Pool tables typically weigh between 500 and 1,000 pounds – so moving a table can be no small feat.  In addition to being heavy, large, and cumbersome, they are incredibly delicate.  Improper moving of a table can cause the slate play-surface to crack or break, making replacement a necessity.  The surface can warp from too much tugging and pulling.  Not to mention the high probability that someone will get seriously injured in the process of moving a pool table.

Continue reading →

One of the most important factors that define the quality table is the flatness of the surface. While both Italian and Brazilian slate are some of the best materials, Brazilian slate offers a slight advantage in this respect due to its rigidity. Italian slate is a softer material that offers some flexibility whereas Brazilian slate is much harder.

Much of the differences between these two materials originates in the geographical location and the history of the mines used to source slate. Italian mines have been mined for over 200 years making them much deeper than Brazilian mines. The result is that Brazilian slate is mined much closer to the surface where moisture content is lower. This (moisture content) creates one of the key differences between Italian and Brazilian slate.

Playcraft is the maker of this 1″ Brazilian backed slate table.

TL:DR;

Brazilian slate provides a slight advantage over Italian slate due to its strength and flat surface. Italian slate is still a very high-quality material but Brazilian slate should always be used for outdoor tables.
Continue reading →

One of the nice things about teaching a lot of lessons is that I get to see a lot of students. Using a performance model rather than a commodity model, I expect to get better at what I do the more I do it, rather than wear out my skill set over time.

Alright everyone get in line, we’re all guilty of these 5 mistakes.

Hopefully I’m getting better at this pool thing! As my experience grows, I keep seeing the same recurring problems holding players back from being the best they can be. We have looked at some of these ideas before, but it is not a bad idea to revisit them at the beginning of the year.

Continue reading →

With new updates for smartphone gaming apps appearing almost daily and new video games hitting the shelves every month, it’s hard to keep kids away from the screen and involved in classic games. The average age of a regular pool player is steadily increasing, which no doubt an issue for both billiard industry and the rich culture embedded in the game of pool.

So the question becomes: how do we get the youth more involved in billiards? The participation of the younger generation in pool is essential to the sport’s longevity and overall progress. Introducing new minds to the game of pool can help the classic game grow since new generations are known to add a fresh perspective and put their own mark on things. Not only do the younger generations help billiards, but the game itself helps kids develop control over their emotions and critical thinking as they learn the strategies of pool.

Get your kids started young and they’ll never stop developing ideas!

Continue reading →

One of the things that intermediate players do is move their stick too fast. When we play pool we are trying to hit the cue ball in an area a millimeter wide. This is a really difficult task, and we make the job much harder when we wave our stick at the cue ball.

You actually don’t pocket balls! What a pool player does is accurately strike the cue ball, and the results of how accurately the cue ball was struck is shown to us by what the object balls do.

This is a little bit of a different way of looking at a shot. One of the hard things about pool is that it doesn’t reward us for trying to make a ball. We get the best results when we focus our attention on stoking the cue ball purely and letting the cue ball do the work for us.

So what does a good stroke look like? Well first is is slow and deliberate. We get down on our shot coming down the line we want our cue ball to travel on slowly, and get settled in our stance.

From here we really look at the cue ball and aim to hit the spot we want. Then we pull our stick back in a straight line slowly, slightly pause, and then smoothly start our forward stoke. Notice that at all times we could feel our cue stick and had it under control.

Many players get down on a shot and wave their stick at the cue ball. They have little control of their stick and it is much more difficult to be precise when you are waving the cue stick.

Slowing your stick down will help you to shoot more accurately, but there is more. Once you have learned to slow your stick down, the next piece is making sure to pull your cue stick back far enough to generate the power you need smoothly. Many players pull their stick back a short way and then muscle the cue stick forward, causing all sorts of inaccuracies.

Continue reading →

One of the things that is not mentioned too much when talking about the fundamentals of playing good pool is where to look. We have the cue ball, the pocket, the object ball and the location we want the cue ball to end up at to focus on. How do we organize our vision to make the most of what we are seeing?

Topics Addressed:

1. What ball do you look at when shooting pool? –AzBilliards Thread
2. Do you look at the cue ball or object ball when shooting?
3. Do you look at the ball when you shoot?

Vision: What to Look When You’re Playing Pool

What ball do you look at when you’re shooting pool?

1. Honing Your Concentration

The first aspect of vision is for concentration. When we are playing pool seriously, keeping your eyes on the table at all times is the path to better concentration. It is so easy to have wandering eyes, looking at the television, the waiter, the menu, etc, that we get distracted from our serious pool game. I certainly wouldn’t want a brain surgeon working inside my head looking at football game!

When it is our turn to play, we decide what we are going to do, and get our center of vision on the line of the shot. As we approach the shot, we want our eyes to focus on where we want the cue ball to hit the object ball.

Continue reading →

Founded in 1983, Pool & Billiard Magazine is the sport’s oldest monthly magazine. P&B is run by BCA Hall of Famers like Buddy Hall, Loree Jon Jones, Ray Martin, Phil Capel and more. Anybody that wants to keep up with the latest news should think about signing up for a subscription. There’s a physical print magazine or a digital version called P&B Ezine that you can flip through.  Both cost $19.95.

September’s issue of P&B Magazine.

Game Tables Online in P&B Magazine

Game Tables Online will appear on page 24 of the October 2014 Issue of Pool & Billiards Magazine. Our column talks about our sponsorship of the Billiard Education Foundation, a non-profit charity that hosts youth events and provides academic scholarships for rising stars. The BEF was created by the Billiard Congress of America and continues to organize state-wide, national, and international events and tournaments around the world.

Page 24 announces the 9 student-athletes who have qualified to represent North America as part of Team USA at the upcoming WPA (World Pool-Billiard Association) Junior 9-Ball Championships.  Go USA!!!  This year the championships will be held in Shanghai, China beginning on November 14-18.

Congratulations to Team USA Representatives!

1. Nick Evans, 17 (St. Peters, MI)
2. Manny Perez, age 16 (Kansas City, KS)
3. Devin Poteet, age 17 (Cape Girardeau, MO)
4. Taylor Reynolds, age 16 (Winslow, Maine)
5. Rachel Lang, 16 (Catskill, NY)
6. Ricky Evans, 13 (St. Peters, MO)
7. Samuel Hoffman, 14 (Hillsborough, NJ)
8. April Larson, 13 (Bloomington, MN)
9. Michelle Jiang 13, (Harvard, MA)

Continue reading →