I've Got the One Pocket Fever ^_^

Zphix

Zphix

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So, tonight after leagues were done - I decided to go up to the poolhall to shoot around a bit and unwind while things were quiet.

A few people I knew were still hanging around so we ended up shooting after I hit some balls for about 15 minutes. Afterwards, I only got to play two games of one pocket for reasons I'll explain in a minute but anyway - I thoroughly enjoy the game of one pocket: the strategy, competitiveness, and focus required to play well are amazing. Not to mention, for me, it's a change of scenery as far as games go: I'm used to playing 8-ball, 9-ball, and some 10 ball.

So, the first game I lost 8-7 on a thin bank that I made but scratched so it would've been my match if I hadn't scratched but I did =(

Second game I beat the guy (this was a different guy than the first game) I was playing 8-2 and he's a fairly good player - I don't know his APA/BCA/TAP skill level but I'd venture to say that he's probably a TAP 5 or 6. (Scott, if you decided to read this and chime in I was playing Luke).

After that I was told that the poolhall had officially reached the point in the night where it was operating as a club/bar and I wasn't 21 so I could not stay. Otherwise I would've stuck around and played more matches =(

But yeah, I really enjoy one pocket despite my limited exposure to playing it. I've also noticed that my position play has gotten quite a bit better while working on my fundamentals. :thumbup:
 
One-pocket fever? I had that once, for about two weeks.
It was like everything was moving in slow motion and I was in a fever-induced delirium the whole time and couldn't make a ball.

I was getting worried, but then I finished the match and things went back to normal.
 
I like the game just not as much as others but anything on a table I like that and some gamble lol injoy hit em good :thumbup:
 
peppersauce said:
There was a time when I thought I was pretty good at one pocket. Then I relocated to an area with some very good one pocket players and got really discouraged. Forget the "good" players, I couldn't even beat the guys that have a hard time running 4 or 5 in a row playing 9 ball. I had to force myself to play the game for a long time to even get to the point where I wasn't totally perplexed when I stepped to the table. I was a very slow learner with one pocket. I love the game now though.

Glad to hear you are enjoying it right from the start. It will improve your banking, kicking, and safety play a lot if you stick with it. Good luck!
Click to expand...

I also noticed that it improves shot selection skill as well. Also looking at everything in perspective at the table - basically, in one pocket I get to really see the shots before I shoot :)

Sent from my X501_USA_Cricket using Tapatalk 2
 
Zphix said:
(Scott, if you decided to read this and chime in I was playing Luke)
Click to expand...

He is currently playing as a 5 in both APA and TAP. He's playing as a 10 in BCAPL on a 17 point scale. These are eight ball handicaps.
 
I would say practicing some straight pool as well will do your one pocket game a lot of good. Being able to see the caroms in clusters helps me out a bunch.
 
Zphix said:
So, tonight after leagues were done - I decided to go up to the poolhall to shoot around a bit and unwind while things were quiet.

A few people I knew were still hanging around so we ended up shooting after I hit some balls for about 15 minutes. Afterwards, I only got to play two games of one pocket for reasons I'll explain in a minute but anyway - I thoroughly enjoy the game of one pocket: the strategy, competitiveness, and focus required to play well are amazing. Not to mention, for me, it's a change of scenery as far as games go: I'm used to playing 8-ball, 9-ball, and some 10 ball.

So, the first game I lost 8-7 on a thin bank that I made but scratched so it would've been my match if I hadn't scratched but I did =(

Second game I beat the guy (this was a different guy than the first game) I was playing 8-2 and he's a fairly good player - I don't know his APA/BCA/TAP skill level but I'd venture to say that he's probably a TAP 5 or 6. (Scott, if you decided to read this and chime in I was playing Luke).

After that I was told that the poolhall had officially reached the point in the night where it was operating as a club/bar and I wasn't 21 so I could not stay. Otherwise I would've stuck around and played more matches =(

But yeah, I really enjoy one pocket despite my limited exposure to playing it. I've also noticed that my position play has gotten quite a bit better while working on my fundamentals. :thumbup:
Click to expand...


I remember when I was new to 1pocket, losing was about all I could do.

When I moved to St. Louis I had never played 1pocket. Just nine ball and straight pool, (with a four year hiatus of bar table eight ball up in Montana). I was on the tail end of a ten year layoff from pool when I started playing again and I quickly found out that 1pocket was all anyone would gamble at here. So, I decided I'd learn.



