I was playing some cheap one pocket with a regular tonight, and on his break I racked the balls, and the 8ball was the head ball. He got angry with me, telling me that one pocket players consider this an insult. He said you NEVER put the 8ball as the head ball, or the first two balls behind the head ball. You always put it somewhere else in the rack. Has anyone heard of this? Is it really disrespectful to do that? I had no clue about this.
One Pocket Question
- Thread starter cuetechasaurus
- Start date
you can rack them HOWEVER you want, but, if the guy asks you to put one bright ball in the front (eg 1ball), and a dark (eg 8ball) behind it (or whatever he happens to ask), you should just do it, it would be very bad etiquitte if you didnt, and its not rude to ask. i mean, we arent nine ball players, its a game of much higher class, hahaaa.
yea, some guys can get their panties in a bunch if you do that because darker color balls in the top 3 supposedly make it harder to see the gap between the first two balls for breaking.
I dunno, it's kind of a right of passage for every newbie 1hole player to have some grufty old timer tell em about the top 2 balls. Most guys like the 1 and 9 balls, but then again, if your gambling and its other guy racks, tough noogies, I've put the 8/6/2 up there for someone I really don't like.
but that's not too often!
Gerry
I dunno, it's kind of a right of passage for every newbie 1hole player to have some grufty old timer tell em about the top 2 balls. Most guys like the 1 and 9 balls, but then again, if your gambling and its other guy racks, tough noogies, I've put the 8/6/2 up there for someone I really don't like.
but that's not too often!Gerry
Gerry said:yea, some guys can get their panties in a bunch if you do that because darker color balls in the top 3 supposedly make it harder to see the gap between the first two balls for breaking.
I dunno, it's kind of a right of passage for every newbie 1hole player to have some grufty old timer tell em about the top 2 balls. Most guys like the 1 and 9 balls, but then again, if your gambling and its other guy racks, tough noogies, I've put the 8/6/2 up there for someone I really don't like.
Gerry
I like to have a light and a dark as the first 2 as I feel it helps me discern the strike point better.
The worst is having 2 of the same colors in you line of sight. Yellow and orange touching is also bad.
While they are common sense, why do I give these gems out for free?
Oh, and if your guy is afraid of (a) Black-Ball(ed), he's in for a world of hurt.
He's right. You never see the eight racked up front. I think the rational is that it could be considered a shark move, so it's something to be avoided. Some guys will rack something like the one and eight as the first two balls to give you good contrast for the break. That's OK. Others will always rack the eight (and the two, six and seven) on the corner closest to your pocket, so you're likely to be shooting at a dark ball right off the bat. That's bordeline questionable, but most guys will let it go, but return the favor
Lou Figueroa
Lou Figueroa
cuetechasaurus said:
It's just common courtesy not to rake the eight ball up front or two balls of the same color (1 & 9, 2 & 10, etc.) on the break side of the rack. I've seen a lot of dissagreements degenerate into yelling matches and sharking wars that started over this issue.
Stones said:
I agree with the post above and have added the Rules for you as well.
Here are the Rules.
. The Break
2.1 All fifteen balls are tightly racked in no particular required order in a standard triangle with the apex ball placed as nearly as possible on the foot spot. In tournament play, players lag for the first break. For games that follow, the break alternates back and forth between the players, regardless of who wins each game. Prior to breaking, the breaking player selects one of the corner pockets at the foot of the table as their own, thus the opponent is assigned the other foot pocket by default. In subsequent games, whoever breaks is free to change their pocket selection on their own break.
In standard practice the breaker does not 'call his pocket'; their pocket selection is considered obvious by virtue of the orientation of their break. Players employing an unusual break are advised to make their pocket selection clear prior to the break, to avoid conflict.
Traditionally opponents rack the balls for the breaker, with the breaker having option to inspect the rack and ask for a re-rack if they are not satisfied with the quality of the rack. In current tournament play, players may rack their own balls, with the opponent having the option to inspect the rack. 'Racking your own' is recommended at all times, to reduce racking complaints.
In a handicap situation when one player or team is awarded the break in every game, unless otherwise agreed, they should break towards alternate pockets on alternate breaks.
