9-Ball needs to be fixed

[TeddyKGB]

10 ball break is different enough from 9 ball to make it interesting, and no early 9

 

[Railbird-2026]

RANDOMLY place EVERY ball except the 9 in a RACK... NOT a template.

The 9 is placed in the center of the rack.

Place the HEAD ball on the SPOT.

The HEAD ball is the front ball which does NOT have to be the 1 ball.

The HEAD ball has to be the first ball contacted by the cue ball on the break.

The cue ball is confined to a break box in the center behind the head string.

At least three balls must contact a rail on the break and at least two balls must come up table past the side pockets.

Everything is played using the normal 9-ball rules after the break.

Simply fix. Put a spot down where the cue ball has to be and then in different places each day. Everybody breaks from same spot.

 

[straightline]

My issue with sets, and this is true of tennis as well, is that we can watch a person win fewer games and win the match. That, in pool, is weird to me.

0-4, 4-3, 3-3, and win the shootout. The winner lost 7-10, in games, and split 1-1-1 in sets.

Well if there was interest like in major sports, pro commentators could hype the drama to a froth. (still not much content)

 

[AtLarge]

In the first post of this thread, wrldpro commented that "...the 1 ball goes in the side pocket over 90% of the time." I assume he means the side pocket on the opposite side from the breaker. Last night, to show that the percentage isn't that high, I posted the successful break rate for the matches I tracked in 11 Matchroom-produced events held this year and last year. They all used the Matchroom break box and 4" corner pockets. The aggregate successful break rate was 78%.

GideonF then said, logically, that the percentage might even be higher late in the events, after less-skilled players are eliminated and the remaining players would "have a feel" for the tables. I explained that the matches I tracked in those events are either from the single-elimination stages, with the matches on the feature table, or from events that have no weak players (Mosconi Cup, Reyes Cup, Premier League).

But today I took a look at what the percentage would be for matches from the Last 16 and later rounds in 7 of the 11 events, plus matches involving the final 10 players in the two Premier League events, plus all of the matches in the most recent Mosconi Cup and Reyes Cup. This cut the total number of games down from 2,159 to 1,427, about a one-third reduction. So here are the results.

Successful breaks from the original group of matches -- 78.1% (1,687 of 2,159)​

Successful breaks from the smaller group of matches -- 78.8% (1,125 of 1,427)​

This is a pretty small difference. And it doesn't directly address wrldpro's comment about how often the 1-ball goes in the side pocket. In some successful breaks the 1-ball is not pocketed at all (91 times out of the 1,125 successful breaks) or is pocketed but not in the side pocket opposite the breaker (10 of the 1,125). Also, the 1-ball is pocketed in the side pocket on some fouled breaks (52 of the 1,427). So the number directly corresponding to what wrldpro said (how often the 1-ball goes in the side pocket) is 1,125 - 91 - 10 + 52 = 1,076 games out of 1,427, or 75.4%.

So, the 1-ball was pocketed in the side pocket on the opposite side of the table from the breaker:

- on 75% of all breaks (1,076 of 1,427)​

- on 91% of successful breaks (1,024 of 1,125)​

- on 73% of fouled breaks (52 of 71)​

 

[uk_9_ball_convert]

Actually, I love the set format and agree that it adds a lot of excitement. No deficit is insurmountable in the race to four format. If I'm watching a race to 9 and it is 5-1, I often walk to another table and watch that match.

I see alternate break as just another example of how event producers might be willing to pander to the players and thereby reduce the entertainment value of the pro pool product. The fans love packages. As you correctly note, however, the short set format gets rid of this issue.

I agree with your first point, but I think the alternate break would lead to less situations where a match you would expect to be even ending up one sided and the type of match you walk away from. It may lead to more one sided matches when there is actually a big difference in ability though

 

[uk_9_ball_convert]

Simply fix. Put a spot down where the cue ball has to be and then in different places each day. Everybody breaks from same spot.

I don't like that idea as it gives the organisers too much power, they could definitely influence results depending on where they pick the spot. Even if it was truly random it adds a bit of luck as I'm sure each players would have their own strength and weaknesses around where they were good at breaking from.