Learning the pattern play

[DynoDan]

I learned to play 14.1 with the old clay balls on slow cloth.
You had to hammer the break shot and sometimes use force follow to open the balls.
But we didn't know any better.Thats what we played on.
With modern balls and fast cloth you can hit the break shot much easier which means you are a bit more accurate in pocketing the break ball.

Not to mention, hammering the break shot on a modern Diamond table often bobbles it in the corner. Cloth & balls are faster, but pockets are less forgiving.
BTW: While the side pockets on a Diamond are also tighter, I HAVE noticed that a miss which would not ordinarily go if shot softly, will sometimes compress the rail’s rubber edge enough to let it go in.
The side pockets on old GCs were like buckets. I’ve had a hard time adjusting my game so as to avoid them now, unless I’m straight-in & close.

 

[sjm]

I learned to play 14.1 with the old clay balls on slow cloth.
You had to hammer the break shot and sometimes use force follow to open the balls.
But we didn't know any better.Thats what we played on.
With modern balls and fast cloth you can hit the break shot much easier which means you are a bit more accurate in pocketing the break ball.

I consider that to be two generations of straight pool ago. Bob Jewett has posted that clay balls in competition have been gone since the mid-1950s.

The composition balls of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s played nothing like the clay balls, but the slow cloth was still in use until the late 1980s, so breaking the pack was a little tougher even then.

 

[measureman]

I consider that to be two generations of straight pool ago. Bob Jewett has posted that clay balls in competition have been gone since the mid-1950s.

The composition balls of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s played nothing like the clay balls, but the slow cloth was still in use until the late 1980s, so breaking the pack was a little tougher even then.

The room I learned to play in was an old room.
I started there in 1961 and it was there well before that so who knows how old the balls were.

 

[TheBasics]

Howdy All;

Like measureman, I started to learn in 1961, It was a Bowling Alley and iirc, they were the
newer composition balls, and yea, you had to give them a good solid hit to do much. The
even newer urethane balls are much slipperier then the older ones. Ain't science wonderful???

hank

​

 

[noMoreSchon]

I think he meant 14.1.
My tip would be to clear the balls off the rails early because these are the hardest to play position from.

I was taught that the same, but the reason was not shape, but balls on the rail only have two pockets to be made in.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I think he meant 14.1.
My tip would be to clear the balls off the rails early because these are the hardest to play position from.

Well, yes, but... it depends. A ball on the rail is often a very good pre-key ball if something near a stop shot on that rail ball leaves you on the key ball.

 

[measureman]

Well, yes, but... it depends. A ball on the rail is often a very good pre-key ball if something near a stop shot on that rail ball leaves you on the key ball.

That also is correct.
A lot depends on the lay out of the balls.
Many times I would see the perfect pattern on the last 5 or 6 balls then get out of line and have to change the pattern.
That's what makes 14.1 challenging.

 

[DynoDan]

I was taught that the same, but the reason was not shape, but balls on the rail only have two pockets to be made in.

As a rule, yes, but if position is near perfect, a cross-side/cross-corner bank of a frozen ball is not all that difficult (though Whitey thus often gets loose).

 

[kollegedave]

Over and above some sound advice already offered in this thread ....

I've always liked 200+ ball runner Steve Lipsky's philosophy when it came to planning the end pattern. Steve made a distinction between the balls that would be expected to be useful in the end pattern and those that would not, and this philosophy invariably led to leaving a very manageable end sequence. It was rarely about early selection of the exact order of the last few balls in the rack and entirely about eliminating all the balls that were unlikely to be useful in the end pattern, a practice that left him many options when he got toward the end of the rack.

By the way, Steve has a lot of nerve. In about 2005, I lent him my Meucci, which was my spare cue at the time. He then used it to beat me to a pulp in a practice match, running 117 along the way. That was pretty mean, wouldn't you say?

From time to time I find myself exposed to really good ideas where I am sort of ashamed that I didn't think of the idea myself. This tip you offered here from Steve Lipsky strikes me as one of these ideas. I am going to give this idea a try. Thank you for sharing it.

 

[Dan White]

From time to time I find myself exposed to really good ideas where I am sort of ashamed that I didn't think of the idea myself. This tip you offered here from Steve Lipsky strikes me as one of these ideas. I am going to give this idea a try. Thank you for sharing it.

Just be aware that such strategies can only be executed if cue ball control is up to it. Planning is good but you need to be able to follow through on that plan.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Just be aware that such strategies can only be executed if cue ball control is up to it. Planning is good but you need to be able to follow through on that plan.

Yes. Another way to say that is you can't build a pattern if you don't have the needed tools. I've had students ask for help with patterns when short stop shots were hard for them and draw was nearly impossible. The 30- and 90-degree rules?

 

[justnum]

How much cue ball movement is ideal after a traditional break shot?

The main options are short rail, back to mid table or play from a frozen position.

My 14.1 sessions are ultra focused on correcting my stroke and getting comfy with the break shot.

It feels like progress. I am also taking longer pauses to evaluate the table better.

Its a big change I think its helping.