Best Racker of All Time

[mnorwood]

This thread is not intended to cast shade on anyone or disparage any player past or present. With the break being the most important shot in most games and the rack being critical to the outcome of the break I consider knowledge of racking and how to address the break as a legitimate skill. With all of that said who do you consider to be the best player of all time when it comes to racking and placing the cue ball for the break? Over the years I have always heard of different things that Corey has used which makes him my choice for this title. Thought?

 

[garczar]

This thread is not intended to cast shade on anyone or disparage any player past or present. With the break being the most important shot in most games and the rack being critical to the outcome of the break I consider knowledge of racking and how to address the break as a legitimate skill. With all of that said who do you consider to be the best player of all time when it comes to racking and placing the cue ball for the break? Over the years I have always heard of different things that Corey has used which makes him my choice for this title. Thought?

James Walden from OkC and Fat Randy Wallace from Tulsa were both MASTER rackers. Randy's racks looked perfect but they were like hitting a wad of PlayDough.

 

[Ģüśţāṿ]

The best rack manipulator is Corey, in my opinion. The best at overall rack knowledge would be Shane.

 

[maha]

rack your own will go by the wayside in a short time as it has ruined the game for those not expert in manipulating the rack for their particular break.
the spirit of the game is broken.

 

[sjm]

This is a two pronged question, as it covers both rack your own and rack for your opponent.

In "rack your own", several are in the conversation, but I'm going with Shane here.

If we're talking "rack for your opponent", the first of the "master rackers" was Jose Parica, who seemed to have it down to a science by the early 1990s. He knew how to give a slug rack that his opponents couldn't read as a slug. I once saw a top pro. known for his break, have an unfathomably hard time making a ball on the break over many hours when Parica was racking the balls.

Thankfully, the game is evolving past having players racking the balls. Every major event has referees racking the balls on the stream table.

 

[maha]

if a ref isnt going to be there to rack. make the rules for the break so that the rack isnt a factor.
maybe not what everyone wants, but what is needed.

 

[DieselPete]

You cannot be the “best” at racking, as best is suggested here, without being deceitful, so it is an honor that nobody should aspire to.

The goal of racking should be to have every ball perfectly frozen against the adjoining balls. There should be no other goal.

To create a rack that favors making balls or that decreases the likelihood of making balls can only be achieved by manipulating the balls away from the goal (stated above) to create unfrozen spots. Doing so on purpose is cheating, so being the “best racker” in this sense is to be good at cheating.

 

[straightline]

You cannot be the “best” at racking, as best is suggested here, without being deceitful, so it is an honor that nobody should aspire to.

The goal of racking should be to have every ball perfectly frozen against the adjoining balls. There should be no other goal.

To create a rack that favors making balls or that decreases the likelihood of making balls can only be achieved by manipulating the balls away from the goal (stated above) to create unfrozen spots. Doing so on purpose is cheating, so being the “best racker” in this sense is to be good at cheating.

There's more worn cloth than fresh cloth...

 

[Johnny Rosato]

Johnny S. here in Birmingham has racked about 85% of our games over the last 50 years, he's pretty good at it now.

 

[Poolmanis]

This is a two pronged question, as it covers both rack your own and rack for your opponent.

In "rack your own", several are in the conversation, but I'm going with Shane here.

If we're talking "rack for your opponent", the first of the "master rackers" was Jose Parica, who seemed to have it down to a science by the early 1990s. He knew how to give a slug rack that his opponents couldn't read as a slug. I once saw a top pro. known for his break, have an unfathomably hard time making a ball on the break over many hours when Parica was racking the balls.

Thankfully, the game is evolving past having players rack the balls. Every major event has referees racking the balls on the stream table.

I agree about SVB. When i was in DCC 2017 i saw him making wing ball impossible way every time. Accustats actually had match from there yesterday.

 

[ShootingArts]

Pure knowledge how to rack and how to detect bad racks, I believe Joe Tucker is the man. I think everyone should own his books and/or DVD's if they are going to play tournaments or gamble.

Especially when drawing somebody in a tournament that is known for creative racking I look over their first rack for a minute or two. They can't stand staying silent in the face of that long of an examination. "Something wrong?"

"I am just looking for what you did that I can exploit!"

That word "exploit" seems to have a nasty ring to it and I get good racks!

Rules of thumb, if the one is free or a gap all the way across either of the next two rows, demand a rerack. If there are gaps on one side of the rack, break so that the main force of the break is going into the solid side of the rack. This is probably enough to get by dealing with most rack mechanics. The really good ones you may have to make rerack a few times before your first break.

Hu