Ya coulda told me sooner!!!!!!!!
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Gathering the balls after the game
- Thread starter 3RAILKICK
- Start date
I know this is an old thread, but had something happen recently and wonder if it is a cultural thing.
Got killed in my 9 ball league match 9-2. Much better player than I. Sunk the 9 twice on the break. Combo/carom the 9 two other times.
9 foot table with ball return. Never rolled the remaining balls down to where I was racking. He sat in his chair while I walked around to get the balls.
Heard someone say he was not from the US and it might be a cultural thing. End of match we shook hands and he stated he got lucky on the breaks.
Got killed in my 9 ball league match 9-2. Much better player than I. Sunk the 9 twice on the break. Combo/carom the 9 two other times.
9 foot table with ball return. Never rolled the remaining balls down to where I was racking. He sat in his chair while I walked around to get the balls.
Heard someone say he was not from the US and it might be a cultural thing. End of match we shook hands and he stated he got lucky on the breaks.
Is there an unspoken courtesy or convention for cleaning the pockets when the game is over?
Example:loser racks-he gets bottom corner pockets and one of the sides. The winner/breaker gets the other side and the corners at the breaking end?
Don't you love it when you rack all but the couple of balls that are in the pockets at the breaker's end, while he is taking warm up strokes for the next break.
More than once I have circled the table looking for the 8ball, when it was hiding in the shadow of the pocket at the racking end.
Is it a courtesy for the winner to help gather the balls, or is it the rackers job to find them all?
...sometimes-it's the little things ...
I think the most common sense practice is the person that just made the 9 walks along one side of the table back to the head end, clearing those 3 pockets, and the racker walks up to the rack end of the table along the side and clears those 3. If its a Valley bar box the breaker grabs the balls for the racker. If its a ball return, well obviously the breaker gets them. When its rack your own, if I just lost the game or it is otherwise my opponents break, I get up and walk along one side of the table clearing those pockets.
When I play lots of racks with friends who are better players, this happens quickly, automatically, and without a word.
Seem reasonable?
KMRUNOUT
Around here, the common practice is that the winner is responsible for everything but the corners at the foot of the table. Usually, the racker will get the side pocket nearest them while approaching the table.
Since most of the tables around here are drop pockets, it's second nature for me to start reaching into pockets after making the game ball. So much so that I've reached into the pockets on ball return table many times.
If I'm racking and am missing balls, I will check the bottom corners and one side with the expectation that the breaker will check the other pockets.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Since most of the tables around here are drop pockets, it's second nature for me to start reaching into pockets after making the game ball. So much so that I've reached into the pockets on ball return table many times.
If I'm racking and am missing balls, I will check the bottom corners and one side with the expectation that the breaker will check the other pockets.
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
Yes, this ^^^^^^^^^^^ is pretty much the case for me, too, though I have been in rack-your-own, winner breaks matches where my opponent sometimes stays in his chair and I'm good either way with that - he can stay put or jump up and lend a hand.
But I'll agree, that nobody likes 'that guy' who practices air-breaks at the head of the table expecting the racker to come retrieve the balls that are in the pockets up by him.
best,
brian kc