Is the game of 14.1 dying a slow death?

inside_english

inside_english

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I know there have been some tournaments here and there and also a couple of TAR matchups...but it seems that as the years go by less people are playing it.

I live in Maryland, and yes, we do have the Maryland 14.1 Championships every year, which are expertly run by Peter Burrows, and yes, he does bring in a strong field of world-class players, but overall, as you go from room to room, this game is not played or even mentioned.

What is it like in your town? Are there a lot of people playing or talking about it, or it is casually mentioned as the game that was played in the movie The Hustler?

I have played the game off/on for the past 20 years and occasionally a beginner would ask "Hey, what game is that? You guys just shot the 8 ball out of turn!"

I would take the time to explain the game, the beauty and purity of it, and even play a rack or two with them to show them the rules. Some become interested, but most don't...either because it seems too hard, or simply because 8-ball is just more fun.

Is the game huge in Europe? What about Asia?

Would be interested in knowing how popular the game is in your respective rooms across the USA and Canada.
 
inside_english said:
I know there have been some tournaments here and there and also a couple of TAR matchups...but it seems that as the years go by less people are playing it.

I live in Maryland, and yes, we do have the Maryland 14.1 Championships every year, which are expertly run by Peter Burrows, and yes, he does bring in a strong field of world-class players, but overall, as you go from room to room, this game is not played or even mentioned.

What is it like in your town? Are there a lot of people playing or talking about it, or it is casually mentioned as the game that was played in the movie The Hustler?

I have played the game off/on for the past 20 years and occasionally a beginner would ask "Hey, what game is that? You guys just shot the 8 ball out of turn!"

I would take the time to explain the game, the beauty and purity of it, and even play a rack or two with them to show them the rules. Some become interested, but most don't...either because it seems too hard, or simply because 8-ball is just more fun.

Is the game huge in Europe? What about Asia?

Would be interested in knowing how popular the game is in your respective rooms across the USA and Canada.
Click to expand...

I think 9 ball is dying faster than 14.1..
 
No one here in WV was playing at my local room
Now there are several regulars playing it

I walked into comet billiards in NJ, now closed, a few years ago and like half the room was playing it. Several players asked me to play, and they looked at me
Like I was an alien when I asked to play 1P

I think it WAS dead and is coming back now
 
I think that 14.1 could very well die if people don't take up the "cause" of 14.1. Dragon Promotions, Peter Burrows, The DCC, and of course myself along with my partner Steve, and Mark Griffin with the event in Vegas are really the only larger scale events if you can call the last three large left in the country for 14.1. Right now the focus seems to be on 10 ball and 10 footers. The game of pool has all but lost its media coverage on mainstream television unless your name is Alison Fischer or Andy Segal so that being said I agree with the tournaments that are now changing the game to be played more to the player's liking etc. However I will not disagree that 14.1 is dying slowly. There are those of us trying to keep it alive however it may be a losing cause which I truly hope it is not. That being said I think we stand on the edge of a sword. We move one way too much and we lose 14.1, we move the other and more support could be thrown its way and I am hoping for the latter. Like everything in pool it is based around money pure and simple. If the money is there the pros will come, if the pros come the amateurs will also want to come to watch and begin to play more and more in leagues and tournaments of their own. Take Amsterdam's own Danny Barouty for instance running a 14.1 league with well over 100 people in it. I don't think it is location based as we are in NY which is known as a hub for 14.1 but I think its monetarily based knowing full well the kind of money that is available for the taking in the league. After all of this I still go room to room in Long Island and see people playing 14.1. Its fantastic to know that I ran a league for 4 seasons. Holden Chin runs an awesome league out of Raxx that I was honored to win this season and of course Danny Barouty out of Amsterdam runs the 14.1 league. I know there are others like Red Shoes in Chicago Big Daddy's in Maryland and many others who do the same and that is what we need to keep the game alive. It's a championship game and it needs to stay that way.
 
Some have argued that pool itself is dead... I wouldn't go that far, but 14.1 has arguably died out.

It's fondly remembered, and we hold memorial tournaments for it every so often.

Maybe a certain percentage of hardcore pool players are into it enough to just play it at a regular pool hall every day. But the non-hardcore players (the other 99%) don't touch it. To me, that's basically the same as dead. And that's not something I say with any happiness. It's a great game. It's just had its time.

Let's not weep too much. The important thing is that pool survives. Individual flavors of pool aren't that important. 50 years ago everyone played Canasta, now it's all poker.

Close enough.
 
it was never popular in texas
but it seems to me it is gaining in popularity

i find it much better to watch than 9 or 10 ball

i think if pool makes a comeback'
i believe 14,1 will lead the way

having said that,it still makes me dog it
i think 14.1 is easy looking and hard to play

i would like to buy the video of the recent tournament
 
I was at Kolbys in tempe az Sat. Place was dead. 1 regular who shoots damn good 8 and 9 ball was banging the balls by himself. I watched for a few minutes and realized he was shooting 14-1.
I asked if he wanted someone to re-arrange the balls for him and we started a game.
He said it was his first time playing 14-1 and his high run was 26, otherwise he hadn't gotten out of a rack. He said the game was a "lot harder than he thought"
We shot for a while and he was ahead when we quit.
I think we have a new convert:grin:
 
You mean it's not dead yet?

