Pool's Most Fabulous Game

[Paul Schofield]

Pool’s Most Fabulous Game

Hands down, pool’s most fabulous game is One-Pocket…but not for the reasons usually attributed to the game. Volumes have been written and much has been said about the virtues and nuances of One-Pocket. I will offer a different perspective venturing away from conventional wisdom.

What makes One-Pocket so fabulous is participation. Both players participate. Near equal participation heightens interaction and makes the competition better. Both players are continuously up out of their chair, addressing the table, and taking their shot(s). No one sits (for very long). Play is back and forth, and back and forth. An example of perfect competition is tennis where players take turns hitting the ball and in addition, each player influences his opponent’s shots. One-Pocket resembles tennis in this way. Fabulous!

Some further thoughts about participation: Pool culture holds the 526 ball run and the 11-pack as examples of perfect pool. I think differently. I think these are pool’s examples of perfect disasters. All other sports have got it figured out. We do not. In baseball, you are going to get your 9 innings and 3 outs per inning. In basketball and football, at the very least, you are going get your chance after your opponent scores. In golf, you will tee-off 18 times and you will get to putt the ball in the hole 18 times. In bowling you will roll the ball 11 times for sure. There is not one rule in Eight, Nine, or Ten-Ball that guarantees a player will actually get his chance to shoot (only to break). Does anyone think that we help our cause by having rules that provide for the chance of grossly lopsided participation? If everyone wonders “What’s wrong with pool?”, this may very well be it. Our favorite games could be fatally flawed.

We need to take a lesson from other sports. People must have regular and predictable opportunities to play during a match just like every other successful sport. Merely alternating breaks does not guarantee a player a chance to shoot. It only guarantees that he breaks. The “No Conflict Rules” guarantees a player will shoot.

http://www.goldcrownbilliardseriepa.com/noconflict.html

The net result is that the matches are much closer, the stronger player wins more often, and the weaker player gets to shoot more. Most importantly, our popular games are more fun. This is a win-win for everyone and the game.

I will run my third event using the “No Conflict Rules” in August.

There is a lot to disagree with in this post. Do you have something insightful or intelligent to say. Fire it up!

 

[JarnoV]

I think you bring up good points.

 

[LAlouie]

Your inclusion of the 526 ball run as a "perfect disaster" is actually "perfectly silly". Would you have placed a 3-pack limit on all runs, thereby insuring the better player will win simply because he will complete more 3-pack runs??? Is that your idea of good no-conflict 14.1? Why don't you just line up with Strickland who wants to play all-offense 14.1. 10-ball takes care of the problem you are addressing with your new rules, which is prevention of the runout.

One-pocket DOES NOT resemble tennis. I don't see fat tennis pros playing on a 9' tennis court. One pocket might resemble darts, though. Or poker...poker players all have a chance to play too, and a lot of them are fat.

 

[Paul Schofield]

Your inclusion of the 526 ball run as a "perfect disaster" is actually "perfectly silly". Would you have placed a 3-pack limit on all runs, thereby insuring the better player will win simply because he will complete more 3-pack runs???

Sorry, I should have been a little clearer in my post. Any game where a player can score on offence without limit unimpeded by an opponent is doomed. This is unique to pool and could be our downfall. 14.1 was declared dead years ago as it should have been. A 526 ball run is not a competition. Someone sat in a chair for 4 hours. Straight-Rail Billiards met the same fate more than 100 years ago. One player ran 240,000 straight rail billiards. I did not suggest a "3-pack limit" for other games. I propose the "No Conflict Rules" as an answer.

I am suggesting that we look much closer at other successful sports and find out what they have in common and try to structure our games for success.

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

Paul, I get what you are saying but your premise doesn't explain the fact that there was a time when pool was very popular in this country. World Championships were attended by thousands and televised live on TV. And this, of all things, was in the straight pool era.

It also doesn't explain why pool is immensely popular in other countries, such as parts of Europe, Asia, and the PI. In some of these countries pool is extremely popular, and is televised live on TV in prime time.

I'm not in the industry, I'm just a player, so I haven't thought this out so well as you and some others. But it just seems to me that in the U.S. anyway the times we live in are just not as simple as it used to be.

There just seems to be so many other things for people (especially kids) to do. TV is on 24/7 and most homes have several hundred channels to choose from. Add to that video and computer games, the internet, yada-yada. Movie theaters are all over the place.

