Originally posted by flexmoreHave watched 9 ball on TV. The pockets are like buckets - virtually impossible to miss. I've seen shots that have hit the cushion (US - rail) about 4 times and still gone in!! 9 ball appears to be a good tactical game, but potting ability doesn't seem to come in to it. It would be interesting to see some US pool stars trying to play snooker!!
i find that private tables have smaller pockets - and a much slower tougher game.
Commercial tables have larger pockets.
i think it is to speed the game along, and get more money through.
Well, the pockets in American pool are larger for the reasons given above (speed up play, make more money, make the game easier for amateurs, etc.), but one thing you're overlooking is the use of English, or side as the British call it. It becomes quite difficult to accurately estimate the amount of "throw" that side spin imparts on the target ball, hence larger pockets. Snooker, played on a larger table with smaller pockets, makes almost no use of side spin.
Hitting the cue ball hard is another common thing in pool. Sometimes you have to strike the cue ball with a great deal of force to generate an easy second shot. This, naturally, throws off your aim a little bit. Snooker players rarely hit the ball hard, choosing instead to slowly roll balls into pockets and play a safety if nothing relatively easy presents itself.
Also, jump shots are legal (if performed correctly) in American pool, and the slightly larger pocket helps to accommodate this too. Jump shots are not allowed in snooker.
Originally posted by Poison GodmachineSnooker players do use spin - side, top, and bottom.
Well, the pockets in American pool are larger for the reasons given above (speed up play, make more money, make the game easier for amateurs, etc.), but one thing you're overlooking is the use of English, or side as the British call it. It becomes quite difficult to accurately estimate the amount of "throw" that side spin imparts on the target b ...[text shortened]... the slightly larger pocket helps to accommodate this too. Jump shots are not allowed in snooker.
But, yes, safety is more important in snooker. I think in pool the table is too small, the games too short and it's too easy to pot to make saftey shots feasible.
Originally posted by Poison GodmachineYou clearly have never watched professional snooker, where a player can pot 30 balls in a row. Professional snooker players rarely play a shot without 'english'. It's much more difficult to pot a ball with side on a snooker table because of the larger distances. The amount of throw on a pool table is very easy to judge - I've tried it.
Well, the pockets in American pool are larger for the reasons given above (speed up play, make more money, make the game easier for amateurs, etc.), but one thing you're overlooking is the use of English, or side as the British call it. It becomes quite difficult to accurately estimate the amount of "throw" that side spin imparts on the target b ...[text shortened]... the slightly larger pocket helps to accommodate this too. Jump shots are not allowed in snooker.
As for hitting a ball hard - could a pool player pot a ball 10 feet away and draw the ball back to where they hit it from (as I've seen many snooker players do)? I think not.
Originally posted by ianpickeringAnd you have clearly never played one pocket, or 14.1 Continuous.
You clearly have never watched professional snooker, where a player can pot 30 balls in a row. Professional snooker players rarely play a shot without 'english'. It's much more difficult to pot a ball with side on a snooker table b ...[text shortened]... it it from (as I've seen many snooker players do)? I think not.
Contrary to your erroneous assumption, I have watched a great deal of snooker during my travels in India and England. I have also played the game many times, not only in Europe, Africa, and Asia, but here in my home town of Seattle. I have seen snooker players perform many great feats of skill. I have seen pool players do the same.
Clearly you have little or no understanding of either game.
My point in my previous post was simply that there are aspects to pool that are GENERALLY not applicable to snooker--hence larger pockets.
Yes, I have seen snooker players apply side spin, but I have never seen anyone use, say, draw-left spin on a target ball eight feet away and, as a result of said spin, draw the cue ball (with the side spin, off of a rail) eight feet away for a specifc leave. You have to hit the cue ball quite hard to do this. Snooker is simply not played that way. Hitting a ball hard to get a leave, what with the small pockets, is virtually suicide. If a leave requires a great deal of force and spin applied to the cue ball, the snooker player will play a safety. A pool player, though, may opt otherwise.
And as far as your last statement goes, about drawing a cue ball ten feet...this simply reinforces the fact that you know nothing of either game. I am an avid amateur player, and on a level table with uncorrupted cloth and a straight cue, I can draw a cue ball (A pool cue ball, mind you, larger and heavier than a snooker cue), up to ten feet.
I have also encountered players better than myself who can draw a cue ball the length of a table and half of the length once again...13.5 feet.
And, yes, I know that snooker tables are longer and wider.
One more edit: You say "Professional snooker players rarely play a shot without 'english'."
I would amend this to say "Professional snooker players rarely play a shot without top spin or back spin." This is not "English" or "side." I have seen many, many interviews with snooker players (and even spoken to some), who have become 9-ball players for the money, say that the most difficult aspect of 9-ball, or American pool in general, is learning how to hit hard with side spin and generate an executable leave while simultaneously pocketing the target ball.
Perhaps the use of side spin in snooker is more subtle and less spectacular?
One only has to listen to the comentary of a snooker match and you'll hear them say things like 'He played that with a lot of left-hand spin to take the ball...'.
Snooker players tend not to take risks when there is safety available, though.
Granted, Varg. To be absolutely explicit, I have seen the use of side spin to be much more dynamic and pronounced in American pool games (8-ball, 9-ball, 14.1, etc.) than in snooker. All I'm saying is that this is the reason why the pockets are larger over here. I'm not trying to say that one game is inherently more difficult than the other. The aspects I have described in this thread make American pool, in my opinion, just as challenging as snooker, despite slightly larger pockets.
Unfortunately we don't get televised pool over here (maybe on satellite?). I understand there is much more to the professional game than the pub game, but have never seen a pro at work. However, I know a few pro snooker players have entered pro pool (UK) and haven't dominated as some snooker players might expect.