What is straight pool?

Straight pool information, 14.1 Continuous rules, and a brief description of the game.

December 26, 2007
What is straight pool exactly? It used to be the game of choice in many pool halls. It has since lost its place at the top to the faster pace of 8-ball and 9-ball, as well as the proliferation of the coin-op "bar box" pool table. If you were ever out shooting and noticed some players with only 14 balls in the rack, or performing a safety break, you may have witnessed some straight pool. This is a classic pool game, and requires skill in cue ball control, patterns, defensive play, breakouts, as well as shot making consistency. The skills learned playing straight pool will always improve your skill set in other games. I don't know how many times casual players will come up and ask me, "What are you playing?". If you want to see an example of straight pool, check out the LINKS section to the left or rent the movie "The Hustler" with Jackie Gleason as "Minnesota Fats" and Paul Newman as "Fast Eddie Felson".

Click here for the World Standardized Rules for Straight Pool

From Wikipedia:
Straight pool, also called 14.1 continuous, is a pocket billiards game, and was the common sport of championship competition until overtaken by faster-playing games like nine-ball (and to a lesser extent eight-ball). The game was formerly especially popular in the United States, and immortalized in the 1961 film The Hustler.

In straight pool, the shooter may attempt to pocket any ball on the table. The object is to reach a set number of points determined by agreement before the game. One point is scored for each ball pocketed where no foul is made. A typical game might require a player to score 100 points, meaning at least 100 balls must be pocketed to win. In professional venues, straight pool is usually played to 150 points. Straight pool is a call-pocket game, meaning the player must indicate the intended object ball and pocket on every shot. How the ball reaches the pocket is irrelevant, as long as the called ball enters the called pocket.

Although straight pool is well-known in the United States, Europe and Japan, the game is obscure in other countries that produce world-class players such as the Philippines. (Nevertheless, Filipino players Efren Reyes and Alex Pagulayan have both achieved continuous runs over 100.) It is generally played on a 9 foot table, and uses all 15 balls, however, stripes or solids do not matter in this game.