Help for a 14.1 Newbie.

slyfox

slyfox

Olney Fan
Silver Member
Quick question.

I'm trying to get into straight pool. The problem..... I have only 1 friend with an interest in straight pool. I play alot of one-pocket and have a few friends to get matches going with but unfortunately only one guy that takes straight pool seriously.

The other problem is that we often don't play well against each other. It's hard to get in a rhythm against each other and we typically end up frustrated. He used to be a solid 20-ball runner and I'm too new to understand certain shots and strategies but he thinks I'm already a better player.

Any suggestions for getting people interested in straight pool or playing when you are still new to the game? I love one-pocket first and foremost, but I really do enjoy straight pool. Much more than 8-ball, 9-ball. I'm thinking if I can get some competition I will like it even better.

THANKS IN ADVANCE.
ANY advice is greatly appreciated.

Anyone in the Raleigh, NC area that wants to play.... hit me up.
 
I've had the same problem over the years trying to get people interested in straight pool. One pocket is my other favorite game, and oddly enough I've got the whole room playing that game now. I think part of the reason that one pocket is becoming more popular around here is that it is very easy to handicap. Different levels of players can enjoy the game, no matter how they are matched up.

Straight pool is a slightly different animal. It's difficult to handicap. You can handicap points, but the less skilled player will be doing alot of sitting, and that's no fun. The higher skilled player can play "no count", but again, that makes it less "fun" for that player. For me, straight pool is most entertaining when opponents of equal skill match up. That being the case, it limits the number of players that can be suitable opponents.

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to get people interested. The best you can do is teach them the game. They will either like it or they won't. "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink".

As far as frustration goes, well straight pool is much harder than it looks. You have to keep playing the game and it will come to you. The best advice I can give is to try and play patterns, don't just shoot the balls off the table. As a newbie, you will have to play alot of safes until you get more adept at running out. The old man that taught be the game couldn't see so well, so as a result, his safety game was out of this world. He taught me that there was a whole lot more strategy than just running racks.







slyfox said:
Quick question.

I'm trying to get into straight pool. The problem..... I have only 1 friend with an interest in straight pool. I play alot of one-pocket and have a few friends to get matches going with but unfortunately only one guy that takes straight pool seriously.

The other problem is that we often don't play well against each other. It's hard to get in a rhythm against each other and we typically end up frustrated. He used to be a solid 20-ball runner and I'm too new to understand certain shots and strategies but he thinks I'm already a better player.

Any suggestions for getting people interested in straight pool or playing when you are still new to the game? I love one-pocket first and foremost, but I really do enjoy straight pool. Much more than 8-ball, 9-ball. I'm thinking if I can get some competition I will like it even better.

THANKS IN ADVANCE.
ANY advice is greatly appreciated.

Anyone in the Raleigh, NC area that wants to play.... hit me up.
Click to expand...
 
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someone on here a while back set up a game of straight pool challenge at his local pool hall.

cue ball in hand, 15th ball in hand and see how many you can run.

Maybe something like that would help new guys get interested.

The owner at Red Shoes tells people they should get in our 14.1 league and that it will improve their 8 ball game. Then he mentions some people who have done this. That might convince bangers to try it.
 
Thanks guys. I really appreciate the advice. I actually bartend at a pool hall and have been trying to get something going as far as another style of league (1-pkt, 14.1). Hard to find the players. Raleigh is a huge APA arena but unfortunately the good players in 14.1 and one pocket are spread out.

I am starting to learn just how simple but complex 14.1 can be. I'm so used to trying to leave the rack in place so I can play simple defenses, but I always seem to forget the simple stuff like, not needing a stack to play defense with :wink:

I've always enjoyed pool and I think 14.1 is one of the most enjoyable games. It gives me a chance to just relax and play. It is also teaching me little subtle things like knowing you are making the object ball first before you go for a difficult breakout. I think if I can build on these simple 14.1 principles, my 1-pkt game will definitely improve.

I agree with what you are saying completely. It's hard to play an unbalanced race in 14.1 One of the better 1-pkt players in Raleigh and I play some from time to time. 12-4 handicap is appropriate with him. But in straight pool, I would be sitting a longggg time. HAHA.

Maybe I should just use my position as a bartender to find some straight pool players. Even if it is all newbies. Who wouldn't want to play for 1 month and then be the best of all your friends....:thumbup:

Thanks for the input/advice....
keep it coming.
 
One pocket and straight pool are simply better games than 9-ball. If you're consistently getting good in both, your 9-ball game will improve dramatically, IMHO.

Correct me if I'm wrong. I found snooker players, when first switched over to pool, enjoy straight pool the most. That was how I started playing pool too 12 years ago when I first came to US. When I was in DFW area, I frequented the chinatown in Richardson a lot and interacted with a few snooker players. Many times we'd play a few games of snooker, then head over to the 'smaller' table and played straight pool. I don't know if snooker is popular in Raleigh, but if you come across one or two, perhaps you can introduce straight pool to them.
 
Funny you say that. A good friend of mine was on tour in London and got hooked on Snooker. He has gotten me into the game. It's funny that, I play league 8,9ball basically to warm up for 1-pkt or snooker later on.

We do not have a table where I work currently but my friend is looking at getting a 10x5 brunswick sports king that we can fit in the back room. Wish we could fit a 12x6.

He is the only real snooker player I know... Ironically enough I was reading some of Hendry's book about break building and was thinking something about how it seemed in my mind to match up with straight pool.

