favorite game

9 Ball and One Pocket, love 'em both equally..:cool:

I'll play 10 ball in a tournament, but that's it.

Never cared for 8 ball.

Re: Strickland... IMO he'll be remembered along with Efren as one of the greats.. we still remember
McEnroe, right ? Best top gear in tournament 9 ball ever.. ran 9 and OUT on Varner back in the day.
Money 9 ball I'd give the nod to Jose Parica.

Parica STILL plays phenomenal. One of the players I could watch play for days on end and I'm VERY glad I got to see him play in person numerous times.
 
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I used to enjoy the rotation games (9/10-ball) a lot, but my vision and overall health has me not being as good a shooter as I have been in the past. I play a lot of 8-ball nowadays because I need a game that involves some strategy. I can still outthink a lot of people, but I can't outshoot anyone.

1-pocket is a great game for sure, but it's just too damn slow to play or watch. That...and I'm too lazy to want to get up out of the chair every other shot. :thumbup:

So, I guess 8-ball is my favorite game at this point in my life.

Maniac
 
Bar table 8-ball is my favorite.

A close second is 14.1, although I get frustrated every time I play it.
 
I quit 8 ball when I learned Straight Pool and continue to hate it today. At home I now play Straight Pool by myself, if I had someone to play with on my table it would be One Pocket, which I played almost exclusively when I moved to South Carolina in '97. Never cared for the rule changes in 9 ball from push out to ball-in-hand-anywhere. Don't get me wrong, I played it for years like a lot of other people but didn't care for it. Still don't. Most pool is bar table 9 ball here and I got sick of playing with people who might beat me on a bar table and were like a fish out of water on a Gold Crown, so I pretty much gave it up. I played quite a bit of Snooker on a 5 x 10 too!
 
I quit 8 ball when I learned Straight Pool and continue to hate it today. At home I now play Straight Pool by myself, if I had someone to play with on my table it would be One Pocket, which I played almost exclusively when I moved to South Carolina in '97. Never cared for the rule changes in 9 ball from push out to ball-in-hand-anywhere. Don't get me wrong, I played it for years like a lot of other people but didn't care for it. Still don't. Most pool is bar table 9 ball here and I got sick of playing with people who might beat me on a bar table and were like a fish out of water on a Gold Crown, so I pretty much gave it up. I played quite a bit of Snooker on a 5 x 10 too!

I never played 8ball except in bars. I love 14.1 but no one ever plays it here. So I play 9ball, mostly by myself. And the death of roll-out ( push out, 2 fouls bih ) is a story that's been discussed here ad infinatum. I HATE tex express. but that's an entirely different thread.
 
Parica STILL plays phenomenal. One of the players I could watch play for days on end and I'm VERY glad I got to see him play in person numerous times.

I started a thread about Parica a little while ago, I think you posted... I had the pleasure of watching Parica many times, some at Hard Times Bellflower back in the day.
Many nights sweating the action till 2-3:00 AM.. Parica would grind it out for the cheese... back when HT allowed smoking in there, the room looked like a fog bank!
Just phenomenal pool.
 
I started a thread about Parica a little while ago, I think you posted... I had the pleasure of watching Parica many times, some at Hard Times Bellflower back in the day.
Many nights sweating the action till 2-3:00 AM.. Parica would grind it out for the cheese... back when HT allowed smoking in there, the room looked like a fog bank!
Just phenomenal pool.

Yeah, he's something else. I caught him at multiple tournaments around this area over a long period of years, the last one at a place called Hammerheads ( now out of biz ) about 15 miles north of here. It was a Seminole Tour stop toward the end of their run. Loved watching him play. So focused. You coulda tossed a cherry bomb behind him and I don't think he would've even blinked.
 
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Howdy All;

First learned Straight back in the early 60's, then 8-ball when I went in the service.
Found 9-ball a few years later but never really took to it. I've hop-scotched around so
much I never had a table of my own so mostly Bar Boxes have been my playgrounds.
Just started learning about 1P but it's a long way to the free table at the Community
Center and if ya get set-up to practice something ya end up with folks asking to join in.
Being the CC. ya just (to keep the peace), accept a challenge and all they want to play
is 9-ball as that's all they know ...

I like to play a few racks of Straight to warm up before the 8-ball tourneys at the VFW
they have your general mix of skill levels there, none are to speedy but it's always
interesting.
So, my list would be;
14.1
8-Ball
1P
9-ball.

