How do coin operated pool tables work?
After using a coin-operated table for the first time, you may be surprised that after you scratched, the cue ball alone would always return to play. How does this work?
By using a magnetic cue ball, a different weighted cue ball, or a different-sized cue balls, depending on the table.
For those of you not familiar with coin-operated pool tables, all the balls are held inside the table until the correct number of coins are inserted. After inserting your coins and pushing the lever into the machine, the balls roll out into an accessible ball box at the end of the table. As each ball is hit into a pocket during game play, it rolls down a simple system of internal chutes that return it to a storage area on the side of the table where you can see the balls through a plexiglass window on the ball box door. The balls are then contained until the game is over and more money is inserted.
However, since it’s common to scratch by sinking the cue ball, there has to be a system for returning just that one ball. Otherwise, the game would be over the first time anybody scratched.
Some tables use cue balls that are a different size from the colored/numbered balls. This system works fairly well, although some players allege that having a larger diameter cue ball throws off their shots and changes the dynamics of the game.
Magnetic cue ball return systems rely on a magnetic cue ball. The magnetic cue ball is repelled by another magnet inside the table’s internal chutes. The repelling action of the magnets push the ball, sending the cue ball into a separate path that returns it to the player. This system works very well. Magnetic cue balls are regulation size and weight and unlikely to affect play.
