International rules in the Udon poolleague

[Marcel]

Hello poolplayers of udon thani, my name is Marcel and i have played for the Kinnaree last season.
Through this way i want to open the discussion to play by the international pool rules in the udon league and forget about the current rules.
The rules can be found on the website of the wpa. www.wpa-pool.com
A few flaws in the current rules by mine oppinion are:

-No call shot 8 ball, i'm playing pool for some time now but never i have played the game without callshot. Only 9 ball has no call shot.

-Pot the opponents ball and get ball in hand, this rule really holds back the player to make all possible shots, for example; when you have to make a difficult shot but there is a ball of the opponent in the line of the cueball after contact, how good of a player you have to be to make the shot and avoid the opponents ball to go in a pocket, you have to be a proffessional! Are we?
It olso slows down the game when players are placing there balls infront of a pocket and starts a chessgame instead of playing the game of pool.

- Hit a cushion after contact, the rule now is that you can play cushion first and roll up behind your ball or hit a ball without hitten a cushion and leave no full snooker for your opponent, this is a semi-snooker rule and we're not playing snooker! You have to either pot the ball or a ball have to hit the cushion after contact.

- After the break a ball is potted of any color you can choose any color to play on, when the ball is missed the table remains open so the opponent can choose any color, so you can not nominate a color and miss and still get this color to play on the next shot.

- There are a few more flaws in the rules but these are the most importent.

Please read the rules on www.wpa-pool.com they are very undertandable and easy to apply into your game, you will find the game more plessant to play with the international rules.

There are more reassons to play by the international rules:
-If you go and play outside of udon, NOBODY playes the udon rules.
-When there are newcommers in the league, you have to explain the udon rules when they are most likely to know the international rules.
-The games will be played in a better tempo, no endless long chessgames because there are some balls hanging over the pockets.
It may olso open the doors for a new format, faster games can result in longer matches and a mix of different poolgames like 9 ball or 10 ball.
- When we want to make things happen in the future with the udon poolleague and send out players for example to an other city, we must play by the international rules, nobody will play against a city with the current rules of udon.
- As said before we are playing pool and not snooker, pool- poolrules
Snooker- snooker rules.

There are a lot of players in the league who wants to play by the international rules, to those players i would like to say, stand up to play pool like you suppose to, convince your captain to vote for the international rules at the captains meeting!

A few players in favor of the int. rules:
David, Tan, Jarno, Marcel there are many more, join us.

Lets play the right pool and have fun!

[stattointhailand]

Marcel, the udon pool league has been running for about 8 years now in several different formats. Every season (about 14 or 15 now) there is a meeting prior to the commencement of matches where any ideas can be put forward. There have been lots of extra meetings held to discuss the rules used and changes that are required, and about 3 years ago there was a 5 person group set up to look into the rules. It was found that there was not one but several versions of the "International Pool rules" depending on who or where you happened to be or if there were likely to be TV cameras etc etc. The current rules are those that have been formulated over the years to best represent the requirements of the majority playing in the league in Udon.
I am sure that Stevo (if he is still the administrator) will be more than happy to listen to any ideas you may wish to put forward via your team captain, and have them discussed at the meeting, but as mentioned before the current rules have developed over many seasons by many players to best suit what is required by the league.

[mathusalah80]

[quote="stattointhailand"]Marcel, the udon pool league has been running for about 8 years now in several different formats. Every season (about 14 or 15 now)

Have you been drinking again Statto?
Anyway, don't be a spoil sport. Let this new generation of 'rules malcontents' have their day. You just don't want them to have the fun we had with the rules, back in the good old days! :-"

[stattointhailand]

Marcel, the udon pool league has been running for about 8 years now in several different formats. Every season (about 14 or 15 now)

Have you been drinking again Statto?
Anyway, don't be a spoil sport. Let this new generation of 'rules malcontents' have their day. You just don't want them to have the fun we had with the rules, back in the good old days! :-"

Each past season has lasted about 6 or 7 months (with a week or two break between).
That's about 1.5 - 2 seasons per cal year. ok so my maths isn't that good ..... perhaps it's about season 12 or 13 now

[Marcel]

Thanks for the reply,

As you've written, there were many discussions about the rules the last few years, in order to end the discussions it's a good idea to apply the international rules, the international rules can be found on www.wpa-pool.com
These are the only int. Rules, in some tournament formats there can be some changes, but not in the fundamental rules of the game, only like no use of the jump cue or they count a ten ball break.
Lets change the rules!

[stattointhailand]

Marcel, you seem to have missed the point. The website you refer too is the Wpa which is the non profit making World Pool Billiards Association which do issue a set of "international rules" which they and several affiliates around the world play to, but it is far from the ONLY set of International Rules. Just a quick check on Wiki will provide the following statements.

"American-style eight-ball rules are played around the world by professionals, and in many amateur leagues. Nevertheless, the rules for eight-ball may be the most contested of any billiard game. There are several competing sets of "official" rules."
and
"As with American eight-ball, there are multiple competing standards bodies that have issued international rules."

