Earl Strickland: More Straight Pool

E

Earl Strickland

Pro Player
I have been reading what people are posting about 14.1 straight pool . Straight pool is the most difficult game if it is put in a proper perspective,meaning the table has to have small pockets and cannot play phony or have bouncy or unpredictable cushions.I believe14.1 was meant to be played with a 30 second shot clock,really small pockets and total offense.I read some one posted they did not understand how to play offensive straight pool.I will explain.There are 4 or 5 of the standard straight pool break ball shots or hash marks around the triangle .You lag for the 1st break and you choose your designated break ball area and the ball is placed on the hash mark or spot.Then you take the cue ball and position it yourself and the match begins.Every time a player misses a shot you rack up 14 balls select your break ball area and you start pocketing balls.There is no defense,this is total offensive straight pool.I would like to know if anybody would be intersted in seeing a tournament like this. And Thanks for the nice pictures.Sincerely Earl Strickland
 
Yeah I would like to see that tournament. But then I like to watch all kinds of tournaments! I guess you could call it extreme 14.1. Basically if you hook your self your screwed and its best effort correct? I think that would make 14.1 a lot more TV friendly then the way it is played now. I guess pool in a way is like baseball everyone goes to a game or watches on TV to see the home runs they dont really watch it for a pitching duel (some do I know) so in billiards if you're not a real fan of the sport the defense shots get boring and you change the channel but if you knew they couldnt play safties and it was just offensive that would be some good entertainment cause you would hope the player would screw up so you could see some awesome shots! Yeah I think that would be way more entertaining to the fans and a lot more fun to the players!!
 
Earl Strickland said:
I have been reading what people are posting about 14.1 straight pool . Straight pool is the most difficult game if it is put in a proper perspective,meaning the table has to have small pockets and cannot play phony or have bouncy or unpredictable cushions.I believe14.1 was meant to be played with a 30 second shot clock,really small pockets and total offense.I read some one posted they did not understand how to play offensive straight pool.I will explain.There are 4 or 5 of the standard straight pool break ball shots or hash marks around the triangle .You lag for the 1st break and you choose your designated break ball area and the ball is placed on the hash mark or spot.Then you take the cue ball and position it yourself and the match begins.Every time a player misses a shot you rack up 14 balls select your break ball area and you start pocketing balls.There is no defense,this is total offensive straight pool.I would like to know if anybody would be intersted in seeing a tournament like this. And Thanks for the nice pictures.Sincerely Earl Strickland
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You mean it is just a ball running contest, no safty play? That makes the game more like golf or bowling, you don't actually play your opponant you just try to get to the given score in the least innings.
 
Hmm, well while I would love to see a straight pool tournament I think I would like to see the normal version with some safeties in in rather then that total offense version. I like the "chess" aspects that a good game can offer, one of the reasons I like 1-pocket so much but that game is simply too slow for a professional game using TV.

Truth be told I think those carom players have it right, 3-cushion is the perfect balance of offense and defence and is also probably the most demanding of all cue sports in both technique and knowledge requirements. That is probably the best professional cue sports game out there and if it ever got some public exposure and there were some tables around for people to try out and relize how hard it is that game could be very popular as a spectator sport.

Whatever game is played needs to have both defense and offense and it needs to be sufficiently difficult that one player cannot shut down the other and keep them off the table for an entire match. I dont truely think the game exists atm.

Maybe rotation with a point per a ball instead of the points being the ball value (which ruins the traditional rotation IMO since the toughest balls to run are the most low point value). That could be a decent game I have always thought that has a scoring type of structure like straight pool, rotation ball running like 9-ball, brings back the powerful break as a useful tool, and uses all the balls on the table and as such can be played in bars and at the local pool hall on coin ops by the general public as a "8 points wins" game. For the pro's it would be a great game with races to 75 points or so (the amount of points on 5 total racks) being about perfect. It would be a fairly fast paced game. Standard ball must hit the rail after contact and other such rules as 9-ball uses, ball in hand on scratches, ect... If you scratch and pocket a ball then the opponent gets that point so as the 15 points per a rack stays consistent and you are always on a multiple of 15 after a rack is over.

Oh and NO jump cues.

Such a game as above I do think would test the pro level players to a very acceptable level and be a very good game to introduce as the general public like games that keep point scores as compared to games and also using all the 15 balls is prefferable. It is basically a cross between straight pool and rotation.
 
