Pattern Racking in League Play
- Thread starter victorl
- Start date
IMHO the balls should be racked in a particular order to make it the same for all players. That being said, I don't think most players in an average league can consistently make a ball on the break and leave a shot on the 1 ball or make the 1 ball in the side and have a shot on the 2. In addition, if nothing goes in, the opponent may leave you an easier rack to run. Higher level players certainly can take advantage and can gain an edge over the less knowledgeable player.
Just my $.02.
Al
Just my $.02.
Al
I've always racked the balls kind of like this, not necessarily the same but close. I've never understood the "pattern racking" deal. If you can't get out, you can't get out. It isn't going to make a whole lot of difference how the balls are racked.
I'm not going to go vote, now:wink:
I guess I pattern rack when I think about it. 1-3-5-7-9-2-4-6-8 is the pattern I use, and like another poster it's just out of some latent OCD. No consecutive balls touching. For a while I tried to figure out what balls were going where, but my speed and where I hit the head ball varies enough that it still ends up random.
The people I'm playing aren't exactly Corey Deuel or SVB, and neither am I, but if I was asked to change the rack I would definitely have no problem doing so.
The people I'm playing aren't exactly Corey Deuel or SVB, and neither am I, but if I was asked to change the rack I would definitely have no problem doing so.
He was racking for me... It's not the tiny advantage that bothered me, I just found it to be cheap and petty.
The 9 Ball rack is supposed to be random with the exception of the 1 and the 9. This is what I always do unless my opponent gives me a reason to do otherwise. If I notice they are going out of their way to rack a certain way for themselves (in rack your own) or doing the same against me (opponent racks) then instead of having some long drawn out argument about it, I will just return the favor.
I think the term "pattern racking" is a relatively new term. Players in the past would make sure not to put the first few balls in ideal positions for their opponent (1,2,3) but I'm not so sure this was considered pattern racking. I recall in one of Mike Sigel's instructional videos years ago he went over the idea of separating the balls in the rack so as not to give your opponent an easy layout. I don't think this was ever considered pattern racking. I think most players did something like this. It probably was against the official rules but I think most players practiced this to some extent.
When I think of pattern racking I think of what someone like Donny Mills or Corey Deuel do. Where they put all the balls in the exact same place and break the balls exactly the same way in order to get the exact same PATTERN. What we are talking about isn't really this, especially since we are most likely talking about players that are breaking the balls pretty hard and not nearly as predictably as Donny or Corey are capable of. So basically if you can't break really consistently the idea of pattern racking becomes a moot point for most players.
So I think there's a difference between actual "pattern racking" and not putting the balls in the rack randomly. They are probably both against the rules but I think the 2nd one is an unenforceable rule and it's a rule that's not worth arguing about anyway for most of us.
***Edit***
So I voted other because I don't think we are really talking about pattern racking.
I think the term "pattern racking" is a relatively new term. Players in the past would make sure not to put the first few balls in ideal positions for their opponent (1,2,3) but I'm not so sure this was considered pattern racking. I recall in one of Mike Sigel's instructional videos years ago he went over the idea of separating the balls in the rack so as not to give your opponent an easy layout. I don't think this was ever considered pattern racking. I think most players did something like this. It probably was against the official rules but I think most players practiced this to some extent.
When I think of pattern racking I think of what someone like Donny Mills or Corey Deuel do. Where they put all the balls in the exact same place and break the balls exactly the same way in order to get the exact same PATTERN. What we are talking about isn't really this, especially since we are most likely talking about players that are breaking the balls pretty hard and not nearly as predictably as Donny or Corey are capable of. So basically if you can't break really consistently the idea of pattern racking becomes a moot point for most players.
So I think there's a difference between actual "pattern racking" and not putting the balls in the rack randomly. They are probably both against the rules but I think the 2nd one is an unenforceable rule and it's a rule that's not worth arguing about anyway for most of us.
***Edit***
So I voted other because I don't think we are really talking about pattern racking.
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When I rack 9 ball all I do is put the 1 at the front and 9 in the center, everything else ends up wherever it ends up, unless they have a 2 at the rear rule. I figure if we aren't good enough to string racks that it really does not matter.
I think you're pretty much spot on about it. I'll vote other also:smile:
I like to put the one in the 2nd row too.
Then I yell 'bad hit' and grab the cue ball.
It is a damn good move.
I don't really care one way or the other. And I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes. In the spring I got up to a SL8 in APA handicapped 9-Ball. And I still break and run only once in a blue moon with a random rack. So I don't believe pattern racking will hurt me in masters APA. Perhaps it would hurt a player more that has a higher B&R percentage.
