A race to one?

StrokeofLuck

StrokeofLuck

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
When replying to another thread a few days ago regarding poker’s popularity one of the posters alluded to the Chris Moneymaker poker win as part of the reason for the poker boom/phenomenon, and it makes sense when you consider that an amateur can potentially step in against the pros, knock them off one by one and possibly come out a millionaire. That said there are bars that are having 8-ball tournaments as qualifiers and generating a lot of interest from all calibers of pool players. These tourneys are double elimination and a race to one; a small payout goes to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places with those spots qualifying for a final. The rest of the money goes into a pot for the final tournament. The final is the same format with some very attractive payouts at the top. Do the best players always win? Sometimes yes, but obviously with that format many times no. In order to shorten up my post I’ll get to the point. What would AZ’ers think of anteing up say a $1,000 entry fee in order to match up against the likes of an Efren Reyes or a Johnny Archer in a race to one, with potential of taking down maybe a $100,000 top prize? That would only take a few hundred entries and allow for nice payouts going a ways down. Maybe qualifiers could be held around the nation with the winner getting paid entry into the larger final. Maybe the top prize would be 10 times that number. I know that some will say the top players would shun this format, but if the prize money is high and the tourney pays deep enough I don’t think there’s any way they could resist. It would definitely make for high drama with some of the best players in the world being potentially eliminated by an amateur’s break and run, great television too. Pool needs something really bad and I want to see it get the recognition it deserves. I know it’s not the pool player’s dream format but do you think this idea has potential to move pool to another level of popularity?
 
good idea

StrokeofLuck said:
When replying to another thread a few days ago regarding poker’s popularity one of the posters alluded to the Chris Moneymaker poker win as part of the reason for the poker boom/phenomenon, and it makes sense when you consider that an amateur can potentially step in against the pros, knock them off one by one and possibly come out a millionaire. That said there are bars that are having 8-ball tournaments as qualifiers and generating a lot of interest from all calibers of pool players. These tourneys are double elimination and a race to one; a small payout goes to 1st, 2nd and 3rd places with those spots qualifying for a final. The rest of the money goes into a pot for the final tournament. The final is the same format with some very attractive payouts at the top. Do the best players always win? Sometimes yes, but obviously with that format many times no. In order to shorten up my post I’ll get to the point. What would AZ’ers think of anteing up say a $1,000 entry fee in order to match up against the likes of an Efren Reyes or a Johnny Archer in a race to one, with potential of taking down maybe a $100,000 top prize? That would only take a few hundred entries and allow for nice payouts going a ways down. Maybe qualifiers could be held around the nation with the winner getting paid entry into the larger final. Maybe the top prize would be 10 times that number. I know that some will say the top players would shun this format, but if the prize money is high and the tourney pays deep enough I don’t think there’s any way they could resist. It would definitely make for high drama with some of the best players in the world being potentially eliminated by an amateur’s break and run, great television too. Pool needs something really bad and I want to see it get the recognition it deserves. I know it’s not the pool player’s dream format but do you think this idea has potential to move pool to another level of popularity?
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I would like to tell you that I love the idea, before all of these geniuses on here start destroying your idea. Pool will NEVER make it to the leve that poker has. However, it can come a long way from where it is currently at, and your idea is definitely one that would allow for bigger turnouts and thus more prize money. Sure, luck will be a mjor determining factor in who would win, but it is the same in poker. I could never win one of these tournaments, but I would probably play anyway just to say I did.
 
i like it and would put up 1000 in a large field, BUT i would want the game to be 8-ball too....that would further level the playing field (and on a barbox, regular cb).
 
Luck in poker > luck in pool. You're simply not gonna have the "amateur pool player wins the big event" kinda result. Sure, you might have an unknown, but if he can work his way through the pro field, he's certainly no amateur.
 
