Why do you hate one pocket?
- Thread starter Alex Kanapilly
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Walt Frazier
Banned
If you could play the game
It would'nt be ..Believe me, there's more variations of shots and aggresive play than you realize ..You probably have never run 8 and out before..well I have- and let me tell you, Onepocket could be very exciting and offensively aggresive.
You need to watch great players like Cliff,Scott or Efren play..you'll see plenty "OMG !!! Did you see that" shots....Trust me
bruin70 said:
It would'nt be ..Believe me, there's more variations of shots and aggresive play than you realize ..You probably have never run 8 and out before..well I have- and let me tell you, Onepocket could be very exciting and offensively aggresive.
You need to watch great players like Cliff,Scott or Efren play..you'll see plenty "OMG !!! Did you see that" shots....Trust me
acedotcom said:I watched Varner play a local guy in a one-pocket tournament up at Capone's a couple years back. After 45 minutes, there was no score and all they had done was move all the balls to the other end of the table. Not very exciting to watch.
As for me, I can't bank and I'm a terrible shot-maker. When and if I improve in those areas, I might give the game a chance.
Nick Varner often moves the balls up the table and it is HIS style of play. I think it is (MOP) myopic one pocket, boring but effective for Nick as he plays to what he considers his strengths. I think his greatest strength is patience.
He will stretch out a single game of one pocket to over an hour without blinking an eye. His style of play combined with the amount of time he takes with a single shot is abnormal but effective for him. It frustrates even seasoned one pocket players and he knows it.JoeyA
Personally, I love it.....everybody around here mostly plays 9-ball, or some sort of rotation game, and 8-ball....getting a good game of straight or one-pocket is a welcome break...
Also, one-pocket has improved my patience....I no longer have to make 8 plus balls in a row, I can see the value in pocketing a couple of balls and then missing a two-way shot....as far as shotmaking, my banking has improved, as well as creativity around cuts....also, I hate defense, but through 1pkt, I see the value of the two-way shot in other games, where I can still go for my shot, yet avoid selling-out....additionally, I can have a competetive game with someone in 1pkt that I might crush in 8 or 9-ball, and vice versa....
Also, one-pocket has improved my patience....I no longer have to make 8 plus balls in a row, I can see the value in pocketing a couple of balls and then missing a two-way shot....as far as shotmaking, my banking has improved, as well as creativity around cuts....also, I hate defense, but through 1pkt, I see the value of the two-way shot in other games, where I can still go for my shot, yet avoid selling-out....additionally, I can have a competetive game with someone in 1pkt that I might crush in 8 or 9-ball, and vice versa....
Yeah, One Pocket is real boring. All you get to see is great players kicking three rails into the pack, long two rail banks, amazing run-outs from nowhere, and creative safeties that you will never see in any other game (including 14.1).
There is a reason so many people enjoy watching a good One Pocket match. It's just the toughest game to play on a pool table. You may be capable of running a 100 balls every day, but you better know a little more than that, if you want to beat a strong One Pocket player. You may be able to run five racks at 9-Ball, but that shooting ability is not enough if you are playing a top One Pocket player.
You may be the greatest safety player ever in Eight Ball, but that won't get you there against an "A" level One Pocket specialist. Do you begin to get my drift? You must be a complete pool player with ALL the skills to excel at One Pocket. It combines great shot making ability, masterful execution with the cue ball, strategic thinking, off angle banks, and accurate kicks to win at this game.
"B" players need not apply!
There is a reason so many people enjoy watching a good One Pocket match. It's just the toughest game to play on a pool table. You may be capable of running a 100 balls every day, but you better know a little more than that, if you want to beat a strong One Pocket player. You may be able to run five racks at 9-Ball, but that shooting ability is not enough if you are playing a top One Pocket player.
You may be the greatest safety player ever in Eight Ball, but that won't get you there against an "A" level One Pocket specialist. Do you begin to get my drift? You must be a complete pool player with ALL the skills to excel at One Pocket. It combines great shot making ability, masterful execution with the cue ball, strategic thinking, off angle banks, and accurate kicks to win at this game.
