I played my first 3 games of one pocket tonight...

Sir Scratchalot

Sir Scratchalot

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
...and once I got the yawning under control I did pretty well. I won 2 of the 3.

In all seriousness, it is educational, somewhat entertaining and maybe even a little addictive. Even a few strokes in, I saw where I made some errors and started planning on how to avoid them. Definitely a game that makes you think.

For the time being, it will continue to place third to 9 ball & 8 ball. Sometimes I just want to "play" and not be burdened with too much critical thinking. However, I'm approaching middle age and have no doubt that my desire to play this particular game will grow.
 
The Disease!

peppersauce said:
I used to despise one pocket...until I moved to an area where one pocket was huge and I couldn't even beat the old guys with no stroke who could barely see the other end of the table, let alone the younger guys with sharp eyes and no fear. I forced myself play it and got beat on by everyone until I finally started learning the correct strategy. I'm still not a great 1p player but I really enjoy the game these days. Once you're hooked, that's it.
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Strawberry Brooks famous quote:

Its a disease and there aint no cure.
 
one pocket is huge around here. there is always a "crowd" merely watching a game. I am just too old to start learning a new game. I started with straight pool more than 40 years ago and haven't perfected that one yet! ;)
 
One pocket is a more cerebral form of cue sport no doubt. But my experience is that it is also more of a community thing than the other games like 9-ball and 8-ball. Same could be said of Straight Pool... a certain kind of person will gravitate toward 1P once they learn the game.

Regards,

Lesh
 
First of all, how the hell did you play 3 games of one pocket in 1 night?! Some people can't even finish 1 game in their lifetime.

One pocket is so slow that...ah forget it.
 
The more you learn / play, the more addicting it gets...

The best game and the one that takes the most skill and knowledge imo.
 
Kris_b1104 said:
First of all, how the hell did you play 3 games of one pocket in 1 night?! Some people can't even finish 1 game in their lifetime.

One pocket is so slow that...ah forget it.
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1-P is so slow it takes literally years to start another thread about it.

Jeff Livingston
 
oldplayer said:
one pocket is huge around here. there is always a "crowd" merely watching a game. I am just too old to start learning a new game. I started with straight pool more than 40 years ago and haven't perfected that one yet! ;)
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Straight pool players tend to pick up the game quickly....
....one pocket and 14.1 are related.
Give it a try.
 
Well one pocket is the greatest pool game barring none. You can play it well when your 16 yrs old and well at 76 yrs old. That's hard to do playing the other pool games. Just watch John Henderson and Frank the Barber from California play the game. So those of you who think it's too slow or doesn't have enough action, believe me you are mistaken. Apparently you haven't played enough to understand the nuances of the game.
 
Kris_b1104 said:
First of all, how the hell did you play 3 games of one pocket in 1 night?! Some people can't even finish 1 game in their lifetime.

One pocket is so slow that...ah forget it.
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Haha. It only took less than 1.5hrs to play those 3 games. My opponent was an older gent who was both buzzed and suffering from a mild case of Alzheimer's. I'm pretty sure I wasn't seeing his best game at that time and that enabled me to set up and pocket balls fairly quickly.

I may go back tonight and give it another go. I'd hate to waste what I picked up from the 2hrs of watching 1P on Youtube today (SEE!! It's starting already!!)
 
Sir Scratchalot said:
Haha. It only took less than 1.5hrs to play those 3 games. My opponent was an older gent who was both buzzed and suffering from a mild case of Alzheimer's. I'm pretty sure I wasn't seeing his best game at that time and that enabled me to set up and pocket balls fairly quickly.

I may go back tonight and give it another go. I'd hate to waste what I picked up from the 2hrs of watching 1P on Youtube today (SEE!! It's starting already!!)
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1P is never ending fun. Does not leave the mind. You will constantly be critiquing how you played your last match.
Make it more fun...take some lessons, read some books....watch YouTube matches.
 
Years ago there was a guy that didn't want to play a rotation game saying that he prefers one pocket, I told him it was an old man's game (me = young/dumb) and it takes too long. He said his one-pocket games usually take only 2 minutes to try and slide me into playing his game, I acquiesced and off we went. He was right our games only lasted a couple of minutes, he was horrible at it and I won due to blind luck and a minimal amount of patience. I've heard of people high rolling themselves but this was the only time I heard of someone switching games to one they were horrible at.


Neil
 
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One pocket is the antithesis of nine ball. One pocket is infinitely creative while nine ball is infinitely redundant.

No wonder you have begun to feel the addiction of one pocket. :thumbup:
 
3andstop said:
One pocket is the antithesis of nine ball. One pocket is infinitely creative while nine ball is infinitely redundant.

