Does 9-ball today need a fix?

Cori

Cori

Registered
What can we do to change the face of 9-ball to make it better?
Sometimes we might feel robbed when...

we hang the 9-ball and leave the win for the opponent

the opponent breaks and deposits the 9-ball for the win

we are sharked by our opponent and lose on the hill

the conditions might be the reason why we aren't winning

not to mention combo mania:rolleyes:

Here are a few reasons why today's 9-ball might need fixing. It's too lucky. Tell me some problems you've encountered in the game. If there are any solutions that you've encountered. What choice do we have? Any ideas?
 
My suggestions

On an amatuer level we could eliminate the Texas Express rules and make it a call shot game as well. This would eliminate the slop factor in the game.

On a Pro level we could eliminate the jump shot.

Kevin
 
Cori said:
What can we do to change the face of 9-ball to make it better?
Click to expand...

Simply add a blue striped ball and be done with it...

No more corner ball flying
Much rarer occurrences of wins on the break

As much as this has this has been bandied about lately I am surprised it hasn't taken complete hold.

It's a simple solution.
 
Seeing as how i pretty much only play 9 ball with my brother we play call shot 9 ball, with no jump cue, although occasionally we will use the jump cue if we hook ourselves and can continue the run if we jump. And we play alternate break, unless we break and run then we let the person break again to try and string a few together.
 
McKinneyMiner said:
Simply add a blue striped ball and be done with it...

It's a simple solution.
Click to expand...


Surrrrvay says...... DING DING DING DING DING! #1 Answer.

Everyone that keeps saying they want a game with less "luck", play Straight Pool.
 
Scottster said:
Surrrrvay says...... DING DING DING DING DING! #1 Answer.

Everyone that keeps saying they want a game with less "luck", play Straight Pool.
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Good Lord, why would you espouse something that makes so much sense ??

Alternatively, call shot and pushout. No jumping. Would revolutionize the game. Do in ten ball and you would really have something!

tim
 
No changes, it's a GREAT game. Especially for gambling. You don't have to like it or play it if you don't want to. There are plenty of other games out there to play. Just this guy's opinion.
 
McKinneyMiner said:
Simply add a blue striped ball and be done with it...

No more corner ball flying
Much rarer occurrences of wins on the break

As much as this has this has been bandied about lately I am surprised it hasn't taken complete hold.

It's a simple solution.
Click to expand...


How about make everyone break from the spot? Although the spot would wear out quickly I guess.
 
combination of answers here...

No changes! 9-ball is a great game but with it's flaws. If you don't want to put up with it's flaws then you play ten-ball. Simple.
 
McKinneyMiner said:
Simply add a blue striped ball and be done with it...

No more corner ball flying
Much rarer occurrences of wins on the break

As much as this has this has been bandied about lately I am surprised it hasn't taken complete hold.

It's a simple solution.
Click to expand...

There is a huge, overriding issue that would be a terrible mistake to ignore.

The issue is...Do you want the sport in America to get out of its current rut? If you do, then mass TV popularity is not only an important issue, it is the ONLY issue.

Having said that, the sport MUST conform to the current realities of TV match broadcasts which are essentially a one hour format. Given that, the length of time it takes to complete a rack is a MAJOR ISSUE!

Even with 9 Ball played as it is today, there is significant editing required that in the opinion of many...including me...serious erodes viewer interest.

Constantly, what we see is the match jump from 2-1 to 5-3 for example and for the other matches, we just see some player pocket a 2 foot shot on the 9.

That kind of editing just ruins the continuity, suspense and overall enjoyment of watching the matchs...as the current paltry TV ratings prove.

Get this....only TWO PERCENT of Americans who PLAY pool watch it on TV!!!!!

So ANYTHING that is done to lengthen average rack times will only worsen an alreay serious problem. Since 10 Ball would, by definition, lengthen rack times, it is a fundamentally bad idea to adopt it as a replacement for pro touring events.

Besides, with just a few simple changes, the luck factor in 9 Ball...which is significantly over-stated by the way(not absent, just over-stated)...would reduce the luck factor significantly.

1. Spot the 9 on the break.
2. Break from the box.
3. No soft breaks.
4. Move the break spot so the wing ball isn't automatic, even with tapped/tight racks.
5. Call ball and pocket...no slop.

Bingo! 9 Ball luck has just been significantly reduced. As far as rack time is concerned, the above rules would add only slightly to the "average number of balls on the table after the break" by causing a higher ratio of dry breaks.

But in 10 Ball, since it is less likely to make a ball on the break, then you get AT LEAST 1 more average ball on the table after the break AND you create more innings in general due to adding an additional blocker ball.

More lengthy racks would be a certainty and therefore, more editing of the matches would also be a certainy which would worsen TV viewer interest when it is already about as bad as it can get.

So, adopting EASY fixes to 9 Ball is the way to go for anyone who cares about the health of pro pool in America IMHO.

Regards,
Jim
 
Good grief, this has been talked about, page after page, in several different posts lately. Dos a search and you'll see what I mean.
 
