Why do tables play different?

[easy-e]

I'm hoping someone knows the actual answer to my question and not just what they have heard...

My buddy bought a 9' diamond for his living room. At the same time, the newer pool room in my area installed all new 9' Diamonds. Within a week, the tables at the pool room already played different. The rails are super grippy and the table plays faster than my buddy's. His table after a few months is still slick and the balls react differently off the rails. What causes this?

I was thinking its temperature/humidity related but I'm searching for some knowledge. Would like to get his table playing like the ones at the pool hall if we can.

 

[pt109]

Hitting a rail livens up the rubber….the home table isn’t getting hit as often.

 

[Cuebuddy]

Checking the rail bolts torque might be good also.

My Diamond started to act sluggish and banks got weird. When I checked them some were less than the desired torque.
I want to say 15 lbs but can’t be sure.

 

[garczar]

Lots of factors in play here. They just do. No two tables play the same. Gotta be able to adjust on the fly.

 

[straightline]

Home care.

 

[Island Drive]

OP that's Normal but a great question.
When hand oils, dirt and chalk dust build up.... then shiny new balls become chalk pitted slightly from Crushed rock, then toss in hand oil making things stick like. glue .
That's why 4'' pockets with worn cloth take the game outta the game in 9 ball.

 

[jtompilot]

When my friend had new cloth installed on his Blue label, I was shocked at the amount of slide and banks going long months after the new 860HR was installed.

 

[mikemosconi]

So many factors affect table speed and table pocket ball acceptance that no calculations are perfect. I have found, over time, that the best solution to table adjustment is the possession of a consistent stroke adopted to control the cue ball on very fast tables that can be adjusted to cope with a slower table by means of a slightly accelerated cue delivery.
To me, slowing a cue ball down on very fast tables requires much more stroke savvy than merely increasing cue speed on slow tables.
The problem occurs when tables like Olhausen, which are nortoriously slow - have pocket configurations( incorrect pocket angles) that reject faster struck object balls.
Experience is a key factor in helping one quickly determine the actual playing characteristics of any table - and a highly adaptable stroke coupled with the knowledge of how to use it are the best solutions IMO.
Try going from a fast Diamond to a standard Olhausen if you want to see what table degrees of variation actually exist.

 

[Island Drive]

When I played my best, I could watch a match and adjust to the tables w/o hitting a ball.

 

[Bob Jewett]

It is probably a difference in maintenance and wear. It sounds like your friend's cloth still slides while the room's tables have gotten more towards standard used cloth performance. Without a better description of the difference, it's hard to say.

In a pool room setting, it takes a week or so of play to bring the table to "normal" after new cloth is installed.

Another possibility is how your friend cleans his balls. Does he keep them polished and/or waxed? That can make a huge difference in how the table seems to play.

 

[ChrisinNC]

I'm hoping someone knows the actual answer to my question and not just what they have heard...

My buddy bought a 9' diamond for his living room. At the same time, the newer pool room in my area installed all new 9' Diamonds. Within a week, the tables at the pool room already played different. The rails are super grippy and the table plays faster than my buddy's. His table after a few months is still slick and the balls react differently off the rails. What causes this?

I was thinking its temperature/humidity related but I'm searching for some knowledge. Would like to get his table playing like the ones at the pool hall if we can.

Cushions - profile, brand and nose height above the table surface are likely the biggest reasons why tables play differently. Pocket specs and cloth would also affect how a table plays.

 

[iusedtoberich]

Cushions - profile, brand and nose height above the table surface are likely the biggest reasons why tables play differently. Pocket specs would be the second biggest factor.

They are both brand new 9' Diamonds. Same everything.

This is probably the typical Diamond variation I have complained about for 20 years on here and half the posters think I'm nuts. Some play great. Some play like pin ball machines. I'll stay out of the rest of the thread

 

[boogieman]

They are both brand new 9' Diamonds. Same everything.

This is probably the typical Diamond variation I have complained about for 20 years on here and half the posters think I'm nuts. Some play great. Some play like pin ball machines. I'll stay out of the rest of the thread

Torque on rail bolts. Cleanliness of cloth, install job, local humidity in the room, etc. A pool room will get much more use and the rails get dirty faster. Cloth also gets broken in faster at a pool hall. I know you've beat this dead horse for decades so nothing I can say will change your mind, but local conditions vary wildly as does the quality of installation and maintenance.

 

[David in FL]

All of the above, but a silly question. Are we sure that the cloth is identical?

860 vs 860 HR would make a big difference...

 

[iusedtoberich]

Torque on rail bolts. Cleanliness of cloth, install job, local humidity in the room, etc. A pool room will get much more use and the rails get dirty faster. Cloth also gets broken in faster at a pool hall. I know you've beat this dead horse for decades so nothing I can say will change your mind, but local conditions vary wildly as does the quality of installation and maintenance.

Unless the home table was a 3 piece slate, it got delivered with the bed cloth already installed, and rails bolted to the table by diamond factory. And the rail cloth would have been installed in either case of 1 vs 3 piece slate. You’re reaching.

 

[Lawnboy77]

OP that's Normal but a great question.
When hand oils, dirt and chalk dust build up.... then shiny new balls become chalk pitted slightly from Crushed rock, then toss in hand oil making things stick like. glue .
That's why 4'' pockets with worn cloth take the game outta the game in 9 ball.

Yes sir! The ball contact points are sticky/dirty which makes for a much faster table and facings that keep balls out of corners. A home table will do the same, but it takes much longer to get to that point.

I think that a Diamond 9 footer using Artemis cushions, which have a larger radius point, more contact area, makes this more pronounced. It’s the same reason why drag racers use wide tires, instead of skinny tires, more contact area, more traction. Just my theory having both sets of rails, Artemis and Superspeeds.

 

[T411]

Not to mention temperature, humidity…

 

[Island Drive]

What's Huge is ''this''.
Worn cloth grabs the object ball as it catches the rail nose and ''induces'' object ball rotation, left or right.

 

[Lawnboy77]

What's Huge is ''this''.
Worn cloth grabs the object ball as it catches the rail nose and ''induces'' object ball rotation, left or right.

Yep! I really see this on my home table where I’m doing the same drills for an extended period. The corner pocket(s) that are being used much more than the others get so sticky that they don’t want to accept a ball down the rail, while the rarely used pockets will slide them in.

 

[muskyed]

Had a situation on my Diamond professional awhile back where it was much harder to pocket balls than our leagues Diamond tables were.
Rail bolts were where they were suppised to be tightened to, the balls just seemed to rattle more. Checked a bunch of stuff, and finally I could see a slight buildup in yhe corners from cleaning the balls over the last 4 years plus. Wasn't much as I use very little cleaner, but was somewhat noticeable.
Got some of this cleaner from my wifes friend and cleaned them up. Big difference in the playability. Still not like new cloth, but plays fair now.