No, you should always line up the 8, 6, 4 and 2 (pref. in that order) on the right side of the rack. I'm sure your 1-hole action will be very interesting then.
cuetechasaurus said:
The only ball I've ever objected to in the front of the rack is the six. It's the hardest to see the edge of, particularly on green cloth. If I have a good game, I will say nothing. No big deal.
If my opponent objects to the way I rack, I will gladly change front balls. Also no biggie. It's not going to help them or hurt me is the way I look at it.
And if it bothers my opponent, it means they may be a little nervous about the game. This is always a good sign to me.
I've only heard this complaint once, from an old grouch. Once he started losing, he was complaining about everything: the table (which he picked), chalk, me telling him I had to leave in 3 hours, too many stripe balls at the front of the rack, too many solid balls at the front of the rack, ...
In any case, most of the time, I play rack-your-own, which takes care of this and related problems.
This raises a good question, too: what do you look out for when the other guy is racking his own racks? I watch for a tilted rack and for the bottom corner ball on his side not completely touching the two adjacent balls.
Am I missing other things?
Cory
In any case, most of the time, I play rack-your-own, which takes care of this and related problems.
This raises a good question, too: what do you look out for when the other guy is racking his own racks? I watch for a tilted rack and for the bottom corner ball on his side not completely touching the two adjacent balls.
Am I missing other things?
Cory
Cory in DC said:
Those are good things to look for, and I also make sure the head ball is not to far in front of the spot. Unless they are making a ball on the break, I don't like to get nosey enough to check that the corner ball is frozen. The other two things I can see from my seat.
As far as racking the 8 as the head ball, a lot of people will complain so I don't do it. As common courtesy, I try to make sure the head ball is light colored, and contrasts with the ball behind it. I have never heard anyone complain about the 8 as the second ball, and prefer it there myself. I play a lot of rack your own, and when I rack for myself, I often use the 1 as the head, and either the 2 or the 8 behind it. That way I am able to see the edge of the ball better.
I have also heard some people complain if the 6 is the back corner ball on the break side. They say it blends in with the cloth and makes the rack look crooked, but I have never had a problem with that myself.
If you play enough grouchy old timers, you will hear plenty more strange comlaints.
CaptainHook said:In a handicap situation when one player or team is awarded the break in every game, unless otherwise agreed, they should break towards alternate pockets on alternate breaks.
Unless they say I have to alternate pockets, I am going to give them the pocket that likes to hang up balls every time.
Racking them too low. Even just a little bit, I think it reduces the chance of scratching on the break and makes it easier to get the cue ball further up table and frozen to the side -- especially on a table where the spot is too high ;-)
Lou Figueroa
Lou Figueroa
Cory in DC said:
I'm inclined to agree with Jay. If I'm playing a guy who I'm comfortable with, or --even moreso-- if I have the nuts, I'm not going to fuss about which colored balls he puts in the front three. Now if I'm playing a guy I'm not too excited about, or I suspect he's trying to pull some stuff, I'm going to nit-pick him on everything.jay helfert said:
Incidentally lots of times it's nearly impossible to get the first three tight, especially if they're a pretty well used set of pool balls, due to the prevalence of the yellow stripe game having worn down the first 9 balls. In that case the problem is usually solved by choosing some of the #10-#15 balls up front, since they're not as worn.
My personal preference is to play rack-your-own. That eliminates 95% of the problems. Lots of times guys aren't trying to give you a bad rack, but they inadvertently leave a gap somewhere in the row on your breaking side. That will cause something to kick out-- usually the corner ball towards your opponent's hole. When I rack my own, there are never any gaps.
Doc
cuetechasaurus said:
hi,
NO rules PROHIBIT u putting the 8 Ball on the head spot but there is a unwritten code that u do not put the 8 ball on the top. when u do not follow the unwritten code the players may talk on your back very bad about u. You know the pool hall culture in the mens circle.
I do`nt care how my opponent arranges the balls in the rack because I do NOT have a right to demand for arrangement of balls in the order of my choice.
Years ago my regular one pocket game would get his panties in a bunch whenever I racked the balls in any number of ways that he did not like. Whenever I wanted to spice things up the front two balls were the 7/15 or the 6/14 with the stripe lined up so it was green on green or maroon on maroon.
I would only do that to him though
I would only do that to him though
