Pattern Racking

Alright, here we go again...The Strickland-SBE event is a non issue under the "No Conflict Rules". Tilting the rack joins pattern racking and all the rest of the maladies in the rack manipulation bucket. Get rid of the ball on the break and all of it (the nonsense), and I do mean "ALL OF IT" just goes away. The logic to cheat disappears and at the same time, makes our favorite games better.

http://www.goldcrownbilliardseriepa.com/noconflict.html

I recently ran my fifth one day event with the "No Conflict Rules". More players than ever showed up (73 players). There was not one problem at all what so ever. This event moved along quickly without any of the usual practices that bog down the front end of our games. A number of good players participated, some who have played in the US Open, The Masters, Turning Stone, and many others. The rules are simple, fast, and they work.

Results: $3060 in prizes, $5500 in the calcutta: http://www.goldcrownbilliardseriepa.com/assets/pdf/Final Standings Winter 2011 Tri-State Open.pdf

Imagine this: In almost 10,000 racks (over 5 tournaments) there was not even one pattern rack, not one rack was "checked", not one re-rack, not one argument. I like it and it appears to be acceptable to the players who have played it. Don't knock it until you have tried it and put some time in to see what it means.
 
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In football history, there are many instances of players picking up a fumble and running toward the wrong goal line. This past week I whitnessed pool's version of this idiocy.

A player showed up at my place this week looking for a game. He made a game with one of my regulars for small cash. He insisted that they play "winner breaks & rack your own". When he went to rack the balls (after he won), he pattern racked (of course). Here is the thing: He pattern racked the wrong way! He pattern racked as though his opponent was breaking (2 & 4 behind the 9, 3 & 5 behind the 1).

My customers all laughed. I did not. I thought that this would be one hell of a move. Just imagine everyone laughing while you do something stupid (on purpose) while you relieve them of their cash.

In the old days, this move would have most definately joined the 6 piece cue with the screw on tip, and my favorite: the powder blue aluminum cue.
 
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Paul Schofield said:
In football history, there are many instances of players picking up a fumble and running toward the wrong goal line. This past week I whitnessed pool's version of this idiocy.

A player showed up at my place this week looking for a game. He made a game with one of my regulars for small cash. He insisted that they play "winner breaks & rack your own". When he went to rack the balls (after he won), he pattern racked (of course). Here is the thing: He pattern racked the wrong way! He pattern racked as though his opponent was breaking (2 & 4 behind the 9, 3 & 5 behind the 1).

My customers all laughed. I did not. I thought that this would be one hell of a move. Just imagine everyone laughing while you do something stupid (on purpose) while you relieve them of their cash.
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I'd be curious to know how he broke. Because another move would be, if you've sized up your opponent and figure he can't get out from a tough layout, come up dry on the break and let him do the heavy lifting breaking up clusters etc. while running a few balls, and then step up after the inevitable miss and finish off the rack for the win. :grin-square:

BTW, did the guy win or lose?
 
I did re-read it and it just says is a football player picked up a fumble and started running the wrong way. Didn't say if he scored for the other team.
 
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Paul Schofield said:
This guy really did not have a clue where he was going or what he was doing. He lost.
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LOL, sounds like he was using the Rafael Martinez pattern - "I've got the talent and the willingness to go around the world for shape on every shot but in case I break dry I leave you tough." :rotflmao1:









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Disclaimer: This post is a lame attempt at humor by the poster only and is not intended to suggest Rafael actually pattern racks.

...the management
 
On Saturday I ran my sixth regional event with the No Conflict Rules which include the Random Racking Process. There were 64 players from PA, OH, WV, NY, and MI. We turned players away. There was a total of $8500 in prizes and calcutta, race to 7 on the winner's side and race to 6 on the loser's side, and it was completed in one day.

http://www.goldcrownbilliardseriepa.com/noconflict.html

Here it is:

There was not even one pattern rack.
There were no strange racking gadgets.
There was not one case of the studying of little spaces between balls.
There was not one rack checked.
There was not one rack rejected.
There was not one case of rack manipulating.
There was not one soft break.
There was not one complaint.
There was not even one argument.

Mission accomplished!

The matches and the tournament moved along without getting bogged down at the front end of the game. You can random rack faster than you can pattern rack. As I stated previously: If you can shuffle a deck of cards for 8 seconds and you can shake the dice for 3 seconds, all in the name of randomization, you can spend 2 seconds and randomize a rack of Nine or Ten-Ball.
 
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Paul Schofield said:
On Saturday I ran my sixth regional event with the No Conflict Rules which include the Random Racking Process. There were 64 players from PA, OH, WV, NY, and MI. We turned players away. There was a total of $8500 in prizes and calcutta, race to 7 on the winner's side and race to 6 on the loser's side, and it was completed in one day.

http://www.goldcrownbilliardseriepa.com/noconflict.html

Here it is:

There was not even one pattern rack.
There were no strange racking gadgets.
There was not one case of the studying of little spaces between balls.
There was not one rack checked.
There was not one rack rejected.
There was not one case of rack manipulating.
There was not one soft break.
There was not one complaint.
There was not even one argument.

