8 Ball Pool (UK) anyone?

[Amphrax]

I like playing 8 Ball Pool and I play against players that are Ranked 30 in the UK. I been in competitions e.g: Money Leagues, Great Yarmouth UK Championships, Premier Leagues (Hertfordshire).

I took a 3 year break and never picked up a cue and only recently I started to play again and all the old faces I knew were really pleased to see me back in the game again. I'm back in the premiership and I also got offered to join an interleague team to qualify for Great Yarmouth events.

But the only way for me to get back to the standard I use to play is to play the Ranked 30 UK player. Bare in mind that I never picked up a cue for 3 years and I was in for real punishment as the Ranked 30 player plays on a regular basis.

I been playing for 3 months now and I'm slowly getting back to the standard I use to play.

First time I play the ranked 30 UK I got whooped something like:

30 him 10 me

3 months later I still lose but the improvement has jumped alot:

24 him 17 me

Now for someone who hasn't played for 3 years and only played for 3 months to get that result is pretty good tbh.

I'm really enjoying the Pool again as I have nothing to distract me.


Enough about me rabbiting on about nothing just sharing something that I'm interested in.

Do any of you play pool at a competitive standard?

Amphrax/Arauddry

P.S

and no its not the bog standard 8 ball rules (I mean UK World Rules).

see link (if interested) EPA World Rules I play

UK 8-ball Pool rules page (all types)

 

[cHodAX]

I adore playing pool, never played beyond pub level but I used to be a decent player before my back problems started. It is one of the things I really miss these days, I could quite happily play 6 hours straight in the old days and didn't get bored.

 

[Billargh]

Snooker > Pool

 

[pikeh]

i play both quite a lot, but i much prefer pool. the atmosphere is a lot more comfortable and you dont have to stand around in a smelly 70's throwback dank and dark cave of a "mens club" to play it.

im pretty good as well i get waaaay too competitive about it

 

[Amphrax]

Snooker > Pool

Snooker and Pool are totally different.

Snooker is basically potting and positioning and thinking 3 shots a head all the time.

Pool is more like a Chess Game - figuring out what your apponant will do after you play your shot and playing shots that will gain your advantage while leaving your apponant nothing.

With Pool it all depends where the balls lay on the table and how you turn the game around to your advantage.

Example:

If you have 3 balls around 1 corner pocket and the apponant has 1 ball over the pocket and the black in open play. Your at the table and there is noway for you to win that game in that position, unless you turn it around and to turn it around would be to play the black ball into the 3 balls so its almost impossible for your apponant to win at his next visit and giving you the advantage for when you come to the table. Yes I know you given the apponant 2 shots and potting his ball would leave him 2 shots at the black but then its down to luck and not skill to get the black out for him to win the game.

Amphrax/Arauddry

 

[Amphrax]

i play both quite a lot, but i much prefer pool. the atmosphere is a lot more comfortable and you dont have to stand around in a smelly 70's throwback dank and dark cave of a "mens club" to play it.

im pretty good as well i get waaaay too competitive about it

I use to play for £50's and I'm sure I will start that again soon, so gimme a game!

Amphrax/Arauddry

 

[pikeh]

I use to play for £50's and I'm sure I will start that again soon, so gimme a game!

Amphrax/Arauddry

im good but no waaaaay near top 30 in the uk lol!
i bow before your pool superiority ; :worthy:

 

[Huntingtons]

amphrax im pretty sure billargh didnt say they were alike but that snooker is more fun

 

[Amphrax]

amphrax im pretty sure billargh didnt say they were alike but that snooker is more fun

Yeah I know but I was just offering my view on it

Amphrax/Arauddry

 

[pikeh]

potting his ball would leave him 2 shots at the black

if your on the black with still one free shot in hand, dont you lose that shot, meaning you cant have two shots at the black?

thought that was the rules, or is it different for certain competitions?

 

[Amphrax]

if your on the black with still one free shot in hand, dont you lose that shot, meaning you cant have two shots at the black?

thought that was the rules, or is it different for certain competitions?

This is and always been some silly Pub rule that people play. You should and always should have 2 shots if an apponant fouls no matter what colour your on, even on the black.

The rules I play are the EPA World Rules and competitive leagues should be using the EPA rules by now.

UK 8-ball Pool rules page (all types)

Amphrax/Arauddry

 

[collegien]

I used to be damn good @ various types of pool back in the day
Efren Reyes is pretty good but Earl Strickland can kiss my arse. :kissit:

Heres a couple of peeps i taught a few tricks too

This guy does some pretty good shots on this clip.

