8-Ball and 9-Ball Contrast
- Thread starter traa89
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One's played with nine balls and the other's played with 15 balls
Jake ( are you friggin serious
)
Jake ( are you friggin serious
)9-ball is a game of stroke, 8-ball is a game of patterns.
They have in common: the importance of the break, the need for playing safe early and the problem balls.
They do not have in common: the need for perfect speed, the multitude in choises and the snoring from the audiense.
They have in common: the importance of the break, the need for playing safe early and the problem balls.
They do not have in common: the need for perfect speed, the multitude in choises and the snoring from the audiense.
I started playing a lot of 8 ball and got pretty good at it. Decided to move over to 9 ball as that was the game of the pro's (on tv), thinking that it would be a lot easier because you had less balls which obviously meant more room to manouver and fewer problem clusters to worry about......Oh, how wrong was I.....
9 Ball for me is by far the harder game. I believe I'm still pretty good but I could run 2 or 3 racks of 8 Ball and would struggle to put 2 or 3 racks of 9 ball together.
Continuous options in 8 Ball seem to assist with you being able to chop and change your run out plan as and when you like. 9 Ball is no where near as forgiving if you run out of shape.
Just my opinion.
9 Ball for me is by far the harder game. I believe I'm still pretty good but I could run 2 or 3 racks of 8 Ball and would struggle to put 2 or 3 racks of 9 ball together.
Continuous options in 8 Ball seem to assist with you being able to chop and change your run out plan as and when you like. 9 Ball is no where near as forgiving if you run out of shape.
Just my opinion.
9 ball requires excellent shot making skills and good cue ball control. 8 ball requires excellent cue ball control and good shot making skills. Rattling a pocket in 8 ball can actually be an advantage if you leave your ball in the pocket. Doing the same thing in 9 ball just sets up your opponent to start a run. In 9 ball, the balls determine your patterns for you, In 8 ball, you need to determine the best pattern for your run. Add the fact that you can make the first 8 balls but miss the last one and lose in 9 ball and the luck factor becomes bigger in 9 ball.
Steve
Steve
traa89 said:
9-ball emphasizes execution. To that point, you'll get punished more often if your execution fails near the end of the rack.
8-ball emphasizes pattern runouts. To that point, you'll get punished more often if your pattern runout fails near the end of the rack.
Because today's 8-ball is a call shot game and 9-ball is not, lucking a ball in 9-ball is the obvious area of luck.
Because there is no specific ball to play position in 8-ball (all balls in the set are on), then lucking into position is the obvious area of luck in 8-ball.
Fred
I think there is more luck involved in 8 ball than 9 ball without question. Anyone who disagrees think about this, when is the last time you watched two mid class players play both games? How many flukes did you see in 9 ball? Now, how many times did someone try to get shape on a certain ball in 8 ball and not get it but, wow, they can shoot another ball! Luck happens more in 8 ball.
Now look at the difficulty level. 9 ball requires stronger fundamentals, more aggressive and defensive shots, as well, you need to be very good at safeties both playing them and getting out of them. Most 8 ball is runout or die.
Difference in breaking? Make 7 balls on the break, no clusters in both games, which is the easiest runout? Ahhhh, I didn't say where the next ball to shoot in 9 ball was! The correct answer is, and always will be, 8 ball. You make a ball, you have an automatic chance at the runout. In 9 ball, you need complete cue ball control and a strong understanding of the rack in order to successfully pocket a ball and have a shot afterwards.Simply stopping the ball in the middle isn't enough. Just ask Ralph Souquet about his break in the World finals.
Now look at the difficulty level. 9 ball requires stronger fundamentals, more aggressive and defensive shots, as well, you need to be very good at safeties both playing them and getting out of them. Most 8 ball is runout or die.
Difference in breaking? Make 7 balls on the break, no clusters in both games, which is the easiest runout? Ahhhh, I didn't say where the next ball to shoot in 9 ball was! The correct answer is, and always will be, 8 ball. You make a ball, you have an automatic chance at the runout. In 9 ball, you need complete cue ball control and a strong understanding of the rack in order to successfully pocket a ball and have a shot afterwards.Simply stopping the ball in the middle isn't enough. Just ask Ralph Souquet about his break in the World finals.
I prefer playing 8-ball
I prefer watching 9-ball
I prefer watching 9-ball
8 vs 9
I agree with all the posts here . . . defensive play in both games is important, but in 8-ball it can be extremely difficult . . . your trying to prevent your opponent from shooting when he has a lot more "eligible" balls on the table versus the rotation your forced into with 9-ball.
I still like 9-ball better . . .
I agree with all the posts here . . . defensive play in both games is important, but in 8-ball it can be extremely difficult . . . your trying to prevent your opponent from shooting when he has a lot more "eligible" balls on the table versus the rotation your forced into with 9-ball.
I still like 9-ball better . . .
I think the IPT opened a lot of eyes for most people on this MB. I'm taking it back here, but people were swearing up and down before the IPT started that the run out percentage among pro players was going to by way higher for eight ball than nine ball.
The reality was that the run out percentage was nearly identical for both eight and nine ball, on average, if you will. SO much for eight ball being considered a game too amateurish for pro players, and not a true test of skill.
Of course, this debate created over ten pages of posts, going back and forth, with quite a few not willing to back off on either side.
On a side note, I really have to find better things to do with my time.
The reality was that the run out percentage was nearly identical for both eight and nine ball, on average, if you will. SO much for eight ball being considered a game too amateurish for pro players, and not a true test of skill.
