Analogy for the Re-rack Rules

[nrhoades]

I often encounter situations during the re-rack where either the 15th ball, cue ball, or both are in the rack. There is a BCA table of rules that tells you what to do and where to place the balls, but it is hard to memorize. Here I introduce an analogy I made up that I feel is easy to remember as a procedure rather than a table:

----

The cue ball lives in the kitchen.

The 15th ball lives in the head spot.

A ball must return home if he is "caught" hanging out in the rack area (during re-rack).

Only one ball may be selected to go home.

Upon returning home, if a ball sees that his house has someone else in it, he gets scared and goes somewhere else instead.

----

That's it. Using this logic, all of the BCA rules are covered (see attachment):

I've also added this to the Straight Pool wikipedia page.

 

[3andstop]

-------------- :thud: -------------

 

[justnum]

You got something going here. I plan on contributing more in the future.

If your caught in the rack you get spotted this includes the cue ball but he gets to be free behind the line because the neighbors don't want the kids mingling.

If your table is clean at the beginning of a rack, start fresh but the cue ball keeps his place because he has to watch how the neighborhood changes.

 

[Ron F]

Lol

lol....good idea!

I guess when you learn these rules when you're in 7th grade you don't think about how confusing they may be to learn later in life. Sounds like you have a great plan!

Ron F

 

[alphadog]

lol....good idea!

I guess when you learn these rules when you're in 7th grade you don't think about how confusing they may be to learn later in life. Sounds like you have a great plan!

Ron F

Tried the 7th grade three times don't remember this?LOL

 

[Ron F]

7th Grade

Tried the 7th grade three times don't remember this?LOL

I don't remember much from 7th grade either. But it was during that year, 1979, that I learned how to backscratch on the beads, that the CB goes in the kitchen if it gets left in the rack, and that the hardest cut is better to play than the easiest bank - the latter observation from Mr. Leo Galli, former Pennsylvania Straight Pool Champion.

Ron F