Stay With One Game ?

CocoboloCowboy said:
Trying to increase interest, and viewing is subject that has bat to death.

It’s not 1900, it’s 2022, and Pool Rooms are not only recreational opportunity,

Competition is all around you, in your home, and Pool is shrinking not growing.

Back in 50’s kids wait on line for change at game of Pool at Boys Club.

Today kids are waiting turn to place video game, Pool tables get little use.
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Cowboy, is that like our country going down the tube and no one smart enough to fix...
 
Ask Efren if it helped him. Many have, and he always gave the same answer:
Of course it helps.
 
Bob Jewett said:
And in chess they now have pro tournaments in which the pieces are scrambled randomly on the back row.

Matchroom has decided on a single discipline. That may be the best way forward for building an international audience.

I like a variety. In the rec center where I learned to play, we had all three kinds of tables and we played maybe 20 different games all together. Eight ball was not one of those games.
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One of our/collegiate favorite games was full rack rotation, odd ball/partners were the 1 & 9 ball just for that rack. Great engaging game of FOUR.
 
sjm said:
Baseball has, similarly, been all over the place. The ball itself has been changed at least three different times in the last few years. The dimensions of the playing field vary from city to city. For example, hitting a home run over the right field fence at Yankee Stadium is easier than doing it in any other stadium. Some infields are made of grass, others are made of artificial turf, so reaction time available for fielding a ground ball is variable. The pitching clock has changed how long a pitcher has to throw the ball. The number of mound visits permitted per team per game has been changed, too. Another recent change is that you get a "free" runner on second to begin any inning beyond the ninth. Also, a recent change is that a relief pitcher entering the game must now face at least three batters. It is widely expected that the rules for where an infielder can and can't position himself will be changed for the 2023 baseball season, so the "shift" as we know it today will likely be obsolete next year. All that said, baseball gives the players ample notice of upcoming changes. and changes in how the game is played come just once a year, with four months of notice the norm.

Still, as you suggest, one must wonder whether any sport does a poorer job in standardizing the game, the rules and the equipment than pool, and I agree that it's not fair to the players and can occasionally result in their being less prepared for an event than they might be.

I don't agree that the players need to learn the fringe games. Most pool tournaments have rotation pool only, and top players can make a living sticking to rotation pool alone. Yes, they can make even more is they learn to excel at the fringe games (like Gorst at the 2022 Derby City Classic).
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Yes Stu, Top players... Sad... But thank you for the positive... Got to say one more, This pool games is going to be worth more that we few will let it be, Someday...Guy
 
Island Drive said:
One of our/collegiate favorite games was full rack rotation, odd ball/partners were the 1 & 9 ball just for that rack. Great engaging game of FOUR.
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Odd ball partners on a Sat afternoon for $.25 a way was a great afternoon. Go for the hit. No foul if a player missed. If the cue ball went in it was ball in hand behind the line. Play 2 games…. $ettle up and rotate partners
 
MajorMiscue said:
I would say write for the love of the game, don't write down to the reader but include a glossary of terms, so the non-player can keep up, and some illustrations. A lot of people learned the intricacies of baseball by reading good books about baseball. Good luck and let us know if you want any glossary help.
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It's working... Guy
 
10 years ago, when I was a better player, I used to mix it up with Snooker, small ball pool and American pool.
Different cues, slightly different techniques due to table height differences.

It was fun, but unless you're a top flight professional, too hard to be good at all of them.
So, eventually you pick one and focus on it.

Mine turned out to be American pool.
WPA rules.
8ball is my favourite, then 9ball, then 10Ball.
Same ball size, but I still switch between 7ft and 9ft tables depending on league and tournament.
Same cues etc.
I started to get consistent and then life happened and I had a 8 year break.
Started again in 2021.

Now I have other priorities in life, but still enjoy playing.
I am a 100 points off my old FargoRate, but I am nearly 50, so yeah... Life.

I still watch Snooker, at the professional level.
Ronnie seems immortal!!

I personally don't think you need to be multi disciplined to be a better player.
In fact, the opposite and it seems obvious focusing on one thing with your time means you will get better at it.

Hope that helps Guy, looking forward to your book.
 
If I had the opportunity to choose four games to play it would be 14.1, 3 cushion billiards, Snooker, and BCA 8 ball. I don't really like 9 or 10 ball and I never pursued one pocket- but I am not knocking it- seems like an interesting game as well.
 
mikemosconi said:
If I had the opportunity to choose four games to play it would be 14.1, 3 cushion billiards, Snooker, and BCA 8 ball. I don't really like 9 or 10 ball and I never pursued one pocket- but I am not knocking it- seems like an interesting game as well.
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4 games for me
onepocket x2
3 cushion billiards
snooker
 
I like them all.
Whatever my opponent wants to play is fine by me.
Lately in my room everybody wants to play one pocket so I am playing a lot of one pocket.
One fellow I play often, who is an excellent one pocket player only wants to to play 14.1 lately.
So I play a lot of 14.1 with him.
We play to 100.
I have been getting him to play rotation after our 14.1 games and he is getting really good at it.
He is always complaining about getting on the wrong side of his up ball while playing rotation.
It's the same thing in one pocket too if you think about it.
Always have to get on the right side of the object ball.
All disciplines are similar that way.
 
