What Killed Straight Pool?

[measureman]

They do not even know what the thumb-wheel numbers on every pool table mean!!!!!!!!!

The Diamonds where I play have no thumb wheel number's on it and we have no old fashioned beads!
If I can find someone willing to play 14.1 we have to keep score on a piece of paper.

I was once playing 14.1 and a young rail bird says I thought you were playing one pocket until you shot a ball in the side pocket and kept shooting. what are you playing?

 

[skip100]

People do not like it because it quantifies how good or how bad you play!
No luck involved like every other game... All skill.. The Pool Gods are dead and 14.1 killed them and no amount of talk will wash the blood off our hands!
Straight Pool Lives in La Mirada Ca. at Scratch Billiards! Gold Crowns with new Simonios Felt and 4" Pockets!

4-inch pockets are a good way to push away the few remaining people who like straight pool.

 

[MalibuMike]

OMG! How uncivilized!

The Diamonds where I play have no thumb wheel number's on it and we have no old fashioned beads!
If I can find someone willing to play 14.1 we have to keep score on a piece of paper.

I was once playing 14.1 and a young rail bird says I thought you were playing one pocket until you shot a ball in the side pocket and kept shooting. what are you playing?

OMG! How uncivilized!

 

[MalibuMike]

Sorry meant 5"!!!!!!

4-inch pockets are a good way to push away the few remaining people who like straight pool.

Sorry meant 5" Pockets!!!!!!!
Where I practice at Hard Times has the 4" pockets.

 

[Dan White]

I was once playing 14.1 and a young rail bird says I thought you were playing one pocket until you shot a ball in the side pocket and kept shooting. what are you playing?

Reminds me of a similar story. This is back in the 90's in Houston. We shot the opening break safety where, of course, most of the balls were still in the rack position with a few scattered around. A guy and his girlfriend are at the next table. She's looking at our table and asks here boyfriend, "What are these guys doing"? Assuming we're not such good 8 ball players, he replies, "They're losers." Her hesitant response, "I don't think so..."

lol

 

[Ekojasiloop]

I do actually think straight pool would be a pretty decent game if played on tight pockets. All the championships I used to see they played on huge pockets and I thought it was a bit silly to be honest. If good players are having high runs in the 40-50 range though (for an entire tournament) I think it's a good game because they are both shooting.

 

[HUKIT]

Evolution of life....and no pool tables at Blarneys Island.

That made me laugh! I haven’t been to that shit hole since my early twenties, Lol.

 

[Jedivman]

Numerous factors drew people from 14:1.

To lengthy of a game to play and to be good demanded you to be a very skilled player with every skill/stroke there is. Mosconi very rarely had a tough shot because he ball control was unmatched by anyone so all you seen were apparently easy shots the average viewer could not appreciate.

Movies about 9 ball action hurt it.

Bar sized tables and coin op tables hurt it.

Billiards becoming more of a pass time then labor of love hurt it.

Pool leagues hurt it.

The list is long, way to many factors and variables.

Being a master of one game doesn't make one the master off all. No one would ever play 14:1 better than Willie in his prime just as no one shoots snooker like Ronnie O when he's on his game.

 

[alstl]

9-ball and TV, modern entertainment, marriage, poker

..and bangers on bar boxes in bars.

 

[Kevin Lindstrom]

We have 26 players in our local straight pool league. We play all year long and love the game. Glad we have a bowling alley that still have 8 Brunswick Gold Crowns in it otherwise I would only get to play at home.

Kevin

 

[ctyhntr]

Welcome back. The Martin Scorsese movie The Color of Money revitalized the public interest in pool. TCOM worked as the tide that lifted all boats. Industry leaders not wanting to miss this opportunity started to promote 9-ball rather than 14.1 to capitalize on the popularity.

The 1961 film, The Hustler also provided a similar lift to the industry and sport. Family billiard and bowling centers featuring Brunswick Gold Crown, started to supplant traditional rooms, and were the public face of this revival.

Back to TCOM revival, some argued many of the changes were to make the game more entertaining to watch than play. Dedicated break and jump cues started to come out. Aramith introduced TV colored balls so it would be easier to follow on cable TV (ESPN). The faster cloth you see now (Simonis 860) was specifically introduced to show case 9-ball. Texas Express rules took over and I wouldn't be surprised if this is the only 9-ball rule set many players have ever known.

