Speed on 15 Ball Rotation

N

nrhoades

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'd like to test my average speed using 15 ball rotation. Anyone have any good formats to try?

(I've been practicing using American Rotation; racked 15 in front, 2 and 3 below, 1 in middle, 13 and 14 below... ball in hand after break (-2 points for a scratch), 1 point for balls 1-10, 2 points for balls 11-15. Ten games. I think maybe 50 points is an A. I'll have to ask JT when he's done with the tournament

I've also been liking the idea of scoring 1 point for a "tight safe on a called ball". This means that you have one run-ending opportunity to play a safe, and snooker the cue ball behind a called ball. Line of sight to the object ball must be completely obstructed and the cue ball must be less than one ball width from the called ball (i.e. can't roll a ball inbetween them). You get an extra point (2 total) if you freeze the cue ball. Doesn't count if you pocket any ball.)

Nate
 
Last edited:
It's a GREAT game. But Am Ro rules/history are such unchartered territory. I can tell you this, no one in my 7 week session came remotely close to running a rack. Not once. And it wasn't a bunch of monkeys f'g a football.

Am Ro is a game to reckon with.
 
KoolKat9Lives said:
It's a GREAT game. But Am Ro rules/history are such unchartered territory. I can tell you this, no one in my 7 week session came remotely close to running a rack. Not once. And it wasn't a bunch of monkeys f'g a football.

Am Ro is a game to reckon with.
Click to expand...

It sure whipped my break into shape quickly. You're immediately dead if you can't get that 1 out of the middle of the pack. I finding that the 2-to-3 is the hardest shot in the game.
 
nrhoades said:
It sure whipped my break into shape quickly. You're immediately dead if you can't get that 1 out of the middle of the pack. I finding that the 2-to-3 is the hardest shot in the game.
Click to expand...

Furthest I got was to the 8 before punting. Then I snorted Afrin, so much congestion.
 
Play it straight. Break, ball in hand in the kitchen, spot the low ball on the head spot. Run to 61 points or above, each ball is face-value. What you're describing is Fargo...great game and test of skill. ;)
 
West Point 1987 said:
Play it straight. Break, ball in hand in the kitchen, spot the low ball on the head spot. Run to 61 points or above, each ball is face-value. What you're describing is Fargo...great game and test of skill. ;)
Click to expand...

Fargo is a diff game than American Rotation. Close but still far different. CSI - Mark Griffin and Joe Tucker are behind this big time - open "one on one league, schedule your own matches".

As posted earlier - 1 point for the 1 - 10, 2 points flor 11 - 15. Call shot and "give back". BIH after the break (not kitchen). There's a bit more to it, but that's the nutz and bolts concept.
 
I don't want to take away from JoeT's great new game. However, we started to play "Hawthorne Rotation" about a year and a half ago. Friends and I play just about every night. Our rules are intended to make it easy to score and yet challenging. Here are our "rules."

1. Rack the 1,2,3 in the corners with the 4 in the middle. (This allows one to get position on the first few with a good break. The 4 is usually, but not always, in trouble.)

2. Player must call ball and pocket.

3. Any balls pocketed on a foul or scratch are spotted with no point to the player.

4. "Ball in hand" is the only penalty for any scratch or foul.

5. Score one point for each ball pocketed.

6. The player who pockets the last ball on the table has the break for the next rack.

We keep score on the counters at the foot of the table. The rack score is on the left. The game score is on the right of each set of counters. The first person to score 50 points is the winner. A game requires about one hour for the usual game.

Scoring for any inning is easy. Rack Score = 15 - (the balls on the table + the opponent's score)

We have found that this game requires every skill you have, banks, kicks, safety play, etc. At times you have to be very creative. The game between two players of equal skill can be all over the place. Sometimes there is a 20 point difference between the winner and the loser. At other times one of us wins by one ball. There is an element of enhanced luck (for lack of a better term). Safety battles can go on for four or five innings. Seven - 10 ball runs are not uncommon and about once every game or two one of us runs the table.

Depending on our stamina (we are a bunch of old guys) sometimes we play one game a night, sometimes two. On occasion I have played three games in one night but not often.

My buddy wants to get us all to start playing for ten cents a ball for the difference between winner and loser.

Over time I have played all the different common pool games and Hawthorne Rotation is by far my favorite game. Hawthorne is the name of our active retirement community.
 
I don't think that 15 ball rotation is a very good test of one's usual ability. Too many safety's are required. Fargo is probably a better test and it has comparison charts that will let you determine your "speed." See

http://billiards.colostate.edu/PBReview/Self_Assessment.htm

for several methods of self assessment (includes Fargo). Dr. Dave's Billiard University is probably among the best of individual tests. Then too, Bob Jewett's Progressive Drills are excellent from many perspectives.
 
We used to have an ongoing game all the time. The game I used to love is called (at least we called it) 1 + 3. Its a Chicago style game. It is usually played 4 handed, but can be played cut-throat, 2 or 3 handed also. Its played with all 15 balls racked like this ...

1 in the front, 5 & 8 next, 15 in the middle, 10 and 12 behind the 15, 3 in the center back row, 2 and 4 on the corners.

The order of the other balls doesn't matter.

Each game starts off with no partners and 7 available points per game. They are the 3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15 and "game" which is the cumulative total score after adding the numbers on the balls.

Partners develop with the pocketing of balls. Whom ever pockets the 1 ball will be partnered with who ever pockets the 3. If the same person pockets the 1 and the 3, the partner ball goes to the 5 and so on all the way to the 15 ball. If the same person can pocket all the money balls, they "go alone" and eveyone pays them whatever is decided to be the point value. Whoever pockets the 15 ball breaks.

No hits pay a point and that can either go toward the table time or be split among players at the end of the night, or ... if playing at a private home and the home owner is supplying food and drink, it can go to them.

Cue ball off the table is not a foul. Ball and cushion is not required, only a hit. Gentlemens agreement not to play intentional safetys. There is no ball in hand on a "no hit". You play from where the cue ball is. If the CB leaves the table, its bih behind the line.

Rotation of players can skip depending on partners since partner / non partner turns must alternate. Great game. Tons of fun.

We would have one or two of us run the rack at least once each time we played. When that happened all the other 3 players had to pay him 7 ways each.
 
Last edited:
I've always been wondering why people don't play a 15 ball game with 9-ball or 10-ball rules (15 as the moneyball)...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top