Clarification/Follow-up by YankeesRule on 10/06/03 7:09 pm:
So all the 10' tables sold are snooker tables? Because I could have sworn i saw 10' pool table being sold on a lot of online places, reputable places of course... but anyways, so the 9 ball championships like the US Open are all played on 9' tables?

Clarification/Follow-up by bcaqball on 10/07/03 1:44 pm:
I didn't mean to imply that there arent any 10' pocket billiards tables I think that a few manufacturers make a 10' model however 10' snooker tables are much more common. the 9' tables are the ones that the pro's play on predominantly but it can't be called a "regulation" size because any table in which the width is exactly half of the lenghth is a regulation pool table.

Clarification/Follow-up by YankeesRule on 10/08/03 6:27 am:
Ok... so what is the point of a 10' billiards table for say 9 or 8 ball, is it just for practice or are there other tournaments that use that size for some reason?

Clarification/Follow-up by bcaqball on 10/09/03 1:01 am:
Like i said before, it is probably good practice but the pro's usualy stick with 9' mostly and sometimes 8'. 10' tables are very obscure. I usually practice on an 9' because I find that if I stay honed in on a large table the smaller ones are easier, following that logic, if you have access to a 10' table then I say use it as much as possible. have a nice day

Clarification/Follow-up by YankeesRule on 10/09/03 7:03 am:
Umm, actually what u said before was a SNOOKER table was good practice because it uses smaller balls and pockets, and I was asking in my clarification if a 10' BILLIARDS table was used for any other practical reason... I will assume from what u are saying that the only reason a 10' table exists then is for practice for a 9' table, because that is what u have implied. I was also asking again because in your previous answers you werent sure of the facts, but u were giving more opinion, and I am not going to go out spend thousands of dollars and buy a certain size pool table based on someone's opinion of the rules and then find out I got the wrong size. I appreciate your help but not the way your diction implies I am not reading what u have answered or that I am not "getting" what u are saying, I hope u understand now... if this is not how u mean to come off towards me (and i dont think english is a second language for you, but if it is...) then i apologize but if not, i would jus tell u from my end how your response came off with certain implications... u dont have to respond, i just wanted u to know thats all, for the future, no worries...

Clarification/Follow-up by bcaqball on 10/09/03 12:22 pm:
what seems to be the problem here i don't understand the confusion so i will be very clear and leave no room for confusion. the pros play on 9' tables almost exclusively 10' pocket billiards tables are very rare and I have never even seen one but if you have access to one then by all means, use it it will not hurt your skills any and should be good practice it seems like you want me to tell you what size pool table to play on when it realy doesnt matter. as long as the pool table is exactly half as wide as it is long then it is a regulation pool table and will serve its purpose. a good pool player can play for months at a time on a 9' table and still be good if the occasion arizes to play on a 7' table. I am trying to answer your questions without telling you what to do. just play pool and have fun and you will get better no matter what size table you are on

Clarification/Follow-up by YankeesRule on 10/10/03 2:03 pm:
Ok we have more info here, but let me make sure I got this right, because frankly it is still unclear. (I know I'm sorry, but hear me out and you will see where exactly we are still lacking)

By the way both of you knowledgeable experts are reponding, what I conclude is that:

- There really is no "official" size for tournaments in 8 or 9 ball.

- 8 ball is played on smaller tables more often than 9 ball is (that makes no sense to me btw, since I would think you want a bigger table for more balls, little more space)

- There is some high official or tournament director who decides what size table is to be used before a tournament starts

- Most major 9 ball championships (like US Open and Nationals) are played on 9 foot tables, and same for 8 ball on 8 footers

- 10' table are still made for pool, but offer no purpose for any official use, so are mainly used for practice

Now bcaqball implied that it really doesnt matter what size table you practice on to be good, so then my questions are

- Why bother making a 10'? who would buy such a table for that much money?

- If you are playing a lot of 9 ball tournies on 9' tables, but practice at home on 7' a lot, dont you lose your touch on the long shots, i.e., isnt it always better to play on at least as large a table as your serious games are on? or are there really some top ranked players out there who practice on 7'?

Thanks for your help... I think this should clear things up finally.

P.S. What does BCS stand for, seems a bit common for your usernames... is it like billiards club of america or something?

Clarification/Follow-up by BCA8BALL on 10/10/03 2:20 pm:
BCA: does stand for Billiard Congress of America.

10ft TABLES: The game of Snooker is very popular and even more so in Europe and played on the 10ft tables; past Snooker champs have made the strongest and most major 8 ball and 9 ball champions. Since the only difference between the 10 ft Snooker table and a 10ft - 8/9 ball tables is the pocket size, some customers have ordered and purchased 10ft tables.

PRACTICE: In my opinion it is better to practice on what ever size table that you shoot on when it counts. For example, I shoot on BCA leagues on 8 foot tables so when I purchased a table for my house I made sure it was 8 foot. Additionally, if you were to play and become proficient on 9 ft tables I strongly believe that it would help you master the smaller tables but not vise versa. At one time I was a great player on the 7 footers then I moved to a larger city and all the pool halls here only have 8 and 9 footers. I lost 15 to 20 percent of my game (just wasn’t making the shots and or shape) and it took about a year and a strong safety game to over come the different tables. 4 years later I am still better on the 7 footers and I strongly believe small tables are easier and becoming a good player on the 8 footers has made my 7 ft game even stronger.

Clarification/Follow-up by bcaqball on 10/14/03 10:22 am:
"BCA" stands for "billiard congress of america" and bca8ball and I are not affiliated with each other we just both happen to play in bca sponsored leagues. anyway most players believe if you stay honed in on a larger table then the smaller ones are easier to play on but not the other way around. so like I said if you have access to a 10' table by all means use it it will not diminish your skills at all but yes if you play alot on a small table the larger ones will be more difficult untill you adjust. however. NO PRACTICE IS BAD PRACTICE. even the smaller tables allow you to practice your bridge, and your stroke, and your cue ball controll, and your aiming skills. which will all come in handy no matter what size table you need to perform on. the better you know the fundamentals the faster you will adjust to the table conditions

Clarification/Follow-up by YankeesRule on 10/15/03 4:57 pm:
What factors are considereed "fundamentals" in billiards, if applicable, more specifically in 9 ball since that is my favorite game. Since I am weaker in long shots, I always look to play better defense which seems easier for me than making a 5 foot shot or a 3 foot bank shot. But not sure if defense counts as fundamentals here.

Clarification/Follow-up by bcaqball on 10/17/03 9:09 am:
by fundamentals I mean the aspects of your game that stay the same no matter which game you are playing or what size table you are playing on such as...your stance, your bridge, your grip on the cue, your stroke, your follow through, and the position of your upper body while shooting. obviously some situations require you to change your fundamentals a little bit for example ...your bridge will be different than usual when shooting over the top of another ball or when bridging off of the rail versus bridging on the playing surface of the table. but just stay as consistent as possible and you will begin to feel more comfortable with shots that you may be struggling with now. as for your weakness with long shots, you should try to get some hands on help with that from someone that you feel is a good pool player but if by chance you are experimenting with left or right spin on the cue ball when you shoot then i would recomend that you don't for now. the spin on the cue ball affects the trajectory of the object ball and without proper aiming adjustments missing becomes more frequent. this could also explain the problem with bank shots because the problem gets worse when a rail is involved in the shot. the only reason to put spin on the cue ball is for cue ball controll and for the rare occasion that a "throw" shot is necessary which i will explain in more detail if you even care to know about it. anyway any good player can controll the cue ball just fine 95% of the time without left or right spin and the game is much less complicated to learn without the added complications of that until you are ready for it