Which would you think is the best game to practice and develop cue ball control, shot making, position play and feel?
Best game to practice???
- Thread starter Espartaco_7
- Start date
Espartaco_7 said:
Straight Pool for the most part is more focused on beak out shots and not as much cue ball movement.
9 ball involves a lot more cue ball movement. 2 and 3 rail position shots that aren't nearly as common as in straight Pool.
I like to play straight Pool when i want to focus on fundamentals because its a lot of easier shots.
9 ball focuses more on precise position play.
Hope this helps.
-AJ
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I have to disagree with your assessment of position play with respect to 9 ball vs straight pool. 9 ball position is more or less an area position and not as precise as straight pool.
It's just my opinion, but I'd say 8 ball. It will help you with all the technical aspects of the game (shot making, CB control, rail deflection etc.) and develop your strategic skills at the same time. Among the games you mentioned in the poll, I think 8 ball is the best all-round type of pool.
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Straight pool will teach you fine (as in close and precise) cue ball control and make you see patterns.And if you never played it before and you start to get better there is nothing better then running a couple racks now and then.
I hardy ever play the game anymore but that is how I practice and now and then I get into the 3rd or 4th rack and it pumps me up.
I hardy ever play the game anymore but that is how I practice and now and then I get into the 3rd or 4th rack and it pumps me up.
Straight Pool by far, will teach you more about position play and cue ball control, much, much more so than 9 ball. Good Straight Pool players practice all the shots 9 ball players use and then some.
Most of the best 9 ball players are also very good Straight Pool players, most of the US Open winners just for starters.
Most of the best 9 ball players are also very good Straight Pool players, most of the US Open winners just for starters.
^^^^^^^ what he said^^^^^^^^^^
What is "pool 61"?
How about that Allen Hopkin's thing where you run first 10 balls like straight pool and last 5 balls like rotation game. Best of both world???
http://infohost.nmt.edu/~billiard/qskills_scorecard.html
How about that Allen Hopkin's thing where you run first 10 balls like straight pool and last 5 balls like rotation game. Best of both world???
http://infohost.nmt.edu/~billiard/qskills_scorecard.html
Majic said:
I can see how i said can be ambiguous and can be misinterpreted. I could have phrased it a lot better. Precise probably wasn't the best word.
What i was trying to get across was that in 9 ball you a lot have to do a lot more to get position on the object ball. Like i said multiple rail positional shots
Straight Pool you aren't shooting three rails all that much.
Bottom line i agree with you. I just should have payed closer attention to how i worded my
Post.
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pooler said:
In 9 ball you are moving the ball up and down and all around the table.
Straight Pool you don't. The cue ball stays on the same half of the table for a good portion of each rack, except for when a few stragglers travel up table.
I'm not putting down one game our another or saying one is harder than the other I'm just saying they are different.
Posted from Azbilliards.com App for Android
I don't shoot straight pool, so I cannot comment in that regard. What I DO know is that many of the best play the game. The only disadvantage I see in straight pool over 9-ball is that about 60 % of straight pool shooting is for the cut and short distance shooting. This may leave some lacking in long ball shooting.
Buddy Hall is the exception. He has earned his nick-name I think for this very reason. Watch at 32:30 in the link below for an example where Buddy hits OB off of a 2 rail kick to avoid BIH.
For those of you that think 9-ball is "area" position play, perhaps you have never been jammed on the 3 or 4 ball with an opponent that can run-out at will.
Here's a good link to the Hall/McReady match in the 2003 US Open 9-Ball Championships.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsHAG8YrXG8
Went 11/10 with great position play the last 3-4 racks. Checkout the position play @ 31:30on to 33:30
Buddy Hall is the exception. He has earned his nick-name I think for this very reason. Watch at 32:30 in the link below for an example where Buddy hits OB off of a 2 rail kick to avoid BIH.
For those of you that think 9-ball is "area" position play, perhaps you have never been jammed on the 3 or 4 ball with an opponent that can run-out at will.
Here's a good link to the Hall/McReady match in the 2003 US Open 9-Ball Championships.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsHAG8YrXG8
Went 11/10 with great position play the last 3-4 racks. Checkout the position play @ 31:30on to 33:30
It's straight rotation...what the Filipinos play, but learned from us. It's like playing 10 ball with 15 balls, for points (face value), roll outs, spot shots and first one to 61 points wins. It's the one pocket of rotation games. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb0Aorv8e30
