Who Has Run 5 Racks Or More

[no-sho]

I have run a 6 pack 4 or 5 times. The last time being about 6 months ago. My high run in 14.1 is just under 100. That being said, I still have those evenings where it seems rather difficult to run 4 or 5 balls in 9 ball. the cue seems like some foreign object in my hand and I have a very difficult time trying to focus, maybe I should play more than an hour or two every couple weeks.
So what is your true playing capability.
#1 when everything is clicking
or #2 when you just run the rack down to the 8/9 and gift wrap it for your opponent. Merry Christmas

no-sho

 

[macguy]

While not much of a nineball player, I did run 9 racks at the Congress Bowl in Miami, FL on the front table. (Jimmy Reid can verify) I ran up to the seven ball on the 10th rack and missed. At the Crossroads Hillbilly Bar in Ft. Lauderdale I ran 8 racks on their 4 1/2 x 9 bar table with the big cue ball playing in a 5 handed ring game. I was just trying to hold the table until the great Cannonball Eddie Kienowski, from upstate NY, could arrive and get in the game. I got out, he got in, and he broke even the rest of the way! Luckily there are players still alive that can confirm both runs. I also made seven balls on the break playing nineball (the only time) and was snookered on the next ball. I made six balls on the break several times and was also again snookered once. People wonder why I never preferred nineball. I hear about many great runs in nineball, but I have personally never seen any.
the Beard

I used to go to the Crossroads every Sunday Morning. When you tell people we played 6 and 8 handed 9-ball for $50.00 a man thay think you are kidding. It could be a real bad place although I never had a problem there since I went to school with most of the killers and Bikers that hung out there, Big John A. was a good friend of mine, that was all people needed to know. In keeping with the theme of this thread. One morning I go in Crossroads with my friend Dave. We only have like $150. between us so we decide one of us will take a shot at the ring game. It is $50.00 a man and there are 6 players, so Dave gets in making him the 7th player. As it happens the very first game and the first shot Dave has is at the 9-ball hanging. He makes the nine and collects his $300. then proceeds to between running out, 9's on the break and combos, win the next 8 games before not making a ball on the break. We are up $2700. and we have been in the place like 20 minutes.

We want to take the money and get out because the game is pure gambling, you can go without a shot for an hour but you don't want to just take the money and leave. As luck has it the very next game a tremendous fight breaks out in the place and the game get halted there was a gun produced and everyone runs out of the place including us. We never go back in and were able to leave with the money. We were not nits but this is a very tough game with guys like yourself or Danny D., Ronnie Sypher, Little Sid, the Silver Fox or whoever playing so we wanted to keep our quick won money and were glad to get out.

I think I never bought clothes at a store back then, there would always be a van full of stolen shoes clothes tires whatever behind the bar. The little town, it was not Fort Lauderdale, but a small township called Hacienda Village with a corrupt sheriff who wore a cowboy hat, boots and six guns like Matt Dillon. You could get away with anything there. Then one day the whole town burnt down and that was the end of it. The town consisted of just the bar some trailers and a few junky buildings, about a 1/4 mile square in total and the main industry was a speed trap.

 

[Koop]

Hey Koop, we're opposites ... I've run 2 in 9 ball, 3 in 8 ball !



.... and there's a table like that down at the pool hall, good old table 13. In the singles 9 ball league I play in there is bonus money at year end for the most 9 ball breaks (though they do not count as a win), and the league director makes sure that people do not play on 13 too often.

Dave

Gotta love it when you find one of those

Doesn't really count as runs because I played some safeties along the way but in league I beat a guy 5-0 and missed one shot. Just so happens it was the last 8 ball when he commented if I realized that I had not missed a ball all night
He missed and then I made it.

 

[OldHasBeen]

This is why I'm an OldHasBeen.........

