Pocket size for beginners

[Ramon]

Problem with your statement though is most pros learned on generous tables in the beginning and 'graduated' to the tighter templated tables after a few years.

Could be !!
every snooker player (pro Or amateur), started playing snooker in a club. and we both know, not every club has match tables. so, yes, maybe they started playing this game with Those tables with big pockets. but the question is, wr those big pockets their motivation to learn this game ?? Were they afraid of those match tables ?? Absolutely not . pros chose to playing this game Not because of this large pockets ,, but because they loved this game, and they respected it. what you're suggesting here is: pros used the size of the pocket as their motivation to learn this game. and That's wrong. if They were kind of player who worrys about the size of the pockets, then they had'nt become a pro in the first place. Snooker is not an easy game and not everyone's game. it takes years of dedication / practice / willingness / and love and respect to master That Game. I think we should respect that nature !! the one who says, snooker is Not intresting for me Or I can'nt play this game cuz of smal pockets, is the one who fool himself. You can fool the whole world, but you can'nt fool yourself.

[barrywhite]

Problem with your statement though is most pros learned on generous tables in the beginning and 'graduated' to the tighter templated tables after a few years.

Be interesting to know what Ronnie practised on as a youngster. I'm sure he moved on to a Riley Aristocrat pretty quickly when needed. When he was younger he'd drop in to this or that club and practice, so he probably played on a variety of tables.

[Geoff Large]

It would be nice to get a snooker coach input on this subject

I think most players who take up the sport look towards the high end players and what they are playing on rather than what they may have started to play on , you then reach a level where you want a bit more of a challenge and to leave the still learning player or satisfied with their level or larger pocket player behind

I still think you have to get into the game before you can progress to any top end league level or pro level

here is a post about what one newly qualified coach was told to do with his table , by more professional coaches with more years coaching under their belts , you have got to admit they may have a point .

http://gclbilliards.com/open-up-pock...unger-players/

[barrywhite]

It would be nice to get a snooker coach input on this subject

I think most players who take up the sport look towards the high end players and what they are playing on rather than what they may have started to play on , you then reach a level where you want a bit more of a challenge and to leave the still learning player or satisfied with their level or larger pocket player behind

I still think you have to get into the game before you can progress to any top end league level or pro level

here is a post about what one newly qualified coach was told to do with his table , by more professional coaches with more years coaching under their belts , you have got to admit they may have a point .

http://gclbilliards.com/open-up-pock...unger-players/

So if TV tables are 3.5'' at the pocket fall, what is the width on a true Star table at the fall?

[throtts]

I have had a few players on my pro set up Star that do get frustrated by how hard it is to play, theses guys are just normal club players.

If you cue across consistently you will be found out on every session so you have to be on it from the start. The amount of times I have been on a good break and then rattled a pot which would have dropped easily on a club table.

So, my opinion is if your a new starter to the game pick the easier table so frustration does not interfere with learning the art of cueing. Then when in love with the game and your a fair player take on the pro spec tables because thats what every serious player wants to prove himself on.

I first starting playing snooker seriously on my Star and it was hard work at first and still is, but, I love the game so it doesn't impede me.

Good luck to all, when your hitting the BOB they drop in on any table.

[throtts]

So if TV tables are 3.5'' at the pocket fall, what is the width on a true Star table at the fall?

Just measured my Star.

Set up by WSS and at the fall mine is 3 1/4". Are you sure TV Stars are 3 1/2"?.

Cheers.

[barrywhite]

Just measured my Star.

Set up by WSS and at the fall mine is 3 1/4". Are you sure TV Stars are 3 1/2"?.

Cheers.

If you go back a few comments to Geoff Large, follow the link to his page and read down. An interesting blog from him in many respects.

[ace man]

Link that Geoff posted...when the title mentioned "open up pockets" I thought that they would now be half a metre wide.
Instead it is just 1/4 of an inch increase. It will still be very very difficult for all but extremely high level players.

