Why the alternate break?
- Thread starter Ak Guy
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Alternate break is the best thing to happen to pool in the last 20 years.Johnny Archer,whom has always been known for his monster break and ability to string racks together,is highly in favor of alternate break.Every other sport on the planet gives both sides a fair chance at winning.Why would it be any different for pool?Matches are much more exciting now and closer than ever! Like I said,it is the best thing to happen to pool in the last 2 decades!
Alternate Breaking
Alternate breaking is all about handicapping the match so a weaker player has a better chance. Add that to making the better player spot games and no wonder the game is going down hill. Then the next step is the better players cannot play or they will come up with a rating system and use the rating system to determine what level you play at.
Alternate breaking is all about handicapping the match so a weaker player has a better chance. Add that to making the better player spot games and no wonder the game is going down hill. Then the next step is the better players cannot play or they will come up with a rating system and use the rating system to determine what level you play at.
How do you get that?
It's not about players with a less rounded game getting a chance. It's about avoiding players NOT getting a chance at all.
Jaden
It's not about players with a less rounded game getting a chance. It's about avoiding players NOT getting a chance at all.
Jaden
I actually really like this idea. Then, after the match is tied up and the extra games start, the break is given back to the player who originally had it.
A break and run-out of a whole set doesn't happen all that often, but if it did, at least this gives the other player an equal chance to fire back.
Banks
Banned
I had considered adding that to some weekly tournaments.
Let's just say it's almost impossible to do anything in pool without catching some flack. People either thought it would take too long, they'd get short-changed for winning the lag and a final rack bnr or even the lower players didn't like the idea of a stronger player getting to fire back.
THIS (in red) is where you went sideways!! Inferring (Efren???!!) has a less rounded game???!!!
It's just an equal shot. If Earl broke and ran the set, would that mean he was better than Efren? Not hardly. Just shows he was really on that day.
All that said. I LOVE watching winner break tournaments. But I would hope to see a 4 or 5 pack at the most. That way the opponent gets a chance.
What????
Its for people who pay a lot of Money to come to a tournament and don't get a chance to shoot!!
No other sport has that deficit, you get a chance to win no matter what!
Its for people who pay a lot of Money to come to a tournament and don't get a chance to shoot!!
No other sport has that deficit, you get a chance to win no matter what!
Sorry but you're wrong. Pool is a game where it remains your inning until you miss, foul or play a safe. That's the way it should be. Winner breaks brings a dynamic to he game that shouldn't be lost.
Alternate break is the invention of the everybody gets a turn, everybody gets a trophy generation. Oh, and also for those who break like they hit it with their purse. Sharpen up your safe game girls.
Part of the problem might be the races are just too short for 8/9/10 ball. I've heard of players playing out of their skin and beating top players in alternate breaks as well. Races to 13-15 I'd say even things out quite a bit regardless of the breaking format.
pool is not snooker
winner breaks, race to 21 ,single knock out, thats the pro tour should be entries close at 32,64(local), 128(turning stone),256 (derby,world championships,eurotours,china open,japan open
)
10 ball call shot-call safety
that is my opinion
no jump shots respect to the game its not basketball
winner breaks, race to 21 ,single knock out, thats the pro tour should be entries close at 32,64(local), 128(turning stone),256 (derby,world championships,eurotours,china open,japan open
)10 ball call shot-call safety
that is my opinion
no jump shots respect to the game its not basketball
It makes the game more fair, by making it less dependent on the coin flip (or lag). This is why most sports use it. Makes the outcome more correlated with the skill of the players.
Thank you kindly.
Just asking
Hey 9andout,
I'm not inferring any thing and Efren is my favorite player. Just asking a question and trying to get honest opinions. In my opinion when Efren was in his prime he had the most rounded game of pool I know of.
I really am trying to understand the reason for alternate breaks.
Hey 9andout,
I'm not inferring any thing and Efren is my favorite player. Just asking a question and trying to get honest opinions. In my opinion when Efren was in his prime he had the most rounded game of pool I know of.
I really am trying to understand the reason for alternate breaks.
