"Shimmed pockets"

[philip in china]

I recently got the following message from a friend in USA:

"I occasionally still play 9 ball on 8' tables with double shimmed corner pockets. It's a very strange adjustment.
The side pockets are either not shimmed or only single shimmed. I've never been given an explanation."

I have not the slightest idea what he means. Does anybody have a clue?

[jrc750]

Well as a guess I would say the pockets on the table are massive so some sort of "packing" (shim) has been added to them to make them smaller? ?

[Yannabo]

Yeah, pocket shims are a popular alteration on the American tables. I think middle pockets are usually shimmed slightly less than corners because of the cut of the pocket compared to other tables. I've played on double shimmed tables before and it certainly demands you be more accurate. I know a few of the pros on the GB9 tour used to practise regularly on triple shimmed pockets. You could just about fit a ball in those...

[philip in china]

Thank you. That makes perfect sense.

[Geoff Large]

I have double shimmed Sam K steel tables .

it is just another pad of rubber glued over the original end pad and sand edges in to form a good edge .