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What is

Straight pool (14.1)

According to Wikipedia - Straight pool (also The idea of straight pool is derived from an earlier
known as 14.1 continuous or 14.1 rack), is a game game called continuous pool. In continuous pool,
that features two players competing on a 9 foot points are earned for every ball that is pocketed.
billiard table attempting to pocket as many balls When all balls are pocketed, a new rack begins,
as possible without committing a foul - one point with the player who pocketed the final ball playing
is scored for each object ball pocketed where no the break. As players became skilled in scoring
foul is made. many points in a single turn, they would often
employ defensive shots on the break to avoid their
Straight pool was the primary version of pool in opponent running the 15 balls on the table.
professional competition until it was superseded
in the 1970s by faster-playing games like 9-ball In 1910 Jerome Keogh, who was a winner of
and 8-ball. numerous continuous pool tournaments, wanted
to increase the attacking nature from the break
In straight pool, the player may attempt to pocket off shot. This new game became known as “14.1
any object ball on the table regardless of color continuous” or “14.1 rack” and would a few years
or number, until just one object ball and the cue later be called straight pool in 1912. The 14.1
ball remain, at this point the other fourteen balls refers to the 14 balls that make up the rack, when
are replaced into the rack. Play then resumes with one ball remains. The game quickly overtook
the objective being that the cue ball caroms from continuous pool and was the primary version of
the final remaining ball into the rack, opening pool until eight-ball became popular.
the balls and allowing the player to continue
the run. The goal is to reach a set number of
points determined by agreement before the
game. One point is scored for each object ball
pocketed where no foul is made. In professional
competition, straight pool is usually played to
125 or 150 points, with longer matches becoming
more prevalent. Straight pool is played with every
shot requiring a designation for both the ball and
pocket chosen.

Straight Pool (14.1) was a very popular pool game
in the United States, and was shown in the 1961
film The Hustler, starring Paul Newman & Jackie
Gleason, a movie based on Walter Tevis’s 1959
novel of the same name.

A World Straight Pool Championship was held
from 1912 until 1990. A current event that is
now run by Dragon Promotions, the World
Tournament, was first held in 2006 and was won
by Thorsten Hohmann, with events at the U.S
Open and European Pool Championships.

Jerome Keogh invented the game in 1910
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