Straight pool
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The smaller size makes it much harder.
Yup. Less room to work and balls will cluster making open shots harder but might help your game on the big table
If it's a coin-op. it would be very pricey to get balls out on safeties.
I would not recommend playing on a bar box.
The balls tend to get bunched up on a 9ft. table, on a bar box I wouldn't know how to break em all up.
I would not recommend playing on a bar box.
The balls tend to get bunched up on a 9ft. table, on a bar box I wouldn't know how to break em all up.
I play 14.1 a 1/2 to an hour every morning on my 7' Valley. It gets me in stroke for the 9 and 10-ball ghost for most of the rest of the day and eve. Sometimes when the humidity is high and balls are clinging too much I'll play 10.1. Straight pool with 10 balls on a BB is easy in dry conditions.
About two years ago I ran 96 balls playing 14.1 on it. I've never ran over 64 since. The run was when I had the standard Valley rails on and the pockets were a lot bigger than now (4").
I'll switch back to 14.1 if I'm missing too many shots in rotation or 8-ball for a few racks to re tune. Johnnyt
About two years ago I ran 96 balls playing 14.1 on it. I've never ran over 64 since. The run was when I had the standard Valley rails on and the pockets were a lot bigger than now (4").
I'll switch back to 14.1 if I'm missing too many shots in rotation or 8-ball for a few racks to re tune. Johnnyt
I don't practice 14.1 on a barbox. To me it doesn't make much sense to. Barboxes aren't meant for 14.1, so why practice it on them?
One time I actually got play 14.1 with Dallas West on ... a bar box.
I didn't make many balls, but I had the best seat in the house to sit there and watch and learn.
Smaller space means tighter patterns, tighter position. The angles on your break ball will differ slightly when you change table sizes - so a routine break ball on a 9 footer can be a real *****h and a half on an 8 footer.
No matter what size table you play on, it is by far the game's best teacher, so have fun and learn!
I saw John Schmidt run 180 on a Diamond bar table. It looked easy to me. He did have to do a fair amount of bumping and "special" shots, but all the normal shots were automatic.
I asked Caras what he thought of 14.1 on an 8-foot table, and he said that the champions wouldn't miss until they got tired. But then he came from a tradition that tended towards tight, short position, which makes life easy on an 8-foot.
I asked Caras what he thought of 14.1 on an 8-foot table, and he said that the champions wouldn't miss until they got tired. But then he came from a tradition that tended towards tight, short position, which makes life easy on an 8-foot.
Here's my solution.... If playing on a coin op table slopped balls are dead and do not count...
I began thinking about 14:1 and the limitations a bar box puts on this great game. It occurred to me that a shorter rack might help make the game more playable on a bar box. That led me to think about rotation type games and combining the 2 to make a challenging fast paced bar box game.
I'd like your opinions...
10 balls are racked, 1 ball at the head and 10 in the center, and broken. The 1 must be hit first. Balls dropped on the break stay down and count. The remaining balls must be shot in rotation, until the 10 ball remains. The other 9 balls are reracked in the diamond 9 ball pattern with the 1 at the head ball and the 9 in the center. The shooter pockets the break ball and continues shooting the remaining balls in rotation.
After the opening break, where whatever falls counts, balls are pocketed in rotation and must be pocketed in the called pocket. Any ball pocketed in conjunction with the called ball stays down and counts. Any slopped in balls are spotted. At the end of the rack the 9 balls are reracked with the highest number ball in the center and the 1 at the head. Play continues until the shooter misses.
Fouls occur if the lowest number ball is not struck first, or a scratch occurs. The incoming player has the option to play it where it lays or turn the table back over to the player who fouled. On a scratch the incoming player has ball in hand behind the headstring and may pass the shot to the fouling player if they so choose. 3 consecutive fouls results in a full 10 ball rerack and a 15 point penalty. Incoming player breaks as if it is the opening rack and all balls pocketed on the break count.
Each ball counts 1 point and race can be determined by the players 50 100 etc...
I began thinking about 14:1 and the limitations a bar box puts on this great game. It occurred to me that a shorter rack might help make the game more playable on a bar box. That led me to think about rotation type games and combining the 2 to make a challenging fast paced bar box game.
I'd like your opinions...
10 balls are racked, 1 ball at the head and 10 in the center, and broken. The 1 must be hit first. Balls dropped on the break stay down and count. The remaining balls must be shot in rotation, until the 10 ball remains. The other 9 balls are reracked in the diamond 9 ball pattern with the 1 at the head ball and the 9 in the center. The shooter pockets the break ball and continues shooting the remaining balls in rotation.
After the opening break, where whatever falls counts, balls are pocketed in rotation and must be pocketed in the called pocket. Any ball pocketed in conjunction with the called ball stays down and counts. Any slopped in balls are spotted. At the end of the rack the 9 balls are reracked with the highest number ball in the center and the 1 at the head. Play continues until the shooter misses.
Fouls occur if the lowest number ball is not struck first, or a scratch occurs. The incoming player has the option to play it where it lays or turn the table back over to the player who fouled. On a scratch the incoming player has ball in hand behind the headstring and may pass the shot to the fouling player if they so choose. 3 consecutive fouls results in a full 10 ball rerack and a 15 point penalty. Incoming player breaks as if it is the opening rack and all balls pocketed on the break count.
Each ball counts 1 point and race can be determined by the players 50 100 etc...
