In our weekly 9-ball tourney, it's a race to 3, handicapped.....almost always, the better players are around at the end of the night.....sure, there are times when I get bad rolls.....a buddy beat me last week, winning two games with luck on the 7.....next match, same thing, two balls rolled into pockets, after a miss, to keep the next guy at the table....granted, two matches in a row like that are rare - it had never happened to me before, ever....but in both matches, I missed makeable shots, which I could have made to change the outcome....it's rare, incredibly rare, that I luck in a ball....either it goes, or it doesn't.....but you can't take luck out of 9-ball, or any pool game, or any game for that matter....
A guy makes 8 good shots, a couple of them really tough early in the rack.....he has a simple shot on the nine, shoots it down the rail with nice speed, and it jaws.....I mean, one of those jaws where we both look at each other in amazement that the ball didn't fall.....I can call the 9 all day, but I was lucky, and no real measure of skill or being better helped me win that game....
In ANY game, luck is a part.....the cue is rolling into perfect position, then hits a small piece of chalk, changing direction just enough to roll behind a blocker....a guy shoots a shot that he can only pocket 10% of the time, but you happen to play him that magical 1 in 10 time....these can happen in 14.1, 1pkt, or anywhere else......just because you called something or were trying to make it doesn't mean you weren't lucky....
I've seen Tiger Woods hit an incredible shot.....and then blush, laugh, and have a look on his face like he could not believe what he just did....Johnny Miller pipes in, stating that you could give Tiger a bucket of 100 balls and he'd not get one of them closer....hell, I can be playing a medium par 4 at 400 yards.....at 280 yards, there is a creek.....now my average drive is 260, but if I pipe one, I am in the drink....so I take 3wood....well, I hit it so pure, it flys 260....hits a hard spot in the fairway, bounds like it hit concrete, and into the water.....even playing safe, playing percentages, luck plays a part.....
Someone once told me that good luck is the meeting of preparation and opportunity....even in 9 ball, 99% of the shots are skill.....a very few involve luck or a roll....you've gotta hit the rack solid to make the nine on the break....you gotta pocket balls with skill and maintain cue control....unless you are on a 7 footer with buckets, then luck can play a larger roll
