"No Conflict Rack & Break Rules" second event

Paul Schofield

Paul Schofield

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There were three other events going on which lowered the turnout. But anyway, forty-one players showed up on Saturday for our second event under the “No Conflict Rack & Break Rules”.

http://www.goldcrownbilliardseriepa.com/noconflict.html

Alternate breaks
No pattern racking (we have a simple procedure, takes 3 seconds)
Breaker racks
Two balls must come to rest past the center string (next event)
Breaker shoots after a legal break (do not need to make a ball)
Nine on the break is not a win, it spots
No checking the rack, no approval process

The tournament could not have gone better. There was not even one argument over racking and breaking the balls. The process was simple and trouble free. The matches moved along quickly as they should. It was smooth.

Removing the most notable point of contention changed the tone of the entire event. In addition, there is a sense of fairness in these rules. Alternating breaks only goes half way. It only guarantees a player gets to break the balls every other rack. It does not guarantee a player gets to shoot (if a player is unfortunate and breaks dry, he is done). Our rules assure every player gets to play. Breaker shoots after a legal break.

Each and every successful sport has got that part of their game figured out. We do not. We have a plethora of inventions, racks, racking methods, break cues, break cue tips, and break rules...all of which have little to do with playing good pool. All of this is about the “ball on the break issue", just giving rise to more conflict and more gadgets. For those who are of the mind-set that Ten-ball is the answer, the recurring problems are already surfacing.

Alternate breaks and get rid of the “ball on the break requirement” and our games make more sense. Eight, Nine, and Ten-Ball become better games. The benefits are too many to mention. Besides, players need to experience and discover what the benefits and strategies are for themselves. What is gained far outweighs what is lost. My next event will be in August and we will definitely be using the “No Conflict Rack & Break Rules”.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=177469&highlight=Paul+Schofield

John Schmidt said “ this is exactly how the games should be played in my opinion .”

Bob Jewett said “I think Paul's rules above solve the problems.”

Pat Fleming said “personally, I think Paul’s new rules are in the game’s best interest. Given a chance, I think his format will bring more players into the tournament arena. Time will tell, but
I’m betting on it.”
 
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I like it

Im not much of a pool player at this stage in my life, but I like the idea. The break has dominated 9 ball for way too long. There are facets of 10 ball that seem to be pushing the priority down the list a ways, but this could work with all the games.
 
No Pattern Racking

Here is a reprint of the "No Pattern Racking Rules"

Racking Process:

1. The breaker retrieves balls from the side pockets and the head corner pockets.
2. The non-breaker retrieves balls from the foot pockets.
3. The non-breaker places 9 balls in he rack.
4. Without looking down at the rack, the non-breaker spins the rack once or twice.
5. Again without looking down at the rack, he pushes the balls up to the nine-ball configuration.
6. The non-breaker now looks down at the rack.
7. First he moves the 1-ball to the head ball position and moves the ball that was in the head ball position to where the 1-ball was.
8. He then moves the 9-ball to the middle position and moves the ball that was in the middle ball position to where the 9-ball was.
9. The non-breaker now steps away from the rack.
10. The breaker pushes the balls up to the spot (racks his own). He may not change the ball positions in the rack.
11. No one is permitted to check his rack and no one has a right to approve or disapprove the rack.
 
Once again I was present and able to participate in this event and I have to say, everybody really seemed to be enjoying themselves. If you got knocked out early, you knew it was because of how you played, not because you got "racked" by your opponent, or broke dry and he ran the table 6 games in a row. It really seems more fair that you get equal chances to play, and the better player does come out the winner, but not by sheer luck from the break.

Making a ball on the break is more "rack dependent" than "breaker dependent". If the racker gives the tightest rack possible, you can make a ball every time (ie: Sardo), if the rack is a slug, it doesn't matter how hard you hit them, you're simply not going to make anything. In this case, if you take out the requirement to make a ball on the break and rack your own, no one has any argument for whether the rack was good, bad, or worse. There were simply no arguments and no complaining. It was actually fun to participate.
 
Paul, I like your breaking rules for 9 ball. I tried it with a friend, and although he was skeptical at first, he ended up liking it as well.
 
I think this new format is one of the worst ideas that I have ever heard of. Yes, there are strategies involved with the break and the rack. People just need to spend the time and money to learn these and they can also have the knowledge it takes to gain this advantage.

When reading out this new format, it sounds like it would be similar to dropping a golf ball in the fairway 300 yards off the tee and laying one. There would be no reward or punishment for hitting a good or bad shot.

