pool vs snooker

[merlin1234]

I'd characterise that as a tactical misjudgement - that the snooker player is running out of position because he doesn't know the right % shot to play rather than knowing the right shot and miss-executing.

I'm absolute guttersh***e at both snooker and pool, though.

eta also, have you ever played on a championship table with the superfine cloths and table heaters? I've been told that it's a nightmare even for guys who are 100 break players at club level.

[FerruleFox]

It's not though. With a smaller surface and bigger balls, you run out of position much more quickly. Then add in the fact that the cushions react much differently...

[merlin1234]

I suppose there's a case for shot weight being more crucial in pool and snooker players being used to having a greater margin of error. Hadn't really thought of it that way.

[FerruleFox]

Watch Davis or Ronnie or Jimmy or Drago or any other snooker player fall out of position often enough and it becomes clear it's usually a strategic mistake.

That and most snooker players (me included) can't break worth a ****.

[tiggertom]

Hi Guys

I found a small article on the different types of Pool, american or normal pool.

Hope this helps

http://www.ideamarketers.com/?articl...TOKEN=55168135

[peterpackage]

I watch all cuesports, snooker , english 8ball and 9ball and i play snooker and english 8ball

The few times i have played on an american pool table, it is true the potting is ridiculously easy, especially anything on the rail but there are other elements (kicking, banking, break shot, jump shot etc) to american pool

There is no doubt that a snooker player can transition to american pool much much easier than the other way round. Open runouts in american pool are a gimme to any top snooker or even english 8ball player. Make take a few years for a snooker player to master the other elements to truly get to the top of the american pool world. Most top american pool players play a bit of snooker to help their potting anyway.

Darren Appleton is the best recent example of a player who has transitioned very well

oh and the hardest american pool game is ONE POCKET

[Renegade_56]

I think it's an oversimplification and not really fair to write off nine ball because of the larger pockets. I can guarantee that anyone on this forum who has played the game still missed a few into them. The bigger pockets make for a different kind of game, and make shots possible that aren't available in snooker.

Too many people say that American games are "easy" when they're actually playing them very badly! Anyone who has tried playing straight pool will appreciate what it takes to run 400 balls like John Schmidt and others have.



Davis won the snooker event 5-1, but lost the straight pool and nine ball matches. Mizerak won the event overall, 2-1.




I think snooker players have the better end of it in making the switch because of their solid technique, and they can manage some wins in short races in nine ball if things go their way. However, if any top snooker player played a top pool pro a race to 100 in ten ball or similar, the chances of the match being competitive aren't great.

9 ball is the easiest american pool game there is. It gets the most attention because it's fast, so gets more tv coverage. It is no fair comparison to snooker, now take 14.1, bank pool, or one pocket if you wanna test real american pool skills.

[Renegade_56]

Interesting...

"Too many people say that American games are "easy" when they're actually playing them very badly! Anyone who has tried playing straight pool will appreciate what it takes to run 400 balls like John Schmidt and others have."

Yeah but could John Schmidt or any other of the top pool players pot 400 balls on a snooker table? Ronnie, Higgins, Hendry, Selby etc have gone 400 - 500 points without reply, even though there opponent has left a tough white from a break off or a safety. I realise that's not the same as straight pool and yes there is skill in maintaining concentration for that amount of potting on any table, but the ball to pocket ratio is the key here IMO.

Thanks for the correction on the Mizerak match - I'll have to get my VHS copy out and brush up! Am I correct about him mis-counting on the 52 break??

"I think snooker players have the better end of it in making the switch because of their solid technique, and they can manage some wins in short races in nine ball if things go their way. However, if any top snooker player played a top pool pro a race to 100 in ten ball or similar, the chances of the match being competitive aren't great."

You may be correct here - Maybe Barry H will organise such an event one day as he now has a foot in both camps!

Don't think I'm writing off nine ball altogether, as has been stated earlier in this thread, Darren Appleton and some of the other English players are at it now presumably as there's more money in it than English 8 ball?

But for me playing American pool on an english table is more of a challenge: The lads I play pool with and myself played a competion that started with us playing 15 balls straight with a screw-in tip pub cue (our own cues were banned) - nobody had won it for months at a pound a go. I cleared em on my second attempt and won £400!! We then progressed this comp. to play nine ball in numerical order, again for a pound a go. Overall in 3 months we won £1200!!! Was a real blast

400 balls in straight pool is a continuous rack situation and is a mark achieved by very few people, ever. No comparison to 400 unanswered points in snooker, though that too is an astonishing achievement.

[ace man]

oh and the hardest american pool game is ONE POCKET

No, that's the tactical hustlers game for grandpa's who can't pot... Seriously, almost nobody plays it outside of US anyway. Totally obscure game, very few even know the rules. It is THE slowest cue game in existence, but not the most difficult.

[Renegade_56]

No, that's the tactical hustlers game for grandpa's who can't pot... Seriously, almost nobody plays it outside of US anyway. Totally obscure game, very few even know the rules. It is THE slowest cue game in existence, but not the most difficult.

You obviously have never played one pocket! When is the last time you lost a snooker match to someone who banked in 3 or 4 3 railers in a row to win? Try snookering that guy! Be very careful, many of those old grandpas have amazing understanding of bank tracks.

[Gargon]

Pool is a much more gentle game than Snooker, and even people that have never picked up a cue before can knock in a few balls here and there, with a few miscues before hand of course!

But Snooker is more of a proper sport in my opinion as it takes alot longer to master and to get your game up to a professional level compared to Pool.

[wildJONESEYE]

You obviously have never played one pocket! When is the last time you lost a snooker match to someone who banked in 3 or 4 3 railers in a row to win? Try snookering that guy! Be very careful, many of those old grandpas have amazing understanding of bank tracks.

if the bank shot is that consistent you know its easier than snooker.

what i feel all you need to master pool is experience of knowing angles where snooker is technical harder to master.

[Renegade_56]

if the bank shot is that consistent you know its easier than snooker.

what i feel all you need to master pool is experience of knowing angles where snooker is technical harder to master.

that's the point, anyone that plays pool knows the banks are not that consistent, but some players can be.

I guess the "technical harder to master" part is why there are so many 147's recorded in snooker?

I play snooker a little, but by far more one pocket, straight pool, and bank pool. I honestly don't think any are any easier than the others. They all have their own strategies, and they are all, in my opinion more mental than technical. Anyone can pot balls, but the key to winning any of these games is smarter strategy than the opponent.

[MasterBreak147]

chris melling isnt just a player he is an artist 1 of the most naturally talented cue sport players ive ever met and tbh with alot of players its not that they cant do it they just prefure playing pool but most top pool players play snooker and practice quite abit 2 keep there cue action solid oh and they play at a high standerd

Indeed anyone who makes 147 breaks at snooker is a artist, i have played alongside Chris a few times and i can tell you all he makes consistent tons even with his 8mm tip lol
Great talent at both sports