Tight pockets or big pockets

[Booters]

Afternoon all,

Just looking for some advice
I'm a beginner, playing 2 or 3 times a week for the last couple of months
Been playing solo and have seen a big improvement in a relatively short space
Of time, or so I thought, I played on one of the tables down the club which I
Hadn't played on before, on the other tables I regularly knock in 50-60s on the line
Up or just spreading the reds out, but yesterday I could barely make a 20 which really ruined
The session for me, the pockets on this table are much tighter than all the other tables, almost identical to the
match table. So as a beginner should I persevere and play on that tighter table
All the time or should I play on the table with more generous pockets for the first 6 months or
So to build up some confidence and I can adjust further down the line to the tighter table?
Regards
Paul

[Terry Davidson]

My opinion is beginning players should play and practice on fairly loose pockets and then once they get to a good standard they should try and switch to tables that are templated or at least close to template pockets.

You sort of answered your own question as at your skill level a tighter table is killing your confidence. In addition, the less a player worries about making a pot the more he can concentrate on controlling the cueball.

Terry

[damienlch]

I think playing on tables with the tighter pockets is always better. You might pick up bad habits playing on easy tables.

[dieselman147]

Stick to the big pockets for now. As Terry said.

[Booters]

Yeah that's kinda what I thought, but I totally agree with point that damienlch said, playing on that table really showed that my cueing was just slightly off. The whole reason I play is just pure enjoyment so il stick with the bigger pockets for now, and it's not as if they're enormous, only marginally bigger than the tight table, cheers fellas

[MinnesotaSlim85]

I remember mean years ago playing a match on a old Sheerline & Starline table, it looked like a big 80's 8-ball pool table, to this day I have never seen such large corner pockets! I swear to could have fitted 3 snooker balls side by side at once in them

[ace man]

I agree beginning players should not play on too tight equipment.
Pocket size is indeed a factor which contributes to overall playing difficulty, but it certainly isn't the only one. What good are loose pockets, if you also get slow cloth and/or pinball like cushions, poor quality balls...etc.
For any serious practise, beginner level or not, overall playing conditions must be taken into account.

[tedisbill]

I like big pockets. Knock some breaks in* :-D


* Please Note: I can also make consistent 9 breaks on tight tables.

[fred.england]

In our club we have 3 rooms. The main room with "forgiving pockets " but generally the cloths are slow and the lighting is a bit suspect. The "Clare" room whose pockets are tighter and the cloths are quicker with good lighting. We then have our "match" room. 5 glorious tables, lighting at the premium end of the scale, but very unforgiving pockets. I always choose the match rooms as it's a challenge but so much better conditions. Don't get me wrong, all of our table are maintained to an unbelievable standard and I'm not knocking our main room but I much prefer the match conditions. I would suggest that you play to the toughest conditions available to you. It will give you huge confidence on potting balls into tight pockets.

[luke-h]

Personally if your potting to the centre of the pockets you should have no problems

[hotpot]

Some club tables are so tight they really do knock your confidence . Theres one or two in the league that i detest playing on and even when im cueing really well i've played on them and dont think i,ve made a 30 break . It nice to play on tight'ish tables but if their ridiculously tight to the point that balls that should drop dont then it does not take long before you stop enjoy playing , get frustrated , angry , mad , throw a wobbly etc .

[tedisbill]

The problem with most tight tables in clubs, is they're great when they've got a new cloth on, and the cushions are sliding. But in most clubs, it's probably been years since they had a new cloth, and certainly several months. So the tables will play even harder than you see on TV.

The tables down SWSA in Gloucester are a good example. They're re-clothed quite frequently, so the balls slide around lovely. You won't get that in most 'normal' clubs though.

[damienlch]

I was playing on one of them Star tables. Not sure if they modified the pocket templates but the middle pockets are cut rather tight... missing them like mad and I thought I was rather handy with the middle pockets...

There should be a standardised pocket template for consistency's sake.

[MinnesotaSlim85]

even the middles on the table were like buckets on this one, it was almost like playing snooker on a 9-ball very odd! never seen the like of since, maybe it was a one off!

[RogiBear]

I was playing on one of them Star tables. Not sure if they modified the pocket templates but the middle pockets are cut rather tight... missing them like mad and I thought I was rather handy with the middle pockets...

There should be a standardised pocket template for consistency's sake.

They're probably just tournament cut, hit the middle and they fly in