howdy all,

just had a couple games of us8 against a so called "professional", when in the late stages of our second game i had a pocket blocked with my ball, and his was near it. so he chooses to simply sink my ball on purpose to free up the pocket for himself.

now i know im not the only one who plays on here that regards this as blatant cheating (as unlike uk8, the penalty for fouls in us8 really is not that much of a penalty alot of the time), and its just against the spirit of the game.as i do find that sort of play fairly disgusting and frustrating, i contemplated making a list on my profile of people who blatantly cheat like this.

i know funkypool is rather strict with the conduct of how players voice their opinions, so... admins, funkypool aristocracy etc, you reckon i can do this or is it against the rules of conduct?

feel free to give your 2cents on the matter, i dont care in the slightest if you think im being a sook . my point is that i respect and enjoy skillful and honest play... not the sort of players that possess the calibre of cheats in a bar pocketing balls with their hands when the other player has gone to the gents, thats all lol


cheers johnny

I have had it done to me on many occasions, however I have done the same too. It is part of the game and is the same for everyone!

Naming and shaming on your profile or forum is not acceptable, therefore would be frowned upon.

mmm yeah youre right, it is the same for everyone. i guess i am just a bit of a purist in the way that i do all i can to avoid fouling.

if only there were a uk8ball game on the us table. i really like those rules, just cant stand the table lol

cheers for the advice jim

lol here we go again

Whenever are people going to grasp that cheating is not defined as "whatever opponents do to me that I don't like".

Just like leaving your own balls blocking pockets is a perfectly sound (and sensible) tactic in the 8-ball games, so is the counter tactic of deliberately fouling to remove them.


Other points to keep in mind:

1. No one can do to you what you can't do in return. If you play an opponent that does something you are unhappy with (and possibly makes you lose the game) LEARN FROM IT! Use it to your advantage in future games. In fact, this is the single best reason why newbies should always seek to play as many pros as possible - simply since observing how they play is a great way to learn.

2. Anything the game technically lets you do is perfectly allowed. All strategies have people complain and moan - simply because they are more or less efficient in winning games (and make the losers whine).

3. By making your opponent deliberately foul to clear a pocket you have already cashed in the advantage you gained by leaving your ball blocking the pocket. All the opponent has accomplished is to force you to cash it in early rather than late (which is always a sensible thing to do)


And bottom line is that it is a pretty good job trying to call players who are playing by the rules cheaters

Edited at 16:31 Sun 10/01/10 (GMT)

Do what you can to win, Any means possible. You think your opponent is gonna sit and let u win? I would just pot the ball on the pocket to get the game under way. But i do it on both sides of view, and dont take it personally when someone pots my ball, i thank em lol

I do it all the time

Most players fall for it every time lmao

If your gonig to play like that at the start of the frame you have to be a very confident potter as well so its not a definite way to win by any means.

no, that is not what i am saying. what i am saying is that purposely fouling is cheating (as far as online pool goes, it is the most dishonest "tactic"). sure you incur a penalty, but in the late stages of a game, depending on your opponents position on the table, it can really be much more of an advantage for a player to purposely sink their opponents ball if it is covering a pocket for them.

people belonging to the belief "do what ever you can to win" ie mud slinging in the eyes, low blows when the ref isnt looking, ofcourse are not going to share this point of view of mine .

i believe in playing honestly and skillfully. this means avoiding going against any of the rules - meaning incuring a foul, which only happens if you go against the rules - which players often do because they lack the skill and/or foresight to get out of a messy situation.

what can i say, im an idealist

I see where you are coming from...but lets say you are in a tournament final, chasing your first tournament win - would you still go by your ideology of playing to your best and fairest ability, or would you rather the win more?

I know thats a big difference to a normal ranked game you were probably playing, but in the end, its just a game. We dont play for money, we dont play for fame and glory....its ok to do whatever it takes to win.

