9 Ball vs 10 Ball vs 7 Ball vs 8 Ball vs Straight Pool vs One Pocket difficulty

Gogafem

Gogafem

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Give your opinions on difficulties for each and with reasons!

-Difficulty out of 10
-For reasons marked with + it means they make it harder. If they are marked with a - those reasons make the game easier.


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*9 Ball:
Difficulty: 8.5
Reasons:
-Rotation style position play.
+The rack is easier for breaking.
+No call shots.
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*10 Ball:
Difficulty: 9.5
Reasons:
-Rotation style position play.
-The rack is much tougher for breaking than in 9 ball.
-Also it's a call shot game.
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*7 Ball:
Difficulty: 8
Reasons:
+Rotation style position play.
+Ball in hand if you miss and only 1 safety.
-2 way safeties are nice
(If you miss it isn't a foul, but if you pot
a called shot during the safety you continue
your run).
-Breaking is a lot easier than in many other games.
-Only 7 balls.
+Call shot game.
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*8 Ball:
Difficulty: 8
Reasons:
+Lots of traffic on the table.
+Frequent clusters of balls.
-Position play is usually more forgiving.
+Gets harder as you keep potting
(For both safety and positional reasons).
+Call shot game.
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*Straight Pool:
Difficulty: 8
Reasons:
+Clusters and clusters and clusters...
+Breaking the rack with a carom
(Or kiss shot if possible) using the last
ball on the table when the balls are re-racked.
+Playing safeties is pretty hard since your
opponent can pocket any ball.
+Call shot game.
-You can pocket any ball
+Foul is minus 1 point.
-No ball in hand behind the head string
unless the cue ball scratches or goes out of the table.
+Ball in hand only behind the head string.
-Points game
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I haven't written anything about One Pocket since I don't play it, but you can go ahead and do that if you have experience with this game.
Also add any games you want ^_^...
 
one hole is the most complex game on the list. 8 ball 2nd, 9&10 ball are about the same depending on the rules. i have no comment on 14.1 i dont play it


again depending on the rules 8B is much more complex than 10B, especially if you play take what you make on the break 8B, there can be lots of moving 10B call pocket is still a 90% offence run out game. with straight forward patterns 70-80% of the time, unless you get 2 or 3 balls in a bunch on the cushion. In 8B this happens much more often and only half the balls are in play the rest are traffic. no way is 10B a more complex or difficult game than 8b.
 
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I am going to have to agree with Fatboy on the pocket-a-piece and 8 ball. Would rank the ones I play as follows (hardest first):

1. 1-hole
2. 8 ball
3. 10 ball
4. 9 ball

Straight pool, 7 ball -- never play.

Regards,

~Razor
 
Starting from most complex game, my order is:
1) One Pocket
2) Straight Pool
3) 10 Ball
4) 9 Ball
5) 8 Ball
 
1. One Pocket - You only have one pocket and if you do not know the moves you are in deep do-do. This game has it all, banking, shot making, patterns, and cue ball control.

2. 8 Ball - You choose the wrong balls or take the wrong pattern and you might not get out.

3. Rotation Games - Shoot by number so not much thinking involved, breaking is huge in this game and having the correct angle from shot to shot.

I did not comment on 14.1 because even though I have played it a little I do not want to give my opinion on it for difficulty.
 
1 9 Ball
2 10 Ball
3 One Pocket
4 8 Ball

I put 9 ball ahead of the others because I think the most challenging part of any game in pool is sitting down for long packages and still being able to come with a good shot even if you aren't left anything good.

In 10 ball, the likelihood of a package is greatly diminished for strong amateurs (not so much for top pros) so sitting down for long periods is not usually a problem.

9 and 10 ball also focus on excecution more than shot selection or strategy, which I find requires more skill than a more strategy based game like one pocket. Which shot is the right shot can be learned relatively simply, but to make a difficult shot under pressure takes heart and coordination which are a lot more difficult to acquire than simple knowledge. 9 ball and 10 ball have a lot more difficult shots that MUST be made than one pocket and 8 ball.

One pocket is a difficult game in terms of shot selection, but because nearly every difficult shot should be played 2 way in case you miss, execution is not really emphasized (although it doesn't hurt to have it) so it ranks a little lower on the list.

8 ball is the easiest because it is the simplest in terms of execution and fairly simple in strategy. Rarely in 8 ball are you forced to make a truely difficult shot unless you managed the rack poorly. Because of this, 8 ball ranks last on the short list of games I am familiar with.

Straight pool is not on my list because I have honestly near zero experience playing straight pool competitively although I bet it takes a lot of heart to get up out of your chair and fire back after your opponent runs a 100 on you.
 
Every shot you will ever shoot in 9,10B comes up in 1P period without exception. So the theory that there are all 2 way shots and you can always duck is out the window, when there are 3 balls left on the table and you need 3, you better have your 9B stroke in gear or you dont get out.
 
Fatboy said:
one hole is the most complex game on the list. 8 ball 2nd, 9&10 ball are about the same depending on the rules. i have no comment on 14.1 i dont play it


again depending on the rules 8B is much more complex than 10B, especially if you play take what you make on the break 8B, there can be lots of moving 10B call pocket is still a 90% offence run out game. with straight forward patterns 70-80% of the time, unless you get 2 or 3 balls in a bunch on the cushion. In 8B this happens much more often and only half the balls are in play the rest are traffic. no way is 10B a more complex or difficult game than 8b.
Click to expand...

Gotta agree with this one that take what u make on the break can really hurt you and if you playing called shots without ball in hand can be hard so many things can work against you in 8ball


Reading my posts means you consent to my incorrect spelling and poor typing skills.
 
Fatboy said:
Every shot you will ever shoot in 9,10B comes up in 1P period without exception. So the theory that there are all 2 way shots and you can always duck is out the window, when there are 3 balls left on the table and you need 3, you better have your 9B stroke in gear or you dont get out.
Click to expand...

Not really, it might "come up" but there is likely a better shot. For example, Its extremely rare in one pocket to have to pound a long, near straight in shot to force an angle, most of the time you would opt to play shape for a bank or a different shot because it far less disasterous to miss the bank or long thin cut in one pocket than it is in 9/10 ball. Close shots, sure it comes up sometimes, but its a lot easier to do on a close shot. In 9/10 Ball, that shot comes up quite often and if you miss you are 6 times as likely to leave a shot for your opponent than you are in one pocket.
 
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Well, at least you always have a shot after the break in 8 ball. You just need to make a ball and not scratch. Doesn't matter where the CB ends up you're going to have a shot at the least a safe. Whereas 9 ball or 10 ball, CB control off the break is paramount and even then your'e not guaranteed a shot at the 1 ball.

Ask yourself, if there was money on the line for you to break and run-out which game would you pick? Break, make a ball, no ball in hand. I would certainly like my chances best with 8 ball.
 
for me:

1- one pocket: way too tough for me
2- straight pool: making choices, breaking clusters
3- 8 ball: traffic is always a problem
4- 10 ball: breaking is hard, but rotation is crystal clear game, not much traffic, choice is obvious, now just how to shoot
5- 9 ball: still playing this game most of the time, and fed of it

however I think the games are equally difficult if you set high target for them, higher and higher targets/records have always been the motivation for development of pool.
 
If pool is art...

1-pocket
MIchelangelo-Paintings-Last.jpg


8-ball
starry-night.jpg


10-ball
il_570xN.203561632.jpg


9-ball
13.jpg
 
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