Mission accomplished!

The matches and the tournament moved along without getting bogged down at the front end of the game. You can random rack faster than you can pattern rack. As I stated previously: If you can shuffle a deck of cards for 8 seconds and you can shake the dice for 3 seconds, all in the name of randomization, you can spend 2 seconds and randomize a rack of Nine or Ten-Ball.
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I ran my 7th tournament this past Saturday (Aug 27). The experience replicated prior tournaments. The above post from the last tournament describes it perfectly. Imagine: a 52 man double elimination Nine-Ball tournament gets over in one day before 9:00 at night.
 
Paul Schofield said:
I ran my 7th tournament this past Saturday (Aug 27). The experience replicated prior tournaments. The above post from the last tournament describes it perfectly. Imagine: a 52 man double elimination Nine-Ball tournament gets over in one day before 9:00 at night.
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I'll switch gears here. I'm really curious as to what you (or anybody) has against soft breaks. I'll put this another way so you see my point.... what do you have against a player using his own professional discretion as to how hard or soft he should hit the cb on a particular shot?
 
Pattern racking

I am relatively new to this site & this is an old post. It amazed me how many responses were on this subject. I was unable to muddle through all of them,...Pete, repeat & oh hi Pete you again? The concept of "Roll your own" (rack your own) seems a little odd to me to begin with, particularly for money. I pretty much like the old fashioned ..loser racks, winner breaks. Don't like the way your opponent racks/ No problem lets go really old fashioned , old pool hall style (WE) have a house man, a third party to rack for both parties. Of course we compensate him with a small stipend. Above and beyond all this the whole premise seems pretty mundane & insignifigant to me. I have had guys pattern rack against me. It had no viable effect on the outcome of the match. I don't really care how you rack them. The point is at some point you will miss and guess what...it's my turn! If I make a ball on the snap & I get a lead shot I like my odds that you don't get to the table. The simple truth is the rack,..my rack, your rack, tight rack, loose rack, pattern rack, random rack is NOT going to beat me. If you beat me then YOU beat me. If I beat you , trust me it was not the RACK!!!! Every good player has the ability to adapt & overcome any set of circumstances. That is in it's essence the challenge of the game. I can recall vividly times when my opponent was putting racks against me, chompin at the bit waiting for my opportunity. When it came as it always did I was not the least concerned with how good he was playing or how he racked the balls. Now was my chance to make it count by keeping him glued to his seat and defeating my opponent. At the end of the day when the pool cue is in my hands & I get to the table niether my opponent nor the choice of where the balls are placed in the rack matter. I & I alone am in control of my own destiny. I alone am responsible for most of my victories & all of my defeats. Good luck & good pool gentlemen. :thumbup: Billy Bones
 
Paul Schofield said:
Do you pattern rack? Do you permit it to be done to you?

The first time I ran into it was in the mid 70's while playing a road player from Oklahoma in Oregon. I knew I was a better player. I lost. I ran into him again six months later in Ohio and lost again. Both sessions were long and I played my game. The third time we went to play, he began to bury me from the onset. I finally caught it. This was before there was the coined phrase "pattern rack". I had never seen or heard of it before. What he was doing was not obvious. I pulled up, sat down, and refused to play. I would only agree to play if this practice ended and we would double the bet. He agreed. It worked out for me.

All along, I was playing a much harder game than he was and the net result was that my playing advantage was negated by a "pattern rack".

It is my opinion that all this nonsense that goes on in racking and breaking is a negative, a distraction, and is destructive. We ought to look for ways to end all of it. It is just wrong.
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I watched 'The Hustler' last night. Now, I see this and am reminded of a line or two from that movie. It goes sorta like "You're looking for an excuse to lose". Quit whining and looking for excuses for why you lost.
 
