Handicapping 9 Ball: "Lowest 4" "Lowest 3"...

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BasementDweller

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm pretty excited I stumbled upon this recently. As a result, my son has been playing pool with me consistently for the past couple of weeks. Traditionally, 9 Ball is handicapped by giving games on the wire, wild balls on the table, or a combination of both. The problem with this is -- when the skill level gap gets too extreme it becomes pointless for the lesser player to play. They end up with a ridiculous spot like the wild 3 out, and only get to pocket a single ball per rack if they are lucky. Nine ball is a really difficult game for even intermediate players, let alone novices.

So what are we doing? I play normally and he gets to shoot any of the lowest 4 balls on the table. If he shoots the 9 out of turn it spots and he continues his run. He's 19 and cues fairly well, but he has no chance of running out a traditional rack. If he continues playing like this, we'll soon have to change it to the lowest 3 balls. It's a really interesting way to play as he has to think through patterns sort of like 8 ball and can actually play safe when he's in trouble but I get to run some racks as well. I can also play tricky safes that he has to return from time to time.

I kind of wonder what type of spot like this I would need to play the big boys. Getting the lowest 2 would be pretty huge for me I think.
 
Playing a player like that for me isn't about the spot i give, but me beating their spot. Giving a spot like that is basically making them feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, but making me force to play better to beat that spot I'm giving. I give my wife a ton of weight and it forces me to play harder.
 
BasementDweller said:
I'm pretty excited I stumbled upon this recently. As a result, my son has been playing pool with me consistently for the past couple of weeks. Traditionally, 9 Ball is handicapped by giving games on the wire, wild balls on the table, or a combination of both. The problem with this is -- when the skill level gap gets too extreme it becomes pointless for the lesser player to play. They end up with a ridiculous spot like the wild 3 out, and only get to pocket a single ball per rack if they are lucky. Nine ball is a really difficult game for even intermediate players, let alone novices.

So what are we doing? I play normally and he gets to shoot any of the lowest 4 balls on the table. If he shoots the 9 out of turn it spots and he continues his run. He's 19 and cues fairly well, but he has no chance of running out a traditional rack. If he continues playing like this, we'll soon have to change it to the lowest 3 balls. It's a really interesting way to play as he has to think through patterns sort of like 8 ball and can actually play safe when he's in trouble but I get to run some racks as well. I can also play tricky safes that he has to return from time to time.

I kind of wonder what type of spot like this I would need to play the big boys. Getting the lowest 2 would be pretty huge for me I think.
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I would suggest just giving games on the wire in a race, not the ball spots. He has to pay his dues and learn to play the rotation game the way it is meant to be played.

He should be soaking in the knowledge from playing better players and if he has the motivation to put in the table time and to work on all his fundamentals, the game spots should get smaller as he improves.
 
ChrisinNC said:
I would suggest just giving games on the wire in a race, not the ball spots. He has to pay his dues and learn to play the game the way it is meant to be played.
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Says who and why? I could give him all the games on the wire in the world, but that's no fun. He doesnt get to shoot. It's totally pointless.
ChrisinNC said:
He should be soaking in the knowledge from playing better players and if he has the motivation to put in the time and practice and to work on all his fundamentals, the game spots should get smaller as he improves.
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We aren't talking about a kid that ventured into a pool room because they love pool like we probably both did. We are talking about trying to keep someone interested in playing for fun in their home. It's working really well. It actually might unlock an interest in the game that neither traditional 8 ball or 9 ball have so far.
 
Let's say I'm a 670 player and I'm playing a 400 in a handicapped 9 ball tourney. What's the spot in games? Whatever it is, it's ridiculous. Or the 400 gets balls on the table to the point that they don't really shoot much.

What if we could play an equal race to 7 but the 400 gets to always shoot the lowest 3 balls, or 4 balls. That may sound confusing, but you quickly get the rhythm of it once you try it.

I think that would encourage them to play and they would actually feel like they accomplished something along the way.

Now, I think both open and handicapped tourneys have their place so it's just an idea.
 
Zerksies said:
Playing a player like that for me isn't about the spot i give, but me beating their spot. Giving a spot like that is basically making them feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, but making me force to play better to beat that spot I'm giving. I give my wife a ton of weight and it forces me to play harder.
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Try it with your wife. You might like it.
 
My view on this is definitely skewed because it's my son I'm talking about. Getting him to play is a win.

Maybe it's just an idea for a practice game when you're playing with a novice.
 
BasementDweller said:
Says who and why? I could give him all the games on the wire in the world, but that's no fun. He doesnt get to shoot. It's totally pointless.

We aren't talking about a kid that ventured into a pool room because they love pool like we probably both did. We are talking about trying to keep someone interested in playing for fun in their home. It's working really well. It actually might unlock an interest in the game that neither traditional 8 ball or 9 ball have so far.
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Not exactly sure what you’re asking here but I gave you my opinion. When I used to play my young son, I never took it easy on him. I figured if he had the passion and desire to improve, he would observe, soak it in and learn. It would either happen or it wouldn’t, and if not, he’d move on to something else.

