Why is 8 ball least popular? (here)

dareads

dareads

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
On this site that is? The thread about 8 ball being the most popular (mainstream) game got me thinking.

I personally enjoy the game and hear primarily negative comments about 8 ball here. I've got a few friends who can't stand playing 8 ball and can never get a straight answer as to why.

The biggest drawback to 9 ball to me is the running most of the rack only to gag on the last 2/3 balls and lose the game. I guess that's the main attraction to me for 8 ball. When I lose, it is because my opponent made his balls before me, not just cleaned up the last few I messed up on.

So what is your beef with 8 ball? Or is it simply a matter of liking 9/10/1P/14.1 more?
 
Lack of universally accepted rules has a lot to do with it. Every where you go the game is played differently, especially in bars with so-called call-shot rules where you have to call every damn little thing down to the ball rolling off a hair because of whatever. Among serious players call shot and call pocket were the same thing for years, no more it seems.
When I walked into the commercial billiard room that became my home away from home for the next almost 25 years, nobody who could play a lick played 8 ball. Only kids and beginners. Though I learned to play playing 8 ball in the beginning before getting serious about pool I gained an extreme dislike of the game over the years. I've played more of it since I moved South than I did in 35 years in NYS and I still dislike it more than I can say.
 
Pushout said:
Lack of universally accepted rules has a lot to do with it. Every where you go the game is played differently, especially in bars with so-called call-shot rules where you have to call every damn little thing down to the ball rolling off a hair because of whatever. Among serious players call shot and call pocket were the same thing for years, no more it seems.
Click to expand...


i agree, there seems to be 100000000000 different sets of rules for 8ball, i was in action recently giving up 6 on the wire going to 8 to a guy who cant play very good, but has played for sometime. I just said "i'll play your rules", funny thing was the rules changed from shot to shot, what ever favored him was the rule. I lost the first set 8-5, i knocked in the 8 mid game and scratched on it once, next set i won 8 in a row. he pulled up. but it was a mess, sometimes it was BIH anywhere other times it was behind the line, sometimes it was call pocket other times anything counted. Brutal. I kept him happy, but it was horrible pool. I won 13 games and lost 2 due to mistakes, he never really won a game(I lost 2 due to my errors) and we played his rules(which was what ever was best for him that inning) its horrible pool. I still out ran it but it want fun. He is a friend too.


8 ball is a great game with agreed upon rules between 2 solid players.
 
Last edited:
Pushout said:
Lack of universally accepted rules has a lot to do with it. Every where you go the game is played differently, especially in bars with so-called call-shot rules where you have to call every damn little thing down to the ball rolling off a hair because of whatever. Among serious players call shot and call pocket were the same thing for years, no more it seems.
When I walked into the commercial billiard room that became my home away from home for the next almost 25 years, nobody who could play a lick played 8 ball. Only kids and beginners. Though I learned to play playing 8 ball in the beginning before getting serious about pool I gained an extreme dislike of the game over the years. I've played more of it since I moved South than I did in 35 years in NYS and I still dislike it more than I can say.
Click to expand...

Same here, I used to generally play 8-ball with friends at home tables, down here the only people that play 9 or 10-ball are at the one place where you can get a table on time.
 
I get the impression it's mostly just elitism.

Casual players often know just one game, and that's 8 ball. Therefore if you like 8 ball, you must be one of those casual players and not deeply into pool like all the experts here.

It's also an easier game to run out than 9b, 10b, 1p, and 14.1.
Easiest = most noob friendly, and nobody wants to identify with the scrubs by playing an "easy game"...even though it's a coin flip for most of us whether or not we can run a wide open rack of 8b.

Of course, for the pros, it arguably IS too easy, we saw some 7 or 8 packs put up recently on a tough table. But for the rest of the forum, it's a perfectly good game, even if they don't want to admit it.
 
I like 8-ball - I call it "puzzle pool" because each rack presents different position and breakout problems.

However, I prefer to play runout style against somebody my own speed or better rather than hide-and-seek against a less skilled player.

pj
chgo
 
dareads said:
On this site that is? The thread about 8 ball being the most popular (mainstream) game got me thinking.

I personally enjoy the game and hear primarily negative comments about 8 ball here. I've got a few friends who can't stand playing 8 ball and can never get a straight answer as to why.

The biggest drawback to 9 ball to me is the running most of the rack only to gag on the last 2/3 balls and lose the game. I guess that's the main attraction to me for 8 ball. When I lose, it is because my opponent made his balls before me, not just cleaned up the last few I messed up on.

