Who is hurt most by small pockets?

[Celtic]

... So, once again. No sloppy pockets this year ! Grrreat !! I'm dying to see how they'll effect some of the players IMHO, there are a few players who shouldn't be bothered at all such as Immonen, Strickland, Chao, Efren etc. who are accustomed to split the wicket.

I think the real intriguing question is which player would be most harmed by tighter pockets, not those that are so accurate it matters little that the fudge factor is there. What successful players out there do you think would be negatively effected on a relative scale to the other players due to the tightening of the pockets? Which successful pro players tend to rattle in the occasional ball and take advantage of generous pockets more then the others?

I personally feel Pagulayan would be greatly affected by tighter pockets in a negative way. He is a player I see often using the whole pocket and getting balls to fall that would stay out on tighter pockets, he is not the most accurate player out there by any means, often just accurate enough to get them to fall on the looser tables.

Who are the players that dont necessarily split the wicket but get by due to looser tables and have great performances? Which contenders on the looser equippment or even favorites drop off the list once the accuracy of the pots are raised to a higher level?

 

[B.J.the bandit]

How about Big pockets with short arms ?? Cant reach there CASH !!!!LOL LOL R.A.told me that one.

 

[guygrandmont]

Small Pockets

I think the real intriguing question is which player would be most harmed by tighter pockets, not those that are so accurate it matters little that the fudge factor is there. What successful players out there do you think would be negatively effected on a relative scale to the other players due to the tightening of the pockets? Which successful pro players tend to rattle in the occasional ball and take advantage of generous pockets more then the others?

I personally feel Pagulayan would be greatly affected by tighter pockets in a negative way. He is a player I see often using the whole pocket and getting balls to fall that would stay out on tighter pockets, he is not the most accurate player out there by any means, often just accurate enough to get them to fall on the looser tables.

Who are the players that dont necessarily split the wicket but get by due to looser tables and have great performances? Which contenders on the looser equippment or even favorites drop off the list once the accuracy of the pots are raised to a higher level?

I DO NOT SEE ANY DIFFERENCE, THEY ALL USE THE VERY SAME AIMING SYSTEM, CENTER TO EDGE.

 

[LastTwo]

I think the real intriguing question is which player would be most harmed by tighter pockets, not those that are so accurate it matters little that the fudge factor is there. What successful players out there do you think would be negatively effected on a relative scale to the other players due to the tightening of the pockets? Which successful pro players tend to rattle in the occasional ball and take advantage of generous pockets more then the others?

I personally feel Pagulayan would be greatly affected by tighter pockets in a negative way. He is a player I see often using the whole pocket and getting balls to fall that would stay out on tighter pockets, he is not the most accurate player out there by any means, often just accurate enough to get them to fall on the looser tables.

Who are the players that dont necessarily split the wicket but get by due to looser tables and have great performances? Which contenders on the looser equippment or even favorites drop off the list once the accuracy of the pots are raised to a higher level?

Alex Pagulayan was a snooker player before he played 9-ball. I don't know if you have watched his game as much as I have, but he shoots straighter than most top players out there. He knows how to get the most usage out of big pockets, which is why you see him cheating the pocket often and probably think he is not doing that intentionally. Believe me, he is.

 

[guygrandmont]

Cheating Pockets

Alex Pagulayan was a snooker player before he played 9-ball. I don't know if you have watched his game as much as I have, but he shoots straighter than most top players out there. He knows how to get the most usage out of big pockets, which is why you see him cheating the pocket often and probably think he is not doing that intentionally. Believe me, he is.

PROS DO NOT HAVE TO CHEAT THE POCKET, FOR ANY REASON. WITH HIS AIMING SYSTEM, AND THE USE OF BACK-HAND ENGLISH, IT ALLOWS HIM TO PUT THE OBJECT BALL IN THE CENTER OF THE POCKET , AND AT THE SAME TIME, PUT THE CUE BALL ANYWHERE ON THE TABLE HE CHOOSES.

GUY

 

[LastTwo]

PROS DO NOT HAVE TO CHEAT THE POCKET, FOR ANY REASON. WITH HIS AIMING SYSTEM, AND THE USE OF BACK-HAND ENGLISH, IT ALLOWS HIM TO PUT THE OBJECT BALL IN THE CENTER OF THE POCKET , AND AT THE SAME TIME, PUT THE CUE BALL ANYWHERE ON THE TABLE HE CHOOSES.

GUY

Thats funny because I can name about 10 top players who claim to aim for a specific side of the pocket depending how they are going to play position.

 

[lewdo26]

I tend to agree

Alex Pagulayan was a snooker player before he played 9-ball. I don't know if you have watched his game as much as I have, but he shoots straighter than most top players out there. He knows how to get the most usage out of big pockets, which is why you see him cheating the pocket often and probably think he is not doing that intentionally. Believe me, he is.

Everything I saw from the lil' man points toward him being one of the straightest shooters out there. Not the other way around. I'm straining to think of a top guy that'll be hurt by tight equipment and I can't think of one, at least right now. I can only think of second tier players that wouldn't do well under those conditions. I mean, Cory Deuel wouldn't even NOTICE the pockets were tighter.

 

[lewdo26]

PROS DO NOT HAVE TO CHEAT THE POCKET, FOR ANY REASON. WITH HIS AIMING SYSTEM, AND THE USE OF BACK-HAND ENGLISH, IT ALLOWS HIM TO PUT THE OBJECT BALL IN THE CENTER OF THE POCKET , AND AT THE SAME TIME, PUT THE CUE BALL ANYWHERE ON THE TABLE HE CHOOSES.

