Tough Rolls

Tough RollsBy Keith McCready, InsidePOOL ColumnistThe pool industry has weathered some tough rolls over the years. It has accomplished many successes, in many respects, upon entering the international arena as well as acquiring lucrative sponsors, and these endeavors are made possible by the personal contributions of hard-working folks who have a vision and want to take pool to a higher level. I have always wondered, though, how the two-shot/push-out rule from the early '70s changed to the one-foul/ball-in-hand rule used in today's competitions. My guess at that time, it was because the people from the East Coast couldn't beat the people from the West Coast, so they had to change the rule.
For those who may not know what the two-shot/push-out rule is, it goes like this. At any time during the game, you can push the cue ball to anywhere on the table that you think you are able to make the shot and your opponent cannot. Your opponent then decides whether or not he wants to shoot this shot. Whoever takes the shot must make a legal hit on the object ball without scratching. A legal hit means you must hit the object ball with enough speed to allow the object ball to hit the rail or, if the cue ball hits the rail first and then makes contact with the object ball, the object ball must hit the rail. If no legal hit is executed, then the other player gets ball in hand. Let me tell you a cute story. There was a high-paying tournament in Memphis, Tennessee, and all of the best "gunfighters" and stake-horses were in attendance. I was about 21 years old, a little green in some ways, but I was virtually unknown in these parts. By the end of the tournament, I already had my target, a local fellow by the name of St. Louis Louie Roberts. Needless to say, he was one of the top players in the world at that time. After some barking back and forth, the railbirds settled on their perches, and it didn't take long for the game to begin. We decided to play a 7-ahead set, meaning one player had to win seven games ahead of the other. Now, Louie was rated as one of the toughest 9-ball players in the world and I was real young and on the road, but I had no fear as I raced to the table to flip the coin. Louie could cut a ball on a dime, but what he didn't know was that I was practicing the cut shots myself. So he could not roll out for these really hard cut shots, and if he did, I would either make the shot or leave him safe, instead of letting him shoot, which left him benched more times than not. At the conclusion of each set, Louie would politely excuse himself from the table for a few minutes and played it off as if he was going to wash his hands, and after a period of time, I started breaking him down on the strength of the two-shot/push-out rule. We ended up playing four sets of the 7-ahead game, and I won all four. The McCready-and-Roberts show came to an end, and I couldn't wait to break down my cue stick and leave, but then four guys rushed the table and surrounded Louie. It was then that I realized that he was not washing his hands at the end of each set. When he would dismiss himself from the table, he was actually looking for a guy to lend him money to play another set by offering his cue stick as collateral, but after each set, he would borrow from another guy, then another guy, and then another guy. When it was all over, Louie owed four guys the same cue stick, and each one of them was now looking to Louie for their immediate payment -- the stick. Well, Louie only had the one cue stick, and I knew he was in trouble. So, before things got out of hand, I quickly pulled Louie off to the side and gave him some money back, so he could smooth it out with his lenders. In the days of two-shot/push-out, it was harder to beat a good player like St. Louis Louie Roberts. The best player would be forced to out-shoot their opponent in order to win. There would be more offense with your defense. Now there is a lot more luck involved in the game of pool, which I can't stand. If the rules used back in the '70s were in force, I think my game could maybe shine all over again. The victory could, and would, not be won with lucky rolls, and it would force players use their pool-playing skills and God-given talent. The game would not rely on the luck factor as much, and we could transform the tournament trail back to where I think it should be: Two-shot/push-out, and let the best player win.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest techniques from the world of billiards and pool.

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