Is it just me or does a majority of players...

jlrowe

jlrowe

Billiards,Boxing & Babes
Silver Member
Is it just me or does a majority of players when they get older like to experiment with different games? Ive been playing for 20 years now and when i started it was just 9-ball. But about year ago ive started to shoot banks which i have fell in love with. Wish i had started banking 15 years ago. Also, ive been shooting straight pool and one pocket. Im good at one pocket and banks. But cant play straight pool worth a damn.:D
 
When I started playing seriously, {for me} it was Straight Pool, 9 Ball, and a bit of One Pocket. This was in the NE in the mid '70s. I've always played more than just one game. In my opinion, limiting yourself to one game limits your opportunity to become a well rounded player. Straight Pool, played properly, will teach you more about pool than any other game.
I started playing more 9 Ball in the late '70s/early '80s but played the other games too. In the late '90s I played less 9 Ball and One Pocket more and more. These days I practice Straight Pool and have all but given up 9 Ball, which has become a ridiculous game. I hope to get back into One Pocket in the near future but I'm most likely done with 9 Ball.
 
I've gone the other way sort of. Started with straight pool back in the 60's along with some 9 ball and lots of 8 ball straight in and all banks 8 ball in tavern leagues in the 70's through the 80's. Now I'm playing some 1 pocket and back to a little 9 and 8 ball but straight 14/1 is still my favorite. Here in the Mid West straight pool was the king in the 60's through the 70's on 9 X 4.5 tables. 9 ball sucks with today's rules IMHO.
 
I think, as we get older, we tend to gravitate to games we feel give us the best chance to compete in. We also have more time on our hands and the people we are playing are in the same boat. Banks, straight-pool, and one-pocket are the games we're playing now. I see a lot of the player's in the room, I frequent, I'm one of the youngest in there in the afternoon, and I'm 59, matching up and playing either eight-ball or straight-pool.

I'm still a die-hard nine-ball player though. I still play in a lot of tournaments, and on good days, I do pretty well.

I love to play. As long as there are balls, and tables. I don't care what game is being played. All that really matters, people are playing some form of pool or billiard, game.
 
I try to play all the games even dabbling in carom and snooker. I just like the variety. When 9 ball gets too mundane I play other games. Billiards is about having fun at no point should it be a grind.
 
I don't see how anyone could play exclusively 9 ball or 8 ball. Although people don't play many different games where I live, I like to practice just about everything in practice to keep it interesting.

Even when I'm exclusively on a snooker table I play some english billiards to mix it up a bit (but still not enough to be any good at it).
 
It might also have something to do with the pace of the games. As people get older they slow down and become more thoughtfull, and it might reflect in their choice of games.
 
I'm trying other games also

:thumbup:

In the last 3-4 years I've started playing some snooker and 'golf' on the 5x10 & 6x12. I'm also trying some 1P. Very occaisionally I'll hit the carom balls around (without a clue).

I play mostly 9ball and some 10ball. The game I learned on in the Army was full rack bank eightball-bank or kick the 8ball 3 rails. We had a lot of time on the weekend when you're broke two weeks into the month.

I have to try straight pool. I'm ashamed to admit that I ditched those classes and badly regret it.

Maybe the truth for me is - games where you can be rewarded for 'getting close' appeal to me more and more. I don't see that well these days.

Gettin old

3railkick

playing golf has been educational (expensive)
 
I started to play "seriously" when I was 21. An older gentleman got me to play straight pool about that time and I was shooting leauges as well. I can not thank him enough for getting me to focus on shooting the big table exclusively. I still played the wed night lg, but the rest of my time was on the 9 foot. I think it helped me develop quickly with a sub par practice routine. I didn't start playing any, and I mean any, 9 ball untill about a year ago and have been playing more and more. Guess I was lucky someone got ahold of me and started me in the right place and with the right game.
 
jlrowe said:
Is it just me or does a majority of players when they get older like to experiment with different games? Ive been playing for 20 years now and when i started it was just 9-ball. But about year ago ive started to shoot banks which i have fell in love with. Wish i had started banking 15 years ago. Also, ive been shooting straight pool and one pocket. Im good at one pocket and banks. But cant play straight pool worth a damn.:D
Click to expand...

Playing other games has helped my 9-ball, and vice versa. Straight pool helps me read the rack, 1 pocket teaches me short angle banks and speed control. The big surprise was discovering 3 cushion billiards. I found I like it better than pool. When I play 9-ball (my original game), and I make a brutal hit or shot that comes directly out of my 3-cushion experience, I'm grinning ear to ear.
 
Having grown up in Colombia, the first game I picked up was carom and 3-cushion billiards. Two games that are just not played enough, and are incredibly useful to know!!

Once moving to the states and getting more into pool, I started playing 8-ball and 9-ball. I wanted to learn to play all games, but in the area that I lived in, there weren't many players playing straight, banks, or one pocket. So I turned to Accu-stats, and bought videos. Once in a while I would talk one of my friends into playing a little, but they would get bored with it and want to go back to 8 or 9-ball.

I still find that same problem today. There are only a few players in this area that will play something different than 9 or 10 ball, so it's done only in fun. I guess, since it's not shown on TV, most of the younger players just aren't interested in it. They are interested in the quick games like 7, 9, or 10-ball. They want the quick satisfaction.
 
Bingo....

tom mcgonagle said:
I think, as we get older, we tend to gravitate to games we feel give us the best chance to compete in. We also have more time on our hands and the people we are playing are in the same boat. Banks, straight-pool, and one-pocket are the games we're playing now. I see a lot of the player's in the room, I frequent, I'm one of the youngest in there in the afternoon, and I'm 59, matching up and playing either eight-ball or straight-pool.

I'm still a die-hard nine-ball player though. I still play in a lot of tournaments, and on good days, I do pretty well.

I love to play. As long as there are balls, and tables. I don't care what game is being played. All that really matters, people are playing some form of pool or billiard, game.
Click to expand...

I have seen it many times. Once a player "flat-lines" in his games of choice and loses some interest, he will find new games to play.
 
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