Do you prefer a cloth with lots of napp or virtually none?

[mikee]

What is nap? Thicknesses?

run your fingers the wrong way down the cloth and the fibres stick up ,it will be more pronounced on some tables with a thicker heavier nap .

[screwed_back]

run your fingers the wrong way down the cloth and the fibres stick up ,it will be more pronounced on some tables with a thicker heavier nap .

And how does this affect play? I thought the balls are heavy enough to not have an issue... Also club tables feels like the cloth has basically merged with the slate xD

[mikee]

The ball glides on the nap like someone who lies on a bed of nails ,you need nap to help with stopping and controlling the ball ,no nap or very little and control goes ,dirt gets in the cloth with worn no nap ,wear marks appear more to the point of brushing and ironing make no difference . Match cloths have a very tight tight nap cut down short so they play fast straight out the box ,but the downside is they wear faster ,can go too fast or slow down ,it’s getting a perfect balence for roughly a years play that’s important .Are you new to snooker by any chance .?

[screwed_back]

The ball glides on the nap like someone who lies on a bed of nails ,you need nap to help with stopping and controlling the ball ,no nap or very little and control goes ,dirt gets in the cloth with worn no nap ,wear marks appear more to the point of brushing and ironing make no difference . Match cloths have a very tight tight nap cut down short so they play fast straight out the box ,but the downside is they wear faster ,can go too fast or slow down ,it’s getting a perfect balence for roughly a years play that’s important .Are you new to snooker by any chance .?

Interesting thank you and no I've played since I was a kid but majority of my play time was on my 6ft mdf table at home and if I was lucky enough to go to a club with dad or brother. As I got older I only played here and there never consistently enough to know the ins and outs and intricacies of a proper table or equipment, the only thing I knew is that pro tables had tighter pockets as I remember my uncle going on about it as a kid.

Just picked it up again and idk why but I'm a lot more interested in the finer details (a lot I don't know) maybe it's age coming on

Glad i found this place though!

[itsnoteasy]

Clubs have bigger pockets to encourage people to play, most players are just social players and don't want to spend an hour knocking balls into cushions trying to finish a frame on a tight table. They want to pot balls, enjoy it and hopefully get the bug for the game. Nap can help, a little, to keep the ball straight, any unwanted side shows up a lot more on a super fine shaved cloth.

[tomwalker147]

Sort me out a good handicap and we can spilt any winnings 50/50 …..if you pay my entry that is

I bet those tables play really nice with decent cloths on them . You’ll see some bigger breaks from the better players like yourself once you get used to them .

where's this lads? I'd love to come for a game

[vmax]

Hundreds of years ago when croquet was first moved indoors by the aristocracy and played on a table, the nap on the cloth was there to replicate the grass lawn that croquet was played on outdoors. Billiards evolved from this indoor croquet game that was played by pushing the balls with a mace which was turned around and then became a cue, the nap on the cloth stayed and is still there for snooker as is the mace flat on the butt of snooker cues.
Cue sports can be played with napless cloths, US pool is played with napless cloths, three cushion billiards also, but side spin on the cue ball alters with a napped cloth compared to a napless cloth and the cue ball behaves differently depending on the direction of the spin on the ball to the lay of the nap, something that US pool coaching videos on youtube can't fathom as they have never experienced it.