Why isn't there a standard pattern for 9ball? It seems so simple to inforce ? Everybody uses a magic rack in pre-determined order. Problem solved....right????
That is a horrible idea.
It is so easy to predict the path of balls when they are put in the same spot every time. At the International, many players were controlling the path of the 2 ball which was placed in the back of the rack, sending it three rails to sit in front of the side pocket. Front 3 balls are not hard to predict either, especially when using a template rack.
1 in front, 9 in middle, all else random.