Bank the 8 is a pointless game

ktrepal85

Banned
A few years ago I first took an interest in pool from playing at a local bar where a few people had some skill. An old black man who I thought was pretty good took me under his wing and we'd often play bank the 8 when it was just the two of us at the bar.

I liked it because we would get our moneys worth with each game taking a long time. It would also give me a lot of extra chances to sink my balls while he was struggling to bank the 8. The old man also liked it because he enjoyed the challenge and liked to show off with 3 and 4 rail banks.

Now that I've moved on to bigger and better things I still return to the bar every so often to play him some and catch up. Although I'm now a much better player than him he still insists that we play bank the 8. He has a slight advantage because that's the only table he plays on and he is used to the rails and can usually out-bank me in the end.

Now that I'm a more seasoned player I've realized how terrible of a game bank the 8 is. I always run out to the 8 ball first and usually miss the bank because, well, banks are not easy lol. So now I'm stuck shooting ridiculous shots on the 8 while trying to avoid his obstacle balls. I've come to realize there is no point in getting to the 8 first unless you can achieve perfect position on an easy bank, which still is not a sure thing. Plus, he doesn't play league rules so there is no ball in hand if you scratch and really no point in shooting a safety. And if he scratches and the 8 is behind the headstring you're screwed because you cannot kick the 8 in, it must be banked.

The whole game is bad and I'm not sure why people even play it unless they are trying to show off that they can bank a ball or something. Anyways, I like the old man and I'm grateful that he showed me a few things when I was first starting out so I let him have his way. If anything, it's just practice for banking. And honestly, it's probably the only game that is a fair match for us now that I play pretty well.

What do you guys think about it?
 
I think that all pool games are terrible, and pointless, except for One Pocket, but hey, that's just me. :smile:
 
Never played bank the 8, but last pocket 8 is a f'n great game!!!

Bank 8 is usually called by those that may get out-shot or out of fun/boredom. If i play a stronger shooter, sometimes I'll go for those two to slow them down. There's a certain strategy in the games that can really hose an opponent.

When i was in Vegas for apa teams, i got a chance to play Sebastian a little last pocket eight. Very tough game to play with somebody that knows it well.

Both games can look purty with a nice runout, especially bank 8. There was a post a few years back about some Mexican(?) guy that showed up some place(MI? I dunno) to play some and ran off 5 racks, i think it was, of bank 8. Try slowing that down.
 
Most of the time a guy will ask to play bank the 8 because I am a better shot than him and most people suck at banks so it gives them a chance to catch up and they don't look like they cant shoot because by the time someone makes the 8 all the balls are gone. No offence but Sounds like you need to practice banking more. I know I do . I just started reading up on the diamond system its helping but rails are different on every table so there is always an adjustment you will have to do. Like your 8 ball I never understood Ball in hand. for a bar room league I can see it gives the under dog a chance . but when you have two well seasoned players its just silly. I never play ball in hand unless I am playing league. I feel if you can shoot show me you can shoot don't hide behind a cue ball.
 
I think any game that is played for fun and makes you practice things you normally would not, is not pointless at all...
 
I grew up in bars and every adult I played decided to make it bank the 8 to give me a chance. Today I'm really grateful they did because my banks are definately above average. It drove my grandpa nuts though because we played a doubles league for 3-4 years when I first started league and he hates banking (but can cut damn near anything) and when I started by cutting was terrible and I would take short banks over what I would consider a pretty easy cut now. I made more than I missed but even when I made them I would hear about it the rest of the night how I didn't have to bank that I should have cut it.
 
When you were a terrible beginner he did it to keep you in the game. Now that you're the better player, why is it suddenly a problem?

Play by whatever rules prevail in whatever format you can, and have fun doing it. Rules/ equipment/ strategy snobs miss out on a great bit of fun while complaining about those things; try to see the value of the challenges and avoid becoming one of them.
 
A few years ago I first took an interest in pool from playing at a local bar where a few people had some skill. An old black man who I thought was pretty good took me under his wing and we'd often play bank the 8 when it was just the two of us at the bar.

I liked it because we would get our moneys worth with each game taking a long time. It would also give me a lot of extra chances to sink my balls while he was struggling to bank the 8. The old man also liked it because he enjoyed the challenge and liked to show off with 3 and 4 rail banks.

Now that I've moved on to bigger and better things I still return to the bar every so often to play him some and catch up. Although I'm now a much better player than him he still insists that we play bank the 8. He has a slight advantage because that's the only table he plays on and he is used to the rails and can usually out-bank me in the end.

Now that I'm a more seasoned player I've realized how terrible of a game bank the 8 is. I always run out to the 8 ball first and usually miss the bank because, well, banks are not easy lol. So now I'm stuck shooting ridiculous shots on the 8 while trying to avoid his obstacle balls. I've come to realize there is no point in getting to the 8 first unless you can achieve perfect position on an easy bank, which still is not a sure thing. Plus, he doesn't play league rules so there is no ball in hand if you scratch and really no point in shooting a safety. And if he scratches and the 8 is behind the headstring you're screwed because you cannot kick the 8 in, it must be banked.

The whole game is bad and I'm not sure why people even play it unless they are trying to show off that they can bank a ball or something. Anyways, I like the old man and I'm grateful that he showed me a few things when I was first starting out so I let him have his way. If anything, it's just practice for banking. And honestly, it's probably the only game that is a fair match for us now that I play pretty well.

What do you guys think about it?

