nine on the spot

Yes it was done to halt the wing ball from going, off the break. However it lead to players adjusting their break stroke to make the 1 in the side. The only answer to the 9 ball break is to play 10 ball.

evergruven said:

and breaking from "the box" were rules put in place
to make break result less predictable/effective for the breaker
is that right?

watching replays of all these (great) accu-stats vids
it seems the breaker is usually making a wing ball
and/or the one is falling into the side pocket
the biggest disadvantage that I can see
is that because they're using a cut break to make balls
the cue ball scratches more often/gets lost
than if players were squatting the rock

wondering two things:
is this analysis accurate?
and
given the experience we've had with these rules
should nine on the spot still be the status quo?

as a (related) aside, the "compliance" rule drives me nuts..
nothing worse that a player hittin em good, and getting no love
because their break was "non-compliant":thud:

Click to expand...

On the pro level, template racks with pattern racking becomes too predictable. A wing ball goes in on practically every break, moving the 9-ball to the spot brings back the element of chance.

Phone app.

Hit the button; randomly determines ball and rack placement. One and 9/10/whatever game ball can appear anywhere in the rack.

Options to cover what happens if one ball is inside the pack. Auto win or loss or if it must even be struck on the break etc...

The pro events should move to 10 ball. Even with moving the rack around and putting in dumb rules for a hard break the players still can aim for a ball to go in off the break and get a good layout.

The 3 point rule is as bad as allowing jump cues in pro events, it just ends up punishing players that got some bad rolls at the break. Hit normal break speed, make a ball, then sit and watch the opponent run out because a ball hit the side point or was kicked away. Horrible idea to prevent soft breaking.

Alternate break and longer races can also help with 9 ball, but of-course those also have their draw-backs. Really the only "fix" for 9 ball that does not create other issues is to play 10 ball LOL

9 on the spot does bring an element of skill to the break. It seems the speed/hit window to make the corner ball is smaller with the 9 on the spot and a box. With 1 on the spot and template racks (especially magic rack), the corner ball seems to go at a much wider range of speeds and hits. As has allready been pointed out, with 9 on the spot and a box, you must cut break, which does tend to make the cueball less controlled, and it's kind of finicky when it comes to speed.

I still think 10 ball is better as far as the break is concerned.

The fact that we have struggled with breaking rules for over 50 years is absurd.

First it was rack for your opponent with a wood rack. People practiced slugging each other and argued about the rack.

Then it was rack for yourself. Opponents whined about you wiring up the wing ball.

Then it was sardo rack one on the spot. Corey Deuel showed that was a joke.

Then tried the box one on the spot. That was countered with the cut break.

Then templates came out. It got worse.

We went to 10 ball. SVB showed he can make 2 balls and perch the one on the lip of the top corner with everything spread. No better.

Currently we are using the 9 on the spot. You are right, this makes it more difficult to control the cue ball on the cut break. But Sky Woodward has this down and took 3rd in the US International Open a couple of years ago and won DCC because of it.


The point...I have 3-5 ways to reasonably solve this issue once and for all that would also decrease the massive role the break plays in determining the winners in a contest that should emphasize game play skills. But any of you could solve this. When you make the rules this shouldn't be that hard. The ONLY reason this is still in play is because the tournament directors and promoters must have a vested interest in keeping the game this way.

Maybe if the break played less a role the same players would win too much and entries would decline. Certainly fans like seeing fast matches with big packages. Matches go quicker and tournaments can run faster (with the same length sets). I can't think of any other reason. But I refuse to believe TDs for 50 years can't stop the break, so I have to assume they like the outcomes of matches to be 50% based on a frozen combo start shot.

My opinion-won’t be popular

Been around game over 40 years. Everything tin man said is true, so....here goes.
Pool is a game, not a sport. Games are played to be fun for the players.
Sports are played for fans.
Pool is a game.
10 ball is a joke except for the pros who run out anyways.
3 shot is a joke
All these shortstops and worse trying play 10 ball is a joke.

So, smart Alec. What’s the answer? Glad you asked.
Rollout. Winner breaks. Cue ball scratch-BIH
9 ball or better yet 6 ball——-bet it cheap or bet it high....that’s players business.
Match up as you choose-have fun.
This nit nat safety play is garbage.
Give me buddy hall, Keith mccready, earl, Louie Roberts, or a hundred other playing rollout 9 ball betting it up and playing ahead sets or by the game.
That’s fun to play and watch.
Comments welcome-just be nice