Earl Strickland said:
I have been reading what people are posting about 14.1 straight pool . Straight pool is the most difficult game if it is put in a proper perspective,meaning the table has to have small pockets and cannot play phony or have bouncy or unpredictable cushions.I believe14.1 was meant to be played with a 30 second shot clock,really small pockets and total offense.I read some one posted they did not understand how to play offensive straight pool.I will explain.There are 4 or 5 of the standard straight pool break ball shots or hash marks around the triangle .You lag for the 1st break and you choose your designated break ball area and the ball is placed on the hash mark or spot.Then you take the cue ball and position it yourself and the match begins.Every time a player misses a shot you rack up 14 balls select your break ball area and you start pocketing balls.There is no defense,this is total offensive straight pool.I would like to know if anybody would be intersted in seeing a tournament like this. And Thanks for the nice pictures.Sincerely Earl Strickland
Click to expand...

I SEE. kinda like, you each get x number of innings to see who runs the most balls,,,therefore no safeties required. i am a 14.1 aficionado, but i see merit in this game because i don't feel safety play is appealing as it is in say,,,,,9ball.

not a bad concept. but one MAJOR problem. given x number of innings, games could end up being something like 87-60 or 120-101 or 530-412. the problem then is that you could have 2 hour games or 9 hour games because 14.1 can theoretically be endless, which totally screws up tournament scheduling.
 
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Earl Strickland said:
1 was meant to be played with a 30 second shot clock,really small pockets and total offense.I read some one posted they did not understand how to play offensive straight pool.I will explain.There are 4 or 5 of the standard straight pool break ball shots or hash marks around the triangle .You lag for the 1st break and you choose your designated break ball area and the ball is placed on the hash mark or spot.Then you take the cue ball and position it yourself and the match begins.Every time a player misses a shot you rack up 14 balls select your break ball area and you start pocketing balls.There is no defense,this is total offensive straight pool.I would like to know if anybody would be intersted in seeing a tournament like this.
Click to expand...


Absolutely I'd like to see a tournament like this, especially with a 30 second shot clock in force. It'll move quickly enough but at the same time integrate other shooting skills in addition to thought processes and layout strategies that don't come into play with 9-ball. I also think it eliminates some of the "luck" factor in 9-ball because you're the only one that's totally responsible for what happens on each and every shot. You live or die by your own hand like in golf. If you hit a ball OB or shank it, that's no ones fault but your own.

Whether it's offensive 14.1 as you proposed or regular 14.1, I'm glad to see your mind working on doing something to bring the game back, as well as to have another game deciding who the best player is through skills exceeding the usual ones for 9-ball. It seems like anyone at any time can win a 9-ball match and it just isn't bringing the best players to the head of the line like this or other games would.
 
Id love for any kind of 14.1 to be on TV. Personally, i dont mind the safe shots because its much harder to shoot safe when you play someone one good, while safe shots are somewhat easier in 9 ball. Of course, 14.1 is like a lost sport, but it shouldnt be. Whenever i go to a pool hall and play 14.1, people always wonder what im doing. "Wheres the 8 ball?", "Hey! You missed a ball there!" or my favorite "What are you, stripes or solids?". Of course if people appreciated the game of billiards enough, they would watch it no matter how boring. Then again people in the US are all about rushing and making things faster which is why i guess snooker, carom, or 14.1 just isnt popular.

As for carom, it really is more of an offensive game IMO. The players dont intend to just shoot a safe shot, but they go for 2 way shots. They try to score a point, but if they happen to miss the billiard, they leave the ball in an akward position for their opponents cue ball. In carom, yur trying to outscore yur opponent most of the time.
 
Earl Strickland said:
Straight pool is the most difficult game if it is put in a proper perspective,meaning the table has to have small pockets and cannot play phony or have bouncy or unpredictable cushions.
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Can you elaborate on the bouncy unpredictable cushions? I know some people that don't like Diamond tables, they claim the rail heights are not consistant. Also they claim the pocket angles are wrong for spinning balls in off the facings. Please comment on what makes a table play right.

Thanks,
Tracy
 
Earl,
About a month ago there was thread where I explained that 14.1 gets very little or no respect from many players that do not understand its complexity. Many younger players were brought up playing 9 ball, while when we were up and coming it was all straight pool. I am amazed at how guys that can run out from anywhere in 9 ball are puzzled when they attempt to play straight pool. For me, straight pool was the foundation for my playing. I would love to see the game brought back into the tournament arena, as I believe it is the best test of your abilities.