Not trying to steal this thread but it reminded me of the two sets I played against a friend Sunday. We usually play loser racks in a winner break format. Many people including myself have complained about the occasional slug rack when he racked. No one thinks he is doing it on purpose but it can be aggravating. Well, Sunday we played rack your own. He slugged himself maybe 4 or 5 times. 
Even he complained about his racking. :grin-square: I couldn't stop laughing. 
Back to pattern racking.
Al
Even he complained about his racking. :grin-square: I couldn't stop laughing. Back to pattern racking.
Al
Hmm...looks like 19 people are wrong. It isn't against the rules. The APA Team Manual states:
Nine balls are used and are racked in a diamond shape. The 1-ball is at the
front of the rack and on the foot spot. The 9-ball is in the center and the
rest of the object balls can be placed in any numerical order.
Therefore it is explicitly and definitely allowed to pattern rack. Saying pattern racking is unsportsmanlike is pretty much the same thing as saying playing safe is unsportsmanlike. The objective of both is identical...to make it as hard as possible to let your opponent score points against you.
See, here's the thing about a pattern rack: it's the same every time. This means you know where the balls are going to go. This means you can break accordingly. If some APA 3 could take the time to learn a little bit about the rack, I would think an APA 9 can learn *more*. There is a breaking solution for almost any pattern I can think of in a 9 ball rack. You have considerable control over where the 1 ball and many of the other balls go. Learn it. No need to complain or say "bad sportsmanship". Maybe you simply got outsmarted. Bravo to the APA 3 that gained some knowledge and used it to improve his odds of winning. It isn't against the rules, and it doesn't interfere ONE SINGLE BIT with me shooting or my game.
I didn't see any answer in the poll that matched this, so I voted "other" as well.
KMRUNOUT
Nine balls are used and are racked in a diamond shape. The 1-ball is at the
front of the rack and on the foot spot. The 9-ball is in the center and the
rest of the object balls can be placed in any numerical order.
Therefore it is explicitly and definitely allowed to pattern rack. Saying pattern racking is unsportsmanlike is pretty much the same thing as saying playing safe is unsportsmanlike. The objective of both is identical...to make it as hard as possible to let your opponent score points against you.
See, here's the thing about a pattern rack: it's the same every time. This means you know where the balls are going to go. This means you can break accordingly. If some APA 3 could take the time to learn a little bit about the rack, I would think an APA 9 can learn *more*. There is a breaking solution for almost any pattern I can think of in a 9 ball rack. You have considerable control over where the 1 ball and many of the other balls go. Learn it. No need to complain or say "bad sportsmanship". Maybe you simply got outsmarted. Bravo to the APA 3 that gained some knowledge and used it to improve his odds of winning. It isn't against the rules, and it doesn't interfere ONE SINGLE BIT with me shooting or my game.
I didn't see any answer in the poll that matched this, so I voted "other" as well.
KMRUNOUT
I get that and did change things up by switching sides and breaking soft, but I'm not really interested in playing rack-reader and taking part in those "games" outside of the game, especially when I'm used to playing WPA rules, where the balls are supposed to be "placed in the diamond without purposeful or intentional pattern".
I'm going to give a tight rack with random formation everytime and I guess it's too much to expect the same from my opponent. But anyway, them's the rules, so I'm over it now.
In a 9 ball match I always rack the same, I guess what the OP would call pattern racking, but I think on a bar table it makes little difference. Though I don't know if I agree that it's pattern racking. I think of pattern racking as something you might do in a rack your own match where you'd like a particular, predictable spread like you always see Corey Deuel do. Racking defensively I think is just smart and strategic. For instance, if you play a defensive shot, to me, normally I want to do two things - I want to putt the cue ball in jail and move the object ball to an advantageous spot to facilitate an easier run out. Rarely would I ever move the object ball to a random place on the table. When I rack defensively, similar to playing a defensive shot - I want to make your run out or even you making your next shot as difficult as possible. I would think that defensive racking would be seen as strategic, similar to a defensive shot
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There are many pro players that don't like pattern racking, especially when it comes matched with soft breaks. The official rules state "1 in the front 9 in the middle, rest in a RANDOM order". I have a good friend that is a solid A player and he HATES jokers who pattern rack and break soft to get the same layout each time. I bought the recent match TAR released where it was all pattern racking and soft breaks and it was the most boring thing I've seen. I'd rather see dead goldfish float for 2 hours than see a pro level player line up the balls in the same way to make for an easy runout over a set.
League rules don't have the random order part and the APA just states they may be placed in any numerical order. Which means do anything you want really.
Pattern racking is like playing cards without shuffling, just set up the deck how you want beforehand. What?? I got the 10 J Q K A of hearts AGAIN? WOW what are the chances? Is this game fun or what?? Let me setup the cards again for the next hand....
You poll is missing a "it's allowed but should not be because it's against the spirit of the game" option.
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