Todays Game versus Yesterdays game ...

[The King]

Back in the 80's when I was spending what seemed like every waking hour spending time on the tables to learn this great game . Well there were things that you did'nt do as a player. I guess todays terms would be we played a Gentlemens game. You never intentionally shot a leave at a opponent without at least trying to make a honest attempt to make one of your balls. To just shoot a leave or safe without trying to make one of your balls often left your opponent cussing you out and accussing you playing dirty pool at the very least. If the stakes were high enough it may even lead to a fist fight or worst ... Playing dirty pool was an unspoken rule back then and soemthing you just did not do becuse you knew it would cause trouble between you and your opponent ....

Well here we are over 20 years later and the game has evolved into more of a game of playing safe . Knowing when to play offense and when to shoot a leave. Knowing when to get out and/or run the table or when you don't think you can get out shoot your opponent a leave so tough that he is completly sewed up and frustrated. And in return he is going to try to leave you just as tough ... In alot of ways the game has turned into more of a chess match it is no longer pure offense on the table... In order to have success you must be able to play offense and defense very well. It is a whole new ball game when you look at today versus yester year...

Myself I think the game is better for it I love getting into a good chess match where you not only have to out shoot your opponent but also out think them. I feel it involves more skill and contol and touch of your cue ball and shots it opens a whole new dimension to the game requiring you to be able to kick and bank alot better . To try to shoot a leave and miss it can be devasting and cost you the game in a moment . I still see alot of the old timers who refuse to bend they are still pure offensive machines and refuse to play defense. They still get upset when someone shoots a good leave and still cuss at times about it. They still have certain names I will not repeat that they use refering to this type of shot or person that plays this type of game. I also notice that in alot of cases thier stubborness and unwillingness to change costs them alot of games. Still I respect the older player like this for sticking to thier guns and the way they were taught. Have any of you noticed the change in the game and what do you think about it ?? How do you feel when someone shoots you an intentional safe?? Do you like a good chess match or would you prefer an all out offensive game??? Do you approve of the way the game is played today???

 

[TX Poolnut]

Good safety play is as important as any other part of pool.

Bar pool and pro pool are light years apart from each other.

EDIT: spelling

 

[metallicane]

It's funny when people come over to my house and I play a safety and then they miss their ball and I pick up the CB and take ball in hand and they look surprised. For some reason this is a foreign concept to most people. I like a good chess match, but I hate the jump cue.

 

[scttybee]

i am of course assuming that you are talking about bar pool or at least
8 ball at a lower level-(no unsults intended so please)playing safe or shooting a 2 way shot to protect yourself has always be considered smart among the ranks of people who arent mad at their money
my father and a group if his friends from the same era plaqyed their barbox 8 ball every sat/sun for hours on end -they too called it dirty pool as you described when some played some kind of intentional safe or snooker-i loved him a great deal but as i progressed i realized that these were not pool players gambling for real money they were just trying to enjoy themselves and didnt think chess was part of pool or protecting the money-just appreciate them for what they are/were and try to enjoy/understand their interpretation of what theyre doing
p.s. when your grandson starts firing in table length banks like bbs in a tunnel they will also get angry--lol

 

[Gerry]

yea, you can leave the jump cue in the wood pile as far as I'm concerned. Popping the cueball over a blocker 1/2" away is impressive, but should be left on ESPN2 with speed pool and trick shots IMO.

Playing safe is an art form....those that think its dirty pool, don't understand the game past the local bar table, or arcade. They are the same guys that you see spacing the cueball off the raiil with the butt of the cue

G.

 

[Johnnyt]

There are still some bars that call playing safe "dirty pool" and many other names, mostly racist remarks. I like todays game of safes better than yesteryears, with signs up in some bars "No dirty pool allowed".

