Ball placement in 9ball rack.

N

nrhoades

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Does anybody have any advice on what the best ball order/placement within the 9-ball rack is for racking yourself? I think Joe Tucker's placement for racking the other player is someting like:

1
6 3
5 9 8
4 2
7

What about offensive?

Edit: This forum trims spaces. The nineball rack above should look like a diamond.
 
nrhoades said:
Does anybody have any advice on what the best ball order/placement within the 9-ball rack is for racking yourself? I think Joe Tucker's placement for racking the other player is someting like:

1
6 3
5 9 8
4 2
7

What about offensive?

Edit: This forum trims spaces. The nineball rack above should look like a diamond.
Click to expand...

Lol, the layout didn't show up correctly on the post but I get it. You might wanna do a search on pattern racking, I think that was a pretty big topic awhile ago.
 
I don't know why i really rack this way but i do..

1
-7
-9-
-2
3


The (-) of course represent balls, it really doesn't matter to me what balls they are. The top row is usually either the 8 or 6, and the bottom row is usually either the 8 or 5.
 
poolscholar said:
--1--
-2 6-
3 9 5
-7 8 -
--4--

break from side rail aiming towards the 1 and 2 ball
Click to expand...

this is not bad....in fact, this is a very good pattern. nice post. that 3 ball line with the 6 9 and 7 is one of the most consistently predictable 3 balls you can think of..... they normally wont move much on a soft break. i normally put the 7 9 and 8 in that line, but i see the advantage to yours and i think its better! cheers.
 
It depends on which side of the table that you intend to break from, but if you know the REASONS why Joe suggests to rack that way for your opponent, then you can figure out the optimal ball placement when racking for yourself. Pick up a copy of his Racking Secrets 1 video, or if you already have it, take the time to watch it again. EVERY 9-ball player should own a copy.
 
nrhoades said:
Does anybody have any advice on what the best ball order/placement within the 9-ball rack is for racking yourself? I think Joe Tucker's placement for racking the other player is someting like:

1
6 3
5 9 8
4 2
7

What about offensive?

Edit: This forum trims spaces. The nineball rack above should look like a diamond.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I was always taught to rack the 3 and 2 as you indicated. Not sure if it helps but I do it by habit.
 
pattern racking

personally i dont about the order of balls in rack. Mike Seigal had a cool thing on racking in "perfect 8,9, and straight pool" it was something like racking the 2 ball in front and the 3 behind the 9 on a certain side depending on where the breaker racks for some reason i like to rack the 8 and 7 on corners....but most time i just throw balls in the rack i dont care.

reason was to leave tough position shot between the two and three....im not sure if the 3 goes on the opposite side or same side as the 2???

-..1 -
..2 4
.8 9 7
..3 5
...6

it works sometime....more luck than anything....if your worried about your rack order than your not focused on your game....just play.
rack order doesnt really matter. if you pocket a ball and can make that cue ball sit thats what matters.
 
Last edited:
nrhoades said:
Does anybody have any advice on what the best ball order/placement within the 9-ball rack is for racking yourself? I think Joe Tucker's placement for racking the other player is someting like:

1
6 3
5 9 8
4 2
7

What about offensive?

Edit: This forum trims spaces. The nineball rack above should look like a diamond.
Click to expand...

Well first is technically an unsportsmanlike move, but that aside I do as follows:

1
32
596
78
4

1,2,3 and4 tend to go up table. 7, 8 and 9 downtable. I put the 2 oppositefrom the side I am breaking from as it goes up table better from there. Getting a shot on the 2-3 is the most important, after the table is open more to get to the last 4-5 balls anyway.
 
I think you would be wasting your time trying to create some sort of pattern with the balls and thinking that you can have an advantage. If someone created a machine that racked the balls EXACTLY in the same position every single time, you would still get variation on where the balls go, simply because you will NEVER hit the cue ball exactly the same way every time, at the same speed, height, English, angle, or position every time.

There are too many balls colliding with too many rails, making second, third, and fourth contacts along the way. If you can show me that racking the balls in a particular order is truly an advantage, I would be stunned. It's like some people are looking for a secret to how the break works, when there are simply infinite variables involved. On top of that, not every table is the same, not every ball set is going to be the same, some are waxed, clean, and others dry and dusty. It is misleading to those who believe consistency can be achieved when putting an order to the balls.

Sure, you can aim to make the wingball or apex ball, and you can do that relatively consistently, but if you could do it every time and get the same layout every time, you would be a god. Spend more time on the tangible, practical parts of the game. All this effort spent on perfect racks, perfect tips, order of balls, etc etc, is wasted. Focus on drills, competition, stroke, and confidence. I know there are players out there who know this, and don't waste their time on the miniscule parts of the game that are simply too unpredictable. Besides, if you could get the same layout of balls every time, where lies the mystery and challenge of the game?
 
