played my first 8ball tournament and found my calling

StormHotRod300

StormHotRod300

BigSexy
Silver Member
Well I think i have finally found my niche in pool, and that being 8ball.

One of the pool halls i frequent, held thier first 8ball handicap tournament today.

I started as a 5, and the majority of players were 4's 5's and 6's, i think there was two 3's and they both was women, and one or two 7's and one 8.

We had 23 players, so it was a pretty good turn out for the first time.

My First three matches i played like a champ, running out when there was a chance, playing tight safes, and breaking out clusters when need be.

My last two matches was basically the opposite, but, they was matches i knew i could have won. But just made stupid mistakes or got outa position.

But overall i enjoy playing 8ball alot more than 9ball, because your not just trying for the easy win. Theres actually strategy involved in running out and knowing when to play safe, even early in the rack.

my third match, i played a guy who normally just kills me in 9ball, well i beat him 5-3, and he was struggling the whole time, with knowing what run out path to use, and when to play safe and how. So even though he is probably a better player, I beat him fairly easily cuz i play 8ball basically all the time now, and dont play 9ball anymore.

So i am open for other stories of people finding thier Calling in Pool

dave
 
I almost always have fun at 8-ball tournaments. And I agree, for me I prefer more of a "thinking" game. I like the strategy.

And 8-ball has quite a lot of depth to it as players learn more and more. First there is just pocketing the balls. Then learning and adding a new twist, in addition to aiming to make a ball into a pocket, at the same time aiming to leave the cue ball in a good spot for your next shot or break out a cluster. Learning to avoid scratching, learning about caroms, frozen balls, etc.

Then strategy - what to leave for now, what to shoot first, what order to shoot the balls in.

And on, and on, and on.

Around here we have many different 8-ball money tournaments. Some are bar rules, some handicap, some BCA rules.

For the bar rules tournaments, some will ban safeties. So you can pretend to be aiming for a certain pocket, but in fact you are just choosing a pocket to shoot towards which will leave the cue ball in a nasty spot (a safety which appears to be an intended shot). The intentional scratch. Or the intentional miscue. (If they want to play by bar rules, then don't disappoint them!)

And when I am doing well in a tournament, then miss a shot, I remember what I did and then go and practice it. Or maybe I did something without thinking and it cost me a match. I will think about it and think about what I could have done instead.

But a lot of the folks at 8-ball tournaments are a lot of fun usually. So even if I go two and out, I still have fun. And sometimes I get in the money or win first place.

Thanks for your post!
 
I would have to say, that while I enjoy playing both 8 Ball and 9 Ball for very different reasons, that my first love has got to be 8 Ball w/Vegas Rules. I love the strategy of the game, and the fact that it leaves little room for mistakes. Plus, as a rule, the games last a little longer. ;)

Lisa
 
I totally enjoyed, playing this 8ball tournament, and the only other 8ball tournament that was or is in the area was played on saturday nites, but,,, it was a race to 3, call your shot, and costed like 12 or 15$.

But besides that, the only other place( in the immediate area) that i knew of that did a 8ball tournament was Billiards Cafe in Battle Creek, Mi. Which the tournament is handicapped too, and costs i think 15$, so i will probably make a trip down there too.

Plus the nice thing about 8ball is you dont hafta worry about someone always trying for the easy win, by cheesing. The worst that could happen is someone snaps the 8ball on the break, which doesnt happen too often.

But i can say, playing 8ball has made me a better player, because i hafta think many more shots ahead and also hafta adjust if you get outa line or need to play safe.

Oh and in this tournament they do allow jump cues!!!

dave
 
8 and 9 ball

I was a money player, mostly 9 ball, that came into tournaments
mostly later on (and leagues too). I always thought 9 ball was
my strongest game, till I sat down one day, and wrote down
the 'big' wins I had had in 40+ years of playing. Money wise,
it is 9 ball, but for tournaments, I have done far better in 8 ball.
I am a retired Sr. Systems Analyst by profession, and have always
considered 'Logic' to be one of my strong suits. My profession and
Pool actually complemented each other in the fact that I had to
use my mind and good logic to accomplish what I sat out to do.
It was also good for being able to turn on 'getting in a zone' and
turning it off, in otherwords, I was able to have pretty good control
over my focusing abilities. My list of accomplishments in Pool proved
to me that I deal with the complex pretty well, as more complexities
exist with 8 ball than 9 ball. It is nothing other than recognition of
a situation, evaluating it, offering up possible solutions, and carrying
out the chosen solution to the problem. The point I am trying to
drill home is that the player is first made inside before you see the
results on the outside (his playing). Several players could improve
their game by learning the right way to think about the game, and
the various situations they encounter. I was an anchor man, and
coach for my brother's lawyer league team. A young lawyer joined
the team, and shot pretty good, except he kept making critical
errors at certain times when playing, which prevented him from
winning as much as he should have. I coached him, and I have
my little sayings that are tried and true. Well, he used to get a
little upset with me at times, but now, his playing is much improved,
he leads the team in handicap (I am not on the team anymore), and
he praises my coaching and says my little sayings all the time.
He had the skill, it was just a matter of redirecting how he thought
about his game. He now plays a much smarter game.
 
