How long until you ran your first 8 ball rack?

MitchAlsup

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I ran my first 8-ball rack at 15-or-16.
I am currently 69.92 YO

But you should consider that from 27-through-56 I did not play pool.
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Couple months in and ran my 2nd tonight on my 8 foot home table. I feel good about my progress. Really hoping to join a league next winter.

Don't worry about being able to run out a rack before joining a league, there are many league players that can't. It's not like league is some mysterious exclusive society where players do 4 rail banks and masse every shot in all day long.
 

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
Had to last minute cancel my trip next week to Houston…was gonna look you up and see if you wanted to play some one hole. Instead I have to run to South Beach but will reach out when I reschedule my Texas loop.

So practice up!
I remember that wondered what happened the last time you were headed this way
anyways I been practicing my losing at 1 pkt in a league, so I'll be in full losing stroke whenever your in town again
 

cjr3559

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Maybe as a teenager on an 8 footer with shallow 5” pockets or once on a Valley BB and probably never on a 9 footer if I can recall.

It takes at the very least a cosmo layout for me to run ANY discipline. A break and run is a completely and even more untamable animal.

And I’m 51.99 years old.
 

Fitzz47

Member
60 years ago when I was 16 at the local Bowling ally
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justadub

Rattling corners nightly
Silver Member
I think I did it once in my first year of playing.... then maybe once more in the following 14 years, and counting. Sigh...
I did manage to run a rack of 9 ball a couple weeks ago, first time that had happened in years.
 

cubswin

Just call me Joe...
Silver Member
Probably 3 months or so after I started really playing. But I was competitive enough as a teenager to try and play every day for hours. Was such a long time ago I'm not honestly sure.
 

Nostroke

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
about 3 months- about 2 years for nine ball. Not counting early nines or on the break
 

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
60 years ago when I was 16 at the local Bowling ally View attachment 681299

Is that from Boston? Boston Bowl had a pool area very similar to that. From what I remember it was open 24hrs and players would gravitate there from the other pool halls quite often late at night. I remember Rodney going through the area and playing games there, back in the start of my pool awareness in the early 90s. I even had a bit of an ego boost about my reputation in the area when a few people asked if I would be heading there to play him LOL
 

WobblyStroke

Well-known member
How long it takes to get to your first one doesn't matter as much as how long it will take till your next one.

I have a friend who has had a wonderful stroke for a very long time but never really bothered to learn the game. He often didn't think much about a full pattern and even when he did he just preferred to put a stroke on the cue ball and make it dance rather than take a simple boring shot. Guy played for fun through and through. Back in the fall he got the itch to learn to play and started doing some runout puzzles on his phone in his spare time and actually started thinking through racks at the table in his weekly pool outing. About a month into his working on his game (maybe 10 visits to a pool hall with an uptick in his playing frequency), he ran a rack of 9ball on me and remarked: "that's my first ever 9b run", which I absolutely couldn't believe given his cueing ability and years of opportunity to at least fluke a run. He proceeded to run 3 more in that set. So many years of no runs at all in 9b to 4 in under 2hours as part of a severe jump in playing ability due to actually playing the game and not just hitting some fun stroke shots.

Progress in the game happens in pretty big jumps. A common performance curve would look more like a staircase with a series of plateaus and jumps between them rather than a steady climb of incremental increases. Having run a rack is a nice milestone but there is a lot of randomness to when that can happen. Making a jump to a level where you begin to expect and plan for runs is another ball game altogether. Sounds like you're well on your way.
 

Fitzz47

Member
Is that from Boston? Boston Bowl had a pool area very similar to that. From what I remember it was open 24hrs and players would gravitate there from the other pool halls quite often late at night. I remember Rodney going through the area and playing games there, back in the start of my pool awareness in the early 90s. I even had a bit of an ego boost about my reputation in the area when a few people asked if I would be heading there to play him LOL
No Claymont De. Holiday Lanes Bowling Ally.
 

Sleeperls

Member
Ive always thought about positioning even before I started taking it seriously. It's been enjoyable to have a home table that's for sure.

My table pocket rattles with much speed so I'd say learning to play slow has helped, but also lead me to under shoot positioning on the next ball being short. Usually ended up in a risky shot
 

Coos Cues

Coos Cues
Don't know why I can't recall my first break and run because it was right around the first time I got laid which I can recall in great detail even after 50 years. Weird.
 

The_JV

'AZB_Combat Certified'
If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say on the first day...lol. Keep in mind I had been playing club level snooker for 8yrs before taking up 8 ball league on a barbox for a shot to go to vegas.

I did play money ball on the snooker tables back in the earlier years. Of course you're actually playing full rack rotation and getting paid on the 5, 10 and 15. If you think snooker pockets are tough. You should try them with 2.25" billiard balls...lol

Keep up the hard work, and join a league sooner rather than later. You don't need run out power to enjoy yourself
 

Nyquil

Well-known member
About a month and half from when my table arrived. It would have taken much longer without the opportunity to play everyday. Felt good once it happened I will say that 😏
 

Fatboy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Don't worry about being able to run out a rack before joining a league, there are many league players that can't. It's not like league is some mysterious exclusive society where players do 4 rail banks and masse every shot in all day long.
I had a straight in shot the other day. I turned it into a 4 rail bank! 😉
 
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