Inspecting the opponents rack

[Tennessee Joe6]

Yesterday in a rack your own One Pocket game, after my opponent racked I inspected his rack. He questioned my right to do that. I said I do it in 9 ball and 10 ball and have the right in One Pocket.

It is easy to fix a rack to your advantage in 9 and 10 ball. But in One Pocket, rack your own, what would you look for to make sure the racker does not give himself an advantage?

 

[lll]

i would think the tilt of the rack would be an advantage
tilted slightly towards the side of your pocket

 

[Cowboy Dennis]

Yesterday in a rack your own One Pocket game, after my opponent racked I inspected his rack. He questioned my right to do that.

But in One Pocket, rack your own, what would you look for to make sure the racker does not give himself an advantage?

Joe,

If your opponent racks for himself with the balls a little tilted, like Cornbread did here while playing Bugs, you may want to complain .

You have every right & a responsibility to yourself to inspect his racks as he does yours.

 

[RedCard]

The Rack

The Rack

The opponent's rack should always be checked out and possibly photographed in any Scotch Doubles competition.

 

[ace]

The person breaking has an advantage if a gap exist between the wing ball (15) and the next ball up table (7), both on the incoming players side of the table. The wing ball (15) will leak out less.
[CUETABLE]http://CueTable.com/P/?@4AATS4BBii3CBJi3DCXw4EATw4FCww4GEUL4HBjL3IBKL3JDvL3KFCa3LCYa4MAUa4NDGa4OFjc1PYkc4iDGa4iDOa4jFjc4jIFD1kYkc4kCXU4kIEH4kJjY4kLgD4kPIo4kaxx@[/CUETABLE]

 

[lll]

^^^^ good point

this one subject id like to hear from
billy, artie, .freddy,john brumbacck.shannon,sjd, dennis,ghost, beatle,rod,j.h.(sorry for those i did not include)
names not mentioned in any pecking order but you guys have played for money for a long time.
i dont beleive there is much you havent seen before(like rod saying go break them and see how many in a row you get)
tell us how do you make the rack in your favor and what to check for when your opponent racks


also only because it came up in the thread
EVERYONE AGREES YOU HAVE THE "RIGHT " TO INSPECT THE RACK

 

[Cowboy Dennis]

^^^^ good point

tell us how do you make the rack in your favor and what to check for when your opponent racks

Larry,

I don't have the slightest idea in the world about how to make the rack in my favor. I don't know how to cheat or to gain advantages like that. I would make any rack tight and straight, that's all I know how to do.

Some of them thar Chi-town fellers might have some ideas on the topic, I've heard they are well-versed on the subject.

Dennis

 

[newfosgatesucks]

If it is tilted so that he has a thinner hit, it favors him.

If the corner ball on YOUR side isn't frozen, it favors him.

The front ball with a little gap allows a fuller "make the corner ball" break

The rack slightly beneath the spot favors him.

Insist the balls on YOUR side of the rack are all frozen.

Two of these things control the cornerball on your side, two allow a firmer break, and one decreases the likeliness of a scratch.

I went to the extent of keeping loose statistics on the break during sessions and while spectating. Amongst other statistics. But the numbers are useless when you must divide by ability of the opponent. There is no number for that, unless we find a probability expert .....
And I say Loose Statistics because I ruled out weak players, and players frought with inconsistencies.

 

[One Pocket Ghost]

Larry, I don't really like to give away trade secrets, but, ok...

...When Papie and I play our match at the DCC, if I see that he's not checking my racks - I will rack them like this - I can make the corner ball every time with this rack... >>>

- Ghosty


[CUETABLE]http://CueTable.com/P/?@4AATc3BCIi3CDWA4DAdm3EBin4FAEW4GBJs3HHWX4IDGr3JEld4KCYb3LBCE3MCpS3NFSN4OBrK1PXFV@[/CUETABLE]

 

[beatle]

tilting the bottom of the rack toward your hole is a good thing for you if you are racking for him.

raising the rack above the spot helps in a few ways. one he gets a bad angle on the lower rail with his cue ball and will always have trouble putting you on the long rail.
also balls have more room to go to your side of the table and do. plus it makes him hit slightly different than usual and make mistakes.

always move from where you last racked. a player always remembers just his last break and what went well or wrong. so move the rack to the direction that favors him getting it wrong again.

dont check his racks and get him to hurry racking so that he will feel bad checking yours. likewise while he is racking you should be lining up and stroking so he gets moving faster. and when you rack get out of the way and in position so he can break right away and doesnt take time to look.

each table has its own quirks and figure out what they are and loosen or tighten what balls will cause trouble for him.

keep the head ball out of the little depression on the spot as he can hit harder when it is in it.

wetting inside the rack or the head ball can make un natural breaks.

two solid balls on the head so it is harder for him to see the spot to hit. and put more solids on his side so his cut shots are harder to see

all of these things you can watch for but should never do as it may not be considered sportsmanlike by the person trying to take advantage of you.