Wow. You couldn't be more wrong. You think the NBA should take up the street rules of "make it take it"? You think Wimbledon should allow the player who holds serve to keep serving because they haven't been broken? You think the NFL should force the team who got scored on to kick the ball back to the team that scored on them?
Old time pool players are bonkers and are killing the sport with dumb talk like blaming the next "generation" for looking at a fundamentally flawed aspect of the game and wanting to change it to make some sense.
And all you players on here are acting like breaking and running is the only advantage that breaking gives you. Hell no, a good break also gives you the first look at a lock up safety. Yes the other guy gets a turn, but he has to hit a two rail kick just to avoid giving ball in hand. How ludicrous is that? Just because each player got a turn does not mean those turns are equal.
Alternate break is fair, it keeps both players coming to the table at regular intervals where each player has equal chance to control the situation on the table and when both players are good, it prevents run away matches WHICH ARE NOT EXCITING IN ANY WAY!
Wow, you are the one who couldn't be more wrong. You know how tired you sound with that "get off my lawn" attitude?
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Tournaments remain healthy when "dead money" play in it to give the better players odds on the money to make competing in them worth their while. Many different formats have been tried, with most tournaments dying off once the weaker players realized they couldn't really compete. Nowhere in a rotation tournament is that more evident than when a great player is playing winner breaks. These winner breaks tournaments died off because it was very painfully obvious that the better player could win the match without really giving his opponent a chance.
The alternate break format came forward to level the playing field and give the weaker player more of a chance to compete. But guess what? The same 15% of the field win the tournaments no matter what the format. It just means more of the 15% share in the winner's circle with this format, as opposed to the top 5% winning with winner break.
All formats have been tried, but this format of alternating the break is the one that gets the most players to fill the field, guaranteeing the "dead money" necessary to make the tournament worth playing in and let the weaker player at least get to the table three or four times during the match.
The alternate break format came forward to level the playing field and give the weaker player more of a chance to compete. But guess what? The same 15% of the field win the tournaments no matter what the format. It just means more of the 15% share in the winner's circle with this format, as opposed to the top 5% winning with winner break.
All formats have been tried, but this format of alternating the break is the one that gets the most players to fill the field, guaranteeing the "dead money" necessary to make the tournament worth playing in and let the weaker player at least get to the table three or four times during the match.
I really wish people wouldn't attempt to compare pool with other sports or games. Pool is the only game where opponents play with the same balls at different times. It is a distinction that cannot be ignored. It is what separates this game from all others.
In basketball, you can directly affect the outcome of your opponents efforts by playing defense. In tennis, you are playing the same ball. In golf you are playing your own ball and against the course.
In pool, if you make an error, the other guy shoots. You can't play until he makes an error. If you dog a shot including the lag or the break, you get to sit down and watch someone else for a while. Perfection is rewarded in pool. Perfection is what we practice hours on end to achieve. Why on earth would we want to cheapen the spectacle of the perfect set?
In basketball, you can directly affect the outcome of your opponents efforts by playing defense. In tennis, you are playing the same ball. In golf you are playing your own ball and against the course.
In pool, if you make an error, the other guy shoots. You can't play until he makes an error. If you dog a shot including the lag or the break, you get to sit down and watch someone else for a while. Perfection is rewarded in pool. Perfection is what we practice hours on end to achieve. Why on earth would we want to cheapen the spectacle of the perfect set?
This is great on a banger level. I play in a loser break format on the weekends and love it. I even like some pro events that are short race alternate break because it is exciting due to the leveling of the play. But it does not accurately predict the best player. When I'm watching pros play, I want to see the better player win.
I like winner breaks and longer races for a few reasons. The better "all around" player that day usually wins. More importantly, I like watching a player string racks together showing the expert skills that he worked so hard to attain. This idea is what made America great. Work hard and you might succeed. If you fail, work harder and try again. "Sine Labore Nihil".
One of the most successful tours in the U.S. is the Midwest9ballTour. It has always been alternate break for two reasons: it's more fair and it guarantees larger fields. The events held at Shooter's in Olathe,Ks. routinely have 100+ entries with large to really large Calcuttas. Also, Evelyn Dysart might be the best T.D. in the country.