Back in the day I liked the no dirty pool bars because that took another special skill. You had to be very good at making yourself look lucky playing safe. You also had to try and get on the right side of strangers in a short time period. I liked it back then because the hustling was dangerous in "bucket of blood" bars and if you got caught playing safe, (dirty pool) you could have big trouble. Back then I lived for big trouble, today...not so much. Johnnyt

 

[Terry Ardeno]

I really started concentrating on my saftey play in 1999, after having shot since 1970! After LOTS of practice, that's one of the main weapons in my arsenal. With my dwindling eyesight comes more knowledge, and I think I'm a better player today than I ever was. And I attribute that to learning to play safes and shooting a lot left handed. I can play whole sessions left handed. All that was said not to boast but to say this....when I started changing my game to include more safties, my buddies thought it was "dirty pool", "cheating", "not right", etc. Then little by little, I saw changes in their games as well. Now it seems like most of the guys I shoot with have also brought their saftey game way up.

The one thing that I have never done, not even one time, is jump a ball.
I just always tried to kick out or tie up balls. It's well past time that I at least try to learn that now.

I think the changes in our game has it's genesis in the Filipino greats coming here with all those skills that typically weren't as developed in the USA. By us adapting and learning, we have more tools now to work with.

 

[mtdsports]

not everyone likes the ideas of safeties, but unfortunately there isn't a way to come up with a governing system that can tell someones intentions on their shot. it's because of these discrepancies that the governing bodies created rules to stand by. unfortunately no system can be perfect, but i would rather have an imperfect system than one that relies on the honesty that seems to be quite frankly non-existent, or at least not as flourishing as it once was.

 

[Pushout]

Just so you know, I never heard the term "shoot a leave" until I moved to South Carolina. In serious pool, playing safe has always been a part of the game. If Mosconi didn't have a shot, he tried to make sure you didn't have one. He just didn't have to try as often as the rest of us.
In SC, I've had people complain about it, I just shrugged it off. If you don't like the game, don't play me. I've always played to win, no matter who or what the circumstances, it's the way I learned to play. I've never cheated anybody, though it's been done to me. There is no such thing as "a gentleman's game". And, that includes when playing women. I had a girl whisper to me that she wanted to win one more game playing in a tournament. I told her she should be playing someone else and ran out.
Sounds like a regional thing, especially in the South. And, I started playing in the early '60s.
Most of my remarks refer to Straight Pool and One Pocket. I no longer consider 9 ball a class game and don't play 8 ball if I can help it and haven't for over 25 years.

 

[rackmsuckr]

There are still some bars that call playing safe "dirty pool" and many other names, mostly racist remarks. I like todays game of safes better than yesteryears, with signs up in some bars "No dirty pool allowed".

Back in the day I liked the no dirty pool bars because that took another special skill. You had to be very good at making yourself look lucky playing safe. You also had to try and get on the right side of strangers in a short time period. I liked it back then because the hustling was dangerous in "bucket of blood" bars and if you got caught playing safe, (dirty pool) you could have big trouble. Back then I lived for big trouble, today...not so much. Johnnyt

I won a tournament yesterday at a new place we found that uses old school rules. They pay $75 for 1st on 15 players, so it was ok. Everything is shoot out. Which was ok too, except most players there are not familiar with seeing players, especially women, run out several balls, let alone several racks from the break.

I am also not familiar with how to fake it looking like a real shot and missing on purpose for a safety, but I guess I will have to learn.

We have taught a few bars the advantages of BIH rules. Why should I be penalized because the guy fouls or totally scratched on purpose?

Safety play is an art form and is sometimes harder to perform than a tough cut shot. Playing percentages on the shot is what determines whether I duck or go for it.

I have been playing since 1974 and also have seen a huge change in the game.

 

[Mowem down]

Ther isnt any thing wrong with playing a good safe but I have a big problem with you missing and lucking me into a bad spot. Form there I should be able to roll out.

 

[trob]

When I started getting serious about the game would have been around 1988 or so. It was about the same time the ball in hand rules started hitting the leagues in this area. My old man taught me to play safe early on. Thats probobly why I won a lot of games early on. It would piss people off but as long as they were putting the w buy my name on the score sheet I didn't give a damn.
another big change since then is table speed. All the tables were playing on that crappy slow maui cloth. I left the game for just a couple years and when I came back I was stunned at how fast all the bar tables were playing. I love it now but it took some getting used to.
I also remember the leagues didn't start playing with all red circles yet. Man some of those balls on the tables were the size of soft balls. I hated that crap...It took so much away from the game. You could have a stroke like a god and still couldn't get any damn draw with those things.