As a decent amateur pool player, the #1 thing that I feel is broken about the game of 9-ball is the racking situation. That is, having to check racks because at least 90% of players either don't know how to give a good rack, or just do not take the time to do so for whatever reason.

Many people in my area don't care how good the rack is when they break, so they probably don't think other people care much either. But if you are capable of breaking and running out, suddenly the quality of rack that you get becomes important.

I am giving the benefit of the doubt and will assume only a small percentage are intentionally giving bad racks. That percentage may shift from area to area, but in my local area, it's a lost cause to want a good rack from most players, so I usually only request a re-rack if the 1 isn't touching anything. :rolleyes: I'd much rather have the type of racks I give, which are actually what I'd consider good. I know some of you understand what I'm saying here.

Now, the easy solution of course, is just to play rack-your-own. I've been experimenting with this lately, and so far, no one has turned down my proposal. This is great for both players because you always get the rack that you think is fair. To draw an analogy to other sports, racking for each other is like letting your opponent's coach toss ball for your tennis serve, or having someone from the other team hold the football for your field goal kick. Here's a picture to illustrate my point. :)

lucyCharlieFootball.gif

Anyone remember what happens next in that cartoon? :D

Unfortunately, as soon as you make it rack-your-own in 9-ball, a new problem arises, which is the 9-ball flying all over the place on your opponent's break. That is, if you don't get the balls frozen to the 9-ball, it has a tendency to fly out. This is why, in my opinion, the 9-ball should not count if pocketed on the break. Sure, we are still allowed to check the rack on rack-your-own to make sure the 9-ball is tight, but then we are back to the problem of policing the other guy on their racks. It's just a big hassle.

I probably could have made my case a little better, but this is the main problem I have with 9-ball as an amateur playing in short tournament races. All the other luck factors I don't really mind so much, but I just want a nice fair start to each game.
 
Call Pockets would definately change the game!!!! Also............ I happen to prefer the texas express rules......... 3 fouls and bang ya gone...............Ball in head behind the headstring is always good too!!!
 
All those problems mentioned are real difficulties with the game and playing call shot will only alleviate part of the problem.

A newcomer to pool might ask, "Why are only nine balls used in this game?"

That's a good question. When a rack of balls is checked out at a pool room or purchased, it has 15 balls. Why use only nine?

Check out the rules for Rotation Continuous. They're in a post in the Tournament section here, because of a tourney I'm having at my room Feb. 23rd and 24th.

It is the most complete game around. 95% of the luck is removed and the player has the opportunity to navigate the cue ball amidst an astounding amount of difficulties that you would never see in any other game.

It has elements of straight pool, nine ball, rotation and eight ball, and shot making of one-pocket.

I challenge anyone to come up with a more competitive and interesting game.

And no more complaints about the rolls!
 
Everybody talks about the luck factor in 9 ball, but at the higher levels, it really doesn't come into play that often and at the lower levels, more games are lost because of shooter's error than because of luck. Players tend to forget about the position errors or missed shots and instead, focus on the rolls their opponent got.

We need to play rack your own and consider a rule that would spot the 9 if made in the bottom two corner pockets to insure there is no cheating.

Doing away with the soft break is dumb. It is like telling golfers they cannot tee off with their 3 wood. Corey Deuel was the first player to learn that you could control the balls better and still pocket a ball at a slower speed. Now everyone wants to ban the soft break. Give Corey his due, he is one of the smartest players out there and should not be punished for it.

I agree with the poster who said if you don't like 9 ball, play 10 ball!
 
Cuebacca said:
... Unfortunately, as soon as you make it rack-your-own in 9-ball, a new problem arises, which is the 9-ball flying all over the place on your opponent's break. ...
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Suppose that didn't happen, but instead on every break your opponent made the wing ball with a soft break from his own rack. Would you feel cheated?
 
Bob Jewett said:
Suppose that didn't happen, but instead on every break your opponent made the wing ball with a soft break from his own rack. Would you feel cheated?
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That is an excellent question! My answer is that I would not feel cheated, because he will most likely have made the wing ball if I had racked the balls for him. Plus when he racks for me, failure to pocket the wing ball will probably be the least of my breaking problems.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the pool world has discovered that the wing ball is "wired" to go in when the rack is close enough to perfect, and is not the result of some shady "rigged" rack. So now that I have that knowledge, I am stuck with the sad choice between repeatedly setting up my opponent for a great break and getting crappy racks in return, OR intentionally denying him a great rack.
 
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Cuebacca said:
... So now that I have that knowledge, I am stuck with the sad choice between repeatedly setting up my opponent for a great break and getting crappy racks in return, OR intentionally denying him a great rack.
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That's sort of the problem as I see it with "rack for each other." It's complicated by the fact that most tables are so pitted that you can't get a really tight rack. I think the real question is whether the break should be allowed to remain so important when it's so hard to rack fairly on bad equipment or the break is so easy on good equipment. There are several ways to remove the luck/importance of the break. The way I'd like to see tried is to require the second shot of the rack to be a push-out (and also spot any nine made on the break).
 
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