[Jimbo]

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Answer: If I am enough better than player B, he/she will never win a single game unless I choose to allow it to happen in 8 ball. In 9 ball this is not necessarily true. That is why 8 ball is so much harder to handicap than any other form of pool.

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OK, maybe. Like at a ridiculously high caliber of competition, I might believe you, but this isn't really my area of expertise. My intuition says that this is way wrong tho, reasoning that Chess variance < Pool Variance, and Garry Kasparov has both drawn and lost games during a period when he was undoubtedly the best active player in the world. Furthermore, I have friends that I know are "better" than me like 100% for sure, but I beat every once in a while.

In fact, after some thought, asserting that the higher skilled player wins 100% of the time seems completely off-mark. Assuming that the lesser player is capable of racking the table (which even I've done with limited pool experience over many games), then he will win at least one game in the long run (DUCY?).

So my answer still stands --> Just offer odds based on the seeming skill-discrepancy.

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This is why I loved pool so much, amateurs just don't understand it. In chess you oponnent always get a turn at the chess board. In pool you can lose without ever having an opportunity to win the game yourself, pool is unique in this aspect. This is why your analogy has no merit.

I promise you that if you and I played 8 ball I could beat you 100% of the time until you either went broke or got tired of racking the balls. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Jimbo