Which pool game requires the best cue ball control?

C

cuetechasaurus

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've heard some say straight pool, and other people say barbox 8-ball. I personally think it's one pocket and 15-ball rotation by a mile. Those two games require you to do pretty much everything that can be done with whitey on a regular basis. The other games require that too, but not nearly as frequently as the two aforementioned games.
 
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cuetechasaurus said:
I've heard some say straight pool, and other people say barbox 8-ball. I personally think it's one pocket by a mile. While you need very good cue ball control for all games to play them well, one pocket requires you to do just about everything that can possibly done with whitey on a regular basis. Other games require the same thing of course, but not nearly as frequently as one pocket.
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  1. One Pocket -- by a landslide; you have to be millimeter-perfect with that cue ball, or you've sold out!)

  2. 14.1 Straight Pool -- unlike the show-off "look at me, I can make the cue ball go up and down the table" inherent in short-rack rotation games, you learn to control whitey in straight pool -- trying to stop the cue ball dead, or only move a couple inches. Rarely will you see a straight pool player going up and down the table with the cue ball, and if you do, it's because he/she lost position in the first place, and is trying to recover it.

  3. Barbox 8-ball -- specifically when all your opponent's balls are still on the table. (On the flipside of the coin, barbox 8-ball is "simpleton easy" when your opponent has committed the grand faux pas / sin of 8-ball -- i.e. running out all his/her balls and missing either the last one or the 8-ball itself, leaving you with a Marianas Turkey Shoot on that little table.) There's something to be said about having to navigate that lead rock of a cue ball in amongst that congestion of balls, where you may have very slim windows to shoot at balls through.
[...]
...and then the rotation games.

IMHO,
-Sean
 
sfleinen said:
  1. One Pocket -- by a landslide; you have to be millimeter-perfect with that cue ball, or you've sold out!)

  2. 14.1 Straight Pool -- unlike the show-off "look at me, I can make the cue ball go up and down the table" inherent in short-rack rotation games, you learn to control whitey in straight pool -- trying to stop the cue ball dead, or only move a couple inches. Rarely will you see a straight pool player going up and down the table with the cue ball, and if you do, it's because he/she lost position in the first place, and is trying to recover it.

  3. Barbox 8-ball -- specifically when all your opponent's balls are still on the table. (On the flipside of the coin, barbox 8-ball is "simpleton easy" when your opponent has committed the grand faux pas / sin of 8-ball -- i.e. running out all his/her balls and missing either the last one or the 8-ball itself, leaving you with a Marianas Turkey Shoot on that little table.) There's something to be said about having to navigate that lead rock of a cue ball in amongst that congestion of balls, where you may have very slim windows to shoot at balls through.
[...]
...and then the rotation games.

IMHO,
-Sean
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You don't think 15 ball rotation is up there with one pocket?
 
cuetechasaurus said:
I've heard some say straight pool, and other people say barbox 8-ball. I personally think it's one pocket and 15-ball rotation by a mile. Those two games require you to do pretty much everything that can be done with whitey on a regular basis. The other games require that too, but not nearly as frequently as the two aforementioned games.
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I would think Cribbage is hard, at least in the early part of the rack. But the most likely answer is one pocket though, there is no way to bail yourself out, once out of line you are line and have to play safe.
 
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cuetechasaurus said:
You don't think 15 ball rotation is up there with one pocket?
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15-ball rotation? Yes, I do -- but I think One Pocket is "more complete" in terms of cue ball control. Put it this way -- there's only ever one object ball in 15-ball rotation. But every ball in One Pocket is an object ball -- some more so than others. It's easy to safe in 15-ball rotation -- lots of balls to hide whitey behind. It's not easy to safe in One Pocket, especially against a good player that banks/kicks/caroms well.

I would place 15-ball rotation behind One Pocket, ahead of straight pool (in the #2 spot), if I were to edit my list.

-Sean
 
cuetechasaurus said:
I've heard some say straight pool, and other people say barbox 8-ball. I personally think it's one pocket and 15-ball rotation by a mile. Those two games require you to do pretty much everything that can be done with whitey on a regular basis. The other games require that too, but not nearly as frequently as the two aforementioned games.
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Hands down, without any doubt it has to be 1Pocket!!:)

JIMO
 
Control

One pocket, hands down. Many times in each game less than an inch determines whether a shot is perfect, average, or a complete sell out.
 
3C or any other billiard game isnt a pool game. Pool games have pockets, not all cue sports have pockets.


probably one hole, but to be successful in any game CB control is the single most important part of playing a winning game. Making balls is considered automatic, what you do with the white ball is what separates the winners from the losers.
 
Fatboy2 said:
3C or any other billiard game isnt a pool game. Pool games have pockets, not all cue sports have pockets.


probably one hole, but to be successful in any game CB control is the single most important part of playing a winning game. Making balls is considered automatic, what you do with the white ball is what separates the winners from the losers.
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Alright alright.....one pocket.
 
Fatboy2 said:
3C or any other billiard game isnt a pool game. Pool games have pockets, not all cue sports have pockets.


probably one hole, but to be successful in any game CB control is the single most important part of playing a winning game. Making balls is considered automatic, what you do with the white ball is what separates the winners from the losers.
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Perfectly said, couldn't agree more Eric.
 
terminal_288 said:
I would say Snooker should be near the top of the list... at very least on the list
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Snooker is not a pool game. And I think shot making is the first and foremost required skill for snooker, cue ball control being secondary. Not saying that the game doesn't require a high level of cue ball control, but it pales in comparison to certain pool games.
 
onepocket most definitely. Throw in the fact also, that you're having to concentrate on not only the cueball and being exact, but you're also trying to do something with a object ball too.

When I think about precise cueball control, I think about having to land in a exact spot that can be no larger then the size of the ball. So whether it goes 5 rails and lands on that spot, or comes off one ball, or comes off one and caroms off another, or travels 1 inch or 34 feet.
 
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