Recent content by Swighey

Well, any decent player should run out on most successful breaks. 74% is indeed high. It's very high (but also fairly normal at the level they are playing at - but I guess the 26% means there's more to it and it's not simply a breakfest).

There are more clusters. They happen more often even after good breaks. While any pro has a very good chance (and even a decent player has some chance) of breaking them up and leaving a shot, they are not 100% - so there is a degree of toughness to them, even more so for 9ft players.

Agree. We tend to remember the highlights. We all know that player who is known as someone who breaks and runs "all the time" because he ran a four pack once and he's b&r'd all of us at least once at some point in time at a crucial moment (usually when we have just missed our chance to put the...

One would read pretty much the same as you in this instance.

Yeh I totally get the coin op driven 8 ball on the break wins rule as one of the ways out for bar pool. There are other ways but they have no impact on the game when it's not on a coin op table. Your second paragraph makes no sense whatsoever regardless of which lens I look at it through. Is...

They would probably prefer that a group of 4 walk in 59 minutes later and all buy overpriced drinks and 2 plates of sharing food. Central London has a history of "innovative" pool "pop-ups" that lasted a year or two in the last couple of decades. Rents are high, space is at a premium, it needs...

In 8 Ball, you need to pot your set before you pot the 8 Ball. In 9 Ball the object is to pot the 9 Ball any which legal way you can.

The name refers to the number of object balls and they are indeed different. You are 100% correct. Differentiating one game from the other is a different thing though.

Why?

The pros (who have always been split on this) appear to be leaning pretty close to "going back" to alternate breaks over winner breaks.

No, it's good because it helps to differentiate 10 ball from 9 ball

Williams is still an active snooker player and has played Heyball fairly recently. Hendry hardly plays anything and appears to have lost the hunger to do so (and he has earned that right big time). Williams clearly knows the game. He referenced how Chinese players now smash frozen-to-the-rail...

Yes it's a thing. Happens more with the smaller balls. Never trust "the physics".

Yes they would be better. Enough better. I believe that you know this. LD shafts make a (marginal) difference on some shots and today's elite players have an equipment advantage on those shots. For most shots though, no difference. Layered tips? Again, same same. Jump cues? The idea that the...

This just isn't true or even almost true.The best from yesteryear would have absolutely no chance (well of course this isn't true, it would be non-zero) against the best today. They would adjust immediately - have you actually watched them and seen how good they are?