"B" players need not apply!
John Barton
New member
I don't understand why people think one hole is slow. I bet that in one hour of one pocket and one hour of nine ball the players will both be out of their chair more in one pocket than in nine ball.
One pocket to me is like boxing. You move, the other guy moves, you counter, and it's back and forth. I think people who say that it's just bunting balls around don't apreciate the intricacy and high level of play that it takes to move the balls just right.
I will totally torture a player who doesn't know how to cut off the banking lanes or how to protect the balls on his side.
There is such intricacy in one hole that only true fans of billiards can really appreciate it.
But it's not for everyone. Just like some people prefer bowling over baketball. The beauty of pool is that there are so many variations to please each type of person.
The reason I love one hole is that I think it requires all the skills that one finds in all other billiard games, including carom and snooker.
It also requires imagination and creativity. I have seldom played a one pocket session where I haven't learned a new shot or discovered a new move, either by me or my opponent.
And lastly, for me personally, my 9-ball and 8-ball game went up a few balls since I have learned to play one pocket. Shots come up in both games that are standard in one pocket but aren't obvious to someone who only plays 8 or 9 ball. These shots and methods learned in one hole give me extra weapons that my opponents don't have.
I don't care that some good players don't like to play. No big deal. I have the luxury of finding a game in 8,9, 14.1, Rotation, Mexican Rotation, and one-hole because I enjoy learning the moves in all games. Those that keep themselves confined to just a few games are only limiting themselves from all the beauty that is billiards.
One pocket to me is like boxing. You move, the other guy moves, you counter, and it's back and forth. I think people who say that it's just bunting balls around don't apreciate the intricacy and high level of play that it takes to move the balls just right.
I will totally torture a player who doesn't know how to cut off the banking lanes or how to protect the balls on his side.
There is such intricacy in one hole that only true fans of billiards can really appreciate it.
But it's not for everyone. Just like some people prefer bowling over baketball. The beauty of pool is that there are so many variations to please each type of person.
The reason I love one hole is that I think it requires all the skills that one finds in all other billiard games, including carom and snooker.
It also requires imagination and creativity. I have seldom played a one pocket session where I haven't learned a new shot or discovered a new move, either by me or my opponent.
And lastly, for me personally, my 9-ball and 8-ball game went up a few balls since I have learned to play one pocket. Shots come up in both games that are standard in one pocket but aren't obvious to someone who only plays 8 or 9 ball. These shots and methods learned in one hole give me extra weapons that my opponents don't have.
I don't care that some good players don't like to play. No big deal. I have the luxury of finding a game in 8,9, 14.1, Rotation, Mexican Rotation, and one-hole because I enjoy learning the moves in all games. Those that keep themselves confined to just a few games are only limiting themselves from all the beauty that is billiards.
bomber said:
That's what I hear a lot, the slow pace. But if you think about it, you're shooting just about every other shot, whereas in straight pool you might just sit in your chair and wach a guy like Steve Lipsky run 125 and out on you. To me that's worse!
Even in the bunt the balls up table part of the game, you still have to be very precise in where you leave the object balls and the cue ball, you can't just move them up there willy nilly, at least not against good players.
jay helfert said:
Sometime I think one pocket is even more complicated than chess. If you think about it, chess is two dimensional. Once pocket has so many millions of variables compared to chess's lesser amount.
I hate one pocket because it is so slow.
The only way I could see even playing one pocket is for a very large amount of cash........and if you want to hustle a dummy. One pocket is the best game to hustle with.
