The timing of this thread is immaculate. Our rack-your-own format on the Tiger/Planet Pool Tour has come under some serious criticism at some of our recent events--mainly forthcoming from certain parties I will not name here. Let it be known that the aforementioned parties are pro-level players who are known to always complain when things don't go their way (i.e. when they are losing), so we don't always pay heed to those complaints. You can't please them all--on the tour we aim to please the majority of players, and we have succeeded greatly in that. In six years, the only complaints about the racking format have come from prima-donna type players.
That said, we have been using the rack-your-own format for 6 years, and the primary reason for it is that it absolutely does limit the arguments and the rack-checking in comparison to the rack-for-each-other format, and subsequently the time-wasting that come with the latter.
Granted, there will always be players who exploit "racking secrets" to turn rack-your-own in their favor, but they make up only a fraction of the participants at every tournament. On the other hand, bad racks are abundant in rack-for-each-other, not because of deliberate intent, but because the average player is not that particular about having a good, tight rack.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to have referees or rackers at regional or non-professional tournaments, just as the equipment at these tournaments isn't always perfect. Ultimately, it is a case of "the lesser of the two evils," and rack-your-own definitely is more practical at one- or two-day regional tournaments.
LOL I've played in alot of rack your owns, I like it but you still have to check the racks sometimes.
