Chinese 8 Ball

Jive said:
I remember in the 90s we bought a Chinese Pool table here and had 10 guys carry the whole dam thing (not taken apart whatsoever!) up 4 level. It only cost $350 and came with some half decent balls and crap sticks. It was good pass time though.
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Yes, those whole table 4cm thick slates they have. However, they are shipping new models with 2 half-table slates now, and all parts are standarized and easier to be disassemlbed and stored.

I will be back to Wuhan for the Spring Festival next month. I tried last year and couldn't find a decent pool hall. Which one did you frequent in HanKou?
 
JayKidd said:
Yes, those whole table 4cm thick slates they have. However, they are shipping new models with 2 half-table slates now, and all parts are standarized and easier to be disassemlbed and stored.

I will be back to Wuhan for the Spring Festival next month. I tried last year and couldn't find a decent pool hall. Which one did you frequent in HanKou?
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There are very nice halls in Wuhan right now. I'd definitely recommend one of the newer 夜时尚, the franchise they have in Wuhan is doing much better than the ones in Beijing. There's a couple more places that I'd recommend or I could just bring you there when you're here.

I should be in Wuhan during the spring festival, if you're still playing regular pool then we can shoot some at my place. Stay in touch.
 
TheThaiger said:
I think it was World rules. Blackball is becoming more popular, but World/EPA are still more widespread.

The sooner we have one unified set of rules for 8 ball, the better.
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You're right mate, it was WEPF World Rules 8 ball pool, the final racks from all 3 finals he won are on YouTube.
 
Here is Potts playing in a pub money match for $35,000. Race to 29. The similarity to the Philippines is striking.

The game though is absolutely horrible. I don't understand the two shots in a row thing if you miss. Very strange and leads to very long games. Gareth must have felt incredibly free on the big Chinese 8 ball table with the ball in hand rules. Must have been liberating to have the room to just run out without all the silly back and forth.

http://www.cuesport.tv/video.php?id=361&catId=8-ball&itemsStart=
 
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JB Cases said:
Here is Potts playing in a pub money match for $35,000. Race to 29. The similarity to the Philippines is striking.

The game though is absolutely horrible. I don't understand the two shots in a row thing if you miss. Very strange and leads to very long games. Gareth must have felt incredibly free on the big Chinese 8 ball table with the ball in hand rules. Must have been liberating to have the room to just run out without all the silly back and forth.

http://www.cuesport.tv/video.php?id=361&catId=8-ball&itemsStart=
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I'm still on ignore then, John? :frown:
 
JB Cases said:
Here is Potts playing in a pub money match for $35,000. Race to 29. The similarity to the Philippines is striking.

The game though is absolutely horrible. I don't understand the two shots in a row thing if you miss. Very strange and leads to very long games. Gareth must have felt incredibly free on the big Chinese 8 ball table with the ball in hand rules. Must have been liberating to have the room to just run out without all the silly back and forth.

http://www.cuesport.tv/video.php?id=361&catId=8-ball&itemsStart=
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2 shots rule is very simple JB, if your opponent fouls you are entitled to 2 visits to the table, on your first visit you can nominate the opponent's ball to pocket as a free ball, or pot your own. Once you miss a ball, your first visit is over and you have 1 more visit. The free ball only applies to the first shot of your first visit.

Also, congrats on the new arrival!!! :)
 
TheThaiger said:
I'm still on ignore then, John? :frown:
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No, no one is on ignore. I think I followed your link and then searched for Potts to find the match I linked to.

MartinBullet said:
2 shots rule is very simple JB, if your opponent fouls you are entitled to 2 visits to the table, on your first visit you can nominate the opponent's ball to pocket as a free ball, or pot your own. Once you miss a ball, your first visit is over and you have 1 more visit. The free ball only applies to the first shot of your first visit.

Also, congrats on the new arrival!!! :)
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Thanks. I found it funny that in the 4th game they got into some sort of major tactical battle where the commentator couldn't even figure out who was on which balls because they kept taking two shots. I did play this 20 years ago on a visit to London but never since. I have to say that it is my opinion that this rule should be abolished world-wide.