billy bones said:
I am relatively new to this site & this is an old post. It amazed me how many responses were on this subject. I was unable to muddle through all of them,...Pete, repeat & oh hi Pete you again? The concept of "Roll your own" (rack your own) seems a little odd to me to begin with, particularly for money. I pretty much like the old fashioned ..loser racks, winner breaks. Don't like the way your opponent racks/ No problem lets go really old fashioned , old pool hall style (WE) have a house man, a third party to rack for both parties. Of course we compensate him with a small stipend. Above and beyond all this the whole premise seems pretty mundane & insignifigant to me. I have had guys pattern rack against me. It had no viable effect on the outcome of the match. I don't really care how you rack them. The point is at some point you will miss and guess what...it's my turn! If I make a ball on the snap & I get a lead shot I like my odds that you don't get to the table. The simple truth is the rack,..my rack, your rack, tight rack, loose rack, pattern rack, random rack is NOT going to beat me. If you beat me then YOU beat me. If I beat you , trust me it was not the RACK!!!! Every good player has the ability to adapt & overcome any set of circumstances. That is in it's essence the challenge of the game. I can recall vividly times when my opponent was putting racks against me, chompin at the bit waiting for my opportunity. When it came as it always did I was not the least concerned with how good he was playing or how he racked the balls. Now was my chance to make it count by keeping him glued to his seat and defeating my opponent. At the end of the day when the pool cue is in my hands & I get to the table niether my opponent nor the choice of where the balls are placed in the rack matter. I & I alone am in control of my own destiny. I alone am responsible for most of my victories & all of my defeats. Good luck & good pool gentlemen. :thumbup: Billy Bones
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Both players have to play well enough for it to matter and make a difference. The better the players, the more critical it becomes. You are right in that for most players, it means nothing. Most pool-players cannot even imagine how it could matter. Watch the best players in the world rack the balls. If they can get away with it, they will pattern rack the balls every time.
 
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The Chinchilla said:
I'll switch gears here. I'm really curious as to what you (or anybody) has against soft breaks. I'll put this another way so you see my point.... what do you have against a player using his own professional discretion as to how hard or soft he should hit the cb on a particular shot?
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If he likes his odds better by hitting them less than full power, it is his discretion as to how hard to hit them. Nobody tells me how hard to shoot any other shot. Why should it be different for the break? As long as the shot requirements are met, it's nobody's business how hard the shooter breaks.
 
Lexicologist71 said:
If he likes his odds better by hitting them less than full power, it is his discretion as to how hard to hit them. Nobody tells me how hard to shoot any other shot. Why should it be different for the break? As long as the shot requirements are met, it's nobody's business how hard the shooter breaks.
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Requiring two balls to break the center-string-vertical-plain works (No Conflict Rules). It allows a player to hit a control break. Hit-em soft and you may get stung. Players in my events hit the balls anywhere from medium to full speed. It works for everybody. No complaints.
 
Paul Schofield said:
Requiring two balls to break the center-string-vertical-plain works (No Conflict Rules). It allows a player to hit a control break. Hit-em soft and you may get stung. Players in my events hit the balls anywhere from medium to full speed. It works for everybody. No complaints.
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perfectly fine with me. you can soft break and accomplish that though. ive also seen accidental slug with a player pounding the break and only one ball being sent past this line.
 
Paul Schofield said:
Both players have to play well enough for it to matter and make a difference. The better the players, the more critical it becomes. You are right in that for most players, it means nothing. Most pool-players cannot even imagine how it could matter. Watch the best players in the world rack the balls. If they can get away with it, they will pattern rack the balls every time.
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I have played with such players (of old) & certainly watched them at length. In a head up match, mulitiple sets rarely would that strategy change the outcome. The only possible creedence I might see is a short race, one set, roll your own. Which as I stated in my 1st post seems just a trifffle odd to me to begin with. In fact I believe it is complete loonacy. It is a strange concept that I do not agree with.

Of the matches I observed even with pattern racking, & roll your own, the opponents had their opportunities, which they did not capitolize on. The best I saw was one player obtained a sustantial lead. Each player had his chance. I believe it is highly overrated. I was shown pattern racking years ago although it was not announced as "Pattern Racking". Of course we were not "Rolling our own". I was also shown how to rack so that ostensibly the sequential balls would arrive at opposing areas of the table after the break. It's success rate was nominal at best.

Unless I do not get a shot then it is my firm belief that if I get to the table then I have an opportunity to get into the game & therefore a chance to place myself in a position to win. If I do not capitolize, then that is my own fault. Let us suppose that pattern racking is as effective as you seem to think it may be, Ok you pattern rack, roll your own, you jump out to a substantial lead. At some point I get to the table then I can do...oh yeah the very same thing. Ergo it's a push, of no substantial significance or advantage.

I certainly respect your opinion & your right to express it. It is not my concern to change anyones perception to coincide with mine. But those are my experiences which form my perceptions that in turn are the basis of the opinion I just rendered. And as I am fond of saying, "That's my 2 cents folks" Good luck & good pool. Billy Bones :thumbup:
 
billy bones said:
Unless I do not get a shot then it is my firm belief that if I get to the table then I have an opportunity to get into the game & therefore a chance to place myself in a position to win. If I do not capitolize, then that is my own fault. Let us suppose that pattern racking is as effective as you seem to think it may be, Ok you pattern rack, roll your own, you jump out to a substantial lead. At some point I get to the table then I can do...oh yeah the very same thing. Ergo it's a push, of no substantial significance or advantage.
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Wow, thank you so much for injecting some logic.
 
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