I actually don't think I have ever tried to get him to play straight pool. That is a great point. I will have to tell him "he would suck at straight pool" to get a rise out of him and get him playing. :thumbup:

Thanks guys. I do really appreciate the input!!
 
Yeah, straight pool is definitely the game that brings out yin and yang of emotions. It's wonderful because it allows you to fall deeply into the zone for extended periods of time, while unfortunately, your opponent sits in the chair drooling from the side of his mouth much like Spongebob's buddy Patrick.

A few dozen outings together with the same opponent and it's almost a guarantee one of you will start getting frustrated.

I play with one friend also, and this happens to us as well. I mentioned in another post, I call it the "straight pool funkadoodle" :) One guy gets going on a run, and the other guy sits like a zombie until he finally gets an inning, and slams one right into the rail. Ha .... brutal.

While I can't offer a solution, I will say that I am 200% against gambling with friends in an effort to play better, even if it's for a dollar. At some point, sometime, it will escalate to 2 dollar, 10 dollars, and more until ultimately there will either be hard feelings or you won't have a straight pool partner.


The good news is straight pool is a very good game to play alone (if you enjoy that) and 1pkt is really a great game to play with an opponent, so you can mix em up a little.
 
Thanks man.... good advice. I think that is part of the appeal of the game to me. The ability to get in stroke and run balls for however long. Also the ability to sit there "dazzing out" and come back to the table to try to get something to click to put me back in stroke.

Some of the better players and mentors at my local pool hall have always "very subtle" said if you can find a way to walk back to the table.... put your mind in the match and force your body to be in stroke... the gains you can make are limitless.

I'm starting to think that 14.1 can sharpen your mental game and "being able to turn it on" better than any other game I have found.

Thanks everyone. Great to hear from experienced players!!!
 
slyfox said:
I'm starting to think that 14.1 can sharpen your mental game and "being able to turn it on" better than any other game I have found.
Click to expand...

No doubt about it, every single ball you shoot in straight pool is like shooting the nine ball in a hill hill match. :)
 
slyfox said:
Funny you say that. A good friend of mine was on tour in London and got hooked on Snooker. He has gotten me into the game. It's funny that, I play league 8,9ball basically to warm up for 1-pkt or snooker later on.

We do not have a table where I work currently but my friend is looking at getting a 10x5 brunswick sports king that we can fit in the back room. Wish we could fit a 12x6.

He is the only real snooker player I know... Ironically enough I was reading some of Hendry's book about break building and was thinking something about how it seemed in my mind to match up with straight pool.

I actually don't think I have ever tried to get him to play straight pool. That is a great point. I will have to tell him "he would suck at straight pool" to get a rise out of him and get him playing. :thumbup:

Thanks guys. I do really appreciate the input!!
Click to expand...

Don't hustle him. :D From experience, many decent snooker players shoot really well in straight pool. They're excellent in pocketing balls, and they also get used to developing balls of the rack.
 
Good

Good post. I agree, straight pool can be a much more stressful game than 9 ball. In 9 ball you have a few peaks of stress, but in straight pool your stress mounts as you sink each subsequent ball and your run gets longer and longer - until you near your all-time high and then it getsmso bad it feels like a freight train is running through your brain.

It's sad to hear that in some areas of the country it's difficult, if not impossible, to easily find a straight pool game. I guess I always took that for granted since here in the northeast it's quite easy to find straight pool games at all levels.

Ron F
 
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Must be nice. :thumbup:
Unfortunately around this area it is almost only APA players. It's either 9-ball or 8-ball. I enjoy both games but the more I play the more I stick to one-pocket and 10-ball. It's hard to get someone out of the league mindset of "what kindof game are you playing? that's a weird game."

I have been practicing a lot of 14.1. Fortunately, being in school and bartending at a pool hall grants me a lot of time to practice and enjoy the game.

The same friend said to me to work on a drill that most 14.1 players practice.
.... setting all 15 balls out on the table 6" from the rail and 6" apart from each other and working on stop shots to run all 15 and not hit a rail with the cue ball. He said to learn triangular patterns.

seems like the best drill/advice I have found locally.

great discussion and advice from everyone.
thanks.
 
I just learned the game 2 years ago...luckily for me i have my wonderful hubby and my friend Charlie to help me out. But i found it really helped me just to play alone racking and taking ball in hand on my break shot and see what i could do.I still don't see the patterns very well but i'm getting there! Its hard to play against others (especially for me cause i end up sitting most of the time lol) Just give yourself some "ME" time with the table and see what happens for you. good luck!
 
As a beginner the most challenging thing is when the opponent is running out. There is a long period of what should I thinking as I get a free demonstration on running half a rack.

Most times the boredom really sinks in and is depressing, other times the regret over a missed shot is never ending and the worst of all is when I miss a shot and blame it on the people who distracted me and must watch my opponent run out because I left an easy pattern.
 
If you learn from your opponent when you are sitting, you will improve. When I first learned this game in the early sixties, there were a lot of people playing. When you practiced straight pool, some guy would always come up and want to play. When I first started playing everybody wanted to play me, then when I started to learn and could run a few only the good players wanted a game. But sitting against an average player and sitting against a good player are different. The latter affords you a greater learning experience. You remember the way a player runs the table and you remember how they use the cue ball when they play. My game really took off when I played against much better players.
 
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