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Torsten
USA
401 Posts |
 Posted - 04/03/2007 : 10:22:31 AM
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So this happened to me last week, practicing 9 ball with a friend. Here's the sitch. My buddy shoots the three ball and it hangs on the pocket. After a few choice words about the pool Gods are against him, he steps away from the table. About 10-15 seconds elapse as I try to determine how to get shape on the 4. The 3 ball falls into the pocket. Now, according to the way I understand the rules, the three ball should be replaced as close as possible to the spot it was in, seeing as sufficient time had elapsed. Thing is, it fell in right as I struck the cue. As a result, I made no legal contact since the 3 fell in before the cue got there. The odds of this happening have to be astronomical... (I should have bought a lotto ticket) Anyway, I assume I have to give him ball in hand (when the oxygen returns to his brain from laughing so hard) but the rulebook doesn't cover this obscure situation. Any ideas?
"The downside of being better than everyone is that people tend to assume you're pretentious." |
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frananator
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2007 : 10:45:22 AM
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Seems to me that "play stops" the moment the 3 ball fell in - so there would be no foul - just replace the 3 ball and the cue ball as close to where they were as possible and your are still shooting.
No rule book can possibly cover "everything that could ever happen" during a game so common sense & fairness should cover "unusual" situations.
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Torsten
USA
401 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2007 : 3:07:34 PM
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Fairness and common sense SHOULD always prevail. I agree with you wholeheartedly. But do they always? Here's a recipe for you. 1 hard day at work. 45 minutes stuck in traffic on the way to pool. add 6 beers and a dab of frustration over having missed an easy 9 ball earlier in the night. garnish with some exhaustion and what kind of pie do you have? Maybe a common sense and fairness pie. Maybe not. It would still be nice to have something concrete to reference the situation to. Obscure things do happen. The reason we have board meetings is because things like fairness and honesty do not always prevail.
As to your interpretation of what the ruling should be, I agree.
"The downside of being better than everyone is that people tend to assume you're pretentious." |
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frananator
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2007 : 3:38:39 PM
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Torsten - I totally know what you are saying.
When we have something really "not in the book" happen down here, we call the LO. If they are closed then we typically always have a BOG member or Div Rep also playing at the sight or nearby and can call them - that way they make the call & your opponents don't have a reason to get an "attitude" against your team. |
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Kerry Randolph
USA
172 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2007 : 08:22:17 AM
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Torsten
When things like this happen the best way for you to figure out what should be done is to look at it as if it happened to your opponent. How fair would you be if it happened to him? What would you suggest to do? I would think of two ways to handle this and pick from the fairest of the two.
1. Replace all the balls and do that shot over.
2. Play on as if the cue ball had pocketed the 3. This one depends on where the cue ball went after the shot.
The three was an automatic make, but I have had automatic shots before and scratched or hooked myself trying to get my leave, so I say replace them both and move on.
What did you and your opponent decide to do?
I do believe this could only happen to you. |
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Torsten
USA
401 Posts |
Posted - 04/04/2007 : 09:01:56 AM
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It was a friendly game, so the first thing we did was laugh hysterically. I don't know how we would have proceeded if it had been an APA match. We would have called the office for a ruling. What we ended up doing is replacing the three ball to its spot, teetering above the pocket and I gave my buddy ball in hand. Generous, I know, but he needs all the help he can get. 
"The downside of being better than everyone is that people tend to assume you're pretentious." |
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replacing a ball