On top of that, parents today seem way more anal and overprotective of their children (sometimes I'm embarrassed for my generation seeing as we were the "Rock and Roll" Gen) and are way less inclined to let their kids hang out in a pool hall than when I was young.

Finally, against all this new competition that didn't exist years ago, you've got a game that is frustrating at first and is difficult - requiring time, patience, and perseverance to become half decent at.

 

[JB Cases]

I have said the same thing about one pocket for years. One pocket is punch-counter-punch - much more playing by both players.

One pocket is like soccer though - lots of playing not a lot of scoring. That's why it's boring to a lot of people.

I love it.

 

[Tramp Steamer]

As far as One Pocket is concerned, leave the new age crap out of it.

 

[jay helfert]

Paul, I get what you are saying but your premise doesn't explain the fact is that there was a time when pool was very popular in this country. World Championships were attended by thousands and televised live on TV. An this, of all things, was in the straight pool era.

It also doesn't explain why pool is immensely popular in other countries, such as parts of Europe, Asia, and the PI. In some of these countries pool is extremely popular, and is televised live on TV in prime time.

I'm not in the industry, I'm just a player, so I haven't thought this out so well as you and some others. But it just seems to me that in the U.S. anyway the times we live in are just not as simple as it used to be.

There just seems to be so many other things for people (especially kids) to do. TV is on 24/7 and most homes have several hundred channels to choose from. Add to that video and computer games, the internet, yada-yada. Movie theaters are all over the place.

On top of that, parents today seem way more anal and overprotective of their children (sometimes I'm embarrassed for my generation seeing as we were the "Rock and Roll" Gen) and are way less inclined to let their kids hang out in a pool hall than when I was young.

Finally, against all this new competition that didn't exist years ago, you've got a game that is frustrating at first and is difficult - requiring time, patience, and perseverance to become half decent at.

Nice post except for one thing - They didn't have television in the "Straight Pool" era. Yes, pool was front page news in the 20's and 30's. Unfortunately, TV wasn't around yet to cover it.

 

[jay helfert]

Every one wants to change the game of pool. They think they have a better way. I contend there is nothing wrong with pool exactly the way it has been played for decades. It is this very uniqueness that makes it the most difficult game on Earth to play and excel at.

The biggest crowds I've ever seen for pool were at 9-Ball tournaments, where players could (and did) run racks, sometimes someone got a lucky roll, the nine ball went on the break and everything else could and did happen. This brought gobs of excitement (remember that) to the game, and people went crazy watching it.

Good players could run a few racks and an equally good opponent could mount a comeback. The ebbs and flows of a match kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. The "new" game of pool is becoming increasingly sanitized, with stultifying rules and less opportunities for something interesting to happen on the table. In a word - BORING!

We might as well just go back to Straight Pool, and forget the other games. All ten people in the audience will enjoy themselves immensely.

 

[m79a]

Your inclusion of the 526 ball run as a "perfect disaster" is actually "perfectly silly". Would you have placed a 3-pack limit on all runs, thereby insuring the better player will win simply because he will complete more 3-pack runs??? Is that your idea of good no-conflict 14.1? Why don't you just line up with Strickland who wants to play all-offense 14.1. 10-ball takes care of the problem you are addressing with your new rules, which is prevention of the runout.

One-pocket DOES NOT resemble tennis. I don't see fat tennis pros playing on a 9' tennis court. One pocket might resemble darts, though. Or poker...poker players all have a chance to play too, and a lot of them are fat.

What in the world does someone being fat have to do with anything? He is talking about the game itself, not the appearance of the people playing the game. I've never known anyone to hold a fashion show in a pool room. I think the tennis analogy is plausible.

 

[Dave Nelson]

The 7 ft coin op spelled the demise of pool as it was known in it's glory days. Now it's a pastime for bangers.

Dave Nelson

 

[Paul Schofield]

Paul, I get what you are saying but your premise doesn't explain the fact is that there was a time when pool was very popular in this country. World Championships were attended by thousands and televised live on TV. An this, of all things, was in the straight pool era.

It also doesn't explain why pool is immensely popular in other countries, such as parts of Europe, Asia, and the PI. In some of these countries pool is extremely popular, and is televised live on TV in prime time.

I'm not in the industry, I'm just a player, so I haven't thought this out so well as you and some others. But it just seems to me that in the U.S. anyway the times we live in are just not as simple as it used to be.

