Number1 said:
I ran 179 on a uk 8 ball table with very tight pockets then missed a basic ball over the middle pocket due to the old concentration. Also had 120 once, missed carried on and got another 110 or something back to back, so I was 1 miss away from almost 250.
Having played on the US tables last year I am REAALY looking forward to playing straight pool when I get to the states, I reckon I can make 300-400 balls easy judging from my experience in vegas.
Straight pool, great game, wish it was still as big as it was?
Craig
craig, are you really playing straight pool, or are you playing the UK version of 14.1, which is very different and much easier (and has no business being called 14.1, it is more like equal offense than 14.1)?
for the americans on here, the in the british version of "14.1" you start every rack with an open break, yes, smash all 15. then just pocket all the balls, shots don't have to be called. then rack all 15 and smash them again. cant remember if you need to make a ball on the smash break, but i don't think so.
for craig, in "real" 14.1 the opening break is a safety shot which continues until one person can make a ball and break up the pack. from then on, you plan on leaving one ball on the table as your "break ball". once one ball is left, you rack the remaining 14 (hence the name 14.1 and hence why the british version is named incorrectly). then the object is to make the last ball and make the cue ball go into the pack to continue your run. it is totally and completely a different game than the british version. given the tightness of the corner pockets on a uk table, i doubt you were playing true 14.1. and the uk version isn't a 2 player game, its basically "equal offense" and its always played as a game of total offense, just always trying to get the highest run possible.
for the british version of "14.1" the highest run I have heard is about 460 or so by darren appleton, and i think at that point he was bored silly, too easy for the likes of him. a run of 179 is impressive, but you need to put things into perspective before you try and compare your runs with the american versions. in the american version, or true 14.1, the break and setting up the key ball is a large part of the difficulty of the game. 179 probably equates to about 50 in real 14.1, but even then you'd need to learn how to correctly set up the table and break the rack. and straight pool is a game between 2 players so often the high run is abandoned in favor of a safe. in the pros, once miss and you may not get to shoot again! there are good shooters who spend years learning this art form and can't break 100.
warren..
