8 ball blues

BazookaJoe

BazookaJoe

Destroyer of stickers
Silver Member
It's disheartening to be an eight-ball player in the world of pool today. Personally I love 8 ball and prefer it to 9 ball. But not much emphasis is placed on this game today. Everywhere you look it's 9 ball. Fast-paced with lots of run-outs. I love the safety play which is more often used in 8. I thrills me to see a shot which not only pockets a ball but breaks out a frozen ball which would have ruined a good run. I like having to think my way around an eight teetering on the edge of a pocket instead of shooting the combo for a quick match. Nobody goes for the longer and more strategic games today. I want 8 ball!!!!!!!!! I want one-pocket!!!!!!!!!

I suppose I'll adapt, but I'll never change.
 
where i live (DC) it seems that 9ball is the game for action. eight ball is still being played at more tables than anything else, though -- typically by folks who never play (hearing them argue over weird imaginary rules is always fun). 14.1 is played pretty often (my favorite game) and one pocket is played by the better players, but not often enough (i love to watch it).

i think there is a lot of strategy and safety in 9ball, typically (though the slop factor diminishes their necessity in the game). and since it's often a race to 3 or 5, the quick win scenario (combos on the 9) just make the next rack come that much quicker...

i like all games, really, but would prefer an afternoon of 14.1 to all else (even though my runs are very small, i love working the pack)
 
I just feel there is more strategy in 8 than 9. 9 seems more of a "good shot game" than a "smart shot game". I can definitely run more racks of 9 than racks of 8. Take two good shooters and the outcome usually relies on the break.
 
It seems that when you see eightball played around here, it is in a partners fashion, or played in team events. It is common to see people try to lock up in 9ball, but cant come up with a game to get a game playin partners 8ball.

I enjoy all games, including eightball.
 
joe - i agree, in general, but it's so much tougher to hook someone in 9 ball than 8 (unless your opponent is up 6-0!) that good defense definitely qualifies as strategy!

but yeah, the way most people play is SHOT SHOT SHOT!

i like to play 9 slowly with lots of safety play. most players who are good shotmakers and who prefer 9ball don't respond so well to slow safety play. it's like they all have ADD or something!
 
I tired of 9 ball once and took up 8 ball and One Pocket. Playing the latter game really improves one's bank, kick and defensive strategy like no other.
 
8 ball over 9 ball????

ok. this is something ive wondered since i started really playing pool. and forgive me if i sound like a smart ass because thats not what im trying to do. but sometimes i come off like that. this is a serious question.

how can you say that 9 ball is more of a "slop" game than 8 ball. because if played the tournament style or for those of you league players out there if its played with "league rules" then you can slop balls in in 8 ball also. and besides when is the last time you saw Archer or Reyes or Stricklin shit a ball in? to me 9 ball is more of a skilled game than 8 ball because if you blow shape playing 8 ball you still have 6 other balls to save your ass. and if you blow shape playing 9 ball your kicking at a ball or left with a tough shot. now i will agree with you on the fact that its alot tougher to play a safety in 8 ball because of the fact your opponent has 7 balls you have to hide him from. but to me 9 ball is alot better of a game. it takes alot of skill to run rack after rack of 9 ball. but if you get a decent break and can make a ball your liable to run racks of 8 ball very easily. now i love the game of one pocket also. that is my newest favorite game. i play that everyday for a couple of hours. then switch to 9 ball and play for a couple of hours. but getting back to the subject... i just never have liked 8 ball because to put it bluntly i think the game is too easy. and railbeater that shoots halfway straight can play that game. but not everyone has the mental capacity and the skill to run out a rack of 9 ball. plus you said that you like watching poeple breakout tied up balls in 8 ball. do you not think that ever happens is 9 ball?

again forgive me for the length of this post and if i sound like im trying to cause a stink. just never understood why poeple prefer 8 ball over 9 ball. whereas 9 times out of ten playing 9 ball or one pocket the better player wins. but playing 8 ball thats not the case.
 
the reason i said that 9 is more slop is that it isn't a call shot or call pocket game (at least the way I play, which is BCA rules)

no, efren doesn't slop balls in, but when was the last time HE was the guy playing for $20 at your local pool hall?

if someone is playing good defense in 8ball, you can very easily (especially at the beginning) be hooked over and over... to say that one is an easy game is to ignore the fact that difficulty is mostly determined by who you play and how you play, not what you play.
 