Many tournamnts are played using the World Eightball Pool Federation rules http://www.wepf.org/index.php

In the end it's up to those who compete, but previous experience has shown that the majority have always preferred to use the less strict set of rules. As said in my previous post, this is not the place to discuss the pro's and con's of one set of rules v another, it should be referred to the administrator via your team captain and discussed/voted on at the captains meeting prior to the season

[Marcel]

Stattioninthailand,

Yes, you're wright about the different world pool organisations, my artikel only shows the wpa rules.
What i'm bringing under attention is not that there is one worldpool organisation but the flaws in the current rules, by most poolorganisations you have to hit a cushion after contact i think and that's a fundamental rule. Yes there migth be some differences in the rules but the fundamentals are the same. I mean you have to agree, when potting your ball, an opponents ball olso go's down, ball in hand? As i wrote before, how good of a player must you be to avoid that, no speaking of the endless chessgames it produces.

So it's not about who has the authority on pool, but play the game by it's fundamentals, to be found almost in all poolrules i think, i migth be wrong not knowing them all, but the flaws i wrote down about the current rules surrely needs changing.

And yes i understand there is a meeting prior the new season, that's why i'm bringing this up now and i hope a lot of players wil read this and at least think about it.

In wich team are you playing, stattioninthailand?

Have fun!

[BillaRickaDickay]

I've played for a few years in the Udon League and IMO it has evolved into a good set of rules, none of us are professionals, although some like to think they are, for the past 40 years every where I have played have their own versions, at the end of the day for me it is a good night out meeting old friends and having a few beers and competing in a sport that I am still physically able to do, lets not get too serious.

[mathusalah80]

[quote="BillaRickaDickay"]I've played for a few years in the Udon League and IMO it has evolved into a good set of rules, none of us are professionals, although some like to think they are, for the past 40 years every where I have played have their own versions, at the end of the day
" for me it is a good night out meeting old friends and having a few beers and competing in a sport that I am still physically able to do, lets not get too serious." =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

Well said BRD. Your comments exactly summarise the original concept of the UPL, when we started it up so many moons ago. The stream of unpaid, mostly unappreciated hardworking Administrators, (of whom Statto, as I recall, was one of the best and longest serving), must have been doing something right, for the league to survive for so many years.
A constructive suggestion for Marcel is to join with the other discontented players he mentioned, and have your own evening of deadly serious pool played strictly to the rules. Then, when you are in the mood for the sort of social, congenial evening of goodwill and relaxation so well described by BRD, you could also join the like minded happy go lucky guys playing in the Pool League. Thus you enjoy the best of both worlds.

[Kaveye]

Let's not forget that ,even thought you have been playing with those rules for a long time, there now many pool players in Udon Thani who don't agree with those rules anymore and would like to have some NEW Udon Rules for the Udon Pool League. Starting with calling your shots, hitting a cushion after contact at every shot, ... Don't ignore those players they are part of the Udon Pool league as much u do. They have the right to be heard and their requests have to be put to a vote at the Captain meeting before the beginning of the next season. Let's the majority decide which way to go.

[stattointhailand]

" a vote at the Captain meeting before the beginning of the next season"

agreed kaveye =D>

Please remember though that Stevo does have other things to do as well.

Let him know via your team captain well in advance of the meeting which of the current rules you would like to see amended, and in what way.
It is totally useless to say we want it changed to the "International Rules" as this has always caused nothing but confusion

[mathusalah80]

They have the right to be heard and their requests have to be put to a vote at the Captain meeting before the beginning of the next season. Let's the majority decide which way to go.

Absolutely right Kaveye and, as usual, Statto offers sensible avice, in that connection.
Also, in view of Keveyes' statement to the effect that, ".....there are now many pool players in Udon now -(playing in the Pool League?)- who don't agree with those rules anymore...." I suggest it would helpful to their cause if the OP, and his supporters, prepared a petition setting out their requests and have it signed by those supporting it, together with their names clearly and the name of the team for which they played last season, clearly shown. This would provide firm evidence of the numbers (%) of Pool League players supporting the requested changes, and identify where the wishes of the majority lie; thus making the Committees' decision making easier.

[Marcel]

Thanks everybody to have this discussion about the rules,
I agree to change the rules into int. rules is not possible, but change the rules on some fundamentals must be possible.

As came forward in the comments, these are the three rules that should be looked at:

-Call shot, nominate your ball. Obvious balls you don't have to nominate, only like bankshots, combo's and the not obvious.
-Hit a cushion after contact.
-After hitting or potting your ball correctely, a opponent ball is olso potted, that's not a foul, by the current rule it's a foul.

I think these are real fundamental rules to play the game, i explained the reasons to change these before in the artikel.

Do we know when the meeting will be held?

Thanks again everybody.

[stattointhailand]

I'm sure Stevo will let the captains know the date of the meeting and also the date he needs to know items for the agenda by, but you could (or get your captain to) e-mail stevo and ask the man himself.