Anyone heard of a pool game called "45 Ball Runnout"?

Question

A pool hall that I recently started going to on a regular basis has started an on going "45 Ball Runout" until the 28th of this month. The owner made a triangle rack to hold three sets of 8-ball balls. It is beilng played on a 9 foot table. The rules are very simple: one ball in hand after the break, ball in hand must be taken if no balls fall on the break shot, all balls that fall on the break are void from score if you scratch on the break, use the cue ball to shoot any ball in any pocket, shoot until you miss or scratch, ball in hand must be used before you miss or scratch. Each try is $3.00 ($2 goes to the Pot and $1 goes to the House) On the 28th the person with the highest single try score wins the pot. Sounds easy? I have been playing for 15 years and can't seem to get past 7 balls. Anyone have any advice or strategies?

Answer 1

A few years ago Action Billiards in Hazelwood, Mo. had a 45-ball rack. They never had the contests you describe but it sounds like fun.

Seems to me that the break shot should be only hard enough to spread the balls to where they wouldn't hit the side rails and go back into the pack. Since you get ball in hand after the first shot it would be no advantage to make a ball on the snap.

Controlling the cue ball on the break is a must. Don't allow it to get caught in the middle of that mess. 45 balls sure takes up a lot of room and obviously there will be several clusters.

If I was to try this I would practice breaking from several different angles using different cue ball speeds to figure which would give me the best advantage.

Answer 2

Just sounds like a made up novelty game their is NO REG 45 ball rack or game

Answer 3

WELL FIRST OFF YOU NEED TO WORK ON YOUR CLUSTER MANAGEMENT. EVER SHOT YOU SHOOT WITH THAT MANY BALLS ON THE TABLE SHOULD BE GOING TOWARDS ANY CLUSTER WITHIN REASON. DONT POCKET THE EASY SHOTS UNTIL YOU REALLY HAVE TO. IF YOU SHOOT THE DUCKS YOU'LL NEVER GET AROUND TO BUST UP THE MESS. TRY PLAYING STRAIGHT POOL. (AKA) 14.1 CONTINUOUS. THIS WILL HELP WITH YOUR PLANNING WITH YOUR SHOTS. I AM A PRO WITH THE UPA AS WELL AS AN INSTRUCTOR WITH THE BCA. ANY OTHER ADVICE YOU HAVE PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME! GOOD LUCK!