[FASTLARRY]

POCKET TABLE PROBLEMS

12-06-08, 3 pages, CR, Fast Larry Guninger, all rights reserved. Published in numberous internet sites.

At any tourney never assume your table is set up correctly. Many times it is now. You report it and usually nothing is done to correct it. They have already paid the installer for the set up and don’t want to pay him to come back in. They try to get him to come back in for free to correct his mistakes and the guy stalls them, or is booked and never does it. You need to identify table problems and they try and play around them as best you can. You need to know which way the table rolls off and adjust for that. Find that rail that makes a thumping sound, which is missing a rail bolt, and avoid banking into it. Play safe instead.

And the worst, you actually pot a ball into the center of the pocket and it comes right back out of the pocket back on the table. You yell out, yo, he wuz robbed, somebody go call da pole lice, and report da robbery. 911 dude.

Some of you might remember the BCA Pro 9Ball event at the Riviera several years ago where a couple of the Olhausen tables spit pocketed balls back onto the table. Anything hit at more than pocket speed would plop right back out of the pocket. The tables were installed by the local Olhausen dealer, The Billiard Factory and their installers couldn't figure out how to correct the problem. There were also a couple of tables that rolled off horribly. Even Earl complained!

So, after day one of the tournament, Ernesto ran out to the local Home Depot, bought some of the stick on rubberized weather stripping used for windows or doors. He stuck a piece at the top of the problem pockets so the balls would deflect downward into the pocket and not fly back onto the table. You would think that either the table distributor or table manufacturer would go to great lengths to ensure the equipment was in top condition and installed perfectly for an event with that type of exposure.
At the 2000 world trick shot championship I complained about how bad the tables were banking and when I got under the table I found none of the rail bolts had been tightened down, I could turn each one with my fingers where they should be torked down solid. I was told the top Brunswick installer set them up and they were just fine. When I dug in and insisted on him coming back to inspect the AH comes in with a pissed off attitude and more or less is telling me I don’t know she-yit and he is the expert here, not me, and I went okie dokie mister expert, check out this 9 rail bank shot, which is in our program, what the ball begin to hop around. When I hit the shot, a rail bolt came out and hit the floor with a thud. I said, dude, do you own a 9/16” socket wrench, mister fookin expert. That is just a single experience of the level of sloppy work these bums will put on you, if you are not standing over the top of them, checking every single thing they do.
Pockets should be plastic, I hate leather. Yes they look nice, yes they help sell tables. They were OK when RC designs were making them. They were top quality and the cheap table sellers began buying cheap copies from Mexico and China. They have dye problems and put ink stains on the balls and it can rub off even on your cue shooting over a pocket. A pocket should hole at least 8 balls, and to save money they began using less and less leather and now some only hold 5. A ball can do down into the pocket deep and climb right back out. If that becomes a problem you have to keep pulling balls out of any pocket you are shooting into hard. The leather inside the pocket is so stiff it never loosens up and it tears up your cuticles and finger nails. I have had my cuticles bleeding.
The biggest problem is making the pockets level with the rail. They were stuck up higher for a reason, to catch a ball coming in jumping high. These new leather pockets are rounded at the top which allows them to now ramp over easier.
If a pocket is spitting a potted ball back out that did not hit a point going in then you can do some things to avoid that.
On a force follow set this shot up and practice it. This is a 9 ball shot.
http://CueTable.com/P/?@3ANUG2IJli3PDPb3TD...kbQr1kOCT2uBnP@
Put 3 pennies between the c ue ball and the one, and then put 3 pennies between the one and the pocket. Now shoot your normal shot, which probably is jacked up 12 degrees very hard and you will see 2 things, one the CB jumps which kills your spin and action on the CB, and you actually hit a double jump that is so fast your eyes cannot see it. You will know it happens because the CB does not touch a penny, jumping over them and is landing on the one, which jumps it over the pennies and it may go into the pocket on the fly never touching the cloth, or it may land just in front of the pocket and skip up high on the pocket and that’s what allows it to ramp over and go on the floor.
Now rub the rail, your entire stroke, and your follow through must be level and parallel with the table bed. You must drop your elbow and do not allow the shaft to dip down, it must drive through the ball and stay up in the air. You now beat the jump and all the pennies were hit and rolled over. That is the proper way to hit a force follow shot, level cue is the key.
http://CueTable.com/P/?@2ARvO4HAGl3JPuA3KU...kcXR4kQGf4uCdJ@
You are playing 8 ball and the follow to the 8 is blocked so you draw over. Any time the 2 balls are both one foot apart, the double jump is really on. If you jack up 2” over the top of the rail and nail it hard, the CB again lands on the one and the one flies in the air into the top of the pocket and can come out. So flick the wrist and hit softer, and level out on this shot, reduce your jack up. Don’t go totally low and level, but your jack up should be much less than I normally teach.
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http://cuetable.com/P/index.html Note, you may have to download shockwave.
Wei table diagram. To open and see a shot when there is a line of Html code like this:
http://CueTable.com/P/?@1EAKq1PALH4QPBE2Rd...kALH4kQfn1uCtP@
Place your mouse on the line and hold down Ctrl button and shift on your left bottom of your key board and hit left click on your mouse fast twice, give it a few seconds to load and the shot and table diagram will appear. Depending on the speed and condition of your computer, this may take 20 seconds, so wait for it to come up.
To learn how to draw such shots takes some practice and the site will teach you now it works.
http://cuetable.com/mission.html
Begin by hitting the main on the left side which will show you examples of how it works. You can then open a table on the right side and begin to draw. If you have any problems in knowing how to export your shot to our site then email me at Flepool@bellsouth.net
When the table is first displayed all your controls will be on the bottom long rail. On the far left see an X and a ? Click the X, the rail fills up with options. I now drag and drop my Cb and Ob, then click and drag lines to display where they go. To the right of the ? I click the cue ball, then I drag the blue mark from the center and leave it on the ball where I want to show what English I am using. To the right of the side pocket I click the pool cue and it displays. To the right of this you see 3 little red boxes, go to the far one on the right, the 3rd one, and click it, then go to your post and the html code should then drop and display. To the right of this is a X, so if you mess up, you click the x and the table clears and you can start over. There are many more things you can do by studying the site but these are the main controls I use.
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