Old, dilapidated rails force players to compensate their aim, forcing creativity but weakening the ability to compete on better tables when you need to sink the shots in competition.
Here are three old timer's tricks I use to test the rails on a table:
1. Elevate a cuestick with your shooting hand, about thirty degrees from parallel with the floor, and hit a ball into a rail straight ahead, fast and with some top spin. If the ball jumps more than one inch into the air, the rail may need replacement.
2. Roll balls very slowly into the rails. Do they come to rest against the rail, or bounce back into the playing area in a lively, springy way?
Overall, are the angles of rebound approximately equal to the angles of incidence? In other words, would the line of travel resemble a laser beam angling off a mirror?
3. Search for grooves worn into the felt underneath the rails, where their edges overhang the table. These slight tracks (felt with the hand if difficult to see) are indications of a worn, less springy rail (and a felt cloth that also needs replacement).