I think that 1P is aligned more with folks of a "certain age" is we've accepted that Life
moves fast enough on it's own and to enjoy it one needs to slow down a wee bit and
act like a dog. Don't just stop to smell the roses, stop and give everything a decent sniff.

hank
 
agree with gold crown, age has nothing to do with it

plenty of people my age playing 1pkt in houston,you should see the weekly 1pkt at big tyme billiards
 
"I think that 1P is aligned more with folks of a "certain age" is we've accepted that Life
moves fast enough on it's own and to enjoy it one needs to slow down a wee bit and
act like a dog. Don't just stop to smell the roses, stop and give everything a decent sniff."

hank




Exactly. :yeah:
 
Yeah, he's something else. I caught him at multiple tournaments around this area over a long period of years, the last one at a place called Hammerheads ( now out of biz ) about 15 miles north of here. It was a Seminole Tour stop toward the end of their run. Loved watching him play. So focused. You coulda tossed a cherry bomb behind him and I don't think he would've even blinked.

What do you all think about Shaw by chance? Has a bit to say, just like Strickland.
 
What do you all think about Shaw by chance? Has a bit to say, just like Strickland.

Great, great player. But I don't like him. I don't want to make excuses for Earl, but he does have a medical issue. Maybe Shaw does as well but I don't think so. I just think he's a very poor sport. Earl has the same rep but I don't really agree. I've seen Earl, on MANY occasions, and in utter sincerity, applaud someone's efforts and as he did with Efren after the famous "Z" shot, actually hold his opponent's hand in the air after he just got beat ( at hill-hill in the finals, I might add ). That's not the hallmark of a poor sport. Earl has issues, yes. But I don't think being a poor sport is necessarily one of them. That said I'm sure many would argue the point.
 
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Great, great player. But I don't like him. I don't want to make excuses for Earl, but he does have a medical issue. Maybe Shaw does as well but I don't think so. I just think he's a very poor sport. Earl has the same rep but I don't really agree. I've seen Earl, on MANY occasions, and in utter sincerity, applaud someone's efforts and, at time, as with Efren, actually hold his opponent's hand in the air after he just got beat. That's not the hallmark of a poor sport. Earl has issues, yes. But I don't think being a poor sport is necessarily one of them. That said I'm sure many would argue the point.

I guess I didn't know as a matter-of-fact that he had "issues". None the less, I still disagree with his demeanor. Shaw I like though. Even when he acts out, it's usually as a result of some slight. Real or perceived. Either way, I can respect that.

I like his playing style. Definitely a strong player.
 
I guess I didn't know as a matter-of-fact that he had "issues". None the less, I still disagree with his demeanor. Shaw I like though. Even when he acts out, it's usually as a result of some slight. Real or perceived. Either way, I can respect that.

I like his playing style. Definitely a strong player.

He sure is. And in that same vein, that is exactly why I stick up for Earl as far as strictly pool goes. The guy is a stone-cold genius and a steely-eyed killer at this game. And I don't think, nor, actually, will I even accept, anything said differently.
 
He sure is. And in that same vein, that is exactly why I stick up for Earl as far as strictly pool goes. The guy is a stone-cold genius and a steely-eyed killer at this game. And I don't think, nor, actually, will I even accept, anything said differently.

It's like I said before, he is his own worst enemy.
 
My favorite games:

1P and Straight Pool
followed by
American Rotation (not even mentioned yet), Poker Pool and 8-Ball
Rotation 61
3-Ball
Kelly Pool

I don't like 9-Ball and 10-Ball, although those are the common games.

I would also like to try other games.

And yes, I am old - approaching 60.
 
Unless anyone can share that earl has been diagnosed with something, I think it is poor form to say he has.

I believe it to be completely plausible that he- and any other player who lacks grace when things don't go his way- is showing traits common to many a champion: the belief he is the best and should win at every opportunity.

Add to that the fact that they don't live in the world we do...their views and actions are expectedly different from ours, often.

Add to that that earl has won EVERYTHING and paid pool dues most can never be asked to...

Great, great player. But I don't like him. I don't want to make excuses for Earl, but he does have a medical issue. Maybe Shaw does as well but I don't think so. I just think he's a very poor sport. Earl has the same rep but I don't really agree. I've seen Earl, on MANY occasions, and in utter sincerity, applaud someone's efforts and, at time, as with Efren, actually hold his opponent's hand in the air after he just got beat. That's not the hallmark of a poor sport. Earl has issues, yes. But I don't think being a poor sport is necessarily one of them. That said I'm sure many would argue the point.
 
14.1 ON A 9 FOOT TABLE
I ENJOY THE PRECISION IT TAKES FOR LARGE RUNOUTS
THE DEFENSIVE STRATEGY
AND THE BEAUTY OF WHEN IT ALL COMES TOGETHER

8-BALL ON AN 8 FOOT TABLE
I ENJOY THE STRATEGY AND THE CONTROLLED CHAOS
NOTHING LIKE SINKING THE 8
SEEING ALL 7 OF YOUR OPONENT'S BALLS STILL ON THE TABLE

 
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