Breaking Rules ? For Weekly 9-Ball Tournament

[ChrisinNC]

For our weekly handicap 9-ball handicapped tournament, rack your own using an Accu rack, 1-ball racked on the foot spot, players required to break from the break box, do you think we need a requirement that at least 3 balls must pass the centerpoint of the side pockets, with any pocketed balls counting towards those 3 balls?

I’m a little concerned that if we don’t institute that rule, some players who have perfected it may utilize an extremely soft break, pocketing a wing ball in the corner almost automatically and/or the 1-ball in the side pocket - an almost unfair advantage. Thoughts?

 

[David in FL]

For our weekly handicap 9-ball handicapped tournament, rack your own using an Accu rack, 1-ball racked on the foot spot, players required to break from the break box, do you think we need a requirement that at least 3 balls must pass the centerpoint of the side pockets, with any pocketed balls counting towards those 3 balls?

I’m a little concerned that if we don’t institute that rule, some players who have perfected it may utilize an extremely soft break, pocketing a wing ball in the corner almost automatically and/or the 1-ball in the side pocket - an almost unfair advantage. Thoughts?

Many tournaments also require the 2-ball to be racked immediately behind the 9.

It doesn’t take an extremely soft break to pocket that wired wing ball with an Accu rack though.

 

[ChrisinNC]

Many tournaments also require the 2-ball to be racked immediately behind the 9.

It doesn’t take an extremely soft break to pocket that wired wing ball with an Accu rack though.

Yes, but it does take a rather soft break to be able to consistently control knocking the 1-ball in the side pocket.

 

[garczar]

For our weekly handicap 9-ball handicapped tournament, rack your own using an Accu rack, 1-ball racked on the foot spot, players required to break from the break box, do you think we need a requirement that at least 3 balls must pass the centerpoint of the side pockets, with any pocketed balls counting towards those 3 balls?

I’m a little concerned that if we don’t institute that rule, some players who have perfected it may utilize an extremely soft break, pocketing a wing ball in the corner almost automatically and/or the 1-ball in the side pocket - an almost unfair advantage. Thoughts?

Why not put 9b on the spot? Changes the break dynamics big time.

 

[ChrisinNC]

Why not put 9b on the spot? Changes the break dynamics big time.

It still seems to be quite easy for many of our higher skilled players to make the wing ball and/or the 1-ball in the side pocket when the nine ball is racked on the spot. Is it harder to do that when you require breaking out of the break box instead of close to the side cushions?

 

[NathanDetroit]

Good players will adapt. Its the lesser rated who should be thought of here. How many of those getting heaviest weight will both make a ball and a legal break?

Try giving the lower tanked player first break, and make it alternate from there.

 

[garczar]

It still seems to be quite easy for many of our higher skilled players to make the wing ball and/or the 1-ball in the side pocket when the nine ball is racked on the spot. Is it harder to do that when you require breaking out of the break box instead of close to the side cushions?

IMO, yes.

 

[David in FL]

A separate, though related thought.

How are the matches handicapped?

Better breaks are just one of the skills a higher rated player is better at. The handicap is meant to be the component to level the field between lower rated and higher rated players. If that’s not happening, perhaps the handicap needs adjustment...

 

[ChrisinNC]

A separate, though related thought.

How are the matches handicapped?

Better breaks are just one of the skills a higher rated player is better at. The handicap is meant to be the component to level the field between lower rated and higher rated players. If that’s not happening, perhaps the handicap needs adjustment...

Our handicaps are the length of the races and games on the wire given to the lesser skilled rated players. We have five handicap ratings. All matches between evenly ranked players are races to 4.

A rating difference of one between the two players is 1 game on the wire for the lesser skilled player in a race to 4. A rating difference of two is 1 game on the wire in a race to 3. A rating difference of three is 2 games on the wire in a race to 4. Finally, a rating difference of four which is the maximum rating difference between two players is 3 games on the wire in a race to 5, meaning the lower rated player only needs to win 2 games to win the match whereas the stronger rated player has to win 5 games to win the match.

 

[David in FL]

Our handicaps are the length of the races and games on the wire given to the lesser skilled rated players. We have five handicap ratings. All matches between evenly ranked players are races to 4.

A rating difference of one between the two players is 1 game on the wire for the lesser skilled player in a race to 4. A rating difference of two is 1 game on the wire in a race to 3. A rating difference of three is 2 games on the wire in a race to 4. Finally, a rating difference of four which is the maximum rating difference between two players is 3 games on the wire in a race to 5, meaning the lower rated player only needs to win 2 games to win the match whereas the stronger rated player has to win 5 games to win the match.

How are the rating differences determined?

Again, just my $0.02 worth, but if there’s a problem, I probably review the hcp itself rather than just addressing one of the skill set differences between better and lesser players.

 

[hang-the-9]

For our weekly handicap 9-ball handicapped tournament, rack your own using an Accu rack, 1-ball racked on the foot spot, players required to break from the break box, do you think we need a requirement that at least 3 balls must pass the centerpoint of the side pockets, with any pocketed balls counting towards those 3 balls?

I’m a little concerned that if we don’t institute that rule, some players who have perfected it may utilize an extremely soft break, pocketing a wing ball in the corner almost automatically and/or the 1-ball in the side pocket - an almost unfair advantage. Thoughts?

Side pockets I would agree with. Although unless you have a bunch of A+ players in the place and easy playing tables, break rules for local tournaments don't make much difference as to who wins. Just like with the pro events, the same 20 or so players are still in the final 4 of each event same as always not matter the break rules.

 

[ChrisinNC]

How are the rating differences determined?

Again, just my $0.02 worth, but if there’s a problem, I probably review the hcp itself rather than just addressing one of the skill set differences between better and lesser players.

They are set by myself, the tournament director, based on my knowledge and observations as to their skill level. Most of our tournament players are regulars, so I have a record of their historical tournament performances.

I’ve run our tournaments for 25 years and am very fortunate that one of our regular tournament players owns / operates his own poolroom with 35 years of experience as a TD. Luckily his pool room is closed on the night that we have our weekly tournament. I consult with him regarding any question as to a player’s handicap rating and to get his opinion when I’m considering a change to a certain players handicap rating, based on their tournament performances over recent weeks / months.

There are always players that fall right on the borderline between handicap ratings. Those are the ones that are hardest to assign an accurate handicap rating to. We do our best and most of our players respect our decision in our effort to be as fair as possible to all players.