No wonder you have begun to feel the addiction of one pocket. :thumbup:
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Hey 3. I heartily disagree. I play one pocket and nine ball. Each for me has their place and it's all according to my mood and who I am playing with. What could be more redundant than playing one game (one pocket) all of the time with the exclusion of all of the others? Yes, there is a lot of strategy in one pocket but rarely do you ever let your stroke out in one pocket, possibly a sell out, as you need to in nine ball. There is strategy in nine ball also. I see the young and old in my room playing one pocket. Correct me if I'm wrong but I feel as if the guys on this forum that can no longer handle the stroke games revert to solely playing one pocket. I am 64 so I am no youngster and still can let it out, so I enjoy nine ball along with one pocket. And by the way, I think 14.1 is the toughest most intricate game.
 
philly said:
Hey 3. I heartily disagree. I play one pocket and nine ball. Each for me has their place and it's all according to my mood and who I am playing with. What could be more redundant than playing one game (one pocket) all of the time with the exclusion of all of the others? Yes, there is a lot of strategy in one pocket but rarely do you ever let your stroke out in one pocket, possibly a sell out, as you need to in nine ball. There is strategy in nine ball also. I see the young and old in my room playing one pocket. Correct me if I'm wrong but I feel as if the guys on this forum that can no longer handle the stroke games revert to solely playing one pocket. I am 64 so I am no youngster and still can let it out, so I enjoy nine ball along with one pocket. And by the way, I think 14.1 is the toughest most intricate game.
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Actually straight pool is my favorite game which nudges itself to first place ever so slightly past one pocket. But, on any given day that scale could tilt one way or the other depending on my mood, focus, desire to play, and endurance.

After that, I suppose I'd rather choose to play a long session of 8 ball before I could find myself interested for any length of time playing 9 ball. I can endure 9 ball in small doses only before I get bored with the game. But ... that's me.

I still stand by the original statement regarding creativity however, and I agree with you that straight pool is the toughest most intricate game. The comparison I drew was based on shot / strategy creativity. One pocket offers more of that than even straight pool. Forget 9 ball, which pretty much governs your every move assuming you play logically. :)

BTW, we are the same age. :)
 
3andstop said:
Actually straight pool is my favorite game which nudges itself to first place ever so slightly past one pocket. But, on any given day that scale could tilt one way or the other depending on my mood, focus, desire to play, and endurance.

After that, I suppose I'd rather choose to play a long session of 8 ball before I could find myself interested for any length of time playing 9 ball. I can endure 9 ball in small doses only before I get bored with the game. But ... that's me.

I still stand by the original statement regarding creativity however, and I agree with you that straight pool is the toughest most intricate game. The comparison I drew was based on shot / strategy creativity. One pocket offers more of that than even straight pool. Forget 9 ball, which pretty much governs your every move assuming you play logically. :)

BTW, we are the same age. :)
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Okay3. Aren't you tired of everyone you meet being younger than you?:(
 
I find it interesting how many here feel One Pocket is a slow game. I suppose it is when compared to nine ball but the two games are very different in that things don't change much in a rack of nine ball once the balls are broken where as in a game of One Pocket the landscape can change rapidly, creating a whole new atmosphere which requires your thinking to constantly evolve. Yes, a game of One Pocket can take a long time to play. I've seen many a game take two hours, but then I've seen many more games which are over in less than two minutes. I'm not speaking of two poor players bunting balls around with little to no strategy or ball pocketing skills.

Those of you who are very familiar with the game understand that this game is not, as some may suggest, an "old man's game". Look who is playing the game at the highest levels now. Ask any of them and I would wager that the majority of these young guns will tell you that for the money, they would prefer to risk their dough on a One Pocket session then they would a session of any of the rotation games. The reason being that they all feel they have a better chance at controlling the outcome of the session due to the fact that they will get back to the table with greater frequency.

Nine ball is a great game. It is a game which as someone here said, allows a player to let their stroke out. There is no question about it, the game does do that, occasionally. I say that if you are playing one pocket and find yourself typically bunting balls, you are not playing the game properly.This is a game of moving balls into position, securing a good shot for your pocket, and then running the balls out. Nine ball, Eight ball, and Straight pool are no different.

Lastly, do yourselves a favor. Learn all the games equally well. Learn them for the disciplines they teach you and learn to enjoy the differences and recognize the similarities. Become a well rounded player and you will obviously find many more people who you can enjoy socializing and matching up with.
 
TRWpool said:
I find it interesting how many here feel One Pocket is a slow game. I suppose it is when compared to nine ball but the two games are very different in that things don't change much in a rack of nine ball once the balls are broken where as in a game of One Pocket the landscape can change rapidly, creating a whole new atmosphere which requires your thinking to constantly evolve. Yes, a game of One Pocket can take a long time to play. I've seen many a game take two hours, but then I've seen many more games which are over in less than two minutes. I'm not speaking of two poor players bunting balls around with little to no strategy or ball pocketing skills.

Those of you who are very familiar with the game understand that this game is not, as some may suggest, an "old man's game". Look who is playing the game at the highest levels now. Ask any of them and I would wager that the majority of these young guns will tell you that for the money, they would prefer to risk their dough on a One Pocket session then they would a session of any of the rotation games. The reason being that they all feel they have a better chance at controlling the outcome of the session due to the fact that they will get back to the table with greater frequency.

Nine ball is a great game. It is a game which as someone here said, allows a player to let their stroke out. There is no question about it, the game does do that, occasionally. I say that if you are playing one pocket and find yourself typically bunting balls, you are not playing the game properly.This is a game of moving balls into position, securing a good shot for your pocket, and then running the balls out. Nine ball, Eight ball, and Straight pool are no different.

Lastly, do yourselves a favor. Learn all the games equally well. Learn them for the disciplines they teach you and learn to enjoy the differences and recognize the similarities. Become a well rounded player and you will obviously find many more people who you can enjoy socializing and matching up with.
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Agreed. Sort of. You do have to "see the table" in one pocket but you have to "see the table" in all games if you play them correctly. One pocket may be more cerebral but you really never let your stroke out in it unless you are possibly willing to sell out. :D
 
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