In California, the chances of finding a 14.1 game are about the same as finding dinosaur eggs. So I thought the game was already dead. I happen to like it though and play it during my practice sessions. If 14.1 makes a comeback, I'll be happy. It's a wonderful game.
 
Here if I ask if someone wants to play, "Straight Pool", they think I mean 8-Ball.

When I started asking around about, "1-Pocket", all I heard was either only gamblers played that, or that they'd never heard of it. Now there are a few others who will play, or ask to play.

9- and 10-ball are still played, but 9 is slowly dying out. Generally, it's 8-ball, snooker, or golf.
 
unfortunately yes, I'm sorry to say. It used to be about the most popular game in the pool room. Not any more, and it is a shame.
It is the greatest game I ever played. ( or attempted to play)
I'm not as good at it as I should be, I miss too many easy shots, but when I watch it done properly, It's pure beauty! :wink:
 
My friends and I usually play 14.1 unless we're practicing specifically for an upcoming tournament... A few times we've had people come by asking what type of game we're playing... :)
 
8ballEinstein said:
In California, the chances of finding a 14.1 game are about the same as finding dinosaur eggs. So I thought the game was already dead. I happen to like it though and play it during my practice sessions. If 14.1 makes a comeback, I'll be happy. It's a wonderful game.
Click to expand...

You can always find a game at my house. :grin-square:

Straight pool isn't what it was in its golden years but it seems to me if anything it is making a comeback. From what I understand it has it's share in Europe. I think Germany has a pretty big league/team system with pro players involved. And I've seen more activity on here about leagues popping up in the last couple of years.

It's tough for 14.1 to compete in a tournament setting because unless both players are somewhat proficient it can take a while to play a game, plus the general pace of the game is slower (like one pocket) because there is more thought involved than 9/10 ball where the patterns are pretty much laid out. It also is better suited for RR play than the standard double elimination bracket type tournament.

But I don't think it's dead. It's more alive now than it was 10 years ago.
 
No one around here plays it. I play it with a buddy of mine every now and then, but you definitely won't see anyone else in the local room playing it.
 
In Medford, Oregon we have had a straight pool league for the last several years run out of Rack'em. It's a great league, and most of the top local players compete in the league annually. When I have played in it, the league has normally had over 2 dozen players in it. And for a city like Medford, that's a strong interest in straight pool

It has seemed to me that in recent years that there is somewhat of a resurgent interest in the game as more 14.1 leagues seemed to have been created across the country. I'm sure there are areas where the game is unknown, but I feel like the game is gaining new interest. Much more compared to what it was like when I first discovered the game while I was in college back in the 80's.
 
I think it is dying. Slow and painful at that.

Where I grew up and when I was growing up, it wasn't played in my home town or anywhere in the area. It was all 8 ball, 9 ball, snooker, and golf.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I'm in the Atlanta area. The area where I was at there for 12 years was more 8 ball and 9 ball again. Some of the areas that required an hour and a half of sitting in traffic to get to a room that might have maybe one or two people that played it was a bit frustrating for me to get to.

In short, it's a game that I would love to get involved in and learn to play.

Now that I'm between the DC area and Baltimore area, learning how to play it will be a welcome change.

Fortunately, AZB member Perk has given me a small intro to the game and I know CreeDo plays a little of it himself.

Sadly, we are seeing it in its old dinosaur age. Like everything else, it will become extinct because, even though I have a preference for the more cranial games like 14.1 and a few others, as there are just too many out there that don't want to learn something new or don't want to get bogged down into a 3 hour safety battle, or even sit in the chair for 2 hours while the opponent goes 150 and out. They want an opportunity to get to the table and shoot a few shots.

Just my opinion on it.
 
Here in Switzerland (Europe!! ) 14.1 is quite present and alive!
And a lot of youn guns are getting closer and closer.
The national tournement system is based on 4 games, 14.1 - 8 -9 -10.

We like it a lot, also used as a training game for any other!

On the contrary, here most of people is not aware of one-poket or bank pool!
I'd never seen anybody playing those games in a pool room.
 
I would not say it is slowly dying, I'd say for the most part it's been near death for many many years. 14.1 is just not heavily played anywhere!

I can't remember the last time I've been in a pool room where it was being played. I know there are still a handful of purists that still love the game, I still enjoy it myself but rarely play it too for lack of opponents in my area.

I'd say for the most part, 14.1 is close to extinction but will never die out completely.
 
At the club where I play, there are a few "seasoned citizens" that play some, in the afternoons. Other than them, the only time I've ever seen 14.1 played there is when my buddy started teaching me.

Here's the biggest problem, in our place. (Other than general pool issues.). Keeping score. 8-Ball or 9-ball, you know who won, and you don't have to keep track. Even if its a race, that's one mark on the chalkboard after each game. 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.)

I understand that they used to have beads years ago in this room, but that's long since passed. So we have to keep score on the chalkboard on the wall, or with pen and paper. It adds more complication, when folks want to play.

I have found myself thinking that way occasionally. I want to learn all about pool, and all the games. It interests me, and its good for my game. But there are times that I just want to play. I don't want to have to keep score. I expect that you will find that attitude is part of the reason why the game isn't played more often, more places.

It is a great game.
 
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