Purposely scratching in 8-ball?

[suzzer99]

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You play by the bar rules or don't play.

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Ok, what are bar rules? Can you provide documentation for these rules? I know this term is used as a kind of default answer, but can you actually show me a list of bar rules? Does this apply to all bars, or can it change from bar to bar? Get my point yet...the term bar rules means somethign more along the lines of "whatever we decide to play". If you wish to refer to the real rules of pool in general you can find them here.

BCA Standardized Rules

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Bar rules vary from bar to bar. They often aren't written down, but the regulars know them well. Have fun whipping out "BCA standard rules" against a regular. If you're just playing your buddy and no one is waiting obviously you can do whatever you want.

[Fast Food Knight]

For some reason I thought this thread was going to be about amphetamines.

[schwza]

i've always played ball in hand with my friends, but i'm surprised that everybody else seems to. definitely more common among the casual player/bar crowd/college dorm/etc is to play ball in the kitchen (ball behind the dot you break from, have to hit it going towards the long end of the table).

[ceczar]

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i've always played ball in hand with my friends, but i'm surprised that everybody else seems to. definitely more common among the casual player/bar crowd/college dorm/etc is to play ball in the kitchen (ball behind the dot you break from, have to hit it going towards the long end of the table).

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the type of person who posts about poker strategy on the internet is also frequently the type of person to realize that standard bar rules for fouls 8-ball are retarded and figure out that there's a better way.
in general i assume most people are idiots, but i'm still surprised at how few casual players play with the clearly superior official rules, especially since they solve the common problem of purposely scratching frequently being the correct play towards the end of games.

[otnemem]

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i've always played ball in hand with my friends, but i'm surprised that everybody else seems to. definitely more common among the casual player/bar crowd/college dorm/etc is to play ball in the kitchen (ball behind the dot you break from, have to hit it going towards the long end of the table).

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the type of person who posts about poker strategy on the internet is also frequently the type of person to realize that standard bar rules for fouls 8-ball are retarded and figure out that there's a better way.
in general i assume most people are idiots, but i'm still surprised at how few casual players play with the clearly superior official rules, especially since they solve the common problem of purposely scratching frequently being the correct play towards the end of games.

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I believe it's because they're casual players.

[ceczar]

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I believe it's because they're casual players.

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most people who have even occasionally played pool at bars have been exposed to the real rules at some point, because even if only 10% of people regularly played with real rules, most everyone would have seen them somewhere at some point.

my point is only that to even casual players it would be obvious that official rules are objectively better rules, which is why i'm at least moderately surprised (maybe disappointed is the right word) that more people don't start using them as soon as they are exposed to them the first time.

it's not like standard bar rules are better for the casual player.

[Quadstriker]

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Bar rules vary from bar to bar. They often aren't written down, but the regulars know them well.

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God forbid having a written down standarized set of rules for a game, rather than some mystical "bar rules" that not everyone knows, changes at will, and very few people can logically explain. Can anyone give a good reason for this other than wanting to start fights with strangers over unknown technicalities?

[suzzer99]

I get the feeling a lot of people posting in this thread have very little experience with bar pool. (Again I'm talking the drunk dumbass, write your name in chalk or put up quarters, 1-4 tables in the bar version of bar pool.)

[otnemem]

I think general bar rules are pretty standard. Then some bars have specific house rules, and some people have dumb rules. It is pretty stupid, but it's the way it is.

In WV, we played that no matter what balls or how many you sank, it was still open until you complete after the break. So if you sink three solids on the break, it's still open. If you miss a follow-up shot, your opponent could steal your solids. It's a terrible rule.

[ceczar]

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In WV, we played that no matter what balls or how many you sank, it was still open until you complete after the break. So if you sink three solids on the break, it's still open. If you miss a follow-up shot, your opponent could steal your solids. It's a terrible rule.

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this is actually standard at most bars, and is in fact the official rule. why is you think it's so terrible? the point of the rule is to reduce the advantage that comes with getting the break. i think most would agree that ideally it should be as close to nothing as possible. the alternative is that when you break and successfully pocket balls, not only is it your turn first, but you automatically get the color with fewer balls left. that seems like it would be a much worse outcome, no?