Speed Pool
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Speed Pool is a solitary billiard game. As its name suggests, one pockets all the balls on the table as quickly as possible. It can played competitively with the aid of a stopwatch.
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[edit] Rules
- The cue ball must not be in motion when shooting
- Object balls can still be in motion when shooting
- Ball and pocket must be called, (No lucking the balls in)
- Legal shots must be made, or a 10 second penalty will be incurred.
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- A legal shot involves the cue ball contacting an object ball, and driving it to the rail, or the cue ball hitting a rail after contact, or pocketing an object ball
- Any ball may be pocketed, but the 8-ball must be last.
[edit] Strategy
Observing professionals, one can see them running madly around the table to place their next shot. Unlike most billiard games, the cue ball is mostly used with a stop-shot to minimize the waiting time. Bank shots are legal, but time-consuming, and thus rare. A legal shot to just nudge the object ball for position on an easy shot is preferred.
[edit] Notable Professional Players
Dave Pearson
Jason Kane
Luc Salvas
[edit] Tournaments
Because speed pool is a very modern variation in pool, there are very few tournaments around that play it. One notable event was the International Speed Pool Tournament which was broadcast on ESPN. The games played in this event include one based on straight pool and another based on eight ball. The object in each match is to play all games with a shorter total time than other player. Luc Salvas won this event and the $50,000 winner-take-all purse.
[edit] Links
References: http://www.vnea-dallas.com/Documents/Speed-Pool-Rules-Of-Play.pdf http://scorers.members.beeb.net/docpt1.pdf (page 6)
