Who wants to test 14.1 Sequence?

[DaWizard]

I watched the video with an open mind. It may be great for personal practice/improvement, but way too complicated for a two player game. Confusion, disagreements and misunderstandings about the scoring are inevitable. It will also take longer to draft an explanation of your turn than to make the shots.

And this game appears to eliminate the .1 continuous part of straight pool. Seems that runs are capped at 14 and you start over again with a fresh rack. Otherwise how could you plan the next rack when you don’t know what it looks like.

Much appreciate giving it a look with open mind!

It is continuous! Just like in 14.1 continuous, you'll rack again when you got to the last break ball. If you pot the break ball and the rack breaks open you'll have 14 balls on the table.

From there on only a Pool God could theoretically call a sequence for all 14 balls on the table. But it's impossible to call anything beyond that because at that point you wont know what the new rack will be like.

I'll post another, less theoretical, example in a minute.

 

[DaWizard]

I agree with cjr3559 it would slow down an already time consuming game. Better players would also have an even bigger advantage to put up even more points. It Would still be useful for practice and help with looking ahead for patterns. I just don't see it taking off, Although I'm glad you used my idea of giving the pockets a letter value good luck and let us know how it goes over.

It's certainly a possibility. My hopes is that it fits our thinking more than expected. Because we look ahead 3 shots anyway. And when those 3 shots look easy, then it's time to consider a sequence. And if you decide to call a sequence it's a matter of considering if you're going to add more balls: a 4th? 5th?

I hope it'll come fairly natural, but that's speculation on my side. Perhaps the wish is the father of the thought - a Dutch saying

I indeed think the better player will be able to run more or longer sequences, on average.
The lesser player, being behind a bunch of points, does have the option to gamble: "you know what? Imma call a sequence of 8!" and if he makes it he adds a nice 22 points to his run.

 

[DaWizard]

I'll post another, less theoretical, example in a minute.

Here the 10-ball is the obvious breakball. I decide to shoot a sequence:

4B - 5E - 12B - 10C

It's impossible to do a longer sequence because I don't know yet how the balls will be ordered in the rack.

So ill just shoot these 4 balls, break the rack and from there on see what the table gives me. Ill probably have to pot a couple balls for 1 point before new sequence oppurtunities arise.

 

[Hard Knock Cues]

It's certainly a possibility. My hopes is that it fits our thinking more than expected. Because we look ahead 3 shots anyway. And when those 3 shots look easy, then it's time to consider a sequence. And if you decide to call a sequence it's a matter of considering if you're going to add more balls: a 4th? 5th?

I hope it'll come fairly natural, but that's speculation on my side. Perhaps the wish is the father of the thought - a Dutch saying

I indeed think the better player will be able to run more or longer sequences, on average.
The lesser player, being behind a bunch of points, does have the option to gamble: "you know what? Imma call a sequence of 8!" and if he makes it he adds a nice 22 points to his run.

But if he picks a sequence of 8 and only makes 6 he's lost out of 6 points. The risk benefit the better players for sure. I like it as a practice tool still.

 

[DaWizard]

But if he picks a sequence of 8 and only makes 6 he's lost out of 6 points. The risk benefit the better players for sure. I like it as a practice tool still.

Lets say it's a race to 200. And it's 112 vs 176. 112-guy is shooting and he sees a sequence of 8 shots that he could make with some luck. It's his shot to come close to 176.
He'll be shooting the sequence and either make it and things are getting competitive again or he sees at the 6th shot that he wont make the sequence and plays safe. It's still 112-176, but he almost made a certainly lost game into something competitive - if he had completed it.

 

[Texas Carom Club]

I can’t believe there’s a person with more time on his hands than me
And he uses that power for evil

 

[DaWizard]

Good one, good one

 

[fuggles]

Why wouldn't I just play a sequence of 3 ball sequences to double my points?

 

[Hard Knock Cues]

Why wouldn't I just play a sequence of 3 ball sequences to double my points?

That's a more realistic angle to the game. You can double down on your next three or four balls. Doesn't take too long to describe your intentions and it makes you concentrate.
Again a good side bet for practicing with buddies but not sure if it's going to take off as a new version of the old game.

 

[DaWizard]

Why wouldn't I just play a sequence of 3 ball sequences to double my points?

3 ball sequences are nice, 6 points. +2 points per ball.
Better than 3 regular pots, at +1 point per ball.

