8 ball or 9 ball which do you find more difficult?

[Nyquil]

Been playing 8 ball exclusively since my 9ft table arrived. Skills are improving I am getting better with stroke, cue control, long shot game definitely getting better. I am pocketing balls in tandem on a more consistent basis. Skill level still fairly low but it's only been a couple weeks so this will come with time and watching more training vids etc. Had at least one really solid run out but very rare so far. Decided to get the magic rack 9 ball rack out since its just been collecting dust and I find it far more difficult to play at least for me. Should be doing more safeties but it's just me playing so I am going for shots I should just safety. Anyway which game do you find more difficult personally and why? I like 8 ball due to options where 9 ball your stuck on one ball to the next. I think I will prefer this game however to 8 ball once my cue ball control gets better.

 

[Fatboy]

At the end of the day 8B is a more complex game and requires more knowledge

Each game requires its own skill set and there’s a big overlap. So which one is harder? Depends where your at in your game and what your strong suits are. So it can flip/flop meaning one can be harder than the other at some points over a long span of time.

good luck
Fatboy

 

[ChrisinNC]

Been playing 8 ball exclusively since my 9ft table arrived. Skills are improving I am getting better with stroke, cue control, long shot game definitely getting better. I am pocketing balls in tandem on a more consistent basis. Skill level still fairly low but it's only been a couple weeks so this will come with time and watching more training vids etc. Had at least one really solid run out but very rare so far. Decided to get the magic rack 9 ball rack out since its just been collecting dust and I find it far more difficult to play at least for me. Should be doing more safeties but it's just me playing so I am going for shots I should just safety. Anyway which game do you find more difficult personally and why? I like 8 ball due to options where 9 ball your stuck on one ball to the next. I think I will prefer this game however to 8 ball once my cue ball control gets better.

8-ball strategy is considerably more dictated by the skill level of your opponent.

 

[PracticeChampion]

I like to practice 9 ball, then when I play 8 ball it seems easier having all those xtra balls to hit

 

[middleofnowhere]

It fluctuates with 8 ball on a 9 foot table. While it is not that hard to run out, if not planed correctly you can trap yourself.

Nothing worse then not getting all the way out with your opponents balls everywhere. Once he gets the table back you are a big underdog.

9 ball just is what it is.

 

[boogieman]

9 ball requires shooting. 8 ball requires strategy. There is a lot of overlap. Playing whichever one isn't your main game tends to make you better at your main game. Both games will teach you things that benefit the other. If you can learn and receive instructions from specialists in each game it will benefit you.

 

[Bavafongoul]

IMO, 9 ball involves more precise position since you never have an optional ball to shoot at.
With 8 ball, you could be trying to get shape on the next object but get hooked so you shoot
at a different object ball. Make that shot, lose shape and pocket a different object ball again.

Now with 8 ball, there’s more balls to navigate but that number gradually goes down as the game
progresses. And because there are more balls on the table, there’s increased opportunity to play
defense so there is more strategy involved whereas 9 ball is as straightforward as one can get.

Just shoot the next ball in number sequence and if not, play defense or else bang away. The two
games are entirely different but for just position play, 9 ball is harder since there’s no bailout OB
to shoot at if you lose shape which happens even with the best players. If there’s a cluster, you
have to not only break it up but get position on one of those balls for afterward. There are fans of
both games and 8 ball was simple to teach kids….shoot stripes or solids….Personally, I favor the
game of 10 ball since I want to minimize any luck in deciding who wins like can happen with 9 ball.

 

[dnschmidt]

Pool games as you age: 9-ball or better yet 10 ball. When you're young and can just fire them in.
8-ball. You're long game is starting to go but you're older and wiser than you use to be when you could actually shoot.
1-pocket. When you can't shoot for shit anymore but believe you can wear your opponent down until he gets so damn bored he just throws the game in disgust.

 

[Quesports]

I think 9 ball helps you develop more cue ball control since you are most often playing position on one ball. 8 Ball makes you think more and better at strategy as there are more options available. Both have there place in different ways.. All of the different games of pocket billiards help in developing a stronger game all around, IMO...

 

[Nyquil]

Pool games as you age: 9-ball or better yet 10 ball. When you're young and can just fire them in.
8-ball. You're long game is starting to go but you're older and wiser than you use to be when you could actually shoot.
1-pocket. When you can't shoot for shit anymore but believe you can wear your opponent down until he gets so damn bored he just throws the game in disgust.

I am gonna have to check out 10 ball. I will shoot some tomorrow night and give it a go.

 

[Luxury]

If I had to guess I would say it takes longer for a new player to break and run an entire rack of nine ball for the first time than it would to break and run an entire rack of eight ball.

Yeah I think nine ball is harder.

