World rules v blackball rules...

[billabong]

Yes, difference is in snooker both players are playing the same set of balls and its rarely an advantage to deliberately foul in snooker as your opponent also has the option to make you play again. Miss rule is mainly to make sure players make a genuine attempt to escape from a snooker or they can rack up lots of penalty points. In WR pool a DF can be huge range of shots and are mainly played because of the position of your opponents balls.

It kind of comes down to if you think of a DF as cheating or as a tactical shot. I think the main thing in pool is to try to eliminate fudging as much as possible (I think having to hit a cushion every shot is a great rule and prevents roll ups) but to still have a tactical element to it. I think Blackball makes for better TV viewing especially for non pool players as its easier to follow. I think both rules have their advantages.

Very eloquently put sir. I've only played blackball, but enjoyed watching both rule-sets on TV / Stream.

Your last sentence is maybe part of the reason why I can't see one unifying rule-set in the near future.
That and the reluctance of the people at the top to relinquish any ground on rules/power/financies.

We live in hope eh ?

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[eaoin11]

Very eloquently put sir. I've only played blackball, but enjoyed watching both rule-sets on TV / Stream.

Your last sentence is maybe part of the reason why I can't see one unifying rule-set in the near future.
That and the reluctance of the people at the top to relinquish any ground on rules/power/financies.

We live in hope eh ?

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I think the anti-df rule in blackball is a bit dumb, no game should potentially require the referee to be a mind reader. Even in nine ball there are situations where you could foul to get an advantage, and there is no loss of frame rule to prevent it.
I'm starting to think that world rules do need changing, for the long term survival of UK style pool. But I would never supports Australian wepf affiliates switching to blackball because that means giving control of everything we've built to the American-based WPA, and frankly they don't deserve it. Our game is stronger because we all play under the one organization.

[rdsalt]

Not having one set of rules really holds the game back and causes problems between players, regardless of what rules they are in my opinion it would be a huge step forward for pool if the rules could be unified. If one set is to come out on top I can see it being blackball, the top players are now playing blackball on the IPT or have switched altogether to 9 ball, not that that really means much as the top players will go where the money is regardless of the rules played.

The WEPF world championships is now missing virtually all the top players that were regulars a few years ago. The Sky coverage that is on just now does look very impressive compared to any blackball tournaments though. The set up looked professional on TV although the crowd was small, take the 2 teams out of the arena and there wouldn't have been much people left. I thought the coverage itself was a bit odd, you would see the first few shots of a frame then it would just skip to the end of the frame and leave you wondering what happened in between, I know there is no time to show everything but the way it was done seemed a bit haphazard to me.

[billabong]

Agreed . I only saw the Team Semi between Ireland & India (?) , and things seemed to jump around a bit.

I also hate that if you jump from one rule-set to the other ( for a comp ), then you are excluded from entering
any comps from the opposing rule-set.
A few friends did this a few years ago, and reported great things, but others weren't wiling to risk being excluded from
the many more ( and local ) events run by their current ruling body.

99% of players just want to play when , where & whatever rules they like, but politics doesn't allow that.

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[grimreaper]

In a way we are lucky in Australia as we only play WR so no politics. Its a shame that the ruling bodies don't try to work together to promote both games as they both have there good and bad points .It should be about having a good time no matter what the rules are.

[mythman69]

In a way we are lucky in Australia as we only play WR so no politics. Its a shame that the ruling bodies don't try to work together to promote both games as they both have there good and bad points .It should be about having a good time no matter what the rules are.

In Sydney, almost every pub seems to have its own special rules. Plus Melbourne seems to have a few variations as well. Before beginning any game it is always worth checking the rules. Still, it seems that half way though most games there is a rule that has been forgotten, but assumed that 'everyone knows that'.