Practice on tournament or club table ?

[bluenose1940]

Thank you for your comprehensive reply Danger Steve, all very interesting.

Next time there is some snooker on TV I will try to have a close look at the table.

Thanks again.

[mikee]

What Steve said is correct ,the modern steel block match table is designed to have a certain pocket cut ,this is roughly the same for B.C.E ,riley and Star ,just the way pro tables are made ,and a lot of clubs are now using a full nose of rubber with no undercut .My own table has very small looking middle pockets cut to template ,you can't get two balls in at the fall of the slate ,they will be jammed together ,but if you put the white on say the yellow spot it will go in the middle pocket on the same side with pace ,just the way the modern table is designed ( cushions slightly smaller ,so you can leave more rubber on ) .Its a mine field really all this pocket stuff ,but they are all cut by hand so two tables with the same template may not play the quite same .Best way is practice more and hit the back of the plate and don't worry too much about it .

[Nifty50]

Bluenose, A few weeks ago I played at a club which has tournament standard Star tables. I measured the yellow pocket opening with my fist and my fist wouldn’t quite fit. With the tables at my usual club my fist fits into the opening quite snugly. I’ve got fairly small hands, about 3.5 inches across the knuckles. Guessing that my club tables have pockets around 3.5 inches at the opening but the Star tables could be nearer 3.25 inches. Might do it a bit more accurately one day with digital callipers.

[itsnoteasy]

Bluenose, A few weeks ago I played at a club which has tournament standard Star tables. I measured the yellow pocket opening with my fist and my fist wouldn’t quite fit. With the tables at my usual club my fist fits into the opening quite snugly. I’ve got fairly small hands, about 3.5 inches across the knuckles. Guessing that my club tables have pockets around 3.5 inches at the opening but the Star tables could be nearer 3.25 inches. Might do it a bit more accurately one day with digital callipers.

Think they are 3 3/8 ths Nifty but I could be wrong.

[MrRottweiler]

Is there a device that you can place over a corner pocket that shows if the cut if the cushion is correct? The two match tables at a club I worked at had pockets that were so tight it was impossible to make a break and I always felt it was damaging to play on that table and be lucky to knock in a 50 instead of a table in the main room and be able to knock in centuries and get used to consistent high scoring visits.

[Starsky]

Is there a device that you can place over a corner pocket that shows if the cut if the cushion is correct? The two match tables at a club I worked at had pockets that were so tight it was impossible to make a break and I always felt it was damaging to play on that table and be lucky to knock in a 50 instead of a table in the main room and be able to knock in centuries and get used to consistent high scoring visits.

What I’ve decided to do is practice solo on a match table then if I play people at my club I do it on a regular table . I can see the difference when I play from one to the other and I start off thinking these pockets are buckets and I can’t miss .... until I miss that is

[Danger Steve]

What I’ve decided to do is practice solo on a match table then if I play people at my club I do it on a regular table . I can see the difference when I play from one to the other and I start of thinking these pockets are buckets and I can’t miss .... until I miss that is

When you ‘think’ the pockets are tighter you try harder! When they look like buckets you just get down thinking your ROS and try to knock them in without thinking and guess what! You start missing... I had this on Steve Barton’s table, the pockets looked big and they had an under cut on the rubber, I thought well this will be simple, but no! I felt like a right knob.

[Starsky]

When you ‘think’ the pockets are tighter you try harder! When they look like buckets you just get down thinking your ROS and try to knock them in without thinking and guess what! You start missing... I had this on Steve Barton’s table, the pockets looked big and they had an under cut on the rubber, I thought well this will be simple, but no! I felt like a right knob.

I feel your pain....

I’m in the process of ordering some Snookerspex after sending my prescription off to them. I’ve asked for glasses that make the pockets look bigger and the balls smaller

[Danger Steve]

I feel your pain....

I’m in the process of ordering some Snookerspex after sending my prescription off to them. I’ve asked for glasses that make the pockets look bigger and the balls smaller

Are those the one with the laser guide attachment?

[Starsky]

Are those the one with the laser guide attachment?

I couldn’t afford that ..

[itsnoteasy]

When you ‘think’ the pockets are tighter you try harder! When they look like buckets you just get down thinking your ROS and try to knock them in without thinking and guess what! You start missing... I had this on Steve Barton’s table, the pockets looked big and they had an under cut on the rubber, I thought well this will be simple, but no! I felt like a right knob.

Couldn't agree more, I have been playing pretty consistently on a tight table recently, went for a game on a normal club table today, was really looking forward to it, thought I would have a chance of some nice big one visit breaks, I was rubbish, just couldn't get into it at all.

[trains]

Couldn't agree more, I have been playing pretty consistently on a tight table recently, went for a game on a normal club table today, was really looking forward to it, thought I would have a chance of some nice big one visit breaks, I was rubbish, just couldn't get into it at all.

Each to their own of course but if you’re playing on a good table with very responsive cushions and cloths maybe players should put as much emphasis on snookering and escaping snookers as potting and breakbuilding , like you said to me yourself you play someone who uses safety as a weapon , there was an indian billiards player pankaj advani who turned to snooker and was really good at this and it was a really good weapon for him , shame he retired out of being away from india i think , he was slippery at getting opponents into trouble , good to watch .

[itsnoteasy]

Each to their own of course but if you’re playing on a good table with very responsive cushions and cloths maybe players should put as much emphasis on snookering and escaping snookers as potting and breakbuilding , like you said to me yourself you play someone who uses safety as a weapon , there was an indian billiards player pankaj advani who turned to snooker and was really good at this and it was a really good weapon for him , shame he retired out of being away from india i think , he was slippery at getting opponents into trouble , good to watch .

I'm fifty odd years old, I never played snooker until I was forty eight, I practice with an ex pro, I don't have the time or the ability to ever reach his standard of safety but I can knock in a decent break every now and again and steal a frame off him.

[vmax]

Bluenose, A few weeks ago I played at a club which has tournament standard Star tables. I measured the yellow pocket opening with my fist and my fist wouldn’t quite fit. With the tables at my usual club my fist fits into the opening quite snugly. I’ve got fairly small hands, about 3.5 inches across the knuckles. Guessing that my club tables have pockets around 3.5 inches at the opening but the Star tables could be nearer 3.25 inches. Might do it a bit more accurately one day with digital callipers.

Just remember that although it may be a Star table it wasn't fitted using pro templates as those are not allowed for use outside of pro tournamnets. It may have been fitted using BSCC templates which are tighter than WPBSA ones, us amateurs have it harder for a reason, that reason the being the obsession with century breaks that's seen by the top brass to be selling the game.