2021 AZ Billiards Straight Pool Challenge!
- Thread starter iusedtoberich
- Start date
Of recent I’ve gained a new appreciation of the difficulties in obtaining a multiple rack high run on a 7-foot table.
After a 56 and a 57 a few weeks ago, I figured it was just a matter of time until I closed in on my goal of a 100 ball run. I’ve had nothing close since. Shotmaking is certainly not the problem, but the requirement of pinpoint accurate positioning is often the difference between setting up an easy shot vs leaving yourself no shot at all. On our super fast Andy Pro cloth and our lively Diamond cushion rubbers, this is sometimes tricky when 1-inch can be the difference between perfect shape and leaving no shot at all.
My break shots even from ideal angles, although I try to strike as hard as I can, are failing to get more than a couple balls and sometimes none past the side pockets to the head end of the table. The heavy congestion in such a limited area on thre foot of the table I’m finding hard to navigate consistently to clear the rack without the cue ball ending up an an undesirable spot leaving a difficult shot, a combination / carom / bank shot or no shot at all. Often when I try secondary breakout shot get the balls spread out, I either scratch or incredulously find a way to leave myself no good shot, even with so many balls still on the table close by.
In my next session, I’m considering racking with a Magic Rack template, to see if that leads to better spreads on my break shots.
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It does for me on my heavily worn/slow table... You'll never go back
Does it not bother you that you often can’t remove the template from the table due to balls remaining on it?It does for me on my heavily worn/slow table... You'll never go back
Nope, not at all...
Actually I find more often than not I can remove it after the first few shots, if not almost right away. I have yet to have a shot go bad because of the template being still on the table. That said, I have zero doubt that it has altered the path of slowly rolling balls. I do keep that possibility in mind when and if I do have to maneuver around the template.
Magic Rack template or Accu-Rack template? Seems like the Accu-Rack paper-like template might disturb the path of slow rolling balls rolling over it less than the plastic Magic Rack template?
I use the magic rack at home. Bought them because the Accu-Rack wasn't available at the time. I have played rotation games with the accu-rack, which has a material feel and honestly don't really see much of a difference. There's also a thin actual paper version floating about in my region. I don't know who makes it, but it's probably the least intrusive of the bunch.
Just curious, does the magic rack require a head ball placed on the spot at the top of the rack to get the rack tight and then remove that ball, or will it rack just as tight without the head ball?
It isn't perfect without the head ball. That said, my table has some serious wear on it so even with the template it's a minor battle.
The internal cluster is tight though. That's where I was having problems with the traditional triangle.
I can’t imagine if you used an extra ball from another set at the top of the rack just while setting all the balls in place, and then moved it out after, that the front two balls would move. I’m going to try right now to check.
71 tonight. Missed the same fn shot I missed during last years high run. Balls were very sticky and my patterns were pretty tight tonight; happy with how I played but missing a makeable shot is a tough way to end a good run. No video but I’ll start turning it on when I play.
57 on 2/16/21
I tied my high run of the year 57 last night on our 7 foot diamond, matching the same number I achieved 12 days ago. I couldn’t manufacture a break ball and left the final ball at the head of the table and was not able to catch the pack after pocketing it.
I did use a magic rack for the first time which I think helped, although I had problems getting one of the balls to freeze. I’ve got a few Accu-Rack 15 ball racks on the way, which I think will do a better job of freezing all the balls.
I’ve come to the conclusion that on the beginning of every rack break shots on a 7’ table, you have to try to get the cue ball back out to the middle or even the head end of the table. If you leave it in the foot end with all the other balls, there’s just too much of a chance you can end up snookered right up against another ball and virtually no shot.
That is my third run of 56/57 in the last month. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to at least get in to the 5th rack. For the poster who said you have to run 50+ balls 100+ times before you’ll get to a 100 ball run, I only have 97 more to go! Honestly though, with the perfect storm, I feel like I could string 7+ racks for 100+ any upcoming session, if I’m focused without distractions. It’s just a mental wall at this point keeping me from getting there.
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Glad I didn't have to wait that long...lol. That said I won't consider myself a legit 100ball runner until I repeat, and get 100% on the math test...
Well no... I don't discount the effort. Although having it on video and repeating it dispels the "you got lucky" response.
I just received some 15 ball Accu-Racks. I tried racking up the balls up and there’s no comparison - it’s far superior to the 15 ball triangle shaped magic rack. The two tongues in the middle seem to keep all the balls together much better, although they might make removing the template from the table after breaking a little harder. The brilliant blue color of the template is almost a perfect match for the tournament blue Simonis cloth on the table as well, which is nice.It does for me on my heavily worn/slow table... You'll never go back
Nice... I wanted the Accu_Rack set. Nothing local and didn't want to deal with shipping out of the USA. I know you're aware of those pitfalls...lol
So does this mean you're a 14.1 template convert...? It's brave new world my friend...
Expect your scores to go up.
Yes, for my practice I will be using one from now on. When I play matches versus others which is not that often, I will try to teach them to do the same. I practiced for three hours last night using one and there’s no comparison in terms of how much better the ball spread. I wasn’t able to run more than three racks, but that was entirely my fault.Nice... I wanted the Accu_Rack set. Nothing local and didn't want to deal with shipping out of the USA. I know you're aware of those pitfalls...lol
So does this mean you're a 14.1 template convert...? It's brave new world my friend...
Expect your scores to go up.
I will say it’s a little tricky until you get the hang of it having the steady hands/fingers and the patience to get all the balls set in the template. Someone that doesn’t have steady hand/fingers may have an issue doing it. You place two balls in there at a time and it really doesn’t take more than 20 seconds or so once you get the hang of it - maybe twice as long as the time it takes to rack the balls using a standard rack.
I usually start with placing a ball on the foot spot then work back 2 balls at a time. Once I get to the final corner ball in the back row, I remove the ball from the foot spot and place it in that last back corner spot. Seems to work great!
I know... is'n it great
My biggest hurdle early on was a consistent spread on break shots when using the triangle. Some times they were just dead no matter how hard I tried. I'm not going to say that the magic rack has made it flawless for me, but it definitely has reduced the impending doom I feel when going into the rack the first time...lol
Welcome to the dark side
Interesting. You guys convinced me. I'm gonna buy one today. I tried using the Magic Rack but it interfered with my play too much.I know... is'n it great
My biggest hurdle early on was a consistent spread on break shots when using the triangle. Some times they were just dead no matter how hard I tried. I'm not going to say that the magic rack has made it flawless for me, but it definitely has reduced the impending doom I feel when going into the rack the first time...lol
Welcome to the dark side