straight pool

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catfishcody

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Hi this is my first post here. :)


Just wondering, is straight pool uncommon everywhere? around here(northern Kentucky) no one seems to know what it is.

I was playing 8 ball with a guy at my local pool hall and i asked him if he wanted to play straight pool, he said "we are playing straight pool" i laughed then explained the rules of the game he said he had never heard of it.

I love to play straight pool but everyone around here plays 8 ball and sometimes(not often)9 ball. do any of you guys have this problem?
 
here in DC, better players know how, but it's pretty rare to see a game unless myself or a couple of other particular folks are playing.

14.1 is my favorite game, and i've been trying to get more folks to play... seems that playing a buck a ball is the minimum to get their attention...
 
tobyjoe, I have been playing straight pool in the wash. metro area since 1969. Was the most popular game then. Had a high run of 75 back then. Even played a game "25 no count". In 8 ball and nine, there was no ball in hand. Always had to shoot from behind the headstring. I am not a gambler, but if you want to shoot SP, let me know. I also know where there is a SP league. Been going on about 6 years. I like to go with 8 ball, nine ball, and a game of SP to 100. Bunch em up. See who is good all around.
Don P.
 
donald - i guess i should have been more reluctant to speak for all of dc :)

in the city limits, at the places I frequent, it's more rare than i'd like. games are 9ball for the locals/gamblers, 8ball for the georgetown/hill tourists, and one-pocket and 14.1 for people who are just weird (like me) :)

I don't like to gamble, either, and very rarely do... I was just saying that most people, when asked to play, are only willing if you bet.

When i get time to start playing regularly again (been swamped at work for the past 3 weeks), i can try to swing out your way!
 
Tobyjoe, Champions in Frederick MD. is real nice on Sundays. Big screen TV's, 25 cent wings, cold beer, clean joint. Watch the football game and shoot some pool. Let me know when you have time.
Don
 
catfishcody said:
Hi this is my first post here. :)

Just wondering, is straight pool uncommon everywhere? around here(northern Kentucky) no one seems to know what it is.
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Cody,

If 14.1 is interesting to you.. Call Snookers in Cincinnati and talk to Tim. He can hook you up with the Cincinnati Straight Pool League info.. 513-671-Pool

Tell him SactownTom told you to contact him.
 
Re: Re: straight pool

Tom In Cincy said:
Cody,

If 14.1 is interesting to you.. Call Snookers in Cincinnati and talk to Tim. He can hook you up with the Cincinnati Straight Pool League info.. 513-671-Pool

Tell him SactownTom told you to contact him.
Click to expand...

When the BCA refused to continue to put on and sponsor the world championship in NYC a few years ago, that all but put the game in retirement. In a few years, it will just be a memory.
 
Straight pool is the purest form of pocketed cue sports it will always remain with true players as the greatest test of cueing skill IMHO
 
Hi Folks,

Here in Rochester, we not only play 14.1 but promote it. There is a weekly league with sixteen players. We are having a Joss Tour event here in November. It supposedly is limited to thirty two players. I would not be suprised to see the field opened slightly because of the interest generated. Incidently, the game we now refer to as 14.1 or straight pool was invented here in Rochester by a local billiard room proprietor, Jerome Keogh, early in the 1900's!
 
I definately agree that warming up playing straight-pool can definately get you in your rythm for potting balls. Over the past few decades I went through phases with certain games. In the early years it was straight-pool, then 8-ball, then 9-ball, then one-pocket, it was like a rotating cycle. The one game I always practiced was rotation, however. One problem I noticed with playing straight pool too often is it gave me a punch stroke which I had get rid of because it was hard to force draw a ball shooting like that. That's just me, I don't know if anyone else has gone through that.
 
pro - i agree with the way 14.1, especially working the pack, can make your stroke a little short.

i've really only been playing for a short time (about a year) and still don't get to put in the time i'd like each week (i'm a programmer so i end up working all the time to meet deadlines), but i probably average something like 6-9 ball runs then opt for a safe or just plain miss.

the reason i mention my skill level is that i am obviously still new enough that my stroke and other habits aren't as tight and natural as better players.

i often practive by giving myself ball in hand and trying to work the pack and NOT break them up (if i do, i just push them back together), just so i can start to see patterns and shots better. doing that for a couple of hours can totally throw me off if i decide to switch to 9-ball. i chop everything and try to throw every ball instead of cutting it... until i notice and fix it :)

last night i beat my own high run with 17... even though it's not an impressive run, i'm pretty proud today.
 
