Kicks..............

[itsnoteasy]

When I play with my TCs and they are nice and clean( they always are) and the tables clean, I can play for a few hours kick free.
The club balls on an unbrushed table is another story, I have had four and five bad contacts in a row, it can be very frustrating.
Pocket weight run throughs seem to be the biggest culprit.

[Catch 22]

Pocket weight run throughs seem to be the biggest culprit.

Yeah . Adds anxiety to a simple shot .

I don't have my cue parallel to the table when I cue . I cue down on the ball a bit . So sometimes if I play a stun shot above centre I get a kick because the cue ball is bouncing when it hits OB

[vmax4steve]

I don't have my cue parallel to the table when I cue . I cue down on the ball a bit .

Neither do Selby or Bingham, hasn't stopped them being good players, and they still get bad contacts and kicks. It's the balls mate, don't believe anything else is to blame; there's a whole generation of players who have no idea about super crystalate balls, snooker was better and almost kick free on well napped cloths until Aramith came along.

I remember it well, three new snooker clubs opened up in our town during the boom in the 80's, they all used Aramith balls. When our league got team entries from these clubs and I played in them for the first time the difference in the balls was stark. Their new tables had big pockets but I found it very hard as the contact between the balls was different, the object ball when missed was 90% missed thick (bad contact) and the cue ball didn't react as well as I was used to.
Back in my own club everything was hunky dory so I knew it was the balls and I've been raging against them, to no avail, ever since.

[luke-h]

Neither do Selby or Bingham, hasn't stopped them being good players, and they still get bad contacts and kicks. It's the balls mate, don't believe anything else is to blame; there's a whole generation of players who have no idea about super crystalate balls, snooker was better and almost kick free on well napped cloths until Aramith came along.

I remember it well, three new snooker clubs opened up in our town during the boom in the 80's, they all used Aramith balls. When our league got team entries from these clubs and I played in them for the first time the difference in the balls was stark. Their new tables had big pockets but I found it very hard as the contact between the balls was different, the object ball when missed was 90% missed thick (bad contact) and the cue ball didn't react as well as I was used to.
Back in my own club everything was hunky dory so I knew it was the balls and I've been raging against them, to no avail, ever since.

i think im on your side tbh, played with a clean set of tc's a few times recently and ive never played as bad, straight blues to pocket normally id get quite a few but with the tc's nearly always missed and but a good margin, i accept sometimes i may rattle a ball but to miss by that much has me questioning things.

went back to that crystalite club balls and again cleaned them and they were flying in.

[tomwalker147]

I don't think anybody has a proper answer, it's just theories and speculation.

The kicks I get most often are when playing balls off their spots, in my opinion this is down to the fact that idiots bang the balls back on their spots denting the slate when respotting balls. Another shot prone to kicks is the centre ball striking dead weight shot, arghhh so frustrating.

I agree to some extent about older sets of balls not kicking as much, I play occasionally with a mate on a table which has pretty much been neglected, slow cloth, big bags and old balls. Very rarely have a kick though.
I now practice often on Star tables with new balls and table heater in situ, the amount of bad contacts is incredible, even when using 'clean' balls.

Here's a question for you; would you rather play on a Star table with new balls and have a few kicks OR play on a club table with old balls and not get many at all?

[vmax4steve]

I don't think anybody has a proper answer, it's just theories and speculation.

The kicks I get most often are when playing balls off their spots, in my opinion this is down to the fact that idiots bang the balls back on their spots denting the slate when respotting balls. Another shot prone to kicks is the centre ball striking dead weight shot, arghhh so frustrating.

I agree to some extent about older sets of balls not kicking as much, I play occasionally with a mate on a table which has pretty much been neglected, slow cloth, big bags and old balls. Very rarely have a kick though.
I now practice often on Star tables with new balls and table heater in situ, the amount of bad contacts is incredible, even when using 'clean' balls.

Here's a question for you; would you rather play on a Star table with new balls and have a few kicks OR play on a club table with old balls and not get many at all?

If they are super crystalates, take the old balls home and give them a good clean and polish with Mr. Sheen, take those balls to the Star table you play on, the result will amaze you.