Of course, this debate created over ten pages of posts, going back and forth, with quite a few not willing to back off on either side.
On a side note, I really have to find better things to do with my time.
I think there is a sharp contrast between 8 ball played on a bar box and on a 9footer as well. Same thing with 9 ball. I dont know if you any of you agree but personally I will:
1. Run out on a bar box more in 9 ball than I will on a 9 footer...but
2. But I will run out more 8 ball on a 9 footer than I will on a bar box.
Or to say:
Bar box 8 ball is harder than 9 footer 8 ball and barbox 9 ball is easier than 9 footer 9 nine ball.
Either way, like most people have said, 8 ball has a little more to do with patterns. Missing a ball in the hole can be to your advantage in 8 ball but not in 9 ball. However, I disagree that about the cue ball control is more important in one game versus another. I think you need excellent cue ball control for both games if you play them on a high level against high level competition....(especially if you are on tight tables.)
1. Run out on a bar box more in 9 ball than I will on a 9 footer...but
2. But I will run out more 8 ball on a 9 footer than I will on a bar box.
Or to say:
Bar box 8 ball is harder than 9 footer 8 ball and barbox 9 ball is easier than 9 footer 9 nine ball.
Either way, like most people have said, 8 ball has a little more to do with patterns. Missing a ball in the hole can be to your advantage in 8 ball but not in 9 ball. However, I disagree that about the cue ball control is more important in one game versus another. I think you need excellent cue ball control for both games if you play them on a high level against high level competition....(especially if you are on tight tables.)
The Woim
Banned
I love both games. With the pro's ALWAYS playing 9 ball on TV, I've just about had enough of watching 9 ball... Too much of a good thing.
I'd love to see ESPN televise some 8 ball. 8 Ball is the game most Americans love and play all the time so that's what the pro's should play on TV.
My son prefers 8 Ball - so that's what we play.
Yours Very Truly,
The Woim
I'd love to see ESPN televise some 8 ball. 8 Ball is the game most Americans love and play all the time so that's what the pro's should play on TV.
My son prefers 8 Ball - so that's what we play.
Yours Very Truly,
The Woim
The IPT certainly did provide some good insight into the game of 8-ball, especially for younger players who may have never seen 8-ball played at the professional level. I remember when I was young that I would occasionally see 8-ball on tv, with guys like Mizerak and Hopkins battling it out, there was a long period where I never saw any professional-level 8-ball, however.
It seems to me that at the professional level the difference in the luck factor between 8-ball and 9-ball is pretty small. I would concur with earlier posters as to the main areas of luck in each game, but I would also submit that another prevalent factor in 9-ball is that a player is much more likely to end up with an unintentional safety after missing a shot. This seems to occur just as often as someone snapping the 9 or fluking in a ball. As a matter of fact, my opponents always seem to have an uncanny ability to hook me after every miss, and the more weight I'm giving up, the better they get at it, lol.
I like 9-ball for it's elegant simplicity. I also like the fact that, since there is always only one ball the shooter can legally hit, there is potential to play defense on almost every shot, unlike 8-ball where, especially early in the game, your opponent has so many targets on the table that it may be impossible to hide him from all of them. I also like 8-ball, though, mostly because it is played with a full rack, and thus requires the shooter to play close position, to play position at times by "floating" the cueball into an area instead of using 2 or 3 rails to get there as we commonly do in 9-ball, and to learn how to deal with clusters and other troublesome situations that do not come up quite as often in 9-ball.
They're both good games, but they both definitely have their shortcomings, IMO. I would say that a player who restricts himself to one of these two games is not going to develop certain skills as rapidly as he otherwise might. If you had to pick just one game to play, it seems to me that your best choices would be rotation, one-pocket, or 14.1.
Good rolls,
Aaron
It seems to me that at the professional level the difference in the luck factor between 8-ball and 9-ball is pretty small. I would concur with earlier posters as to the main areas of luck in each game, but I would also submit that another prevalent factor in 9-ball is that a player is much more likely to end up with an unintentional safety after missing a shot. This seems to occur just as often as someone snapping the 9 or fluking in a ball. As a matter of fact, my opponents always seem to have an uncanny ability to hook me after every miss, and the more weight I'm giving up, the better they get at it, lol.
I like 9-ball for it's elegant simplicity. I also like the fact that, since there is always only one ball the shooter can legally hit, there is potential to play defense on almost every shot, unlike 8-ball where, especially early in the game, your opponent has so many targets on the table that it may be impossible to hide him from all of them. I also like 8-ball, though, mostly because it is played with a full rack, and thus requires the shooter to play close position, to play position at times by "floating" the cueball into an area instead of using 2 or 3 rails to get there as we commonly do in 9-ball, and to learn how to deal with clusters and other troublesome situations that do not come up quite as often in 9-ball.
They're both good games, but they both definitely have their shortcomings, IMO. I would say that a player who restricts himself to one of these two games is not going to develop certain skills as rapidly as he otherwise might. If you had to pick just one game to play, it seems to me that your best choices would be rotation, one-pocket, or 14.1.
Good rolls,
Aaron
Cornerman said:
I agree with most of your post, Fred, but missing the shot you're going for and fluking in a ball is much more rare than missing the ball you're shooting for and accidentally leaving no shot for your opponent. I think this is where luck usually is a big factor in 9-ball. Everyone, from beginners to pros, fails to put the OB where they want every now and then. If, on those occasions, it happens to land somewhere that is unfavorable to your opponent, it can totally turn the rack (or the match) around. And it happens all the time.
-Andrew