I have never seen 14.1 actually played. Just read about it on the net.

Then I dowloaded the rules, read it and said to my friend: "let's get on with it".

It's a brilliant game which teaches you everything except the big break.

So far my best run is 28 balls...

Many people who play just 9ball think the game is easy. But when they try it...
 
Donald A. Purdy said:
Not for us diehard 14-1 players.
Don P.
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Don most of the players are older guys, when they die off, the game dies with them, who is coming up behind you to carry it on?
 
bigbopper502000 said:
Don most of the players are older guys, when they die off, the game dies with them, who is coming up behind you to carry it on?
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Well bigbopper... I think that too much cheese has gone to your head! The billiard games do go in cycles. Right now, most players are pushing nine ball. Is it because of the speed of play? Skill is a large factor but so is "luck". One pocket is a skill game with very little luck. Most young people are bored by it. It takes too long. They've changed the game to be more offensive. "Safety play is for you old folks" is the quote I hear most often. Eight ball is too easy was another quote I saw here a month ago. If you play good 14.1, you definitely have an advantage whether on a large or small table. I try to teach our young people the discipline of 14.1. Once they see the advantages of at least understanding the game, they use it to practice for their nine ball tournaments. Pro player is right about rotation. It is a great game to practice for all pool disciplines! I cheat at it. Instead of breaking the rack, I throw the fifteen balls on the table, take cue ball in hand on the one ball and attempt to run the rack. Its frustrating at times but it does teach you to look for better "routes".
 
WEI Pool table link

http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/~wei/pool/pooltable2.html

For the link to the WEI table (open in a separate window)
(there is a help section for players new to the site)

Just copy the info from 'start' to 'end' below and 'paste' into the table from the site above

START(
%AL9U8%BL7P8%CJ5O4%DL7N1%EM7P1%FK6P1%GK6N8%HM7N8%IL7O4%JK6M5
%KJ5P7%LJ5N2%MK6Q4%NJ5R0%OJ5M0%PY9V4
)END

and you can see a classic 14.1 break position
 
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One of my favorites...


START(
%AG4M8%BL7P8%CJ5O4%DL7N1%EM7P1%FK6P1%GK6N8%HM7N8%IL7O4%JK6M5
%KJ5P7%LJ5N2%MK6Q4%NJ5R0%OJ5M0%PD5U8
)END
 
catfishcody said:

Just wondering, is straight pool uncommon everywhere? around here(northern Kentucky) no one seems to know what it is.
Click to expand...

As Tom in Cincy stated, Snookers in Springdale OH has a thriving straight pool league. We have about 40 players this session. The next session should start in January or Feb.

catfishcody, if you want to play some we can meet up. 14.1 is my favorite game. I'm not real good at it, my high run is 34, but I love to play it.

Where you at in No. KY?
 
Re: Re: straight pool

Wally in Cincy said:
As Tom in Cincy stated, Snookers in Springdale OH has a thriving straight pool league. We have about 40 players this session. The next session should start in January or Feb.

catfishcody, if you want to play some we can meet up. 14.1 is my favorite game. I'm not real good at it, my high run is 34, but I love to play it.

Where you at in No. KY?
Click to expand...

I live in Brooks a little town about 20min south of Louisville. I'm only 17 and i don't have a licence so i can't travel to cincy.

However if you're ever in bullitt Co you can find me in Saltys game room in Shepherdsville, I'm not very good since i have only been playing seriously for a short time but I'm getting better.
 
Re: Re: Re: straight pool

catfishcody said:
I live in Brooks a little town about 20min south of Louisville.
Click to expand...

Well technically I guess that is Northern KY
:)

catfishcody said:
....I'm not very good since i have only been playing seriously for a short time but I'm getting better.
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Keep playing. You'll get better.

Are there any veteran players there that can give you pointers?

If you have any questions feel free to ask. There's some really knowledgable folks here.

If you really want to learn the game better, get Phil Cappelle's book PLay Your Best Straight Pool, or Advanced Pool by George Fels.
 
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