Another thing that s interesting to note, is that when I play straight pool, I usually use only the top two corner pockets closest to the rack. Occasionally I will use the other pockets, but 80% of my shots are up there. Many players tend to want to blast the rack apart on their break shots (making it look like a 9 ball break). While this might be intimidating and flashy, it is not very wise if you want a high run. Break shot, spread a few, run a few, rinse then repeat. Many players try to spread all of the balls off teh break shot and try sending them all over the table, and that's not really necessary.

Another area that many players fail to develop is "calling shots out of the pack" or breaking up clusters. Ray Martin's 99 Critical Shots has some excellent material on calling balls out of the pack, but any player that is defeicient in breaking up clusters will have trouble with 14.1. This is where players like Mike Zuglan and Tom Karabotsos have excelled (two of the players I love to watch). Anybody can run the balls when they are spread wide open, but it takes a seasoned player to deal with the tough clusters and messes that you can be left with during a long match.

I like the format you described and I think it would be interesting to see a tournament with those rules. I believe those rules would favor a player with your style (or Luc Salvas) and not the styles of say a Jeff Carter, Ralf Souquet, or Thorsten Hohmann. It'd be fun to watch.
 
Earl Strickland said:
I have been reading what people are posting about 14.1 straight pool . Straight pool is the most difficult game if it is put in a proper perspective,meaning the table has to have small pockets and cannot play phony or have bouncy or unpredictable cushions.I believe14.1 was meant to be played with a 30 second shot clock,really small pockets and total offense.I read some one posted they did not understand how to play offensive straight pool.I will explain.There are 4 or 5 of the standard straight pool break ball shots or hash marks around the triangle .You lag for the 1st break and you choose your designated break ball area and the ball is placed on the hash mark or spot.Then you take the cue ball and position it yourself and the match begins.Every time a player misses a shot you rack up 14 balls select your break ball area and you start pocketing balls.There is no defense,this is total offensive straight pool.I would like to know if anybody would be intersted in seeing a tournament like this. And Thanks for the nice pictures.Sincerely Earl Strickland
Click to expand...


Yeah - that sounds great!
 
Earl Strickland said:
Every time a player misses a shot you rack up 14 balls select your break ball area and you start pocketing balls.There is no defense,this is total offensive straight pool.I would like to know if anybody would be intersted in seeing a tournament like this.
Click to expand...
It would be nice to see straight pool played in tournaments. Do the players play to a set # of points, or play X ammount of innings. I think the latter would be great. It gives the opprotunity to have a perfect game, like bowling has "300", or a perfect break like in snooker. If it were 10 innings a "150 game" would be a perfect game.

Tracy
 
RSB-Refugee said:
If it were 10 innings a "150 game" would be a perfect game.
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With a format like this, every player would know exactly how they rate. No more "he's an A palyer", which means something totally different every where you go. Earl, the more I think about it, the more I like it. :)

Tracy
 
I'm in favor for 14-1 anytime.I do think you should pitch it to the networks because thats where the real money is.
 
This game sounds similair to equal offense, a game author Robert Byrne talks about frequently.

As long as the shot clock is enforced, there shouldn't be a problem with slow play. Once these guys start running balls, it's pure offense most of the time anyway.

I don't think anyone wants to watch three minutes of checking the stack, but if they only have 30-45 seconds to do it, it wouldn't be too boring to watch for the crowd.

I thought the 2000 14.1 tourney sold out of tickets; the game might be past its tv prime, but I don't see any reason they can't hold a US Open every year and get spectators to show. It might not make ESPN, but maybe comcast or other cable companies can put it on digital cable.
 
RSB-Refugee said:
With a format like this, every player would know exactly how they rate. No more "he's an A palyer", which means something totally different every where you go. Earl, the more I think about it, the more I like it. :)
Tracy
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i agree , however one thing to think about ,it was always my problem with "99" as put out by pool and billiards mag.
you need to have a table handycap the person averaging 120 on a shimmed diamond is playing better than the guy getting 125 on a loose gold crown
 
Earl Strickland said:
I have been reading what people are posting about 14.1 straight pool . Straight pool is the most difficult game if it is put in a proper perspective,meaning the table has to have small pockets and cannot play phony or have bouncy or unpredictable cushions.I believe14.1 was meant to be played with a 30 second shot clock,really small pockets and total offense.I read some one posted they did not understand how to play offensive straight pool.I will explain.There are 4 or 5 of the standard straight pool break ball shots or hash marks around the triangle .You lag for the 1st break and you choose your designated break ball area and the ball is placed on the hash mark or spot.Then you take the cue ball and position it yourself and the match begins.Every time a player misses a shot you rack up 14 balls select your break ball area and you start pocketing balls.There is no defense,this is total offensive straight pool.I would like to know if anybody would be intersted in seeing a tournament like this. And Thanks for the nice pictures.Sincerely Earl Strickland
Click to expand...


