Dear Gentle Readers,
In the tremulous tapioca (no, not shaky puddin’! Louts!) that seems to be the essence of my pool-brain, I’ve been thinking about pivotal pool shots.
In one-pocket -- to me anyway -- the most intriguing shot is, so often, the one following the break.
(A boyfriend I used to know compared it to the second-shot options on a golf hole where you’re supposed to make in five tries. But the good golfers shoot for four, or even three. My meager point, I think, is that the second shot positions a golf guy to go for it or, alternatively, to play it safe in that particular encounter. Okay, I don’t really understand golf!)
Having watched an hour or so of the Steinway 14.1 competition, I am, of course, now uber-qualified to comment on the subtleties of straight pool.
Here, it seems to me, that the break-out shot -- the one following a 14-ball run -- is central to the success of the following inning. I was continually startled (not, unfortunately, an uncommon phenomenon when I’m watching pool!) by the variety of strategies for this crucial shot:
Hard / medium / soft.
Low / center / high.
Right / center / left.
Okay, the usual suspects.
Beyond that, what I gathered from the commentators, was that the player would select a precise entry point into the rack -- a specific ball, the gap between two balls, a tiny slice of one particular ball -- all coordinated with the above options.
Plus ... the decision to stay down table, go up table, go up table aggressively and return apace (Thorsten Hohmann) … etc.
Is there a similar key-shot philosophy for other games?
Such as banks? Is there a comparable, consistent, turning-point shot in that game?
My sense is that in the bang-bang rotation games, and in 8-ball, the break is critical. But is there also a win / lose decision point that often follows the break?
Or, am I over-reaching in trying to find a strategy pattern that even a pool-doofus such as I am can understand?
Rigorous inquiry, billiards-wise, is my life,
Sunny
P. S. Speaking of the Steinway 14.1, wasn’t it grand to see Astoria spotlighted!
P. P. S. And, speaking further of Queens, here’s a fun little trivia question: can you name the five NYC boroughs in alphabetical order? You can win tons of free drinks with this one. Even among the natives. Especially among the natives!
(Hint: the correct answer is not: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island.)
In the tremulous tapioca (no, not shaky puddin’! Louts!) that seems to be the essence of my pool-brain, I’ve been thinking about pivotal pool shots.
In one-pocket -- to me anyway -- the most intriguing shot is, so often, the one following the break.
(A boyfriend I used to know compared it to the second-shot options on a golf hole where you’re supposed to make in five tries. But the good golfers shoot for four, or even three. My meager point, I think, is that the second shot positions a golf guy to go for it or, alternatively, to play it safe in that particular encounter. Okay, I don’t really understand golf!)
Having watched an hour or so of the Steinway 14.1 competition, I am, of course, now uber-qualified to comment on the subtleties of straight pool.
Here, it seems to me, that the break-out shot -- the one following a 14-ball run -- is central to the success of the following inning. I was continually startled (not, unfortunately, an uncommon phenomenon when I’m watching pool!) by the variety of strategies for this crucial shot:
Hard / medium / soft.
Low / center / high.
Right / center / left.
Okay, the usual suspects.
Beyond that, what I gathered from the commentators, was that the player would select a precise entry point into the rack -- a specific ball, the gap between two balls, a tiny slice of one particular ball -- all coordinated with the above options.
Plus ... the decision to stay down table, go up table, go up table aggressively and return apace (Thorsten Hohmann) … etc.
Is there a similar key-shot philosophy for other games?
Such as banks? Is there a comparable, consistent, turning-point shot in that game?
My sense is that in the bang-bang rotation games, and in 8-ball, the break is critical. But is there also a win / lose decision point that often follows the break?
Or, am I over-reaching in trying to find a strategy pattern that even a pool-doofus such as I am can understand?
Rigorous inquiry, billiards-wise, is my life,
Sunny
P. S. Speaking of the Steinway 14.1, wasn’t it grand to see Astoria spotlighted!
P. P. S. And, speaking further of Queens, here’s a fun little trivia question: can you name the five NYC boroughs in alphabetical order? You can win tons of free drinks with this one. Even among the natives. Especially among the natives!
(Hint: the correct answer is not: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island.)
