8 ball handicap system

Canadian cue

Canadian cue

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Looking for a league handicap system that will shorten the time it takes to play a match. I was thinking of a ball cancelation handicap where the weaker player got to drop some of their balls after the break. And to make things fair the other player would get to pick. The problem we are having is when weaker players are facing off they can take 20-30 mins to finish a game. That makes the night real long. This isn't part of a bigger sanctioned league, and only in house so we are only limited by our imaginations.
 
The problem there is that the higher level players would pick the right 3 or 4 balls to take off the table that almost guarantees a clear path to victory for themselves. I've gotten many people with this 'handicap' method over the years. Even playing an evenly matched opponent, giving someone the option to remove balls of their choice will almost always end up as a benefit to the player picking which balls come off the table.
 
Canadian cue said:
Looking for a league handicap system that will shorten the time it takes to play a match. I was thinking of a ball cancelation handicap where the weaker player got to drop some of their balls after the break. And to make things fair the other player would get to pick. The problem we are having is when weaker players are facing off they can take 20-30 mins to finish a game. That makes the night real long. This isn't part of a bigger sanctioned league, and only in house so we are only limited by our imaginations.
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That is the literal worst handicap idea ever. The stronger player will drop the balls that would be a problem for him, giving him a bigger advantage. It's a horrible movie, but this is covered in pool hall junkies.
 
If the players are weaker, you could just say that after the break, the 6, 7, 14, and 15 come off the table. That would shorten the racks pretty significantly, in my opinion. Then nobody would get an advantage of picking off problem balls. If any of those balls are made on the break, no additional balls are removed.

I didn't really put any thought into that, so if there is a flaw in my thinking, please feel free to call me out!
 
DeeDeeCues said:
That is the literal worst handicap idea ever. The stronger player will drop the balls that would be a problem for him, giving him a bigger advantage. It's a horrible movie, but this is covered in pool hall junkies.
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So.... I used to play pool occasionally with my roommate in the Air Force. I once offered him the spot of I take three of his balls off the table at the start of the rack. 👿 Let's just say, it was a mistake to do that to my roommate. 😣
 
If you want to spot by balls off the table, let the weaker player take them off whenever he wants. Put coins or coasters on the rail at the start of the rack to keep track.

Or, play 8-ball with a 9-ball rack. Each player starts with only four balls. If you use a template and usual rack placement, the wing ball is dead.
 
Other ideas. Give the weaker players some number of ball in hands after a miss. Another is give weaker players a second shot after a miss.
 
So, if ball removal isn't the solution, how else can you shorten the length of time it takes to play a game? And still make it fair for both weak and strong players?
 
If 2 weak players are matching up and you want to save time I think short rack 8-ball is best.
 
There was a league called ball in hand. Your handicap determined the number of times you could take ball in hand each rack. Everyone played a race to 4. A handicap of 3 meant you got ball in hand 3 times each rack. A 4 vs 5 meant 4 ball in hands vs 5 ball in hand.
This is the reverse of other leagues. The higher your number the weaker you are.

if a pro or open level played you got an extra b in h. no b in h for 8 ball. you needed to think about that key ball. There was a 6 on my team. He just had to play his first shot to get a second shot. After that he had ball in hand for the rest of the rack. He would always want to start with the key ball. I couldnt explain the idea of the key ball.
 
Canadian cue said:
So, if ball removal isn't the solution, how else can you shorten the length of time it takes to play a game? And still make it fair for both weak and strong players?
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Fair is no handicap. That is fair. Hobbling a guy is not fair, never has been, never will be.
 
Canadian cue said:
So, if ball removal isn't the solution, how else can you shorten the length of time it takes to play a game? And still make it fair for both weak and strong players?
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If the player is allowed to choose when the balls are removed, it is a spot.
 
Short rack 8 ball is about 100 times better than regular 8 ball. If you must play 8 ball, play that.

Still, switching to 9 ball is the best idea, imo. The games are way faster. More exciting. You can easily handicap it with ball spots. It’s luckier too (more fun). If those games still take too long, play 6 ball instead of 9. And keep all balls wild. Let the players ride the money ball!
 
used to play a guy at our sr ctr.....he got the breaks and 2 bih whenever he chose . Not really much of a handicap though .

Chuckg
 
When my wife wants to join me in the garage, I can only make two successful shots and then have to turn the table over. It sucks when we play 9 ball and she leaves the 789 because I also have to play shape for the next shot as part of our deal.
 
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