The Death Of Straight Pool

Kamakiriad

Kamakiriad

Banned
Am i the only one that believes that this game died in the 70's? Nobody plays 14.1 anymore except for on the east coast . what the hell happened?

9ball came into prominence in the 70's and i guess that(emergence/popularity) made straight pool take a back seat.

for all intents and purposes ,straight pool is dead .R.I.P.14.1 especially down south .
 
Kamakiriad said:
Am i the only one that believes that this game died in the 70's? Nobody plays 14.1 anymore except for on the east coast . what the hell happened?

9ball came into prominence in the 70's and i guess that(emergence/popularity) made straight pool take a back seat.

for all intents and purposes ,straight pool is dead .R.I.P.14.1 especially down south .
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???

You have to be kidding me. It's not dead at all. Of course it'snot the choice of pool games for the average ESPN viewer, but the game is played everywhere and there is even a resurgance occurring complete with tournaments and leagues.

Anybody that lacks straight pool knowledge is missing a vital ingredient for being a great all around player. Take a visit over to the straight pool section of this forum and you will see that many people are still playing the game on a daily basis and using it to enhance their playing skills.

FWIW, I will be re-publishing one of my books in the next few weeks that that will contain a large volume of straight pool instructional material. Is the game dead? Not by my standards.
 
14.1 is probably dead in the south.

East coast and Mid west are the hot spots for 14.1
I would also venture to say it is doing well in Florida.

There are very well established 14.1 leagues in Cincinnati, Columbus and Canton Ohio and a very good one (I hear) in Indianapolis Indiana. I also know there use to be one in Louisville KY. Not bad for a small area these cities encompass.

Maybe if you played more 14.1 with your friends, they would share with their friends and on and on and on.
 
i love straight pool .always have .but it's so rare to find any straight pool action in my region of the US .that's why i say "it's dead". i know the game still thrives up north and in the mid-west .but down here,it's non-existent.

i live in jackson,miss.
 
My take

Kamakiriad said:
Am i the only one that believes that this game died in the 70's? Nobody plays 14.1 anymore except for on the east coast . what the hell happened?

9ball came into prominence in the 70's and i guess that(emergence/popularity) made straight pool take a back seat.

for all intents and purposes ,straight pool is dead .R.I.P.14.1 especially down south .
Click to expand...

I tend to disagree that 14.1 is dead. My club has an in house league that plays a few sessions a year and it is year round. The least amount of players has been 10(summer session) and most sessions include 16+ players. I for one have become hooked on the game and enjoy way more that the ever popular game of 9 ball.
 
Kamakiriad said:
i love straight pool .always have .but it's so rare to find any straight pool action in my region of the US .that's why i say "it's dead". i know the game still thrives up north and in the mid-west .but down here,it's non-existent.

i live in jackson,miss.
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Visit http://www.14and1.com

Start a league in Jackson. Start reading the straight pool section of this foru and you will get a lot of great ideas.

I play straight pool every day - it's the game's best teacher and it lays a foundation for everything else you will ever do on a pool table.
 
Kids just don't get it, they've never seen it, and they have no patience to try something that isn't the "cool" in thing.

Shoot, I've been playing poker for 40 + yrs and no one gave a rat's butt about it until TV flooded our impressionable society with it. Now, its nearly the damned national past time. Ha, straight pool is gonna need a whole lot more exposure nationally before it is something enjoyed again among any majority of pool players.

Us old timers are the last link to the game, so I guess we gotta dump a little for these hot shot "run out" 9 ball kids, let em win a few games, so they will gain interest and carry on the greatest game. LOL :)
 
Long Live 14.1

Straight pool ain't dead. BlackJack's right in that you just have to look for it. Serious players still view 14.1 as the Champion's game.

14.1 leagues are popping up here and there. Maybe you could start one down south.

The Woim

P.S. - I plan on buying Black Jack's book on straight pool.
 