There just seems to be so many other things for people (especially kids) to do. TV is on 24/7 and most homes have several hundred channels to choose from. Add to that video and computer games, the internet, yada-yada. Movie theaters are all over the place.

On top of that, parents today seem way more anal and overprotective of their children (sometimes I'm embarrassed for my generation seeing as we were the "Rock and Roll" Gen) and are way less inclined to let their kids hang out in a pool hall than when I was young.

Finally, against all this new competition that didn't exist years ago, you've got a game that is frustrating at first and is difficult - requiring time, patience, and perseverance to become half decent at.

This is an excellent post. This is well thought out and intelligently written. Your post has stated the conventional wisdom well. It gives me the opportunity to take this conversation in an entirely different direction. I hope to get people thinking and change some minds.

A summation of your post and general opinion is that pool is overwhelmed with competition here in the states, there is a prejudice against our game in our country, and pool is too hard. The proof that you put forward is that pool was more popular many years ago in the US when there was less competition and pool is very popular overseas where there are not all the entertainment options, and the young people opt for easier activities. IMO, I think these are merely symptoms and not the root cause.

I am going to add two more symptoms to the above list. 1) Golf and bowling make life long participants out of a large percentage of their players yet over and over, we lose ours. I have been in business 32 years and have watched this phenomenon played out over and over. 2) After 150 years, we don't even have a universal game or even a universal set of rules. Not only do we not have the table size defined, we don't even know what a pocket is supposed to be. Pool has no soul.

I point my finger squarely at the game of pool itself as the root cause. I will post further thoughts later.

The verdict is out overseas. Remember, pool is relatively young over there and has yet to run its course. Recent viewership ratings for pool overseas have revealed a decline in viewership ranging from 20 to 50% depending on the market.

http://mxmbilliards.com/2009/05/billiards-popularity-declining/

Pool is hard but so is golf.

Pool is an absolutely tremendous game and I think it can compete with the best of them.

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

Nice post except for one thing - They didn't have television in the "Straight Pool" era. Yes, pool was front page news in the 20's and 30's. Unfortunately, TV wasn't around yet to cover it.

Doh! I wasn't even around that far back to know. Rather than refer to the straight pool era, what I meant was simply "before 9 Ball took over". But in the late 50's and 60's you would see the World Championships on ABC's highly popular Wide World of Sports. And there was a pool hall in almost every neighborhood and kids used to hang out in them. The particular pool hall that was close to my house was actually a kids hangout. Not many old farts came in to that place. Most teens and guys in their early 20's.

 

[Paul Schofield]

Professionals

Every one wants to change the game of pool. They think they have a better way. I contend there is nothing wrong with pool exactly the way it has been played for decades. It is this very uniqueness that makes it the most difficult game on Earth to play and excel at.

The biggest crowds I've ever seen for pool were at 9-Ball tournaments, where players could (and did) run racks, sometimes someone got a lucky roll, the nine ball went on the break and everything else could and did happen. This brought gobs of excitement (remember that) to the game, and people went crazy watching it.

Good players could run a few racks and an equally good opponent could mount a comeback. The ebbs and flows of a match kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. The "new" game of pool is becoming increasingly sanitized, with stultifying rules and less opportunities for something interesting to happen on the table. In a word - BORING!

We might as well just go back to Straight Pool, and forget the other games. All ten people in the audience will enjoy themselves immensely.

Jay, I think you are right on. At the same time, I see the game from a different perspective. I see the game through the eyes of all the people who have quit and all the people who have not found our great game. I think we are talking about different things. I think very little about professional pool. I exhist in the trenches. Contrary to conventioal wisdom, I think professional pool rises and falls on pool's popularity and not vice versa. IMO, professional pool promotes professional pool and little else. I do not mean to be disrespectful or diminish all the hard work that goes into professional pool. It is just that I have seen little evidence that it filters down.

My point here is that the every day player should be the first consideration going forward. If we are losing them, what can be done to keep them?

 

[jay helfert]

Jay, I think you are right on. At the same time, I see the game from a different perspective. I see the game through the eyes of all the people who have quit and all the people who have not found our great game. I think we are talking about different things. I think very little about professional pool. I exhist in the trenches. Contrary to conventioal wisdom, I think professional pool rises and falls on pool's popularity and not vice versa. IMO, professional pool promotes professional pool and little else. I do not mean to be disrespectful or diminish all the hard work that goes into professional pool. It is just that I have seen little evidence that it filters down.

