Alternate break!!!Why not alternate break in 14/1 then???

[ivicafranic]

There are so many tournaments with an alternate break these days,what I really don't like at all
I like pool when you can get in stroke,dead stroke.When you catch a gear your opponent doesn't play at all.It develops great,vivid,more amusing and in one word fabulous atmosphere in the pool room.
You can be more aware of your progress and improvments and it gives you much more pleasure to the game.
So,if it is so and since there are so many tournaments with an alternate break and if we change the rules so oftenly why shouldn't we bring an alternate break in such a game as Straight Pool???

Well,you who has run 150balls in Straigth Pool know how man can feel after that,especially for the first time and you who has never run 150 balls yet,can imagine how would they feel like after 150balls run.
So,you can feel very the same or maybe even better when you run out all set in game of 9ball or 10ball.
With an alternate break there is no such a passion for the game and you can never touch that special moment!

 

[Bavafongoul]

So then would the shooter at the table leave the 15th ball on the table for the next shooter's break attempt or always just run all 15 balls? Clearing the table would then mean starting the next rack with safety play and every rack in turn would start out with a safety play.......the match would become eternally boring........did you know the US Open used to use that format when it first started back in the late 1800's and early 1900's?

The player would break the rack open and if any object balls were pocketed, the player kept shooting and was credited with the pocketed balls. The player kept shooting until they missed and if they ran the table, the player would break the next rack open and hope something dropped........it was a lot of luck....and that's why 14 -1 came about.......a former US Open champion....some Frenchman as I recall but I might be mistaken......suggested leaving the last ball in the rack on the table for the break attempt.......so in straight pool, alternate break seems like a counter-productive change and it would ruin the great format that straight pool has enjoyed and benefited from for over a 100 years.

Matt B.

 

[SureShot21]

I agree with the winner break format in rotation games like 9 ball or 10 ball, except obvious exceptions like a very short race. However you cannon do alternate break in 14.1. I don't even know what that would look like but the word continuous in the name 14.1 Continuous would lose its meaning.

 

[ivicafranic]

I agree with the winner break format in rotation games like 9 ball or 10 ball, except obvious exceptions like a very short race. However you cannon do alternate break in 14.1. I don't even know what that would look like but the word continuous in the name 14.1 Continuous would lose its meaning.

Well,it was sarcastic comment:smile::smile::smile:
Of course it would be very stupid to have an alternate break format in Straight Pool.However,on my opinion an alternate break in 9ball and in 10ball is pretty much stupid and as I mentioned it doesn't give you as much pleasure as winner break does.
I am surprised how come THEY didn't come out with this stupid rule even in 14/1 since they fudge something new all the time

 

[alstl]

Well,it was sarcastic comment:smile::smile::smile:
Of course it would be very stupid to have an alternate break format in Straight Pool.However,on my opinion an alternate break in 9ball and in 10ball is pretty much stupid and as I mentioned it doesn't give you as much pleasure as winner break does.
I am surprised how come THEY didn't come out with this stupid rule even in 14/1 since they fudge something new all the time

I also prefer winner breaks.

 

[Agent 99]

There are so many tournaments with an alternate break these days,what I really don't like at all
I like pool when you can get in stroke,dead stroke.When you catch a gear your opponent doesn't play at all.It develops great,vivid,more amusing and in one word fabulous atmosphere in the pool room.
You can be more aware of your progress and improvments and it gives you much more pleasure to the game.
So,if it is so and since there are so many tournaments with an alternate break and if we change the rules so oftenly why shouldn't we bring an alternate break in such a game as Straight Pool???

Well,you who has run 150balls in Straigth Pool know how man can feel after that,especially for the first time and you who has never run 150 balls yet,can imagine how would they feel like after 150balls run.
So,you can feel very the same or maybe even better when you run out all set in game of 9ball or 10ball.
With an alternate break there is no such a passion for the game and you can never touch that special moment!

Great Question !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is one of my pet peeve's .. what sense does alternate break make to any one who plays pool?

I find it to be ridiculous in any pool game, because it is simply not pool, at least as far as I am concerned...

All I can ask myself is how did this nonsense start and who started it?

I think it must of been by old players, who today have a lot of clout, and are looking for an unfair advantage over other players capable of putting together nice packages.