 

[wincardona]

Larry, I don't really like to give away trade secrets, but, ok...

...When Papie and I play our match at the DCC, if I see that he's not checking my racks - I will rack them like this - I can make the corner ball every time with this rack... >>>

- Ghosty


[CUETABLE]http://CueTable.com/P/?@4AATc3BCIi3CDWA4DAdm3EBin4FAEW4GBJs3HHWX4IDGr3JEld4KCYb3LBCE3MCpS3NFSN4OBrK1PXFV@[/CUETABLE]

Yea, that's all well and good, but what are ya gonna do if he ask you to switch pockets before you break?

Billy I.

 

[Cowboy Dennis]

Yea, that's all well and good, but what are ya gonna do if he ask you to switch pockets before you break?

Billy I.

Miami had the annoying habit of occasionally tilting the rack slightly in his favor (we racked for each other) after I had placed the cueball on the side of the table where I was going to break from. After he racked the balls I would walk over and inspect their straightness & tightness. After I was satisfied with the rack he would sit down or move away from the table. I would walk to the cueball to break and then pick it up and move it to the other side of the table, to where the tilted rack was in my favor. I would break before he knew what happened. He stopped tilting the rack after several of these events .

P.S. Just to toy with people who do that, I would put the cueball on the headspot while they were racking for me, that way they didn't know which way to tilt it.

Dennis

 

[androd]

Miami had the annoying habit of occasionally tilting the rack slightly in his favor (we racked for each other) after I had placed the cueball on the side of the table where I was going to break from. After he racked the balls I would walk over and inspect their straightness & tightness. After I was satisfied with the rack he would sit down or move away from the table. I would walk to the cueball to break and then pick it up and move it to the other side of the table, to where the tilted rack was in my favor. I would break before he knew what happened. He stopped tilting the rack after several of these events .

P.S. Just to toy with people who do that, I would put the cueball on the headspot while they were racking for me, that way they didn't know which way to tilt it.

Dennis

I play a guy often who examines the rack and then breaks for what he thinks is the appropriate pocket. I don't know what he sees but it seems to work pretty well for him. I also try to rack the best and tightest that I can.
I always offer to let my opponent rack for both of us, and often they will. I'm not picky about the rack ! I rack tightly because I believe it's for my own protection. I'm always happy to break a loose rack. I never complain about their rack unless it looks like the ghoats.
Rod.

 

[bud_44]

Inspecting the opponents rack

New member here. I just learned a lot about racking when playing one pocket. Thanks everyone. About one week ago a player I back and I went to a strange pool hall looking for a money game, 9 ball or 10 ball. We got into a 9 ball game. Every time my man would break the 9 ball would not move. Every time his opponent would break the 9 ball would move quite a bit, once going in on the break. I complained about the rack to no avail. We quit. Lost 250P. I'm ready to lose 2500P to 3000P. We won't go there again. The table was a bad table anyway. How was he cheating when the balls were racked for his player? 9 ball game.
Bud

 

[Greyghost]

New member here. I just learned a lot about racking when playing one pocket. Thanks everyone. About one week ago a player I back and I went to a strange pool hall looking for a money game, 9 ball or 10 ball. We got into a 9 ball game. Every time my man would break the 9 ball would not move. Every time his opponent would break the 9 ball would move quite a bit, once going in on the break. I complained about the rack to no avail. We quit. Lost 250P. I'm ready to lose 2500P to 3000P. We won't go there again. The table was a bad table anyway. How was he cheating when the balls were racked for his player? 9 ball game.
Bud

In 9 ball if the rack is completely tight then the 9 is not really going to move.....so when the 9 ball is moving all over (KISSES DONT COUNT) you know the rack probably had a gap or two somewhere.