He became a very good player as a junior, but still decided to move on to something else to get hooked on, which career wise has worked out well for him. He still plays at a high level when he does play, which is rarely.

I was a self taught player, playing only at home on our home table until going off to college. Even then, there was no one better than me to learn from. I would have given anything to have had the opportunity to play against some really good players I could learn from when I was young.

Yes, he might lose terribly, but for every hour he gets stramrolled by you, he should be puting in 10+ hours of practice time on the table working on his game.
 
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BasementDweller said:
I'm pretty excited I stumbled upon this recently. As a result, my son has been playing pool with me consistently for the past couple of weeks. Traditionally, 9 Ball is handicapped by giving games on the wire, wild balls on the table, or a combination of both. The problem with this is -- when the skill level gap gets too extreme it becomes pointless for the lesser player to play. They end up with a ridiculous spot like the wild 3 out, and only get to pocket a single ball per rack if they are lucky. Nine ball is a really difficult game for even intermediate players, let alone novices.

So what are we doing? I play normally and he gets to shoot any of the lowest 4 balls on the table. If he shoots the 9 out of turn it spots and he continues his run. He's 19 and cues fairly well, but he has no chance of running out a traditional rack. If he continues playing like this, we'll soon have to change it to the lowest 3 balls. It's a really interesting way to play as he has to think through patterns sort of like 8 ball and can actually play safe when he's in trouble but I get to run some racks as well. I can also play tricky safes that he has to return from time to time.

I kind of wonder what type of spot like this I would need to play the big boys. Getting the lowest 2 would be pretty huge for me I think.
Click to expand...
I play this game against beginners who are friends of mine.

Rack a 9 ball rack, your opponent or lesser player can shoot all the balls in any order except the 9 ball which both of you have to shoot last.

You can either shoot any ball in any order or in numeric order but the catch is, you have to bank all your shots.

This will allow your son to learn basic shots while also learn bank shots from you.

And that's a huge handicap to bank all your balls
 
WobblyStroke said:
I like the idea. My sis is getting better so I may not be able to give her the current spot much longer...she shoots any ball while I play rotation, first to 8 balls.
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I may have left out -- he has to pocket the 9 to win. Maybe some would have to see it or try it to understand the value in it. I'm around a 670 and think I could push that up if I got to playing more often. Plus being on my home table probably makes it easy to play 700 speed. If he's going to just watch someone play I'd rather it be Filler on YouTube than me in front of him.

I've heard people say -- just torture him, he'll learn. The reality is -- most people won't. Getting tortured can serve a purpose ONCE you're all in, but before that it just sobers you up and encourages you to do something else.
 
I've been joking with him that if the bug bit him, he could be beating me in less than a year. He has the stroke. Guess we'll see.
 
Texas3cushion said:
I play this game against beginners who are friends of mine.

Rack a 9 ball rack, your opponent or lesser player can shoot all the balls in any order except the 9 ball which both of you have to shoot last.

You can either shoot any ball in any order or in numeric order but the catch is, you have to bank all your shots.

This will allow your son to learn basic shots while also learn bank shots from you.

And that's a huge handicap to bank all your balls
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That's not bad but then I don't ever get to simulate real play. This way I do.

Getting back to what ChrisinNC was saying, I do always try to play my best, that's why the handicap is worthwhile for ME too. It makes the game more challenging. We've tried different games over the years and this is working better than any of the others so far.
 
ChrisinNC said:
I would suggest just giving games on the wire in a race, not the ball spots. He has to pay his dues and learn to play the rotation game the way it is meant to be played. ...
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No. As stated in the OP, a major problem is the son doesn't get to shoot much if it's games on the wire. The idea is to get him more time shooting.

Regular nine ball is a bad game for beginners to try to learn with, especially if they are playing against a player who can run out. Beginners have no chance to get from the 2 to the other end of the table for the 3 and not just because there are balls in the way. If a ball is on the side rail six inches from the side pocket, it is almost totally safe for them as they won't be getting position.

I think "lowest four" is a great way to handicap 9 ball.
 
Texas3cushion said:
Let your son take all the breaks and get ball in hand every time. Plus give him the 7
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He'd be lucky to run 3 or 4 balls that way so that's not competitive. Well I guess he could shoot 2, play safe, then start again after I miss. Then we are back to ME not getting to simulate real pool on my inning.

My way, he can actually clear the table at times. I know I've never been satisfied with how 9 ball is handicapped.
 
Sounds like any rotation game is going to be pretty tough for him. Consider playing a watered down version of 14.1

Have him break a rack of 15 balls and run them in any order. When the last ball is made rack em up and do it again.

You race to 100 points and he goes to 20
 
Texas3cushion said:
Sounds like any rotation game is going to be pretty tough for him. Consider playing a watered down version of 14.1

Have him break a rack of 15 balls and run them in any order. When the last ball is made rack em up and do it again.

You race to 100 points and he goes to 20
Click to expand...
That doesn't at all sound interesting FOR ME.

What specifically about my version of 9 ball do you think isn't good for us?
 
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