Obviously it's bar table 8 ball last pocket, bar rules.
In which game will "the cream rise to the top" most decidedly?
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Straight Pool. It requires an excellent top notch ball pocketer, strategic thinking (excellent patterns), safety play, accurate positional play, banking, combos, etc... One pocket can be played by someone a bit weaker in the ball pocketing area quite well (if their other parts of the game are top notch), but straight pool requires it all most times.
After 14.1 imo would be One pocket, rotation, banks, 8-ball, 10-ball, 9-ball.
After 14.1 imo would be One pocket, rotation, banks, 8-ball, 10-ball, 9-ball.
Could be a format for a mixed-discipline tournament.
It's almost all I play for practice, because it emphasizes cue ball control, which I think is the real art of the game, and because every situation comes up.
I rarely play 14.1, but I think 8 Ball (Puzzle Pool) teaches similar things, except for stamina.
One pocket (Passive/Aggressive Circus Pool) is also a favorite, even though it hurts my head (and my ego).
pj
chgo
I assumed that only pool games were to be considered on this thread.....
....but if you're going to a 6x12, I'm going to a 5x10........
....three cushion billiards vastly favors the more skillful player.
I wasn't.....3-cushion and one-pocket were the games that would wake me up at 4:00 AM
.....had to go to a pool hall and try to answer the problem I was dreaming about.
Descending order........14.1, rotation, one pocket, 10 ball, 8 ball, 9 ball......the game of banks., etc. are specialty games, sorta like 3 Cushion.....and on 10" tables like when I was a kid.
Matt B.
Matt B.
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1pocket doesn't test the one thing pool is all about....pocketing. No can pocket, no can play. 14.1 does all that 1pocket does in spades AND you have to run balls. Also, 3c players understand and can control the cb better than pool players...so maybe 14.1 and 3c.
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I'm starting to play more one pocket so I can understand many here who favor it the best true test but I believe you need more in your arsenal in 14.1. In 14.1 you need all techniques, such has bridging over balls so not to fowl and you have to be pretty handy with the mechanical bridge. I would also like to put a good word in for 9ball too. In 9ball if played correctly you must play safeties well, kick well, be a master of soft shots, and have a power stroke in your repertoire. As for luck in 9ball, it seems the most advanced players are the luckiest. What a coincidence.
I can't agree. It's true that 1P isn't as shot-intensive as other games, but the shots you have to take in 1P are way more difficult on average than shots in any other game, and almost all of them must be two-way shots.
More importantly, I don't think pocketing is "the one thing pool is all about". Of course pocketing is essential, but IMO cue ball control is the "art" of pool - pocketing is the "strings" on which the "music" of CB control is played. And CB control is more important and difficult in 1P than in any other game, IMO. On top of that, you have to control the speed of both the CB and OB on almost every shot, which is unique to 1P (along with the frequent circus shots that come up).
I'm not saying 1P is the "best" or even most demanding game - I don't think the apples and oranges of the different games can be clearly compared like that. They each have their strong points and none, in my opinion, dominate overall.
pj
chgo
Patrick, I believe speed of the CB and OB on every shot is essential to all games if the games are to be played well. One pocket is very demanding for the leaves if nothing else.
I don't follow. In 1P the OB usually has to be hit at a speed so it just reaches the pocket - anything more than that and you've wasted the shot if you miss. In other games OB speed can be anything from pocket speed up (within reason) - the speed of the CB (for shape) is usually the only speed that matters.
pj
chgo
Maybe that is my problem with one pocket. I am thinking too positively and am a little more aggressive than I should be. I won't shoot a shot if I think I am going to miss it and only use the CB speed that will get me the shape I need for the next shot or safety.
I haven't played very many full rack bank games, so I don't really understand the nuances of the game but I think one pocket is the best test. It highlights cue ball control and knowledge but you really have to execute all aspects of the game to win.
To say that pocketing doesn't matter is wrong. If two players match up and they are equal in all aspects of the game except pocketing balls, the better shot maker will win. The ability to make balls does not hurt your one pocket game, it helps.
I know there are a lot of straight pool fans that think it's the best test but I think it's more about shot making and precision cue ball control. Not much on strategy.