I.P.T. game of choice?
- Thread starter tigerseye
- Start date
They chose 8 ball because thats what the masses play, the IPT wasnt set up for players it was set up to be a profitable business and since 8 ball on nap cloth is the most widley known game thats what people know and understand thus attracting larger audiences, one pocket is 180 degress the oppsite its a players game and the general population just dosent it.
Fatboy said:
What he said.
I think it is the right game to promote. The game is instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever seen a pool table and is probably the best chance to attain a mainstream audience.
If we can get pool to be a mainstream sport, then we can introduce one pocket and straight pool to the masses.
Actually, although I only play Eight Ball once a week during the league season, and then only three games, I love to see the great players battling strategically in Eight Ball. Nine Ball gets old and I love the patterns in Eight Ball. It reminds me of 14.1...Tom
I think the pro tours should all switch to 8 ball. the masses play 8 ball and would like to c it played on a pro level. The average player just doesnt get how hard 9 ball can be and they never will because they dont play it. 8 ball is the way to generate interest in pool.
I attended the majority of the Reno IPT Tournament Matches (very comfortably seated in VIP) and will state, without reserve, that those 8-Ball Matches were as thrilling as any Matches I have ever witnessed ...
I truly hope they can happen again ... properly funded, of course ...
Guess which one is me ...
I truly hope they can happen again ... properly funded, of course ...
Guess which one is me ...
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8ball a good choice?
I was wondering that myself.
9-ball is recognized as the game that will get the highest TV audiences and therefore sponsorship / advertising (which after all must be KT's goal). That's why it took over as the pro game decades ago: Pros follow the money, and the money follows TV.
It's a rotation game so you don't need to be knowledgeable to know what the player is trying to do. Furthermore, the players don't have nearly so much to think about compared to 8 ball or 1 pocket, and let's face it - thinking does not make great TV for a mass audience.
It occurred to me that KT might have thought that if 9-ball gets good viewing figures, then 8-ball, which is played by many more people, will get even better numbers. If so, then although personally I love watching top class 8 ball, I would be very surprised if he was right.
I should think that most 8-ball players, if asked which game they would rather see played by the pros, would chose 8-ball. But surely the average bar 8-ball player would change his mind once he as actually watched 8-ball played at a high level. The game is just too tactical - it can't be any fun for an occasional player to watch two guys battling it out on an 8-ball table if he don't really understand what they are doing!
Isn't 8-ball a game to be played by everyone but watched only by devotees? Perhaps I am wrong - does anyone know what the IPT viewing figures look like compared with 9-ball?
tigerseye said:
I was wondering that myself.
9-ball is recognized as the game that will get the highest TV audiences and therefore sponsorship / advertising (which after all must be KT's goal). That's why it took over as the pro game decades ago: Pros follow the money, and the money follows TV.
It's a rotation game so you don't need to be knowledgeable to know what the player is trying to do. Furthermore, the players don't have nearly so much to think about compared to 8 ball or 1 pocket, and let's face it - thinking does not make great TV for a mass audience.
It occurred to me that KT might have thought that if 9-ball gets good viewing figures, then 8-ball, which is played by many more people, will get even better numbers. If so, then although personally I love watching top class 8 ball, I would be very surprised if he was right.
I should think that most 8-ball players, if asked which game they would rather see played by the pros, would chose 8-ball. But surely the average bar 8-ball player would change his mind once he as actually watched 8-ball played at a high level. The game is just too tactical - it can't be any fun for an occasional player to watch two guys battling it out on an 8-ball table if he don't really understand what they are doing!
Isn't 8-ball a game to be played by everyone but watched only by devotees? Perhaps I am wrong - does anyone know what the IPT viewing figures look like compared with 9-ball?
the theory behind choosing eight ball was sound - trouble is in practice actually watching eight ball is like watching paint dry. choose your pattern correctly and it's just a series of stop shots/stun shots/one rail position shots. No big stroke shots like in nine or ten ball.
if the IPT starts running tournaments again it should be ten ball on simonis 860, IMO.
if the IPT starts running tournaments again it should be ten ball on simonis 860, IMO.
halhoule said:
Not enough to matter, The pain is so bad that when I do play it makes me play bad and I cant play for more than 15-20 minutes per session. Since jan this year I have played 3 times for about 5 hours, and maybe 10 times for a hour. So I'm 100% out of stroke. I do come with great shts now and then but can miss any ball at any time, if my next operation is successful and I can play i will be in top form in 90 days.
I agree that 9 ball is the better game for tv as 8 ball is boring to watch. What I can't understand is why KT has never woken up and put a shot clock on any of the matches. Biggest problem in spectator pool is lack of shot clocks.
Speed pool made it onto tv successfully right? No more ipt challenge matches with no shot clock please.
Speed pool made it onto tv successfully right? No more ipt challenge matches with no shot clock please.
worriedbeef said:
I believe that this is why eight ball is so popular in bars, etc. You don't have to "be good" to finish a game and run out. It's probably the only game where a player with only a bit of experience can win without the other player shooting, thus enticing them to play more and others to follow in the foot steps because "it doesn't look that hard."
Heck, it's daunting to think that I can break and run in nine ball 2-3 times out of 10 and am still a year or two away to competing with the guys at the top of the pro am tours just because of my break.
In 9-ball, by the time the player gets to the 9-ball, the chance of winning the game exceeds 90%. It's not much different for the first player who gets on an open pocketable 3-ball.
In 8-ball, many more situations arise where the player going out faces a very challenging finish, where the cost of a single mistake is probably going to result in the loss of the game.
On the other hand, we see more CB movement, and hence stroke-making in 9-ball.
I don't think either game, nor 14.1 or 1-pocket are the ideal games for TV, though they all have certain strengths. The pool format I've enjoyed most on video so far is 10-ball ring game.
In 8-ball, many more situations arise where the player going out faces a very challenging finish, where the cost of a single mistake is probably going to result in the loss of the game.
On the other hand, we see more CB movement, and hence stroke-making in 9-ball.
I don't think either game, nor 14.1 or 1-pocket are the ideal games for TV, though they all have certain strengths. The pool format I've enjoyed most on video so far is 10-ball ring game.
I have to disagree with the above two posts about eight ball.
In nine ball you only have one shot in most cases. It is a brain dead game when played at a top level and becomes a strokers game.
I think eight ball has a lot more options/decision making. More of a thinking mans game. Yes, some game are just a series of stop shots, but there are so many that are not. There is nothing more exciting than having a totally clogged up table and making a great run out.
Better yet is a kick ass offensive game of one pocket.
In nine ball you only have one shot in most cases. It is a brain dead game when played at a top level and becomes a strokers game.
I think eight ball has a lot more options/decision making. More of a thinking mans game. Yes, some game are just a series of stop shots, but there are so many that are not. There is nothing more exciting than having a totally clogged up table and making a great run out.
Better yet is a kick ass offensive game of one pocket.
9 balls been on tv for years and only pool players watch it. Time to try something new.
jason said:
Jason,
Technically, it is a tour. 2 events a couple of years back with more than 2 hand chosen players would constitute a "tour". Now as long as he claims that the "Miracle Tour" that no one wanted you to know about will be reinstated in the future, he can keep the name. Besides, the government is not going to prosecute a hustler hustling pool hustlers who is now the hustler getting hustled by the pool hustlers who all got hustled by MS. Yes, I'm pretty sure Johnny and Earl probably just cut up the money...why wouldn't they? If we could only get a match with Jason and Fatboy on the IPT, they could cut up KTs money!
Sincerely,
Sarcastic J