How to Improve 9 Ball Pro Match Play !!!

Island Drive

Island Drive

Otto/Dads College Roommate/Cleveland Browns
Silver Member
The only ball that is NOT allowed on the head spot/Break shot would be the one ball.
Remaining balls randomly thrown together with the 9 always in the middle.
Keep all other existing rules in Place.
 
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What is there to fix in 9 ball?

It's not broken. It's just an inferior game. A basic rotation game for those that can't play full rack.
 
The recent break statistics in Matchroom events suggest that the 9ball rack is no longer a problem and the breaker's advantage is relatively modest. As Cuedup noted in Post #8, there's nothing broken about 9ball.

As for full rack rotation, whether or not one feels it's a better game, Joe Tucker basically gave the game a whirl in his American Rotation Series and it didn't really catch on. It's not a hit with the American fan and isn't marketable.

These days, the terms pool and 9ball are, basically, interchangeable.
 
True,
Tho I just saw a MR forum post where a woman saw the break overwhelm their opponent, she didn't enjoy the match.
In all other games there's No ball you must hit first.
Just talked with Rossman, he's gonna try it and he liked the idea.
I just hate to see someone travel/spend $3k and get run over by the break shot.
 
That match where max lechner, had 4 nines in his first round. At the masters. It takes all the fun out the game. On the flip side through, a lot of scratches seem to be happening too.
 
sjm said:
The recent break statistics in Matchroom events suggest that the 9ball rack is no longer a problem and the breaker's advantage is relatively modest. As Cuedup noted in Post #8, there's nothing broken about 9ball.

As for full rack rotation, whether or not one feels it's a better game, Joe Tucker basically gave the game a whirl in his American Rotation Series and it didn't really catch on. It's not a hit with the American fan and isn't marketable.

These days, the terms pool and 9ball are, basically, interchangeable.
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sjm,
That's interesting that Matchroom stats suggest the breaker's advantage is relatively modest, but do you think that extends beyond Matchroom's way of structuring competition? I'm thinking of these race to 4 Predator sets, where it's hard to believe that getting more breaks isn't a big advantage. Their commentators are always saying that just winning the lag is a big deal. (BTW, I agree there's nothing broken about 9 ball, but for the hell of it, I'd love to see whether a tournament looked and felt any different with the one racked in random positions.)
 
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Island Drive said:
True,
Tho I just saw a MR forum post where a woman saw the break overwhelm their opponent, she didn't enjoy the match.
In all other games there's No ball you must hit first.
Just talked with Rossman, he's gonna try it and he liked the idea.
I just hate to see someone travel/spend $3k and get run over by the break shot.
Click to expand...
For all I've heard about these long packages in tournament play, they never happen when I'm watching. I can count the times I've seen more than five racks strung on my fingers.

Everybody is getting to shoot in Matchroom events. In a phenomenal effort, opponent can play so well you've got little chance, as is the case when an opponent scores ten runs in the top of the first inning in a baseball game (sometimes, the wait for your first offensive chance can be a long one). That said, these occurrences are so rare that it's exciting, not disheartening, when they arise.

I really tire of threads that suggest that nine ball is broken. Everyone is getting to shoot in Matchroom events and the cream is rising to the top time after time. Matchroom has already fixed it!

In smalltime events with "rack your own", it's a different conversation, but the thread title says Matchroom, where all Stage 2 matches have a neutral racker and the break is from the box.
 
VTEC John said:
sjm,
That's interesting that Matchroom stats suggest the breaker's advantage is relatively modest, but do you think that extends beyond Matchroom's way of structuring competition? I'm thinking of these race to 4 Predator sets, where it's hard to believe that getting more breaks isn't a big advantage. Their commentators are always saying that just winning the lag is a big deal. (BTW, I agree there's nothing broken about 9 ball, but for the hell of it, I'd love to see whether a tournament looked and felt any different with the one racked in random positions.)
Click to expand...
Matchroom is now using a tougher break rule and the break now in vogue is a cut break in which the cue ball cuts back across the rack area. Even the best have found it challenging. The combination of a tough break rule with tough equipment is working. At the World Pool Masters, where most of the field carried an 800+ Fargo, nobody was overpowering the table with lengthy packages.

This thread is about the mainstream game of nine ball and not the fringe game of ten ball.

Like, you, I think it would be interesting to see the one racked in random positions, but as a gaffe tourney, not as the mainstream pro game.
 
The game of 9 ball is flawed but it is what it is and that's what people like. That's fine, but any game where one person does 80% of the work in the rack by running one through 8 and somehow jaws the 9 and his/her opponent steps up and pops in 9 and thereby gets credit for the win of the rack is a flawed game. Years ago I came up with a set or rules that would fix that, they were even published in the pool publication call HEAD SPOT but people weren't interested. As the legendary jazz guitarist Howard Roberts once said, 'people don't know what they like, they like what they know!"
 
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I've been saying since I've been here just about (prolly not even) that racking can be done to an app. One in the middle could have penalties or not - hit 'em as best you see fit. Rules can be worked out by the kids.
I can see beneficial (to the craft of pool, not profiteering jocks) practices, like breaking from anywhere if the one ball falls behind the wings. There used to be a pea pool game they called 16 where you pulled one and the breaker would study the rack for the best way to free his ball; no limit to evolution.
 
sjm said:
Matchroom is now using a tougher break rule and the break now in vogue is a cut break in which the cue ball cuts back across the rack area. Even the best have found it challenging. The combination of a tough break rule with tough equipment is working. At the World Pool Masters, where most of the field carried an 800+ Fargo, nobody was overpowering the table with lengthy packages.

This thread is about the mainstream game of nine ball and not the fringe game of ten ball.

Like, you, I think it would be interesting to see the one racked in random positions, but as a gaffe tourney, not as the mainstream pro game.
Click to expand...
Racking the one ball randomly would be an interesting experiment, but in the end I don't think it would change much if at all. The breaker would still be trying to get that apex ball in a side pocket with the cut break (assuming that they were breaking from the box) and the rest of the balls would still be rolling around randomly as they are now with the one in front. Interesting thought though...
 
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Cue Alchemist said:
That match where max lechner, had 4 nines in his first round. At the masters. It takes all the fun out the game. On the flip side through, a lot of scratches seem to be happening too.
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Actually, Max had three and Soufi, his opponent had one. Lechner won six of the other nine racks and was, therefore, the better man in the match.

And no, it doesn't take the fun out of it. Fans love golden breaks and only bitter players and the most devout purists want to take this excitement away from them.
 
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