[throtts]

If you go back a few comments to Geoff Large, follow the link to his page and read down. An interesting blog from him in many respects.

Cheers, B.

[Geoff Large]

I doubt that you will find two star tables with exact same pocket openings or even matching openings and that's the same for any table !
the pockets are cut by hand knife and sanded by hand to take sharp edges off , it is always going to be the case that all pockets have a slight difference although not seen by the human eye or normal tape measure ,
but try a vernier measure and you may see some difference on tolerance but not enough to be concerned

unless the rubber is cut by a robot laser guided then all tables will differ slightly if trying to cut to templates
all fitters have their own interpretation on how to cut and sand smooth the rough edges of freshly cut rubber , some leave them rough cut , I smooth the undercut out
you will be surprised that many manufacturers of tables just leave them rough cut , I have seen some serious match table that in my opinion where rough cut and left .

look at these links to see what I mean about smoothing out the rubber edges .

http://gclbilliards.com/re-rubber-of...-in-yorkshire/

http://gclbilliards.com/plenty-of-re...april-and-may/

here is how Thurston re-rubber in more detail http://www.snookerservice.co.uk/gallery/fitting-rubber/

[itsnoteasy]

That does surprise me if pro star tables are 3 1/2 at the fall ages ago we had a thread about pocket sizes and I measured our club pockets and they were 3 1/2 inches at the fall, but I have played on a table up at the corn exchange in Edinburgh that's used for Scottish regional championship matches and the pockets were pro set up and looked smaller, especially the cut on the middle pockets, not cuts to the middle,the actual cut of the pocket,to be fair after twenty mins it made no difference, I potted the same balls and missed the same stupid shots I do in the club lol.

[Geoff Large]

They are a shade tighter than 3.5 inch the old BSCC templates where 3.5 inch the star ones are around 1/32 tighter .

why they could not just leave the 3.5 inch as standard match openings with 3.5 inch radius falls I do not know it was so much simpler in the 1980s/90s , now they have gone all metric size !

[throtts]

A 1/4" bigger on mine would makes a huge difference for my mates when potting in to these corner pockets on mine.

Really interesting read too, Geoff..

[Leo]

Anyone learning the game of snooker especially those of a lesser standard will find their progress completely killed off if they're playing on tight pockets. Anyone who says playing on tighter pockets like 3 3/8 at the drop will improve their game is not the full ticket.

[barrywhite]

Link that Geoff posted...when the title mentioned "open up pockets" I thought that they would now be half a metre wide.
Instead it is just 1/4 of an inch increase. It will still be very very difficult for all but extremely high level players.

Nah, 3 1/2'' is plenty to construct tons. With 3 3/4'' you can smash em in Trump style and a wee bit more again. It's all relative to the ball, which is 2 1/16''. At 4'' we've almost got enough space to pot two balls at the same time in the same pocket. At 4 1/8'' we can pot two balls at the same time and at 4 1/4'' we can do so comfortably and do so easily at 4 1/2''. My view is that novices should be practising their potting at one end of the table, not going for long pots until they've attained accuracy anyway.

So if they practise potting around the pink spot and black spot areas, they should be able to build up accuracy to cope with 3.5-3.75'' pockets. If they're struggling with 4-6ft pots something is wrong and a coach or good player advice is necessary. A lot of players will offer advice if asked. Most clubs know of a coach. This is were owners should direct their clients and get the guys hooked at the same time. As someone said, a lot of folk give snooker a go having tried English pool but pool tables can be equally difficult due to the lack of rubber in the pocket jaws (usually just wood behind the cloth, hence the diagonal cut) and potting down a pool rail requires some skill as most tables aren't level or cared for properly. So these players should be used to tight holes anyway and not expect US 9-ball sized pockets on a snooker table. A player who can't hit big breaks to begin with but keeps coming back and respects the game and what the pro talent is about is a proper snooker player IMO. No compromise asked; none given. REAL.

Snooker in China isn't booming because Star etc sell tables with 4'' pockets.