Intentional Fouls - Illegal, Good Strategy, or Poor Sportsmanship?

Scenario:

You are playing last-pocket 8-ball and your opponent has made all of his balls and shot the 8-ball without making it, but left it very close to his last pocket.

You come to the table and do whatever you can do and find yourself in a situation where if you screw up, you will leave him a good shot on the 8-ball and lose the game.

Some of your balls are kind of clustered in one part of the table and you decide to intentionally shoot his 8-ball so that it is now behind your cluster preventing him from having a makeable shot on the 8-ball into his pocket even though he has ball in hand.

Is this legal, good strategy, or poor sportsmanship?
The game has already succumbed to jump sticks and as a result, the kicking component will become progressively weaker.
I personally don't want the defensive game to weaken. I believe the APA rules (for one) don't even allow for a "3-foul rule."

Our game seems to be tilting back toward rotation games like 9-ball (a la the WNT) and is becoming more of a "shooter's game." We're seeing new players coming up who can shoot laser-straight, but are not learning the nuances.

I refuse to allow our game to lose it's most strategic tool: playing defense regardless of the context.
Personally, I wish there were more one-pocket and straight pool tournaments.
So sure, it may seem like "dirty" pool but defense is part and parcel of our ever-evolving game.

Shaw vs. Doung Quoc Hoang

All that firepower is a double-edged sword. When you possess insane natural talent and shot making skills, it's probably difficult to make yourself grind, focus, and concentrate. I think this is one of Shaw's problems. Earl too.
Perhaps, I think it leans more towards they just feel they can overpower the table and their opponents with just firepower and you really can’t. Filler was like that when he first arrived on the scene, but rounded out his game nicely as his collection of titles attests to.

Breaking ground on new backyard pool hall

@David in FL
Is patiently waiting for his Diamond bar table with no firm delivery date, just a hopefully sometime in late October which is kind of like a ‘you’ll get it when you get it’ time frame.

Diamond has horrible customer service overall.
I’ve been the game a long time and spent most of it on GC’s, and I still love the older ones, but none of them match the build quality or playability of a Diamond with a 1 piece slate. Demand is through the roof, has been for years, quality items are often like that. I have a friend that’s a dealer and he goes through the same thing, demand is higher than supply.

Intentional Fouls - Illegal, Good Strategy, or Poor Sportsmanship?

You posed 3 questions so here’s my take……..rather sweet and simple…….but not all of us think alike nowadays.

It is legal……a potentially winning strategy…….sportsmanship is about one’s behavior, not their strategy to try winning.

If you don’t always try your very best, you neither have the heart, drive nor passion to become and remain a champion.
So, you would have no problem with an opponent using that tactic on you?

2026 WPA Predator Men's World 10 Ball Saigon

It's a sadly uncommon, pleasant surprise when you don't see a scotch doubles team with a mansplaining and overbearing male player.
Not sure if it's "mansplaining" - an overused word that fails to explain much. I am not sure it's even overbearing. In many cases, the women actually look to the men for advice or approval. Then it becomes a contagion.

Part of it rooted in social mores ,more so in some cultures than others.

I suspect the biggest part of the issue is the relative newness of mixed doubles play in pool. It's not a tradition in the sport. As such, both sexes are groping toward learning how to play with each other and accommodate each other.

Over time, mixed couples should find a better balance, especially if they play together a lot. Kazakis and Fisher are a good example.

Intentional Fouls - Illegal, Good Strategy, or Poor Sportsmanship?

Scenario:

You are playing last-pocket 8-ball and your opponent has made all of his balls and shot the 8-ball without making it, but left it very close to his last pocket.

You come to the table and do whatever you can do and find yourself in a situation where if you screw up, you will leave him a good shot on the 8-ball and lose the game.

Some of your balls are kind of clustered in one part of the table and you decide to intentionally shoot his 8-ball so that it is now behind your cluster preventing him from having a makeable shot on the 8-ball into his pocket even though he has ball in hand.

Is this legal, good strategy, or poor sportsmanship?
You posed 3 questions so here’s my take……..rather sweet and simple…….but not all of us think alike nowadays.

It is legal……a potentially winning strategy…….sportsmanship is about one’s behavior, not their strategy to try winning.

If you don’t always try your very best, you neither have the heart, drive nor passion to become and remain a champion.

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