**why some champions will not play one pocket for the cash?**

Cannonball55

Cannonball55

This is cool
Silver Member
Hi,

Now, before i start i am by no means woofing at any champion nor am i calling anyone out either . But i have often found interesting that certain top players are pretty selective in their choice of games . Gone are the days when gun slinging champions like Ronnie Allen would play all games ( and all gaffes ) As a matter of fact it seems as if only a certain few top players will gamble at 1P like it's some sort of cult or something .

Now, i do believe that the young generation of 1P players like Scott Frost and Tony Chohan have made the game more interesting with their innovative play, but on the flip side of the coin, i still find that not enough players ( champions that should play all games ) will bet a red cent playing 1 hole IMHO ....

I could be wrong, but i come from a school where u had to play all games, not just 9 ball, what the hell happened? Is 1P thought of as an old man's game by most of touring pros?
 
I don't qualify as any sort of champion, but I know plenty of folks who don't like the pace of the game, and just refuse to fool with it even if they are stealing.

That's why Baskin Robbins makes 31 flavors, so there's something for everybody.
 
I think back in the day, to make a living in pool you had to play all games well. With bigger tournaments now, all the money is in 9-ball--because those tournaments are 9-ball. Back in the day, there seemed to be more 1-pocket tournaments from what I can gather. Today, 1-pocket tournaments seem to be an anomaly.

If you think a lot of pros won't gamble playing one pocket, just think of how many guys match up playing straight pool! Aside from The Action Report, I can't really even think of a big straight pool match up.

The fact is that the past 25+ years has seen 9-ball atop the list of games that pros play. And it's the furthest game from one-pocket; so unless a pro has major reason to play and specialize in 1-pocket, it may be a losing proposition; one that competes with their 9-ball schedule.
 
dirtypool40 said:
I don't qualify as any sort of champion, but I know plenty of folks who don't like the pace of the game, and just refuse to fool with it even if they are stealing.

That's why Baskin Robbins makes 31 flavors, so there's something for everybody.
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i understand what u mean, but in all fairness to those of us that play 1P, the pace of the game depends on the style of players involved. In other words, it's a safe bet that you will see a faster pace match between Tony Chohon v/s Alex Pagulayan then Bill Incardona v/s Grady Mathews ...

edit : no disrespect bill and prof. just making a point
 
I think it's a nostalgic fallacy to think that most old-school players were highly proficient at or sought to match up at any game. I recall reading a lot of history and most players were specialists at a couple games and sought road partners to make up for the games that they didn't like or couldn't play.

Where are the Ronnie Allen stories of how he snapped off people playing 14.1? Or how many 14.1 events did he win? Rotation?

I think that some people just don't like one-pocket. They don't care to learn the moves and it holds no interest for them.

I am sure that a champion like Archer could get there on instinct alone against a shortstop one-pocket player though if he cared to play.
 
I dont know how it is other places but here at home it is 1p or 9-ball if you want to gamble. I have not seen a money match on 8-ball in the hall in a long time unless its a couple of bangers trying to look cool. The only 14.1 matches I have seen are the ones I play with one other guy who is a really good friend of mine. One pocket started getting attention here when the good 9-ball players started playing to help with their safes and kicks. Then it just kinda took off. (I play one-hole but not for cash)
 
Cannonball55 said:
i understand what u mean, but in all fairness to those of us that play 1P, the pace of the game depends on the style of players involved. In other words, it's a safe bet that you will see a faster pace match between Tony Chohon v/s Alex Pagulayan then Bill Incardona v/s Grady Mathews ...

edit : no disrespect bill and prof. just making a point
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The pace doess have some to do with it and in order to play good 1-pocket one had better figure this out very quickly or he is likely to go broke very quickly.

For some, playing 1 pocket makes the pockets much smaller. Shots eem so much harder and even foriegn. You get caught in a gme with the bunt, bunt, bunt, and then there is the shot and the stroke gets short and you miss. This frustrates the hell out of many.

I still contend that one who has great machanics playing 9 ball and starts playing 1-pocket sill have some real problems in a short length of time. Shot after shot of killing the cue ball off a weird bank gets a person in the habit of watching the cue ball vs. the object ball quickly and that turns into a bad habit in no time.

That is one thing I have always repected about Buddy, Efren, and Cliff. They can play the game for endless periods and then step up and play 9 ball like they have been playing it for a month.

I watched Grady play Cooney in Aurora Colo years ago and Grady really handed it to him. Few realized Grady was also a pretty good 9-ball player.

When the match was over, he jkumped up and played Danny Medina some $100 9-ball and conceded pretty quickly. He knew at the time he wasn't in a bad game, he just hadn't played it in a while and just couldn't get out when he was supposed to. Two different games and mindsets, for many.
 
Old man game, some people just don't like watching grass grow! I don't have a desire to play shuffleboard either!

Jeremy
 
instroke75 said:
Old man game, some people just don't like watching grass grow! I don't have a desire to play shuffleboard either!

Jeremy
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Some get tired of watching a Train pass by too.
 
Do you think it's due to increased awareness of the knowledge element of the game? In the old days, you didn't have videos to teach the nuances of the game. Since the game was more unknown then, ignorance let many a young man step up valiently and play the old guard. Maybe today the younger players realize that knowledge is king and they don't have it...so they shy away instead of stubbing their toe?
 
well

SVB/Alex P/Efren/Fransisco/Homman/harriman/schmidt/matlock/owen/hall/
frost/chohan/joyner/deuel/cardona/....great all around players and one pocket ....... have gambled at it and there are so many more just a quick list...just cause you dont hear about them doesnt mean they are not doing it
 
mosconiac said:
Do you think it's due to increased awareness of the knowledge element of the game? In the old days, you didn't have videos to teach the nuances of the game. Since the game was more unknown then, ignorance let many a young man step up valiently and play the old guard. Maybe today the younger players realize that knowledge is king and they don't have it...so they shy away instead of stubbing their toe?
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I think there is some great merit in this thought!

I've been watching some of the streaming US Open play and as a non 9 ball player ( my love is 14.1) I couldn't help but notice these kids are all running out. I attribute that to the game's "FINITE" characteristics of creativity and challenge.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that stringing racks together in 9 ball doesn't take a high level of skill, I'm just saying that no matter how you cut it, it boils down to a "paint by number" product, unlike 1pocket or even 14.1 where the individual's specific ability to come up with abstract and creative thinking will make the difference in situations when shot making ability between players is pretty much on an even keel as it so often is with high level 9 ball.

I've been around this game for quite a while and it seems to me that while age certainly attracts folks to games like 1 hole or 14.1, it has as much to do with the ability to put to use many accumulated yrs of knowledge and creativity with confidence, as it does the old story of the father / son bulls looking down over the pasture. The younger generation has yet to acquire this tool box full of creative knowledge IMO.

If you don't know that story btw ... the son says, "dad, lets run down there and have us a cow." The father says, "son, lets walk down there and have us all of them." :wink:
 
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instroke75 said:
Old man game, some people just don't like watching grass grow! I don't have a desire to play shuffleboard either!

Jeremy
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kinda like watching two road players from the north playing 150 points straight pool to see who does the laundry ?
 
I love the game of 1-hole myself. Because hanging it in the hole is a good thing. Which i do alot of...=)
 
instroke75 said:
Old man game, some people just don't like watching grass grow! I don't have a desire to play shuffleboard either!

Jeremy
Click to expand...
Some people never understand why the grass grows, either
 
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