Artistic Pool Video


This guy however is amazing his cueball control is excellent even if it is in a controlled environment. He is playing a type of billiards explained by this quote from the page:

Three Cushion Billiards is a carom billiards (carambole) the rule of the game is to hit 2 balls with your cue ball. Simple huh? well they must have thought so too, so they added a twist to it. The shooting player's cue ball must contact the cushions of the table at least three time before first touching the second object ball of their shot in order for the shooter to add a point to their count.. All his shots would actually win a point in a tournament eventhough they look like trick shots. If 9 ball could be compared to NASCAR and snooker to LE MANS, Three Cushion Billiards would be definatly the F-1.

Trick Shots By Semih Sayginer - Turkish Billiard Sensation Video

 

[Azurus]

I play a ton of pool. When i was in Bangkok went to the pool bars where girls try to hustle you out of cash, ended up raping the shit out of them and taking all there money.











































Not literally of course.

 

[Nate]

I am number one!

 

[Thorwyn]

Friend of mine is playing pool in the german Bundesliga. He played (and beat) people like Engert and Ortmann

The Official Thomas Engert website

Oliver Ortmann

in his carreer. Pool is pretty fascinating. I love playing pool and although I`m occasionally able to pull of a nice pot or two, I never reached the consistency that´s required to play it on a competitive level. I once went for a practice session with the aforementioned friend and he played his queue offhand and still beat the crap out of me.

 

[Vladamir]

I adore playing pool, never played beyond pub level but I used to be a decent player before my back problems started. It is one of the things I really miss these days, I could quite happily play 6 hours straight in the old days and didn't get bored.

Now you just spend your days sat on the pool cues at home?

 

[Hawkwind]

I only ever seem to play well between pints 4 and 8. After that I can't pot for toffee.

 

[Ucallme]

Friend of mine is playing pool in the german Bundesliga. He played (and beat) people like Engert and Ortmann

The Official Thomas Engert website

Oliver Ortmann

in his carreer. Pool is pretty fascinating. I love playing pool and although I`m occasionally able to pull of a nice pot or two, I never reached the consistency that´s required to play it on a competitive level. I once went for a practice session with the aforementioned friend and he played his queue offhand and still beat the crap out of me.

These players play 9 Ball and not 8 Ball. Personally I think 9 Ball is quite easy compared to 8 Ball Pool.

Amphrax/Arauddry

 

[Thadius]

I used to play pool using a protractor. It kinda gets boring when you win all the time!

Mathmatics > all

 

[Thorwyn]

These players play 9 Ball and not 8 Ball.

They´re playing 8-ball, 9-ball and 14-1 in the league.
The international tournaments are usually 9-ball, that´s true though.

Personally I think 9 Ball is quite easy compared to 8 Ball Pool.

This made me chuckle though... so according to you, everything (snooker or 9-ball) is "easy" whereas 8-ball is the most sophisticated game ever?

 

[Ingafgrinn Macabre]

Snooker and Pool are totally different.

Snooker is basically potting and positioning and thinking 3 shots a head all the time.

Pool is more like a Chess Game - figuring out what your apponant will do after you play your shot and playing shots that will gain your advantage while leaving your apponant nothing.

With Pool it all depends where the balls lay on the table and how you turn the game around to your advantage.

Example:

If you have 3 balls around 1 corner pocket and the apponant has 1 ball over the pocket and the black in open play. Your at the table and there is noway for you to win that game in that position, unless you turn it around and to turn it around would be to play the black ball into the 3 balls so its almost impossible for your apponant to win at his next visit and giving you the advantage for when you come to the table. Yes I know you given the apponant 2 shots and potting his ball would leave him 2 shots at the black but then its down to luck and not skill to get the black out for him to win the game.

Amphrax/Arauddry

Heh.... We in the Netherlands have totally different rules... Infact, those rules where you get 2 shots after a foul, is looked upon as sissy rules here

After you make a foul here, your opponent gets Ball-in-hand, and can place the ball where-ever he likes on the table.
We also don't play with red/yellow balls, but with 1 thru 7, aka whole or colored balls, 8 = black, and 9 thru 15, aka half or striped balls.

I used to play a lot. Nowadays I play like one evening (2~3 hours orso) per two weeks... My skill has gone down tremendously aswell. Would love to be at competition level again, but then again, I wouldn't know where to find the time, next to work, sport and hobbies....

 

[Ucallme]

They´re playing 8-ball, 9-ball and 14-1 in the league.
The international tournaments are usually 9-ball, that´s true though.

