight to play a "normal" game of 14.1. A typical daily high run on this table would most definitely be higher on a Diamond, by a factor of approx 50%.:mad: (No exaggeration :eek:).

So while in general, most Diamonds play a little tighter that your average GC because of the shelf, it is all relative to pocket size in my opinion.

If I were in your position of buying a new table today I would most certainly choose the Diamond simply because the vast majority of tourneys are now using those tables.

I practice almost 100% 14.1 at home but have come to love the game of 1 pocket. I have yet to hear of any good 1P players who would not prefer a Diamond over a GC for that game. I believe most good rotation players would prefer the Diamond also.

So unless you intend to play nothing but 14.1 on this table, I'd say it's not a concern.

Have fun with your new table.:smile:

Thanks.

Bernie Pettipiece.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top