Snapshot9 said:
I was a money player, mostly 9 ball, that came into tournaments
mostly later on (and leagues too). I always thought 9 ball was
my strongest game, till I sat down one day, and wrote down
the 'big' wins I had had in 40+ years of playing. Money wise,
it is 9 ball, but for tournaments, I have done far better in 8 ball.
I am a retired Sr. Systems Analyst by profession, and have always
considered 'Logic' to be one of my strong suits. My profession and
Pool actually complemented each other in the fact that I had to
use my mind and good logic to accomplish what I sat out to do.
It was also good for being able to turn on 'getting in a zone' and
turning it off, in otherwords, I was able to have pretty good control
over my focusing abilities. My list of accomplishments in Pool proved
to me that I deal with the complex pretty well, as more complexities
exist with 8 ball than 9 ball. It is nothing other than recognition of
a situation, evaluating it, offering up possible solutions, and carrying
out the chosen solution to the problem. The point I am trying to
drill home is that the player is first made inside before you see the
results on the outside (his playing). Several players could improve
their game by learning the right way to think about the game, and
the various situations they encounter. I was an anchor man, and
coach for my brother's lawyer league team. A young lawyer joined
the team, and shot pretty good, except he kept making critical
errors at certain times when playing, which prevented him from
winning as much as he should have. I coached him, and I have
my little sayings that are tried and true. Well, he used to get a
little upset with me at times, but now, his playing is much improved,
he leads the team in handicap (I am not on the team anymore), and
he praises my coaching and says my little sayings all the time.
He had the skill, it was just a matter of redirecting how he thought
about his game. He now plays a much smarter game.
Click to expand...

Hmmmmmmmmmm similar situation with me also. I always loved 8 Ball, but i was a 9 Ball money player. But i played 8 when i went out to hustle in the local bars. I would play 8 Ball with freinds who just wanted to hang out & shoot or with Girls i was interested in. My freinds would no longer play 9 Ball with me,cause of my safties. So a freind told me about a 8 Ball tourney called the Sunshine open, this was 1991. So
i entered it and went right down the Win bracket, never lost a game,
I was in dead stroke and won the thing. So i started playing more 8, joined what was then called the "Busch league" and played allot of 8 Ball by there rules, that was allot of fun. Then won the Sunshine open again in 1992. I was knocked into the loser bracket in the very first match, got my game together and went thru the loser bracket like a buzzsaw. Went into the Final, race to 3, was hill-hill played a fantastic
safe and won the thing again. I was really happy to see the IPT bring 8 Ball
to T.V.
 
There is nothing like 9 ball to me.

8 ball is fun, and I can break and run out racks pretty consistently when I'm in stroke. The only problem is, lower players have a lot more options and have a better chance at beating a good player with fluke run outs. That disgusts me when it happens.

9 ball is controlled chaos which I love. I love it once you find the break spot where you're making a ball, spreading them beautifully, and getting that perfect shot on the one. Then perfectly navigating through a rack. Ahhh...There is nothing like it. I played the other night and it took me a while to find that break spot, but once I did I put together two or three racks before my opponent got back up. I've found nothing in pool yet that can beat that feeling for me. It feels like you're just cruising along and all is right with the world. Then you get up for the 4th rack, break 'em...and come up dry. Ughh....LOL
 
eight ball.

LEt's see. The first time I started playing pool serisously, I used to play in any kind of tournament and any kind of game I could. we had a weekly nineball and eightball tourny that I would play in and did quite well, I would win the eightball tourny a lot more often than the nine. I would play ring games and dutch doubles eightball and golf and just about any other game anyone would suggest.

I didn't mind playing eightball, but as I got deeper into playing nineball, I loved the skill it took and the possibility of playing perfect pool. I realize that it's possible to play perfect pool with any game but none where it's more evident than nineball. Maybe that's just my perception, I don't know..... I do know that I absolutely love nineball. With the coming of the IPT and my previous ability with eightball, I'm getting back into eightball a bit, but I think I will always love nineball no matter what happens to it. Maybe it will be like straight pool and old timers, nineball might very well fade into obscurity, buit my love for it never will.
 
