New TV Pool Game

[Johnnyt]

Your idea is solid, JohnnyT, and is a step in the direction of making pool more like tournament bridge. In tournament bridge, the hands are dealt and then every single partnership gets to play the same cards, which are replaced after every hand to ensure that the cards dealt to every partnership are the same. Each partnership gets to play every hand once. This tournament format, known as duplicate bridge, means that at the end of a tournament, nobody can complain that they got bad cards, as they got the exact same cards as everybody else.

The duplicate bridge form of nine ball, interpreted literally, would work like this. Let's say there are fifteen competitors in a tournament. They go to fifteen different tables and each breaks a rack of nine ball, someow marking the finishing position of every ball so that it can be duplicated over and over, spotting the nine if it happens to go in. Then, they try to beat the ghost in that rack starting with ball in hand. If they do, they earn a point. After everybody has completed their attempt to beat the ghost in the rack they have broken, the balls are replaced to where they finished after the original break, and every entrant moves one table along, attempting the new rack encountered. After fifteen rounds, each player will have attempted to beat the ghost for each of the fifteen original layouts, and the winner is the player running the most tables.

Pretty cool I think. I wasn't even thinking of the game in terms of tournaments. Thanks sjm. Johnnyt

PS:Anyone try to run 8,9,or 15 in the times I posted? Was anyone able to do it?

 

[spoons]

The duplicate bridge form of nine ball, interpreted literally, would work like this. Let's say there are fifteen competitors in a tournament. They go to fifteen different tables and each breaks a rack of nine ball, someow marking the finishing position of every ball so that it can be duplicated over and over, spotting the nine if it happens to go in. Then, they try to beat the ghost in that rack starting with ball in hand. If they do, they earn a point. After everybody has completed their attempt to beat the ghost in the rack they have broken, the balls are replaced to where they finished after the original break, and every entrant moves one table along, attempting the new rack encountered. After fifteen rounds, each player will have attempted to beat the ghost for each of the fifteen original layouts, and the winner is the player running the most tables.

This could be a lot of fun, if nothing else, just to mess around with at a pool hall with a few friends who play the same speed.

As a TV game goes, I think playing the Ghost is probably asking a bit much of the viewer to grasp. I do like the idea of playing a group of 10-15 set layouts for points- if you get out, you score; if you don't, you get nothing. I think that also forces the action into pure offense (probably more exciting to the average Joe to watch). Tie breakers could be a sudden death "break and run contest" where the first person to break and run wins or something like that.

That said, I'm torn on something like this that would promote only the offensive side of the game. Like anyone else on here, I want to see pool get the exposure of TV, and the monetary and promotional support that could come with it. But, there's part of me that cringes every time I see something like "Sudden Death 7 Ball," that has been clearly created for the attention span of a TV audience, but that doesn't actually highlight the skills needed to play them well. Speed pool is another great example. It takes an incredible amount of quick thinking and pattern play strategy to run a rack of 15 balls in 26 seconds. But, the average viewer doesn't grasp that- or even care to grasp that, for that matter.

I'm convinced that there is a happy medium somewhere in there, but I don't know what it is. Maybe this idea is a start. Who am I to say? What I do know, is that I'm taking my little sticky rings to the pool hall with me next time to challenge someone! Who's in?

 

[Johnnyt]

This could be a lot of fun, if nothing else, just to mess around with at a pool hall with a few friends who play the same speed.

As a TV game goes, I think playing the Ghost is probably asking a bit much of the viewer to grasp. I do like the idea of playing a group of 10-15 set layouts for points- if you get out, you score; if you don't, you get nothing. I think that also forces the action into pure offense (probably more exciting to the average Joe to watch). Tie breakers could be a sudden death "break and run contest" where the first person to break and run wins or something like that.

That said, I'm torn on something like this that would promote only the offensive side of the game. Like anyone else on here, I want to see pool get the exposure of TV, and the monetary and promotional support that could come with it. But, there's part of me that cringes every time I see something like "Sudden Death 7 Ball," that has been clearly created for the attention span of a TV audience, but that doesn't actually highlight the skills needed to play them well. Speed pool is another great example. It takes an incredible amount of quick thinking and pattern play strategy to run a rack of 15 balls in 26 seconds. But, the average viewer doesn't grasp that- or even care to grasp that, for that matter.

I'm convinced that there is a happy medium somewhere in there, but I don't know what it is. Maybe this idea is a start. Who am I to say? What I do know, is that I'm taking my little sticky rings to the pool hall with me next time to challenge someone! Who's in?

I'm just trying to think outside the box, because it has been tried and tried the traditional way on TV and no one tunes in. I just feel at this point to get pool on TV in ANY kind of format would be a start. Please let us know how you did at the pool room and what people thought of it. Thank you. Johnnyt

 

[Cory in DC]

Many popular game shows feature progressively more difficult rounds as the contestant scales a ladder of higher and higher payouts. It seems to make for more audience excitement as the contestant has to decide whether to keep going or take a lesser amount of money and run.

It seems like your pre-arranged patterns could fit well with that format. No clusters and perhaps fewer balls or more natural stop-shot patterns for low money, more clusters and more balls for the big money.

 

[Johnnyt]

Many popular game shows feature progressively more difficult rounds as the contestant scales a ladder of higher and higher payouts. It seems to make for more audience excitement as the contestant has to decide whether to keep going or take a lesser amount of money and run.

It seems like your pre-arranged patterns could fit well with that format. No clusters and perhaps fewer balls or more natural stop-shot patterns for low money, more clusters and more balls for the big money.

Another good idea IMO. Johnnyt

 

[spoons]

Johnnyt,

Just to be clear. My comments were intended to be constructive criticism. I hope that's the way they came across. Far be it from me to say whether someone's idea will or won't work. There's just a little bit of the purist in me that wishes folks would enjoy watching the same things I do.

I think the idea itself would be a lot of fun, and certainly lends itself to a lot of variation.

 

[Brian in VA]

If you're going to make this something for the masses, as someone said, instead of pros you'd start with 3 or 4 ball layouts and progress up from there kind of like "Who wants to be a millionaire?" where the questions get harder as you go.

It could work.

Brian in VA

 

[Johnnyt]

Johnnyt,

Just to be clear. My comments were intended to be constructive criticism. I hope that's the way they came across. Far be it from me to say whether someone's idea will or won't work. There's just a little bit of the purist in me that wishes folks would enjoy watching the same things I do.

I think the idea itself would be a lot of fun, and certainly lends itself to a lot of variation.

No problem with what you wrote...I feel the same way. I would love to see it on TV more in it's pure form, but hey that ain't working so well. Johnnyt

 

[Johnnyt]

If you're going to make this something for the masses, as someone said, instead of pros you'd start with 3 or 4 ball layouts and progress up from there kind of like "Who wants to be a millionaire?" where the questions get harder as you go.

It could work.

Brian in VA

Another great idea. I wouldn't want it too easy though. I believe you have to have players on the show that can run out at least 6 balls to make it interesting. Johnnyt