R Givens 8 ball Bible
- Thread starter berlowmj
- Start date
outside of bars 8 ball isn't played that much. i see more 9 ball tournaments and people seem to rather gamble on games that require more skill
belmicah said:
i think 8 ball was used because it's easier for bar players and the general public to relate to it. that way it could attract a wider audience. that and i figure it's the game that KT liked more
My editor
Randy Givens has served as the editor for both my books, Banking With The Beard and The GosPool. His Eight-ball Bible is a treasure. Eight-ball aint easy, folks, when it's played the right way. If you can get away with it, the second ball break is very strong under all conditions.
the Beard
(The Eight-ball Bible is available on my site, buy it, learn it, and then go rob your customers)
Randy Givens has served as the editor for both my books, Banking With The Beard and The GosPool. His Eight-ball Bible is a treasure. Eight-ball aint easy, folks, when it's played the right way. If you can get away with it, the second ball break is very strong under all conditions.
the Beard
(The Eight-ball Bible is available on my site, buy it, learn it, and then go rob your customers)
obsession
Breaking is the only aspect of the game in which my results & progress are so erratic. R. Givens other major contribution, for me, was his detailed treatment of defensive strateges. I learned that all of the skills contributing to high runs are insufficient without good defensive strategies. It is the myriad of levels of this game which makes it so intruguing & addicting & attracts such
an interesting population of players. I wish I had started 60 years ago.
rackem said:The Pros very sedom play 8 ball.When they did in the IPT I believe they were required to hit the front ball first. You do seem to be rather obsessed with the break. There are many other important aspects to the game.
Breaking is the only aspect of the game in which my results & progress are so erratic. R. Givens other major contribution, for me, was his detailed treatment of defensive strateges. I learned that all of the skills contributing to high runs are insufficient without good defensive strategies. It is the myriad of levels of this game which makes it so intruguing & addicting & attracts such
an interesting population of players. I wish I had started 60 years ago.
Not valid. I've got a coupe of tapes of an 8-ball professional tournament. I'd say half of the breaks were of the 2nd ball variety.berlowmj said:
The 2nd ball break is one you should have a good handle on regardless of what the pros do.
And forget about the notion of it being used solely to try to make the 8-ball on the break. That's misleading at best. You would use it as an alternate breaking style to try to simply make a ball on the break. You can use it as a "safety break." But you can also get a wide open spread, especially on a bigger table.
As seriously as you woud study any instructional book, in general.
Fred
The second ball break is a very diverse and powerfull break. Especially on a barbox. I can predictably make a ball almost every time using the 2nd ball break, and as Cornerman says you can plan to either get a great spread, or leave the rack clustered.
biblewriter
Registered
berlowmj said:
I do not recall saying that the pros used the 2nd ball break almost exclusively.
When I was active in the 70s and 80s very few pros or good shortstops had any idea of how to play 8-ball on bar tables (they were all 9–ball players). They played like rank amateurs who could cut a ball backwards from rail to rail. Their entire strategy was to run out every time they came to the table which is a good path to bankruptcy on a bar box.
Straight shooting is important, but figuring patterns and using safety play effectively is what wins in bar table play. I made games with pros because they didn't have a clue. You would be amazed at some of the laser straight shooters who went down in flames because they could not figure 8-ball patterns on a bar box.
It was amusing and profitable to watch them run down to the last ball or two and then sputter and burn just like a beginner.
Eight ball on a bar table is much more unforgiving than 9-ball. A little mistake can derail the finest plan with no hope of recovery. Position accuracy and choosing the right shots is critical.
Years ago there were only a handful of really good bar table 8-ball players (Bunny Rogoff was one the best and "Mexican Joe" Salazar was top drawer). With few exceptions the others were just poke and hope shooters. That includes many who won titles in other games.
From what I saw on the IPT tour about half of the players still do not know how to play topflight 8-ball (even on big tables which is easier). In fact, Rodney Morris finished 2nd to Efren Reyes (in Reno) because he violated the strategy of 8–ball and let a substantial lead slip away from him. Morris GAVE the match away with over aggressive play (like 2 or 3 scratches on the break) and poor shot selection at the end of the match.
One reason I wrote the book is that I got tired of watching idiots play a crude version of 8-ball.
R Givens