How did you learn 14.1?

Mike the Beginner

Mike the Beginner

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've been trying 14.1 for the past two days and not doing very well.

How did you learn 14.1? Did you rack and then shoot till you miss? Or did you keep going despite misses?

It seems like all I do is rack the balls! I've racked about 60 times and my high "run" is 14 so far. I keep getting trapped, run a bit too far, or suddenly miss a shot I can make 9 times out of 10.

I did keep going despite misses a few times but then didn't do a good job of leaving the break ball.

Telling on myself: once when I DID leave a good break ball, I unthinkingly collected it to go into the rack! Dumba*s.

Thanks in advance.
 
Rack, shoot a stupid shot, re rack. Over and over again. This way was easier to keep track for me.

Ideally, a person just kind of freewheels and gets a run going at some point. The caveat is that you must understand break balls, key balls, key to the key ball first.

It's a new pressure to get used to. You have to think about new shots, excute them for a different reason. Cut yourself a little slack in the beginning.

I would consider myself a very poor straight pool player.
 
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you are not alone. ive been trying on and off for almost a year and still havent got out of the first rack. It always feels like its going to be easy but sure enough i take a shot for granted or miss a hanger.

fourteenone really shows you the flaws in your game. pay attention to them!
 
Aside from trying to run racks and improving your high run, you could concentrate on parts of the game. Like just breakshots / breaking the stack up, and in another session you just work on end patterns (the last 5 or 6 balls where one is the obvious break ball for the next rack). It's also a good idea to work on clinch shots, like difficult cut shots along the rail or long shots from the other end of the table. These are the type of shots that you get to start a run a lot of the time.
 
Mike the Beginner said:
I've been trying 14.1 for the past two days and not doing very well.

How did you learn 14.1? Did you rack and then shoot till you miss? Or did you keep going despite misses?

It seems like all I do is rack the balls! I've racked about 60 times and my high "run" is 14 so far. I keep getting trapped, run a bit too far, or suddenly miss a shot I can make 9 times out of 10.

I did keep going despite misses a few times but then didn't do a good job of leaving the break ball.

Telling on myself: once when I DID leave a good break ball, I unthinkingly collected it to go into the rack! Dumba*s.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Toughest game there is.
Staying at the table.
I have the greatest admiration for these high run guys.
It's not a fluke when a guy runs 200 balls.
14.1 requires an amazing amount of focus and knowledge.
Never give up.
 
Forget counting the run for now. Just learn to finish what's on the table
14.1 is about pattern play and minimal cue ball movement.
Greatest Game Ever IMHO
Also watch videos of player reviews so you can learn what the player is thinking and why they choose one shot over another
Enjoy this Beautiful Game
 
First thing to do is to separate your ability to pocket balls from the specific strategy for pocketing balls in the game of 14.1.

You will need to assess your general ball pocketing ability and how well you do everything correctly to raise your general success as a ball pocketer - I recommend Mark Wilson's Play Great Pool as your guide to alignment , stroke, pre shot routine, etc.

Once and if you know that your ball pocketing ability is acceptable, next thing is to focus on the 14.1 game itself.

Key components for 14.1:
Know which balls to pocket, when to pocket them, and which balls to leave on the table and why.
Understand triangular pattern ball play , especially in the end game of each rack
Know ball to ball position play to gain proper angles for secondary break shots
Pay very close attention to speed control as spot position not area position rules in 14.1
Understand the correct balls to strike when clustered and at the correct speed
Mentally, do not count balls while shooting, once you get proficient enough, just count racks,
you will need all of your focus on the balls on the table.
Learn the game on a table with AT LEAST 4 3/4 inch corner pockets and good speed rails, with
good speed cloth and clean Aramith balls in lower humidity - all of these will enhance your 14.1 experience.
Watch videos of the very best 14. players on u tube and understand what and why they do what they do in term of
ball pocketing selection and when and how they choose to go into clusters.

Invest in a tripod and record your 14.1 sessions- review them after your session is complete- make proper adjustments.

Good Luck- Have Fun!!
 
mikemosconi said:
First thing to do is to separate your ability to pocket balls from the specific strategy for pocketing balls in the game of 14.1.

You will need to assess your general ball pocketing ability and how well you do everything correctly to raise your general success as a ball pocketer - I recommend Mark Wilson's Play Great Pool as your guide to alignment , stroke, pre shot routine, etc.

Once and if you know that your ball pocketing ability is acceptable, next thing is to focus on the 14.1 game itself.

Key components for 14.1:
Know which balls to pocket, when to pocket them, and which balls to leave on the table and why.
Understand triangular pattern ball play , especially in the end game of each rack
Know ball to ball position play to gain proper angles for secondary break shots
Pay very close attention to speed control as spot position not area position rules in 14.1
Understand the correct balls to strike when clustered and at the correct speed
Mentally, do not count balls while shooting, once you get proficient enough, just count racks,
you will need all of your focus on the balls on the table.
Learn the game on a table with AT LEAST 4 3/4 inch corner pockets and good speed rails, with
good speed cloth and clean Aramith balls in lower humidity - all of these will enhance your 14.1 experience.
Watch videos of the very best 14. players on u tube and understand what and why they do what they do in term of
ball pocketing selection and when and how they choose to go into clusters.