This made me chuckle though... so according to you, everything (snooker or 9-ball) is "easy" whereas 8-ball is the most sophisticated game ever?

No I never said snooker was easy. All I said was Snooker is just potting and positioning and thinking 3 shots a head all the time. I also said that Snooker is totally different to Pool thats all. As for 9 Ball I do think its not that difficult to play.

Amphrax/Arauddry

 

[collegien]

These players play 9 Ball and not 8 Ball. Personally I think 9 Ball is quite easy compared to 8 Ball Pool.

Amphrax/Arauddry

They played in this years world 8 ball championships too. 9 ball is a faster game but both require different strategies the skill level needed to do well is still the same.

 

[Ucallme]

They played in this years world 8 ball championships too. 9 ball is a faster game but both require different strategies the skill level needed to do well is still the same.

r ok I havn't watched the 8 ball on sky this year and from experience I have only seen them play 9 ball.

I only remember Oliver Ortmann from playing 9 Ball only

Totally agree with the skill level and strategies are different.

Amphrax/Arauddry

 

[Lethul]

I love pool, but i suck really bad at it
I mostly play it at pubs while drinking etc so don't really bother me that i suck either (I'm usually a very competitive guy)
I'm also amazingly inconsistence in pool, sometimes i can be decently good even doing some "trick" shots. Next game i can fail to sink a ball when i got "ball-in-hand"

 

[kirennia]

Snooker and Pool are totally different.

Snooker is basically potting and positioning and thinking 3 shots a head all the time.

Pool is more like a Chess Game - figuring out what your apponant will do after you play your shot and playing shots that will gain your advantage while leaving your apponant nothing.

Erm, personally I'd think of snooker and pool as the exact opposite of that. In pool it's much easier to pot balls, easier to get decent positioning after a pot and generally you only have to think one or two shots ahead.

In snooker you have to think of more options at a lower then professional stage. Positioning so that if you pot a ball you'll be set for a colour but wont leave the opponent on for an easy red, always having to think as many moves ahead as you possibly can (If you don't do this in chess, you suck) and generally be much better with the cue.

Sorry, don't get me wrong, I love pool but to argue which is easier to play and to compare pool with chess is folly.

With Pool it all depends where the balls lay on the table and how you turn the game around to your advantage.

This did make me chuckle How is this any different to snooker, 9 ball, hell even football, basketball.....in fact, any ball game in the world whatsoever?


Best of luck with it though, you sound like you're really enjoying it.

 

[Amphrax]

Erm, personally I'd think of snooker and pool as the exact opposite of that. In pool it's much easier to pot balls, easier to get decent positioning after a pot and generally you only have to think one or two shots ahead.

In snooker you have to think of more options at a lower then professional stage. Positioning so that if you pot a ball you'll be set for a colour but wont leave the opponent on for an easy red, always having to think as many moves ahead as you possibly can (If you don't do this in chess, you suck) and generally be much better with the cue.

Sorry, don't get me wrong, I love pool but to argue which is easier to play and to compare pool with chess is folly.



This did make me chuckle How is this any different to snooker, 9 ball, hell even football, basketball.....in fact, any ball game in the world whatsoever?


Best of luck with it though, you sound like you're really enjoying it.

I understand what you mean but with Pool its not all about potting balls. Theres no point potting balls knowing your not going to clear up. If you start potting balls and leave yourself with 1 ball on the table this will give the apponant plenty of options to either clear up himself/herself because theres not so many balls on the table so its easier to position the white ball or lots of options to land a snooker to give you 2 shots.

Theres too many options with pool e.g: positioning the white into a position where it gives you a chance to move difficult balls and leaving yourself on after.

Its hard to explain because theres too many options for each (snooker/9 ball/8 ball).

Amphrax/Arauddry

 

[kirennia]

I understand what you mean but with Pool its not all about potting balls. Theres no point potting balls knowing your not going to clear up. If you start potting balls and leave yourself with 1 ball on the table this will give the apponant plenty of options to either clear up himself/herself because theres not so many balls on the table so its easier to position the white ball or lots of options to land a snooker to give you 2 shots.

Theres too many options with pool e.g: positioning the white into a position where it gives you a chance to move difficult balls and leaving yourself on after.

Its hard to explain because theres too many options for each (snooker/9 ball/8 ball).

Amphrax/Arauddry

Completely agree. It's the same with snooker though although granted, I see what you mean about if you pot loads of the balls, it makes it easier for them. To a degree in higher level snooker playing, it's a pretty similar thing though.