-Grey Ghost-

 

[androd]

New member here. I just learned a lot about racking when playing one pocket. Thanks everyone. About one week ago a player I back and I went to a strange pool hall looking for a money game, 9 ball or 10 ball. We got into a 9 ball game. Every time my man would break the 9 ball would not move. Every time his opponent would break the 9 ball would move quite a bit, once going in on the break. I complained about the rack to no avail. We quit. Lost 250P. I'm ready to lose 2500P to 3000P. We won't go there again. The table was a bad table anyway. How was he cheating when the balls were racked for his player? 9 ball game.
Bud

Who was racking ?

 

[John Brumback]

That's alot of good info there about racking and checking the rack.As for me, I just try to get them straight and froze.Most good players aren't going to let you do anything to the rack anyway.Least not the ones I play.I did pick up one little neat trick in here and that's putting the cuball on the spot until my oppon. gets done racking.I'm going to remember that one.Wish I had something of value to post about the rack, but I really don't. I do have a ? though.
Can your oppon.tell you which balls have to go in front while I'm racking for him.Like putting the 8 ball up there?? I want the rack straight and froze.I know with some tables that's asking alot for em all to be froze.So the main thing I look for is to make sure the corner ball is froze so it doesn't leak out in front of my opponents pocket.Great info guys! yall are sharp.Thanks,JB

 

[Skin]

Can your oppon.tell you which balls have to go in front while I'm racking for him.Like putting the 8 ball up there?? I want the rack straight and froze.I know with some tables that's asking alot for em all to be froze.So the main thing I look for is to make sure the corner ball is froze so it doesn't leak out in front of my opponents pocket.Great info guys! yall are sharp.Thanks,JB

I play a guy who wants the 8 as the head ball in the rack. If I am racking for him, I don't have any problem with that. However, if he insisted that the 8 ball be the head ball in my rack, then Houston, we'd have a problem.

I remember Rod writing about how he places the 1-9 (in the back?, not sure) because he feels like they tend to be smaller due to extra wear. Maybe he'll tell again what his thinking is.


Skin

 

[gulfportdoc]

Can your oppon.tell you which balls have to go in front while I'm racking for him.Like putting the 8 ball up there?? I want the rack straight and froze.I know with some tables that's asking alot for em all to be froze.So the main thing I look for is to make sure the corner ball is froze so it doesn't leak out in front of my opponents pocket.Great info guys! yall are sharp.Thanks,JB

There is no standard rule that covers that situation. The gentlemanly thing to do would be to comply with the breaker's wishes. However you're under no obligation to do so. Of course there is wide variation of practices in private play, in contrast to tournament play.

In my particular case I always play "rack your own". No one is going to give you as good a rack as you would do for yourself. The opponent should have the option of checking the rack for obvious errors, but in my opinion the inspection should be very limited, otherwise guys would use the inspection as a sharking tactic. ~Doc

From our standard rules: "2.1 All fifteen balls are tightly racked in no particular required order in a standard triangle with the apex ball placed as nearly as possible on the foot spot. In tournament play, players lag for the first break...

...Traditionally opponents rack the balls for the breaker, with the breaker having option to inspect the rack and ask for a re-rack if they are not satisfied with the quality of the rack. In current tournament play, players may rack their own balls, with the opponent having the option to inspect the rack. 'Racking your own' is recommended at all times, to reduce racking complaints."

 

[John Brumback]

There is no standard rule that covers that situation. The gentlemanly thing to do would be to comply with the breaker's wishes. However you're under no obligation to do so. Of course there is wide variation of practices in private play, in contrast to tournament play.

In my particular case I always play "rack your own". No one is going to give you as good a rack as you would do for yourself. The opponent should have the option of checking the rack for obvious errors, but in my opinion the inspection should be very limited, otherwise guys would use the inspection as a sharking tactic. ~Doc

From our standard rules: "2.1 All fifteen balls are tightly racked in no particular required order in a standard triangle with the apex ball placed as nearly as possible on the foot spot. In tournament play, players lag for the first break...



...Traditionally opponents rack the balls for the breaker, with the breaker having option to inspect the rack and ask for a re-rack if they are not satisfied with the quality of the rack. In current tournament play, players may rack their own balls, with the opponent having the option to inspect the rack. 'Racking your own' is recommended at all times, to reduce racking complaints."

Thanks Doc,Good info as always! You sure are smart....for a poolplayer.hehehe JB