So what is your beef with 8 ball? Or is it simply a matter of liking 9/10/1P/14.1 more?
Click to expand...

Personally I like it because it's a pattern game like 14.1, and with that comes a lot more strategy (IMHO) than a rotation game like 9 ball. But I think you're wrong about the whole 8/9 difference. If you run out 6 or 7 balls in 8 ball and then miss, you're probably going to lose the game. In fact, the closer you are to the finish line the less options there are to duck and the harder it is to get out, putting more pressure on you to not choke. Corey Deuel remarked that it's the only game that actually gets harder as the game progresses (during his TAR match with John Schmidt). I think the game gets its stigma from its amateur bar table reputation, but without this pool community elitism I don't think there's any reason that this game should be considered lesser than any other. It all comes down to personal preference.
 
I'm just tired of it. I've been playing pool off-and-on (mostly off) for 20 years now (holy hell!) and that's all I've been playing. Casual players only know 8-ball and they're not willing to trying something else. It's like buying a deck of cards and only playing rummy; it's a good game but what about cribbage, bridge, Euchre, etc.?
 
I don't think it's the rules so much as the fact that it tends to be slower, less exciting and less people gamble at it.
 
dareads said:
On this site that is? The thread about 8 ball being the most popular (mainstream) game got me thinking.

I personally enjoy the game and hear primarily negative comments about 8 ball here. I've got a few friends who can't stand playing 8 ball and can never get a straight answer as to why.

The biggest drawback to 9 ball to me is the running most of the rack only to gag on the last 2/3 balls and lose the game. I guess that's the main attraction to me for 8 ball. When I lose, it is because my opponent made his balls before me, not just cleaned up the last few I messed up on.

So what is your beef with 8 ball? Or is it simply a matter of liking 9/10/1P/14.1 more?
Click to expand...


It seems like most pool players regard 8 ball as a beginner/banger game. Somehow 9 ball, 10 ball or 1 pocket are more widely accepted as games for good players.
I feel like there is more strategy in 8 ball than the rotation games. Some folks would disagree with me.
When it comes to gambling and another player being pretty much an equal player in a rotation game, I would rather play him/her some 8 ball. Safety play and breaking up clusters come into play more often. JMHO of course.
 
CreeDo said:
I get the impression it's mostly just elitism.

Casual players often know just one game, and that's 8 ball. Therefore if you like 8 ball, you must be one of those casual players and not deeply into pool like all the experts here.


Of course, for the pros, it arguably IS too easy, we saw some 7 or 8 packs put up recently on a tough table. But for the rest of the forum, it's a perfectly good game, even if they don't want to admit it.
Click to expand...

That was the feeling I was getting from the other thread which is why I posed the question. I guess I'm just a simpleton. :grin:

I also agee with PJ. I like the new challenge that each break presents. To me, it makes it more challenging than 9 ball. Playing the right order, or right order for you can make 8 ball more thought provoking.
 
TheSneak said:
Personally I like it because it's a pattern game like 14.1, and with that comes a lot more strategy (IMHO) than a rotation game like 9 ball. But I think you're wrong about the whole 8/9 difference. If you run out 6 or 7 balls in 8 ball and then miss, you're probably going to lose the game. In fact, the closer you are to the finish line the less options there are to duck and the harder it is to get out, putting more pressure on you to not choke. Corey Deuel remarked that it's the only game that actually gets harder as the game progresses (during his TAR match with John Schmidt). I think the game gets its stigma from its amateur bar table reputation, but without this pool community elitism I don't think there's any reason that this game should be considered lesser than any other. It all comes down to personal preference.
Click to expand...

Good point on getting harder

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
 
I personally really like the game.

My favorite is 8 ball on a very good Diamond 7 foot.
This game/table combo against a good player can be very fun.
I love to see how the brain works out difficult outs.
I love to see a perfect safety that hooks the other guy on EVERY ball.
There is a lot of strategy to this game when it is played correctly.

jmho
 
8 ball is more of a bar table game i would say, their are alot of 8 ball players in the bars........9 ball,10 ball etc are played mostly in pool rooms...
 
