Games of pool and their level of LUCK

Well first of all you need to consider most of these games you mention are played in sets. While its true anyone can win a single game against anyone else, its sort of a moot point since they aren't played that way.

Now in a set, the better player will practically always win

Interestingly, the only game played as a single game that would practically never be won by the lesser player isn't even mentioned in your list.

Besides being the game with the least luck factor in all of pool, besides it being the father of all games of pool, and besides it being the only game that should be used to determine a world champion for lots of the reasons you mentioned, its the greatest game in pool.

And it never even got mentioned. Another example of how the game of pool has digressed.

LOL :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
well played
 
Short rack banks uses nine balls, racked in a diamond, just like 9-ball....and players
break like 9-ball...if you make a ball on the break, you get to fire at a bank...the ball made
on the break spots up after your inning.
First man to get 5 banks up wins.
In full rack, whoever makes 8 banks wins....and they tend to break safe.
The moves in full rack are very complicated.
In short rack, any good player can beat a bank specialist in a short race...
...in full rack, the man is toast.
It's like like moving from checkers to chess

If there's one thing my main man pt knows about, it's banks.
He owns two. One in Montreal, and one in Winnipeg. :smile:
 
Mostly in agreement here.

I've run more consecutive balls playing 9-ball than my high in straight-pool, tho. Mostly it is because I've not had enough desire or reason to play straight pool in sufficient quantity to get super comfortable with the game.

I hear ya, but if it's desire to play more straight pool that you would like to explore, IMO running a 40 or 50 something gets you into a depth of "dead stroke" unlike any other game in pool.

It's a euphoric feeling that blows away any sense of "in the moment" or "total focus" that the other games offer.

I've only gotten as far as 78 but what a great place to be during a run like that. :thumbup: It's that feeling that has me loving straight pool. And, believe me you take away a confidence when you play any single rack game that makes them seem so simple.

But any time you get into that 4th rack (at least for me) what a peaceful place to be. All things are automatic and you don't even know you're running balls. Everything feels so natural.

And then at some point you have a thought ... wow, this is great .. and boom, it's over. :rolleyes:
 
I hear ya, but if it's desire to play more straight pool that you would like to explore, IMO running a 40 or 50 something gets you into a depth of "dead stroke" unlike any other game in pool.

It's a euphoric feeling that blows away any sense of "in the moment" or "total focus" that the other games offer.

I've only gotten as far as 78 but what a great place to be during a run like that. :thumbup: It's that feeling that has me loving straight pool. And, believe me you take away a confidence when you play any single rack game that makes them seem so simple.

But any time you get into that 4th rack (at least for me) what a peaceful place to be. All things are automatic and you don't even know you're running balls. Everything feels so natural.

And then at some point you have a thought ... wow, this is great .. and boom, it's over. :rolleyes:
If you play well enough to run 78, you can run 100....
...the big difference is context.
When you start a run, everything you do should be in the context of running 100.

It will come....and let us know
 
If you play well enough to run 78, you can run 100....
...the big difference is context.
When you start a run, everything you do should be in the context of running 100.

It will come....and let us know


If it comes it comes, but I'm getting old and I only play 7 or 8 hrs a week. By the time I get warmed up, I'm already tired, LOL.:smile:
 
best player wins

Back a long time ago the few tournaments there were, were just a reason
to get everyone together to gamble. You played ahead sets not races,
and 2 foul nine ball. The weaker player may get ahead but very,very
seldom got the money. The few times the weaker player won was because
he could stay up longer. Or got his mixture right. Better pool through
chemistry. I heard Gene Nagy say to get pool really going we should get
the Pharmacutical companies to sponsor pool. He should have known.
jack
Free SJD
 
If luck means scoring unintentional balls, then one pocket leads all the games in luck IMO. How many times do we kick off the long rail into the rack, or we shoot an opponent's ball two rails into the rack and balls fall for us. Now don't get me wrong, I love one pocket neck and neck to straight pool, but many balls fall each game that we didn't expect.

I think you were very generous in your explanation why straight pool isn't played anymore.