Pool is a boring enough spectator sport as it is for the neophyte.

How does it make sense to further water down a match by using alternate break?

The best matches ever played had a player get out of his chair with his opponent on the hill and throw down a 6 pack to win the match.

I can't even talk about this anymore...

 

[robertod]

Great Question !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How does it make sense to further water down a match by using alternate break?



In almost every other sport, your opponent gets a chance to reply to a score or possibly stop you from scoring. There is always at least a chance for defense. Pool is the only game I know of where you can score relentlessly without any possible action on the opponent's part.

Imagine baseball without players the field trying to stop a score.

Basketball where you maintain possession if your score a basket.

Football where you maintain control of the ball with every score.

Tennis where the winner of the game always serves?

Those would be pretty boring games IMO.

Alternate break at least gives the losing side a chance to get into the game. It may not be the best for 14.1 but certainly every other game.

 

[flyvirginiaguy]

I also agree winner should break. Earl would have never been the million dollar man if we had the same stupid rule when pool was actually popular.

 

[Agent 99]

Great Question !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How does it make sense to further water down a match by using alternate break?



In almost every other sport, your opponent gets a chance to reply to a score or possibly stop you from scoring. There is always at least a chance for defense. Pool is the only game I know of where you can score relentlessly without any possible action on the opponent's part.

Imagine baseball without players the field trying to stop a score.

Basketball where you maintain possession if your score a basket.

Football where you maintain control of the ball with every score.

Tennis where the winner of the game always serves?

Those would be pretty boring games IMO.

Alternate break at least gives the losing side a chance to get into the game. It may not be the best for 14.1 but certainly every other game.

I have heard this argument before .. all I can say is that Pool is not any other sport.

It's Pool ... And the structural rules of the games have been a constant for many years.

What if all of a sudden someone thought baseball players should get 4 strikes before they are out?

Well, it would be something, but it would not be baseball any more.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion my friend, but I must disagree.

Besides, the losing side already has a chance to get in the game - It's called don't miss - because if you do, I may not.

I guess there are two sides to every coin, but from my perspective, I say if it's not broke don't fix it.

For me, there is nothing more exciting to watch in pool then packages, they equal high runs in 14.1 - The suspense, the drama, and oh boy the pressure and how it grows with each rack you add to the run .. that's Pool to me.

Good rolls.

 

[arnaldo]

Great Question !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is one of my pet peeve's .. what sense does alternate break make to any one who plays pool?

I find it to be ridiculous in any pool game, because it is simply not pool, at least as far as I am concerned...

All I can ask myself is how did this nonsense start and who started it?

TV has a lot to do with the advent of the alternate break. Then it spread into amateur play as some local and regional leagues (certainly not all) integrated the concept into their events under the umbrella of fairness (as they perceived it).

While virtually all amply skilled players – probably a large segment of AZB regulars – greatly favor “winner breaks”, in the special case of televised pool, industry execs (and sponsors) realized early-on that general audiences wouldn’t watch as often as might be desirable in terms of ratings and demographics if one player sat – unable to defend him or herself – while the opponent ran many continuous racks and the program became virtually a one-person performance. From the POV of said execs and sponsors there was something “distinctly un-American” about an underdog seemingly not having a chance to fight back.

I'm just giving what I know to be one of the major factors that got the alternate break going; don’t shoot the messenger, or cite the many tournaments on Youtube that excitingly and inspiringly feature “winner breaks” because I’m definitely in agreement with folks who love to see racks run even if it means that the seated opponent may not rise often to defend him or herself.

Arnaldo

 

[nine_ball6970]

Everyone seems to feel alternate break somehow degrades the game because the opponent gets an even number of opportunities to break and this is a bad thing. Do you feel that one pocket should be winner break instead of alternate break?

I like alternate break in rotation games. There is more pressure in that format than winner break I think. You need to keep winning your breaks to have a chance to win the match. I feel like the best matches are when each guy breaks and runs every rack and the score is 8-8 in a race to 9. Alternate break penalizes your mistakes even more which is how it should be for the pros.

 

[albu]

Winner break al the way...and NOT short sets...race to 15 wb is a minimum :thumbup: