Plausible shot clock for Straight Pool?

[BigDeal52]

Why not have shorter races. Maybe 50 or even 40. Once it starts going faster you can extend them. I think a time limit is couter productive especially if you are seriously trying to master the game.

 

[Dan Harriman]

Keep em in check

I think a shot clock is the wrong solution. If a player takes 40 seconds for every shot it's torture for the opponent and whatever audience sticks around. A chess clock doesn't need an operator, it allows you to take as much time as you want on any single shot, and there's no annoying buzzer or warning.

I don't think Sigel ever played slowly enough to require a clock. The only long run of his I can find right now is 150-and-out against Rempe in 60 minutes.

I agree with the chess clock idea and not to shorten the races. This would reward a player for a brisk pace and would keep the slower player in CHECK. Although on a more difficult table with (pro spec? pockets/deeper shelf) I will not play as quickly. The pro spec pockets seem to not exist anymore, pool room's generally have larger pockets. This will and does allow the customer to have more fun and stay a while longer, I prefer the standard pro specs that Diamond implemented. Buzzers and whistles of today's shot clocks are not the answer and do more to distract the player. I am no super chess player but I do think it would make the game more interesting - can you imagine a scenario where one player is close to winning but loses on time because in the beginning of the match their pace was too slow. It might add a speed pool element to 14.1. With this particular format a player is only responsible for his time at the table and would not be punished for their opponents slow play. If the matches are being filmed for TV then I would suggest the amateur pool room pockets, just as the pool room owners want their customers to stay longer - so too do the promoters of a 14.1 event.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I got some chess clocks and plan to introduce them at the 14.1 league today. Here are the tentative guidelines I came up with. Comments?

Provisional guidelines for using a chess clock for pool
General

1. A chess clock that is programmable and allows a grace period for each turn/inning is required. The grace period should be set to 20 seconds unless otherwise specified and can be given either at the start of the inning or the end depending on how the clock works.
2. The clock should not be paused unless there is an interruption of more than 10 seconds. A typical extended interruption might be from a slow neighboring player, a complicated ball-spotting situation, or a dispute about the score or rules.
3. The breaker should rack for himself while the seated player takes care of the score. The seated player should announce the score when he has finished marking it.
4. If the clock stops working and there is no replacement available, the match is completed without the clock.
5. If neither player runs out of time the match is scored like an untimed match and the remaining time for each player is ignored.
6. If time penalty points bring the score to a tie, the match goes to the player who ran out of time.
7. The clock starts when the balls have been racked for the break. The clock should be switched to the incoming player only when it is legal for him to shoot – for example, balls may need to be spotted first.
8. It may happen that a player has a large enough lead that even if his time expires he will win the match. In such a situation it is unsportsmanlike conduct for him to waste time to run the clock out. He must continue to play at his normal pace.
9. If a player takes a break during the match, his clock will run normally if/when it is his turn. It is acceptable to start a break during the other player’s inning.

Straight Pool

1. Players each start with 30 seconds per point required plus an additional 10 minutes. The normal grace period for each inning is used.
2. If a player runs out of time the match ends and the player with time left gets one point for each 30 seconds left on his clock rounded down. For example, 5:53 is worth 10 points (5 minutes) plus 1 point (53 seconds) for 11 points total.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I got some chess clocks and plan to introduce them at the 14.1 league today. Here are the tentative guidelines I came up with. Comments?

Provisional guidelines for using a chess clock for pool
General

1. A chess clock that is programmable ...

So the experiment didn't go perfectly. If the goal is to speed up the real snails, 30 seconds is a little too short for the players who are only "very deliberate". I think 40 seconds will work better at least in the local league.

Second, in handicapped matches where one player gets points or games on the wire, you have to look at relative scores. So, if a nine ball match is supposed to be a race to 6/3 and the weaker player runs out of time at 4:2 and the time penalty is 1 game for the stronger player which makes the score 5:2, the ratio gives the match to the stronger player. At straight pool, a 100:60 match might end up at 87:52 after the penalty points and then you would have to get out a calculator (87 wins by a hair).

On the positive side, the two players who agreed to try the clocks got fairly comfortable with the operation fairly quickly even though they had never used chess clocks before. What seemed to be an issue for one of them was the time pressure which was new.

At 40 seconds/point plus 10 minutes, the longest a 100:100 match can go is 2.5 hours (ignoring the grace period for the start of each inning). I think that's long enough for a match to that many points especially for experienced players. For players who are expected to run a couple of racks 30 seconds/point is probably reasonable if they are used to the clock.