Small Ball Poker Definition
Which sport has the smallest balls? Below is a list of ball sizes (the diameter of the ball is listed) for a wide range of sports. For comparison, we have only compared the sports that use round (spherical) balls. The smallest? A squash ball is just a little smaller than the golf ball. At the other end of the scale, the largest is the basketball.
Golf slang is a colorful part of the game, and golf slang terms can be universally used or be specific to a very small region. Small groups of golfers might even develop their own terms, unique to their rounds. All of the terms listed are forced bets (or 'blind' bets, i.e., without seeing your cards.) In a game with blinds (like Hold'em or Omaha), the two players in front of the rotating button (the "dealer" if self-dealt games) must make mandatory bets. Small ball poker is a playstyle where your aim is to get involved in many cheap pots and keep those pots small – unless you hit a monster hand and then you build the pot as big and as quickly as possible.
In the table below, the official ball sizes are listed where known. In the case of a range of ball sizes, either the range is listed or the average or commonly used size is listed. The ball size used for adult male competition is used if there is variation in the ball size used for different ages or classes. The standard unit of measurement is sometimes inches and other times millimeters. Whichever the case, the units are converted so that you can see the size in either unit.
See also our list of ball weights.
Sport Ball Diameter, Sorted from Smallest to largest
| sport | diameter (inches) | diameter (mm) | notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squash | 1.56 to 1.59 | 39.5 to 40.5 | |
| Table Tennis | 1.6 | 40 | the size increased from 38 mm after the 2000 Olympic Games. |
| Golf | 1.68 | 42.67 | These are minimum sizes. The size changed from 1.62 inches in 1990. |
| Jai Alai | 2.2 | 55 | |
| Racquetball | 2.25 | 57 | |
| Pool | 2.25 to 2.375 | 57.15 to 60.33 | |
| Carom billiards | 2.42 | 61.5 | |
| Lacrosse | 2.5 | 63.5 | |
| Tennis | 2.575 to 2.700 | 65.41 to 68.58 | |
| Pétanque | 2 3/8' and 3 1/8' | 70.5 to 80 | |
| Cricket | 2.80 to 2.86 | 71.3 to 72.9 | 8 13/16 and 9 in (224 and 229 mm) in circumference |
| Field Hockey | 2.8 to 2.96 | 71.3 to 74.8 | circumference 224–235 mm (8.8–9.3 in) |
| Baseball | 2 7⁄8 to 3 | 73 to 76 | |
| Pickleball | 2.87 to 2.97 | 73 to 75.5 | according to official usapa rules |
| Wiffle Ball | 2.87 to 3.15 | 73 to 80 | approx. size |
| Polo | 3 to 3 1⁄2 inches | 76 to 89 | weighs 3 1⁄2 ounces (99 g) to 4 1⁄2 ounces (130 g). |
| Croquet | 3 5/8 | 92 | |
| Softball | 3.82 | 97.1 | |
| Bocce | 4.2 | 107 | the target ball size is from 40 to 60 mm |
| Lawn Bowls | 4 5/8 to 5 1/8 | 117.5 to 130.2 | lawn bowls are not a perfect sphere |
| Shot Put | 4.33 to 5.12 | 110 to 130 | men's weights |
| Rhythmic gymnastics ball | 7.1 to 7.9 | 180 to 200 | |
| Team Handball | 7.3 to 7.5 | 185-191 | this is for the size III ball |
| Volleyball | 8.15 to 8.39 | 207 to 213 | |
| Bowling | 8.500 to 8.595 | 215.9 to 218.3 | this is the maximum size |
| Football (Soccer) | 8.5 to 8.8 | 216 to 223 | dimensions for a regulation size 5 ball. |
| Korfball | 8.5 to 8.8 | 216.5 to 224.4 | the size 5 ball for players >15 yrs. Size between 68cm and 70.5cm in circumference and weigh between 445g and 475g when fully inflated. |
| Water polo | 8.5 to 8.9 | 216.5 to 226.0 | size 5 (used for male adults) |
| Netball | 8.9 | 226 | |
| Basketball | 9.4 | 238.8 | dimensions for a regulation size 7 ball. |
Sources
The ball size information is from a wide range of sources online. Although they are believed to be correct, you should check with official sources if it is important. If you have a correction or a sport ball size to add, please let us know below.
