Can't Play 14.1!!!

sausage

sausage

Banned
all day yesterday and today, i struggled and struggled practicing straight. i was getting hot...... i tried different things but nothing helped. so, finally, after nearly tipping my table over, i practiced some 9ball. that went much better. does anyone else run into the 14.1 wall? if so what do you do to get out of a straight pool slump?
 
Rome wasn't built in a day

sausage said:
all day yesterday and today, i struggled and struggled practicing straight. i was getting hot...... i tried different things but nothing helped. so, finally, after nearly tipping my table over, i practiced some 9ball. that went much better. does anyone else run into the 14.1 wall? if so what do you do to get out of a straight pool slump?
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sausage:

Without knowing your specific issue, the only things I can recommend are the following:

1. How do you fare in another pattern game, like, say, 8-ball? Unlike rotation games like 9-ball, where the "pattern" of the balls is already pre-determined for you when you break the rack -- i.e. you have to shoot the balls in rotation -- straight pool and 8-ball require you to figure out the best pattern on your own.

2. Are you using equipment that may not be conducive to a good pattern-style game like 8-ball and straight pool? In other words, are you using a Red Circle cue ball, that "zings" around the table, not letting you (or hobbling you from) applying precise touch to limit cue ball movement for the next shot? A Red Circle cue ball is optimized for rotation pool, and thus it easily moves great distances around the table, a feature necessary for good rotation pool position play.

3. Where do your issues in straight pool lay? In other words, are you shooting shots OK, but when you get down to the last couple of balls, do you falter because you're not selecting the proper break ball (and the key ball to get position on that break ball)?

4. Do you find that, like many rotation pool players playing straights for the first time, they miss shots in a straight pool game that they'd NEVER miss in a rotation pool game? If so, this might point to the mental side of the game. Straight pool has the strange ability to make straight shooters miss shots they'd rarely miss, because he/she is concentrating on getting a big run (vs. only having to worry about 9 or less balls). I find when I'm playing rotation type games like 9-ball, there is less pressure, because I subconsciously know I'm only EVER worried about 9 or less balls, and even if I miss, I stand a good chance of not giving my opponent an easy shot at that one object ball. Straight pool, on the other hand, because one can shoot at *any* ball on the table, induces more pressure NOT TO MISS, because a miss is more costly than in 9-ball.

5. Are you expecting Rome to be built in less than a day? In other words, if you shoot a mean game of 9-ball, are you "expecting" that you should also be a good straight pool player, merely because the 9-ball zealots will say "9-ball is more difficult because there's only ever one object ball on the table at any given time, whereas in straight pool you can shoot at anything you want"? (That latter notion from the 9-ball camp really cracks me up by the way -- talk about horse blinders! But I digress...)

I hope this is helpful; I'm sure you're going to get a TON of great replies here!
-Sean
 
Good post Sean, I think #5 is the most common reason.

Most 9 ball players try it but don't take the time to learn the game properly, so its easier to just go back to 9 ball.

John is a good example, he was playing pro-speed 9 ball before he even knew what atraight pool was. Bobby Hunter said lets play some straight pool and John said "what's that". Bobby played him a game to 50 left handed (Bobby plays very good left handed) and beat him fairly easy. John thought this is a great game, no luck involved. He asked Bobby to teach him the proper way to play. John listened, practiced, watched accu-stats tapes of Sigel, Mizerak, etc. and within a few months ran over 100 and over 200 about a year later.

My point is he loved the game so much that he wanted to learn to play it like the greats from the past. Its not about just shooting balls. It takes time to learn pattern play, how to shoot breakshots the correct way, breaking out clusters, insurance balls, key balls, etc...

For most of us this is a never ending process, for John it took way less time due to his extremely advanced pool abilities at the time he started playing straight pool.

I guess what I'm getting at is don't just shoot balls, have a plan even if its wrong at the time, don't get frustrated, learn from your mistakes, watch top level players and just enjoy the game.

Trust me sausage, after awhile you will forget how to spell 9 ball.
 
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thanks for the replies.

my 14.1 game was bad on all fronts. shotmaking, position, planning..... just days earlier, everything was easy and clear. that's what freaks me out. is this male mentalpause or what? maybe i'm tired. i'll try to get some good sleep and see how it goes tomorrow.
 
