Why contrive games like Bonus Ball...

R

RonnieOSullivan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
...if we can just institute Snooker?

What I'm asking is this: many suggest 8-ball, 9-ball, and even 10-ball are too easy for the elite players these days; if we're looking for a tougher game, why not have these guys play Snooker? It's a tough game that requires a load of skill and a match takes a lot longer than a rack of nine or eight.

Are we so averse to European games that we avoid it here? Let's face it, we've seen Ronnie O come over and play 9 and 8, but how much have we seen Strickland, Archer, van Boening etc play Snooker?

I'm not saying they don't have it in them; if they played it, I think they'd be adroit. But instead we're trying to drum up Bonus Ball which, let's face it, will fail (nobody in bars will ever play it nor will try to understand it; Snooker also would have a really tough road in the states but at least it already has a big following elsewhere). Why not just get our elite players into Snooker?
 
RonnieOSullivan said:
...if we can just institute Snooker?

What I'm asking is this: many suggest 8-ball, 9-ball, and even 10-ball are too easy for the elite players these days; if we're looking for a tougher game, why not have these guys play Snooker? It's a tough game that requires a load of skill and a match takes a lot longer than a rack of nine or eight.

Are we so averse to European games that we avoid it here? Let's face it, we've seen Ronnie O come over and play 9 and 8, but how much have we seen Strickland, Archer, van Boening etc play Snooker?

I'm not saying they don't have it in them; if they played it, I think they'd be adroit. But instead we're trying to drum up Bonus Ball which, let's face it, will fail (nobody in bars will ever play it nor will try to understand it; Snooker also would have a really tough road in the states but at least it already has a big following elsewhere). Why not just get our elite players into Snooker?
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If this is the real Ronnie O, (or even if it isn't) I certainly agree with your take on everything !

SJD
 
"THE" Ronnie OSullivan ?

Ronnie OSullivan, WELCOME to AZ Billiards Forums !

I am just an average player, but enjoy the forums and the diverse "color" within the hundreds of posts here. Keep an opem mind ,and don't let opinions here tug at your emotions. There is a very diverse and homo-genius crowd here. I hope you stay, as the forum would be enhanced by your posts.:cool:

I personally am familiar with your talent in snooker;however I have never seen you play in person. I admire the talent it takes to shoot a small object ball over distance, something which you do well. I recently shot a BCE Snooker cue with an 8.5 mm tip on a 9 foot table here. Reminded me of how hard it is to pot balls with that style cue.

At any rate, WELCOME ! :smile:

A question for you ?

How do snooker players manage an object ball hit when kicking 2 rails with no diamond system?

Jay
 
I can assure you that this is NOT Ronnie O Sullivan. Ronnie did have an account a while back and asked that it be removed.

This Ronnie will be changing his username very soon.

Mike
 
50/50

Well, I took the chance, lol

He had good timing coming off of the tourney win. At 5 hrs ahead, it is 9am there, so I thought just may-b ???
 
AzHousePro said:
I can assure you that this is NOT Ronnie O Sullivan. Ronnie did have an account a while back and asked that it be removed.

This Ronnie will be changing his username very soon.

Mike
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Figured it was obvious that I am not the actual Ronnie O'Sullivan being that I referenced him in the third person in my post.

Whilst I'm not the Rocket myself, I used his moniker as a tribute as I'm a fan of his. Must I still change my username very soon, your honor?

The Crucible is the teacher!

PS we digress; I feel the question I posed is one that deserves discussion and not derailment
 
RonnieOSullivan said:
nobody in bars will ever play it nor will try to understand it
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Pretty sure you lost everyone with this comment. A snooker table takes up some pretty serious real estate (half the size of some small bars), and would cost a fortune in lost revenue for almost any American establishment.

As for Bonus Ball, it may seem like a lot at once, but it actually has fewer rules than Snooker. It's simply new, and new things take time to become familiar.
 
nathandumoulin said:
Pretty sure you lost everyone with this comment. A snooker table takes up some pretty serious real estate (half the size of some small bars), and would cost a fortune in lost revenue for almost any American establishment.

