Bank the 8(and other versions)

[Mr. Wiggles]

Changing game

In a bar, "bank the 8" or last pocket 8ball is the best game you can get.

I use to play different versions of these games. Like 'gotta bank 2 rails or more' or side pockets only.

If you are playing someone better than you.. Try and talk them into playing last pocket 8ball, but they have to bank last pocket. It's bigger than it seems.

Talking of my old barhopping days, not today! If I was holding the table which is sort of the idea I would not let a stranger change the game to supposedly have a better chance. Love all games but when you challenge you challenge to play the game being played. If we were playing bank the eight we would tell all challengers what the game was when they put up to avoid problems,

 

[BobTfromIL]

That just sounds really confusing hah. Not sure I'd even attempt that.



It is confusing and the worst part is our age doesn't help make it any more clearer.

 

[tonov12]

To count as a made ball, all balls must be caromed off of the cue ball. That is, you shoot the object ball into the cue ball and carom it off of the cue ball into a pocket.

Very hard to run a rack of 8-ball and you'll get damn good at caroms.

Ya we play that, call it shadow pool. Helps you with Qball shape too when playing normal.

 

[Z3R0]

Not too many guys in the mid/southwest, I see.

Last pocket 8ball is VERY popular with the hispanic crowd. But you gotta get out of the poolrooms and get into the grungiest of the grungy bars to easily find $20 or $50/game last pocket 8.

I played a bunch of Panamanians starting at $50/game. After a few hours, I was up a couple thousand when we bumped the bet again up to $500. The stack of cash rattled the hell out of me and we broke even...lol.

I think the most I've ever wagered on pool was $100/game, and that was staked by someone else so wasn't really my money I had to worry about losing. One thing I do know though, when I played, I was more focused and accurate that I had been before!

 

[catpool9]

Back in 1979 me and Scotty Townsend was out playing some bars in Longview,Texas and ran across this player that wanted to play (which ever pocket the last ball went) you had to play the 8-Ball in that side pocket, so it became complicated, you had to plan ahead of your shots , playing your shape for the ball before the eight, or if you miss , it was to your advantage to have more than one ball on the table.

It was an amusing game for sure, never played it before then, and never played it since!


P.S.......Oh and I did all the playing, we won $500.00 cash off the guy and somehow or another this guy named "Vergil Saddlewhite " got in on our bet and the last game was for a diamond gold ring, well I won the last rack and Vergile took the ring to the "Talley-Hoe" which was a bar/club there in Longview,Tx. and pawn the ring to the owner "LD" for $125.00, and we was going to take the ring back to the guy we was playing and get the $500.00 , as it turned out the guy was pissed, because the ring was worth $1,500.00, so me and Scotty was pissed......but thats pool!!!!!!!! Virgile Saddlewhite did a SC5-thom on our ass!.........lol

David Harcrow

Anyone know Scotty Townends cell/or home # PM it to me, thanks.....David

 

[Llama]

The only way I will play 8 ball is "Last Pocket"... Most times I play bank last pocket... To me it just makes the game more interesting.

 

[Minnesota Phat]

Honolulu 8-ball

A friend and I made up a game we call "anything but" (a regular shot).

8-ball by whatever rules float your boat.

The difference being absolutely no "straight-in" shots are allowed. Each and every legally pocketed ball must be made by means of either:

- bank
- combination
- carom/kiss
- kick shot
- some combination of above

Invented during slow bar times wanting to streatch the quarters.

-------------------

Also, in the BCA rules book there is the similar game called Honolulu. Someone breaks. Call any ball in any pocket; score one point per legally pocketed ball; the first player to make eight points wins.

I'm dreaming about/maybe planning on organizing a Honolulu 8-ball tournament. I thought I invented the game, but it looks like great minds think alike!

I'm trying to figure out a good standardized rule set. I'm thinking "ball in hand twice" for balls hit straight in, and "ball in hand three times" if the last ball from a group is hit directly in. I also think it might be fun to allow direct masse shots where there is a clearly obstructed shot.

No kicks or banks off one rail into the pockets adjoining that rail.

Any ball can be hit first, including the eight ball. If any ball is hit, there is no foul (don't need to hit a rail).

