Using Reds and Yellows in American 8 Ball?

BeiberLvr said:
I'm all for it.

Snooker doesn't use numbered balls, and it has the best commentary of all the cue sports.
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I like it, too. Heck, I even think we should introduce English 8-ball to this country. For some strange reason we fought a war to free ourselves from English rule, but we never lost our fascination with all things British. Maybe it would take off and become the unlikely savior of cue sports in this country.

Here's what it looks like at the highest level... with expert commentary:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uSgGTvWzBk
 
Richardson said:
Calling a ball in a pocket also becomes a little harder.......... You can't just say 12 in the side. You have to point to a ball and then point to a pocket?!?!
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Yes, and when a player calls a ball then slams it and several of the same
color are zooming around the table, how the hell does he prove which one
actually went into the called pocket ? I was going to buy a set about 15
yrs. ago and decided against it as the confusion factor was too high.
 
POVPOOL said:
I think the 'what would commentators do' issue could be easily overcome. Thanks, Bob Jewitt for that bit of history.

I ask this forum, fully expecting the worst and the best of it. For the most part, is seems pool and billiard aficionados are somewhat resistant to change. I suppose that if I were to ask the same question of a non-pool player, a majority might say, "That makes more sense than having numbers on them."

I suppose, if you want to be accommodating, you could have reds and yellows AND put numbers on them...Hell, I guess you could even use reds and yellows and make the reds be stripes and the yellow's be solid. I have however, seen it time and time again, commentators look at a stack and get confused. And if the commentator is confused, then you can almost be certain that the viewer is too.

I guess the real question is... For 8 Ball/Blackball / Do the American ball designs diminish the excitement of the game during broadcast?
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The confusion probably stems from the ridiculous "TV balls" or "skittles" ball sets. I have never used them but just from watching on TV or interweb identifying the ball number by color still has me confused, the colors are ugly too. If you have been playing for a little while it is very easy to identify the number by the color, its also easy to name the color of the ball in a conventional set, try that with skittles balls, yeah, the greenish/blueish/aquaish looking ball?????? Of course this is all my simple opinion.:)
 
I have not read the thread but IMHO yellows would be an advantage for sight purposes as they are brighter, or at least to me. So... getting two colors that contrast equally with the color of the cloth would seem to be preferable.

Just my 2 cents.
Rick
 
POVPOOL said:
- I am originally from Britain, which is where the reds and yellows come from.
- Other than calling 'the 11 in the side', I see no reason why you can't just say, red off the yellow in the corner, or even red off the red in the corner, without your opponent being clueless as to what you are talking about.
- I work in a business that promotes pool, using video and I actually deal with this issue a lot more than you think I do.
- The 1% that you are assuming is the demographic that watches pool might actually grow to be larger if there was some aspect of the game which made it easier to understand and more enjoyable to watch. Hence, the purpose of my inquiry. And thanks for your opinion, by the way.
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Well, being from Britain, you seem to be making the same mistake so common
amongst pool fans over here in the colonies - Pool; ain't Snooker - and this ain't the UK.

There is essentially ZERO appetite for pool-on-tv among the mainstream viewers of
televised sports related entertainment. There is zero motivation on the part of any
organization having the wherewithal to bankroll pool on tv to even try it.

So, we are pretty much limited to youtube and streaming.

FWIW - I view a goodly deal of Snooker on utoobe, I've noticed they are quite capable
of describing just exactly which of 15 physically indistinguishable reds are of interest.

Perhaps that should be your goal.

Dale
 
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I've been using the Casino balls for many years to teach my students that need eight ball training on pattern play. As soon as the balls are broken it's easy to see patterns and trouble balls. Normally it takes a bit of time to digest what you have in front of you with the regular balls, even for a seasoned player, not so with the Casino balls. I have had a lot of success in using them.

May not be the best for completion, especially for the viewers or commentators.
 
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