Cue Sport Group

Archive for January, 2010

Five-Time World Pocket Billiards Champion, Mike The Mouth Sigel is performed in Garmantown, Maryland last January 18, 2009. DPR Group, Inc., a full-service agency that provides public relations and marketing support services to a broad range of companies and people, announced that five-time World Pocket Billiards Champion, Mike “The Mouth” Sigel, performed three pool exhibitions and one straight pool seminar in the Baltimore. – Washington, D.C. area during the last week of January 2010.
Mike Sigel has won more than 106 major pool tournaments including three U.S. Open 9-ball Championships, three U.S. Open Straight Pool Championships and five World Pocket Billiards Championship titles. Sigel played himself in the movie, “The Baltimore Bullet,” and was technical advisor to Paul Newman and Tom Cruise in the Academy Award-winning movie “The Color of Money.” In 1989, at age 35, Sigel became the youngest person inducted into the Billiard Congress of America’s Hall of Fame.

What makes rectangular carom billiard table unique among others is its pocket-less design. Used for three-cushion billiards, balkline, cushion caroms or straight rail, this fantastic table is usually made of slate material that is heated to about 5 degrees Celsius during the game for better plays. This heating process originated on the time of Queen Elizabeth to prevent warping of the materials.

With at least 45 mm. thickness, Korean style carom billiard table looks like the professional pool table because of its 4.5 x 9 feet dimensions. Some reputable manufacturers of this kind of equipments are Verhoeven and Gabriels. To be able to attain a trick shot on this carom billiard table, one must use his imagination and skills for the proper adjustments. Although quite complicated, it is highly do-able. The cloth is usually made of worsted wool for less ball resistance and mostly comes in green color.

Pool table bed material affects the shots during games especially in masses and jumps. Slate, wood and medium-density fiberboard materials are commonly used for the playing surface. Among the three, slate is the most expensive and durable one. It is known to withstand extreme temperatures and humidity. The only disadvantage is the weight and installation. An inch slate is the standard thickness though not all manufacturers tend to obey this because of cost and weight. Italian and Brazilian slates are the most recommended in the market for their top quality.

Other pool bed material alternatives are wood and medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Though a lot cheaper, they usually warp as time passes by. Moisture and temperature are the factors that affect these materials’ durability. Moreover, it is also less effective to make shots like jumps on these kinds of pool table materials for it blocks energy.

Rails are usually made up of rubber to be able to make ball rebounds during bank or kick shots. High quality rubber and proper installation are essential for the rail to be much of use.

You may want to ask yourself these questions first before going out and getting one.
1. Do you have enough room for a pool table. Pool tables range in size from 3 X6, 3 ½ X 7, 4 X 8 home, 4 X 8 Commercial, 4 1/2X 9, 5 X 10 and 6 X 12. Pool table manufactures make pool tables in different sizes to accommodate various size rooms. The most popular size pool table today is the 4 X 8 with a play field of 44 X 88. The 7’ pool table is the bar room size and the 9’ is considered the tournament size.
2. In the East most pool tables go into basements. In the West most pool tables are found in either the den or a converted garage. In the past 10 years we have installed a large number of pool tables in living rooms. Several pool tables turn into dining tables and are found in dinning rooms. These convertible tables can also be used in offices as conference tables. Which ever room you choose make sure you have enough room around the table. It’s better to have a smaller table and be able to use regulation cues than to have a larger table and use shorter cues. 5’ around a pool table is ideal.
3. If stairs are involved make sure the pool table you are about to buy comes apart. Some pool tables do NOT disassemble and you will not be able to get your table in either the basement or up stairs.
4. Who will be using the pool table? Will the pool table receive normal ware and tear or will it receive hard play? Kids or adults? These are questions to ask yourself before you purchase a
5. pool table. Make sure the pool table you buy does not move when you lean up against it. The cloth you put on the pool table will make a different in how long your billiard fabric will last.
6. Solid wood, plywood, or pressboard – what are you interested in? Solid wood is preferred and will last the longest. Plywood is better than pressboard. Solid wood tables will be the antiques of the future. Solid wood tables can to refinished to there original color and finish where pressboard and plywood tables cannot. Rubberwood from China is NOT a hardwood. Oak, Maple, Alder, Mahogany, and Cherry are great woods that are used in the production of quality pool tables manufactured in the United States today.
7. Playability is one of the most important items in purchasing a quality pool table. Slate tables play the best. Imitation slate tables leave a lot to be desired. Tables with Slatetron, Slateine, or Slateite should be avoided. These are tables that have a phony pressboard bed in the pool table that is sprayed gray to make it look like slate.

