14.1 Psych Question …

[sunnyone]

Had a few minutes to watch a game I don’t really understand at Steinway. During a match between Mr. Cohen and Mr. Deuel, Mr. Cohen missed a shot.

Mr. Deuel immediately called a time out. One of the chat-roomers, not a commentator, remarked that ‘calling a time out after an opponent’s miss is more devastating in straight pool than in one-pocket, banks, any rotation game, etc.’

(If true, this is the kind of little insider tidbit I enjoy learning … sort of like one time when a wily veteran mentioned that the order of the color of solid balls, from low to high, is repeated in the stripes.)

So ... is that 14.1 time out potentially more damaging than in other games?

If so, I wonder why?

The only rationale I could dream up was because the possibility of greatly-extended chair-time for the shot-misser would provide ample opportunity for self-loathing, recriminations, questioning the purpose of one’s existence in the universe, etc.

Seeking wisdom is my life,

Sunny

P. S. Another question from that straight pool stream arose from the mention of a triangle pattern for the last three balls at the end of a rack. What is this? (I sort of get what the ‘key’ ball scenario is.)

P. P. S. It appeared that it’s quite a bit easier (and faster!) to rack the balls in 14.1.

 

[StraightPoolIU]

I'm by no means the most knowledgeable of the straight pool authorities on here, but I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.

1. Regarding breaks. It's my understanding that it's very common to call for your time out after an opponents miss less so for gamesmanship than just giving yourself time to compose yourself and focus on the task at hand. This is particularly true if you've just been the victim of a particularly long run by your opponent and need some time to loosen up after being in the chair.

2. The triangle pattern is the traditional way to play the key ball before the key ball, the key ball, and the break ball. Ideally this would be a pattern that lets you get on all 3 balls by the means of stop shots leaving you straight in on the next ball. Especially in end rack patterns the less cue ball movement the better.