ScottW said:
Luck in poker > luck in pool. You're simply not gonna have the "amateur pool player wins the big event" kinda result. Sure, you might have an unknown, but if he can work his way through the pro field, he's certainly no amateur.
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One game anyone can beat anyone imho. Even bar players can break and run a rack of 8 ball.
 
I agree with ScottW and cubswin both. Anyone could win one rack, but to move through a whole field would be very, very unlikely. However the average player would certainly have a much better shot at it, than in any current format.
It would pretty cool to see the response to a tourney like that. I think if the entry was reasonable, there could bee a lot of amatuers that would give it a shot.
 
I absolutely love this idea. Although maybe a new game is needed to play this tournament. Something that doesn't give the breaker the advantage or maybe a game with no break at all so both players start the game on equal footing.

OR

Play 8 or 9 ball but if a player breaks and runs the other player has one chance to break and run to start the game over again.


Anyways your idea is solid and I honestly don't think a person can say its a bad one.
 
This is a pretty good idea. Of course, the bad thing about a race to one is that there is still a good chance you can kicked out of the tournament without even attempting a single shot.

Instead of race to one, I'd propose race to two with alternate breaks. I would also play 8ball instead of 9ball.

Or if race to two is still too short for anyone to invest any decent amount of money in, maybe race to three (or four) with the person trailing in the match breaking. In case of a tie, the person who won the lag would break.

With this format, even a C player can march through a field consisting of pros. Of course, the odds of this occuring would be the same as a Moneymaker winning the WSOP, but I guess that's the point.
 
????????????????

How about a race to 9 winner breaks 9ball with the finals race to lucky 13.
Some tour. are secretly seeded. I believe it should be luck of the draw other than that I believe it should be just pool.
Pinocchio
 
This is a pretty good idea. Of course, the bad thing about a race to one is that there is still a good chance you can kicked out of the tournament without even attempting a single shot.
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That's my point exactly. When some of the better players around here complained about the race to one format, one bar went with a race to 3 for qualifiers and finals and the number of participants dropped dramatically. I liked it but a lot of the players that were consistently turning up for the race to one format didn't. I think the appeal of a race to one is that anyone that can run a table can potentially move on and have the thrill of knocking off some top players along the way. We all know every time you add a game to the race it increases the odds of the better player winning. This format idea is to increase drama, which pool badly needs, and give the "average" Joe a chance to cash in big time.
 
This is a very good idea. In order for Pool to make it on American television, you need something that caters to a relatively short attention span and has some immediate excitement built into it. In this format, everyone has a chance and you can show complete "matches" in realtime.
 
MasterRacker said:
This is a very good idea. In order for Pool to make it on American television, you need something that caters to a relatively short attention span and has some immediate excitement built into it. In this format, everyone has a chance and you can show complete "matches" in realtime.
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I am forced to agree. Now bear in mind from the outset that as a pool player, the thought of a race to one makes me cringe. The thought that a top player could be knocked off by some APA 4 or 5 absolutely crawls my blood. However, that's exactly what would make it work!

Skill, of course will play a huge factor, but the fact will remain that anybody could beat anybody in such a format. If the top prizes are anywhere in the seven figures, it would be a lure that no pool player with an "enterprising" spirit will be able to resist. Everybody in the world will be there. Despite their misgivings, the top players d--n sure ain't gonna pass up a chance at that kind of cheese, and every league player, shortstop and road dawg will be out there gunning for it too. Clearly, you would have the largest field of any tournament ever held.

If you could organize an annual event that is televised and handled the way the WSOP has been, who knows? As we've seen time and again, a single media or cultural event can suddenly awake in Americans the desire to go out and play pool, and a boom could result from it. In the past it's been movies--perhaps this time it could be a televised tournament, but it's got to have mass appeal. If it can raise the tide, all boats will lift!

Bottom line, it sure wouldn't be fair in terms of rewarding the best players, but it just could have the ingredients to spark a real explosion. Besides, think of the action such a tournament would have. Just think of it!:cool:
 
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