Pool requires plenty of practice. When you buy a pool table, you are in for muscle strains, long practice hours, and hard-hitting the balls. While playing pool, you may also want to play other forms of cue games on the tables as billiards is not the only one.
You might ask yourself if it is possible to play snooker on a pool table? Snooker is a whole different game. It has different sized balls, different cues with different lengths, different ball colors, and a whole different set of rules to play.
But the mechanics of the game is just about the same as pool. Hit the ball with a stick and pot it in the pocket. That is what makes us think that it is possible to play snooker on a pool table.
However, there are a few things you need to take into consideration. Although you can try and play snooker on a pool table, are you willing to sacrifice the experience that you will get on a full snooker table? Is your intent only to enjoy the game with what you have got or to play it professionally?
These are some of the things before you can put your eggs in the basket. So is it possible to play snooker on a pool table? Keep reading to find out.
Is It Even Possible?
Yes! It is. The only thing different about this will be the size of the table as snooker tables are originally larger than pool tables. If you want to play pool on a snooker table, all you have to do is do some markings on the pool table cloth with a permanent marker and knowledge of how to play snooker. It is that easy!
But one thing should be mentioned upfront: you must purchase a smaller set of snooker balls and not full-size balls to match the small pockets of the pool table.
Your pool table will have to be changed slightly but don’t worry as the changes are minute, and it won’t render your table useless for the pool. You will still be able to play all the other games of pool.
If you are an ardent snooker fan, you will be better off with an actual snooker table as the experience and playing quality will not be the same. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have the right to enjoy snooker if you don’t have a snooker table.
In this article, we will cover this topic in detail and will show you steps of how you can convert your existing pool table into a fully working snooker table.
Conversion
The very first step you need to do to play snooker on a pool table is to convert the pool table into a snooker table. This can be achieved by drawing a few simple lines, a D, and dots according to the rules of snooker.
For this, you are going to need a few things that are readily available on the market. You can ask a professional to do the work for you, but I guarantee you that the process is easy enough for you to do it yourself.
But to learn how to do it properly, we would, however, recommend talking about this with a professional and having some advice. If you need guidance, just go to any pub or club owner. Once you are guided, you can proceed to do the steps that we will tell you in this article.
You can also take further help from books and detailed online material available on the internet on how to convert a pool table into a snooker table. My advice will be to stick to non-invasive techniques.
The best thing about conversion is that you can convert any size of pool table into a snooker table. Always remember while converting that a snooker table is larger than a pool table, so this factor will influence your gameplay.
Now here is something for those who have English pool tables. If you have an English pool table, you are already halfway there as English pool tables have almost the same features as a snooker table.
Their pockets are the same, and the overall build is not the same but very similar. But of course, this doesn’t mean that you cannot convert other pool tables.
Do keep in mind, however, that the size of the final table will be reduced to almost half as the shots in snooker are played very differently. In snooker, you have to use some techniques that are often used only in snooker.
Pack Up Your Gear
Here are a few things that you will need to convert your pool table into a snooker table. You can find these at Amazon, Walmart, or any local carpenter shop.
- Permanent marker: Before using a marker, look carefully at what the color of the felt is. If the color is light, then it is recommended to use a dark color marker. For dark-colored felts, use a light white marker.
- Drawing Pen: A drawing pen will be used to mark the balk lines on the table.
- Snooker Marking Stick: Snooker marking stick is a stick used to mark the D of the snooker table in different sizes. You will see different measurements printed on it, and besides each numbered marking, there will be a hole. On the other end, there is a pivoted hole.
The Process
The process is pretty simple. All you have got to do is to draw a balkline on the table and keep the rules of snooker in mind at all times. After drawing a line with the help of the drawing pen, you have to make a D, which is the real deal.
The D is the identification of a snooker table, and this is what defines the table as a snooker table. Believe it or not, the first look on a table with a D will show it like a snooker table, even if it is a pool table.
The marking stick should be placed on the balkline. Hold the pen in the pivot of the marking stick and place the other marker in the right hole with respect to the felt, then draw a D. The marking stick has different measurement markings, so decide according to your table.
Be careful in making the lines with your marking stick and make sure that it is always in place; otherwise, you will make double lines or inaccurate lines on the cloth, which will be very difficult to remove afterward.
The permanent marker will leave imprints even if you can draw accurate lines afterward. This will not give a good impression, and you will not be able to play perfectly. So when you do this, make sure that everything is done neatly.
Snooker Balls
One thing many of the players choose to ignore is the balls. Balls become a major issue when it comes to the conversion of the table. The first is that snooker has a greater number of balls than the pool.
Second, snooker has larger balls as compared to pool. There is a smaller version of snooker balls available in the market. Before you decide to play snooker on a pool table, buy the smaller version of these balls.
You will be glad to know that many brands provide an extra set of small snooker balls when you purchase a pool table in case the player wants to play snooker on the pool table.
The size of a usual snooker ball is about two and a half inches, but this size is not suitable if you are playing it on a pool table. For pool table, you will require smaller balls – 2 inches at most. This is almost the same size as any pool ball.
For having a full snooker experience, you must purchase these balls. Now comes the critical part. Snooker has 22 balls, not 15, so that many balls are sure to crowd your small pool table. But if you are willing to play snooker on a pool table, you have to make a bargain.
Conclusion
It’s more fun when you improvise with your equipment and still get to have the same experience. It is almost as if you are creating a whole new different game. Playing snooker on a pool table is very similar to playing it on an actual snooker table. It is just not the same.
Playing snooker on a pool table is not that difficult, and all you have to do is make some minor tweaks, and you are all good to go. It is quite fun to show it to your friends that even though you don’t have a snooker table, you are still able to play snooker. Isn’t that something out of the ordinary?
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