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Related Pages
- Soccer balls for sale.
- about the soccer balls used at the FIFA World Cup
- list of the world's largest sport stadiums
Old Comments
Commenting is closed on this page, though you can read some previous comments below which may answer some of your questions.
- Tagbro1 (2020)
Add different weights of shot put 8, 12 and 16. - Mark Abrahams (2020)
ping pong ball is the smallest - Rob Admin Mark Abrahams (2020)
ping-pong = table tennis. Yes, basically the same as the squash ball size, which is listed as the smallest - adrian (2017)
can you pls add the reason why sports have differences - Barry Milliken (2017)
Size means diameter so why not say So?
This list would be better if it included weight in the same list and was sortable by column or had at least some ordering like smallest to largest...
Ps soccer ball is missing from weight list. - Rob Admin Barry Milliken (2017)
Hi. I'm not sure what page you read. That size means diameter is written in the first line. The order IS smallest to largest, and the soccer ball is there. Ball weights are listed on a separate page. - Neil (2017)
could korfball be added - mightierthor Rob (2018)
I know it's a weird shape, but how about the american football? And perhaps rugby? - Rob Admin mightierthor (2018)
I've only added spherical balls, which make it easy to compare. But you are right, it would be interesting to compare to the sizes of the prolate spheroid shaped footballs - rugby, American football, AFL. - Stephen (2016)
Could Petanque be added to the comparative list of balls?
Have you ever noticed the difference between small ball and long ball poker players? Did you ever wonder how a player took a draw for their entire stack on the first hand of the poker tournament? If so, then you have witnessed a player that plays the long ball high risk style of poker. This is the kind of player that takes maximum risk at all times in hopes of building a monster chip stack early. A small ball player is the exact opposite and will meticulously win pot after pot while building their stack of chips one pot at a time until reaching the final table. Both styles of play are viable. It all comes down to what style works best for your poker game.
Small Ball
As I indicated earlier small ball is a style of play that encourages measured risk and slowly building your chip stack by out playing your opponents after the flop. Poker players like Dan Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth both love this style of play and it clearly has served them well. There really is no down side to playing small ball poker. Actually the more skilled poker players prefer small ball poker because it allows them to out play their opponents after the flop. Small ball allows you to make moves like check calling when your opponent is weak and then raising on the turn or river to take the pot away. Deep stacks poker tournaments tend to lend themselves to small ball poker tournaments. The fact of the matter is that the more starting chips you have in relation to the blinds the more you will need to be able to play in space and that means playing small ball poker. Typically slow structured poker tournaments lend themselves to this style of play. That means that the blinds are going to go up every 30 minutes at the very least and you will have plenty of chips to start relative to the blinds. These kinds of poker tournaments allow you to play many hands and generally the more skilled players will make their way to the final table.
Long Ball
Long ball poker is a high risk style of play that tends to lend itself to fast structured poker tournaments where the levels are less than 20 minutes and the chip stacks are less than 100x’s the big blind to start with. In order to compete successfully in any poker tournament you must accumulate chips. However, the structure will dictate how fast or slow you must play the tournament and accumulate chips. For some poker players these are ideal circumstances as they tend to be impatient and unable to balance between long and small ball poker. You simply cannot play one style of play all the time. One thing about long ball poker player that I have noticed is that they are extremely volatile. If they can get their hands on a lot of chips they can make things miserable for the entire table by raising and re-raising pots and putting a lot of pressure on people. Conversely they are easily trapped because they tend to over value hands like Ace King in spots that are easier to navigate with a flat call or re-raise to find out where they are at. They will also chase flush draws and outside straight draws for their entire stack if the situation warrants it and this can happen at any point in the poker tournament.
It really does not matter what style of play you choose. Anyone can be successful with any style of play in poker and poker strategy is not confined to one particular way of playing the game. Ultimately you have to find the style of play that fits your personality best and execute it with strong fundamentals and you will be well on your way to being a successful tournament poker player.
Small Ball Poker Definition List
Small Ball Poker Definition Francais
Curtis Mayfield III