Efren/Earl 8-ball match ----> Earl's rack manipulation

gutshot

gutshot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Being one of the lucky few that got to watch the entire 8-ball match last night, I witnessed another Earl meltdown (although minor) regarding the racks. After Efren made the wing ball over several consecutive breaks, Earl started getting on the rack man about the rack. First, Earl had the rack guy start tapping the head ball. From there, the rack guy started tapping the first three balls to control Efren's medium speed second ball break. After that didn't work, Earl started switching balls around. Finally, whether the rack guy was doing it on purpose or not, the rack was noticeably twisted to show less of the second ball. When Earl broke, the rack was much more square.

As a result, Efren stopped making the wing ball and changed his break around. I doubt it was a deciding factor in the match, but you never know. If Efren did that to Earl, his head would have exploded! :D Since there was not that much money to be won and was more about bragging rights for Earl, I doubt Efren really cared how the balls were racked or who even won. Efren was probably more pissed this match was taking away from his chess time! :thumbup:

The question remains, if this was for large stakes, would Efren put a stop to Earl's shenanigans, bear down and stomp a mud hole in Earl's you know what? I think so.

Kelly
 
All this rack wrangling in the past several years is pure BS to me. I think pro pool should be played in a manner that takes making balls on the break right out of the equation. The rules should be modified in such a way as to make a safe break the only viable option (i.e. 14.1). The only reason they still do it the way they've always done it is pure stubbornness.

Of course, I realize I'm in a very tiny minority that feels this way.
 
Use the magic rack and make it shot apiece, same exact rack for both players and both players guaranteed one time at the table. It eliminates a break and run fest where the player who wins the first game wins the set and also makes each player play both offense and defense. The 10 foot table makes it even better.
 
This is an interesting concept. Myself, I think players should be rewarded for mastering the break shot and being able to adapt to how each table breaks during a match. I would have lines drawn on the table for a neutral racker to line up the rack (magic rack) the same each and every time. Players cannot touch rack and can only ask for a re-rack under extreme circumstances (i.e. head ball rolls off).

Another concept would be something like playing H.O.R.S.E. If player one breaks and runs, player two has a chance to break and run the next rack for a tie. If player two breaks and runs the rack, the scores offset (0-0). If player two fails to break and run, player one gets one point (1-0) and the break the following rack. It would make for longer sets, but I think it would add a lot of excitement to the match. Especially at the end of the match! Just imagine two players hill-hill breaking and running 4-5 racks each before someone fails to run out!

Kelly

Sloppy Pockets said:
All this rack wrangling in the past several years is pure BS to me. I think pro pool should be played in a manner that takes making balls on the break right out of the equation. The rules should be modified in such a way as to make a safe break the only viable option (i.e. 14.1). The only reason they still do it the way they've always done it is pure stubbornness.

Of course, I realize I'm in a very tiny minority that feels this way.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
$TAKE HOR$E said:
Use the magic rack and make it shot apiece, same exact rack for both players and both players guaranteed one time at the table. It eliminates a break and run fest where the player who wins the first game wins the set and also makes each player play both offense and defense. The 10 foot table makes it even better.
Click to expand...

Of course.

This makes sense and takes the drama out of it.

Ken
 
gutshot said:
Being one of the lucky few that got to watch the entire 8-ball match last night, I witnessed another Earl meltdown (although minor) regarding the racks. After Efren made the wing ball over several consecutive breaks, Earl started getting on the rack man about the rack. First, Earl had the rack guy start tapping the head ball. From there, the rack guy started tapping the first three balls to control Efren's medium speed second ball break. After that didn't work, Earl started switching balls around. Finally, whether the rack guy was doing it on purpose or not, the rack was noticeably twisted to show less of the second ball. When Earl broke, the rack was much more square.

