Pattern Racking in League Play

Pattern racking in league 9-ball...

  • is against the rules, and should be illegal.

    Votes: 19 27.9%

  • is unsportsmanlike, but should be allowed.

    Votes: 2 2.9%

  • is part of the game, and should be allowed.

    Votes: 33 48.5%

  • Other

    Votes: 14 20.6%
  • Total voters
    68
victorl

victorl

Where'd my stroke go?
Silver Member
Maybe I'm just overreacting a little, but this came up in my APA 9-ball match last nite, where I noticed my opponent (a skill 3) was racking the balls in the same pattern everytime, in order to make the runout as difficult as possible. I tried to warn him on it, but he said there's no rule against pattern racking, so I just gave up and let him do it.

He plays real good for a 3, so giving up 50 balls AND letting him pattern rack to leave difficult layouts is tough to fade. I checked with the LO and they said it's within the rules, which I really don't agree with, seeing as how it's explicitly banned in WPA rulebook.

For all the league players out there, is pattern racking allowed where you play and are there players who do it?
 
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The guy you were playing sounds like a real jerk and has been taught to do whatever it takes to win. I bet this guy wouldn't even call a foul on himself and would keep on shooting if no one called him on it. If it's in the rule book and your LO didn't want to enforce it they should be fired and your opponent should be banned.

Did you want to break it teeth out with the cue ball after he pulled this move on you?

No one I have played in league pattern racks. I've asked people if they knew what it was and they had no idea. I know how to do it, but never do.
 
pattern racking

The only people who complain about pattern racking can't and probably never will play at a high level. Sorry to be blunt, but, never met a champion who complained about this, only beginners and those who have been 4's for 15 years
 
9-ball B said:
The only people who complain about pattern racking can't and probably never will play at a high level. Sorry to be blunt, but, never met a champion who complained about this, only beginners and those who have been 4's for 15 years
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I appreciate the blunt response! Honestly, it didn't have much effect on the outcome of the match, but seeing him carefully pick out the balls and place them in a set pattern everytime just got on my nerves. It's just something that shouldn't be part of the game.

By the way, I've seen professional players tell their opponents to stop purposefully racking the 2 ball behind the 9 everytime so that the 1 and 2 will end up far apart.
 
I don't mind when people use it because I honestly have never played a match where I thought that it made a difference in the outcome.
 
I see it all the time in the apa league I play in. I'm not sure many of them know what they're doing, or doing it effectively, but it is done. I said something about it a few times and got a blank stare as if "WTF are you talking about?" It is what it is.
 
Ya know, now that I think about it, I guess I pattern rack. I've always racked the balls so that consecutively numbered balls aren't touching. From top to bottom: 1,3-5,6-9-7,2-4,8. You can reverse the rows a little and still not have consecutively numbered balls touching. I started doing this after an old guy around the league said "The APA doesn't have a rule about this, but this is the official BCA nine ball rack". I never looked it up so I don't know if that's true or not.

I've just always done it that way (playing APA nine ball). My opponents have never commented on it. I've noticed that it puts the two ball to the bottom rail and the one ball up table, or in the side pocket. This is the same rack I give myself when practicing so I practice this pattern. I guess what I do is full blown pattern racking. :eek:

I feel like the accountant that just realized he'd been helping his client embezzle from a charity. What should I do here guys?

I'm gonna go vote now.

Ben
 
Well to be honest it shouldn't really be all that hard for you to outrun that. You're a 9 correct? Assuming you have to give 50 points to a 3 who has to run to 25 I think? Honestly at your skill level you should be able to outrun anything a 3 is going to do. It doesn't sound like you had that hard of a time dealing with it and to be honest, having a difficult out probably hurts him more than it does you.
 
LuckyStroke said:
Ya know, now that I think about it, I guess I pattern rack. I've always racked the balls so that consecutively numbered balls aren't touching. From top to bottom: 1,3-5,6-9-7,2-4,8. You can reverse the rows a little and still not have consecutively numbered balls touching. I started doing this after an old guy around the league said "The APA doesn't have a rule about this, but this is the official BCA nine ball rack". I never looked it up so I don't know if that's true or not.
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There is no official BCA rack... and that is a pretty good pattern rack that will leave the consecutive balls far apart from each other. What you rack for your opponent is up to you, but I wouldn't rack that way for myself if I were you.
 