Both the US and UK pool tables obey the general rule of 1:2 playing area ratio. However, there are lots of significant differences between the two. First, the American or US pool tables are normally termed as 7, 8, oversized 8 and 9 foot where the 7 foot has 3.5 x 7 ft size while on UK pool tables, they measure the exterior dimensions that allows 4 x 7 ft or 3 x 6 ft sizes and even 6 x 12 ft sizes. The typical 7 foot US pool table is also commonly known as the bar box.

Furthermore, on UK pool tables, the rail edges are not straight before going in to the pockets that has a rattling outward effect when comes in contact with the balls. Last but not the least, the UK pool tables has less diamonds in it. Diamonds are used as a guide for alignments when making difficult shots.

An exciting billiard or pool game can’t be started without the proper equipments. Basic essentials include pool tables that are famously manufactured by Brunswick, Olhausen, Diamond and Gabriels among others. These, however, come in different sizes, quality and materials that would highly affect the performance of the players especially in illustrating some difficult trick shots. Specific pool table rules guide leagues and tournaments during plays whereas any kind would be sufficient enough for personal use.

Regardless of what country they would call the game, the general rule for the playing area has 1:2 ratio. The playing area covers all the surfaces between cushion noses. Most trick shots can be performed on 6, 7, 8, oversized 8 or 9 foot pool table but of course, one needs certain adjustment when shifting from one size to another.

What you will need:
•Cue tip
•Razor blade
•Cyanoacrylic glue preferrably in a gel form ie Duro-gel, Superglue Gel, Loctite 454
•60-80 grit sandpaper
•Paper towel
•400-600 grit sandpaper

What to do:
1. Remove what’s left of the old tip with the razor blade.
2. Sand top of ferrule flat with 60-80 grit sandpaper.
3. Sand bottom of cue tip with the same sandpaper till rough.
4. Apply a light coat of glue to both the ferrule and bottom of tip.
5. Carefully center the top on top of the ferrule as best as you can and hold in place for about 60 seconds.
6. With the tip down, carefully trim the excess overhang to make the tip flush with the ferrule.
7. Gently wet the sides of the tip and burnish with the 400-600 grit sandpaper.
8. Shape the tip to your desired radius.
9. To keep your tip from popping off prematurely, it is best to let the glue cure overnight before final trimming and sanding

Note: It’s recommended to get a tip that’s bigger than your ferrule.

This article is the final part of the trick shot subcategory discussion. The player’s technique and control are the keys in the Stroke trick shot. The set-up for this kind of shot is indeed challenging and one must be very careful with his moves because the cue ball is really in close contact with the target ball. In ESPN’s Trick Shot Magic, a Stroke trick shot known as the Hundred Dollar Bill shot was used to break a tie.

To impress you more, the Jump trick shot shows some interesting moves like jumping on obstacles then getting the target ball. The One Handed Jump surprised lots of audience once executed. Last but the not the least is the Masse trick shot that is considered to be the most complex of all. It would require difficult spins that follows unusual paths. The Rocket Masse makes some unbelievable moves for this one.

Let me continue the discussion about the trick shot subcategories. If you already read the previous article about the Draw shot, the reverse is true for the Follow trick shot. Topspins are produced after a hit above the cue ball’s centre so that it would continue moving on its original path after contact with a target ball. The Hug the Rail shot is a good example of follow trick shot.

For the bank and kick trick shots, rails play an important role. The difference between the two shots lies on the ball that is needed to make contact with these rails. For the bank shot, the target ball should hit a rail before dunking while on kick shot it is the cue ball that would perform this task before getting the target. The movie entitled The Hustler illustrated this kind of trick shot.

Pool is not about only one shot. If you missed one, so be it. Get your head on the next one. Here are a few tips on how to achieve it.
1. First things first. Make up your mind. A player would say that they are hitting high with medium speed. But when they get down right before they make the shot, they start thinking of hitting it softer. If you deal with it this way, you’re sabotaging your shot. You must learn to trust your own decisions and abilities. You will need to learn to accept that you might actually miss that shot. But deciding on that after missing the shot rather that before making the shot would be easier to adjust.
2. Take your time. Don’t be in a hurry, it doesn’t mean that if you’re making balls consecutively, you will already switch to quick mode. Remember that there is a chance that you might miss that side-to-side. The thing is, if you don’t line up with a shot, your body has a tendency to overcompensate, especially if you’re stroking the ball with power.
3. Find a rhythm. After a single shot, pick up the chalk for a few seconds. It would be a great way to slow down. It will help you focus on the shot at hand rather than what happened the previous shot. At the same time, it will avoid unnecessary miscues.