Important Disclaimer
It is not my intention to ridicule, shame, blame, insult, belittle or demean anyone in particular with this thread.
It is not my intention to ridicule, shame, blame, insult, belittle or demean anyone in particular with this thread.
The current controversy surrounding racking in 9 Ball has shown a very disheartening view into the minds of many pool players.
I have been reading up on this subject on the azbilliards forums,looking for a solution,because I am a TD and the current state of affairs makes running a tournament with integrity extremely difficult. A quick fix for now would seem to be magic rack,9 on the spot, racking done by a designated neutral party, inspecting the rack permitted, but players cannot request a re-rack.
What is so troubling is that many people seem to think cheating is acceptable, even admirable.
I will clarify exactly what I mean by cheating.
(A) If, while racking the balls for yourself, you intentionally manipulate the balls to create gaps to gain a competitive advantage breaking, you are cheating. Period.
(B) Studying a rack to spot gaps or any other information that can be used to gain a competitive advantage breaking is legal, even if you racked them yourself, provided you have not violated (A).
Just because many players currently violate (A), does not mean that players are not cheating, instead it just means that there is lots of cheating going on. This, contrary to what many think, is not an admirable characteristic for a sport to have.
Of course, the player who maintains their integrity is going to be at a serious disadvantage when playing someone who does not. This problem forms the basis for the slippery slope we are currently sliding down out of control, gaining speed every second. The end result is that everyone will be forced to cheat as well, if they want to have a chance. In the end, players will try to call it evolution of the game, a necessity or some other drivel, when in fact it is just cheating, plain and simple.
Obviously, the rules need improvement or outright change. Even so, saying don't hate the player, hate the game is in essence removing any requirement that players have any integrity or class.
It is too late in the game for individual players to resist the tide. Although this problem partially originated with players, I think the only ones who can change it are the people who run tournaments, along with the ruling bodies that sanction rules. Unfortunately, both have remained silent, for the most part.
Opinions in support, to the contrary or anywhere in between are welcome, but please think your posts all the way through and be civil.
I am not trying to get feedback on whether we should use magic racks, rack your own, loser racks, 9 ball or 1 ball on the spot, winner breaks/alternate breaks, Europeans vs. American methods, nor looking to hear any criticism about any specific player. There has already been many threads containing all the above and they have accomplished nothing, but to prove what a disorganized mess pool is.
Actually, more than anything, I posted this because I will not turn the other way now that I am fully aware of the magnitude of this problem, as a TD this is my way of shouldering the responsibility to deal with this problem and saying that the buck stops here. I will not have such a divisive issue take away from any future event I am involved in.
Again, I stress that this post is not intended for anyone in particular, despite what some may think. The few players I have spoken with about this issue, I have a great deal of respect for and I do understand that making a living playing pool is no easy task. I have no doubt that everyone would appreciate not having to deal with this issue any longer. I certainly do not care to single out players in any tournament I run, in fact I despise having to do so.
Last edited:
