and have a giant budget. and lots of expertise in running a hands on business.

with food and other things like machines to make it work. along with a bar business.

vintagecollectibles831 said:

Gosh, I would not even know of a good source to buy one. Even this $50 option has a few bad reviews, saying that the cue ball does not work right.

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$25 for a fantastic phenolic Dynasphere cue ball from a reputable source.

Seyberts

Not sure exactly what's under the shrimp...doesn't really matter...

sjm said:

WNT has been 100% successful in its mission. The goal was never to eliminate the players' ability to make a ball on the break, but instead to make it more difficult to run the table after a successful break.

Ask any pro and they will tell you that the cut break makes getting a good shot on the two ball after making the one in the side less likely than in the past. In 2022, when Matchroom both tightened the pockets and implemented the new break rules (9 on the spot, narrow break box), they announced that their purpose was to "get more back and forth" in the play.

Players rarely string many racks anymore in WNT play. Only a few players run more than a three pack even once in a given WNT season. They'd all figure out how to make a ball consistently even if required to break from the head spot, and just as is the case now, they would find it harder to get a decent shot on the two than it was before the changes that were made in 2022.

Whether the tougher break that came with the 2022 changes is what's best for the entertainment value of the game is arguable, but Matchroom got exactly what it wanted.

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For those interested: I grabbed all of the tourneys reported here on AZB by AtLarge, assembled the data, and created some summaries. The data is all out there an knowable if anyone else wants to look into it. It's pretty interesting.

Overall, 1-on-the-spot vs 9-on-the-spot is a 1.7% difference for make-a-ball percentage. And the B&R percentage is even closer at .4%.

If you just look at the template rack numbers, the pros used to make a ball 87.6% of the time and ran out 39.2% of the time (1-on-the-spot). Now, they make a ball 74.1% of the time, but only run out 26.5% of the time. This is down more than 10% for each. I think the stacked benefit of the being able to control the cue ball, make a ball, and having cleaner layouts had a stacking effect on these numbers making the 1-on-the-spot way more breaker friendly.

Punchline: in the modern 9-on-the-spot era, pros are breaking and running 13% fewer racks (at ~1/4 of the games).

I was actually more surprised by the packages for both 1 / 9 on the spot. The pros still get 4/5 packs regardless of the racking method.

All that said, on the original question, I don't think putting the cue ball on the spot will meaningfully change the game.

-td

Jaden said:

If I were to open a bar/poolhall, It would have multiple rooms, the only bar boxes I would get would be diamond blue label; however, I would be promoting league, probably have league 4 nights a week, a barbox tourney one night a week and a bigger one once a month and a big table tourney one day a week, maybe two depending on business and a big table tourney once a month. The bar boxes and dart boards would be in one room and the ninefooters in another.

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You must live in a large city to consider a pool room of that size . I hope you can make it happen some day !

philly said:

I've had a couple of poolrooms close on me. It's terrible. It's like a kid losing their playground. Inconsolable when it happens.

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I had a Corner Pocket within easy walking distance from my house it was great while it lasted !
I still miss those 9' tables ! Even when I lived in Billings it was fairly close to the Broadwater Corner Pocket .

I am not a fan of alternate break either, it makes the match too predictable if either player gets off to a 3-0 start. It's kind of the worst of both worlds since it makes comebacks harder, while also prolonging lopsided matches.

If I were to open a bar/poolhall, It would have multiple rooms, the only bar boxes I would get would be diamond blue label; however, I would be promoting league, probably have league 4 nights a week, a barbox tourney one night a week and a bigger one once a month and a big table tourney one day a week, maybe two depending on business and a big table tourney once a month. The bar boxes and dart boards would be in one room and the ninefooters in another.

ASTR sold. selling AD3 for 900 shipped

I would recommend a JB butterfly case. But they might not meet the budget. Pagulayan has one as well.

Rusty in Montana said:

Well come on out to the wilds of the middle of Montana and show me where these pool halls are that aren't 100 + miles away in just one direction ha ha when George Frank had the Corner Pocket Billards going strong many years ago yes pool halls were a bit more common until a host of things happened and they all faded into the sunset .

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I've had a couple of poolrooms close on me. It's terrible. It's like a kid losing their playground. Inconsolable when it happens.