So, in summary, I don't like 1 hole because it is too slow, I don't have enough money to gamble with, I don't know the game, and I don't want to hustle anyone, except defensively
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SpiderWebComm said:
This is the part I don't get. So you guys don't feel satisfied when you play a lock up safety on a guy in a game of 9 ball that will surely get you ball in hand? Why the obsession with pocketing balls? They will go down eventually. Sure it's not as simple, you may have to set your opponent up and win some battles to gain position but what could be more engaging than that? That's competition!
err, hello??
we're pool players! thats the heart and soul of the game for most of us!
worriedbeef said:
You really should watch top players play this game. They fight to get the first open shot, then run 8 and out into one pocket very often. It's a sight to see. Guys like Efren can run 15 and out, truly amazing.
sure some games get bogged down into uptable deffensive games but even they are fun to watch if you really watch what they are doing... ok, maybe not "fun" but interesting anyway.
Walt Frazier said:
Exactly! Couldnt' have said it better.
whitewolf said:Sometime I think one pocket is even more complicated than chess. If you think about it, chess is two dimensional. Once pocket has so many millions of variables compared to chess's lesser amount.
I hate one pocket because it is so slow.
The only way I could see even playing one pocket is for a very large amount of cash........and if you want to hustle a dummy. One pocket is the best game to hustle with.
So, in summary, I don't like 1 hole because it is too slow, I don't have enough money to gamble with, I don't know the game, and I don't want to hustle anyone, except defensively
There is nothing more beautiful than watching two great one pocket players playing as "slow" as possible... lol
I like watching great players like Efren or Cliff think things through in one pocket ... you get to see a glimpse of their genius - matched up against what I would do in the same situation - which would probably be the wrong move. lol
The slow and methodical pace is what makes one pocket a thing of beauty for those of us that appreciate it. One pocket is also a great tool to learn how to move that rock.
JLW said:
I bet the real old times viewed pockets as gimmicks.
What fascinates me about the game is that I am constantly learning new shots and position plays. When I first started, it was fun, but I took too many shots for granted and did not play "the right" shot always. As you get better at the game, you realize that there is a hierarchy of shots and you need to identify them. The game requires superior touch.
The game might be boring to the spectator that does not know how to really play it. If the slow pace of the game sounds boring, you can simply raise the bet....it will get exciting real quick.
Regards,
Doug
The game might be boring to the spectator that does not know how to really play it. If the slow pace of the game sounds boring, you can simply raise the bet....it will get exciting real quick.
Regards,
Doug
borrrrring
boring,boring,boring,and really boring!Alex Kanapilly said:
Walt Frazier said:
i am very familiar with the game. it is quintessentially boring to all except those who play it. fundamentally, it is a game of strategy in a "sport" that has difficulty in amassing an audience even within it's own culture which loves the "excitement" of a multirack run in 9ball.
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Though I haven't been attacked personally in this thread, I feel all the one-pocket-haters are being put into a "well, you just don't understand it" group. This is totally unfair.
I am not debating its difficulty, or even its beauty. I consider myself a game theorist to some degree, and there isn't a doubt in my mind that one-pocket is the most pure form of this on a pool table.
The game does bore me to tears, and I can't help that. I answered the question posed as honestly as I could. I've played twice, which for me was twice too many. I've watched live probably ten times, which for me was definitely too many. And I've seen one video, which was turned off in hysterics once I saw someone purposely jump the object ball and cueball off the table. The game is not for me and will never be.
There are those of us who appreciate the game must be very difficult, but who just don't get off on it.
- Steve
I am not debating its difficulty, or even its beauty. I consider myself a game theorist to some degree, and there isn't a doubt in my mind that one-pocket is the most pure form of this on a pool table.
The game does bore me to tears, and I can't help that. I answered the question posed as honestly as I could. I've played twice, which for me was twice too many. I've watched live probably ten times, which for me was definitely too many. And I've seen one video, which was turned off in hysterics once I saw someone purposely jump the object ball and cueball off the table. The game is not for me and will never be.
There are those of us who appreciate the game must be very difficult, but who just don't get off on it.
- Steve
bruin70 said:
What's more exciting about 9ball??? The break? Jay described it well, you see more exciting (fantastic, difficult, creative) shots in one pocket than you do in any other game, period.