Is it just me, or does Murphy's Law pertains to 14.1 more than any other pool game I've ever played? I grew up playing 14.1 in the 1970s and continue to love the game dearly to this day, even though I've probably played ten times as much 9-ball in my lifetime than I've played straight pool, in terms of hours played. I still love practicing 14.1 more than any other game, when practicing by myself. I always start with a break shot on a full rack, and try to achieve a high run. Whenever, I miss, I start all over again racking the balls up and setting up a break shot.
My lifetime goal achieving a 100 ball run, at age 61, seems to be slipping away. Around 15 years ago, I ran 7 full racks (98) with a perfect break shot set up. I executed the break shot what I thought was successfully, but as the cue ball was coming off the pack to the middle of the table, it got kicked in the side pocket by another ball. That moment seems to sum up my luck, or lack of, as a 14.1 player. After that, and not coming anywhere close to that high run mark for the next few months, I gave up on practicing straight pool completely for nearly 10 years, before starting to try it again the past 3-4 years. I did have one run in the 80s a few years ago, a few runs in the 70s and 60s, but lately it seems to be increasingly tough to run more than 2-3 racks before either leaving myself hooked or carelessly missing an easy shot or position, although at age 61, my 9-ball game is still virtually as strong as ever.
More than any other game and particularly pertaining to break shots, it just seems like if you don't know exactly where the cue ball is going on every shot, it amazingly somehow finds a way to either get stuck in the pack, snookered right up against another ball, caroms off another ball and scratches, or gets kicked all the way down to the end rail, leaving a long, tough shot. Even when the balls seem to be well spread out to the point that you wouldn't even think it mattered whether you planned exactly where and what ball you were going to position the cue ball for your next shot, if you just assume you'll be left with a shot, guess what? You somehow, some unlikely way end up leaving yourself a very hard shot or absolutely no shot at all. Or if you get ahead of yourself and carelessly take any shot at all for granted, even a super easy shot, the next think you know you've rattled the ball in the pocket and you have to start all over again.
Is it just me looking for excuses, or does anyone else who plays 14.1 ever experience this "Murphy's Law" phenomenon more so than in any other pool discipline?
My lifetime goal achieving a 100 ball run, at age 61, seems to be slipping away. Around 15 years ago, I ran 7 full racks (98) with a perfect break shot set up. I executed the break shot what I thought was successfully, but as the cue ball was coming off the pack to the middle of the table, it got kicked in the side pocket by another ball. That moment seems to sum up my luck, or lack of, as a 14.1 player. After that, and not coming anywhere close to that high run mark for the next few months, I gave up on practicing straight pool completely for nearly 10 years, before starting to try it again the past 3-4 years. I did have one run in the 80s a few years ago, a few runs in the 70s and 60s, but lately it seems to be increasingly tough to run more than 2-3 racks before either leaving myself hooked or carelessly missing an easy shot or position, although at age 61, my 9-ball game is still virtually as strong as ever.
More than any other game and particularly pertaining to break shots, it just seems like if you don't know exactly where the cue ball is going on every shot, it amazingly somehow finds a way to either get stuck in the pack, snookered right up against another ball, caroms off another ball and scratches, or gets kicked all the way down to the end rail, leaving a long, tough shot. Even when the balls seem to be well spread out to the point that you wouldn't even think it mattered whether you planned exactly where and what ball you were going to position the cue ball for your next shot, if you just assume you'll be left with a shot, guess what? You somehow, some unlikely way end up leaving yourself a very hard shot or absolutely no shot at all. Or if you get ahead of yourself and carelessly take any shot at all for granted, even a super easy shot, the next think you know you've rattled the ball in the pocket and you have to start all over again.
Is it just me looking for excuses, or does anyone else who plays 14.1 ever experience this "Murphy's Law" phenomenon more so than in any other pool discipline?
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