That said I find it amazing that in England people play money matches for those amounts of money at this game. In America they say where did all these great British players come from and this is part of it. The willingness to get in the box and match up is really something that I think pushes players to excel. Of course gambling is not required to become a great player but there is no doubt that it develops nerves of steel if you play these public challenge matches and dispense with all the hustling and barking to match-up. Simple no-nonsense heads-up pool.

America is supposed to be such a rich country and the best at everything and yet there hasn't been a single TAR match for as much as these guys play for in a pub. (publicly announced stakes, there have been matches where the side betting has been rumored to be more.)

I have known many Englishmen and almost always they have a lot of gamble. It's not any wonder then that a guy no one in the rest of the world has heard of comes out of nowhere and wins 50k in China playing on equipment that is unfamiliar, with bigger balls, and different rules when you have such a hotbed of intense matches like this happening in England regularly.

I was and remain impressed. Never again will I complain about tight pockets.
 
JB Cases said:
No, no one is on ignore. I think I followed your link and then searched for Potts to find the match I linked to.
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I linked the Potts match in an earlier post.

JB Cases said:
Thanks. I found it funny that in the 4th game they got into some sort of major tactical battle where the commentator couldn't even figure out who was on which balls because they kept taking two shots. I did play this 20 years ago on a visit to London but never since. I have to say that it is my opinion that this rule should be abolished world-wide.
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To say I'm not a fan of the two shot rule is to understate things somewhat, but it's a more interesting game to play than to watch, incorporating several different skills into one game - the strategy of one hole (blocking pockets), the safety of snooker and the kill of 9 ball. The game is won and lost long before the black is potted.

You have to draw mistakes out of your opponent. Some quite limited cueists are incredibly difficult to beat, with the tactical nous of a chess grandmaster. You will lose, but slowly. Death by a thousand cuts.


JB Cases said:
That said I find it amazing that in England people play money matches for those amounts of money at this game. In America they say where did all these great British players come from and this is part of it. The willingness to get in the box and match up is really something that I think pushes players to excel. Of course gambling is not required to become a great player but there is no doubt that it develops nerves of steel if you play these public challenge matches and dispense with all the hustling and barking to match-up. Simple no-nonsense heads-up pool.

America is supposed to be such a rich country and the best at everything and yet there hasn't been a single TAR match for as much as these guys play for in a pub. (publicly announced stakes, there have been matches where the side betting has been rumored to be more.)

I have known many Englishmen and almost always they have a lot of gamble. It's not any wonder then that a guy no one in the rest of the world has heard of comes out of nowhere and wins 50k in China playing on equipment that is unfamiliar, with bigger balls, and different rules when you have such a hotbed of intense matches like this happening in England regularly.
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I don't think gambling is in our culture to anywhere near the extent it is in yours. The matches linked are one-offs, I think. There are the odd match-ups for a few grand but going to the poolhall expecting to find someone to gamble with on a daily basis is rare IME. We don't have road players, either, although there will be people hustling for drinks and small change in the pubs.
 
 
SplicedPoints said:
I hope I'm invited too. I may have some time in March or April with the wife being away.
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Peter, you have had a standing invitation for more than a year. And it's a permanent one!! So get your a$$ here quick! Heh.
 
JayKidd said:
The video we were waiting for is finally released. The Appleton "call the 8" incident.

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDk5MjI5MDIw.html

Watched it and fell really sad, for both parties.
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Unless Darren called the shot out of the frame of the camera I didn't see any sort of gesture or comment indicating that he called the pocket.

It LOOKS like that the 8 could only go in the corner from there but I have to side with the referee on this one based on what can be seen on the video.

But I want to say that's it is a brutal outcome after Darren runs that tough rack. And I don't think that I personally could have accepted this win if I were Darren's opponent. I think I would have had to bite the bullet and accept that I had been beaten and would not have wanted to win the match in this fashion.
 
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