How to get others interested in more than just 8-ball and 9-ball?

skor said:
I wish they sold a pack of 9balls, don’t need the 10-15 😁

I know what I say and think might not make sense to you, but it answers the OP question.
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i'm not judging 🤣 i've bumped in to many players like you, some of which were very good at 9-ball / 10-ball
 
Interesting topic but I think the missing element in the posts I'm reading is table size! With so many bar-box taking over American pool rooms (my own Q-master unfortunately included) a lot of these games just don't make sense on the smaller surface, especially 1pkt and 14.1..

Now I think 2 options can be tons of fun that I've been playing and trying to get my league players into when practicing:

1-ball 1-pocket can be a blast on a barbox! Something like a race to 15 with super fast innings can really help develop tactical play and angles.

The other I'm not sure I've heard before but I started playing basically 10.1, so the same rules as 14.1 but obviously you drop 4 of the balls this way there is more room on the bar-box with the rack. Has all the great elements of Straight Pool but works on the smaller surface plus us amateurs can easily run the 10 balls and feel like legit straight pool players!
 
Fatboy said:
Playing pool is about executing shots, not just pocketing balls and getting shape(or just making balls for beginners)

1P affords the opportunity to shoot every type of shot with a purpose. When you have a deep understanding of pool and all it has to offer 1P is a true test of everything on a pool table.

There’s more skill required to softly roll a 2 rail kick and freeze the CB to another ball gently than pocket 8 balls in a row playing 8B in some cases. Ofc if a player has a shallow understanding of pool games and different types of shots this isn’t clear and that’s ok-in the first year or 2 of playing.

Also the value of a shot at a particular time in a rack-this is where 1P shines. Making a ball is not often the most positive result (for a beginner it is). Not knocking beginners-we all were at one point.

I can’t tell a difficult from easy shot in golf or basketball. Is farther harder? I don’t know. It’s a matter of experience not intelligence.

It’s rare that such complex positions come up in 8B. Which is why people after a number of years playing 8B start looking for more complex games.

1P isn’t where you start, it’s where you end up. Or 14.1. The rotation games are in the middle. And 3C just might be the most complex of all games.

I get it that 1P isn’t for everyone, there are great players who hate it. But the reason it is a great game has nothing to do with everyone’s taste. No accomplished player will dismiss 1P as a bad game, boring for some? Yes.

Jumping from 8B to anything else is a process and a matter of time for most players. Some never do, most end up in rotation games and stay there.

Banks is a great game and I’ve never understood why it doesn’t have a wider audience (short rack 9B). Full rack banks is a different story.

Thats the long answer

Fatboy<——-gave up on all games. Being a rail bird is better 😃
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Excellent game. Like watching paint dry.
 
I have been branching out since getting back into the game. I have been spending 2-3 days a week in the afternoons at my local pool room. I have made myself a regular and been getting into games with the other old dogs. Never played 1-pocket or 14-1 back in the day but that is what most of the afternoon crowd plays.

One of the guys and I set up a regular Tuesday 1-hole game and he has been teaching me. He is a 540 Fargo but I think plays a little higher than that. As I have been learning he was giving me 10-6 and just smoking me but I have been really getting into it and reading and practicing and now I get 8-6. Pretty soon he gets weight!!! LOL

It is a thinking mans game for sure! The chess metaphor is not perfect but does lend it self to the game. Usually, after our 1-P session we play a few games of 8-ball. Funny thing is, I match up when playing 8-ball no weight but 1-P he still owns me. Switching gears from 1-P to the other games is also an interesting process.

I don’t know how to promote the games but if you find an intellectual player that finds strategy fun, there’s your guy.

1-hole is now my favorite game and I am looking forward to tomorrow!!!
 
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billiards_watch said:
I learned how to play in the pool in the 90's and would sneak into pool halls. The routine would be to follow a group in and wander off. Then bullshit and small talk with a manager or bartender. Then the following week it was all good until it was someone's shift. Rinse and repeat.
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it’s not breaking the law if you’re not caught
 
dukblowz said:
Interesting topic but I think the missing element in the posts I'm reading is table size! With so many bar-box taking over American pool rooms (my own Q-master unfortunately included) a lot of these games just don't make sense on the smaller surface, especially 1pkt and 14.1..

Now I think 2 options can be tons of fun that I've been playing and trying to get my league players into when practicing:

1-ball 1-pocket can be a blast on a barbox! Something like a race to 15 with super fast innings can really help develop tactical play and angles.

The other I'm not sure I've heard before but I started playing basically 10.1, so the same rules as 14.1 but obviously you drop 4 of the balls this way there is more room on the bar-box with the rack. Has all the great elements of Straight Pool but works on the smaller surface plus us amateurs can easily run the 10 balls and feel like legit straight pool players!
Click to expand...
on the bar box you might consider
one pocket played with 9 balls
racked like 9 ball
first to 5 wins
need to know or not allow the break to make the top ball
 
Just play by yourself. I spend most of my pool time playing by myself, usually 14.1 or 235 or just 1 rail. The people who ask me to play either know me or at least are open to trying whatever game I am playing.

I’ve never had luck asking others to play something I want to play.

Also when unknown people ask me to play 8 ball I’ve learned always to decline. It almost always turns into a negative experience with weird rules and complaining etc.
 
leto1776 said:
I’d really like to get into playing 1p, 14.1, and maybe even banks. Problem is, all anyone in my area wants to play is 8-, and to a lesser extent 9-ball. What’s a good way to convince people to try something new? I mostly play at social clubs with leaguers

Would I be better off just putting out some feelers at the two halls closest to me, to see if someone else is already interested?
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Hang out during the rooms prime time, talk with the ''players''. Bet something, table time? Have something in the game, then ask a better player to play? banks or? This is how one paves their way. Better players will want to do $omething.
 
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