SkyscraperChris said:
I think you would be wasting your time trying to create some sort of pattern with the balls and thinking that you can have an advantage. If someone created a machine that racked the balls EXACTLY in the same position every single time, you would still get variation on where the balls go, simply because you will NEVER hit the cue ball exactly the same way every time, at the same speed, height, English, angle, or position every time.

There are too many balls colliding with too many rails, making second, third, and fourth contacts along the way. If you can show me that racking the balls in a particular order is truly an advantage, I would be stunned. It's like some people are looking for a secret to how the break works, when there are simply infinite variables involved. On top of that, not every table is the same, not every ball set is going to be the same, some are waxed, clean, and others dry and dusty. It is misleading to those who believe consistency can be achieved when putting an order to the balls.

Sure, you can aim to make the wingball or apex ball, and you can do that relatively consistently, but if you could do it every time and get the same layout every time, you would be a god. Spend more time on the tangible, practical parts of the game. All this effort spent on perfect racks, perfect tips, order of balls, etc etc, is wasted. Focus on drills, competition, stroke, and confidence. I know there are players out there who know this, and don't waste their time on the miniscule parts of the game that are simply too unpredictable. Besides, if you could get the same layout of balls every time, where lies the mystery and challenge of the game?
Click to expand...

im sorry, but once you reach a certain level, this stuff turns into literally the entire game (of 9 ball). if you are breaking soft you can predict where these balls are going within about two "squared diamonds" about 90% of the time.
 
master9baller said:
Well first is technically an unsportsmanlike move, but that aside I do as follows:

1
32
596
78
4

1,2,3 and4 tend to go up table. 7, 8 and 9 downtable. I put the 2 oppositefrom the side I am breaking from as it goes up table better from there. Getting a shot on the 2-3 is the most important, after the table is open more to get to the last 4-5 balls anyway.
Click to expand...

there are so many "moves" in pool one person thinks unsportsman, and other (extremenly sporty) people dont. if u dont tell your opponent to spot one in one hole cus it blocks the only one or two balls you can shoot in, unsportsman? if u are in a tournament with a ref and he calls a bad hit on your opponent, and u know its good and say nothing.... unsportsman? and in this case.....

you see, the "pattern" isnt reallyt the issue. i can change the order of the balls every rack, yet still get effectively the same results. why, because racking order is based on getting low balls downtable, and leaving high balls uptable. so i could swith the positions of the two and three (or the 2 and 4 etc) every rack, so now there is no pattern..... BUT there is really a pattern.... so am i unsportsmanlike here even without technically having a pattern? i just think this issue needs to be over.
 
I think the APA came out with the "fairest" 9 ball rack a couple years ago,

--1
-6-3
4-9-5
-2-7
--8

supposedly no advantage to the racker or the breaker. Lately these are the only balls i care about

--1
-X-X
X-9-X
-X-X
--X

sometimes I'll rack the higher balls farther forward but it doesn't seem to make a difference to a good strong break. pattern racking is way more effective if you're allowed to break soft, and you're not in the APA.
 
enzo said:
im sorry, but once you reach a certain level, this stuff turns into literally the entire game (of 9 ball). if you are breaking soft you can predict where these balls are going within about two "squared diamonds" about 90% of the time.
Click to expand...

The entire game? Makes sense I guess. No need to worry about how you stroke, where your mental game is, how fast the table is playing, what the stakes are, how the balls are positioned, what English to use, what your key shot is, how many balls ahead to play, none of it. Once you set the pattern right and break, your opponent should just say, "good game", since that's all there is to it. Your logic is flawed, man. That's not all there is to the game. If there were some "secret formula" to pool, don't you think people would be breaking and running constantly, never missing? Don't you think the pros would break and run 100% of the time? How do you explain balls ending up in different positions every time, even when Shane, Earl, or Efren are breaking? You are living in a world where you think the game can be won by a pattern in the diamond? Please.
 
SkyscraperChris said:
The entire game? Makes sense I guess. No need to worry about how you stroke, where your mental game is, how fast the table is playing, what the stakes are, how the balls are positioned, what English to use, what your key shot is, how many balls ahead to play, none of it. Once you set the pattern right and break, your opponent should just say, "good game", since that's all there is to it. Your logic is flawed, man. That's not all there is to the game. If there were some "secret formula" to pool, don't you think people would be breaking and running constantly, never missing? Don't you think the pros would break and run 100% of the time? How do you explain balls ending up in different positions every time, even when Shane, Earl, or Efren are breaking? You are living in a world where you think the game can be won by a pattern in the diamond? Please.
Click to expand...

Chris, well said. Unless you can create the ideal consistent table conditions and ball and break power and aim plus controlling the temperature and humidity, then really, no breaks will be the same.
 
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