[tomwalker147]

If they are super crystalates, take the old balls home and give them a good clean and polish with Mr. Sheen, take those balls to the Star table you play on, the result will amaze you.

I'll give it a go Vmax, it's so frutrating having all these variables affecting the game we all love!

[tomlimcj]

Just had a horrible kick. Trying to run the cueball through on a red to place for the balck in the opposite corner. The white ball kicked on hitting the red, the top spin died n my cueball ended up above the black ball in line with the spots. Horrible...

[Big Splash!]

If you listen to the shots in this video you'll hear SCs really cracking, crystal indeed. Horrid noise. Note the lack of CB travel as well. They really have to be pumped to work. And that's why no pro is going to want to go back to that junk no matter how noisey the false accusations of kicks against TCs.

[inevermissblue]

The kicks I get most often are when playing balls off their spots, in my opinion this is down to the fact that idiots bang the balls back on their spots denting the slate when respotting balls. Another shot prone to kicks is the centre ball striking dead weight shot, arghhh so frustrating.

They must be strong tom �� to dent the slate! Lol. Don't you mean pit the cloth? Lol.

[tomwalker147]

They must be strong tom �� to dent the slate! Lol. Don't you mean pit the cloth? Lol.

Yeah probably mate, you know what I mean though, slight dip where the spot is!

[vmax4steve]

If you listen to the shots in this video you'll hear SCs really cracking, crystal indeed. Horrid noise. Note the lack of CB travel as well. They really have to be pumped to work. And that's why no pro is going to want to go back to that junk no matter how noisey the false accusations of kicks against TCs.

What a load of bollocks. Every time you post tosh like this it just reinforces my opinion that you have no history in the game and therefore have no idea of the history of the game.
I can only hear the clean click of the SC's and see the sheer class of Higgins clearance. Lack of cue ball travel my arse, straight out of the Aramith marketing dept who dreamt up that little phrase.

[Big Splash!]

What a load of bollocks. Every time you post tosh like this it just reinforces my opinion that you have no history in the game and therefore have no idea of the history of the game.
I can only hear the clean click of the SC's and see the sheer class of Higgins clearance. Lack of cue ball travel my arse, straight out of the Aramith marketing dept who dreamt up that little phrase.

How you can tell the difference between the balls given your breaks amazes me! :biggrin-new: Aramith took over the company to grab market share but if the SCs were superior to the TCs, Aramith would have had a very good commercial reason to continue their recipe. They didn't, because they're crap. TCs are the closest any firm has ever got to ivory properties and that's a fact. Weep on bro.

Name one top or former pro, ref or really good player (that doesn't include you and your mate Baz down the club in Plymouth) who wants to go back to SCs. Just one?

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

How you can tell the difference between the balls given your breaks amazes me! :biggrin-new: Aramith took over the company to grab market share but if the SCs were superior to the TCs, Aramith would have had a very good commercial reason to continue their recipe. They didn't, because they're crap. TCs are the closest any firm has ever got to ivory properties and that's a fact. Weep on bro.

Name one top or former pro, ref or really good player (that doesn't include you and your mate Baz down the club in Plymouth) who wants to go back to SCs. Just one?

Bottr does, for pool at least.

And what on earth do you mean they are the 'closest to ivory balls' and how is that a 'fact'?

[djax]

How you can tell the difference between the balls given your breaks amazes me! :biggrin-new: Aramith took over the company to grab market share but if the SCs were superior to the TCs, Aramith would have had a very good commercial reason to continue their recipe. They didn't, because they're crap. TCs are the closest any firm has ever got to ivory properties and that's a fact. Weep on bro.

Name one top or former pro, ref or really good player (that doesn't include you and your mate Baz down the club in Plymouth) who wants to go back to SCs. Just one?

Splash, I'm another that has returned to SC's - In fact I've now acquired two excellent sets of Fleabay. I have to say I do have more affinity with them. I may also qualify for one of your stipulations of recommendation? "Top or Former Pro" OK never a "Top" but "Former" Yes, It may have been as a Bike Racer. But you didn't stipulate?