DCC one pocket speed-up rule

Bob Jewett

Bob Jewett

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Direct from the Derby City Classic website, here is the new speed-up rule for one pocket. I think it will speed up the game. :eek:

A Maximum of 4 Object Balls Allowed Above the Head-String​
At the end of a players inning, if more than 4 object balls remain above the head-string, all object balls above the head-string will spot immediately. A ball is considered above the head-string if any part of the ball is touching the head-string. (Edge of ball determines)​
​
This will enable some new tactics. Maybe players will work to leave object balls between the kitchen and side pockets rather than sending them farther up-table.
 
All balls spotted! Well, you can jam up the cueball near the spotting line and create a nice cluster rolling the fifth ball in the kitchen.
 
iusedtoberich said:
About time!!!!

Is this at every point of the match, or only after a certain amount of time has elapsed?
Click to expand...
That is the full rule for that aspect, so it appears to apply at all times.

Edit to correct some errors...

I just noticed the following... There is a foul cancellation rule, so both players cannot be negative. Also, I see this:

Ball Count of -5 Loss of Game​
Any ball count score that reaches negative five (-5) is loss of game.​

There is also this:

4 Hour Match Limit​
The player that is leading in the game and ball count wins the match. If both players are tied in the game and ball count, the next player to take the score lead (games plus ball count) wins the match. (This score lead can be determined by pocketing a ball or a foul shot)​

I can imagine some five-minute shots, depending on the score. I pity the player who is behind 2-1 with half an hour left. There will be situations where blasting the balls with no particular shot in mind is the right play.
 
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Bob Jewett said:
... I just noticed the following... There was a foul cancellation rule before, so both players could not be negative. Instead, I see this:

Ball Count of -5 Loss of Game​
Any ball count score that reaches negative five (-5) is loss of game.​
...
Click to expand...
That rule, loss of game at a -5 ball count, has been in effect for several years. I don't remember it ever occurring in the streamed matches.
 
AtLarge said:
That rule, loss of game at a -5 ball count, has been in effect for several years. I don't remember it ever occurring in the streamed matches.
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Thanks for the correction. I was also wrong about the cancellation of negative scores. The minus cancels minus is still there. That makes it extra hard to reach -5.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Direct from the Derby City Classic website, here is the new speed-up rule for one pocket. I think it will speed up the game. :eek:

A Maximum of 4 Object Balls Allowed Above the Head-String​
At the end of a players inning, if more than 4 object balls remain above the head-string, all object balls above the head-string will spot immediately. A ball is considered above the head-string if any part of the ball is touching the head-string. (Edge of ball determines)​
​
This will enable some new tactics. Maybe players will work to leave object balls between the kitchen and side pockets rather than sending them farther up-table.
Click to expand...

This is not one pocket.

There's a lot of hand-wringing to justify this kind of crap to the tune of: oh, woe is me, what are we to do to get the tournament done in a timely fashion. Well, start by cutting off the entries at a manageable number.

The time limit is really and truly a joke because guys will play the clock as it winds down if they have a lead. I have had it done to me.

This is not one pocket.

Lou Figueroa
 
lfigueroa said:
This is not one pocket.
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It's certainly a remarkable change. There are players that it will not affect at all but others will be startled when they think they have played a perfect leave only to have five balls suddenly appear on the spot giving their opponent a straight-in.
lfigueroa said:
The time limit is really and truly a joke because guys will play the clock as it winds down if they have a lead. I have had it done to me.
Click to expand...
There was also quite a bit of that in the heyball matches I've seen. They were still on a shot clock, but their shots were all safeties and no offense to keep the match from going into the next rack before the match time ran out.

It's an interesting experiment.
 
Bob Jewett said:
Direct from the Derby City Classic website, here is the new speed-up rule for one pocket. I think it will speed up the game. :eek:

A Maximum of 4 Object Balls Allowed Above the Head-String​
At the end of a players inning, if more than 4 object balls remain above the head-string, all object balls above the head-string will spot immediately. A ball is considered above the head-string if any part of the ball is touching the head-string. (Edge of ball determines)​
​
This will enable some new tactics. Maybe players will work to leave object balls between the kitchen and side pockets rather than sending them farther up-table.
Click to expand...
all balls in the kitchen spot or just those over the four #?
 
garczar said:
all balls in the kitchen spot or just those over the four #?
Click to expand...
It very clearly says all of them. I think that's what they meant.

And it includes balls that are actually out of the kitchen but have their bellies hanging into the kitchen.
 
lfigueroa said:
This is not one pocket.

There's a lot of hand-wringing to justify this kind of crap to the tune of: oh, woe is me, what are we to do to get the tournament done in a timely fashion. Well, start by cutting off the entries at a manageable number.

The time limit is really and truly a joke because guys will play the clock as it winds down if they have a lead. I have had it done to me.

This is not one pocket.

Lou Figueroa
Click to expand...
If there are time limits there should be shot clocks. Not that I love the idea of shot clocks in 1P. The chess clock idea Bob has brought up is good. You might want to take 3 minutes looking at the shot after the break but be able to make it up with some 10 second shots elsewhere.

That said, as far as tournaments go, the Buffalos event is clearly better in terms of what 1P ought to be.
 
lfigueroa said:
This is not one pocket.

There's a lot of hand-wringing to justify this kind of crap to the tune of: oh, woe is me, what are we to do to get the tournament done in a timely fashion. Well, start by cutting off the entries at a manageable number.

The time limit is really and truly a joke because guys will play the clock as it winds down if they have a lead. I have had it done to me.

This is not one pocket.

Lou Figueroa
Click to expand...
 
I agree about the time limit thing….I hate it…..also why I don’t watch much Chinese 8-ball.
Don’t mind a shot clock though.
 
FnStupid.jpg
 
While the new rules are certain to speed things up, I think it is at the expense of the game's integrity as a competitive discipline. This puts the DCC one-pocket miles behind the Buffalo Billiards one-pocket as a comprehensive test of the skills most associated with the game.

All of this could have been avoided if the DCC one pocket field was capped at the right number of players.
 
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