Why is there no standard pattern for racking 9 ball?

poolpro

poolpro

Not a pro
Silver Member
I have often wondered this, and do not know why it has never been addressed. Why you have to have the one in front and nin in the middle and all of the others can be random. I think it would be great to have a specific pattern everytime.

Think about it, you would learn a lot more about your break by noting where the balls ended up. Kind of like a bowler who will continue to leave themselves the same pins standing repeatedly.

You could adapt your break to give yourself a specific kind of layout.

I have seen a lot of players that will try to pocket the one ball in the side on the break. I think that is a bit strange because the two ball can be anywhere in the rack and will go to different areas on the table depending on where it was placed in the rack. Why try to pocket one of only two balls that are predictable in the rack? I think it would make sense to pocket the one, if you could depend on the two being in a specific place in the rack to try and play semi postion for. I think it makes a bit more sense to try to pocket the corner ball and control the cue for a higher percentage leave on the one.

If we had a set placement for the balls, I think it would introduce a lot more strategy on the break and reduce the "hail mary" amount of luck on the break. Obviously it would still have a great deal of chance to it, but I think it would add another dimension and cut down the luck a bit.

I would be curious to see what kind of techniques the top players would come up with if a standard pattern was used. What does everyone else think?

PS ' a real good way to figure out how your break works is the rack the balls in numerical order while practicing to see how the rack responds. You will see a lot of familliar patterns come out of it.
 
I remember when it was standard to have the 2 and 4 as the wing balls and the 3 at the rear of the diamond. It seems that the problem is that once an opponent starts to lose alot or doesn't get a shot after the break, they want the balls arranged differently. In some of the tournements I've seen, if there was a standard pattern, there were some complaints, if the balls were random, there were complaints. Can't win situation. So now I think totally random has won out as being most fair.
 
I think when a "neutral" person is racking for the players, a set pattern would be interesting to see. However, if I am racking for my opponent, then I am taking note of where he/she is breaking from, and am arranging the balls in order to make sure that they will have to criss-cross the table as much as possible to get out!!
 
pooltableproCP said:
I think when a "neutral" person is racking for the players, a set pattern would be interesting to see. However, if I am racking for my opponent, then I am taking note of where he/she is breaking from, and am arranging the balls in order to make sure that they will have to criss-cross the table as much as possible to get out!!
Click to expand...

Yep, I know what you mean, I have done the same thing. It is common to rack a pattern that gives a good chance of making your opponent work a bit harder to get out. This is kinda my point. I realize that no matter what sombody will complain. At least with a set pattern, the racker can't do that, and the breaker knows ahead of time what he is getting.

If you are using a sardo rack with a set pattern, and everyone has the same pattern, how could you say anyone was getting an unfair advantage?
Even if you are not using the sardo, a set pattern that was the same for everyone would be fair to everyone. I think it would open up some new and very good strategy.
 
Corners

I have run many tourneys over the years and I instruct my referees to put the 1/2/3/4 on the corners. This usually keeps MOST players from complaining ?!
 
I seem to remember a while ago hearing about a major tournament that was rack your own with Sardo racks. The result was that some players gave themselves the same pattern every time, used a soft break, and proceeded to play some of the most boring 9 ball ever witnessed. With the soft break the balls apparently spread to very predictable positions making for some easy runouts.

I think random is better. I don't want to run the same rack of 9 ball over and over.
 
arsenius said:
I seem to remember a while ago hearing about a major tournament that was rack your own with Sardo racks. The result was that some players gave themselves the same pattern every time, used a soft break, and proceeded to play some of the most boring 9 ball ever witnessed. With the soft break the balls apparently spread to very predictable positions making for some easy runouts.

I think random is better. I don't want to run the same rack of 9 ball over and over.
Click to expand...

Exactly what arsenius said. Can you imagine what a Corey Duel would do if he knew exactly where the balls were going on all the breaks? The game would be too boring.
 
No matter how you rack the balls, 9-ball remains a game where luck has a big role. 9-ball is so popular because is more spectacular, is quick and rarely can be boring for televisions.
I think 8-ball is the best pool game!
 
VIProfessor said:
Exactly what arsenius said. Can you imagine what a Corey Duel would do if he knew exactly where the balls were going on all the breaks? The game would be too boring.
Click to expand...

About seven or eight years ago I watched Corey at the Reno Open. This was back when the only "Sardo rack" available was if you happened to be matched up against one of the Sardo brothers. Corey was pattern-racking and soft breaking, and in a surprising number of racks, the last 3 or 4 balls were in a predictable pattern at the foot of the table. His opponent was anything but bored. ;)
 
there is a pattern and it depends on how much weight and who your playing and how good they play etc. then when al those variables and more are understood then you can rack the balls to favor you, granted its a little bit maybe worth 1 on the wire to 20 but its worth something.

but if you cant get a read and dont have the variables covered then yes its random, and thats most of the time.
 
> I have my own standard pattern for 9 ball,and can adjust it any way I need to,in cases of giving a ball spot. I deviate from this pattern only when I'm racking for myself in a tournament,or in a case like my local room,where I can't get the balls to freeze because of these being 20 yr old ball sets,all different sizes,etc. It's a slightly modified version of the pattern that Mike Sigel spoke about in his Perfect 9-ball tape. I can rack the balls the same way for an hour,and have a pretty good idea where the recurring patterns are,much like Corey,but maybe not to that extent. As we all know,Corey sees deeper than most. Tommy D.
 
I guess I should also add that it's not only that there is no set pattern for 9 ball, but the rules explicitly state that (other than the one and nine) the balls be racked randomly. So if you are not racking randomly, you are technically cheating.
 
Jimmy Reid suggests one in his no time for negative series. His belief is that it spreads the balls in a way that makes a runout less likely.
Dan
 
arsenius said:
I guess I should also add that it's not only that there is no set pattern for 9 ball, but the rules explicitly state that (other than the one and nine) the balls be racked randomly. So if you are not racking randomly, you are technically cheating.
Click to expand...


you are right!....................BUT! :D

Racking/breaking seems to be the last frontier of discovery for many good 9ball players trying to improve. Check my back posts on racking and breaking for some insight on how I think on the subject.

The only true fair way to rack is blind folded once you learn racking patterns!:) because we all watch the balls go into the rack, then we have to make them into a diamond shape and in that making how can you avoid "letting" the balls fall into one of these patterns?....:rolleyes:

If it's important....have a 3rd party rack.....someone who has no investment in the match....knows nothing about 9ball, but can give a nice tight rack!

Gerry
 
For all of you who use a pattern, I believe it can be judged against the rules and you would be forced to re-rack if your opponent wished (how terrible, I know). Here is the very simple description of the rack for BCA World Standardized Rules: 9-Ball

RACKING THE BALLS
The object balls are racked in a diamond shape, with the 1-ball at the top of the diamond and on the foot spot, the 9-ball in the center of the diamond, and the other balls in random order, racked as tightly as possible.

If you make it clear that you are putting them in a pre-determined pattern it cannot possibly be "in random order" right? It has to be against the rules.
 
Gerry,

I never said it was easy! Just what the rules say:):):)

I don't know where you're going to find someone who knows nothing about 9 ball but can give a good rack either!
 
arsenius said:
Gerry,


I don't know where you're going to find someone who knows nothing about 9 ball but can give a good rack either!
Click to expand...


that was my point....I was trying to be funny!:D

Gerry
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top