That first sentence makes me leery to ever read any of your posts again. If I ever play on your table (which I'm assuming you don't have) I will make sure to practice my 'scoop' shots a few hundred times. Hopefully you still have felt when I'm done but I doubt it.
Yes, I do own my own table: an 8-ft Valley with custom rails for tight pockets, modified shelf for a deeper throat, and Simonis 860 cloth.
No, your post assumes scoop shots are more risky to the cloth, when in fact I maintain they are not. A "jam" jump shot burns and dents the cloth - just about every time. I have executed lots of scoop jump shots (years ago in college, before I knew they were illegal), and never once did I touch the cloth.
And, there is a way to do a "scoop jump" without "scooping," by just using a sharp jab with extremely low draw. This move would be ruled a scoop foul.
It is an arbitrary rule based on an incorrect premise. I have no hopes that it will change anytime soon.
I played for a year in APA and the mark the pocket thing wasn't an issue for anyone on my team the entire time. I don't even remember one instance. At regular league night everyone was ok with just calling it, but at the tournaments we would mark it. No big deal.
The rules in pool that I like the least are the rules regarding push shots and double hits. And truthfully it's not because I don't think that they shouldn't be fouls, but 1. Most people think a push shot and a double hit are the same thing when they aren't 2. They can be hard to call even for experienced referees (which are never present at 99 percent of games) 3. Depending on the rule set the rules can be written awkwardly or incompletely (APA) leading to arguments and 4. It never made sense to me that being frozen to the object ball allows you to shoot through it (under BCA/WPA rules).
In bar play, where after calling every little nuance of every shot, and finally down to the 8-ball, you must shoot it in "clean." Makes no sense whatsoever
I hate this rule. I can do a bank carom off 4 balls and 6 rails, calling everything and it wouldn't count with the "goes clean" rule. Talk about dumbing the game down...
Not a rule in any format I've ever seen. Something somebody made up? So if the 8 ball touches a cushion facing, you lose? Not even possible if the 8 is on or near a cushion. Dumbing down is the guy that agrees to this rule. I just wouldn't play.
Slop is by far the worst rule I've come across in 9 ball. Break, make the 4, have a shot on the 1, but elect to smash the crap out of the 1 in the direction of the 9 and hope to get lucky...
I think that there are quite a few that really want to get a chance to call you for not marking the pocket or doing something else silly. Then can then jump up and yell "you did not mark the pocket" and be all proud that they "won" that game and strut around the table hi-fiving people LOL.
There was another story on here where someone let a new captain setup their matches, start the last game and then told them they lost all the games for that night because he went over the handicap point total instead of saying " you may want to check who you are putting up ". The very definition of an asshole in my view.
Its the constant change of the table layout I hate more than someone getting lucky. Pisses me right off! Ha.I don't mind slop at all. If someone is smashing the crap out of the one ball then they're going to leave you a shot a lot more often than they are going to make it.
I think that the worst rule in pool comes in 1-pocket.
Usually, if you knock a ball into opponent's pocket, they get credit for that ball. If, however, you knock a ball into your opponents pocket and also foul, opponent doesn't get credit for the ball. To me, that's a ridiculous rule that can, and does, add a lot of time to some matches.
1. Get rid of all rules associated with calling shots (balls and safeties). It would make the game more skilled, less reason to argue, more entertaining, and more fun.
Can you clarify this? Are you saying that not calling your shots i.e., "slop" rules makes the game more skilled?
Even weirder when a league player tells a poolplayer he didn't mark the pocket, right after the poolplayer makes the 8 that's sitting a foot from the corner pocket! Ha!