Best Pool Game for Seniors - 1 Pocket or 14.1?

Too many old guys like 1pocket because -- especially if they're playing another old fart -- they think it's just about bunting around a lot of passive shots and a single game can take f.o.r.e.v.e.r.

I turned 71 this year and like to think I still play quickly and with a certain amount of offensive brio. But I am well aware that I am in the minority for my age group.

Lou Figueroa
 
You know, if you play 8 ball with BIH in the kitchen, it's actually really fun. Don't lynch me yet... if all your OBs are in the kitchen, the nearest the line gets spotted on the spot. THAT is how 8 ball and the whole "kitchen" thing was supposed to be played but on a coin op you can't spot balls.

That's why all the old timers used to practice the spot shot (not just 8 ball, but several games made that shot important).
 
I began playing in 66 and Straight Pool was called the game of truth. It was considered the game in those days. I am now 72 and still play fairly well. IMO Straight Pool is better played on a nine foot table with 4 3/4 inch pockets or dare I say 5 inch pockets.. The force needed to make a shot and break open clusters calls for a slightly bigger pocket than most Diamonds have. I prefer Gold Crowns for playing Straight pool for that reason.

Becoming proficient in Straight Pool will take all your rotation games up a bit especially Eight Ball.

I was never fond of One Pocket but have played it some. I find it somewhat boring and slow, both things I find little enjoyment from. It certainly requires great finesse and shot making skills. And seniors seem to love that game. Maybe as I get older I’ll begin to slow down and appreciate it more!

You never know…
 
muskyed said:
In my area neither of those games exist, it's 8 ball, or the occasional 9 0r 10 ball game. In fact, no such thing as a 9' table available for a hundred miles except one practice one, so if you want to shoot against someone that is your game choices.
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Given those, then 8-ball. At least with 8-ball you still have a good bit of thinking and creativity. Of course there is some in 9/10 ball, but the fact that the ball on is ALWAYS prescribed by the rules is a huge limit to creativity -- hence 9/10 limit the exercise of your mind that is so important for seniors. Plus, those are both shot makers games, and that is going to lead to a LOT of frustration as you get older.

On a 9' table I would agree with Lou above -- practice 14.1, play One Pocket :D
:D
 
ChrisinNC said:
I’m facing the realization that rotation games such as 9 ball have become just too challenging and frustrating for us senior players, including those of us who played these games quite well in our younger years. I’m wondering if other senior players agree, particularly as it relates to matching up against skilled players often less than half our age?

In choosing a game to focus and concentrate on trying to play as best I can for the next hopefully final 10-20 years of my pool playing life, the logical choice for me is between 1-Pocket and 14.1. Not that 8-ball isn’t a good game, but I just don’t think it’s as challenging a game as the other two, and at the risk of insulting those here who play it and love it, it seems to be the preferred game for recreational players and bar players.

I’ve played very little 1-Pocket, but I know it’s a great game that many players of all ages have become hooked on and it seems to be a game that senior players can remain quite competitive in, even in to their 70s. The issue for me would be the lack of 1-Pocket players in my area to learn from and to compete against. Even as our shotmaking skills naturally deteriorate in our advanced years, the knowledge and the defensive moves that are so critical in 1-Pocket are what allows senior players to still be a formidable challenge to a much younger 1-Pocket player.

By contrast, 14.1 is the game I grew up playing and loving for most of my first nearly 10 years of playing pool in the 1970s before 9-Ball took over as the preferred game for most serious players. Yes, there are still certainly shotmaking skills that younger players will always possess over us seniors. However, my premise is that if one can play 14.1 really well, with knowledge, simple positioning and limited cue ball movement, in the course of running a rack most shots should be relatively short, high percentage shots that even us seniors can handle as well as we ever have. And if we are faced with a longer or lower percentage shot, our defensive skills should be able to limit our opponent’s opportunities.

Any thoughts from others on this topic?
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It's one pocket for me.
This lets me play players above my skill level and still get to shoot some shots.

The concentration is on speed control, decision making and execution which helps all games.

I hope that more people will take it up. I'd like to see some 16 player events pop up around the state.
 
Quesports said:
I began playing in 66 and Straight Pool was called the game of truth. It was considered the game in those days. I am now 72 and still play fairly well. IMO Straight Pool is better played on a nine foot table with 4 3/4 inch pockets or dare I say 5 inch pockets.. The force needed to make a shot and break open clusters calls for a slightly bigger pocket than most Diamonds have. I prefer Gold Crowns for playing Straight pool for that reason.

Becoming proficient in Straight Pool will take all your rotation games up a bit especially Eight Ball.

I was never fond of One Pocket but have played it some. I find it somewhat boring and slow, both things I find little enjoyment from. It certainly requires great finesse and shot making skills. And seniors seem to love that game. Maybe as I get older I’ll begin to slow down and appreciate it more!