I hated it. I'd lose to everybody. I couldn’t stand it, loathed it.

All the bumping, nipping and tucking. Sometimes for what seemed like an eternity. Shot after shot after shot. And here's the worst part: I was losing to white haired old men and even young kids half my age.



And, the game would get me out of stroke. All the shots at pocket speed - laying up balls. Twisting and spinning balls. And the brutal realization that I never knew what the *right* shot was. And then, the even more brutal realization that even if I recognized the right shot, years of 14.1 and nine ball hadn't prepared me for so many of the shots I needed to be able to execute at 1pocket. These guys were giving me 10-7 and feeding me a lie that I actually believed: "I can only give you a couple of balls 'cause you shoot so straight" and then robbing me.



For months I would play, and lose, and curse the game. But then, I started to learn the shots. I would watch Accu-Stats tapes and began recognizing the *right* shots, the correct strategy. I’d occasionally win. The spots became smaller, but still, "I hate this game."



Then, I started to book a few winners here and there, and more and more of the guys had to play me even. I started to change my opinion, "Maybe this game isn't so bad."



Soon there after, I had to start giving up weight to get a game. My opinion moved a bit more, "Hey, I kinda like this game. Then the ultimate: the guy who had started out giving me 10-7, refused to play a couple of years later when I offered him 11-7.



I really like this game now :-)



Lou Figueroa
 
once you learn 1p

you will find 8 - 9 ball boring. i played 43 years in league 8 ball, played tournaments 9 ball. i now longer do either, but i still play 1p every chance i get. many times i would take a 9 ball player that was better than me, and get him trapped into a 1p game and beat him.


one pocket is chess on a pool table
 
now you're headed for paradise. a couple of years of one-hole and you'll be beating your buddies at 8 and 9 ball. Plus when you grow older like me you can still have a great game. Have you ever seen a 75 year old man break 9-ball.
 
desi2960 said:
you will find 8 - 9 ball boring. i played 43 years in league 8 ball, played tournaments 9 ball. i now longer do either, but i still play 1p every chance i get. many times i would take a 9 ball player that was better than me, and get him trapped into a 1p game and beat him.


one pocket is chess on a pool table
Click to expand...

Maybe this is why I enjoy it so much!

Great analogy!

Sent from my X501_USA_Cricket using Tapatalk 2
 
peppersauce said:
There was a time when I thought I was pretty good at one pocket. Then I relocated to an area with some very good one pocket players and got really discouraged.
Click to expand...

I decided to give a try(donate) to a few players when I was playing BCA at a pool hall. They were a few of the area's good master players. Not sure, but if I had to guess, at least half of the games involved 6, 7 or 8-n-out. I've since learned that playing simple strategy is much more conducive to my game. I can get down with a 2 or 3 ball run myself, because I'm hardcore like that, but when it comes time to playing defensively, I try to limit what I go for. Trying to move too many balls at once usually results in a sell-out.
 
One pocket is a great game that I rarely play but have come to understand after watching it for many years at Derby City. Every year, I enjoy it more than I expect to upon my arrival.

Like 14.1, one pocket is a game of a million subtleties and the problem solving can be quite difficult at times. In addition, one pocket has an end-game that rivals chess in complexity.

Nine/ten ball is, as one poster suggested, far less interesting than one pocket.

To the OP, welcome to one pocket, a game that will broaden your horizons and fascinate you to no end.
 
Soon you won't get a full night sleep, you will be wandering aimlessly, sleepwalking the streets of your neighborhood in search of a one pocket game.


visit onepocket.org and pick up one of these t-shirts. :thumbup:
 

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I do play in a Vegas BCA league, but other than that, one hole is all I play. I love it when folks complain about how slow it is, yeah, you screw up, and the guy runs 8 and out, total game time, 5 minutes, he says rack em and let's try it again. :)

The first time I played I had been out of pool for 20 years and had never heard of the game before. We played 8 ball, 9 ball, and lots of snooker where I grew up. The guy cleaned my clock pretty good. With that said, I started working on my banks, safeties, kicks, and cue ball control and began to improve pretty quickly. It's just about all I play anymore.

Watch some videos on youtube and such. It will teach you some moves and strategy. It is one game that you can learn a ton just by watching others that do it well. You still have to excecute when you are playing though. Gotta always figure out there the white ball is going to end up. Name of the game, keep the pressure on your opponent by keeping balls by your hole, while preventing him an easy way to knock them away or a shot at his hole. Simple, but not easy.:smile:
 
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