For Olympic Pool to exist...

If pool were an Olympic sport, it should be straight pool. It is the game with the smallest element of luck, and actually very easy to follow on TV. Just having it as a Olympic sport would make it popular again and actually create another pool explosion.

Having said that if a billards game were to be in the Olympics it should 100% be snooker. It is probably the best of all the billiard games incorporating elements from all the main pool games, and is extremely good as a spectator sport and on TV. I am a little surprised billiards is not an Olympic sport to be honest. It would be inexpensive to host, and has some fairly broad world wide appeal.
 
johnnysd said:
If pool were an Olympic sport, it should be straight pool. It is the game with the smallest element of luck, and actually very easy to follow on TV. Just having it as a Olympic sport would make it popular again and actually create another pool explosion.

Having said that if a billards game were to be in the Olympics it should 100% be snooker. It is probably the best of all the billiard games incorporating elements from all the main pool games, and is extremely good as a spectator sport and on TV. I am a little surprised billiards is not an Olympic sport to be honest. It would be inexpensive to host, and has some fairly broad world wide appeal.
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100% agree with straight pool. What other pool game lends itself to a world/Olympic record? Most balls run seems pretty straightforward and worthy of world recognition.
 
ghost ball said:
100% agree with straight pool. What other pool game lends itself to a world/Olympic record? Most balls run seems pretty straightforward and worthy of world recognition.
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Sorry straight pool fan's..14.1 also happens to be the most boring spectator game of all!..Thats why it has been completely dormant, for over 50 yrs..Almost any other game, 8,9,10ball (or even 'bonus ball' or snooker), would be better options!..How can you attract new viewers to a boring, repetitive game that looks so easy, only an experienced player can recognize any real challenge? :confused:
 
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SJDinPHX said:
Sorry straight pool fan's..14.1 also happens to be the most boring spectator game of all!..Thats why it has been completely dormant, for over 50 yrs..Almost any other game, 8,9,10ball (or even 'bonus ball' or snooker), would be better options!..How can you attract new viewers to a boring, repetitive game that looks so easy, only an experienced player can recognize any real challenge? :confused:
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Creativity, SJD. That's how. And timing of course. We just haven't seen them both come together in the last 50+ years.

Short and fast 14.1 history: there were MANY, MANY huge nationwide tours and exhibitions and world tournaments and tournaments of champions throughout the Roaring 20's and the years before and during the Great Depression, before and after the 2nd WW and on into the late 40's and 50's.....that drew thousands and thousands of spectators to watch this boring game of 14.1

It CAN be done. It just takes the right elements and creative, brilliant minds to come together. And players of course.

Boring? Not the word I'd use, but I'm not SJD

Oh ------ there was one spell during Willie's reign where he was averaging 6-7 balls per minute on runs into the 100's. No, that's not a typo.


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K2Kraze said:
Creativity, SJD. That's how. And timing of course. We just haven't seen them both come together in the last 50+ years.

Short and fast 14.1 history: there were MANY, MANY huge nationwide tours and exhibitions and world tournaments and tournaments of champions throughout the Roaring 20's and the years before and during the Great Depression, before and after the 2nd WW and on into the late 40's and 50's.....that drew thousands and thousands of spectators to watch this boring game of 14.1

It CAN be done. It just takes the right elements and creative, brilliant minds to come together. And players of course.

Boring? Not the word I'd use, but I'm not SJD

Oh ------ there was one spell during Willie's reign where he was averaging 6-7 balls per minute on runs into the 100's. No, that's not a typo.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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That's fast, even Ronnie's 5:20 147 is only a ball every 14.5(ish) seconds or so!

I think for Straight pool to ever become regularly televised you would need to have a shot clock, so speed isn't a bad thing.

That said, given the argument against snooker was that not enough countries play it, I'm not sure Straight pool makes sense.

I still maintain 9-Ball is the best option for pool, however I still think that snooker has taken steps to be included and if any cue sport gets in for 2024 thats the route they'll go down.
 
SJDinPHX said:
Absolutely correct!..There is zero chance of pool being accepted by the Olympics, unless the game is 8ball!..Why bother to try?...Regardless of table size, or pocket configuration, even the most pool illiterate people on the planet, know how to play 8ball!

PS..Stop anyone on the street, you'll find that 9/10 ball or one pocket, would not have a chance at acceptance, most won't even know what you're talking about!..One pocket is by
far the best gambling game, but that could never fly for the same reasons! :eek:
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Most people don't even know how to play 8 ball, they know how to play bar 8-ball which is random rules for the most part that people pass around from drunk to drunk LOL

I think a real game of 8 ball would confuse the general public as much as 9 ball would. "Hey, he made a solid, why is he shooing a stripe!". "He hit 3 banks (what everyone not a player calls a "rail" that I've heard) so it's not a foul even if he missed every ball on the table" "They are playing the easy way".