You never know…
Click to expand...
What I've found is that 1P will take your 8 ball game up 2 or 3 notches. The amount of multi rail banks and kicks needed in 1P, can directly apply to 8 ball. I'm not super familiar with 14.1 but I assume those shots rarely come up in straight pool.
 
jtompilot said:
What I've found is that 1P will take your 8 ball game up 2 or 3 notches. The amount of multi rail banks and kicks needed in 1P, can directly apply to 8 ball. I'm not super familiar with 14.1 but I assume those shots rarely come up in straight pool.
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The two games are very different. The safety game comes to mind. In straight pool safeties are not as important nor as prevalent. In straight pool a missed safety leads to a one point deduction if you don’t contact a rail after the ball you hit. Not a big thing in a game to 150 points.

Also you can play an offensive safety and lose one point by just rolling the cue ball behind the rack and not hitting a rail after contact. You lose one point but give your opponent no shot. Again the one point is a small price to pay for the defense you gain.

In one pocket one blown safety can end your chances of winning that rack and more potentially.

IMO all types of pool games can teach a good player new shots and techniques which are always an advantage.
 
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I guess I'm the odd duck around here, since I'm 80 and still only like playing 9 ball. I played one pocket for a brief time in my 30's, and I was doing okay until I ran up against one of those players who never took a shot at a ball that wasn't hanging in the pocket, and whose sole purpose in life was leaving the cue ball frozen to a rail. After about 5 games of that I returned to 9 ball, and I've never looked back. The consistency isn't what it used to be, but I won the local tournament the week after I turned 80, and that'll keep me motivated for at least another year. :cool:
 
Taxi said:
I guess I'm the odd duck around here, since I'm 80 and still only like playing 9 ball. I played one pocket for a brief time in my 30's, and I was doing okay until I ran up against one of those players who never took a shot at a ball that wasn't hanging in the pocket, and whose sole purpose in life was leaving the cue ball frozen to a rail. After about 5 games of that I returned to 9 ball, and I've never looked back. The consistency isn't what it used to be, but I won the local tournament the week after I turned 80, and that'll keep me motivated for at least another year. :cool:
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Those are the people to avoid. They take the joy out of it.
 
jtompilot said:
What I've found is that 1P will take your 8 ball game up 2 or 3 notches. The amount of multi rail banks and kicks needed in 1P, can directly apply to 8 ball. I'm not super familiar with 14.1 but I assume those shots rarely come up in straight pool.
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right, they don't. But stack shots, dead balls, caroms and combinations, and in particular -- safety play -- are all staples of Straight Pool and translate very nicely to One Pocket :D
 
Black-Balled said:
When I practice 14.1, it invariably turns to bank pool or 1p before I hit the end of rack #2.

Any ball/ any pocket...how hard can it be?!?!?
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Any ball any pocket sounds easy……but escalate that number to a rack…..14 balls in any pocket……and then
try increasing the number to 25 balls consecutively pocketed to “any“ pocket. And just how many can you really
pocket to any of the 6 spacious pockets that seemingly invite and accept object balls so easily? And of course,
always leaving a object ball in excellent position for another break shot to keep your consecutive run going to
“any” of the 6 pockets you can choose. It’s easy, right? The average pool player can run 2-3-4 racks consecutively?

In my years of playing pool, I have never run 3 racks in straight pool. I always screwed up the break shot on a 3rd rack every time I had a chance to run 30. Funny thing is when I pretend to have made the shot and drop the break shot OB I missed in the pocket and keep shooting, I’ve run that rack and it was absolutely infuriating to think about if my break shot hadn’t missed. Shooting 15 balls to any pocket sounds easy when the balls are scattered and the table is open. It isn’t when the balls start in a tight rack and you don’t break the rack wide open. However, 14.1 does reward the patient competitor.
 
boogieman said:
You know, if you play 8 ball with BIH in the kitchen, it's actually really fun. Don't lynch me yet... if all your OBs are in the kitchen, the nearest the line gets spotted on the spot. THAT is how 8 ball and the whole "kitchen" thing was supposed to be played but on a coin op you can't spot balls.

That's why all the old timers used to practice the spot shot (not just 8 ball, but several games made that shot important).
Click to expand...
BIH in the kitchen is the way 8 ball is meant to be played. It makes the game harder
if only because of how it changes safety play which is very different from the kitchen.
 
ChrisinNC, since you haven't played much One Pocket, try this. Play One Pocket partners with coaching allowed. It is very social but also helps you learn new strategies and tactics quickly. There is a lot to learn in OP and this speeds up the learning curve immensely. Just don't let over coaching bog the game down.
Oh, don't get in a fights with your partners. LOL
 
Tennesseejoe said:
ChrisinNC, since you haven't played much One Pocket, try this. Play One Pocket partners with coaching allowed. It is very social but also helps you learn new strategies and tactics quickly. There is a lot to learn in OP and this speeds up the learning curve immensely. Just don't let over coaching bog the game down.
Oh, don't get in a fights with your partners. LOL
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Like I always tell the other team: if you take that fool's advice I'm gonna have to spot you more.
 
Tennesseejoe said:
ChrisinNC, since you haven't played much One Pocket, try this. Play One Pocket partners with coaching allowed. It is very social but also helps you learn new strategies and tactics quickly. There is a lot to learn in OP and this speeds up the learning curve immensely. Just don't let over coaching bog the game down.
Oh, don't get in a fights with your partners. LOL
Click to expand...
Tennesseejoe—-we’ve talked in the past as I live in southern ky. Where are you finding a place to play? Or are you driving to JOB’s? Thx
 
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