The 4, 5th, 6th and 7th ball added to the sequence are worth +3 points. 8, 9, 10 are worth +4 points.
-----
So if a player pots the breakball and the rack opens there are 14 balls on the table. If you only play 3 ball sequences, you'll score:

4 x 3 balls (6 points) = 4 x 6 = 24 points
2 remaining balls = 2 points
26 points in one rack.

If you play longer sequences, e.g.:
1 x 4 balls (9 points) = 9 points
2 x 5 balls (12 points) = 24 points
33 points in one rack.

So theoretically you could get more points out of a rack. But it all depends on the lay-out you'll get and how comfortable you feel calling longer sequences.

 

[jeagle64]

Much appreciate giving it a look with open mind!

It is continuous! Just like in 14.1 continuous, you'll rack again when you got to the last break ball. If you pot the break ball and the rack breaks open you'll have 14 balls on the table.

From there on only a Pool God could theoretically call a sequence for all 14 balls on the table. But it's impossible to call anything beyond that because at that point you wont know what the new rack will be like.

I'll post another, less theoretical, example in a minute.

Pool God rule: If you call all 14 balls in a row it should be automatic winner, end of game. I smell a challenge!


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[justnum]

Give the weaker player ball in hand for 14.1, it won't take long for them to realize, its not that easy.

 

[DaWizard]

Pool God rule: If you call all 14 balls in a row it should be automatic winner, end of game. I smell a challenge!


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Ha yeah a nice challenge in indeed. And perhaps the points don't increase steep enough after 7-8 called shots.

But first I'll have to test the sequence part to see if that in itself is interesting/exciting.

 

[jeagle64]

Give the weaker player ball in hand for 14.1, it won't take long for them to realize, its not that easy.

I like the idea of having different levels of play with different rules. Like having an amateur version of straight pool where you get ball on hand after the opponent misses, fouls or scratches. Also after you shoot all the balls off, just do a traditional hard 8/9 ball break from the kitchen then take BIH and continue your run. It would make it a lot easier for beginners to achieve high runs and enjoy the game much more. An intermediate rule set could have the last ball stay on the table and getting BIH automatically for the break shot.
Pool is hard enough for a beginner, even with ball in hand. BIH on the break doesn’t guarantee a follow up shot either, for any skill level of player.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I like the idea of having different levels of play with different rules. Like having an amateur version of straight pool where you get ball on hand after the opponent misses, fouls or scratches. ...

Just play Equal Offense. Weak players get one, two or three balls in hand per turn at the table. You still have the inter-rack break but it's not a big thing.

 

[jeagle64]

Ha yeah a nice challenge in indeed. And perhaps the points don't increase steep enough after 7-8 called shots.

But first I'll have to test the sequence part to see if that in itself is interesting/exciting.

God challenge unlocked. I found a cheat code for it. Lol. Just use one pocket. I tried it a few times with a open table calling all balls using all pockets, it was way hard. Took to long to figure out the sequence and to difficult to execute. I’d run into trouble after just a few balls.


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[DaWizard]

God challenge unlocked. I found a cheat code for it. Lol. Just use one pocket. I tried it a few times with a open table calling all balls using all pockets, it was way hard. Took to long to figure out the sequence and to difficult to execute. I’d run into trouble after just a few balls.


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That's some really good shooting! And that damn last ball... Still quite the feat!

Just to prevent people from getting confused: in a sequence you can't call two consecutive shots in the same pocket.

Nevertheless that was some great shooting!!

 

[DaWizard]

Took to long to figure out the sequence and to difficult to execute. I’d run into trouble after just a few balls.

I played 14.1 Sequence the other day. Personally i'm not a straight pool player, as I make to many mistakes. I really enjoyed calling sequences! The fun bit was hyperextending: "after these 3 balls I can surely pot that 4th ball too? It adds extra points! And if that goes in that 5th one is a hanger!" - - and this is how you go in too deep.

This does require someone actively keeping score. Counting balls no longer works.

 

[jeagle64]

That's some really good shooting! And that damn last ball... Still quite the feat!

Just to prevent people from getting confused: in a sequence you can't call two consecutive shots in the same pocket.

Nevertheless that was some great shooting!!

Not using the same pocket for consecutive shots is just downright brutal. Lol. I’ll try to alternate corners next time. I forgot to rerack the 14 balls before the last shot.


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[DaWizard]

Not using the same pocket for consecutive shots is just downright brutal. Lol. I’ll try to alternate corners next time. I forgot to rerack the 14 balls before the last shot.


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And, to make matters worse, you have to call the order of the balls as well. Potting a 14 ball sequence would be truly God Mode!

In practice sequences of 3-6 balls are pretty doable. More becomes risky, for my level.