LHP5 said:
Well to be honest it shouldn't really be all that hard for you to outrun that. You're a 9 correct? Assuming you have to give 50 points to a 3 who has to run to 25 I think? Honestly at your skill level you should be able to outrun anything a 3 is going to do. It doesn't sound like you had that hard of a time dealing with it and to be honest, having a difficult out probably hurts him more than it does you.
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I do agree with what you're saying.
I would never even think of doing it against anyone, let alone someone much better than myself, so to have it done to me by a C player felt pretty disrespectful. Thinking about it now, it wasn't that big a deal, but I I let it get to me at the time.
 
LuckyStroke said:
Ya know, now that I think about it, I guess I pattern rack. I've always racked the balls so that consecutively numbered balls aren't touching. From top to bottom: 1,3-5,6-9-7,2-4,8. You can reverse the rows a little and still not have consecutively numbered balls touching. I started doing this after an old guy around the league said "The APA doesn't have a rule about this, but this is the official BCA nine ball rack". I never looked it up so I don't know if that's true or not.

I've just always done it that way (playing APA nine ball). My opponents have never commented on it. I've noticed that it puts the two ball to the bottom rail and the one ball up table, or in the side pocket. This is the same rack I give myself when practicing so I practice this pattern. I guess what I do is full blown pattern racking. :eek:

I feel like the accountant that just realized he'd been helping his client embezzle from a charity. What should I do here guys?

I'm gonna go vote now.

Ben
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When giving up the 8, I put it in the 2/4 position, opposite of the 7. Otherwise same pattern. Defensive 'pattern racking'?
 
Allen Brown said:
You've never pattern racked before have you?
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I've been pattern racked plenty of times, probably more than you as pattern racking is the norm in Japan, but I don't do it myself. I've never thought "I would have won had that guy been using easy patterns in his rack."
 
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3RAILKICK said:
When giving up the 8, I put it in the 2/4 position, opposite of the 7. Otherwise same pattern. Defensive 'pattern racking'?
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Interesting. I'm more of the type of player who would be getting weight, rather than giving it. As a matter of fact, if I don't get the seven I won't play. If he's too willing to give me the seven I won't play either lol

Ben
 
This would be a non issue if you would just break from a different place, or use a different speed. From your ranking it would seem you have the ability. And if this sharked you and got in your head then I would congratulate the guy for doing what he could to win.

If I can increase my odds of winning by getting into someone's head during a match, I would say my job is done here and just shoot pool. What does it really matter, I break from a different spot, change up the speed of the break. Hit the head ball in a little different spot. It does not sound like he was running racks anyway on you. Bring out the safety game and "Play Pool"... Just my opinion...
 
In APA I have definitely noticed a few people pattern racking. Putting the 3-5 on the second row and the 2-4 on the 4th row. I play in masters so the point is to make the 9, not score points. Therefore I sometimes patten rack if I'm playing a strong runout player. If my opponent can not runout I don't bother. Even then I make sure I don't put he 2 on the bottom, since then it would tend to bounce to the top of the table with the 1.

I've never complained about pattern racking and I've never heard a complaint.
 
jeffj2h said:
In APA I have definitely noticed a few people pattern racking. Putting the 3-5 on the second row and the 2-4 on the 4th row. I play in masters so the point is to make the 9, not score points. Therefore I sometimes patten rack if I'm playing a strong runout player. If my opponent can not runout I don't bother. Even then I make sure I don't put he 2 on the bottom, since then it would tend to bounce to the top of the table with the 1.

I've never complained about pattern racking and I've never heard a complaint.
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Thank you for your response. It seems we agree. Now, would you play in a league that rules against pattern racking? I know I would

Ben
 
9-ball B said:
The only people who complain about pattern racking can't and probably never will play at a high level. Sorry to be blunt, but, never met a champion who complained about this, only beginners and those who have been 4's for 15 years
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I always pattern rack ... league or otherwise. Most players in our league have no clue anyway.
 
I guess I'm partially guilty. The only thing I do is to make sure that the 2 and the 3 aren't together, one second row and the other fourth row. Neither specifically in one place, just in opposite rows.

I've always racked 8-ball solid-stripe-solid etc, as well. Two of each suit have to be together and I have one pair in the back row and the other pair down one side. I do put the one in front everytime, habit....

Guess I ought to go back and look at the manual again, though I've never heard anyone complain. Nor have I seen anyone do anything terribly involved.
 
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