Invest in a tripod and record your 14.1 sessions- review them after your session is complete- make proper adjustments.

Good Luck- Have Fun!!
Click to expand...
Great post! Counting the run is time wasted at this level. One must first learn to pocket the balls. As a beginner, a good exercise is to randomly throw fifteen balls on the table and see how many turns it takes to clear the table.
 
lfigueroa said:
I forget where I picked this up but a great exercise to improve your 14.1 is to spread out all 15 balls, leaving them all separated and reasonably off the rails (like maybe 6"), and running them without hitting a rail.

Lou Figueroa
Click to expand...
i like it
i did a similar type of drill when playing straight rail, i would try and see how many caroms i could do without hitting a rail

i want to give this a try now with straight pool
 
Mike the Beginner said:
I've been trying 14.1 for the past two days and not doing very well.

How did you learn 14.1? Did you rack and then shoot till you miss? Or did you keep going despite misses?

It seems like all I do is rack the balls! I've racked about 60 times and my high "run" is 14 so far. I keep getting trapped, run a bit too far, or suddenly miss a shot I can make 9 times out of 10.

I did keep going despite misses a few times but then didn't do a good job of leaving the break ball.

Telling on myself: once when I DID leave a good break ball, I unthinkingly collected it to go into the rack! Dumba*s.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
You’ve got the right idea but you just have to pay your dues and keep on putting in the hours. Most 14.1 players in practice like to start with an ideal break shot and shoot until they miss, and then re-rack and start over. There are plenty of YouTube videos of 14.1 matches and 14.1 instruction available, but nothing will beat your continuing to put in the hours on the table.

This is of course assuming you already have good fundamentals/alignment/stroke. If not, you likely need to concentrate on getting that worked out first.
 
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lfigueroa said:
I forget where I picked this up but a great exercise to improve your 14.1 is to spread out all 15 balls, leaving them all separated and reasonably off the rails (like maybe 6"), and running them without hitting a rail.

Lou Figueroa
Click to expand...
Jim Rempe talks about this in one of his tapes. He calls it the "brainwashing" drill or something to that effect. It's a perfect way to get used to seeing simple patterns. I like it a lot.
 
Mike the Beginner said:
I've been trying 14.1 for the past two days and not doing very well.

How did you learn 14.1? Did you rack and then shoot till you miss? Or did you keep going despite misses?

It seems like all I do is rack the balls! I've racked about 60 times and my high "run" is 14 so far. I keep getting trapped, run a bit too far, or suddenly miss a shot I can make 9 times out of 10.

I did keep going despite misses a few times but then didn't do a good job of leaving the break ball.

Telling on myself: once when I DID leave a good break ball, I unthinkingly collected it to go into the rack! Dumba*s.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I took a lesson with a 200 ball runner when I was starting out. It was almost 20 years ago, here is what he told me:
1. After the breakshot, remove all balls that block pockets
2. Take care of clusters
3. Take care of balls on the rails
4. Take care of lone balls on the other end of the table. If there are more balls than one, it's less urgent.
5. End pattern.

General rules of thumb, that I've picked up over the years: Don't move the cueball more than necessary and do not bump balls that don't need to be bumped.

This should get you started in the right direction, IMO.
 
Straightpool_99 said:
I took a lesson with a 200 ball runner when I was starting out. It was almost 20 years ago, here is what he told me:
1. After the break shot, remove all balls that block pockets
2. Take care of clusters
3. Take care of balls on the rails
4. Take care of lone balls on the other end of the table. If there are more balls than one, it's less urgent.
5. End pattern.

General rules of thumb, that I've picked up over the years: Don't move the cue ball more than necessary and do not bump balls that don't need to be bumped.

This should get you started in the right direction, IMO.
Click to expand...
There ya go 14.1 basics.
Good post.
 
lfigueroa said:
I forget where I picked this up but a great exercise to improve your 14.1 is to spread out all 15 balls, leaving them all separated and reasonably off the rails (like maybe 6"), and running them without hitting a rail.

Lou Figueroa
Click to expand...
This is a drill for experts, Lou, and I agree that it's good for developing one's skills. In this thread, however, a newbie to straight pool whose high run is 14 is asking for advice.
 
check out jim rempes how to run 100 balls video. iirc he comments ball by ball.

i've tried to play hohmann style but i find that his break style doesn't suit me, too risky. for active pro players today i would look to emulate ruslan or darren who plans their racks diligently and emphasizes patterns. watch darren's 200-ball run vs bustie
 
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