In hindsight, this strategy worked until the Great Recession. This economic downturn pushed many marginal poolhalls to close. "Free tournaments" ,token entry fee and added money made up the majority of the purse, dried up. Nowadays, only a handful of Pros can make a living playing pool.

Steinway Billiards and Cafe in Astoria NY will be hosting the Dragon Promotions 14.1 World Championship next week. Some people commented NYC and immediate area is a stronghold of 14.1.

I played when I was younger then after a 25 year break due to the Army, marriage, and kids I’m back playing again. So the other night I’m playing straight pool and was shocked as some of the players were coming up asking me what I was doing. Was there any definitive reason?

 

[KenRobbins]

The Diamonds where I play have no thumb wheel number's on it and we have no old fashioned beads!
If I can find someone willing to play 14.1 we have to keep score on a piece of paper.

I was once playing 14.1 and a young rail bird says I thought you were playing one pocket until you shot a ball in the side pocket and kept shooting. what are you playing?

You can try out the straight pool scoring app with your phone. It comes in handy and works.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.x73bit.billiardscore

 

[RailBird's]

One Pocket! OMG! I know, I know The Chess of Billiards!
More like the Mah Jong or Cribbage!
Belongs in the Senior centers and rest homes!

That's a pretty common attitude from people who lack mental acuity, creativity, and focus. Like it or not One Pocket is a superior game in every way. Ask John Schmidt (Mr. 400) what he thinks. It's only slow if you suck it btw

 

[HUKIT]

You can try out the straight pool scoring app with your phone. It comes in handy and works.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.x73bit.billiardscore

That’s the app that we use. It’s definitely easier than keeping track on paper and I’m not smart enough to keep track in my head.

 

[M.G.]

I cant stand watching 14.1, but I enjoy playing it, also with 3 players. We only play on 9".
We're still not too good, so runs of 3-8 balls are most common.
We also play a mean safety and increased the difficulty, because one OB must contact a rail after a hit (not just any ball after a hit, including the CB).

Every now and then we're good enough to
- keep a good break ball
- get the spin right
- pocket the break ball
- and break the rack

8 ball is still most known and most common, and if new people think of billards, they think of 8 ball.
9 ball I did like very much, but nowadays I play too soft and smooth and usually shape for 2 balls, so no more

Invite some of the other players for a little fun.

Cheers!
M

 

[Johnnyt]

Coin operated bar tables killed or hurt straight pool. People started playing in bars and thought pool was eight ball.

I agree and COM finished it off. No one really gambled on it. That's when I stop playing it at the poolrooms. Johnnyt

 

[Mr. Bond]

When television made its debut, 14.1 was obviously the primary game being played for titles. Read: [sponsored titles]

However, there was still, as always, a STRONG undercurrent of gambling in the pool world, that already included games like 9ball, kelly, cutthroat etc.

The TV producers realized real quick that 14.1 is not made for television, and the broadcast/editing technology had not developed to the point of being able to utilize instant replays and multiple camera angles with instant statistics in front of you. It was boring.

Brunswick, about the same time, was fighting a monumentally expensive pinsetter battle with AMF, was going thru a management change, and was STILL fighting regularly with the pro players they had under contract. ( had been going on since the 1880s)

They finally had enough, and bailed out on their " full time support and promotion" of pro pool in the u.s. and haven't looked back since.

So, when the big sponsor and their event is gone, and nobody wants to show it on tv anyway, the hottest pool action in the country goes back underground and the gambling games return to popularity.

Rinse and repeat.

 

[SARDiver]

The Diamonds where I play have no thumb wheel number's on it and we have no old fashioned beads!
If I can find someone willing to play 14.1 we have to keep score on a piece of paper.

I was once playing 14.1 and a young rail bird says I thought you were playing one pocket until you shot a ball in the side pocket and kept shooting. what are you playing?

Piece of paper? Why not use an app on a smartphone? Billiard Buddies is the one I bought. Works great.

 

[SARDiver]

One Pocket! OMG! I know, I know The Chess of Billiards!
More like the Mah Jong or Cribbage!
Belongs in the Senior centers and rest homes!

I would think there'd be a concern about the players expiring before the games were completed.

 

[O'SulliReyes]

There is an article way back in August 2005 by Billiards Digest which discusses what killed straight pool: http://billiardsdigest.com/current_issue/aug_05/