8 Ball, partners play, with audio and with talk allowed between the players would work well, that way the audience can see and hear the strategy instead of just watching a silent player shoot and run out every rack basically.
 
vjmehra said:
Oops haha I keyed in 520 seconds, not 320!

So for those interested it should be 320 seconds divided by 36 pots...sub 9 seconds!
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Including the 15 times he potentially had to wait for the referee to clean and spot the black.
 
hang-the-9 said:
Most people don't even know how to play 8 ball, they know how to play bar 8-ball which is random rules for the most part that people pass around from drunk to drunk LOL

I think a real game of 8 ball would confuse the general public as much as 9 ball would. "Hey, he made a solid, why is he shooing a stripe!". "He hit 3 banks (what everyone not a player calls a "rail" that I've heard) so it's not a foul even if he missed every ball on the table" "They are playing the easy way".

8 Ball, partners play, with audio and with talk allowed between the players would work well, that way the audience can see and hear the strategy instead of just watching a silent player shoot and run out every rack basically.
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They may not know BCA or whatever standardized rules are chosen but they understand 8 ball. Shoot all of your type and the shoot the 8 ball.


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It made the Olympics once didn't it? Seems like I remember Strickand playing in it. But I do not know who won it. Does anyone remember who got the medals or what they played?
 
cueman said:
It made the Olympics once didn't it? Seems like I remember Strickand playing in it. But I do not know who won it. Does anyone remember who got the medals or what they played?
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Pool is in the World Games. To get into the World Games you have to be recognized by the IOC. Cue sports have been in the World Games since 2001. Jeanette Lee won the gold medal in 2001 in women's 9 ball.

The World Games are considered a stepping stone to the Summer Olympic Games. Here is a list of the World Games events in 2001: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Games_2001
Notice that some of those events are in the current Olympic Games.

The format of cue sports in the World Games has been more or less constant since 2001, so it's a little strange to see people here guessing/suggesting something completely different.
 
As for which cue sport might get in, here is something to consider....

For the 2016 world championship in snooker the global live audience was over 300,000,000. http://www.bbc.com/sport/snooker/36207912 There have been over 1,000,000 total views of the YouTube postings from the tournament.
 
Tramp Steamer said:
If pool came to the Olympics, and it was Eight-Ball, I wouldn't watch it. Why would I want to? I don't play it, much less watch it at my local pool room.
One Pocket, now that I'd watch. :smile:
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I'm going to do something I rarely do and that's retract a statement.
I would watch 8-Ball if it were one of the Olympic games.
Like Dick said, the game can be enhanced to make it more interesting, but aside from that it's still pool and I support it.
Not only that, I do love watching American athletes kicking ass. :smile:
 
Tramp Steamer said:
I'm going to do something I rarely do and that's retract a statement.
I would watch 8-Ball if it were one of the Olympic games.
Like Dick said, the game can be enhanced to make it more interesting, but aside from that it's still pool and I support it.
Not only that, I do love watching American athletes kicking ass. :smile:
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Tramp..I am thrilled to see you accept my common sense approach in favor of 8ball..To all the people who think 9ball would be a better option, I say just look at the numbers!..8ball is universally known, and virtually everyone (even pool illiterates) already understand the game!..BTW..ass kicking, (like 9ball) will always be subject to viewer discretion! :yeah:

If pool is ever to be accepted by the IOC, the simple game of 8ball, is even ahead of snooker, due to its being so viewer friendly!..It is way ahead of 9/10 ball in that regard!..Those games are mainly enjoyed by knowledgable pool enthusiasts, and there simply aren't enough of us to matter to high $$$ sponsors!..That will never change! ;)

PS..I wish one pocket enjoyed that distinction!..Two good players grinding it out at 1P, is (to me at least) much more interesting to watch than 9ball, or 8ball, and will always require a lot more general pool savvy! ;)
 
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Bob Jewett said:
... The format of cue sports in the World Games has been more or less constant since 2001, so it's a little strange to see people here guessing/suggesting something completely different.
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In the World Games, it looks like the events have been 3-cushion, 9-ball, and snooker, with the USA capturing 3 of the 48 medals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cue_sports_at_the_World_Games

In the Asian Games, the events have been 3-cushion, partie libre, English billiards, 8-ball, 9-ball, and snooker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cue_sports_at_the_Asian_Games
 
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