Well, FargoRate has given us ELO ratings that Chess has had for a very long time. Not a new idea at all, but glad Mike is implementing it, rather than talking about it as some have for a long time. I think is great. Although the name sucks. It must be a Fargo thing that everything has to be Fargo this and that.
Anyway, in the same way this is bringing value to the game ---
Why not a chess clock? Another great idea many have proposed and a great solution. Glad to see it brought up again. Here's my thoughts on it...
No clock of any kind in games such as 14.1 and One-Pocket. People watching these are hard core pool fans, and are on average more sophisticated in their knowledge of pool and don't mind or care about the slower play. Secondly, these games do require a lot more time between shots and quite often - its warranted there. Thirdly, I speak for myself, but I'm sure many would agree -- I'd rather wait longer and see a brilliant play whether it is a masterful safe, a killer bank or kick or a creative pattern be found, than the player be rushed to shoot an inferior shot that wasn't the absolute best choice. A clock doesn't belong in these games, they aren't TV games or for the casual billiards fan. Timed 14.1 or 1hole doesn't fit stylistically or in nature.
On the other hand....
Clock should be in play for 9-ball without question....10-ball also. 8-Ball too, but with a little bit more time allowed than 9 or 10 ball, as is the nature of 8-ball to get a little complicated at times.
I can hear Earl saying it now "just shoot" ...and then going on a rant. Sure, not everyone is a pool playing machine like him, but seriously - the amount of staring at a table and angles by so many pros is freakin ridiculous. On routine shots too!
The worst culprits are the Euros. They are absurdly SLOW and over analytical. It is atrocious to watch. Ultra boring. Especially when you mix that with their extremely conservative styles of play. I think these guys just like to freeze the opponent in the chair. That's their universal tactic, because they cannot be that stupid to have to play that slow. I've watched them in person over the years, and on streams. In recent years I've stopped watching them at all, because they insult the game.
You'd think that this slow play is resulting in some kind of on table genius or perfection? No. Just run of the mill standard kind of patterns, positions and outs. Stuff you see in your local room. How a world class player can stare and analyze a single positional shot in 9-ball for 5-6 minutes, which is completely simple and whom 99% of B players and above can sink and get shape on with regularity is something I cannot accept. We're talking shots that have no special circumstances, or no unusual consequences. Nothing special about them or the situation. Cut and dry stuff. No one wants to watch that crap - not in a game like 9 ball. Another one of a hundred reasons pool is going downhill.
Shot clocks are a terrible solution to the above (although much better than nothing). Because it fixes the time per shot rather than per game, or per match. This leads to garbage pool. Just watch any shot-clock pool and you will see in most matches a situation where the player is rushed, even with an extension, in a tricky situation to make a less than ideal shot. You don't get to see their best effort, and this takes away from the greatness of the game.
Clocks per rack or match is a much better idea. The easy, routine shots will be quick, which will then provide a greater balance of time for the tougher shots. The game is not compromised, while total match time becomes reasonable and palatable for the fans.
So destructive to have tournament matches run so late into the night. In most sports, finals are the most watched and scheduled at peak times...in pool, people go home because they aren't interested in watching slow pokes drag ass over basic shots at 1am on a Sunday night....