My point here is that the every day player should be the first consideration going forward. If we are losing them, what can be done to keep them?

Thank you Paul. What I think we are losing is the modern day poolroom. Many factors are involved, including a severe recession and a major real estate slump. Although low rents could spark some renewed interest in opening a room. Regardless, pool remains one of the most popular sports in America and the world. In this country, pool continues to be played in tens of thousands of bars and bar leagues EVERYWHERE! It is THE game of choice in most bars and taverns. Latest pools indicate over 35 million players in the USA per year, with fully 25% of them stating it is their favorite hobby. That's over ten million regular players! How many homes do you think have pool tables in them? I would suggest a lot more than have pong pong tables, maybe double or triple the number.

The numbers are higher in Asia and growing by leaps and bounds in China. So the sport of pool is not going away anytime soon. I will disagree with you on one point. I think a true professional tour with major prize money would attract more young people to the sport. If a young kid sees someone winning a million dollars on TV playing pool (or even 100K), he may want to pick up a cue and learn the game. It works for golf and tennis pretty well. Another neglected area (shame on the BCA for their lack of leadership in this area), has been the introduction of pool as a high school sport. It's a natural! Very little cost for equipment (no uniforms required!), small area needed (no large playing fields) and kids naturally take to pool. In the few areas this has been tried (Sacramento, Dallas, Pennsylvania) it has gone over well.

The powers that be at the BCA got on this kick to put pool in the Olympics over twenty years ago. And where are they now? No where, that's where. If they had been working with interscholastic school sports programs for the last twenty years, we might have a few million more young players enjoying the game today. And more pool rooms too! Pretty short sighted of these manufacturers of billiard equipment and not so good for their bottom line either.

Notice that none of the above has anything to do with how the game is played. To me that's a secondary consideration.

 

[Paul Schofield]

Rules

Jay helfert said: "The "new" game of pool is becoming increasingly sanitized, with stultifying rules and less opportunities for something interesting to happen on the table."

IMO, you could not be more on the money. We should not even use the word "FAIR" when discussing rules. Many more times than not, rules that are equally unfair to both players are more "FUN". When something is completely "FAIR", usually no one ends up happy. Have you ever been in court and got a judge's version of "FAIR" and no one is satisfied.

 

[LAlouie]

What in the world does someone being fat have to do with anything? He is talking about the game itself, not the appearance of the people playing the game. I've never known anyone to hold a fashion show in a pool room. I think the tennis analogy is plausible.

-10 for lack of sense of humor.

 

[Fatboy]

Pool’s Most Fabulous Game

Hands down, pool’s most fabulous game is One-Pocket…but not for the reasons usually attributed to the game. Volumes have been written and much has been said about the virtues and nuances of One-Pocket. I will offer a different perspective venturing away from conventional wisdom.

What makes One-Pocket so fabulous is participation. Both players participate. Near equal participation heightens interaction and makes the competition better. Both players are continuously up out of their chair, addressing the table, and taking their shot(s). No one sits (for very long). Play is back and forth, and back and forth. An example of perfect competition is tennis where players take turns hitting the ball and in addition, each player influences his opponent’s shots. One-Pocket resembles tennis in this way. Fabulous!

Some further thoughts about participation: Pool culture holds the 526 ball run and the 11-pack as examples of perfect pool. I think differently. I think these are pool’s examples of perfect disasters. All other sports have got it figured out. We do not. In baseball, you are going to get your 9 innings and 3 outs per inning. In basketball and football, at the very least, you are going get your chance after your opponent scores. In golf, you will tee-off 18 times and you will get to putt the ball in the hole 18 times. In bowling you will roll the ball 11 times for sure. There is not one rule in Eight, Nine, or Ten-Ball that guarantees a player will actually get his chance to shoot (only to break). Does anyone think that we help our cause by having rules that provide for the chance of grossly lopsided participation? If everyone wonders “What’s wrong with pool?”, this may very well be it. Our favorite games could be fatally flawed.

We need to take a lesson from other sports. People must have regular and predictable opportunities to play during a match just like every other successful sport. Merely alternating breaks does not guarantee a player a chance to shoot. It only guarantees that he breaks. The “No Conflict Rules” guarantees a player will shoot.

http://www.goldcrownbilliardseriepa.com/noconflict.html

The net result is that the matches are much closer, the stronger player wins more often, and the weaker player gets to shoot more. Most importantly, our popular games are more fun. This is a win-win for everyone and the game.