Very good answers

sausage said:
thanks for the replies.

my 14.1 game was bad on all fronts. shotmaking, position, planning..... just days earlier, everything was easy and clear. that's what freaks me out. is this male mentalpause or what? maybe i'm tired. i'll try to get some good sleep and see how it goes tomorrow.
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All above answers are right on and are made by players who know what they are talking about. Hang in there and things will work out.
Sometimes things that are on the back of your mind will affect your game
(money, bills, work, family etc) and as you stated being 'Tired"
It is hard to be 100% when things like these are on your shoulders. It is best to put down the cue & turn off the lights when these days pop up. Get rest & when you get back to it. You will see your stoke come back.
 
All I know is that the table can have alot to do with it. Where I play they had a table that was recovered, balls cleaned, and I managed a run of 101 fairly easily. Flash forward several months and the cloth got dirty with chalk build up, the pockets tightened up, and the ball cleaner is busted. Needless to say, running 40 is now an accomplishment. I can't emphasize enough that it takes good clean equipment with somewhat accommodating pockets to achieve runs. If the balls don't open up well, then you end struggling to get and make shots.

Doug
 
Sausage, my dear :)

First of all, something extremly important: you have TO LOVE STRAIGHT-POOL or it will make you crazy learning it:)
by playin and training it solo/alone you will see that it is kind of different in many ways- next to the systematics to build your way to the break points and shooting good and correct sequences the biggest point is, that you have to keep your concentration high for a long long long time :p
As some of the good guys already shown up before, there are extremly good players on 8,9 and 10ball- but let em play 14-1 and you ll see very often very angry ppl discussing with themselves :p

just be patient bro- i just can recommend: search for a nice guy who s good at the fundamentals of straight pool, and let the book *Mastering Pool* by George Fels be your best friend. During reading this book you also will have so much fun (he s writing so funny) and will never be bored. Fels helps you to love straight pool. After that, if u like and able to, go ahead and buy P. Capelle s *play your best straight pool*.


ok buddy, go to the table and practice^^ and have a happy new year:)

lg
Ingo
 
The 14.1 Wall

This is not uncommon. I recommend you play Jerry Briesaths Equal Offense. It is in any copy of the BCA Rule Book. This is a drill I encourage my students to use for relaxed training and pattern development. I know this will help. Have Fun.
 
This is a great thread.

After reading this thread, I'm not sure there's much left to contribute. Most of the points have been well covered, especially that there is a wealth of knowledge in this forum that any player at any skill level could benefit from.

And I also find it much more enjoyable and strive to play this game the "proper" or "classic" way.
 
After last night, i have decided i CANT play League Style 14.1 either.........


Way Too Much Drama !!!
Steve
 
Sometimes things that are on the back of your mind will affect your game
(money, bills, work, family etc) and as you stated being 'Tired"
It is hard to be 100% when things like these are on your shoulders. It is best to put down the cue & turn off the lights when these days pop up. Get rest & when you get back to it. You will see your stoke come back.
Click to expand...

yeah, i have a lot on my mind. you can't play straight, depressed. depressed and tired is a disaster...

All I know is that the table can have alot to do with it. Where I play they had a table that was recovered, balls cleaned, and I managed a run of 101 fairly easily.
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yeah, i'm playing with a cheap set of unpolished balls which doesn't help at all. i gotta get some centennials.
 
Salamander said:
I can't emphasize enough that it takes good clean equipment with somewhat accommodating pockets to achieve runs.
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I'll second that on the pockets. I play in two poolhalls on purpose, because one of them has Gabriels tables with cavernous pockets, and the other has Dynamic II tables with crazy small pockets. The Gabriels literally attract balls like magnets, but the Dynamics rattles balls at the slightest sign of imperfection. Worse, if you shoot along a rail on the latter, you have to get the speed right, otherwise the pocket mouths reject the ball. I think they have the wrong angle or something, so instead of helping balls in, they throw them out of the pocket. On top of that, the Dynamic tables have bear cloths that just won't roll, and those hateful pre-drilled auto-racking ball holes in the slate.

Anyway, when I play on the Dynamic tables, it's about impossible to do more than 15 point runs. On the Gabriels, it's easy to cheat the pocket for better position, make those not-quite-straight ball alignments in the rack work with a little throw, or plain get lucky on tough long shots. On the Dynamics, I forget high runs. I play safeties and l limp to the final score, trying to limp faster than my opponent. Those are extremely nasty tables to have fun on, but they're good to train :)
 
Fastolfe said:
I'll second that on the pockets. I play in two poolhalls on purpose, because one of them has Gabriels tables with cavernous pockets, and the other has Dynamic II tables with crazy small pockets. The Gabriels literally attract balls like magnets, but the Dynamics rattles balls at the slightest sign of imperfection. Worse, if you shoot along a rail on the latter, you have to get the speed right, otherwise the pocket mouths reject the ball. I think they have the wrong angle or something, so instead of helping balls in, they throw them out of the pocket. On top of that, the Dynamic tables have bear cloths that just won't roll, and those hateful pre-drilled auto-racking ball holes in the slate.