As for Bonus Ball, it may seem like a lot at once, but it actually has fewer rules than Snooker. It's simply new, and new things take time to become familiar.
Click to expand...

They made bar box snooker tables at one time I don't know if they still do but I played on a couple when I was a kid living outside Toronto


1
 
nathandumoulin said:
Pretty sure you lost everyone with this comment. A snooker table takes up some pretty serious real estate (half the size of some small bars), and would cost a fortune in lost revenue for almost any American establishment.

As for Bonus Ball, it may seem like a lot at once, but it actually has fewer rules than Snooker. It's simply new, and new things take time to become familiar.
Click to expand...

He didn't lose me with this comment. Nobody is going to play BB in bars and it will not attract any complete beginners. It barely attracts hardcore pool fans.

And as for 'pretty serious real estate', is the US a small country, where space is at a premium? If the comparatively tiny and cramped UK has a thriving snooker scene, so can the large and spacious USA.
 
I don't think contriving new games is the answer to the woes of pool. Nor is making tougher games the answer (nor using snooker).
There is nothing broke about 9-Ball. The sport of billiards has a game most people in the U.S. (even common citizens, who don't play) know the name of. It is called 9-Ball. OR even 8-ball for that matter.
You do not see very recognized businesses like Coca-Cola changing their names. Why? Because it takes a great deal of time and/or work to have a brand or even game that is a household name.

Audiences love the excitement a string of 9 ball racks can bring, we just have to promote the sport better. Unite under one business model. We pretty much killed some of the excitement with the rotate breaking. If a player wins the game, he deserves to break, period.
This sport is kicking itself, on one hand we say we need to speed the game up if we want to be on tv, yet we are pushing playing 10 ball on 10 foot tables. That is a great business model for sure.
Another thing is bringing a little more professionalism back to the game. While snooker is not the game that would succeed in this country, we certainly can take some lessons from it in England, as a snooker players salary makes US tour pros look like they working the line at McDs. They are always dressed professionally for matches, they portray the game as a professional and family oriented smoothly run business.

These are the things we need to focus on, and not the equipment and/or games played. Do a poll with people who really don't play pool, ask them if they rather watch 9 ball or 10 ball just for kicks and see which they know.
 
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Pathetic Shark said:
He didn't lose me with this comment. Nobody is going to play BB in bars and it will not attract any complete beginners. It barely attracts hardcore pool fans.

And as for 'pretty serious real estate', is the US a small country, where space is at a premium? If the comparatively tiny and cramped UK has a thriving snooker scene, so can the large and spacious USA.
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If they could stick a table outside on the plains, sure. Go to your local pool hall and count how many 12' tables they can fit. Then ask how many people there would play on a table where they will be able to make a ball every 15 shots. Not good players, the 90% of other players that go there.
 
hang-the-9 said:
If they could stick a table outside on the plains, sure. Go to your local pool hall and count how many 12' tables they can fit. Then ask how many people there would play on a table where they will be able to make a ball every 15 shots. Not good players, the 90% of other players that go there.
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It is this exact thing I don't understand about the 10' tables as well. I hear, they are the wave of the future for pool etc... So what is Diamond going to do with all those tables when they make so many of them for tournaments? Sure there will be a very small niche crowd who wants the new fad, but after that, Done.
History has already retired the 10' idea as impractical, but again, the billiards industry is beating it's head against an impenetrable wall, when we should be focused on what's really wrong with the image of the sport in the U.S.
 
hang-the-9 said:
If they could stick a table outside on the plains, sure. Go to your local pool hall and count how many 12' tables they can fit. Then ask how many people there would play on a table where they will be able to make a ball every 15 shots. Not good players, the 90% of other players that go there.
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Precisely. Snooker will never become popular in the US for entrenched cultural reasons.

Most UK pool or snooker players sneer at American pool for being too superficial, gimmicky and easy. I'm not saying that's necessarily true, but it is not in our culture, either.

Pointless trying to impose snooker on America. It ain't happening. I'm not American but it seems clear as day to me pool is in steep and probably terminal decline in your country - and nobody knows what to do about it.
 
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