TheSneak said:
Personally I like it because it's a pattern game like 14.1, and with that comes a lot more strategy (IMHO) than a rotation game like 9 ball. But I think you're wrong about the whole 8/9 difference. If you run out 6 or 7 balls in 8 ball and then miss, you're probably going to lose the game. In fact, the closer you are to the finish line the less options there are to duck and the harder it is to get out, putting more pressure on you to not choke. Corey Deuel remarked that it's the only game that actually gets harder as the game progresses (during his TAR match with John Schmidt). I think the game gets its stigma from its amateur bar table reputation, but without this pool community elitism I don't think there's any reason that this game should be considered lesser than any other. It all comes down to personal preference.
Click to expand...

I agree. Also a lot of clusters (sometimes) forces you to find creative ways to break them up or play safe. You also have to find routes around the other player's balls. And you have to recognize when your odds of getting out are too low and play a safe early enough, resisting the temptation to run 6 balls, THEN realize you are stuck and try to play safe with nothing good to hide behind. Other creative aspects include finding opportunities to bump the other player's balls a little too tie them up, while leaving your run out in tact. It's a good feeling to know you just created a safety net just in case you need it. Also you might play a safe where you move one of your balls into position as a break out ball where you needed it. Another thing is you have to see clusters that hamper both of you, but if you are the only one with a break out ball, then leave that ball alone until you are in the right position to take advantage of it.

There are so many aspects of 8-ball that rotation games lack. I won't say it's a better game than 14.1 or 1 pocket. But if you want to play a short, single rack game, then to me, 8-ball is the most fun.

And Corey Deuel also said, in that TAR match against John Schmidt, something to the effect, "THIS is the game. I don't have to think this much playing 9-ball"

Fatz
 
dareads said:
The biggest drawback to 9 ball to me is the running most of the rack only to gag on the last 2/3 balls and lose the game. I guess that's the main attraction to me for 8 ball. When I lose, it is because my opponent made his balls before me, not just cleaned up the last few I messed up on.
Click to expand...


And what you call a drawback is why I love 9 ball... you either get out, get safe or get got.
 
8-ball alternative

BTW, here's a plug for the game I invented called Kulay. It uses the colors of the balls. It's harder than 8-ball, and 9/10. It's easier than 14.1, 1-hole, and 15 ball rotation. It is a full rack, single rack game. It's sort of like playing 8-ball one color at a time, rather than by groups. I've been trying it out a little and it's a pretty good game, IMHO.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=285986

Fatz
 
I think the difference is 8 ball is the easier game, more options to shoot at if you blow position on a ball. Most people start playing 8 ball and then move to 9 ball once they sharpen their position skills skills.

I so rarely play 8 ball that sometimes it is nice to play a few racks. I also think 9 ball is a better game to gamble on.... racks usually take less time and the rules are universal.
 
Uski said:
8 ball is more of a bar table game i would say, their are alot of 8 ball players in the bars........9 ball,10 ball etc are played mostly in pool rooms...
Click to expand...

When I was learning to play seriously we were the only room in NYS with bar tables and the players didn't play on them. Remember that you could not serve alcohol in pool rooms in NYS at that time and bars could only have one table with no wood cues, only fiberglass and aluminum. Bar tables in that time and place could only be 3 x 6 by law, not 3 1/2 x 7 as is now pretty much standard all over the country. I just don't like the game even the way it's played today just as I don't care for the current 9 ball rules. Nothing elitist about it, I just don't like the games.
I also think that back then 8 ball was a social/casual game and we weren't social/casual players. I think that still applies today, at least to some extent. There was a distinctly different attitude between the social players and the serious players and I think there still is, again, to some extent at least.
 
CreeDo said:
I get the impression it's mostly just elitism.

Casual players often know just one game, and that's 8 ball. Therefore if you like 8 ball, you must be one of those casual players and not deeply into pool like all the experts here.

It's also an easier game to run out than 9b, 10b, 1p, and 14.1.
Easiest = most noob friendly, and nobody wants to identify with the scrubs by playing an "easy game"...even though it's a coin flip for most of us whether or not we can run a wide open rack of 8b.

Of course, for the pros, it arguably IS too easy, we saw some 7 or 8 packs put up recently on a tough table. But for the rest of the forum, it's a perfectly good game, even if they don't want to admit it.
Click to expand...

I actually thought it may have been somewhat the opposite; everyone knows how to play 8-ball, so it is... "in". I was curious, though, as to why it became so in.

Although I usually don't ask (because I assume), I can honestly say I do not know any pool player in real life who is against 8-ball... I am no professional so I did not know it was so looked-down-upon here. I do like 8 ball, but it's strange how there seems to be ample reason for both its popularity and unpopularity. But I don't think it's that much easier, if easier at all. Just depends who you play with...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top