As a result, Efren stopped making the wing ball and changed his break around. I doubt it was a deciding factor in the match, but you never know. If Efren did that to Earl, his head would have exploded! :D Since there was not that much money to be won and was more about bragging rights for Earl, I doubt Efren really cared how the balls were racked or who even won. Efren was probably more pissed this match was taking away from his chess time! :thumbup:

The question remains, if this was for large stakes, would Efren put a stop to Earl's shenanigans, bear down and stomp a mud hole in Earl's you know what? I think so.

Kelly
Click to expand...

Now, you know Earl's all about the "FAIRNESS"! LOL! JK! I'm actually a fan of Earl's GAME, not his attitude, so you just have to take the bad with the good, I guess.
 
Ken_4fun said:
Of course.

This makes sense and takes the drama out of it.

Ken
Click to expand...

Idea for a whole new thread: "Does drama MAKE or BREAK pool?" What I mean is, we've all seen how boring pool can be if there is no emotion, no personality, no drama whatsoever, so does a touch of drama and emotion make pool more interesting?

Me personally, I've always thought that pool should have an element of "pro wrestling" to it. Make it more about showmanship and entertainment. We need promoters. Have smoke machines and lasers and fireworks when introducing the players during a major tournament. Let the players talk trash before and after the match, or even between games, like "rasslin'". DURING the match, it's all about business, quiet, respectful, serious business; but before and after is the chance to make it pop, to promote it, to make it more like entertainment.

I can watch some of the best players in the world on the internet. I can go to YouTube and watch three hour long matches. BUT, after about the first hour and a half to two hours, I'm asleep in my recliner, snoring loud enough to wake myself up. It becomes tedious and boring to everyone but the players themselves.

I would consider myself a traditionalist - I like that pool and billiards should be a respectable game played by gentleman; however, we've seen FOR YEARS that trying to force the game to be respectable and convince everyone else that it's respectable is hurting more than it's helping. I work as a producer at a television station, and from my experience (well over a decade), people want to be entertained so that they can forget their own miserable lives for a brief amount of time. If pool is not entertaining, then the small minority of the billiard world who has the stamina to watch pool for hours on end is simply not enough to sustain and maintain the sport we so dearly love. It's sad. It really is.

In my opinion, and this is my opinion only, we need MORE Earls, not less. Not in the aspect that we need more crying, whining, and complaining, but we need more personalities. I'm not promoting Earl, or his antics. We need LESS Johnny Archers. I'm a huge fan of Johnny Archer, I think he's a cool dude, I like his attitude. BUT, watching him playing and circle the table seven times and pick lint from the table repeatedly is an entertainment-killer. I can only watch so much of his matches anymore before I am going on to something else. We need faster play, a shot clock, during ALL matches except the obvious 14.1 and One Pocket matches. That's the main reason why basketball developed a shot clock - teams holding the ball forever, low-scoring games, and bored audiences, which equaled NO FANS AND NO MONEY!

So to wrap up my rant: faster play, more personalities, and more showmanship, in my opinion, would help us grow the game we love. MORE EARLS!
 
:DIf it shows less of second ball on one side, it'll show more of second ball on otherside. Kinda sounds like Mr. Miyagi.
 
im not sure but i dont think they used a particular ball arrangement in racking. shouldnt it be like this?
eight_ball_rack.gif
 
Earl has that table down to a science. I think Efren making that same ball off the break frustrated Earl because that's his home court and maybe he's never seen that break work on his 10 footer.

Either way, it was a treat to watch those two play 8 ball, a refreshing change from rotation. Both put on a clinic, i'll buy tonights match forsure
 
Earl, like a lot of older players, didn't get the memo on modern breaks.
He seems to think that if the corner ball flies in, it means there's some helpful gap in the rack.

That's sometimes the case in 9b, but not in 8b. He never did figure out what efren was doing.
Which is hitting near the crack between first and second balls. It's what one pocket players hope for
in addition to the usual safe leave.

So not knowing any better, he harped on the rack guy telling him there must be some gap.

I didn't notice any rack twisting and doubt the rack guy would do anything to help earl,
who was endlessly busting the guy's balls.

