Enforce the existing slow play rules.
New Derby rules
- Thread starter Joe_Jaguar
- Start date
Enforce the existing slow play rules.
There is that, but they obviously haven't been doing that. If they haven't done it in forever, they probably aren't just going to start doing it now. But yeah, it would be nice if they did so we could see if that helped. But then if someone enforces the slow play rule, people would complain about that too. can't please everyone.
I'm not sure how that rule is going to be applied even if they tried to use it. If both players are only taking 30 seconds per shot but they're never shooting at their pocket, the match can still take forever.
My solution is a chess clock. Maybe 20 minutes per game per player with a 15 second grace period per turn.
Bob, I can assure you that by implementing the "four ball" rule, they have taken a big step in the right direction. This rule will not materially affect the way the game is played or who the ultimate winners are. You will still see all the top name players on the final day. That won't change!
By using this one rule there is no need for clocks or extra vigilance from officials. It may take a while (a short while) for some players to get acclimated to this new rule, but it's not that hard to understand. If they happen to forget and leave five balls upstream, then a ball would be spotted as soon as the player at the table is done shooting. It would not be spotted in the middle of a turn.
There will no longer be super long 'wedge" games where all the balls are clustered down table and we get to watch an endless series of meaningless safeties. That's when people get turned off to One Pocket. It will introduce some new strategy on how and when to put balls up table. This will only prove more advantageous to the better players.
I'm sure that if there are some players who don't want to play with these rules, Greg would be glad to refund their entry to them. Pool players have been going to pool tournaments forever, and finding new rules in play at many of them. We initially got a lot of resistance to our Bigfoot Ten Ball rules, playing "no call" shot and basically Texas Express Ten Ball. Meanwhile it's become the most popular event at DCC every year.
I sort of like this idea...
Tournaments need to start on time AND END ON TIME. It's too bad GS is changing it back. What is lost? The one-pocket community may find that they like the alternate rules and enjoy the tournament more. If it works out, other events could adopt the rules. Now they will never know. So much for a chance at progress.
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Greg says it is really about fewer than a dozen matches that seem to go too long every year.
But those few matches have a huge impact on slowing up the whole event. He feels the whole field (what was it last year, 400?) should not be subjected to a rule change considering the small number of matches involved.
Lou Figueroa
That's very true.
And Greg is aware of the fact that some guys are going to have a long match regardless of the rules. So the alternative is have a tournament official make a "best judgement call" to terminate a match after a reasonable amount of time.
When we started to talk about what a "reasonable amount" of time was for a race to three, I thought he was amazingly generous in his assessment, saying a match could go several hours but there was a point after five hours where it adversely affected the whole event. And that's what he's trying to get a handle on.
Lou Figueroa
Greg is "old school" in the best meaning of the term and thinks there is nothing wrong with the traditional rules.
Lou Figueroa
But there is something very wrong with a tournament match that takes over seven hours. And those have happened.
Yes, of course there is something wrong about that and they have happened.
But that’s what you’re likely to get when you fling the doors open and let any player that can make the entry fee get into an event.
Lou Figueroa
It seems like this could be addressed by creating "placeholders" for in-progress matches when pre-drawing for the next round. So, if 6 players are still playing matches, go ahead and draw the next round with the in-progress players assigned placeholders in the draw, dependent on whether they have a loss or not.
If one of these players is eliminated, wait until all the last-round matches are done, and then redraw all odd men out against one another.
This blind draw of the next round would ensure that slow matches do not slow down an entire bracket.
Want a second, MUCH more creative solution? Tell everyone that all slow match players with be seeded against the top Fargorate players in the field in the next round. So, slow play makes sure you play the strongest possible player in the next round.
Not sure how workable THAT one is, because some goofballs would play slow just for the chance to play Alex P.
Whilst I'm sure all the impassioned hang wringing about the minutia of One Pocket rules is simply fascinating to all of you who are simply fascinated by the minutia of One Pocket rules, can we talk for a minute about the 9 ball template rule?
I don't understand how you can use the Outsville template, which is specifically has "Load and Push" printed on it if you can't touch the balls to carry out the "Push" step. Personally I have a set of these and though the 8 ball and 10 ball ones work well I find the 9 ball diamond shaped one is pretty useless unless I spend a few minutes futzing with the two head balls behind the one. The "Turtle" rack, which is my current preference, or the original Magic Rack. can sometimes get a perfect rack just by carefully placing the balls on it, but even then they usually need a little love nudge or two on the head balls and/or the balls at the back to ensure they are all frozen.
Does anyone has experience being able to simply place the balls on the Outsville 9-ball rack in a single operation and having it work consistently well? It is always possible my one is just defective, given the mass produced nature of these.
I don't understand how you can use the Outsville template, which is specifically has "Load and Push" printed on it if you can't touch the balls to carry out the "Push" step. Personally I have a set of these and though the 8 ball and 10 ball ones work well I find the 9 ball diamond shaped one is pretty useless unless I spend a few minutes futzing with the two head balls behind the one. The "Turtle" rack, which is my current preference, or the original Magic Rack. can sometimes get a perfect rack just by carefully placing the balls on it, but even then they usually need a little love nudge or two on the head balls and/or the balls at the back to ensure they are all frozen.
Does anyone has experience being able to simply place the balls on the Outsville 9-ball rack in a single operation and having it work consistently well? It is always possible my one is just defective, given the mass produced nature of these.
There is a lot of history behind that point. The creator of the software has added a system for early draws when a few matches haven't finished yet. The tournament crew, which does not include the programmer, does not use the feature. So, we wait until a round is entirely over before the next draw.
It's hard to find good help.
There is a lot of history behind that point. The creator of the software has added a system for early draws when a few matches haven't finished yet. The tournament crew, which does not include the programmer, does not use the feature. So, we wait until a round is entirely over before the next draw.
It's hard to find good help.
The help does what the boss says.
Greg has the power to make it happen. Ths seems like the lowest impact way to address the slow matches.
The rule is being restated... You are allowed to touch the balls once loaded to get them locked up and frozen.. You are not allowed to feather the one ball to try and load it once that has been done...
We have thousands of matches now on the 9ball template and it's push forward and done UNLESS you have pushed one side higher than the other or possibly have not pushed far enough to freeze the 2 balls behind the 1 together... I am doing both a rules video and a usage video tomorrow that will be posted on Diamond's facebook page.
The 9ball version of the Accu-Rack is made to allow the balls to be racked and frozen in 30seconds and Souquet, Shaw, Appleton and Shane have helped on their evolution.. It was not meant to be a rack template but a rackING template and it works when others won't.. The China Open had the Turtle and the Magic Rack and it took 18minutes to rack one game without a gap... Skip ahead to 1:34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhwW98thfx8
If I'm not mistaken they do this as the event transitions from one event to the next.
What you'll often see when you're in the 1pocket and they draw for the next round is a "TBD" where your opponent's name should be. Sometimes it's a sign that you're getting a killer from the last few still playing a match in the banks.
Lou Figueroa