The best way to learn straight pool?

troyroy78

troyroy78

I can average 2 ball's :)
Silver Member
Hi Guys,

Need some advice, have been mainly a 9 ball player with a little 8 ball now and then, however i am very attracted to the game of 14.1.

I would like to start to play more straight pool and the game differs a lot from 9 ball.

Does anybody know the best way to pick up the game quickly? are there any books which can help get up to speed?

Will be playing with my friend but to be honest there are no real 14.1 players near me.


Any advice would be helpful



Thanks



Roy
 
troyroy78 said:
Hi Guys,

Need some advice, have been mainly a 9 ball player with a little 8 ball now and then, however i am very attracted to the game of 14.1.

I would like to start to play more straight pool and the game differs a lot from 9 ball.

Does anybody know the best way to pick up the game quickly? are there any books which can help get up to speed?

Will be playing with my friend but to be honest there are no real 14.1 players near me.


Any advice would be helpful



Thanks



Roy
Click to expand...

Check out some of my videos on youtube and Veoh- I have done some 14.1 evaluations for players on this forum. Check out some of Marop's videos - and Steve Lipsky and Dan Barouty have some awesome videos on Veoh as well.

http://www.youtube.com/user/BlackjackDSapolis

http://www.veoh.com/users/dsapolis

http://www.veoh.com/users/SteveDanny

http://www.veoh.com/users/dmgwalsh



On veoh you will have to download the Veoh player to watch the full videos - well worth it to watch these videos

This forum is also a great resource of information. If you need anything specifically, don't hesitate to ask. There are many knowledgeable players that post here in this forum.
 
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troyroy78 said:
are there any books which can help get up to speed?
Click to expand...
I'd like to recommend the following three books:
"Play Your Best Straight Pool" by Phil Capelle
"The Straight Pool Bible" by Babe Cranfield
and Blackjack's book which should be coming out later this month.
 
My playing partner who has as little experience as me insists kickshots or rail first shots are fouls in 14.1

That true? I don't see why if it is true. Not that I would have a lot of need to kick balls in in 14.1 but rail first shots do come in handy.

Please advise?
 
teedotaj said:
My playing partner who has as little experience as me insists kickshots or rail first shots are fouls in 14.1

That true? I don't see why if it is true. Not that I would have a lot of need to kick balls in in 14.1 but rail first shots do come in handy.

Please advise?
Click to expand...

You are correct, neither of these is necessarily a foul. So long as, after the kick or rail first is hit, the cue ball contacts an object ball and then either an object ball or the cue ball contacts a rail.

In other words, the standard rules for fouls (or table scratch if you will) apply.
 
Kicks and railfirsts are legal as long as something (anything) touches a rail, or a ball goes in the pocket (except the cue ball of course).

Straight pool is kind of the ideal practice game. A perfectly fine way to learn it is set up a standard break shot, make it, and just run balls until you miss.

If you have a lot of trouble getting through a full rack, some good advice I've heard is to roll 4 or 5 balls out (mostly near the 'lower half' of the table... make sure one of them is a viable break ball) and take ball in hand. Try to run these balls perfectly and end up with a nice breakshot position. You'll want to pick out a breakball ahead of time before you take your first shot, and also a key ball that makes getting position on the break ball really easy. Short side pocket shots make nice key balls.

Read books and online instructional stuff. Watch videos of pros playing straight pool. Especially watch how they plan ahead to send the cue ball into clusters in the rack area (usually as soon as possible).

Be realistic on your expectations. If all you've ever run is 9 balls (since you usually play 9 ball) don't expect to run 20 right away in straight pool. Start off with 1 full rack of 14 balls as a realistic starting goal.
 
teedotaj said:
My playing partner who has as little experience as me insists kickshots or rail first shots are fouls in 14.1

That true? I don't see why if it is true. Not that I would have a lot of need to kick balls in in 14.1 but rail first shots do come in handy.

Please advise?
Click to expand...
A Kick shot is legal if after contact is made with the obect ball either the cue ball or another ball on the table hit a rail or is pocketed.
 
Thanks Guy's

I brought play your best pool by capelle


Have been looking at the info everyone gave, really starting to find 14.1 the game of champions



thanks for everyone's help
 
When practicing by yourself try playing with 10 balls instead of 15.

Pick out your key and break balls and there are only 8 other balls to run.
 
troyroy78 said:
I brought play your best pool by capelle






thanks for everyone's help
Click to expand...

Did you get "Play your best Pool" or
"Play your best Straight Pool"?

While the first one is good, the second one is the one you want to read for 14.1.
 
As a teenager, I was fortunate to have an Old Billiard Pro teach me the game and it's finer points ...

His mentoring (no doubt) was a huge contributing factor in my winning the 12th Naval District Championship (6) times ...
 
Accu-Stats

There are many great matches on Accu-Stats tapes/DVD that you can learn Straight Pool from by just watching. As you pick up the game over time. You will be able to see Straight Pool patterns when you play 8-Ball & 9-Ball. Both of those games will become easier after you learn Straight.
 
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