Personal Best

av84fun

Banned
P&B Magazine created sort of a variation of Ghost Ball they call "99 Ball"

It's essentially Ghost Ball except you play for a total balls pocketed count in 9 racks. You get 2 bonus points for making a ball on the break so the total possible score per rack is 11. The game is played in 9 innings so the total possible score for the "match" is 99...thus the name of the game.

I don't recall the exact "rating scale" but roughly, mid 40s would be a C...55-60 or so is B...70-75 is A and above that you get into low, medium and high ranked pro status. (maybe someone can post the exact rankings).

A couple of months ago, I had an all-day lesson with Scott Lee and have worked HARD on adopting the core advice he gave me.

Before Scott....and that does NOT stand for "BS" (-:
I was shooting in the high 60s to low 70s.

A few weeks ago I started to really FEEL my new stroke come to the surface and become seemingly automatic instead of "forced practice."

So, tonight, I decided I'd shoot a match of 99 Ball and here is what happened (9 ft. Ohlausen)

Made a ball on the break 9 out of 9 racks.

Ran out 6 racks

Drained the 9 from the snap on the last rack (from the 1 ball position...the front ball goes up 1 number for each rack) for a total of seven 11 point racks.

Scored a FREAKING EIGHTY SIX which is well into the pro category in the ranking system!!!!!!!!!!! (-:

Trust me, I know I am no pro and nothing resembling one...but TONIGHT I played JAM UP!

THANKS Scott Lee...and Allison Fisher, Gerda Hofstatter and Bobby Pickle for beating most of what I know into my thick, 63 year old skull!

DAMN that was fun!!

(-:

Jim
 
Congrats! I am going to try that, sounds better / more rewarding than playing the Ghost. I won't score anywhere near what you did but that's what practice is about, ay?

Two questions:

- so when you sink the 9 on the break, is that an automatic 11?

- Let's say you sink the 1, and the 2, and then you do a 3-9 combo. Is that 11 points? (assuming you sunk a ball on the break)?
 
thanks for the heads up,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,now i wantthe 5,7 and the pop:eek: ;) wow thats strong, all jokeing aside thats big, i couldnt get near that high, do you take BIH after the break?


i did catch a gear a while back for about 35-40 minutes and missed 4 balls as i remember, i was playing WAY over my head, i do play better home alone than anywhere else, most of the time.

congrats on becomming a pro!!!!
 
tonmo said:
Congrats! I am going to try that, sounds better / more rewarding than playing the Ghost. I won't score anywhere near what you did but that's what practice is about, ay?

Two questions:

- so when you sink the 9 on the break, is that an automatic 11?

- Let's say you sink the 1, and the 2, and then you do a 3-9 combo. Is that 11 points? (assuming you sunk a ball on the break)?

Yes and yes. Below is a link to the rules and a score sheet. But, believe it or not...it keep score with darts on my dart board! (-:

Basically, whenever you pocket the 9 ball legally you win the rack and 9 points +2 points if you made a ball on the break.

It can be awfully frustrating when you break...get BIH and then are faced with a cluster or a very hard route. I was just breaking great and getting pretty good scatter on the balls.

Have fun!

Jim

http://poolmag.com/Uploads/Play 99.pdf?size=183782
 
Fatboy said:
thanks for the heads up,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,now i wantthe 5,7 and the pop:eek: ;) wow thats strong, all jokeing aside thats big, i couldnt get near that high, do you take BIH after the break?


i did catch a gear a while back for about 35-40 minutes and missed 4 balls as i remember, i was playing WAY over my head, i do play better home alone than anywhere else, most of the time.

congrats on becomming a pro!!!!

Yes BIH whether you drain one on the break or not.

And the 5-7 and the pop huh?

Are you a Hustler? I mean, do you bet money on pool games?
(-:

Jim
 
av84fun said:
Yes and yes. Below is a link to the rules and a score sheet. But, believe it or not...it keep score with darts on my dart board! (-:

Basically, whenever you pocket the 9 ball legally you win the rack and 9 points +2 points if you made a ball on the break.

It can be awfully frustrating when you break...get BIH and then are faced with a cluster or a very hard route. I was just breaking great and getting pretty good scatter on the balls.

Have fun!

Jim

http://poolmag.com/Uploads/Play 99.pdf?size=183782

wait a minute here??? you are frustraited about your break when you BIH and there are clusters, you didnt dry break 9 times in a row...9, your not allowed to get frustraited:D :D man thats strong, i rep'ed you for that achievement, if i dont dry break 1 out of 9 i'm happy.
 
thanks for the link, when i get to vegas i'll do that a couple times and see what i get right now i'd be happy just to play, 40 would be great
 
I have been playing this game for a few years now and I write the dates and my scores on paper so I can clearly see if my game is improving or declining.

