Which game is harder to string racks in: 8 Ball or 9 Ball?

[Eric.]

OK. You used to hear about "what if the top players were playing 8 ball". There was 2 sides to the argument. One being that 8 ball was a more tactical game and the more experienced mover would have the edge. The other side would say that 8 ball was a break and run game and those that bunt balls around will get killed.

Well, now that the top players ARE playing 8 ball, whats your opinion?


Eric

 

[lewdo26]

I voted 9 ball as the most difficult game, although stringing racks isn't the only measure of difficulty, IMO.

I'm also neither here nor there on the matter. It doesn't appear that pros string THAT many more racks in 8 ball than in 9 ball. But significantly more, yes.

 

[Poolislife]

8ball is way easier to run out consistently. The reason is simple. In 8-ball if you smash the rack and make a ball, you have a great shot at getting out, even if there are a few clusters as you have 7 balls to play with. In 9-ball, luck plays more of a factor. You can crush the break and end up with no shot, or the 2/3 could be tied up at the other end of the table and you have no play to run out.

 

[metal5d]

9 ball is definitely harder to string racks together.

 

[PoolSharkAllen]

I find that 8-ball is an easier game than 9-ball to run out. Excluding considerations such as the luck factor and ball clustering, it's a lot harder for me to play position in 9-ball. 8-ball is easier for me to run out because I can string together balls in patterns easier; if I lose position there's often another ball that I can play in my group. In 9-ball, I'm often zig-zagging up and down the table and don't have the luxury of playing a different ball if I lose position in the sequence.

 

[Gregg]

I don't want to blow up this thread, by instead of trying to debate, or poll opinions, why not get together some Accustat information, and find out the percentages of break and runs for each of the games?

Doing a quick search here on the AZ will provide piles of information on this debate, and many will stay far away, since this horse has been beat, and is long dead.

I don't have hard numbers, but I remember clearly that people were debating this very issue, and a good number of people were swearing on stacks of bibles that 9 ball was far and away the toughest game, until the IPT stats came out, showing, clearly, that the B and Rs percentages were nearly on par between 8 and 9 ball.

 

[MVPCues]

I don't want to blow up this thread, by instead of trying to debate, or poll opinions, why not get together some Accustat information, and find out the percentages of break and runs for each of the games?

Doing a quick search here on the AZ will provide piles of information on this debate, and many will stay far away, since this horse has been beat, and is long dead.

I don't have hard numbers, but I remember clearly that people were debating this very issue, and a good number of people were swearing on stacks of bibles that 9 ball was far and away the toughest game, until the IPT stats came out, showing, clearly, that the B and Rs percentages were nearly on par between 8 and 9 ball.

I remember the thread, and I remember the stats that were being shown for each player, and their break and runs versus how many they won. I think then someone pointed out the stats was based on total games won, not strictly based on games they broke in. If you took out the games they did not break in, the % of break and run jumped up. You also do have to figure the somewhat tighter pockets and slower cloth will slow their % a bit. If they were playing 9 ball, their % might be a bit slower than normal also for a while.

I think which one is easier is somewhat dependent on the player and the table. Sigel has talked a lot about straight pool skills, and even though I think Sigel is doing a terrible job with the commentary, I do think he is right that straight pool skills helps someone with 8 ball more than playing angles and safeties of 9 ball.

On a small table, I wonder if 9 ball is easier just because of congestion. On a bigger table that has fairly fast cloth, if balls are dropping on breaks with good spreads, 8 ball might be easier to string racks.

Kelly

 

[Cameron Smith]

Both games have their difficulties. The break is far more unpredictable in 8 ball. The other factor is, as you get farther into your run it becomes harder because you have less room for error.

That said I think that it may be easier to string racks if you have the break going for you, as it is rare that you don't have a shot after the break.

Also the easiest run out in 8 ball is far easier than the easiest 9 ball out. So that is a contributing factor. I remember my first break and out was 8 ball.

I still prefer 8 ball to 9 though.

 

[PoolSharkAllen]

I don't want to blow up this thread, by instead of trying to debate, or poll opinions, why not get together some Accustat information, and find out the percentages of break and runs for each of the games?

Doing a quick search here on the AZ will provide piles of information on this debate, and many will stay far away, since this horse has been beat, and is long dead.

Since many of the professionals have more powerful breaks, they are probably going to spread the rack better and run out in one inning more often than the people who don't have the powerful breaks of the pros.

Another caveat is whatever statistics you compile on the professionals, probably don't apply to the 99% of us who are non-professionals. The non-professionals are more likely to have luck come into play, and because the balls may not be spread out as well, may also have to deal with more clusters.

 

[pete lafond]

I voted 9 ball but I enjoyed watching the IPT last night on TV. The pros just do not need to overplay defensive techniques, they seem to just run out more often.