Thankyou!

However i am now forever on record looking like a total berk..

Wait, thats nothing new! LOL!

Just wait till new year when i *can* drink

But, back to the subject, now i am playing them properly, they are fine, but they do seem frightfully easy..

Edited at 21:22 Tue 26/12/06 (GMT)

if this was you sober, we may have to call your wife and politely ask her to lock your computer in fort knox . so do you agree now the new games are easier?

Yup to both!

The game is much about your skill to pot. But is hardly the only factor!

Remember, the easier it is to pot a ball, the easier it could be to foul (by potting the wrong ball or sinking/scratching cue ball).

Simply enough, people prefer the easier game and i agree with spinner whn he says it would be more difficult to actually join on pro or wait for someone to join!

balls bigger = more difficult
pockets bigger = more easy
both bigger = no different to the pro version (if you thing about it, its more easier to snooker someone or yourself!)

Edited at 21:25 Tue 26/12/06 (GMT)

All very true Farren, however the only stats you dont mention are that there is less room on the table for tactical play, and that combined with a higher pocket_space-rail ratio means that the easiest way out of a sticky situation is to simply blúter(tm) the balls and something is bound to go in!

Hit'n'hope is now a viable tactic

ohhh the dependable hit and hope

farren lots of what you say is true, i agree but the games are very different. you have different things to worry about, somethings are easier, some are harder. they are two different games, and the old game is labeled pro because i think the majority of people have trouble with it, and agree it is the harder game.

Yep, online now and there are 0 games for US 8 ball pro.

Some like it simple eh?

Good points.

_brighteyes_ you just asked me for a game of pro and logged out

Edited at 22:02 Tue 26/12/06 (GMT)

i knowwww! i'm sorry the internet was being a poo . The offer still stands!!

Well it's been a month since Nick started this thread,what does everyone think of the new games?
I have played over a hundred games of both as it's now almost impossible to find players of the old Pro games.
I'm not a fan of the new 8 ball as it's too easy and boredom sets in after a few games.There are certainly a lot of people trying the new game but there are now less on all the other games including UK 8 ball.
Like the new 9 ball more than the old,it's a bit of fun with mad point swings over half an hour's play.
Neither of the new games have an addictive quality though as the learning curve is short.

I agree with that completely.

Hopefully after a time the desire for a challenge will lead new players to move on to the Pro games, but i guess it depends on how many people want that challenge as opposed to a quick knock-about.

The lack of addictive quality of the new games is a great point.

After i got the table re-sized, i found the only real problem with the new games was the way that "hit and hope" is now a viable strategy, especially on 9ball, since the chances of nothing going in are slim.

I appreciate the desire to make the games easier to "pick up and play", but its a shame to lose the need to play them properly in the process.

I agree completely, I miss the old games (I don't evenbother trying to get a game it's impossible) but unfortunately business is business and there are a lot more new users coming onto the site infrequently than there are us old dog's.. and they're the one's who hit the ad's too remember.

It would be nice to see the old games stay on for novelty's sake but I think they've been a victim of evolution

Maybe they could be added to poolsharks!

However, the new user numbers aren't just down to the new games, remember that guest privelages were limited around the same time..

EDIT:

Mekongmarcus has made and excellent point ofer on game shouts :

If the old 8BallUS was removed, there would be no variety left in 8ball, since the new US game is pretty much identical to the good old UK 8ball.

Add to that the fact that the new 9ball game really detracts from playing the game properly (as mentioned before, you can just wallop the ball on and something will go in), there is actually a very compelling argument to get rid of the new tables..

Edited at 13:27 Thu 18/01/07 (GMT)

Spinner,ur thoughts on walloping the ball are confrimed by the fact i just lost three games in a row to hit and hopes.Certainly not dull though.

Edit:I have joined the club.A gb or two evens the score

Edited at 14:40 Mon 22/01/07 (GMT)

Hit n hope was also a viable strategy on pro. The fact is, it's less so on the new version, because if you miss, a good opponent will then clear the table - something that was much harder to do on pro.

As a consequence, I find that the better players aren't chancing hit n hopes nearly so much, and generally trying to clear (unless a spot-on combo is available). This exactly mirrors the way the game is played at pro level, so the gameplay is now far more realistic.

True, the less-experienced players will still smack at anything, and occasionally win that way, but more often than not the shots fail and they lose. The players who were top at pro have gone straight to the top again, which proves that hit'n'hope isn't a viable strategy.

As for the fact that it's difficult to get a pro-game, and easy to get a new- version game, that should tell you all you need to know about which version is most addictive.

Edited at 16:24 Mon 22/01/07 (GMT)

Sorry Martin, but i dont consider myself an inexperienced player.

I would never have considered hitting and hoping on the pro game, as the chances of potting something is slim, however on the new tables its extremely rare not to pot something.

This is not a phenomenon i find realistic!

I'm not talking about it being a viable strategy for the out and out win, just that at times when skillful safety/snooker shots would normally be played, i now just wallop the balls knowing almost for certain i'll pot something so i dont lose my turn.

It doesn't matter how addicted you are to something if you cant get it dude..

Ok...but you stand a good chance of also potting the white, or snookering yourself next shot. Then you leave yourself wide open to a clear-up.

That's got to mean that hit n hope isn't a good choice of shot, and as you just admitted (& contradicted) yourself, it's not a viable option for winning many games.

So...your point is?

Ok it's possible spinner but it's nowhere near certain that you will pot a ball you can just as easily leave a strightforward shot for your opponent, or worse.


Edit: didnt see your post martin

Edited at 19:23 Mon 22/01/07 (GMT)

Careful Martin, i didnt say "winning", i said "out and out winning", by which i meant potting the 9 ball.

The point is that it's much more certain (and really lads, almost actually certain) that you will pot something than it is on the old table, and decent player can make relatively certain they wont pot the white.

Simple version is that its a tactic that doesn't work in either real life or on the pro table, but does so very well on the new one.

If it works, consistantly, then why are the best players on pro still achieving the best results on the new version.

If what you say is true, then the whole thing would be as random as, um...a 3am magic post

Admit it spinner. You're fighting a rearguard action here. You usually fall back on statistics, but the statistics are against you.

They show that there's been no change in result trends, and that the new version is more popular.

Edited at 20:42 Mon 22/01/07 (GMT)