I didn’t want to hijack the other thread. I’ve recently been receiving some lessons on how to play pool (or ass-kicking lessons as I call it) and I long to casually rack up the balls and look like a cool dude. Yet I don’t know the correct way.
I know there’s something about alternate stripes and spots on one row and a D somewhere and the black in the middle. Could somebody explain all that in terms an pool-n00b could understand?
I think with 9-ball the only requirements are that the one-ball is in front and the nine-ball is in the middle, since stripes solid designations don’t really amtter.
One other thing. A lot of times in 9-ball (playing for money) you play for the 5 and the nine, twice as much for the 9. In that case you “bury” the 5 also. You don’t put it in any of the corners.
Like this:
1
55
x9x
55
x
I don’t think there’s a rule; when we had a pool table, I racked nine like this:
1
6 3
4 9 7
2 5
8
My idea was to more or less jump across the center when placing each sequentially-numbered ball, with a slight bend to the right. It sorta breaks down toward the end, but still.
Added on edit: what you say in the OP about stripes doesn’t really apply here, because balls 1-8 are all solid, and 9-15 are all striped. Since there’s only one striped ball (the 9) used in nine-ball, there’s no way to alternate stripes and solids.
Thanks all. That’s a bit more enlightening.
We have a regular stripe/spot set of balls which have had numbers written on with marker pen so we can play either the normal game with the full set or 9-ball. Thus we have weird pool rules about stripes n spots alongside numbers. It gets very confusing for learners.
Interesting. In our league there’s one point each for the 1, 3, 5, and 7. Six points for the 9. Like you suggest, I usually put the “money balls” in the second and fourth rows. Some claim that the fourth row is not as safe as the fifth (bottom) row. I’ve tried both and can’t convince myself of a pattern yet.
1 1
$ $ $ $
X 9 X (same as) X 9 X
X $ $ X
X X
or is it better to do this?
1
$ $
X 9 X
X X
$
I have (had?) an old rulebook at home that suggests:
1
X X
2 9 4
X X
3
or similar. The 3 and 4 may be switched. TV 9-ball tourneys just put the 1 in front, the 9 in the middle, and everything else jumbled around in the Sardo Tight-Rack.
I’ve seen this before and, in fact, is how I rack my 9-ball games.
This matches what I was told to do when I worked in a pool hall during college and used to work through the night as guys came into town to play nine-ball for big money. The important thing, I was told, was to bury the 5 ball as you indicate, ideally in the front, as it would theoretically travel less and therefore have less of a chance of falling on the break.
Yes, I have done a little experimenting with this. Certainly not exhaustive. When I was in school, I was playing a lot. And I spent some time, racking balls, breaking them, and racking again. Maybe upwards of 50 trials. I would rack the 2,3,4 and 5 in the “buried” positions ( just so I knew which ball was where) and then break.
And just a note, I’m much better than your average player. If I could afford to take off 6 months to a year to practice, to really hone my game, I could go pro.
Anyways, out of all my trials, you could count on one hand the number of times any of the 2 thru 5’s went, on the break. The four points of the diamond fall. Or you can make the nine move (and fall). The buried positions just don’t.
How’s that work?
The only money 9 ball games I’ve ever witnessed were straight races, I.E. “race to 7 for $20”, first player to win 7 racks wins $20.
The only time any other ball counted was when a weaker player was given a handicap “race to 7 for $20 and I’ll give you the 8” weak player wins if he legally pockets the 8 or 9 during the rack.
CMC fnord!
There is endless variation to this, some of it a good way to build in a handicap. But the basic idea is to get more money on the table, and to make the entire game more exciting, as few players can hope to run the table to the ninefrom the one or two. So, oyu could make the nine worth $10 and the five worth $5. Or the Nine worth $20 and the five forth $5, etc. For handicapping you can even make the five live for just the poorer player. By the way, another way to handicap is to allow the poorer player to have to run to the eight-ball only, while the better player still has to get to the nine. Both payers would win though by sinking the nine. I think this is the same as what you mention, but the eight would be “live” all game.
What magellan said. Plus I’ve played three-way 9-ball, where three people play. Having the 5 be a money ball makes that a lot more fun. Great fun game btw, 3-way 9-ball.