Why cant i play straight pool.

jlrowe

jlrowe

Billiards,Boxing & Babes
Silver Member
I dont understand. I cant play straight pool worth a damn:D It makes me angry every time i try to play. Ive been shooting 20 years and Im more capable of running 2 racks of 9 ball than running 18 balls in straight pool. youve got players that runs 100 balls. I think i should with my level of 9 ball play I should at least run 45 balls consistantly. I dont understand. Please help!
 
jlrowe said:
I dont understand. I cant play straight pool worth a damn:D It makes me angry every time i try to play. Ive been shooting 20 years and Im more capable of running 2 racks of 9 ball than running 18 balls in straight pool. youve got players that runs 100 balls. I think i should with my level of 9 ball play I should at least run 45 balls consistantly. I dont understand. Please help!
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You've just discovered what every 9-baller who tries straight pool discovers - it's not as easy as it looks. There was a thread on this in the 14.1 forum:

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=126747
 
Now you know why the players like Willie, Fats, Greenleaf, and others from that era are so highly regarded.
It is the best true test of skill. Too bad so few players even know how to play the game. It is a slower game, and takes a lot of thought. Not something that seems to work in this day and age.
Caution. Straight pool can be very addictive!

Steve
 
jerry, it never was our game!

growing up in ky, we all played eight ball or nineball, or cutthroat. rare was the game of 14.1. bar tables were the norm and we didn't know what a snooker table was. i played 14.1 at college in '71-72(maybe 0.5% of the time) and very little otherwise. 9ball became the rage in ky in the early 70's. i did not play straight pool well, still don't and have ran more in 9ball than i have in 14.1. i don't know the strategies to become very proficient at 14.1 and just don't have the time to give to 14.1, UNLIKE THOSE OF US WHO CAN WORK IN A POOLROOM!!!!!!
i just realized i have spent far more time on a snooker table than i have going the 14.1 way.
will try to get up with you soon.
 
14.1 is all about knowledge and pattern play. It doesn't matter how good a shot maker you may be, if you don't play the balls in the proper order and play the percentages you'll have difficulty getting through racks. Usually when I'm having problems, it's generally because I'm not thinking very well.
 
jlrowe said:
I dont understand. I cant play straight pool worth a damn:D It makes me angry every time i try to play. Ive been shooting 20 years and Im more capable of running 2 racks of 9 ball than running 18 balls in straight pool. youve got players that runs 100 balls. I think i should with my level of 9 ball play I should at least run 45 balls consistantly. I dont understand. Please help!
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the answer's simple bro. you suck!
 
woodyosborne said:
UNLIKE THOSE OF US WHO CAN WORK IN A POOLROOM!!!!!!
will try to get up with you soon.
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Hey Woody, Its been years my friend. Yeah working in a pool room with 9ft diamonds is an advantage. But like poolplayer2093 said i suck when i comes to 14.1. Maybe its just because i only played in my life what some 14.1 players have played in 2 weeks. Im not giving up on it though. After the DCC banks in Jan. im going to strictly focus on 14.1 for about 6 months. Hey Woody wish you would been around in July we could have rode up to bristol to Janet Atwells place. I had extra pass for the charity dinner and weekend WPBA event. I got to shoot a little with Gerda and Liz Ford. Sarah tried to kill me and Ewa is still hot! I had a great time. Maybe next year.:thumbup:
 
jlrowe,

I suggest fine tuning your CB control. In str8 pool, 3 or 4 inches out of position can kill your runs. Whereas in 9 ball, the positional zones are much larger due to less obstructions/clusters.

Just my 2 cents...
 
Steve...You have to leave Wanderone off of that list of exceptional straight pool players. He played banks and one pocket, not 14.1 (he could play, but wasn't even a 50-ball runner...a 'newbie', in those days)! :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

pooltchr said:
Now you know why the players like Willie, Fats, Greenleaf, and others from that era are so highly regarded.
It is the best true test of skill. Too bad so few players even know how to play the game. It is a slower game, and takes a lot of thought. Not something that seems to work in this day and age.
Caution. Straight pool can be very addictive!

Steve
Click to expand...
 
Ok just got through watching Irving crane run about 140 balls in a match. What ive noticed is he has very short bridge, lot shorter stroke and chokes up on the cue more.
Also what ive noticed is he usually never overpowers the shot to break balls apart unless he know that it is easy shot. I think im trying to break the balls to far apart. im think im concentrating on getting a eight ball break out of most my shots and it causing me to miss. Oh yeah i think this is coming together. I have learned more from watching this match than reading a well known straight pool book. Any more advice and tips greatly appreciated.
 
It can't be understated just how precise position has to be in straight pool. Angles and fractions of an inch can change everything.

Practice clearing 10 balls off the table without touching a rail. Practice soft drawing, nipping soft shots with angles and trying to hold the cb

Also playing straight pool requires having plans and mini-plans. Working toward a goal of getting on the ball that leads you to the key ball that leads you to the break shot.

Clear plans with specific CB destinations. Breaking up small clusters KNOWING the direction of the balls that are breaking up. Being aware that their destination will not cause congestion on the table elsewhere. And having insurance balls when you do go into clusters so there is no guess work on what to shoot next.

Very specific and well thought out maps with high percentage secondary bail out plans.

The more you play the clearer the maps become and the less conscious effort you need to afford them.

Needing to consciously look around for these things during your run will destroy one of the most important elements in running balls in straight pool, that being rhythm.

