Why No 15 Ball Rotation Tournaments?

Johnnyt said:
Why never an answer to why there aren't any 15 ball rotation tournaments here in the states? I don't mean American Rotation. That's a good game for amature and "A" skill and below, not letting pros come in and take all the purse money...like Mike D IMO.

Call shot, no jump cues, no one foul BIH. Saying it takes too long to play don't buy it with me. Not when they are streaming 1-hole all over the place now. Put on as many 15 ball rotation as 1 hole tournaments and watch the 14.1 players comeback to tournament play along with the 8 ball and 9 & 10 ball players..
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Pretty much the same reason you don't see many Line Up tournaments.

Back when there was a pool room on every corner in America, Rotation/61
was a very popular game. IMHO - in those hundreds(1,000s??) of small town
poolroms, it was much more popular than 8 Ball.

I think the boom ignited by The Hustler so much popularized head-to-head
competition, that it got left in the dust - like many other "banger games"

Dale
 
I made a thread about this topic earlier:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=381405

This was my first post in that thread:
I have always wondered why 15 ball rotation (the traditional game, not the new "American rotation") is not the chosen game to measure pro skills. Obviously I favor straight pool, others may favor 8 ball and one pocket, but as far as playing balls in rotation I don't think 15 ball rotation could be beaten.

First the break: Even though the break in this game would eventually figured out to a certain degree (playing position on the one for example), the congestion caused by 15 balls and the unpredictability of the full rack would make it immune to the problems of other rotation games.

Second, the gameplay: Safteties, kicking, shotmaking, position play, rotation has got it all. No one is going to run the set out, and if they did it would surely be an astonishing feat. No softbreak identical layouts. IMHO you have to be a complete pool player to play rotation at a high level, which explains why the Phillipinos are doing so well at all games, even games they have hardly ever played before.

Third, fairness: Although there is a certain degree of unfairness in the fact that the lowest numbered balls have the least points to them, still you will never get the sitiuation where a player runs all the balls but one, and then loses.

Fourth, simplicity: It is a feature of all good poolgames that they have a certain simplicity about them. Rotation has that. You score the number of points on the ball you sink, doesn't get any easier than that. One of the many reasons why bonus ball and Power Snooker failed is that they are just to darned complicated for any viewers to bother learning.

Fifth, integrity: Perhaps this needs a bit of explaining. To me there is something unnatural about the "ball in hand anywhere on the table rule", it feels like cheating to me. Shooting a spot shot, shooting from the kitchen and having the option of taking the the table as it is or passing it to your opponent are much better IMHO. That way you essentially earn every opportunity after a foul.

Sixth, challenging the pros: While I don't necessarily always agree with the whining that 9 ball does not challenge the pros, playing rotation ought to stop that whining forever.
 
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I don't know, maybe people can't count to 61 anymore. It has always been a great game & I did enjoy it.
 
What would be wrong with just using 10 ball rules but racking all 15 balls and the 15 is the money ball? Seems easier than having to keep score by adding up the numbers on the balls
 
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Tried this one night for the hell of it with a buddy. We joked about running a rack. He ran the first one, hasn't happend again, granted we don't try it often, but after that it made for a disappointing night of pool, not being able to do it again, great memory though.
 
spliced said:
What would be wrong with just using 10 ball rules but racking all 15 balls and the 15 is the money ball? Seems easier than having to keep score by adding up the numbers on the balls
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Wow, I sure hope you are joking.

Dale
 
Johnnyt said:
Why never an answer to why there aren't any 15 ball rotation tournaments here in the states? I don't mean American Rotation. That's a good game for amature and "A" skill and below, not letting pros come in and take all the purse money...like Mike D IMO.

Call shot, no jump cues, no one foul BIH. Saying it takes too long to play don't buy it with me. Not when they are streaming 1-hole all over the place now. Put on as many 15 ball rotation as 1 hole tournaments and watch the 14.1 players comeback to tournament play along with the 8 ball and 9 & 10 ball players..
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I agree Johnny, have thought about it more than once. Rotation is a great game and a terrific test of skill.
 
jay helfert said:
I agree Johnny, have thought about it more than once. Rotation is a great game and a terrific test of skill.
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Combos, caroms, banks, spot shots, and any other type shot one can think of. I believe the term, "there is always a shot", came from 15B rotation. You better know them all to play that game at a high level. When you run a rack of 15B in rotation, you did something. Run 2 racks in a row, you're probably Efren. Johnnyt
 
One thing I never liked about rotation was the fact that after you get to 61 points the rack is over. I think it would be an interesting idea if you could score points off of snooker if a player fails to run out all the balls (just like snooker). Sure it would slow the game down but it would make it mandatory that players run down real close to the 15 and add a really interesting end scenario to rotation .
 
chefjeff said:
Joe, I just found this thread and I've just started playing in your league here in Des Moines at Big Dog's (site of the cue show and big tourneys in June).

I hate this game!!!:banghead::help:

I suck at it!!!!!!! It is frustrating, hard work, takes too much effort, too much thinking, too much work!

But, by God, I'm gonna learn it and get better at it and become a better player overall because of it....or else.:angry::angry::angry:

I love your business plan for it, too. I think you're definitely on the right track with this league.

Did I say I hate this game??!!!!!!!????????:speechless::speechless::



Jeff Livingston, so far 1 win for 4 matches.
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Welcome to the family Jeff soon to be 2 & 4 ;) Glad you're having a good time and I'm sure you're game will be the better for it.

For all the folks promoting 15 Ball this way or that way it sure would be nice if you could just compromised a lil and get behind what we are actually doing.

Brand new www,AmericanRotation.com website has new formats for local groups and we're hoping to get 64 players to the 2017 Derby City Classic :)
 
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