Anyway, when I play on the Dynamic tables, it's about impossible to do more than 15 point runs. On the Gabriels, it's easy to cheat the pocket for better position, make those not-quite-straight ball alignments in the rack work with a little throw, or plain get lucky on tough long shots. On the Dynamics, I forget high runs. I play safeties and l limp to the final score, trying to limp faster than my opponent. Those are extremely nasty tables to have fun on, but they're good to train :)
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Fastolfe:

That's a funny story about those Dynamic II tables (speaking of which, forgive my lack of knowledge, but I've never heard of that brand!).

I imagine those pre-drilled auto-racking ball holes in the slate make it "fun" when you're position-playing around the rack area. I can just imagine rolling a ball through the rack area -- probably emits a sound like you hear when your car's tire rolls over those rumple strips on the side of the road (to wake up sleepy drivers), and the ball probably vibrates like a cell phone as it goes through that area. :D

<Brrrrrrrp... clack!> <Brrrrrrrp... clack!> :D

-Sean
 
Can't Play 14.1

OMG - The same thing happened to me yesterday! I played a good 6 hours or so, all alone, and wasn't playing very good straight pool. I normally set up a break shot and run until I miss, then start over. I was getting into the 2nd rack quite a bit, but that was all. So I played about 10 racks of 9-ball and then switched back to straight. It was then that I pulled off a 50 ball run, my highest in quite a while. Once I slowed down with running balls in straight again, I changed back to 9 ball for a 1/2 hour, then back to straight again. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it seems that going from 9 ball to straight forces me to reset my mind, playing style, etc. When I did this - it helped. I got out of the funk I was in and played better straight pool.

Ron F
 
sfleinen said:
That's a funny story about those Dynamic II tables (speaking of which, forgive my lack of knowledge, but I've never heard of that brand!).
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These tables are popular in dutch and flemish poolhalls. Considering the dutch character, I'm not surprised: these are solid, well-built, no-nonsense tables that seem to have been designed to be unforgiving and prevent having too much fun. South of the border, in french-speaking countries, the brand is virtually unknown :)

sfleinen said:
I imagine those pre-drilled auto-racking ball holes in the slate make it "fun" when you're position-playing around the rack area.
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The ball holes are great to break. They really do make a tight rack, so when you break, 2 balls move and that's it. Also, you don't need a plastic or wooden rack, which means that you can re-rack with a break ball almost touching the rack without any problem, and always at the proper position. However, once you're done marvelling on how great the rack is, it's a pain in the rear for playing. If you have to drive the cueball slowly and precisely in the racking area, it sometimes look like minigolf, with the cueball swerving around the holes.

To be fair, they're not holes, as much as small indentations in the cloth. They really are great for rack tightness, but when you see your perfect position ruined by one of them, or slightly separated balls that come back together all by themselves, it's really annoying.
 
I haven't been playing straight pool very long...i only really learned the game a few months ago. I ran into the same probems! my positioning was always way off (still is sometimes but it's getting better) my cue ball control was non-existant, i would play for about a half hour get annoyed and go back to 9ball... as of now i have not played 9ball in about 3 months. When i start to get annoyed i just re-rack, set it up with a break shot, have a cup of coffe and start over!
Good luck hope your game picks up!

~Heather~
 
HAKurtz said:
I haven't been playing straight pool very long...i only really learned the game a few months ago. I ran into the same probems! my positioning was always way off (still is sometimes but it's getting better) my cue ball control was non-existant, i would play for about a half hour get annoyed and go back to 9ball... as of now i have not played 9ball in about 3 months. When i start to get annoyed i just re-rack, set it up with a break shot, have a cup of coffe and start over!
Good luck hope your game picks up!

~Heather~
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Great to have you on the board, Heather! I didn't know you played 14.1; am looking forward to hearing your progress. And listen to your husband, at least when it comes to pool. But pretty much for nothing else ;). (Hahaha j/k Stevie...)

- Steve
 
Steve Lipsky said:
Great to have you on the board, Heather! I didn't know you played 14.1; am looking forward to hearing your progress. And listen to your husband, at least when it comes to pool. But pretty much for nothing else ;). (Hahaha j/k Stevie...)

- Steve
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I'll remember that Steve! Next time he asks why i dont listen to him ill tell him " Cause Lispsky told me not to, unless its pool related :P"
 
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