What's Your Ruling? BCA 8-ball

[JoeyA]

Weaseling the rules...............

How can we still have this confusion? If you fail to call a combination shot, no matter how obvious it is, it is your turn to sit down. Inning fini.

A lot of this dialogue talks about "intentions" and "sporstmanship" which is irrelevant if you are playing by the rules. I would have called "safe" before executing the shot simply as a courtesy to the other player. But Jude is correct according to the rules. He did not call what his opponent could try (unsucessfully) to argue was an obvious combination and what he describes as an obvious safety. Doesn't matter - he sits down because he did not call the combination. By the rules there is no such thing as an obvious combination.

I thought the part about the ref warning him to call these safes in the future was amusing. If the warning means the ref might rule against him next time, then the ref is wrong and not enforcing the rule properly. If the ref is reminding him it would be more courteous to explain his intent before the shot then I agree.

I don't think Jude is a weasel but he got caught in one of those situations where he made a mistake in not calling the safety and did what any of us might do. I don't even think he was trying to get in the other person's head either.

However in general, people who regularlyweasel the rules to win a game or match are unfortunately, some of the reasons why I avoid league play and weasels in general.

 

[bullshot]

It's best to make your intentions clear. assumptions lead to conflict generally and can get you in trouble. so say it's your opponent shooting a wired combo one foot away from the pocket and he's playing fast and shoots it without calling it, do you stand up and argue that it's your shot now or let him keep shooting?

 

[JoeyA]

It's best to make your intentions clear. assumptions lead to conflict generally and can get you in trouble. so say it's your opponent shooting a wired combo one foot away from the pocket and he's playing fast and shoots it without calling it, do you stand up and argue that it's your shot now or let him keep shooting?

If I know he was playing the shot, I let him keep shooting, regardless of any weasel rules.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

How can we still have this confusion? If you fail to call a combination shot, no matter how obvious it is, it is your turn to sit down. Inning fini.

A lot of this dialogue talks about "intentions" and "sporstmanship" which is irrelevant if you are playing by the rules. I would have called "safe" before executing the shot simply as a courtesy to the other player. But Jude is correct according to the rules. He did not call what his opponent could try (unsucessfully) to argue was an obvious combination and what he describes as an obvious safety. Doesn't matter - he sits down because he did not call the combination. By the rules there is no such thing as an obvious combination.

I thought the part about the ref warning him to call these safes in the future was amusing. If the warning means the ref might rule against him next time, then the ref is wrong and not enforcing the rule properly. If the ref is reminding him it would be more courteous to explain his intent before the shot then I agree.

It's funny because I don't agree with you or Joey. I appreciate you coming to my defense though. The bottom line is, my intention was clear and hoped that it would stand. There were plenty of "obvious combinations" played throughout the tournament against me that weren't called and I said nothing. This was the opposite. It was an obvious safety that wasn't called. Had I shot a ball directly into a pocket, I probably would have looked at my opponent sheepishly and said, "I was playing safe" and the moment he protests, I'd get down for my next shot. This was different. This was a combination that would have needed to be called had it been my intent. Even though "no combination is obvious", this one clearly was not obvious.

Now, addressing weather or not I was a weasel (I know Joey doesn't actually think I'm a weasel) is an interesting debate. I'm not going to put myself on a pedestal and say I'm always a model sportsman. Sorry but f- that. I get very competitive and will defend my actions at the table, selectively and within reason but yeah, sometimes the moment will get the better of me. With that said, I should have called safe and it's the lesson of the day but I don't think I'm a weasel for clearly playing safe and getting a ref to agree with me.

The shooter's goal should always be to avoid needing a ref's ruling for a shot he just took. If you need a ref to make a ruling in such a situation, you obviously did something wrong even if that wrong doesn't necessarily equate to a ruling against you.

 

[bullshot]

If I know he was playing the shot, I let him keep shooting, regardless of any weasel rules.

I do too, which is why these situations can lead to trouble sometimes. In some peoples eyes the rules say that no combo is obvious and they must all be called regardless of intent. I believe intent is important and often times obvious but sometimes it isn't easy to read which can be advantageous to people that capitalize on their opponents confusion.