Matt_24 said:
8 ball is fun, and I can break and run out racks pretty consistently when I'm in stroke. The only problem is, lower players have a lot more options and have a better chance at beating a good player with fluke run outs. That disgusts me when it happens.
Click to expand...
They still have to run out 8, 7, 6, maybe 5 balls. Lots of "lower players" I know cannot do that. 9-ball always struck me as the "luckier" of the games - you can run eight balls, miss the 9, and a "lesser" guy has to make only one shot to win.[/QUOTE]
 
8-ball is just simply a better, and fairer, game than 9-ball. If they were to eliminate 9-ball combos and make it call shot it may be different. But the luck factor just frustrates me. I don't think I've ever lost an 8-ball match because of 'luck'. At 9-ball, a couple of combos and 9-on-the-breaks and that four on nine spot becomes seven on nine.

Of course, if you love 8-ball you can't help but enjoy Straight Pool. If there were enough 8-ball and Straight Pool events around, I'd never play 9-ball again.
 
StormHotRod300 said:
Well I think i have finally found my niche in pool, and that being 8ball.

One of the pool halls i frequent, held thier first 8ball handicap tournament today.

I started as a 5, and the majority of players were 4's 5's and 6's, i think there was two 3's and they both was women, and one or two 7's and one 8.

We had 23 players, so it was a pretty good turn out for the first time.

My First three matches i played like a champ, running out when there was a chance, playing tight safes, and breaking out clusters when need be.

My last two matches was basically the opposite, but, they was matches i knew i could have won. But just made stupid mistakes or got outa position.

But overall i enjoy playing 8ball alot more than 9ball, because your not just trying for the easy win. Theres actually strategy involved in running out and knowing when to play safe, even early in the rack.

my third match, i played a guy who normally just kills me in 9ball, well i beat him 5-3, and he was struggling the whole time, with knowing what run out path to use, and when to play safe and how. So even though he is probably a better player, I beat him fairly easily cuz i play 8ball basically all the time now, and dont play 9ball anymore.

So i am open for other stories of people finding thier Calling in Pool

dave
Click to expand...

Eight ball is an under rated game...I love the strategy which you can employ during the match. Almost as much as I enjoy one pocket...have fun and good luck!
 
I'm with hoboken on this one. I would love the game of 9-ball more if they treated the 9-ball just like the 8-ball in 8-ball. In otherwards you have to run the rack before you can sink the 9. Make the 9 out of turn loss of game.

Give me 8-ball and one hole anytime.
 
In nineball.....

The descrepancy between really good nineball players and mediocre nineball players is soo great, I think having the slight element of luck and the necesity to play perfect or atleast perfect safes when low percentage shots come up make it more enjoyable for the average person.


Sure it gets annoying when people slop in the nine, but hey. I've had to give up three games in a race to five in USPPA tournaments and have lost because of two lucky nineballs, and you don't hear me complaining about the luck factor. Well, actually I guess I just did, but I was only illustrating my point though so it doens't count.
 
renard said:
I'm with hoboken on this one. I would love the game of 9-ball more if they treated the 9-ball just like the 8-ball in 8-ball. In otherwards you have to run the rack before you can sink the 9. Make the 9 out of turn loss of game.
Click to expand...

This change would have no real effect on pro games, but for the regular League players, it would be so much better. Can you imagine what 8-ball would be like if you could make the 8-ball at any time? Also 9-on-the-break should not be a win, but a re-rack. Change those two rules and it would reduce the luck element to a manageable level. We don't play on TV, we don't need TV rules to make the game end quicker.
 
I am with Hoboken on playing 8ball. I love the strategy and some of the safteys people come up with while playing. Expecially early in the game and you sometimes dont notice it till the end.

See now when i was first getting back into shooting pool, i thought 9ball was the game, cuz it was fast and fairly easy to win. But now as i progress i love 8ball alot more because its more of a thinking mans game.

I also love gambling when playing 8ball. But on the flip side, hardly anyone gambles when playing 8ball, unless they know how to play 8ball well and can runout or play safe when need be.

If more people played 8ball they would understand where 8ball players are comming from and see why they love playing the game.

dave
 
I like 8ball much better than 9. I feel it is a friendlier game. To me in 9ball if your not a break and run player most of the time your trying to screw the other guy over with safety shots. In 8ball if you can't absolutely make a ball your going to try to get your ball near a pocket hoping the other player won't make all of their shots. Then you'll be set to go after that.

But for TV I understand why 9ball is popular. 8ball is boring to watch but in 9ball you get to watch the cue ball move all around the table and the games go faster with the run out players. And of course in our TV worship culture monkey see monkey do.

But to each his own and like what you like.
 
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