Is the game of 14.1 dying a slow death?

I don't think it's dying; but there's not really any growth right now.

There are a lot of hard-core fans (myself included) trying to spread the gospel. I know in my area, there's a decent amount of interest in the league community but they can't carve out extra time to play in yet-another league. Also, since we don't have a proper poolroom (except the local colleges' rec. rooms) we don't have many places to play it; it's all barboxes in my town.
 
SkiCop said:
My thoughts:

It is easier than 9- or 10-ball, or any rotation game for that matter. I would also say that it is easier than 8-ball, as far as balls per inning go. By the same token, it is easier for your opponent as well, which makes it harder for you. Plus, while going to 150 isn't much different than playing a race to 15 in 9-ball, it just sounds worse for some reason. That being said, it is the game I play in my basement when I want to work on my game.
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I would disagree about it being easier than any of the games you listed and I've played them all for over 50 years. In rotation games you always know what ball you have to shoot next and 8 ball is a single rack game only needing to make 8 balls, usually less if you make a ball on the break. Having so many more choices of shots makes Straight Pool much more difficult, in my opinion. Playing the correct shot/sequence is much, much more important.
From what I've read/heard the game is coming back but never will be popular with the casual playing crowd as it is too complicated and takes too long to play. It's way too hard to learn to play well for someone not serious enough about the game to put in the time and effort to learn it.
 
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14.1 in Fargo

When I first played at Fargo Billiards I never saw the game being played. I had never played it myself. Mike Page, owner of Fargo Billiards, started a league about two months ago. He looked for 16 players, and ended up with 27 (Mike can correct me if the numbers are a little off). Straight Pool has brought a new excitement to the pool room, and it has become my favorite game to play.

The game is great, and Mike's way of using the Fargo Rating system to set goals for players to reach in each match for payout points is the icing on the cake.
 
A few people in my local pool room have complimented me for playing it and said that it's their favorite game. But whenever I see them playing, it's almost always nine-ball or eight-ball.
 
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justadub said:
...Add to that, if you have other people wanting to play, it's winner stays on the table. (We pay by the game here, no hourly rentals.)...

It is a great game.
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And there you have it.

Besides it not being the main pro game anymore, this is probably one of the biggest reasons 14.1 has declined - it cannot really be played on a coin-op table. Besides the fact you can't bogart the table to play a game when there is a line of quarters on the rail, you also can't bring up balls that need to spot.

I grew up playing 14.1 and in those days there were hardly any bars with more than one lightly used bar box and the pool rooms didn't have any small tracks.
 
It's a great game that really needs to be introduced to the younger group of players. So much can be learned in 14.1 that is readliy applied to the other games. All you see on TV is trick shots, speed pool and some women's nine ball. None of which is very exciting to the average viewer or pool enthusiast.

I would like to say that if the scoring is holding people back from trying it, if you have an iPhone or iPad there is an app called "Billiards Buddy" that is fantastic. it's only a couple of bucks and works GREAT! It keeps track of everything you'd care to know in the game of 14.1 It even keeps a history of all your games so it's easer to see progress (or in my case, lack there of :D)
 
With a 14.1 league here, I see it being played occasionally. For the most part though, I hardly see it being played outside of league matches. For beginners, I mostly see 8-ball then 9-ball being played. I see quite a few one-pocket matches being played as well, but mostly by gamblers. I almost never see one-pocket being played for fun.

14.1 is my favorite game... mainly because I find it so much of a challenge. Just the other day, my friend ran 54 on me and it was very memorable. I can't remember the last one-pocket game I played. :p

I don't think 14.1 is dying, but I do think the lack of leagues and it not being a popular gambling game has made it stagnant in a lot of places.
 
If 14.1 was a patient, I'd say his heart rate is only about 5 beats per year, but he is in stable condition. I seldom see younger (under 40) people play the game, but it's not so uncommon to see older guys enjoying it.

If the future is with the youth, though, it's not looking too good. Straight pool requires a depth and breadth of pool skill that is rare to find in young amateurs, just because of the games they come up on. People start out with 8-ball and 9-ball and quickly get to the point where they are being rewarded for getting out. Then you have leagues awarding their maximum handicap to players who can't beat the 6-ball ghost on a good day. The end result is that people have an inflated sense of their skill from playing these games, which sets them up for a really bad first experience with 14.1. "I'm an APA 7, and I've ran 5 racks of 9-ball on a bar box - Mosconi's 526 must be well within my reach now!" Then they run a 14, a 17, and an 8 their first 3 attempts at straight pool, and promptly say "This game sucks!" and they quit. If they had started with 14.1, they would have been pleasantly surprised the first time they tried the 9-ball league, but I don't see anybody doing that.

Aaron
 
Speaking for northern MN and WI, 14.1 is dead. And One Pocket. And Bank Pool. And anything else played on a 9-foot table. There's only one game going up here: 8-Ball on 7-footers. You want action? Well... You're not gonna find any up here! Maybe $5 a rack, or sets for $20 if you spot the world.

Sure, there's the group of a dozen or so of us that play Golf or Rotation on the snooker table. That's fun and different. Last season, I introduced one of the up-and-coming younger players (Gergs!) to One Pocket on the far-from-perfect 9-footer. Blew his frickin' mind. He fell in love with it immediately. Too bad we don't have a quality 9-foot table anywhere to play it on.

It's a real shame, too. I grew up in a pool hall with 7-footers, 9-footers, a billiard table, and a snooker table. I played all the different games on all the different tables. I'm thankful for that opportunity and know that's why I'm a strong, well-rounded player. The new players have no idea what they're missing.
 
I think that there are a couple of dozen respiratory therapists doing a great job of keeping 14.1 alive.

I truly wish that I could get the bug for it. To date, I have not been able to get the bug. I see the love that some have for that game and wish that I could obtain some of that love but not so far......

There aren't many people in our pool room that play it but there are maybe 4 people that do or will play it regularly but not at a very high level.
 
I still play it, but mostly as practice. The thing that hurt the game was that unless you play for big stakes, it is too long of a game for building a bankroll. If the players are mismatched in ablility, one player will be on the table and the other guy will be sitting. If one player is very good, the sitting could be most of the game. A lot of guys don't like trading safeties, as well. You don't see any flashy shots in this game either. A lot of people don't play anything but eight ball and that game is not even close to this.
 
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