4 ms·

Why would straight pool require more skill than 9-ball? Hitting any ball in you want seems easier to me.

dionidium 12y ago
My guess is that the point is that real skill is exposed over a long game of both players shooting at any ball. There is a considerable amount of positioning luck involved in any single 9-ball game.
- jzwinck 12y ago
  Right, but nobody plays a single 9-ball game. For one thing, you can win on the break! But over many games the relative skill of two players will be revealed, just as in straight pool. However, in 9-ball the maximum risk from failing to play a safety is much less--one rack instead of many.
  - mrbrandonking 12y ago
    It seems like straight pool provided a more accurate means of distinguishing skill levels between players. Dallas West (straight pool pro from 70's) once said that he knew he had arrived as a pro when, as a teenager, he finally ran 100-balls in a row. He then said that he had made a 100-ball run every day of his life since then. There's a similar jump in standing at 50-balls. A complete beginner might have to practice hard for a year to clear a single rack. 9-ball players like to boast about their long runs, too, but there's an element of luck (the break shot) that throws a kink into direct comparisons between players' high runs. Earl Strickland once ran 11-racks in a row to win a $1 million prize, but a player with a "six-pack" (6-racks in a row) isn't necessarily half as skilled.
raphael_l 12y ago
Amateur league pool player here: You have to consider there are mainly two things to think about when playing any kind of Billard sport: 1. Pocketing the ball 2. Position of your cue ball (the white ball) Mastering the one doesn't necessarily mean you have mastered the other. Pocketing a ball is fairly easy if you get in a good position - but first you have to get in that position and thats the tricky part. In Straight Pool to win the important part at first is to have the balls spread out across the table, so as to have many options and easier shots. And that's the difficult to do because of the way you break. Because you actually start the game with a defensive break (because you have to call your shots and you can't just smash the rack open as you do in 8-,9- or 10-ball), as to not give your opponent an easy shot. This video shows 2 great pool players at the break [0]. In 9-ball for example there's luck involved (also where the rack is placed and what rack is used, but thats too complicated for now), because at the start of the rack you simply smash the balls wide open. If you make a shot - great. If not - great for your opponent. So in Straight Pool the beginning is mainly safety play until someone actually manages to pocket a ball and open the balls up at the same time. Running a rack in straight pool isn't the issue - having a good ball to re-open the next rack to continue the run is the difficult part. That's the position issue. Because you have to be aware on how you want the develop the balls and what position your cue ball is going to be in. There are a lot more things to consider but I think that's a pretty basic start as to why Straight Pool is more advanced than 8-, 9- or 10-ball ;) [0] http://youtu.be/SqxvJaPABW0?t=9m42s http://youtu.be/SqxvJaPABW0?t=9m42s

My guess is that the point is that real skill is exposed over a long game of both players shooting at any ball. There is a considerable amount of positioning luck involved in any single 9-ball game.

jzwinck 12y ago
Right, but nobody plays a single 9-ball game. For one thing, you can win on the break! But over many games the relative skill of two players will be revealed, just as in straight pool. However, in 9-ball the maximum risk from failing to play a safety is much less--one rack instead of many.
- mrbrandonking 12y ago
  It seems like straight pool provided a more accurate means of distinguishing skill levels between players. Dallas West (straight pool pro from 70's) once said that he knew he had arrived as a pro when, as a teenager, he finally ran 100-balls in a row. He then said that he had made a 100-ball run every day of his life since then. There's a similar jump in standing at 50-balls. A complete beginner might have to practice hard for a year to clear a single rack. 9-ball players like to boast about their long runs, too, but there's an element of luck (the break shot) that throws a kink into direct comparisons between players' high runs. Earl Strickland once ran 11-racks in a row to win a $1 million prize, but a player with a "six-pack" (6-racks in a row) isn't necessarily half as skilled.

raphael_l 12y ago

Amateur league pool player here: You have to consider there are mainly two things to think about when playing any kind of Billard sport: 1. Pocketing the ball 2. Position of your cue ball (the white ball) Mastering the one doesn't necessarily mean you have mastered the other. Pocketing a ball is fairly easy if you get in a good position - but first you have to get in that position and thats the tricky part. In Straight Pool to win the important part at first is to have the balls spread out across the table, so as to have many options and easier shots. And that's the difficult to do because of the way you break. Because you actually start the game with a defensive break (because you have to call your shots and you can't just smash the rack open as you do in 8-,9- or 10-ball), as to not give your opponent an easy shot. This video shows 2 great pool players at the break [0]. In 9-ball for example there's luck involved (also where the rack is placed and what rack is used, but thats too complicated for now), because at the start of the rack you simply smash the balls wide open. If you make a shot - great. If not - great for your opponent. So in Straight Pool the beginning is mainly safety play until someone actually manages to pocket a ball and open the balls up at the same time. Running a rack in straight pool isn't the issue - having a good ball to re-open the next rack to continue the run is the difficult part. That's the position issue. Because you have to be aware on how you want the develop the balls and what position your cue ball is going to be in. There are a lot more things to consider but I think that's a pretty basic start as to why Straight Pool is more advanced than 8-, 9- or 10-ball ;) [0] http://youtu.be/SqxvJaPABW0?t=9m42s http://youtu.be/SqxvJaPABW0?t=9m42s