Straight Pool--what ever the proper term is? I've only been playing rotation/10 ball. 9 ball to a
lessor degree, too much "slop". Here in the Philippines it's pool by numbers pretty much. Although we do play a local variation of Nine Ball banks. "Nothing Straight" Banks, Kicks and Combos are legal 15 ball rack. I can "hold my own" with the locals in those games but straight pool is a whole different "monkey".
Like Snooker, develop the Rack, cue ball control, shot selection are all SUPER important. Thinking man/womans's game? Then you have the added caveat of setting up your break shot. I've had my eyes opened, even though I'm middle aged.
I've been trying to figure it out for the past few weeks. Love a Challenge.
Hello Pangit!
Welcome to the 14.1 forum, and the game itself. We're glad to have you here, from such an esteemed pool country!
You are correct, 14.1 is definitely a thinking person's game. Many of the short-rack rotation players will "think" 14.1 is "easy" because, "like 8-ball" (as they say), "you can shoot at any ball on the table." They completely ignore/overlook the fact that it's a patterns game, and you have to think through the pattern to get down to the break ball, and the key ball to get on the break ball. Unlike those short-rack rotation games, you have to think through the pattern; the pattern is not dictated to you by the numbers on the balls.
Interesting sidenote, based on my occasional "hobby" of observing people -- those players that are enamored with the short-rack rotation games (and have a specific "hatred" towards straight pool) tend to have short attention spans. Some are even manic -- not only do they want short games, but short *races* as well! I call these the "get it over with" type. That's not a rule, and only my observation, of course, but I think it's interesting to note.
Bank pool is great! IMHO, it's the purest form of pool -- you have to call every shot, every shot must go in CLEAN (no caroms and no combos), and the shot must happen as you call it (e.g. if you call a 1-rail cross-side bank, but slam it and it goes 3 rails into the called side pocket, it doesn't count -- it gets spotted up). Here in the U.S., we also use the term "short-rack Banks" to refer to 9-ball Banks, and the term "full-rack Banks" to refer to a full rack of 15 balls for Banks. Both are quite fun games! Full-rack Banks is difficult, because of the congestion -- many of the pathways for the bank shots are blocked by obstructing balls, so it's akin to "surgery" to remove the balls.
What's interesting is that a lot of pure rotation players, after playing 14.1 for a while, notice that their play in those rotation games changes -- for the better. Better cue ball control
(more precise -- you find yourself shooting for more precise position rather than a "zone" on the table), better safeties
(improved "touch" gives better accuracy to lock that cue ball up), less avoidance to breaking up clusters
(you're used to doing it in 14.1), and better rhythm/tempo at the table
(heck, you're used to shooting a lot of balls in a rhythm now, so these 9 balls are no biggie).
Please feel free to drop us any questions you may have. We're delighted to have you aboard!
Warmest regards,
-Sean