I will run my third event using the “No Conflict Rules” in August.

There is a lot disagree with in this post. Do you have something insightful or intelligent to say. Fire it up!

i agree 100%,

 

[cuesmith]

Pool’s Most Fabulous Game

Hands down, pool’s most fabulous game is One-Pocket…but not for the reasons usually attributed to the game. Volumes have been written and much has been said about the virtues and nuances of One-Pocket. I will offer a different perspective venturing away from conventional wisdom.

What makes One-Pocket so fabulous is participation. Both players participate. Near equal participation heightens interaction and makes the competition better. Both players are continuously up out of their chair, addressing the table, and taking their shot(s). No one sits (for very long). Play is back and forth, and back and forth. An example of perfect competition is tennis where players take turns hitting the ball and in addition, each player influences his opponent’s shots. One-Pocket resembles tennis in this way. Fabulous!

Some further thoughts about participation: Pool culture holds the 526 ball run and the 11-pack as examples of perfect pool. I think differently. I think these are pool’s examples of perfect disasters. All other sports have got it figured out. We do not. In baseball, you are going to get your 9 innings and 3 outs per inning. In basketball and football, at the very least, you are going get your chance after your opponent scores. In golf, you will tee-off 18 times and you will get to putt the ball in the hole 18 times. In bowling you will roll the ball 11 times for sure. There is not one rule in Eight, Nine, or Ten-Ball that guarantees a player will actually get his chance to shoot (only to break). Does anyone think that we help our cause by having rules that provide for the chance of grossly lopsided participation? If everyone wonders “What’s wrong with pool?”, this may very well be it. Our favorite games could be fatally flawed.

We need to take a lesson from other sports. People must have regular and predictable opportunities to play during a match just like every other successful sport. Merely alternating breaks does not guarantee a player a chance to shoot. It only guarantees that he breaks. The “No Conflict Rules” guarantees a player will shoot.

http://www.goldcrownbilliardseriepa.com/noconflict.html

The net result is that the matches are much closer, the stronger player wins more often, and the weaker player gets to shoot more. Most importantly, our popular games are more fun. This is a win-win for everyone and the game.

I will run my third event using the “No Conflict Rules” in August.

There is a lot disagree with in this post. Do you have something insightful or intelligent to say. Fire it up!

While I agree with your enthusiasm of one-pocket I can't agree that having games where someone can score a perfect game is bad for the sport, in general. While those of us that consider ourselves one-pocket specialists can plainly see the beauty of the game, the public, for the most part, hasn't a clue! This makes it impossible to sell to TV. Maybe TV hasn't been very supportive of the sport throughout history but it's still the media that most authorities feel controls the "purse strings" of all sports. Face it where would football, baseball, basketball, boxing, even Nascar, be without TV? Those guys would be as broke as pool players without TV!

I'd much rather watch one-pocket myself and seldom play anything else personally, I understand why they have to "dumb it down" for the public in order to try to get them involved.

I do see your point from strictly a pool purist perspective, but don't think it's best for the sport, overall.

 

[Paul Schofield]

Agreed

While I agree with your enthusiasm of one-pocket I can't agree that having games where someone can score a perfect game is bad for the sport, in general. While those of us that consider ourselves one-pocket specialists can plainly see the beauty of the game, the public, for the most part, hasn't a clue! This makes it impossible to sell to TV. Maybe TV hasn't been very supportive of the sport throughout history but it's still the media that most authorities feel controls the "purse strings" of all sports. Face it where would football, baseball, basketball, boxing, even Nascar, be without TV? Those guys would be as broke as pool players without TV!

I'd much rather watch one-pocket myself and seldom play anything else personally, I understand why they have to "dumb it down" for the public in order to try to get them involved.

I do see your point from strictly a pool purist perspective, but don't think it's best for the sport, overall.

Sherm, Thanks for your comments and I could not agree with you more. Although I do think my post is partially misunderstood. I am saying that Eight, NIne, and Ten-Ball should take a lesson from One-Pocket. What makes One-Pocket such a fabulous game is the back-and-forth participation. The "No Conflict Rules" incorporate One-Pocket's fabulous quality into Eight, Nine, and Ten-Ball.

http://www.goldcrownbilliardseriepa.com/noconflict.html

Incidentally, the perfect rack and perfect game is still in tact. A player can still run 11 racks in a row. The huge difference here is that an opponent is guaranteed to play. This is an absolute necessity for our sport.