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 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?