"it takes alot of skill to run rack after rack of 9 ball. but if you get a decent break and can make a ball your liable to run racks of 8 ball very easily" - BHAMKID

Huh? It's much harder to get shape when your shooting and moving the rock around 6 other balls.

"plus you said that you like watching poeple breakout tied up balls in 8 ball. do you not think that ever happens is 9 ball?" - BHAMKID

Yes, it does happen in 9. But, with more balls you have more tie-ups. More balls = more obstacles. the spread is usuall pretty good in 9 with a good break.

I would like to see anyone run more consecutive racks of 8 than nine. Perhaps you can. I sure know I can run twice as many racks of 9 as 8.

BTW, I saw Bustamante luck two in against Souquet on ESPN. It does happen.
 
8ball is definately easier to play than 9ball. You play position for just one single ball versus 5 or 6, remember?

With better players, easy combos on the 9 and flukes happen very rarely.
 
8 ball still comes down to leaving yourself well for the last few balls, there is usually a "best" pattern to run out and you are still playing for a certain angle for a certain next object ball. A good player isn't going to play for the 10 in the side next and wind up shooting the 15 in the corner instead. But you have to maneuver around or move the other balls also. I think 8 ball has way more strategy than 9 ball, and personally like 8 ball better
 
I played a guy yesterday in an 8 ball tournament, he was rated pretty highly and actually played a little smarter than me. Despite his rating I didn't feel outclassed on shot making ability, I was definitely shooting better, he did however play some nice safetys that left me in a couple of situations where I was just trying to hit my object ball so as to deny him ball in hand. What threw me off more than anything is locally I run into very few players that will actually try to hook someone in 8 ball. By the time I adjusted my game it was over.

Anyway I didn't get upset because I learned a valuable lesson, I respect the guys game and the next time we meet I'm gonna pound on him. However it does bring me to my point which is the reason 8 ball is so underrated is because it does have a large base of neophyte players. The reason the guy I played hooked me in the tournament wasn't because my opponent was super great, it's because all of my other opponents were just making balls and weren't strategizing. I realized afterwards that I really put very little effort into beating my previous opponents, usually it was as simple as missing a shot on purpose to let them deal with a cluster, or just leaving them really crappy position to set me up for my next shot, I was really caught off guard running into a thinking player because they are so rare in the wild.
 
I'm sorry but 8-ball is a crappy game to play.
How can your opponent play shape on one ball, get out of line, and turn around 180 degrees and have a shot on another ball?
You can't do that on 9-ball.
There's more slop on 9-ball?
Maybe but on 8-ball the guy that's stuck with a bad layout, is heavily disadvantage. At least on 9-ball, you play the same layout.
The biggest problem I have with 8-ball is the players.
They don't know the rules.:D
If 8-ball is a better game, more players would gamble on it.
Here, the only gambling I see on 8-ball is the last-pocket version.
 
Joseph Cues said:
I'm sorry but 8-ball is a crappy game to play.
How can your opponent play shape on one ball, get out of line, and turn around 180 degrees and have a shot on another ball?
You can't do that on 9-ball.
There's more slop on 9-ball?
Maybe but on 8-ball the guy that's stuck with a bad layout, is heavily disadvantage. At least on 9-ball, you play the same layout.
The biggest problem I have with 8-ball is the players.
They don't know the rules.:D
If 8-ball is a better game, more players would gamble on it.
Here, the only gambling I see on 8-ball is the last-pocket version.
Click to expand...

I can semi agree with the bad layout thing, a few times last night I just got fucked by lady luck on my layout, however even when you have a bad lay out you can try to hook your opponent somehow.

I don't think eightball is gambled on less because it's a bad game, 9 ball is just a faster game. I'm gonna disagree with some of you guys in one respect, I think it's easier to hook someone in 8 ball than 9 ball. All those balls on the table in eight aren't just to pocket, you can move them in to block pockets, tie up your oponents balls with them, tie up the 8 with them to ensure your opponent can't run out, and you can hide the cue ball behind them. Go play an 8 ball game sometime with the sole intention of just hooking a guy sometime, I guarantee if you have any kind of cue ball control you'll probably be in for a long game.

p.s. I actually prefer 9-ball but I like it because it's a fast game. I agree that you tend to run into more skilled 9 ball players than 8 ball players, but like I said before I largely believe this to be true because 8-ball is the first game most poolplayers learn and more beginners play 8-ball than any other game, hence you will run across more less skilled players playing 8-ball than any other game.
 