I ran 9 racks of 9-Ball against Napo at the Chat'N Shoot in Detroit on W. Verner Av. We were playing for $30 a game. It was the front table (Steepleton) and was pretty tight.
I have also ran quite a few other 5's, 6's & 7's over the years - BUT - that was long ago.
Now I know this will be hard to believe - BUT - A couple of days after this game with Napo - Cornbread & Cole Dixon were around and looking for action. I offered either one a game for $50. They had seen my game with Napo & both refused.
Ahh - Those were the days!

TY & GL

 

[GeraldG]

Jeez! I feel like such a banger. The MOST I've ever run was 3 consecutive racks on a 9-foot table, and to be honest, I had to get lucky a couple times on position to do that. These days if I string 2 honest runout racks together I feel pretty good about it. Maybe I just chicken out and play safe too much?

 

[Jimmy M.]

A couple of you guys must have huge breaks.

 

[ugotaction]

i have had a few five packs and one six pack and a million 3 packs

 

[Roll-Off]

A couple of you guys must have huge breaks.

I'd imagine there's a few fish stories in that bunch, too.

 

[pete lafond]

I'd imagine there's a few fish stories in that bunch, too.

I also assume that these are contiguous break runs. Each break a ball fell and player continued run. So there are quite a few with some outstanding runs. I know what spot I need. I played Kid D and he ran 7 and out on me, followed by his next set he ran 9. (About 3 tears ago.)

 

[Egg McDogit]

I'd imagine there's a few fish stories in that bunch, too.

given 100 tries I can run maybe 1 rack and I just don't see how it's possible that people are running 5-10 in a row, so I agree.

 

[Voodoo Daddy]

A couple of you guys must have huge breaks.

I play some 9-Ball but dont concider myself a 9-Ball player...that being said I can say that I've never ran more than 3 racks in my life. I have made the 9 on the break 5 times inna race to 9

If the BarBox counts...I have strung some racks of 8-Ball together..5 Packs O'plenty!!

 

[macguy]

given 100 tries I can run maybe 1 rack and I just don't see how it's possible that people are running 5-10 in a row, so I agree.

I can't speak for the posters but I used to sit behind the bar every night and watch good players playing on the front action table in my pool room. Player would run 5 or 6 racks occasionally and 3 or 4 all the time. I played Joe Salazar and he gave me the 5 and took the break. He ran out the session to 7, I never shot. The next session we went to winner breaks but the results were about the same. The first time he got the break he ran a few racks and the next time he shot finished out the session, this was on a bar table by the way. I realized over the next few weeks watching him play he could have given me any ball I wanted as long as he got the break, he seemed to be able to run out better then 50% of the time. Running racks just consists making a ball on the break and getting a decent spread. With a little luck most any player will at sometime run 5 or 6 racks in their lives. I don't doubt any of the stories.

 

[DrCue'sProtege]

most i have ever ran in a row is 3, on my Gold Crown IV. done that a few times. just missed 4 in a row the other night.

but, how am i supposed to run 2 racks in a row when all i get are those horrible/impossible spreads 98% of the time or more???

DCP

 

[drivermaker]

Running racks just consists making a ball on the break and getting a decent spread. With a little luck most any player will at sometime run 5 or 6 racks in their lives. I don't doubt any of the stories.

And THIS is what I've been saying all along. You can have the "luck of the Irish", "a rabbits foot (actually 10 of them), or all the "luck in world"...but it ain't gonna help you run 100+ in straight pool!!

 

[Koop]

given 100 tries I can run maybe 1 rack and I just don't see how it's possible that people are running 5-10 in a row, so I agree.

You and I are, for the most part, in the same boat. I generally don't snap many racks off in succession, if any, but we are talking about peoples high runs.
I don't for a second think anyone is lying about it. There are some great players who post here. If you are an A- or above I would think 3 packs can be achieved fairly regularly if you're breaking them well.

Regards,
Koop

 

[pete lafond]

You and I are, for the most part, in the same boat. I generally don't snap many racks off in succession, if any, but we are talking about peoples high runs.
I don't for a second think anyone is lying about it. There are some great players who post here. If you are an A- or above I would think 3 packs can be achieved fairly regularly if you're breaking them well.