Pardon me if I am reading this wrong.

You have been playing this old man bank the 8 for years. You liked it then cause it gave you a chance to pocket balls while he worked on banking the 8.

You now say you are a better player than him and come on here complaining you have a hard time beating him and blame it on the rules and the table ?

Oh- kayy :wink:
 
I have this exact problem with the people I play. I hate it. It bugs me that they call regular 8-ball too easy, but after 30+ years of experience, can barely run out. The most embarrass feeling is when it goes multiple innings of both of you trying to bank and failing. Then they'll get it in and think it means something. You smashed the ball 5 times, percentage-wise it was bound to eventually go in. Sure that 3-rail bank was nice, but it doesn't erase the 10 minutes of failure hail-mary-ing that proceeded this. I'm grateful that since I'm new, it's taught me a lot about banking, that I wouldn't have otherwise learned. But there's a point where it doesn't teach you much more, and I think our time would be better spent learning how to play position.

Sorry, this has just been really upsetting me. Below a certain level, banking doesn't really mean much. Your position play still sucks, but I have cleared all the balls and I'm trying to bank this stupid ball past all your stuff. I missed. Yeah tables clear, knock them in in no particular order. Oh you missed? Well I'm still making this low percentage shot. I missed...keep just trying to pocket balls on an empty table. Okay, now we're both on the 8. You miss, I miss, you miss, I miss...oh hey you got it. Good job, this proves you're the better player. You sure showed me with your 30+ years of experience versus my 1 and a half years of experience on a game that only you guys play, on a bigger table that only you guys play.

I will admit that I made them make an exception that I find is a happy compromise.

If you break and run, you don't have to bank the 8. It lets them have their game, and it motivates me to play seriously without feeling like there's a "coin flip" at the end.
 
I used to play one night a week at the Wisner, NE senior citizen center that was a block from my house. I was 29 at the time and by far the youngest one there. They had an 8 ft pool table, a snooker table and played doubles, bank the 8 in the last pocket.

It was a challenge. The only time a ran the table was on the snooker table one time. I had a nice shot on the 8 once on the pool table. The cb and 8 ball were lined up perpendicular to the side rail and about 5 inches out. I shot the 8 to the end rail and drew the cueball back about 6 inches. The 8 ball comes right back and caroms off the cb into the side pocket to win the game.
 
Sounds like somebody needs to work on their banks.

I have done this a lot when playing a weaker player. Used to play that however many balls they had left was how many rails you had to go, minimum of one rail.
 
The version we play is that you must either 1) bank a ball of your group, or 2) bank the 8-ball. i.e. if you don't bank one of your group you're stuck having to bank the 8.

You have to measure the risk of missing a bank of your group and turning over the table vs. waiting until the end and having to bank the 8-ball.

You quickly learn to play position for a high-probability bank of your group.

It makes 8-ball more challenging and is easy enough to understand when playing people who only want to play 8-ball (believe it or not, there are lots of people who have never played other games...some of them are good players).
 
I've never played Bank the 8 but I've devoted all my years of playing pool to Last pocket with no shot calling or BiH. While the idea of Bank the 8 is good for the weaker shooter to catch up, and for both players to practice banking at the same time, one can always just smash the 8 ball and it will eventually go somewhere (unless you call your shots of course). It is a kind of a coin flip.

Last pocket, on the other hand, takes pure skill and strategy to end your game, while it still often allows the lower player to pocket what's left of their balls. If you have good position play, though, you can still run out in most cases (but not as much as in standard 8-ball). You probably know I do consider "blasting and trying to luck out" in certain situations a legit strategy, but not when there's only the 8 left. Then it's just pure luck with no risk or strategy part.

Last pocket and Bank the 8 combination sounds as something really challenging, maybe I'll try it out.

The version we play is that you must either 1) bank a ball of your group, or 2) bank the 8-ball. i.e. if you don't bank one of your group you're stuck having to bank the 8.

You have to measure the risk of missing a bank of your group and turning over the table vs. waiting until the end and having to bank the 8-ball.

You quickly learn to play position for a high-probability bank of your group.

It makes 8-ball more challenging and is easy enough to understand when playing people who only want to play 8-ball (believe it or not, there are lots of people who have never played other games...some of them are good players).

I've never heard of this 8-ball version, and I have to say it surely sounds smart and exciting.
 
No offense, but it sounds likes those complaining about bank 8 aren't playing it right.

When I was playing my best in my early 20's, I LOVED both bank 8 and Last Pocket. I even ended up drilling a player from Chicago at last pocket after we had jacked it to $60.00 a game and he started soft breaking on me. I also ended up beating the second best player in Belize at last pocket 8 ball when I went on vacation with my wife.

When played correctly, in both games you are playing backwards through the rack to get the easiest possible bank on the 8, or playing out the last pocket pattern.

You end up seeing some VERY creative position choices in the last 3-4 balls of both games.

You want to see you position and focus improve DRAMATICALLY? Play a 2-4 ball runners Last Pocket or bank the 8, where they play normal and you have to bank the 8 or play last pocket.

When I first played my soon to be wife about 17 years ago, I played very well but tried to make the game even between us. I kept adjusting the spot until the game ended up even.

She was a 2-4 ball runner, and the final "even" game ended up being where I had to play one handed and bank the 8 ball wherever my last ball went.

Both Last Pocket 8 ball and Bank the 8 are incredible games when played by good players. Much better to watch than regular 8 ball.

JMHO.

Short Bus Russ
 
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