Joseph Cues said:
I'm sorry but 8-ball is a crappy game to play.
How can your opponent play shape on one ball, get out of line, and turn around 180 degrees and have a shot on another ball?
You can't do that on 9-ball.

Yes, but then the whole strategy must be re-thought. Can you then make the shot and get on another ball? Is it smarter to shoot a safety? Can you hide him from all 7 of his (or her)balls?

There's more slop on 9-ball?
Maybe but on 8-ball the guy that's stuck with a bad layout, is heavily disadvantage. At least on 9-ball, you play the same layout.

Them's the breaks.

The biggest problem I have with 8-ball is the players.
They don't know the rules.:D

Unfortunately, this is often all too true. Discuss them before you play. Straighten 'em out if you can.

If 8-ball is a better game, more players would gamble on it.
Here, the only gambling I see on 8-ball is the last-pocket version.

9 ball is faster and more popular due to TV and movies. That's the reason most people gamble on it. It used to be 14.1 but 9 is faster and makes for quicker sets and more wagering.

You guys act like you can grab a broomstick and whack all the balls in with 8. I've seen a lot of run-out 9 ball junkies get stunned in a game of 8 ball with a good strategy player.
I like 9, I just like 8 better

To each his own
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Re: 8 ball over 9 ball????

BHAMKID said:


"how can you say that 9 ball is more of a "slop" game than 8 ball. because if played the tournament style or for those of you league players out there if its played with "league rules" then you can slop balls in in 8 ball also"

Not in a BCA league or tournament! Even though you only have to call a shot that is not obvious, the only slop is on the break. Maybe APA eight ball rules allow you to slop a ball in.

"and besides when is the last time you saw Archer or Reyes or Stricklin shit a ball in?"

You must be joking, I've seen it happen far too often.

"to me 9 ball is more of a skilled game than 8 ball because if you blow shape playing 8 ball you still have 6 other balls to save your ass. and if you blow shape playing 9 ball your kicking at a ball or left with a tough shot."

How about getting out of shape on one ball and not having another ball visible with five or six still up? I see it happen all the time in eight ball. You want a higher skill level game? Try ten ball. It essentially takes the break out out of the game and, the one additional ball causes even more position problems.

"i just never have liked 8 ball because to put it bluntly i think the game is too easy"

bhamkid, are you going to be at the Midwest Open in Chicago this weekend? If you think eight ball is so easy, I'm sure we can play some.

"just never understood why poeple prefer 8 ball over 9 ball. whereas 9 times out of ten playing 9 ball or one pocket the better player wins. but playing 8 ball thats not the case."

If you are talking about a race to one or two, you're correct. Lets play races to six, seven or more. The longer the race, the less chance the lesser player has, in any game.
Click to expand...
 
There's no official WC for 8ball right now, is there?

If there were WC for it, who do you think the favourites would be?

I've heard that Ralf Souquet is pretty much unbeatable at that game...
 
amateur said:
There's no official WC for 8ball right now, is there?

If there were WC for it, who do you think the favourites would be?

I've heard that Ralf Souquet is pretty much unbeatable at that game...
Click to expand...
Yes there is sorta.
At the Riviera Hotel in Vegas.
Efren has won 3 times. Bustamante, Medina and Strickland once.
APA has their huge tourney at the Riviera yearly. They try to hold the world 8-ball there when they have a chance.
I don't think it was held last year though.
 
Why I prefer 8 ball:

Well, I guess partly because I grew up on it, and have only played very little 9 ball (or 14.1) in comparison.

But I think mainly it's for the tactical creativity in the game.
In 9 ball you don't get to think your way around the rack so much, but for the odd combo, your ball sequence is pre-determined.
In 8 ball you can think your way around the dish, find the best way onto the 8 in one visit.

(I know 14.1 is similar, but unlike 8 ball, you don't have to negotiate around the other guy's balls).

Then there's the question of *when* to dish.
In the UK we use smaller tables (usually 6 ft) with 2" balls. In the tighter space it's harder to find a finish, and easier to hook. This means that if you run too many of your balls too soon, and don't finish, your opponent can develop and pick off his balls until you've lost.
Not sure how big a deal it is in advanced US pool, but I understand it's still a factor to some extent.
 
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