I don't care how many skills anybody has for breaking and racking, they will still get bad rolls from time to time. The cue ball can get kicked in, etc. That is just part of the game and is called unfortunate. The break shot should be played out and you should have to make a ball to continue shooting.
 
Definitely worth a try

The thing I like best about these procedures is that they include racking your own balls and spotting the money ball if it is pocketed on the break. I think those rules in themselves solve most if not all of the racking issues.

Give me those two things and I'd probably be happy with pretty much whatever additional stipulations are placed on racking and breaking. :thumbup:
 
I'm not sure if this was mentioned but one thing that must occur now, is to take flipping the coin to determine who breaks first out of the game. Players should lag the cue ball to determine who breaks first, as this will give the advantage to the player who wins the lag. if both players run their breaks out and the score of the set goes hill hill. The winner of the lag will get to break in the final game and thus control their destiny.
 
Bank2Win said:
I'm not sure if this was mentioned but one thing that must occur now, is to take flipping the coin to determine who breaks first out of the game. Players should lag the cue ball to determine who breaks first, as this will give the advantage to the player who wins the lag. if both players run their breaks out and the score of the set goes hill hill. The winner of the lag will get to break in the final game and thus control their destiny.
Click to expand...

You are correct. There is no flip of the coin. There is a lag and it determines the hill-hill breaker in addition to the breaker of the opening rack.
 
the flip or lag doesnt change anything if the better player is going to win
this whole no ball on the break thing would be a little tough for me to swallow as i have/had a big break
the racking thing -im sorry i dont consider it a talent if you know how to rack your oponent or yourself for that matter(knowledge is power not talent). if you look at the money charts for the last 10 or 15 years its seems odd that some come and go but the big names are always there.
we at the lower levels of play need to realize equipment changes and the break is another shot you need to practice.
im sure when youre running out you like to play position for shots youre comfortable with that get you where youre going
so why not on the first one?
i realize the things that go on at a tournament(racking issues-unseen fouls
sharking but in the end dont punish one player for his break-its not right
we have already added jump cues back which i dont like even though im more than proficient with it.it seems like we are trying to even the playing surface with out the biggest issue being addressed


LAZINESS

thats why the big names are big
practice ,paying attention and learning from your mistakes will take you alot farther than a jump cue and a sardo rack
play no ball on the break with your kids or spouse
 
If you want to break hard, break hard. No one is stopping you from doing that, nor does this system "punish" you for it.
 
the only thing i would add to your great set of rules is,if you make the 9 or 10 on the break,they stay down and the next lower ball is the money ball.make the 9 and 8 in 9-ball and the 7 is the cash.same thing in 10 ball.the breaker should not be denied the balls on the break.imo.if you make the 9 and 5 on the break you don't spot the 5,right?
 
Try the rules

I finally took the time today to watch hours of Nine-Ball and Ten-Ball Matches on YouTube of the best players in the world. I fast forwarded to the breaks to see what is going on. I have been away from the top players for more than thirty years. The faces are all new and I wanted to see just what has changed.

I saw hours of smash breaks, cue balls going anywhere and everywhere, all kinds of slopped balls, and dry breaks. If one word could describe the current break, it would be “chaos”. The second word would be “luck” -and these are the best players in the world. The perception players have of the break, what is written in books, and what is posted on this forum, just does not match what actually goes on.

My players in my room have extensive experience with the “no conflict rules”. Two months ago I had my players fill out a written survey addressing the rules. I was shocked at the results. My best seven players all preferred the “no conflict rules” (5 of the 7 have run a 100 balls in 14.1, all have run at least 5 consecutive racks of Nine-Ball). The point here is that no one could be expected to have a well thought out opinion without a lot of experience.

In the last couple of weeks, I have had a half-dozen requests to adopt the “no conflict rules” for my BCA League. My players are sick and tired of hitting a rack of Eight-Ball perfect, not making a ball on the break, and leaving their opponent out.

My experience is: The better the player, the more willing the player is to abandon the smash break with the slopped ball, and instead adopt the “no conflict rules” with a control break and no ball on the break requirement.

I will be redundant: The purpose of the break in Eight, Nine, and Ten-Ball should be to get a good spread on the balls and to control the cue ball and the 1-ball in rotation games. That is good enough. Our games would be more fun and would be better off. The smash shot should have no place in pool.

The only reason there is a smash shot is so that players can slop balls in (should the intended ball not go in).
 
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