If a ball is hit in directly, it is not a foul if any other ball (except the eight ball) is pocketed on the same shot, including the opponent's ball(s). It is also not a foul to hit an opponent's ball directly in.

Don't need to call pockets - you continue your turn, if you legally pocket a ball from your group without committing any fouls.

If you hit in the last ball(s) from your group and also hit the 8 ball in on the same shot, you win - it doesn't matter the order that the balls go in, so long as it's the same shot.

Personally, I find 9 ball kind of boring, and 8 ball gets boring when the players are too highly skilled. Bank pool is OK, but it's pretty technical, and it can't be played on bar tables, and it limits creative strategies. When played on a bar-box, a player with crazy-good pool intuition could beat a great shooter at Honolulu 8 ball, so it opens up a new game to players who have a different skill set than your typical 9-ball expert.

9-ball is a good game for perfectionists, but Honolulu 8-ball is a good game for billiards artists... and for pool players who are running out of quarters at the bar.

Would you (or anyone) have any recommendations to add/subtract from these rules? So far, this rule-set seems to yield the most interesting game, and allows for a lot of creative strategizing that is very different from more traditional games like 9 ball or 8 ball. The easy shots that come up tend to disappear as the game progresses, and there are a lot of chess moves involved, like positioning balls close to pockets to set up combos and caroms on your next shot.

(Yes I know I'm commenting on an 11 year old thread - so sue me).

 

[tomatoshooter]

I'm trying to figure out a good standardized rule set. I'm thinking "ball in hand twice" for balls hit straight in, and "ball in hand three times" if the last ball from a group is hit directly in. I also think it might be fun to allow direct masse shots where there is a clearly obstructed shot.

This is confusing.

9-ball is a good game for perfectionists, but Honolulu 8-ball is a good game for billiards artists... and for pool players who are running out of quarters at the bar.

Quarters aren't that expensive and other people want to play.

I do like the Honolulu idea, bank pool always seemed a little to specific, eliminating straight in shots makes the game a challenge but eliminating kicks can mean there are too many times when no makeable shot is available.

 

[WoodyJ]

I'm dreaming about/maybe planning on organizing a Honolulu 8-ball tournament. I thought I invented the game, but it looks like great minds think alike!

I'm trying to figure out a good standardized rule set.

If so, go by the BCA rule book rules.

No kicks or banks off one rail into the pockets adjoining that rail.

We don't play by BCA rules (i.e., hit anything to make anything and first to 8 points wins).

We play by whatever the house rules 8-ball rules are which limits your possibilities. Therefore, we allow banks off one rail into the pocket on an adjoining rail (we call those cheesy rails). But, the object ball must be either one tip or one cube of chalk off the rail. Very good practice for those shots in real 8-ball games.

Don't need to call pockets - you continue your turn, if you legally pocket a ball from your group without committing any fouls.

Our normal 8-ball rules are call pocket. So, that's the rule.

If you hit in the last ball(s) from your group and also hit the 8 ball in on the same shot, you win - it doesn't matter the order that the balls go in, so long as it's the same shot.

Again, we go by whatever normal 8-ball house rules are. Makes things less confusing.

Honolulu 8-ball is a good game for billiards artists... and for pool players who are running out of quarters at the bar.

It's for when times are slow and you don't want to keep feeding the table with no one else around. Not because you are running out of quarters and definitely not when others are waiting to play on a challenge table (unless of course only one or two others are around that want to challenge you to play the game).

Would you (or anyone) have any recommendations to add/subtract from these rules? So far, this rule-set seems to yield the most interesting game, and allows for a lot of creative strategizing that is very different from more traditional games like 9 ball or 8 ball. The easy shots that come up tend to disappear as the game progresses, and there are a lot of chess moves involved, like positioning balls close to pockets to set up combos and caroms on your next shot.

(Yes I know I'm commenting on an 11 year old thread - so sue me).

My detailed suggestions are above. General suggestions to avoid confusion, either play 8-ball by whatever the house rules are (in which case everyone knows the house rules and you are just stepping up the level of difficulty), or go the BCA Honolulu format where you can shoot any ball and get one point per ball made and slop either does or does not count.