Pool Vs Snooker

[tommy_boi]

Just something that is annoying me at the moment, when i seem to play 8 ball pool at the moment i seem to be playing at a good level most of the time, knocking in the long shots and mainly all the other balls, it isn't very often i am missing a ball on the pool table these days,

anyways surely that must mean i am cueing half decent cause if your not you will miss the long shots in pool even though the ball is only around 5ft or so away from the pocket on a long pot, well when it comes down to snooker i just cant pot anything, i know they are two different games but surely if i am cueing ok then i should be half decent at snooker, i hardly ever play snooker at the moment maybe once a month, but if i am cueing good then shouldn't this work with snooker too?.

[jrc750]

The pockets on pool tables are bigger than a snooker table are they not ??? And the weight of the balls are different too, coupled together you have to be far more accurate on a snooker table, you can get away with murder on a pool table imo

[tommy_boi]

I think the pockets on pool tables are smaller than snooker tables but i know the weight is different, and you saying that if your not playing well you will miss on a pool table too.

[jrc750]

No, i'm saying if your not playing well you can still get away with it on a pool table.
No such thing as a "long" pot on a pool table !!!!!

[tommy_boi]

Yeah you can still get away with it on the shorter shots, but you definitely have to be cueing well on a pool table to hit the longer shots in, especially consistently, and i know a long pot is nothing like what on a snooker table, but your still looking at 5ft or so between the cue ball and object ball.

[jrc750]

Yeah but for there to be a 5ft shot on a pool table that means the object ball would need to be virtually over the pocket, not many snooker players would ever miss those

[sberry]

Exactly, no such thing as a long shot on a pool table, relatively the pockets are bigger and cut more generously, it's easy to play pool well and clear the table in one visit frame after frame after frame but pool players who can do that may not be able to get a forty break at snooker, completely different games, snooker is far harder.

[cyberheater]

Pool Vs Snooker

If it's a UK pool table. Isn't the white ball slightly smaller so won't that change the potting angle.

[perpetualboredom]

Yeah but for there to be a 5ft shot on a pool table that means the object ball would need to be virtually over the pocket, not many snooker players would ever miss those

Exactly! For a 'long shot' on a pool table the cue ball with either be within 4' of the object ball, or the object ball will be within 4' of a pocket - this is at the extrme (imagine a ball on the 'blue spot' with the cue ball in the jaws). Most 'long shots' will have either the white within a couple of foot of the object ball or the object ball within a couple of foot of a pocket. Roughly the equivilent in difficulty as a black off the spot in snooker, i.e. one of the easiest shots you'll play.

[sootyvrs]

It's true about what has been said above about potting.

Potting on a small pool table is much easier than in snooker. The cue ball is smaller than object balls so there are also different responses to get used to e.g. throw angles,,

As for the mention of bigger pockets... depends on the tables as there are also tables with tight pockets in pool.

The biggest difference in my opinion is that although potting is generally easier, positional play and keeping tight control of the cue ball is more critical in Pool as there are usually smaller margins of error whith many potential obstacles... Pool is generally a more tactical game too.

One thing for sure is that a good snooker player can easily play to a good standard in pool where as it's not always true the other way round!

[DandyA]

Just something that is annoying me at the moment, when i seem to play 8 ball pool at the moment i seem to be playing at a good level most of the time, knocking in the long shots and mainly all the other balls, it isn't very often i am missing a ball on the pool table these days,

anyways surely that must mean i am cueing half decent cause if your not you will miss the long shots in pool even though the ball is only around 5ft or so away from the pocket on a long pot, well when it comes down to snooker i just cant pot anything, i know they are two different games but surely if i am cueing ok then i should be half decent at snooker, i hardly ever play snooker at the moment maybe once a month, but if i am cueing good then shouldn't this work with snooker too?.

well I think that's an interesting question tommy_boi and it perplexes me too ...

please excuse the posters above who attempt to deride the game of UK 8ball since they presumably think snooker is the "Rolls Royce" of cue sports and UK 8ball players all drive Lada's ... the facts of the matter are that a 5ft pot is a 5ft pot whether it's on a pool table or an English billiards table (there's no such thing as a snooker table, they are billiards tables I believe) ... similarly, if the white is tight to the cushion with a 1/4 ball pot, it's just as difficult on a UK pool table as it is a billiards table ... or at least, very nearly so ...

the games are obviously very different ... with snooker, both players are playing the same balls, with 8ball each player is playing different balls so has the added complication of working round his opponents ...

but back to your original question ... I play UK 8ball probably 30 frames a week (each 5mins or so) over 4 evenings and I'm quite reasonable at it, I play snooker at most one evening a week and my high-break is 31 (ie poor) ...

why? I don't practice snooker but I have done the long blue test once ... I got 4 out of 5 and jawed the 5th ... quite reasonable I think ...

so why the difference? two things I would say ... ball weight and confidence ...

ball weight ... on a pool table, I'm perfectly happy to screw the white the length of the table ... I know how to hit this white and can make (not 100% but maybe 90%) any positional shot required - indeed, if I'm going to lose position it's normally because I forget the pool white is lighter than the object balls so it stuns wider (more than 90 degrees) ...

ball weight on a snooker table ... never comfortable ... I've got my own set of Aramith Tournament Champions at approx 143g but I actually play better with club balls at probably 129g ... but still both much heavier than a UK 8ball white I guess ...

which leads to confidence ... on a UK 8ball table I'm confident, I can make or at least have a go at any shot whilst on a billiards table, I'm always worrying especially on screw shots ...

I suspect that if I went on a week long snooker holiday playing say 6hrs a day, I could make a 50 break or more simply because I'd gain confidence ... and it may be like riding a bike - once you've done it, you'll never forget how to ...

but I doubt I will cos I'm happy where I am ... it's good for my soul to play snooker once a week and it's good for my ego (although not my liver) to pop down the pub and win far more frames than I lose on the pool table ...

so enjoy your pool tommy_boi ... I certainly do

[perpetualboredom]

Persecution complex ahoy. Haven't seen anyone deriding pool or pool players, just pointing out that in pool the object ball is usually closer to the pocket than when you play snooker therefore your margin for error is miles higher. In pool you don't have to stand properly, cue properly, stay still to pot balls - in snooker you do. Oh that's from a pool player of 16 years by the way...

[tommy_boi]

Have to disagree here, you definitely have to stand properly, you cant just not stand on line and think your still gonna pot a ball even if it is in pool, and i was making some movement on my shots in pool and was missing some easy pots, when i make sure i keep still on the shot my potting is much more consistent, i don't believe that just anyone can play pool, cause you do get people who cant play pool and are terrible at it, if it is easy why cant everyone play it, plus positional play in pool is far harder than in snooker.

[Ginger Freak]

I think that good form in Pool is not necessarily showing you are cueing well, as much as it shows you are not cueing badly. The reason I say this as because the Pool balls are smaller than Snooker balls, therefore less surface area = less permutations for angles = greater margin for error.

You can be about 95% accurate with pool balls and itwill still go in the direction you want, whereas this is not allways the case with snooker!

[pottr]

Pool's much easier than snooker. But that's where there challenge lies as you don't need flawless technique to be competitive. The pressure is on before you even play a shot as you can lose from the break.

In pool, if you're any good, the second you attempt the finish you either clear up and win or you have lost the frame.

Two different games, both use a cue, a table and balls. Tennis and squash both use a racket, a court and a ball. Not the same though.