GUY

Pros who don't play a specific part of the pocket??? First time I hear that in life.

 

[LastTwo]

PROS DO NOT HAVE TO CHEAT THE POCKET, FOR ANY REASON. WITH HIS AIMING SYSTEM, AND THE USE OF BACK-HAND ENGLISH, IT ALLOWS HIM TO PUT THE OBJECT BALL IN THE CENTER OF THE POCKET , AND AT THE SAME TIME, PUT THE CUE BALL ANYWHERE ON THE TABLE HE CHOOSES.

GUY

By the way, Alex doesn't use backhand english.

 

[OldHasBeen]

This is simple - Who Shoots The Most?

THIS IS SO SIMPLE - I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY PLAYERS CAN'T SEE IT!
I have been saying for years - Tight pockets are bad for the best players.
It stands to reason that the better of any two players, is going to be at the table more often than the weeker player.
So who is the bigger pockets going to benifit the most?

TY & GL

 

[sjm]

Which successful pro players tend to rattle in the occasional ball and take advantage of generous pockets more then the others?

Who are the players that dont necessarily split the wicket but get by due to looser tables and have great performances? Which contenders on the looser equippment or even favorites drop off the list once the accuracy of the pots are raised to a higher level?

Tightening the pockets won't make much difference on the ordinary shots in which players are in decent line and don't have to play a big stroke. Even with tight pokcets, there won't be many misses in these situations.

It is when the players get either too far away from the object ball or leave themselves an angle that will force them to use a hard stroke to get shape onto the next ball that the great pokceter has a big edge. For example, I think Fong Pang Chao is the best ball pocketer since Lassiter, and his game relative to others would go up if they tightened up the pockets.

Still, Celtic, I think you may be on the wrong track here. Restricting the subject to offense, the real victims of tight pockets would be those who play position less accurately than others. No end of today's players are inclined to cinch the next angle, and are sometimes far too casual about getting near the next object ball, knowing they can make the ball anyway on the kind of equipment in use in today's pro events. I believe that the real victims of pocket tightening would be the many who don't play "ambitious" position.

To sum ---- on tight pockets, the great pocketers may occasionally be able to keep the run going with their superhuman pocketing skills, but, in my opinion, far more often than that, the great position players will save runouts through avoidance of difficult shots.

 

[Boro Nut]

PROS DO NOT HAVE TO CHEAT THE POCKET, FOR ANY REASON. WITH HIS AIMING SYSTEM, AND THE USE OF BACK-HAND ENGLISH, IT ALLOWS HIM TO PUT THE OBJECT BALL IN THE CENTER OF THE POCKET , AND AT THE SAME TIME, PUT THE CUE BALL ANYWHERE ON THE TABLE HE CHOOSES.

GUY

I think it's because, being a former snooker player, Pagulayan knows how to apply the correct amount of cap slock, not back-hand English.

Boro Nut

 

[Fred Agnir]

THIS IS SO SIMPLE - I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY PLAYERS CAN'T SEE IT!
I have been saying for years - Tight pockets are bad for the best players.
It stands to reason that the better of any two players, is going to be at the table more often than the weeker player.
So who is the bigger pockets going to benifit the most?

TY & GL

I agree with you 100%. Anything that allows a weaker player to get to the table more than he normally would under good conditions is an advantage to weaker players. That includes crappy conditions and "call every friggin' detail bar 8-ball."

One exception I guess is in one-pocket, where both players get to the table quite often. Granted, I don't know enough about one pocket to know how tighter pockets are a pro or con.

Fred

 

[Tbeaux]

Who's affected by tight pockets the most? Oh come on.....that's easy....the guy with the biggest balls.

Terry

 

[sjm]

The most accurate pool player ever was Kid Cole Dixon. A poster said he saw Kid play Ronnie Allen some 9 ball on a snooker table and it was no contest. This I can believe.

LUTHER LASSITER

 

[lewdo26]

LUTHER LASSITER

Lol. Sjm, your post almost made me run for the door! I'd be scared to have seen 'em play...

 

[Mike Templeton]

THIS IS SO SIMPLE - I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY PLAYERS CAN'T SEE IT!
I have been saying for years - Tight pockets are bad for the best players.
It stands to reason that the better of any two players, is going to be at the table more often than the weeker player.
So who is the bigger pockets going to benifit the most?

TY & GL

So true, OHB. If people want another example; take someone that you give the wild 7 & 8 on regular sized pockets. Try the same game on tight pockets. The weaker player has a much better chance at the game.

Mike

 

[The Hamster]

I think the real intriguing question is which player would be most harmed by tighter pockets?

Erm... the ones with big wallets...?

 

[Egg McDogit]

I watched some of last year's tournament and found it anti-climactic because there really wasn't any shot you could honestly call a tester on those pockets. I remember seeing a shot hit a rail about a diamond from the corner pocket and come off at around a 15-20 degree angle and still go in.

I'd like to see them play on diamond pro cuts.

 

[Flex]

So true, OHB. If people want another example; take someone that you give the wild 7 & 8 on regular sized pockets. Try the same game on tight pockets. The weaker player has a much better chance at the game.

Mike

The larger pockets favor the better player, if there is no spot, because he'll be able to do things with the cue ball that tigher pockets wouldn't accomodate. That being sad, larger pockets will swallow the 9 ball more easily.

However, in my experience, the better players prefer tight pocketed tables for the high stakes matches... I'm sure they want to minimize their chances of being defeated by a lucky roll...


Flex