An alternative to 14.1 on a barbox -- 9.1 straight pool
Anthony:
14.1 on a barbox is a challenge -- not so much for the shot-making (that's EASY compared to a 9-footer), but rather, as Blackjack and Neil describe, for patterns. Because you're dealing with the same number (15) of the same-sized balls, for the same number (6) of the same-sized pockets, in half the table real estate, you have the following problems:
1. The clustering is greater on the barbox. As folks already mentioned, you have to be even more precise with your cue ball. Especially if you're using the "barbox-standard" non-standard cue ball. (Not recommended, by the way; use a Blue Circle Centennial or measles ball as your standard 14.1 cue ball. Not even the Red Circle [favored in rotation games like 9-ball] is widely used in 14.1, because it's too "zingy," especially with draw.)
2. The pocket opening -to- rail ratio is greater on a barbox. That is, you have more "pocket opening" to rail cushion than on a 9-footer. That means if you "do a Gene Nagy" and really smash those break shots, your chances of scratching are that much greater, because you have less rail cushion to guard against a scratch. On that note, you'll want to play closer position with your cue ball, than "going round the table" for position as is common with rotation games.
You might want to consider a nice alternative to 14.1 on a barbox, and that's the game of 9.1 straight pool. You're basically playing with a 10-ball rack, leaving the last ball on the table as your breakshot, and racking the remaining 9 balls in a 10-ball rack configuration with the head-ball missing. (Do *NOT*, by the way, let your habits get the best of you, and rack those remaining 9 balls in a diamond configuration -- not only will it look silly/funny to those around you, but it won't give you a good target to aim your breakshot at. The diamond shape offers half the rack profile to aim your cue ball carom into.) 9.1 on a barbox offers the proper amount of balls for the barbox's decreased table real estate, and you'll find that when you go to a big table (9-footer), all 15 balls on that table will "feel" right and your game will transfer seamlessly. 9.1 straight pool is a great game! When I go out to visit my folks in Denver, Colorado on a semi-annual basis, there's a place near them by the name of Greenfield's Pool & Sports Bar that sports only barboxes. But they have FREE pool on those tables twice a week, and they completely remove the ball-collection side panels from the barboxes so that you can fetch the balls at will. This makes it conducive to play games that you couldn't play because of the coin-op nature of barboxes, like straight pool and one pocket. I like to play 9.1 to warm up, and then for a challenge, I'll use all 15 balls and work on my cue ball control (I do take a measles ball with me on my trip, even though I don't bring my cues because it's such a hassle to travel with them).
Hope this helps!
-Sean
Anthony:
14.1 on a barbox is a challenge -- not so much for the shot-making (that's EASY compared to a 9-footer), but rather, as Blackjack and Neil describe, for patterns. Because you're dealing with the same number (15) of the same-sized balls, for the same number (6) of the same-sized pockets, in half the table real estate, you have the following problems:
1. The clustering is greater on the barbox. As folks already mentioned, you have to be even more precise with your cue ball. Especially if you're using the "barbox-standard" non-standard cue ball. (Not recommended, by the way; use a Blue Circle Centennial or measles ball as your standard 14.1 cue ball. Not even the Red Circle [favored in rotation games like 9-ball] is widely used in 14.1, because it's too "zingy," especially with draw.)
2. The pocket opening -to- rail ratio is greater on a barbox. That is, you have more "pocket opening" to rail cushion than on a 9-footer. That means if you "do a Gene Nagy" and really smash those break shots, your chances of scratching are that much greater, because you have less rail cushion to guard against a scratch. On that note, you'll want to play closer position with your cue ball, than "going round the table" for position as is common with rotation games.
You might want to consider a nice alternative to 14.1 on a barbox, and that's the game of 9.1 straight pool. You're basically playing with a 10-ball rack, leaving the last ball on the table as your breakshot, and racking the remaining 9 balls in a 10-ball rack configuration with the head-ball missing. (Do *NOT*, by the way, let your habits get the best of you, and rack those remaining 9 balls in a diamond configuration -- not only will it look silly/funny to those around you, but it won't give you a good target to aim your breakshot at. The diamond shape offers half the rack profile to aim your cue ball carom into.) 9.1 on a barbox offers the proper amount of balls for the barbox's decreased table real estate, and you'll find that when you go to a big table (9-footer), all 15 balls on that table will "feel" right and your game will transfer seamlessly. 9.1 straight pool is a great game! When I go out to visit my folks in Denver, Colorado on a semi-annual basis, there's a place near them by the name of Greenfield's Pool & Sports Bar that sports only barboxes. But they have FREE pool on those tables twice a week, and they completely remove the ball-collection side panels from the barboxes so that you can fetch the balls at will. This makes it conducive to play games that you couldn't play because of the coin-op nature of barboxes, like straight pool and one pocket. I like to play 9.1 to warm up, and then for a challenge, I'll use all 15 balls and work on my cue ball control (I do take a measles ball with me on my trip, even though I don't bring my cues because it's such a hassle to travel with them).
Hope this helps!
-Sean
I agree with you guys it is a challenge.I got through 3 racks on my first attempt and was getting a little tired of all the clusters i was dealing with,so i decided to hit the break shot a little harder on my fourth rack,well whitey flew off the table.I dont think i have ever seen that happen in straight pool.lol
Im going to stay with the whole rack for right now,that little baby box aint going to get the best of me.lol
Thanks for your guys input.
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