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philly said:
I like them all.
Whatever my opponent wants to play is fine by me.
Lately in my room everybody wants to play one pocket so I am playing a lot of one pocket.
One fellow I play often, who is an excellent one pocket player only wants to to play 14.1 lately.
So I play a lot of 14.1 with him.
We play to 100.
I have been getting him to play rotation after our 14.1 games and he is getting really good at it.
He is always complaining about getting on the wrong side of his up ball while playing rotation.
It's the same thing in one pocket too if you think about it.
Always have to get on the right side of the object ball.
All disciplines are similar that way.
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Yes... I think 14.1 is the best practice for us and rotation is close behind... Funny thing but I think rotation on a snooker table with a 15 ball rack is a great game... Guy , We got room to work and the pockets are great...
 
Guy Manges said:
Yes... I think 14.1 is the best practice for us and rotation is close behind... Funny thing but I think rotation on a snooker table with a 15 ball rack is a great game... Guy , We got room to work and the pockets are great...
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I played rotation and 8 ball on a snooker table in the 60’s at Allingers on Market Street in Phila. Each game took an hour to finish.
 
What I'd like to see is full rack rotation - and one pocket, played one foul BIH and to the last ball every rack with a cumulative score. You can play sets to the clock; high score advances. Just like other games. Simple.
 
philly said:
I like them all.
Whatever my opponent wants to play is fine by me.
Lately in my room everybody wants to play one pocket so I am playing a lot of one pocket.
One fellow I play often, who is an excellent one pocket player only wants to to play 14.1 lately.
So I play a lot of 14.1 with him.
We play to 100.
I have been getting him to play rotation after our 14.1 games and he is getting really good at it.
He is always complaining about getting on the wrong side of his up ball while playing rotation.
It's the same thing in one pocket too if you think about it.
Always have to get on the right side of the object ball.
All disciplines are similar that way.
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You didnt mention how he plays 14.1 but if he plays decent straight pool i find it hard to imagine he doesnt play good position in rotation
 
Here's the rules for this game we started playing in college.
With different partners each rack, and specific breaking order to begin each rack and order of play fixed till the odd balls determined order for Just That Rack, it gives a weak player a Great chance to cash and play another time.


Also, there's some additions that we used.
If one player group Blitzes' the other two players, meaning scoring 61 pts plus all 8 odd balls, that team gets paid double.

There's also one more payout difference, that's Very Uncommon/ The all ball blitz.

If one player makes ALL 15 balls, then it's a Triple Blitz.
All THREE players pay that player DOUBLE.
At $2 a ball, that computes to a $120 score.

I'll never forget when Grady Matthews, the professor opened up his pool room in Colorado Springs on the corner of Platte and Union.
We had a group of Good players and we talked Grady into this game, knowing "No One'' had the best of it, tho Grady was the better player.
We played for $2 a point/the year was probably 1978.

Ironically there were two team blitzes and one player blitzed us all, Grady LOL, was NOT amongst those three blitzes. Boy was he complaining.

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bbb said:
You didnt mention how he plays 14.1 but if he plays decent straight pool i find it hard to imagine he doesnt play good position in rotation
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He plays 14.1 very well.
The difference is that after you pocket the ball in rotation there is only one ball on the table that you must shoot at next
and when you do it is a good idea to have the proper angle on that particular ball to get right on the next ball that you HAVE to shoot at.
In 14.1 and one pocket there are options on what ball to shoot at.
In one pocket you can bunt balls.
In a rotation game there is only one ball that you have to shoot at and hit.
Angles are everything in all disciplines of course.
 
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philly said:
He plays 14.1 very well.
The difference is that after you pocket the ball in rotation there is only one ball on the table that you must shoot at next
and when you do it is a good idea to have the proper angle on that particular ball to get right on the next ball that you HAVE to shoot at.
In 14.1 and one pocket there are options on what ball to shoot at.
In one pocket you can bunt balls.
In a rotation game there is only one ball that you have to shoot at and hit.
Angles are everything in all disciplines of course.
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Because the margins of position are small in straight pool
i find the straight pool players dont have trouble being on the right side of the shot in 9/10 ball because the zone is so large
short story
a former straight pool champion from canadia player comes to my town in florida for the winter
its so interesting to watch his patterns compared to the 9 ball players
in his at least mid 70’s he still is among the favorites to win our tournaments
god bless you gaston leblanc…👍😀
 
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