JC
Coos Cues
I have never met a player who believed in these rules that I couldn't defeat in the long haul.
Having said that, life is way too short to spend any of it with people that stupid.
JC
The Worst Rule in Pool
- Thread starter desmocourtney
- Start date
I have never met a player who believed in these rules that I couldn't defeat in the long haul.
Having said that, life is way too short to spend any of it with people that stupid.
JC
The worst rules I've encountered all seem to have to do with the break. Whether it is 3 balls having to pass the head string or "x" number of balls having to hit a rail. I've seen 9 ball racks hammered and still result in an illegal break because 3 balls didn't pass the head string.
Furthermore, the following is directly from the APA rule book:
"Breaking - To be a legal break, players must break from behind the head string. The head ball or second ball must be struck first and at least four object balls must be driven to the rails or a ball must be pocketed. The cue ball may not be shot into a rail before the rack. If the break does not qualify as legal, the balls are reracked and rebroken by the same player. If the break does not qualify as legal and results in a scratch, the balls are reracked and broken by the opposite player. THE RACK MUST BE STRUCK BEFORE A FOUL CAN OCCUR. Breaking safe or soft is not allowed. The League Operator may make judgments and issue penalties to teams and players who are not breaking hard. Breaking just hard enough to comply with this rule is not a guarantee against penalties. Remember, break as hard as you can with control."
If you've established that 4 balls hitting the rail is a legal break? Then how can you be penalized for not breaking the balls "as hard as you can" as long as 4 balls hit a rail?
Furthermore, the following is directly from the APA rule book:
"Breaking - To be a legal break, players must break from behind the head string. The head ball or second ball must be struck first and at least four object balls must be driven to the rails or a ball must be pocketed. The cue ball may not be shot into a rail before the rack. If the break does not qualify as legal, the balls are reracked and rebroken by the same player. If the break does not qualify as legal and results in a scratch, the balls are reracked and broken by the opposite player. THE RACK MUST BE STRUCK BEFORE A FOUL CAN OCCUR. Breaking safe or soft is not allowed. The League Operator may make judgments and issue penalties to teams and players who are not breaking hard. Breaking just hard enough to comply with this rule is not a guarantee against penalties. Remember, break as hard as you can with control."
If you've established that 4 balls hitting the rail is a legal break? Then how can you be penalized for not breaking the balls "as hard as you can" as long as 4 balls hit a rail?
So, Desmo, you forgot to mark your pocket?
The unworkable alternative is to ask the players to exhibit good sportsmanship, have an understanding of the game, and show respect for their opponents.
Who'd have thought that would be an alternative?
In my opinion, the worst rules in pool are those that do not appear here:
http://www.wpa-pool.com/web/the_rules_of_play
I just wish everyone would download and print all of these, and stop all
of those "what is the rule here" posts that become 14 pages long.
http://www.wpa-pool.com/web/the_rules_of_play
I just wish everyone would download and print all of these, and stop all
of those "what is the rule here" posts that become 14 pages long.
That is a pretty crappy rule. I was playing a 9-ball tourney the other night and I was breaking maybe 50% as hard as I can. I was getting a good spread. Making a ball more often than not and having an open table. It wasn't "as hard as I can, with control" but it was as hard as I can with the level of control that *I* wanted.
So who decides what level of control is acceptable? If I determine that I need to have the same control of the cueball on the break that I have on a long straight shot on the break, who is to say that I'm wrong? The LO who typically doesn't play at a very high level? Doesn't make sense.
And I wish that every tournament and league played by these same rules. Consistency and clear written rules would be great for players and fans.
I asked about that on the APA Facebook page and they said pushes favor the better players. To me that doesn't make sense, to me pushes favor the lower SL players as the better players are better at kicking and jumping. And even if they were right, doesn't everything favor better players? I mean, that's what better means.
Once again, APA is designed as a beginners league. A rule, such as the push out rule, that favors the better player, doesn't fit with their business model.
For better and for worse.
Add to that the likely confusion and arguments about adjudicating that rule in a league full of beginners and recreational bar players. I mean, c'mon....marking the pocket causes all this angst, can you imagine trying to explain the rules around "push out" in the same environment?
Banks
Banned
Pushes do favor the better players disproportionately. The better player can recognize easier angles to kick at, etc, so they better know where to push to against a lower player. Not to mention the fact that they can push to a tough shot and still have a better chance.
Allowing jump cues is a bad "rule", imo.
Allowing jump cues is a bad "rule", imo.
Personally, I don't care much for the "as hard as you can" part, because MANY people don't break as hard as they can. I don't. I typically shoot the second ball in 8-Ball and have more success making the 8 if I shoot that shot with a medium stroke. I also find that I make something on the break more often in 9-Ball (on a small table) if I shoot softer on that shot. However, soft-breaking can be used to game the handicap system, since it generally leaves tougher shots for everyone. I've never seen anyone penalized for not breaking "as hard as they could", when it was clear that they weren't doing it to manipulate the handicap system.
That is a totally wrong reason not to allow push outs. I think maybe what they mean is that the push out confuses new players so they don't want them to be confused about a rule.
The people that say ball in hand only behind the line rule also makes it easier for the worse players to play is also totally wrong in the reasoning. A good player will just fine a way to accidentally scratch on their shot making the opponent shoot from behind the line or just mess with them by missing everything then fouling when the 8 is behind the line making the poor D player kick at it.
This is one of the things that started my frustration with the APA and the people who run it. We had this exact scenario come up at the national team tournament. One of the players on my team found a good rhythm with a medium break speed, hitting the second ball. He was able to pop the 8-ball out towards the side pocket. He didn’t want to hit them harder for fear of scratching. The other team complained and the APA refs made him break harder. I couldn’t believe it. It was the beginning of me losing all respect for the APA as a business and as an organization.
Not trying to be an ass here, especially to a new member, but something is telling me we are not hearing the whole story here.
you have this apa rule mixed up with bar rules.
in apa you only have to shoot from behind the line after a scratch on the break. scratches after that result in bih anywhere.
I'm not sure where you are going with this comment. Are you referring to that particular incident or me losing respect for the APA?
I like this rule because it makes safety play a bigger part of the game. A locked down safety can be a thing of beauty.
This one is on my list.