Fixing the game of 9 ball.

Love this idea. All the pros (within a very short time) find the sweet spot where that wing ball finds the corner. I would add putting the nine on the spot and breaking anywhere along a drawn straight line from the foot spot straight back to the rail.
Why bother with all the extra, the 1 ball is in the back row of the rack, good luck getting a shot on it, let alone running racks, because the 1's not heading up table to give you a starting shot to begin a run with!!
 
I haven't but I will... However just as a theory before I prove it out hopefully... How would this be any different then just breaking a 10b rack and potting one of the other 4 balls that commonly drop with a 10b break...?.., (corners and/or second row). Sure you remove / don't count the head ball, but it's just a matter of tracking the 1 as it's placed in the rack.

Would you include the 3 point rule on the break as well...? That would necessitate a harder break that would mkae controling the outcome of the 1 more difficult.

Imo, the 9 ball break has been sorted out already by playing with the 9 on the spot, 3 point rule, and CB from the kitchen. Bonus points for still looking like you're playing 9ball...lol
First of all, the 1 ball isn't going up table leaving you a beginning opening shot to play position on. It's more than likely going to be tied up around the foot of the table not giving you a clear shot to get started with, IF you even HAVE a clear shot on the 1 ball to even begin with....then what?
 
Of course we could always put 12 or 15 balls on the table and play nine ball rules. Amazing how much harder adding one ball makes ten ball, twelve or fifteen ball would make it an event when somebody ran a six pack! In tournament play start with nine balls the first round or two, then ten, twelve, and the finals have a full rack of fifteen balls!

Hu
I’ve never seen 12 ball played- do people actually play it?
 
How about this, same rules as in the first post, but with some random chance thrown in.

Roll a single die. 1-4 is the position of the one ball in the back. A 5 gets the one ball in front of the rack, 6 gets the extra cue ball removed and racked as traditional 9 ball.
 
Of course we could always put 12 or 15 balls on the table and play nine ball rules. Amazing how much harder adding one ball makes ten ball, twelve or fifteen ball would make it an event when somebody ran a six pack! In tournament play start with nine balls the first round or two, then ten, twelve, and the finals have a full rack of fifteen balls!

Hu

Did you mean something like rotation or something I would call "full rack 9B". Rack all 15 balls then play 9B. Shoot the 1-9 only - whoever makes the 9 wins.
 
Did you mean something like rotation or something I would call "full rack 9B". Rack all 15 balls then play 9B. Shoot the 1-9 only - whoever makes the 9 wins.
Rotation usually leaves some balls on the table. I am talking about using nine or ten ball rules, since we are talking about fixing nine ball I would say nine ball rules but put the full rack out there. Fifteen would be the money ball and running fifteen balls in order should be enough challenge to take care of too many break and runs.

Of course a suggestion bound to come up is to quit playing Texas Express and go back to playing nine ball. I think originally the whole goal of Texas Express was to speed things up for TV. Since we see so much pool on TV these days, I see little reason for Texas Express rules.

Hu
 
Question answered, how do you fix the break and runs in 9 ball.

Add a ghost cue ball to the rack of 9 balls. Rack the balls exactly the same as you would 10 ball, only make sure the ghost cue ball is on the spot, and the 1 ball is at the back of the rack behind the 9 ball either to the left or right of center. Use a magic rack to make sure the balls are racked tight.

After the break, the ghost cue ball is removed and play continues. No help making it on the break either, it don't count! good luck running a rack on those breaks!! Its harder than running a rack after a 10B break!!!
The game of 9ball can easily be fixed.

1- BAN jump cues short cues - allows jumps on regular cues.
2- BAN Magic/paper racks - use the triangle, wooden triangle rack like the old days - but let referee to rack & NO RACK CHECKS. (9Ball should always be random on each game! pattern & same layouts are friggin boring and kill the game).
3- Bring back the 80's 9ball rules, if foul on break you bring back the pocketed balls and play from the kitchen!

This is an exciting 9ball! Truly in the past ppl knew how to grow the game. However nowadays people know how to kill the game in a bad way :(, with all the lame rules & PPV's which minimize the watching pool (viewership).
 
How about this, same rules as in the first post, but with some random chance thrown in.

Roll a single die. 1-4 is the position of the one ball in the back. A 5 gets the one ball in front of the rack, 6 gets the extra cue ball removed and racked as traditional 9 ball.
No game show antics😅
 
I like the concept but why use another cue ball? You will have people arguing over which one is which on smashed breaks, trust me.

You have six stripes left over in your regular ball set, just pick one of them for your ghost ball.
 
I like the concept but why use another cue ball? You will have people arguing over which one is which on smashed breaks, trust me.

You have six stripes left over in your regular ball set, just pick one of them for your ghost ball.
Yeah I can see many arguements over which is the real cue ball, even if they are wildly different, especially if drinking is involved.
 
It is fun to speculate new rules. Has anyone here dedicated the hours playing under any of these "imagined rules" to find out what they mean and how they impact the game? Be careful. Nine-Ball possesses intangibles that make it attractive and exciting, and some would say down right addicting. A well-intended rule-change could ruin it.
 
I like the concept but why use another cue ball? You will have people arguing over which one is which on smashed breaks, trust me.

You have six stripes left over in your regular ball set, just pick one of them for your ghost ball.
Sponsor's logo is on the ghost cue ball
 
The game of 9ball can easily be fixed.

1- BAN jump cues short cues - allows jumps on regular cues.
2- BAN Magic/paper racks - use the triangle, wooden triangle rack like the old days - but let referee to rack & NO RACK CHECKS. (9Ball should always be random on each game! pattern & same layouts are friggin boring and kill the game).
3- Bring back the 80's 9ball rules, if foul on break you bring back the pocketed balls and play from the kitchen!

This is an exciting 9ball! Truly in the past ppl knew how to grow the game. However nowadays people know how to kill the game in a bad way :(, with all the lame rules & PPV's which minimize the watching pool (viewership).
I totally agree with line 1,
BUT when I think of the crowd the needs of the sport/spectators, the non player who creates that ''excitement'' of the moment when a successfully Up and Over occurs it's Better for the game in the long run.....only 9 ball.
The crowd quickly learns to appreciate a lock down safe and up and over.
Referee to work a 4 table grouping.
Each table loser will rack, referee will do a final inspection and tighten if necessary. Speeds up play.
Wooden racks, give the game a sound that's unique like bowling and it's alley sounds.
#3 The average mind has difficulty enjoying this aspect of play.
This rule will not increase viewership.
Slows down the video production.
 
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Nothing wrong with 95% of nine ball. The issue is at the top level and whether 9 ball, as it is, can be successfull as a professional sport. The answer is ‘no’.

I don’t want to say zero interest but few that I know in our billiard leagues follow professional American Pool. A half dozen might be able to name a Pool player and that would be Minnesota Fats.

American pool is fine. Minor tweaking is irrelevent at the league level and will accomplish zero at the spectator level. The games is just not conducive to watching instead of participating in. And this is fine. I also like to go fishing instead of watching someone else fish.

At pro level American Pool has lost out to the rise Chinese 8 ball. Chinese 8 ball piggy backed off of Snooker. It fostered the image of being a sport and not a bar game. Using snooker pockets tripled difficulty and adding whole layers of complexity.
 
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