strait pool

C

champ2107

Banned
I have played strait pool maybe a total of 3 hours and thought it was a fun game. I have a high run of 19 lol, its a tougher game then you would think! I was wondering what you think the benefits are to playing strait pool?

Also where i play pool nobody has really played it and when i ask them, they think its some new game or a game i made up :confused: They are all pretty much 9 ball players. Can u guys give me some facts on the game to let these guys know its a legit game? In the hustler they played strait pool, correct?
 
champ2107 said:
I have played strait pool maybe a total of 3 hours and thought it was a fun game. I have a high run of 19 lol, its a tougher game then you would think! I was wondering what you think the benefits are to playing strait pool?

Also where i play pool nobody has really played it and when i ask them, they think its some new game or a game i made up :confused: They are all pretty much 9 ball players. Can u guys give me some facts on the game to let these guys know its a legit game? In the hustler they played strait pool, correct?
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yes, in the hustler they played straight pool
 
Come to Tucson

We have a 14.1 Tournament at noon, on the first Sat of the month, using Az Ratings. You should come and play in March.

Lenny
Pockets-Tucson
 
Well, ask them if they have heard of Mosconi... If they have, ask him what game he was known for playing...

If they haven't heard of him, turn around and walk away because their opinion doesn't matter.

"This ain't pool, this is for bangers. Straight pool is pool, this is like hand ball or cribbage or something... Now everything is 9 Ball 'cause it's fast. Good for TV... good for a lot of break shots... oh well, what the hell, checkers sells more than chess." - Fast Eddie Felson from The Color of Money
 
champ2107 said:
I have played strait pool maybe a total of 3 hours and thought it was a fun game. I have a high run of 19 lol, its a tougher game then you would think! I was wondering what you think the benefits are to playing strait pool?

Also where i play pool nobody has really played it and when i ask them, they think its some new game or a game i made up :confused: They are all pretty much 9 ball players. Can u guys give me some facts on the game to let these guys know its a legit game? In the hustler they played strait pool, correct?
Click to expand...



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14.1
 
Here's what I get out of it...

... when I play straight pool (those times are few and far between).

Whatever numbers are on the balls have no bearing on which ball you choose to play. It's amazing the shots you'll be able to see when you can (basically) shoot at ANY ball on the table.

You've got this cluster of balls, and now that you're not regulated to 'stripes', 'solids', or 'lowest numbered ball', you can "see" a variety of kiss shots, caroms, combinations, etc.

Sometimes those shots will come up in different games (9-ball, 8-ball, etc.). Provided you can meet the requirements of cue ball contact for that particular game, you may be more apt to play (and make) shots that you may not have 'seen' before.

Playing that game taught me not to be afraid of carom shots particularly, as well as how and where to hit the CB, the effect of english on the OB, and where the OB needs to carom off the second OB to make it in the pocket.
And now, if the situation permits, I can use that second OB to break out a cluster, giving me a little more control of the CB (instead of using the CB for the breakout and taking a chance at snookering myself).

It's an easy game to learn, but a difficult game to master...
 
Oh, and if they say Mosconi played 9 ball, turn and walk away. He may have played the game from time to time, but the current 9 Ball game (namely Texas Express) didn't come about until the 1980's, long after he retired from professional pool.
 
Benefits of playing straight pool: You learn: cue ball control, speed control, shot making, seeing shots, seeing patterns, decision making, mental game, and how not to go insane when you blow a run. It helps you play every other game in pool.

My mentor, Eric von Koons, the retired house pro at Doc & Eddy's in Albuquerque, and I play "no count" straight pool...I have to run at least 10 balls or the score doesn't count, then 12, then 14, etc. and he has to run 20 then 25, then 30 etc. or the score doesn't count. That really helps learning patterns, making runs, and going for tough shots to keep the run going, and puts lots of pressure on you to play correctly. My high run is only 32, so I'm just a beginner at it too, but I like it in a masochistic kinda way. Eric tells me that Jimmy Moore used to play 100 no count! :eek:
 
Lance Link said:
... when I play straight pool (those times are few and far between).

Whatever numbers are on the balls have no bearing on which ball you choose to play. It's amazing the shots you'll be able to see when you can (basically) shoot at ANY ball on the table.

You've got this cluster of balls, and now that you're not regulated to 'stripes', 'solids', or 'lowest numbered ball', you can "see" a variety of kiss shots, caroms, combinations, etc.

Sometimes those shots will come up in different games (9-ball, 8-ball, etc.). Provided you can meet the requirements of cue ball contact for that particular game, you may be more apt to play (and make) shots that you may not have 'seen' before.

Playing that game taught me not to be afraid of carom shots particularly, as well as how and where to hit the CB, the effect of english on the OB, and where the OB needs to carom off the second OB to make it in the pocket.
And now, if the situation permits, I can use that second OB to break out a cluster, giving me a little more control of the CB (instead of using the CB for the breakout and taking a chance at snookering myself).

It's an easy game to learn, but a difficult game to master...
Click to expand...

this is a good post!

you could always check out the 14.1 sub forum right here on AZBilliards.

Although you must have a picture of you and John Schmidt in your avatar if you want any respect :cool:
 
It is not only a game that teaches every aspect of the game , but is considered the game of champions. It is one that you can practice by yourself and able to set goals. Goal setting is important , not in so much the achievement of the goal but that it give you something to aim at or aspire to.
 
14.1 teaches you absolute control. You eventually start positioning the cueball into smaller and smaller areas rather than into zones which is typical in 9 ball.

Moving in between groups of balls and clusters means you begin to learn exact cue ball paths, rather than general directions.

You first learn how to open up clusters. But eventually you begin to know exactly how they will open up depending on where you hit them.

But more than anything, it teaches consistency. Being able to pot balls for 15-20 minutes means you're less likely to lose your concentration running out a rack of 9 ball.

You also learn to pot the easy balls more conistently. To run lots of balls in 14.1 it's absolutely imperative that you can pot anything at a 50 degree angle or less 100% of the time when it's within 4 feet. They're not tough shots but often people are only making them 80-90% of the time and that 10-20% of missed shots are costing them lots and lots of matches.
 
IMO new players that want to be more than bangers should start with 14.1, 3-cushion and maybe some snooker. After you get good at these games you should be able to make any shot in any game. Johnnyt
 
I saw a quote from John Schmidt in a billiard magazine years ago. When asked by the interviewer why he liked to play straight pool John something to this effect, 'In rotation games (9 ball) as balls are being made off the table, the game becomes easier. In straight pool the game becomes harder.'.
 
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Okay, I can't take this.....it's "straight".

The standard answer is that 14.1 broadens your perspective and adds a mental process to an otherwise mindless 9ball game. But if you're mostly playing 9ball, I don't know how to quantify the benefits of 14.1. Inevitably, 14.1 players see a 9ball layout like straight pool, and most players will tell you you should play 9ball like 9ball. The idea that 14.1 helps your position play doesn't necessarily hold in 9ball because you have to come up with longer shots and longer position play,,,and the position play is more general than specific.

Play 14.1 for fun. It's one game you CAN play by yourself.
 
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