I used to be against having a free shot on any ball (except black) in 8 Ball UK, and would only try and hit/sink my ball on the first carry shot....but in the end I kept losing games that way, and now I have won more games after opponents foul by using the tactics to my advantage.

i hear what youre saying in regards in the uk8 rule, but then in that you are abiding by the proper rules of the game. and that has come about by your opponent fouling, and so the game rules entitle you to an advantage. whereas this situation im talking about is going against the rules of the game just to make things easier on yourself, which (now i know im repeating myself lol) but i think is against the spirit of the game

to answer your question, ive gotta say i would play in the manner that i believe is honest and fair. the only time i'd resort to purposely sinking other's balls to free up pockets for myself would be if someone had done it to me first i guess. some may say im a hypocrite in that respect, but i do think you "reap what you sow".

if i happen to play any of you in the future and i do end up sinking your balls, dont quote me on this... it just means ive had my online pool moral fibre dissolved having had this happen to me

nah, i say that in jest, for now lol

do unto others as they would do unto you !!

The bar environment where a player might pot a ball with his hand can't be replicated here; in other words, it's impossible for someone to falsely manipulate the conditions on the table. The only other way to cheat during a shot is to manipulate the conditions for the other player, and that can be achieved by PM'ing them or spamming the chat area, which are covered in http://www.funkypool.com/help#cheaters .

I've posted elsewhere on this forum - can't find it at the moment - about the merits and disadvantages of deliberately fouling. But basically, if it's in the rules, or not prohibited by the rules, go for it

so youre saying if it is or if it isnt prohibited by the rules, do it anyway?

my point again briefly and as simple as you can get;
fouling is against the rules, thats why the shot is called a foul, because the person has gone against the rules. purposely going against the rules is cheating. that is the definition of cheating.

and yeah, i was being jovial about the bar condition i mentioned earlier to illustrate how sad a tactic it is to use

I will pot the opponents balls if i have to,to win a game , and i don't like being called a cheat for doing it, hence would be very annoyed if i was labeled a cheat on your profile, its part of the game strategy for some people,, and can u show me where in the funky pool rules it says this is cheating ?

I suggest if you don't like it,don't play the people who do it

so it seems people opposed to my idea of the rules are people that think if you can win a game by doing this, then sure do it. thats where we part company in thought

the fact that it is a foul shot shows it is against the rules. i dont think this matter is as grey as some make out. to deliberately go against the rules, to deliberately do a foul shot to benefit yourself, is cheating.

yeah, i normally don't have a rematch with people who do play like that against me unless im in a tournament and have to

anyhow, my question was answered in the second post of this thread so there's not much need to carry on with this jibber jabber now. each is free to believe what they wish

dont let me stop the debating if you wanna say your bit though. personally i cant really be arsed now, ive said my bit



Edited at 03:41 Mon 11/01/10 (GMT)

I can see where you're coming from. Our point (or at least mine ) is however that the rules state that if you foul, the other guy gets ball in hand, or 2 shots, depending on the game. And that's the extent of your punishment. Most players foul accidentally; others do so deliberately in the knowledge that the punishment in front of them is what it is, and they take the chance. They're not cheating in the sense that they're doing anything unfair; they're just fairly exploiting the rules as far as they can to their advantage. The only way around this would be to have someone (or an extremely capable piece of programming) to judge each deliberate foul as being deliberate and punish accordingly. But that cannot happen.

mmm yeah i agree with most of that clooneman. my gripe really is that i think its pretty unsporting of people to purposely do that (in us 8 ball), knowing that even incurring a penalty, can be much more of an advantage for the player commiting the foul on purpose.

for example; if the player that commits the foul covers the pocket completely, and their opposition has 1 or 2 balls very close to that pocket, their options may only be to go off the cushion for another pocket, or to commit a foul back and to purposely sink the opponents ball. now, if the opponent (who committed the foul originally) only has 1 ball remaining and the black is free, then that should be the game when theyre given a free ball.

its a messy situation to explain, but i think most of you get what i mean. and thats what i see as unfair, underhanded, and i'd even go so far as to say "cheating" - as its going against the rules to leave yourself in a better position.

this isnt the case in uk 8 due to the carry rule and being able to sink your opponents ball on the first hit - so it prevents people from purposely fouling and having the advantage by then covering the pocket for themselves as a result of their own foul

/end slight rant for now hehe

Those are one and the same thing!

People really need to lose the ridiculous idea that doing what you can within the rules of the game is somehow unsporting.

This is a computer game. The confines of the rules are very clearly defined, and barring hacking, no one can go beyond the rules intended for each game type.

The only thing unsporting here are people complaining when faced with opponents who apply more and better tactics than themselves.