Rules: https://www.tx1shot.com/rules-howtoplay
Thank you for taking the time to research the game! The website does need some work. It is not my strong point. I came up with this game after being froze in for a week with no electricity and by myself. Fortunately I had a little 8 foot table all to myself. My mind might of been altered during this event. I played a lot of pool through out the week. I am admittedly just a barroom hack but now I'm at least in a league. I was such a banger I did not even know the derogatory terms 'riding the 9' and 'banger' and was barely familiar with 'carom' and 'push out'. Lonnie with Backwards Billiards was kind enough to capture some video, a primer as it were, of Texas One Shot(TM). I do some of the narration and my buddy Key plays Lisa(Lonnie's wife) the first few games. I showed the game to BCA's Randy Geottlicher who liked it enough to gather a group of instructors for what was called the 'Come and Break It' tournament. The game passed the stress test but that did not mean everybody liked the game. I picked up from the event I should appeal to the youth and that new pool game is not needed so it better be good. I have international trademarks on the game in hopes of back-dooring the game into Olympic discussion by preserving the rules so the game is played by the same rules world-wide. Standard rules are an Olympic requirement current games have trouble meeting. World-wide play is a condition this game must struggle to overcome for Olympic consideration. People can freely play the game world wide and I won't make a penny. If I can have some fun and sell Phat Rack Lover T-shirts and occasionally wear a Phat Rack Specialist shirt I'll have fun and a chance to make a buck. If I can some how stimulate talk about Olympic Pool I feel I will have made a positive impact on a sport I truly love. Look for 'Riding the 9' in this forum for more of my take on the game. DaWizard, thank you for bringing attention to game! Reed
The game draws on BCA rules for 9ball except for the reward system change and the change in racking. Every game deserves its own rack so I twisted the 9ball rack 90 degrees, moved the 1 ball to the new head of the rack and put the 9 on the spot because the game is all about the 9. However the BCA enforce a the break is how this game is intends to interpret the rule. That is why I went to Randy Geottlicher, rules are his thing, I just changed the reward system. Someday the rack may be hacked and the game may be forced to go back to the 9ball diamond. These are the glory days were the rack is twisted, its challenger racks and break your own! I have the audacity to think you can break and have the first shot almost guaranteed and I can still win! When I first saw the Phat Rack I felt the 1, 9, object ball lined up in a row was too phat and juicy to allow breaking any where behind the head line so I decided to reduce the area a player can break from. My choice from between breaking from outside the box(center square) or requiring players to square up to break(from inside the center square) was decided by gamblers not breaking until the pot is right(all squared up). Time will tell if I made the right choice.
Yes this got me a little puzzled at first. It feels like something is needed here - but perhaps not!
The game gives you plenty of opportunities for banks , kicks and caroms but it is all about the 9 and only the 9 every shot. It is the only game I know to win you have to make a ball to win but don't need to pot a ball to shoot again. It took months for me to become completely comfortable with not potting a ball to shot again. My first 40 years of playing pool was all about potting balls, all the sudden I was forced to prioritize ball control and positioning. This is why I think it is a great teaching game, ball control becomes more important potting object balls. It frees the mind to focus on strategy over shots.
Thanks taking the time to check it out. The game lives up to my hype, I promise. And it is fun to watch too and not because slop counts but because it encourages players to take hero shots that you always wanted shoot and know are possible. Defense is not that easy but I love it when it works. The games makes you think and you know you can win in One Shot! I know your group will have very sound opinions and I'm excited to have the game vetted by the folks that know, live and breathe pool. I hope it is good enough you're willing to suffer the name.
Thank you for giving it a try. Most people simply want to play it again. You are the first to rewrite the rules after playing the game. Did you play a whole game or figure out better rules before playing the first game to the end? Counting points? That's math!
A name, not really. 9-carom? 9-billiard?
We played one game. But it was borderline impossible to really implement some strategy. Say I hit the one, then the 9, and I can keep shooting. But the 1 ended up somewhere randomly (moving the 9 has priority) and I face the same challenge: a difficult carom to begin with and mostly hope to move 9, and forget about potting the 9.
You are rewarded for any ball moving the 9 as long as you touch the lowest ball first.
A good name is important.