Blackjack said:
Visit http://www.14and1.com

Start a league in Jackson. Start reading the straight pool section of this foru and you will get a lot of great ideas.

I play straight pool every day - it's the game's best teacher and it lays a foundation for everything else you will ever do on a pool table.
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thanx a lot .i will look into it . since you play everyday,and i've never played in my life, you spotting me 65 pts in a 115 score game would'nt be too far fetched would it? a little gentlemen's game perhaps?
 
The best thing about spotting people playing straight pool these days is that anybody who plays the game usually knows what the heck they are doing around a pool table.
 
We're embarking on a 14.1 league in my local pool hall.

I agree that 14.1 does not have the standing that it once had, but its not dead. The prospect of sitting while your opponent completes a 100+ ball inning doesn't sit well with modern (banger) players. They are accustomed to rapid fire innings like those in 9B. The (real) pool afficiados get it though.
 
Straight Pool ain't dead. It's just sleeping. :)

Bob Jewett gave it a kiss and it has begun to wake up though.
 
Kamakiriad said:
i love straight pool .always have .but it's so rare to find any straight pool action in my region of the US .that's why i say "it's dead". i know the game still thrives up north and in the mid-west .but down here,it's non-existent.

i live in jackson,miss.
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I know the pain too. I'm from deep south Texas (waiting for Hur. DEAN! :eek: :p ). As far as finding some real action for 14.1, not pleanty. But I always progress to tell one person or another to spread this game around and that it is the game of champions... and they take it like a child believing in the boogyman. But I agree with starting to find some people and convincing them to play the same game you enjoy. Better yet, just create a league!

And, yes, Jay is right, Bob is poking the sleeping monster of a game with a stick!
 
Yesterday I was playing with a beginner who broke the balls badly. I used one of the few open balls to bust the rack. This little blonde kid is watching while his brother played with his folks on the quarter table.

The little kid (7? 8?) asks me "are you playing straight pool?"
I just about peed all over my shoes.

"OMG you know about straight pool? How do you know about straight pool? Do You play it?"
"yeah, my dad showed me how."
"are you good?"
"yeah!" (with a big grin)

Straight pool is just one of those things that's always a little more alive than it seems at first. At first I wanna say nobody in my pool hall plays it... but this little kid will, and I play with my buddy, and now that I think about it 3 or 4 other guys will play it with me if I ask... and in another pool hall it's played pretty often... I don't think it'll ever make a grand comeback, but as a game it's too perfect to die out. It's the pool equivalent of gin or canasta or something... sure, everyone's playing hold'em these days, but you can find plenty of people who are up for a little rummy if you figure out where to look.
 
Our local PH has both straight pool & one pocket leagues. I've found I enjoy watching the guys playing 14.1 while I'm there. I find the game fascinating.
 
$20 entry, $500 added, double elim race to 100 points, open straight pool tourney this weekend at DannyK's.

Practice starts at 10:00 AM, games start at noon.

Contact:
Danny Kuykendall (714) 771-9706
Wayne Norcross (714) 771-9706
Roger Tafoya (714) 776-0295
 
One place straight pool will always be played primarily is Dallas West's State and Madison Billiards, Rockford, IL. Monthly double elimination tourney to 100 pts. Fortunately for us Dallas doesn't play in it but his son does and often wins. Come on down.
 
that's good for you!

Straight Pool said:
One place straight pool will always be played primarily is Dallas West's State and Madison Billiards, Rockford, IL. Monthly double elimination tourney to 100 pts. Fortunately for us Dallas doesn't play in it but his son does and often wins. Come on down.
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Dallas is like a machine! All those guys from that era are like that, you give them a piece of paint to hit, and they'll run a hundred like it's nothing. I know that first hand, one of the owners(Leon Ledford) of the poolhall i work at is from Rockford, and used to play right around the same speed as Dallas. I've spent many hours in the chair while he put a whipping on me! But i enjoyed every minute of it, it is the best game out there!........jeremy
 
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