Earl...I'm kinda putting you on the spot but here goes. Remember playing in that All-Around in Tampa around 1981? It was 14.1, 9-Ball and banks or 8-Ball? We are close in age and I was blown away by your talent, but if my memory serves right you didnt like the 14.1, nor did Lil David...HAHAHA :D . Its amazing how maturity teach's us the hardest game to play is the easiest to learn. Push 14.1 brother...I'll help how I can to make it happen.

Voodoo~~~yearns for the ponytail days once more
 
14.1 (Straight Pool)

This is a wonderful idea to help promote straight pool, good thinking Earl and I just might come out of retirement to compete in what sounds to me like a great way of bringing back 14.1.
 
I think it could be made more interesting by adding a couple other factors.
There could still be matches but rather than having the player compete against the other player it would be against ball counts.

I like the opening breakshot Earl mentions better than the one commonly used but lets not give the player an option. Why not rotate them.
Basically player A wins the lag and shoots breaks. If he misses then "B" shoots but with a new rack. When he misses then "A" breaks but he has to use a different breakshot than the one he used for round one. So pick out
5-10 break shots and have 5-10 rounds. If player "A" makes 15 on his first break then "B" can tie and then on to round two with a new break shot.
All break shots would be predetermined with some harder than others and
all players in the event use the exact same break layouts in the same order.

It would be exciting IMO. If Earl and Ralf were playing and Earl broke and ran
15 then Ralf fans could cheer him on to match it and run 15. It would go back and forth getting the fans more involved plus the fans would get to see
quite a few breaks and a ton of balls being pocketed or attempted.

With this format it would be great for fans and for TV. There would be a leader board. There would not be the super high runs like in the old days but
IMO alot of those matches were long and boring.

I have also wanted to see a 9ball event this way with each player basically
playing the ghost. Two players alternating games breaking and taking BIH and running out. The other player gets a chance break and run. Total racks ran would be on the leaderboard. The event would move quickly and there would be a hill-hill type feeling in every match.

Alot of people are saying to not change 9ball or pool in general but I am in favor of making changes at the Pro level in events. People can still play the games as we know them today but for TV and the future I think changes in events are good. Every other sport has made changes through the years and
most all were aimed at making it more offense and exciting for TV and fans.
 
frankncali said:
I think it could be made more interesting by adding a couple other factors.
There could still be matches but rather than having the player compete against the other player it would be against ball counts.

I like the opening breakshot Earl mentions better than the one commonly used but lets not give the player an option. Why not rotate them.
Basically player A wins the lag and shoots breaks. If he misses then "B" shoots but with a new rack. When he misses then "A" breaks but he has to use a different breakshot than the one he used for round one. So pick out
5-10 break shots and have 5-10 rounds. If player "A" makes 15 on his first break then "B" can tie and then on to round two with a new break shot.
All break shots would be predetermined with some harder than others and
all players in the event use the exact same break layouts in the same order.

It would be exciting IMO. If Earl and Ralf were playing and Earl broke and ran
15 then Ralf fans could cheer him on to match it and run 15. It would go back and forth getting the fans more involved plus the fans would get to see
quite a few breaks and a ton of balls being pocketed or attempted.

With this format it would be great for fans and for TV. There would be a leader board. There would not be the super high runs like in the old days but
IMO alot of those matches were long and boring.

I have also wanted to see a 9ball event this way with each player basically
playing the ghost. Two players alternating games breaking and taking BIH and running out. The other player gets a chance break and run. Total racks ran would be on the leaderboard. The event would move quickly and there would be a hill-hill type feeling in every match.

Alot of people are saying to not change 9ball or pool in general but I am in favor of making changes at the Pro level in events. People can still play the games as we know them today but for TV and the future I think changes in events are good. Every other sport has made changes through the years and
most all were aimed at making it more offense and exciting for TV and fans.
Click to expand...

Nice post. These are excellent ideas.
 
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