The more you play the game in that fashion rather than just clearing balls, the more natural it becomes to see the patterns.
 
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Wow! i practiced some 14.1 today and just like scott said about mosconi. I never tried breaking the balls apart with a hard stroke especially all at one time. I was amazed how i could,with lot of planning, pick the balls apart out of the rack.
 
Scott Lee said:
Mosconi used to only break out a few balls at a time, out of the pack...instead of trying to smash open the rack. He was likely the best 14.1 player ever!

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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I don't doubt that, but the two times I saw Mosconi play in exhibitions in the early 60's it seemed his cue ball just plowed through the rack like Dick Butkus going through a high school defense. The action he got on the cue ball without out-and-out blasting it was pretty amazing. It's a distant memory though, and these were exhibitions where he didn't have much to fear from his opponent. He was probably a lot more careful with Irving Crane!
 
You're probably right Rich93! Mosconi ran so many racks in his career, that it was likely a mixture of the two styles. However, in the rare, and limited, advice he ever gave, about 14.1, he specificially mentioned not trying to open the rack too much, too soon.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Rich93 said:
I don't doubt that, but the two times I saw Mosconi play in exhibitions in the early 60's it seemed his cue ball just plowed through the rack like Dick Butkus going through a high school defense. The action he got on the cue ball without out-and-out blasting it was pretty amazing. It's a distant memory though, and these were exhibitions where he didn't have much to fear from his opponent. He was probably a lot more careful with Irving Crane!
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I know a lot of elite, elite players talking about picking apart the rack. I think at the very, very highest level of the game--- that's definitely the move. However the ABSOLUTE SKILL it takes to do that is almost incomprehensible. For a non-professional player to learn how to pick apart a rack in sections/pieces is almost pool suicide.

For the rest of us, I highly recommend learning to make breakshots at steep angles and high-speeds. I like to shoot my break shots at 75% of the speed I'd break a 9-ball rack.

The only negative (imo) is you spread the balls too well and blast the balls out of the breakshot zone. The positive is.... it's like shooting fish in a barrel and you typically run the balls and blast the next rack open or you end the run with a safe on the 15th ball.

For us normal people, it's a really effective way of playing.
 
I posted on the 14.1 forum, my frustration being wanting to run a 100 balls before I die. I hit 78 once, and the closest I've ever gotten to that was a 56. I swear the more I play the worse I get, but I always get stopped because I roll 1 or 2 inches too far, unlike 9 ball, it really matters.
 
jlrowe said:
Hey Woody, Its been years my friend. Yeah working in a pool room with 9ft diamonds is an advantage. But like poolplayer2093 said i suck when i comes to 14.1. Maybe its just because i only played in my life what some 14.1 players have played in 2 weeks. Im not giving up on it though. After the DCC banks in Jan. im going to strictly focus on 14.1 for about 6 months. Hey Woody wish you would been around in July we could have rode up to bristol to Janet Atwells place. I had extra pass for the charity dinner and weekend WPBA event. I got to shoot a little with Gerda and Liz Ford. Sarah tried to kill me and Ewa is still hot! I had a great time. Maybe next year.:thumbup:
Click to expand...


Yeah, yeah, you think 6 months of straights and you'll be shooting hundreds. My friend, it ain't that simple. I'm ranked in the SA class here in Japan, that above A class but below pro. I've been sticking with straight pool primarily now for about 2 years and my high run is still nothing to be too proud of and runs under 15 are very very common. Hell, even 30's aren't seen that often. If you're going to stick with straight pool at least have someone that knows what they're doing along for the ride. You'll get better quicker that way. My biggest problem is that no one plays straights over here in Japan so I'm on my own trying to learn to play it the right way.
MULLY
14.1 is the best game ever
 
Mully...Leslie Rogers runs a pool school in Tokyo (he is a BCA Master Instructor). You'd do well to make a visit to him. It might be the key to 'fixing' why you seem to be stuck where you are. Having a pro to practice with certainly helps too...but there might be something that seems insignificant, that is affecting your getting the higher runs you seek. We don't know what we don't know...that's why you go to pool school. :grin:

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

mullyman said:
Yeah, yeah, you think 6 months of straights and you'll be shooting hundreds. My friend, it ain't that simple. I'm ranked in the SA class here in Japan, that above A class but below pro. I've been sticking with straight pool primarily now for about 2 years and my high run is still nothing to be too proud of and runs under 15 are very very common. Hell, even 30's aren't seen that often. If you're going to stick with straight pool at least have someone that knows what they're doing along for the ride. You'll get better quicker that way. My biggest problem is that no one plays straights over here in Japan so I'm on my own trying to learn to play it the right way.
MULLY
14.1 is the best game ever
Click to expand...
 
my take on picking apart the rack and blasting it is this, its easy to look at a rack and see how you can pop 3 balls out here and then bump there and so on because you can easily see the outcome and reaction the balls are going to take. This gives you more control over your shot selection and ball placement.

By blasting the stack its harder to control the spread of balls and congestion of clear shot alleys, because its so hard to plan that whole spread. At the same time it leaves you many more options to play a good safe if the balls are not spread all over gods green glory.

Playing safe with a fully open spread can at times be a futile as playing safe on your last stripe/solid in 8 ball(when you should have played safe 2-3 or more balls before), all the balls are wide open and you aint got nothing good to hide behind....and I hate relying on leaving distance, there are some good shot makers out there.
 
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