Regards,
Koop

Still depends on the equipment though. At the Joss tour 3 years ago in our room there were several 3 and 4 packs. Since the tables have been shimmed, no one is stringing any racks together, at least not often at all.

 

[Koop]

Still depends on the equipment though. At the Joss tour 3 years ago in our room there were several 3 and 4 packs. Since the tables have been shimmed, no one is stringing any racks together, at least not often at all.

Good point Pete.
I don't know if you've ever been to Renaissance in Quincy but the Diamonds that are out front are REAL tough to string anything. The GC's in the back are a little more forgiving.

Koop

 

[SacTownPlayer]

High 9 Ball Run

5 Racks played safe ran another 3 played safe and ran another 3

 

[pete lafond]

Good point Pete.
I don't know if you've ever been to Renaissance in Quincy but the Diamonds that are out front are REAL tough to string anything. The GC's in the back are a little more forgiving.

Koop

Diamond pro cuts are much easier than our tables are now. I love how the Diamond pro cut plays, very consistant. We have GC's and some of our pockets, if you just slightly touch the rail (even when shooting along the rail) they kick out.

3 years ago a different story, today you would be hard pressed to find runs coming out of our room. None-the-less everyone is on equal footing and I'd rather play someone on these than have big buckets with the 9 ball dropping all the time.

 

[SUPERSTAR]

Do you still shoot at this speed?
Your records are real impressive.

Koop

Thank you.

I'm not as consistent these days (and i was never really super consistent back THEN either), as i don't log a lot of hours on the table, but i still have that magical feeling every now and then.
I also think that a part of some of those records, was due to the fact that i DIDN'T play as well, as i do today.
Today, i wouldn't go for some of the shots that i went for and connected on then. I'd play what i think would be the highest % shot, instead of shooting at everything under the sun. Back then for me, i crashed into a lot of balls and there were no safeties as far as i was concerned and thus, i would heat up or go down in flames accordingly.

The 9 ball stuff, was just a matter of eventually figuring out the break. Once that was done, it was just a matter of making the corner ball, watching the 1 ball 2 rail underneath where you were breaking from, and exploiting the predictability of that pattern.
I consider the 10 ball stuff ALL luck (to actually get a shot after pocketing a ball is too tough to predict)
Where in 9 ball, if you do it right, you can make the corner ball a ton of times.
and maximize your chances of getting a shot on the 1.
That run just happened while i was gambling. To me, there is no predictability in making balls in 10 ball. EXCEPT for the 1 in the side or squatting the second ball in the side, but then to get a shot on the next object ball, is a fluke IMO (although i did run a 4 pack of 10 ball about a month ago in practice)


I think that part of the reasons you don't see these kinds of things that much anymore at the PRO level, are probably because the equpiment might be a little tougher, and the fact that tournaments are slowly but surely, changing the rules to penalize the people that can run packages, and reward those who cannot.

That's why the BOX was created, so that people couldn't break from the wing, and that's why that alternate format crap was implemented (equal chance), and that's why when the Sardo made it CAKE to break a ball in, how they moved the 9 to the spot.

The billiards stuff was actually done at the Super Billiard Expo, maybe like 11 years ago or so.
I was with Corey Deuel, and we saw that they had a Kim Steel heated billiard table (totally new to us) on display with the balls out, so we decided to play a quick game to 10, as they were getting ready to close the display. So i made the break shot, and then missed, then he made a shot, and missed, and then i peeled off a 9.
I don't know how, and i won't ask why, but EVERYTHING i saw, worked for that 10 minutes.
It was like i was Sang Lee or something. If i thought of it, i could do it, and i did. After the game, they took the balls away from us, and that was it.

i've played billiards from time to time since then, even ran a couple of 6's and a 7, but i never FELT IT (where you know your going to connect) like i did that day. I might have some shot that comes up where i think of something obscene, and then get all pumped for that one shot, and manage to pull it off (usually some sick bank), but i never FEEL it for more than a few shots at most.