I'm not. I say straight pool isnt played because too many hot shot pool players that think they are great players don't want to be caught with their pants down as humbled C players when they are exposed as not being able to get through a rack of balls and fall on the next rack's break ball. That's what I think. :D


You're right 3andstop. Many a good 9 ball player cannot get through a rack of 14.1. Believe me I know. I am a 9 ball player. I love letting my stroke out but I play all of the games with the same intensity. 14.1 is the epitome of finesse in pool. I have found a really good 14.1 player can play great 8 ball because they can move single balls out of clusters like in 14.1 when you have to move a ball in position to use as a break ball. A good 14.1 player can play 9ball well because they have all of the strokes and they can obviously play an advanced game of one pocket. Yup, the more I think about it the more I realize there is less luck in 14.1 than any of the other games. I should play more straight pool.
 
Even if 14.1 isn't your main game, it's a great way to practice and up your main game.

It should be part of everyone's training program.

Give a example of the tapes of shots possible. The other day a broke a rack and it didn't spread very well and there was no direct path shot. Meaning CB to OB to pocket.

Since all balls are legal in 14.1, there were three balls set up for a almost dead on combo.....the only thing was the was a blocking ball.......but going rail first with the CB....indirect path shot.....it could and was made and I kept my run alive.

The point is there is way more opportunities for creative shot making in 14.1 then any other game.

Safety play .....I love a good safety battle in 14.1. Since all balls and all pockets are legal, you got to be able to put balls where you need, freeze the cb to the rack at times and so on.....not just hide the cb behind a ball.
 
Last edited:
I'm sorry for not including 14.1 , the reason being is that I am not experience with the game and have no clue what I'm talking about if I speak of it, so I just didn't.

Ive been playing pool since I was a little kid and I have never seen people play 14.1 infront of me, I played it maybe once or twice with a friend and whever I do, everybody around me keep asking, what was I playing....here in Asia its an unknown game, and you can hit a lottery before you see someone playing it.
 
I'm sorry for not including 14.1 , the reason being is that I am not experience with the game and have no clue what I'm talking about if I speak of it, so I just didn't.

Ive been playing pool since I was a little kid and I have never seen people play 14.1 infront of me, I played it maybe once or twice with a friend and whever I do, everybody around me keep asking, what was I playing....here in Asia its an unknown game, and you can hit a lottery before you see someone playing it.

Here in America, it's exactly the same. What a damn shame that people dismiss 14.1 as some ancient game played by fools. It's the only game I'll play, so you usually see me standing around with my "stick" in my hand. God I miss Chris's Billiards in Chicago in the seventies when the older players taught us 14.1 because they were sick of watching us play 8 and 9 ball. Jump shots or even raising your cue above 45 degrees was met with a swift warning from Chris and if you did it again, you were asked to leave!
 
What I disagree with in 1-p is that making balls is also lucky. I take a lot of shots that are calculated to get, and stay near my pocket the fact that some go unexpectedly is a very small bit of luck.
Maybe the wrong luck - it's often better to barely miss...

pj
chgo
 
I think 9 ball involves the most luck. About a month ago I got beat by a weaker player in a short race 9 ball tournament. In a race to 4, he made the 9 on the break once, lucked in the 9 2 times just sending the 9 on a fast combo trip around the table, (1 was a carom/bank and 1 was a double bank/carom) and and made 1 legitimate early 9 ball combo. He never made 3 balls in a row, I lost 2-4. It was on a Diamond bar box, I dont think he would have made all those 9 ball shots on a 9' table.
 
9ball has lots of luck, I guess it also depends on the skill of players too, in a lower skill players where they tend to bang balls, then 9ball would be more lucky than any other game, but in a higher level player whom on the B and A level, I personally believe that 8ball has the most luck followed by the 9ball not by a far margin, the reason I say 8ball is because as I said before, it all would stim back to the layout itself, and not the power/skill of the player, whomever will get the easier layouts and luck in 8ball would win most of the time, where in 9ball layout usually helps but if you're layout is bad you can play safety on that single ball where your opponent wont see it, as oppose to 8ball where if you have 1 ball left and your opponent 7 balls, then you're stuck with no safes, the guy with 7balls will take the time 90% of the time.
 
I think snooker has the most luck, then 8 ball, then 9 ball then 10 ball, then 14.1...then banks and 1p...i dunno, I haven't ever played the last 2.
 
Back
Top