How Proper Lighting Can Affect Your Pool Game
Have you ever tried to play a game of pool in insufficient lighting? You probably notice that the pool table lights make a difference in your ability to judge angles and directions, making it more difficult to pick that perfect pocket with the ease of a professional. The way that lighting reflects on and around pool tables and causes shadows to fall can really change your game, making it necessary to be even more careful to achieve accuracy with your shot.
As you use particular pool tables with lighting you are used to over and over, you can become accustomed to the way the light falls on the pool cue and the table, making it possible for you to create your own handicap in that particular location. However, because all pool tables have different lighting surrounding them, this self correction is not going to work in all applications. Something that can help you is to adjust your stance by using different pool cues that place you at a different angle to the table, aiding you in not shadowing the area of play more than necessary.
While the leveling of pool tables can be extremely important to fair play and predicting the angle at which the ball will roll, the lighting can play tricks on you as well. It is incredibly important to have proper pool table lights that, while providing a certain billiards atmosphere, also allow a clear view and judgment of angles. Pool is a game of geometry, and you can’t possibly have fair play without the ability to gauge angles and geometric patterns. Lighting plays an important part in this ability.
Pool cues are designed to help you measure these angles, but with lighting providing odd shadows and disturbances to the natural designs of the table, it renders the length and straight line of the pool cue virtually useless. You need enough light to see what you are doing, with a direct lighting scheme, preferably providing light from directly above the table to avoid sidelong shadows that are distorted and distracting.
Mood lighting can come from all angles, but sufficient lighting is required from above to illuminate the pool tables in a manner that sets up a game of fair play. By creating the perfect lighting scheme, you offer yourself and your friends a more competitive environment that can incorporate fun into your life and fair play into your game.