I have been playing pool for a long time. During that time, I have had the experience of playing for money, playing in tournaments, owning a pool room, promoting & directing tournaments, and having to act as a referee at some of those tournaments. I have always prided myself in knowing the rules. After closing my poolroom more than six years ago and actually getting a job with regular hours, my time at the table decreased significantly. Then, I was invited to play in some tavern leagues on 7' tables and that satisfied my thirst to play for awhile. But, after five years of that, I wanted to get back to playing on the 9 footers. Well that was nearly two years ago and my progress to regain my previous form has not been too pretty.
But, one of the things I discovered, particularly in the game of 14.1, which I favor the most, is that there have been some rule changes and some additions. I believe that every rule has been set or applied for distinct reasons. Such as. in competition, if you would reach into a pocket and catch a ball before it would drop, that used to dictate a 15 ball penalty and a legal rebreak would be required. I am not sure whether the origin of the rule was, in some way, to help prevent the person who is catching the ball, the opportunity to wig out and throw it across the room or bounce onto the table or whatever, let alone the fact of sticking your hand in the pocket and preventing a ball to drop, then pulling your hand out and saying, "I didn't touch it!!"
That particular rule is one that I have called a couple times in the past, in which case I knew my opponent knew of the rule. If the infraction happened near the beginning or in an innocent stage of the match and I felt it was not going to effect the outcome, I would try to be polite and inform my opponent that is a foul and don't let it happen again or I would have to call it. Is that the right thing to do? I don't know, but I never regretted that practice?
Which brings me to my experience this weekend. I am playing 14.1 and I am in a match with a kid that hits 'em pretty well. As the match progresses, we sort of zig zig back and forth with the score, where I get ahead by 20 and he catches up. I get ahead by 20 and he catches up and so on. We are going to 125. Now, I am ahead by about a rack and need 20something. I have just made a break shot and have the balls scattered. My cue ball has come to rest near the foot of the table and I have some open balls. I play a little pattern behind the few balls still clustered from the rack. To loosen the cluster a bit, I lightly shoot a shot I know is going to hit the pack and knock a couple more balls loose and I would have an out ball nearly hanging at a corner pocket. After I achieve this, my cue ball is left up against another ball in such a fashion that I need the bridge to reach it. I grab a bridge from under the table and then realize I won't be able to hit the cue ball right. I need to be higher. Our table has only one bridge. I lay the bridge from our table on the playing surface, walk to the next table, come back to our table, lay my cue down to put the bridges together and then my opponent calls a foul. I say "What!!??" Of course, he is calling a foul because I have laid my stick down on the table. I look at the tournament director and he acknowledges that it is a foul. Need less to say, I was a bit appalled. But, I did not complain or fuss, other than to say, "You're kidding!". I just picked up my stuff and sat down in my chair. My opponent must have had a sense of whatever and missed a straight-in after pocketing a couple balls. I, then, furiously run the last 20 or so I needed to get out.
A rule is a rule. Bottom line, yes, I laid my stick on the table. But, is that how the rule is to be used? Wasn't that rule made to avoid having use of the cue to measure or sight shots? Wouldn't common sense say that laying the stick on the table and using it in that fashion is not appropriate?
Wouldn't you know it, my next match is underway when someone announces that a car alarm is going off in the parking lot. Of course, it is my opponent's car, so he lays his stick down on the table and runs out to shut it off. I look at the tournament director and point to the cue and he says it is a foul.
What do you think I did?
Well, I informed my opponent about the rule, then I said to just shoot. Then we had a laugh about it later.
I believe in the rules and play by them. I may not be right in my assessment of certain rules, but I do believe in fair play and common sense. Laying a cue on the table to assemble two bridges can't gain me any advantage, the same as laying the cue on the table to run out to the parking lot to shut off an alarm. My common sense says to call an infraction when there has really been one. Otherwise, just shoot and beat me if you can, fair and square.
But, one of the things I discovered, particularly in the game of 14.1, which I favor the most, is that there have been some rule changes and some additions. I believe that every rule has been set or applied for distinct reasons. Such as. in competition, if you would reach into a pocket and catch a ball before it would drop, that used to dictate a 15 ball penalty and a legal rebreak would be required. I am not sure whether the origin of the rule was, in some way, to help prevent the person who is catching the ball, the opportunity to wig out and throw it across the room or bounce onto the table or whatever, let alone the fact of sticking your hand in the pocket and preventing a ball to drop, then pulling your hand out and saying, "I didn't touch it!!"
That particular rule is one that I have called a couple times in the past, in which case I knew my opponent knew of the rule. If the infraction happened near the beginning or in an innocent stage of the match and I felt it was not going to effect the outcome, I would try to be polite and inform my opponent that is a foul and don't let it happen again or I would have to call it. Is that the right thing to do? I don't know, but I never regretted that practice?
Which brings me to my experience this weekend. I am playing 14.1 and I am in a match with a kid that hits 'em pretty well. As the match progresses, we sort of zig zig back and forth with the score, where I get ahead by 20 and he catches up. I get ahead by 20 and he catches up and so on. We are going to 125. Now, I am ahead by about a rack and need 20something. I have just made a break shot and have the balls scattered. My cue ball has come to rest near the foot of the table and I have some open balls. I play a little pattern behind the few balls still clustered from the rack. To loosen the cluster a bit, I lightly shoot a shot I know is going to hit the pack and knock a couple more balls loose and I would have an out ball nearly hanging at a corner pocket. After I achieve this, my cue ball is left up against another ball in such a fashion that I need the bridge to reach it. I grab a bridge from under the table and then realize I won't be able to hit the cue ball right. I need to be higher. Our table has only one bridge. I lay the bridge from our table on the playing surface, walk to the next table, come back to our table, lay my cue down to put the bridges together and then my opponent calls a foul. I say "What!!??" Of course, he is calling a foul because I have laid my stick down on the table. I look at the tournament director and he acknowledges that it is a foul. Need less to say, I was a bit appalled. But, I did not complain or fuss, other than to say, "You're kidding!". I just picked up my stuff and sat down in my chair. My opponent must have had a sense of whatever and missed a straight-in after pocketing a couple balls. I, then, furiously run the last 20 or so I needed to get out.
A rule is a rule. Bottom line, yes, I laid my stick on the table. But, is that how the rule is to be used? Wasn't that rule made to avoid having use of the cue to measure or sight shots? Wouldn't common sense say that laying the stick on the table and using it in that fashion is not appropriate?
Wouldn't you know it, my next match is underway when someone announces that a car alarm is going off in the parking lot. Of course, it is my opponent's car, so he lays his stick down on the table and runs out to shut it off. I look at the tournament director and point to the cue and he says it is a foul.
What do you think I did?
Well, I informed my opponent about the rule, then I said to just shoot. Then we had a laugh about it later.
I believe in the rules and play by them. I may not be right in my assessment of certain rules, but I do believe in fair play and common sense. Laying a cue on the table to assemble two bridges can't gain me any advantage, the same as laying the cue on the table to run out to the parking lot to shut off an alarm. My common sense says to call an infraction when there has really been one. Otherwise, just shoot and beat me if you can, fair and square.
