Scottster said:
Personally I think the main reason the game isn't a top game of choice nationwide is because when people see it played at a top level, high ball runs looks so easy, then when they try, and struggle to get through a rack, their ego comes into play and says, "Dont let anyone see you can't play that easy game, everyone is gonna laugh at you because you cant even run a rack."
Guess what? Those of you afraid of looking foolish. Here's your epiphany.. it not an easy game. It's a game of champions, it takes a champion to make the game look easy, and straight pool is one of the reasons straight pool players play other disciplines very well (especially 8-Ball).
Personally, the game drives me nuts. I haven't come close to my high run in close to a year. I'll admit it, it was a fluke (52). My knowledge of the game has increased but my performance has not in straight pool. The mid game is putting up a challenge for me and my runs have been ending in the mid 20's (in practice).
Although I am at a plateau in straight pool, I know for a fact that practicing the game has payed off dividends in other aspects of my game.
I did the "Q-skill" Drill, AKA the "Drivermaker Tournament", and was very surprised at how well I did. I am not gonna brag but I will say the results were definately a confidence booster.
I guess all I am saying is dont be afraid to play this game because you cant run a 100 balls. Play this game because you want to improve your pool game.
I know for a Fact of one world class player that if he sees 2 people practicing, and one is practicing 14.1 and struggling, and the other 9-ball whom is running out, who he is gonna be more willing to help with their game because he knows who the real student of the game is. The one playing Straight Pool.
The reason 14.1 is not so popular is because: it is not so easy.
14.1 is sorta like Mt. Everest. It just sits there and says, "Come and try me. Anytime you want, I'll be here. You don't even need another player. Just come on, rack 'em up and start running up the slope." What people most often discover is that the easy, slow, boring game is: really hard; can be played as fast or as slow as you want; and is anything but boring. Oh yes, they also discover that they can't run many balls.
A 14.1 run is a series of problems that you have to solve with knowledge and skills. There are spells during a run when you will see a series of simple problems that you're familiar with and can solve with even just mediocre skills. But as the run lengthens, you will inevitably see a wider variety of problems, and more and more esoteric ones that require more obscure knowledge and skills. It might be a long stop shot; a thin cut that still requires much cue ball control; bumping balls open without tying them up; creating break balls; or using balls up table for a break.
I've seen many players that have been playing for years and years and have never gotten past being 20 ball runners and never will. Either their basic skills are lacking and limit the variety of shots they can execute and/or their knowledge is deficient and limits the number and type of problems they can solve. They just don't understand the game well enough to ever pocket more than a couple dozen successive balls -- more through the grace of God -- than any other factor.
As to watching 14.1, if you don't play the game, you can't appreciate what you're seeing. What is fascinating about 14.1 is watching how a player takes the rack apart; how they solve the puzzle; how they create a layout that will lead them into the next rack. Each rack, the balls open up and there you have it: a unique challenge to confront. In your mind you can quickly decide how you would solve the puzzle and then watch how the player at the table solves the puzzle. Most often, you learn a thing or two. And if you say 14.1 is boring to watch, then I would say you are watching the wrong players.
Lastly, 14.1 is the greatest teacher the game has to offer. Not only will you learn how to execute a wide variety of shots with a wide variety of speeds and spins, you will learn all sorts of small cue ball movements that aren't demanded of you at other games. And here is the really crushing part that makes the game unpopular to our current culture of instant gratification: 14.1 will show you -- in glaring relief -- every single flaw in your game. Can't kill the cue ball? Can't draw it back in a perfectly straight line? Can't move it to the right or left a smidge or a scosch? Can't slow roll a straight in? Can't come out of a corner two rails with speed and spin? And on and on...
Most players don't what to hear that they suck. And that's what makes 14.1 "not so popular." It's only if you choose to listen to what 14.1 is trying to show you that you can appreciate its simple complexity and beauty.
Lou Figueroa