 

[Nyquil]

If I had to guess I would say it takes longer for a new player to break and run an entire rack of nine ball for the first time than it would to break and run an entire rack of eight ball.

Yeah I think nine ball is harder.

Ya I would agree with that ran several racks of 9 and went back to 8 its definitely easier at least for me. The pro's make 9 look so simple but it's definitely not.

 

[jimmyco]

IMO, it depends what size table. YMMV

 

[Fatboy]

I think 9 ball helps you develop more cue ball control since you are most often playing position on one ball. 8 Ball makes you think more and better at strategy as there are more options available. Both have there place in different ways.. All of the different games of pocket billiards help in developing a stronger game all around, IMO...

1P and 14.1 developes CB control better than anything else does. Not even close

best
Fatboy

 

[philly]

Two completely different games.
8 ball is pattern play for sure.
9 ball is obviously rotation, hitting the lowest ball on the table.
When playing each of the games of course you want to run out,
but the ultimate object of each game is to win the game and running out is a secondary objective.
This is especially true of 8 ball where there is more strategy and less focus on a single ball.
Lots of 8 ball games are lost when pocketing 6 balls of your chosen suit and leaving one ball plus the eight on the table.

I do know that if you want to get better at 9 ball then practice 10 ball.
That one measly extra ball on the table can clog things up more than one would think.

 

[PracticeChampion]

I am gonna have to check out 10 ball. I will shoot some tomorrow night and give it a go.

Great game for skilled players! That one xtra ball really changes things and Racking has never been so important as it is in 10 ball cause a bad rack and you'll never make a ball and even when it's a good rack there's no guarantee LoL.

 

[ShootingArts]

The real thing is planning your inning, all the way through! Eight ball or nine, it is easy to get lazy and not plan all the way through an inning. Are you planning to pocket the money ball this inning? Does it look like you will have to play a safety? Either way, have it planned before you hit the first ball. I see a lot of people not get past the three ball concept thinking that they only need to plan three balls ahead when that cluster is waiting to wreck their plans. You don't need to deal with the problems first as some say, however, you do need a plan to deal with the problems. Silly to try to force the cue ball to break up a cluster shooting the one or two when shooting the five ball is going to give a natural path to break out the cluster.

If you aren't working with a complete plan, pull balls off the table until you are. Cumbersome but as a start you work every shot back from the money ball then forward through that same path. If you can't do this with nine or eight ball, take some balls off the table after the break when practicing. You need to see a pattern, or two or three, before hitting the first ball. Unless you have a firm idea of what you want to do, you are jumping the gun hitting the first ball.

To me, neither eight or nine is harder. I like eight ball a little better because you can be more creative but I might say nine or ten is harder. I agree with those saying shoot ten ball as long as you still see entire patterns. I think it has reached the point that top level pro's should be playing twelve or fifteen ball instead of nine or ten in competition. Orcollo's ten or twelve rack run was awesome put he was mostly shooting the same pattern over and over. Making two, sometimes three balls on the break he was usually looking at a seven ball pattern. The balls were no doubt clean and freshly polished which makes them open up nicely. It was almost a given that he was out after every break. That is a problem playing any game in my opinion.

When one game starts seeming less challenging, play another. To really frustrate yourself, play one pocket in practice, strong hand against your weak hand. Start off giving your weak hand a spot.

Hu

 

[gregcantrall]

My position has always been, 9 ball is the young mans game and 8 ball the old mans game.
I enjoyed watching Ray Martin playing 9 ball. His game had straight pool stamped on it. Primarily shortest but very precise path to shape.
Straight pool was one way I practiced that improved my 8 ball.

 

[Bavafongoul]

I actually found 1 pocket throws your game off….it is a game of close shape/position and separation.
You want to stay in close proximity to the OBs when it’s your inning & distance the cue ball when it isn’t.
It is interesting when played at the pro level and just boring as heck when it isn’t. It is not my cup of tea.

 

[ShootingArts]

I actually found 1 pocket throws your game off….it is a game of close shape/position and separation.
You want to stay in close proximity to the OBs when it’s your inning & distance the cue ball when it isn’t.
It is interesting when played at the pro level and just boring as heck when it isn’t. It is not my cup of tea.

One pocket can certainly make you change your style a little, make you see more shots too. It has been a very long time since I saw Kinister's DVD's on short and medium games but I like what might be called a medium game, sixteen inches to three feet. This gives you room to work while seeing things well. In my early play for shape I would jam up too close to the object ball. While closer shots are certainly possible they seem to cramp position play a little. Longer shots are fine, but you get to the point they are more difficult and I don't want that. More than one significant other of my opponent has came up to me with tears in her eyes after a match. "That wasn't fair, you got all of the easy shots!" "Yes ma'am sometimes it just goes that way."

When I adopted a method of play that usually involved minimum cue ball movement my game got much better, no matter what the game.

Hu