No Luck in 9ball!

[AceHigh]

Okay, thanks for all the responses people. Here's another example:


(we'll look at it from varying points of view)
You're playing a "C" player and he slams the rock into the 2 ball causing it to go 3 rails into the corner pocket.

Was he lucky? No, once again, the 2ball being pocketed is merely the effect of the cause, which was causing the cueball to contact the 2ball.

Now what if the tracking of the table were off a little, and the ball missed? Were you lucky? Of course not, your opponent just didn't know the tracking of the table was off.

 

[CaptainJR]

Make your 9 ball games all call-shot. Then you'll discover how much luck was involved in anything goes 9 ball. It's a whole new ball game!

AMEN! Including: 9 on the break does not win.

 

[vapoolplayer]

AMEN! Including: 9 on the break does not win.

i agree with you(really i do) captain.......i don't think any game should be able to be won on the break, the ball should spot.


i know grady has his own rules for 9 ball.........would grady or anyone like to share them? i know there is no luck allowed in his rules.


maybe this would solve the problem of 9 ball........the only bit of luck involved would be if you missed a shot and left your opponent safe by accident.

VAP

 

[LastTwo]

I probably should have said that the cause was just the tip hitting the cueball. Regardless of where contact is made, that is the cause, what happens afterwards is the effect.

LOL, luck can be part of the effect. Pointless thread.

 

[drivermaker]

LOL, luck can be part of the effect. Pointless thread.

But, weren't you "lucky" to have read it and figured that out on your own?


Luck is ALWAYS present...Clint Eastwood said so....
"Well.....do you feel LUCKY..PUNK?!!! KAAAAABOOOOOOOOM!!!!

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

Picking a nit, wouldn't the cue ball become the smallest ball on the table ? It sees the most wear of all balls. I would believe that the 1 ball is the second smallest.

Dave, who agrees that all these seemingly little phenomena cause effects that can best be attributed to luck, even though they should even themselves out over the long run assuming intelligent shot selection.

Absolutely. I was referring to object balls but yes, the cue-ball will become the smallest ball on the table. However, decent poolrooms will typically replace cue-balls. I know from experience that the blue-dot on the Centennial cue-ball will wear away when it's time to replace it. However, the same care will never be taken with object balls.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

Great post, sjm ! You have the ability to go underneath the surface and get more philosophical over many issues ! Keep those posts coming...

On the luck issue, when I'm winning, I'm never lucky, it's just pure skill. If I lose, my opponent is verrrry lucky despite with inferior skill !

Didn't you know, the very point in pool is to become skillful enough to overcome your opponent's good luck?

 

[Rackin_Zack]

Granted everything in pool is cause and effect and we all know that the cue ball and object balls do exactly what our cues tell them to do. However, it is luck when someone is trying to do one thing and is lucky enough to accidentally tell the balls to do something else that is favorable to them, be it a potted ball or unintended safe. Just my $2!

 

[sixpack]

There is no such thing! For those of you who constantly whine and moan when you lose, because you're opponent got "lucky". Just get over it! The only time that luck is even a slight factor in the game of 9ball, is on the break.

For anyone who doubts my claim, we can look at two constants in 9ball that clearly show that luck is not a factor, CAUSE AND EFFECT. You see, unlike a game like poker, there are no major variables in this game. This is what happens when you or someone else plays the game:

Tip of stick hits cueball at desired location (cause)

Cueball then travels and hits something; a rail, an object ball, or the back of the pocket (effect)

If the cueball rolls into the sidepocket due to a slight problem with the table. You weren't unlucky, and your opponent wasn't lucky. You were just uninformed that the table rolls funny.

I hope some of you can make sense of this, and try to agree with what I'm saying.

Good Luck!

People can scoff, but when I started forcing myself to think this way, it took my game to a whole new level. Basically the attitude was that whatever happened at the table after a shot was a direct result of that shot, not luck. It doesn't matter if the person who played it understood all of the factors leading to the result or not. No sense to get upset about it.

A player can get caught up in the luck of the game to the point where they use it as an excuse not to win.

In fact, when I play somebody whom I know complains about luck, I might try some things early that will look like luck. If I make them, they will believe they can't win because they're not lucky. They will already be rehearsing their excuses to their friends in their head rather than playing the match to win.

Regas

 

[Teacherman]

Okay, thanks for all the responses people. Here's another example:


(we'll look at it from varying points of view)
You're playing a "C" player and he slams the rock into the 2 ball causing it to go 3 rails into the corner pocket.

Was he lucky? No, once again, the 2ball being pocketed is merely the effect of the cause, which was causing the cueball to contact the 2ball.

Now what if the tracking of the table were off a little, and the ball missed? Were you lucky? Of course not, your opponent just didn't know the tracking of the table was off.

Hey genius, luck shots do have a cause................and an effect.

 

[OldHasBeen]

The way I see it................

I have always thought that IF my oponent seemed to get lucky, it is because I let him get to the table.
YOU CAN'T FIX THE GAME - BUT - YOU CAN FIX YOURSELF!

TY & GL

 

[mjantti]

I have always thought that IF my oponent seemed to get lucky, it is because I let him get to the table.
YOU CAN'T FIX THE GAME - BUT - YOU CAN FIX YOURSELF!

TY & GL

Agreed. Also, if you can escape from a snooker and make the ball or leave your opponent hooked, you still needed skill to hit the ball in the first place. So, sometimes you need skills to get lucky...

 

[lewdo26]

Agreed. Also, if you can escape from a snooker and make the ball or leave your opponent hooked, you still needed skill to hit the ball in the first place. So, sometimes you need skills to get lucky...

That's correct. I never expect a shot when my opponent hands me the table. I try to *earn* that shot with a nice kick or whatever else.
Also, I never expect another shot when I lose control of the table myself. Whatever happens from that point on is the result of losing control of the table in the first place. If my opponent is lucky, it's because I gave him a chance to get lucky.