I practice with this because I get to break A LOT. (Most important shot in 9 ball.)

Also you bear down on EVERY shot.
 
av84fun said:
P&B Magazine created sort of a variation of Ghost Ball they call "99 Ball"

It's essentially Ghost Ball except you play for a total balls pocketed count in 9 racks. You get 2 bonus points for making a ball on the break so the total possible score per rack is 11. The game is played in 9 innings so the total possible score for the "match" is 99...thus the name of the game.

I don't recall the exact "rating scale" but roughly, mid 40s would be a C...55-60 or so is B...70-75 is A and above that you get into low, medium and high ranked pro status. (maybe someone can post the exact rankings).

A couple of months ago, I had an all-day lesson with Scott Lee and have worked HARD on adopting the core advice he gave me.

Before Scott....and that does NOT stand for "BS" (-:
I was shooting in the high 60s to low 70s.

A few weeks ago I started to really FEEL my new stroke come to the surface and become seemingly automatic instead of "forced practice."

So, tonight, I decided I'd shoot a match of 99 Ball and here is what happened (9 ft. Ohlausen)

Made a ball on the break 9 out of 9 racks.

Ran out 6 racks

Drained the 9 from the snap on the last rack (from the 1 ball position...the front ball goes up 1 number for each rack) for a total of seven 11 point racks.

Scored a FREAKING EIGHTY SIX which is well into the pro category in the ranking system!!!!!!!!!!! (-:

Trust me, I know I am no pro and nothing resembling one...but TONIGHT I played JAM UP!

THANKS Scott Lee...and Allison Fisher, Gerda Hofstatter and Bobby Pickle for beating most of what I know into my thick, 63 year old skull!

DAMN that was fun!!

(-:

Jim
It is AWESOME to have those kind of nights... Congrats!!!

For most people, it doesn't happen a lot, but when it does it makes you think, what if...

Great job! I know how it feels, I just wish it could happen more often.

My feeling like that was when I was able to beat the ghost 7 - 1. Doesn't happen often, but when it does, it feels pretty AWESOME!

Again, CONGRATS! and great job!
 
This is awesome, it even comes with a printable sheet to keep score with rep to you for this awesome post. Im going to try, on a super tight GC let you know how it turns out, hope im not really a b player all along!
 
olauzon said:
i fore see a 97 dropping in from this feller in a day or 2

Well if I do, im playing in the US open this year! On the table im thinking of maybe in the high 60s but we shall see.
 
RunoutalloverU said:
This is awesome, it even comes with a printable sheet to keep score with rep to you for this awesome post. Im going to try, on a super tight GC let you know how it turns out, hope im not really a b player all along!

THANKS for your...and everyone else's kind remarks.

As I mentioned, I don't recall what the actual rankings are. I'll hunt around the P&B web site or e-mail Shari Stauch to ask her. But the one's I posted are in the ballpark.

Regards,
Jim
 
Fatboy said:
now and then...you know how it is....

But I will give you the 5-7 and the snap. Before each one of your breaks...I'll hold up 5 fingers...then 7 fingers...then I'll snap a thumb and middle finger.

(-:

Thanks for the congrats!

Regards,
Jim
 
I had to try it once...

Well I had to try it once and it seems probably pretty accurate....

I used the score sheet and what I'll do here is write it out like on the scoresheet. The first number will be the bonus break, the second will be the balls pocketed and the third will be the total. The following line will be the total and then I'll give a little play by play on some of the racks.

2,7,9;0,6,6;0,9,9;2,9,11;2,7,9;2,3,5;0,3,3;2,9,11;2,9,11=

74.

Ok I started out alright and rattled the seven with the eight going in on the break. I lost concentration in the second rack thinking more about position than the shot. I came up dry on the third rack but made up for it by running out, then followed it up in the fourth rack with a break and run (taking BIH). Rattled the eight then lost concentration in the next two racks, although in the seventh rack I had basically a drill on the one two three but hard shape to get on the four on the other side of teh table. I came up short and had to play rail first on the four, which rattled. In the eighth rack I got tough shape on a not straight two foot three nine combo and made a good shot to get the nine. The ninth rack I beared down and actually got a legit BNR.

This is on a nine foot with rails cut to triple shimmed size or about 4" at the corners.


Jaden...
 
Wow, stellar shooting! Congrats! That must have felt great.

Do you know what is the purpose of putting the inning ball in the front? I couldn't quite figure out the rationale behind it, so I'm curious if there is a reason.

Anyway, cool drill. :)
 
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