ball in hand vs two shot foul------physical vs mental
I guess I’m one of those guys so I’ll try to speak for a generation of players. The shift in focus from shot making to safety play in the 70’s left a lot of players behind. We learned to play the game when a bad shot and a lucky leave wouldn’t win the game for you. Ball-In-Hand (BIH) was introduced with the intention of making the game more ‘watch-able’ for television. It was assumed that a ball in hand would cause the end the game and create more turnover of games; thereby providing a viewer more scoring action, more predictable format to fit more neatly into a time slot and favoring the weaker player by allowing him a way to achieve ball in hand (remember it is a presumed win). There is a much more in depth understanding of the nuances of the BIH game now than when it was developed for TV (hindsight is 20/20). I think the developers thought the better players would just continue to run out and the weaker players could use this somewhat distasteful device to even out the game. The mindset of avoiding low percentage shots for pre-strategized safeties under the current rule-set is quite different from the mindset of a dyed-in-the-wool Two-Shot Foul (TSF) 9-ball player of the early 70’s. He had a completely different skill set replete with a repertoire of difficult shots that he could perform with relative reliability. He played his opponent as much as the table in that if you couldn’t bank long rail then you were very likely to see a lot of opportunities to shoot those (or cut them down the rail). 9-Ball was actually more of a control game in those days than because the better player (albeit by different standards) could seize control of the game, maintain and regain control more easily. With shot making as the standard a different style of player naturally evolved.
NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET. If the rule-set were to change back today, we would likely see a large new group of top players emerge and those rotating out would carry a little resentment baggage with them as well. Many that were unable to adapt lost interest in the game.
Hello Joey - the ball-in-hand occurred after you fouled the second time. If you missed the second (passed by your opponent) shot then it was your opponent's turn to shoot. I think you're pulling on our collective leg.
The conundrum between the percentage of physical/mental is probably best described this way. If you begin at nothing on a pursuit of excellence then in the early going, advancement is easy but as you near your level of capability advancement is more difficult and/or expensive. There will always be a balance required between the physical/mental but it will be somewhat different for each player depending on the individuals level of accomplishment.
just my opinion...you be the judge.
Andy Bruce
I guess I’m one of those guys so I’ll try to speak for a generation of players. The shift in focus from shot making to safety play in the 70’s left a lot of players behind. We learned to play the game when a bad shot and a lucky leave wouldn’t win the game for you. Ball-In-Hand (BIH) was introduced with the intention of making the game more ‘watch-able’ for television. It was assumed that a ball in hand would cause the end the game and create more turnover of games; thereby providing a viewer more scoring action, more predictable format to fit more neatly into a time slot and favoring the weaker player by allowing him a way to achieve ball in hand (remember it is a presumed win). There is a much more in depth understanding of the nuances of the BIH game now than when it was developed for TV (hindsight is 20/20). I think the developers thought the better players would just continue to run out and the weaker players could use this somewhat distasteful device to even out the game. The mindset of avoiding low percentage shots for pre-strategized safeties under the current rule-set is quite different from the mindset of a dyed-in-the-wool Two-Shot Foul (TSF) 9-ball player of the early 70’s. He had a completely different skill set replete with a repertoire of difficult shots that he could perform with relative reliability. He played his opponent as much as the table in that if you couldn’t bank long rail then you were very likely to see a lot of opportunities to shoot those (or cut them down the rail). 9-Ball was actually more of a control game in those days than because the better player (albeit by different standards) could seize control of the game, maintain and regain control more easily. With shot making as the standard a different style of player naturally evolved.
NEVER THE TWAIN SHALL MEET. If the rule-set were to change back today, we would likely see a large new group of top players emerge and those rotating out would carry a little resentment baggage with them as well. Many that were unable to adapt lost interest in the game.
Hello Joey - the ball-in-hand occurred after you fouled the second time. If you missed the second (passed by your opponent) shot then it was your opponent's turn to shoot. I think you're pulling on our collective leg.
The conundrum between the percentage of physical/mental is probably best described this way. If you begin at nothing on a pursuit of excellence then in the early going, advancement is easy but as you near your level of capability advancement is more difficult and/or expensive. There will always be a balance required between the physical/mental but it will be somewhat different for each player depending on the individuals level of accomplishment.
just my opinion...you be the judge.
Andy Bruce
