Short Rack 8 Ball

Island Drive

Island Drive

Otto/Dads College Roommate/Cleveland Browns
Silver Member
8 ball tournaments on 7 foot tables often take too long, and can ruin the entire event.
A 7 foot table with 15 balls is allot of congestion for an average player.
Why not try this, like short rack one pocket.
Rack ten balls and put the 11th ball on the bottom in line with the head ball.
Events would require less time and tables would open up for play later in the day for gambling, or the regulars that want to drink/eat/knock balls around.
Why not try it.
 
There's already short rack 8-ball for tournament play using 9-balls [4 solids, 4 stripes]. There's even a Saratoga version of this. Your option adds one more ball, so kinda slows down "short rack" that already exists. But, does add a little more variety.

[edit: here's a 2012 thread on it: https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/short-rack-8-ball.300077/ featuring the late, great, Mark Griffin]

-td
 
Winners side full rack losers side short rack Saratoga is good, but takes too much time to explain and KIS with pool players always works best. The traditional eight ball rack is triangular, so making it an Apex shape kinda takes away from the classic version.
 
Island Drive said:
8 ball tournaments on 7 foot tables often take too long, and can ruin the entire event.
A 7 foot table with 15 balls is allot of congestion for an average player.
Why not try this, like short rack one pocket.
Rack ten balls and put the 11th ball on the bottom in line with the head ball.
Events would require less time and tables would open up for play later in the day for gambling, or the regulars that want to drink/eat/knock balls around.
Why not try it.
Click to expand...
Why is everone in such a hurry?

I like tournaments with regular games and double elimination.
 
garczar said:
Short rack 8b is racked like 9b, four solid/four stripes and 8b in the middle. Its a good quick game, perfect for tournament.
Click to expand...
I tried to get the local leagues to adopt this after one too many (one night) nights sitting around waiting for the table(s).
Talked to the LD (profit concerns) and some players - That's not how you play 8 ball (you know the retort) end of subject.
 
TX Holdum poker tournaments allows poker players to compete with the pros, this game gives them a chance.
No pool game offers a good player ANY chance at beating a top player, or ever winning an event. EVER
 
Not related to shortening the game, but one interesting 8-ball variation is "Half-table 8-ball". Only difference from normal 8-ball is that if by the end of your shot any ball is within the opposite half of the table from the rack, your opponent gets ball in hand. Balls can still be pocketed in any pocket or travel through the other half, they just aren't allowed to be there once a shot has ended. To make the break more fair (blasting it hard guarantees balls would end up on the wrong side of the table), the breaker will always get to continue after the break even if no balls drop in, so a good break shot is a soft hit, opening up the balls a bit without moving any of them to the other side.

This variation makes for some interesting short-distance position play, tactical exchanges and straight-pool like opening of clusters with soft speed shots. I suggest anyone who enjoys these aspects of the game to give it a try. The rules are simple enough to remember easily as a variation from normal 8-ball rules.

Extra details about rules:

- BIH cannot be placed on the wrong side of the table.
- If an object ball is on the wrong side of the table when a shot ends, it will be spotted. If the spot is occupied, it will be put as close to the spot as possible similar to how it's done in other common games.
 
Changing the game doesn't work very well with pool players.
It's difficult enough with rule changes in different leagues.
Saratoga is a great game, but it's still not 8 ball.
 
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