But I do agree Earl's harping resulted in a changed (not better) rack and this
may have been the reason Efren's corner ball stopped working as reliably.
 
What could of been a great match to watch...Earl ruined again. Steinway will get tired of him soon and he'll be back sleeping in his car. Johnnyt
 
A competent ref should rack the balls for both players and neither player should be able to complain about their rack and especially about the other players rack. The competent ref better know how to rack the balls and how to check the rack. If a ref can't rack properly they should be demoted to score keeper! lol

p.s. A short ref may need a box to step on to rack on the 10 footer! lol
 
Racking

I actually like it when they are making a ball on the break and have alternate shot. To me, it is like watching a good tennis match and seeing if each player can hold serve. If they don't hold serve and get out, they don't deserve to win and the other player has the advantage. Although I don't play on a bar table much, I truly enjoy watching any pros play matches with alternate breaks on a bar table. I love for them to come down to the last few games and a huge mistake costs someone....
 
PhoenixVA said:
Idea for a whole new thread: "Does drama MAKE or BREAK pool?" What I mean is, we've all seen how boring pool can be if there is no emotion, no personality, no drama whatsoever, so does a touch of drama and emotion make pool more interesting?

Me personally, I've always thought that pool should have an element of "pro wrestling" to it. Make it more about showmanship and entertainment. We need promoters. Have smoke machines and lasers and fireworks when introducing the players during a major tournament. Let the players talk trash before and after the match, or even between games, like "rasslin'". DURING the match, it's all about business, quiet, respectful, serious business; but before and after is the chance to make it pop, to promote it, to make it more like entertainment.

I can watch some of the best players in the world on the internet. I can go to YouTube and watch three hour long matches. BUT, after about the first hour and a half to two hours, I'm asleep in my recliner, snoring loud enough to wake myself up. It becomes tedious and boring to everyone but the players themselves.

I would consider myself a traditionalist - I like that pool and billiards should be a respectable game played by gentleman; however, we've seen FOR YEARS that trying to force the game to be respectable and convince everyone else that it's respectable is hurting more than it's helping. I work as a producer at a television station, and from my experience (well over a decade), people want to be entertained so that they can forget their own miserable lives for a brief amount of time. If pool is not entertaining, then the small minority of the billiard world who has the stamina to watch pool for hours on end is simply not enough to sustain and maintain the sport we so dearly love. It's sad. It really is.

In my opinion, and this is my opinion only, we need MORE Earls, not less. Not in the aspect that we need more crying, whining, and complaining, but we need more personalities. I'm not promoting Earl, or his antics. We need LESS Johnny Archers. I'm a huge fan of Johnny Archer, I think he's a cool dude, I like his attitude. BUT, watching him playing and circle the table seven times and pick lint from the table repeatedly is an entertainment-killer. I can only watch so much of his matches anymore before I am going on to something else. We need faster play, a shot clock, during ALL matches except the obvious 14.1 and One Pocket matches. That's the main reason why basketball developed a shot clock - teams holding the ball forever, low-scoring games, and bored audiences, which equaled NO FANS AND NO MONEY!

So to wrap up my rant: faster play, more personalities, and more showmanship, in my opinion, would help us grow the game we love. MORE EARLS!
Click to expand...

I dont agree.

I dont go to church and heckle the pastor either. While it might make it more exciting, it would be in poor taste and show lack of respect.

But feel free to try it. :rolleyes:

Ken
 
I was surprised the rack man let Earl come up and tell him how to rack, move balls around in the rack, and even tap the head ball. If it had been me, I would have told Earl to sit his ass down.

Lou Figueroa
but that's just me
 
lfigueroa said:
I was surprised the rack man let Earl come up and tell him how to rack, move balls around in the rack, and even tap the head ball. If it had been me, I would have told Earl to sit his ass down.

Lou Figueroa
but that's just me
Click to expand...

That's exactly what should have happened. That could have led to Efren winning that match
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top