Pool: Expediency Personified

While the British were playing their famous snooker on humongous 12x6-foot tables, the Americans – most known for doing things on a larger scale – ironically decided to trim back and develop a 9-foot table, and thus a new set of rules and new canon of games were born. The pool played in America was designed to be faster and more action-packed. Where snooker required patience and possibly even an Einstein-like understanding of geometry, American pool required shot-making ability and a steady cue.

However, American pool – mostly popularized by a game called 14.1 – was still too slow for most players and spectators. Up until the 1980s, no one had really thought of changing the classic formula. Most of the pool legends up until that point had simply started employing trick-shot exhibitions into their matches to give fans something to marvel at. But a new game would be born in the ‘80s – one requiring only 9 pool balls.

In today’s America, 9-ball is by far the most popular pool game. With ESPN hosting a plethora of tournaments every year, professional pool players like Earl Strickland, Allison Fisher, and Karen Corr have become American celebrities.

This fast-paced game, although taking a while to skyrocket in popularity, embodies the breakneck lifestyle that most people lead in the technology age. People from all over the world love speed and convenience. Why go to Vegas or AC when you can log onto one of the web’s best online casinos? Moreover, why even visit your local pool hall when you can go to one of the many pool-playing sites online and face off with thousands of opponents of different backgrounds and skill levels? The jury is in, and 9-ball is found guilty on all counts of expediency.

The game is extremely easy to understand. Unlike other games you can find online, much like online roulette, the winning or losing is based solely on your merit. The house doesn’t hold odds; your fate is in your hands. As such, 9-ball players aren’t forced to develop a course of action similar to a roulette strategy. Instead, players just practice and play and perfect their speed and timing. Combined with the speed of the game and the convenience in finding opponents, the ease of transition from rookie to skillful player makes 9-ball evermore popular.

The rules of 9-ball are very simple: You start the game with a diamond-shaped rack of 9 balls – 1 though 9, with the 9 ball placed in the center and the 1 ball at the front of the rack. On the break, a player must make contact with the 1 ball first, which sets the tone of the game. Henceforth, all balls must be shot in sequence, 1 through 9. Any scratch or other foul (hitting the wrong ball first, failure to contact a rail, jumping off of table, etc) results in “ball-in-hand,” which is when a player can place the cue ball anywhere on the table. Make the 9 ball at any point in the match – provided you hit the correct ball first – you win.

Although different online sites and various land-based pool halls will have variations of the rules, the basic rules stay the same.

You simply cannot beat the ease and speed of 9-ball. Many pool sites are drawing traffic from online casinos; players appreciate a game where skill wins out over luck.