Two-Foul 9 Ball

An important thing I found out was that when my opponent pushed out to play a safety and I knew that safe was not going to hurt me I would usually give it back to him, even if it was a routine safe.
Even when playing simple safes there was a chance that he might botch it and give up a shot. Even the best get lazy or hasty and make mistakes. Many times you wind up with a simple straight in shot.

By letting them play that simple safe you give them one opportunity to make a mistake. In the course of a match this could be the difference.
 
.he taught me a lot though and I'm grateful to Vernon for that.

This is what I emphasized earlier on in this thread. The game is a "shooter" game that allows the shooter to "go for" shots that they wouldn't ordinarily go for because they always have the option to push if they don't get position (unless they scratch).

Yes, this is correct, it makes it much more entertaining and exciting because you will see a lot of dynamic run outs. One foul keeps this from happening with the same frequency.

Also, I can tell a lot about a player within a very limited amount of time playing 'Two Shot Shoot Out' because they are very exposed in the roll out process. There is a lot of levels to the game - you have to go through war to get to the top level of the game.

The amount of thinking and strategy you must know is light years ahead of one-foul-ball-in-hand. The players today get their edge from breaking and racking better, but in those days we had to have superior shot-making.

I personally think the rack and the break have too much effect on the outcome....at this year's US OPEN they were calling it the "US OPEN RACKING CHAMPIONSHIPS".....I wasn't there, so I can only imagine.....there's no reason why they can't have referees racking the balls for at least the quarters through finals.

I played Vernon Elliot 'Two Shot Shoot Out' for 12 straight hours and had a headache for 3 straight hours after the match. I broke even with him because I "shot my way out" of many of his traps......the fact is I didn't want to play anymore, I could tell he knew more about the game {at the time}.....he taught me a lot, and I'm grateful to Vernon for his knowledge, it ended up making me a few "chips" in the long run.

I reached his level a few years later, but it took thousands and thousands of hours of playing guys like Country Calvin, Reid Pierce, and watching Omaha John, Keith McCready, and MATLOCK.
 
Old Nine Baller, I do have one question about the idea that a player can take more risk with difficult shots because he can always push out if he hooks himself. I'm not sure I see why this really makes that much difference that it would make the game that much more of a shoot out.

What I mean is - isn't the much more significant risk of taking a difficult shot the risk of missing and selling out, rather than making it and getting hooked? Given this, then isn't the risk of a difficult shot pretty much the same played 2 foul or not?

I certainly understand that in push out 9 Ball when faced with a difficult shot it may look more enticing to go for it because the safety isn't as attractive since your opponent can push out no matter how tight you lock him up. But even so, the sell out for a miss still looms large either way.
 
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Old Nine Baller, I do have one question about the idea that a player can take more risk with difficult shots because he can always push out if he hooks himself. I'm not sure I see why this really makes that much difference that it would make the game that much more of a shoot out.

What I mean is - isn't the much more significant risk of taking a difficult shot the risk of missing and selling out, rather than making it and getting hooked? Given this, then isn't the risk of a difficult shot pretty much the same played 2 foul or not?

I certainly understand that in push out 9 Ball when faced with a difficult shot it may look more enticing to go for it because the safety isn't as attractive since your opponent can push out no matter how tight you lock him up.This is not correct. If you play a safety it usually gets you one more inning at the table, that's all. It's not a reason to shoot and it's not a reason not to shoot. But even so, the sell out for a miss still looms large either way.

This is what I wrote in post #1:

Old Nine Baller said:
Rarely are there more than one or two push-outs in a game between top players and even more rarely is a BIH given up. Remember, players aren't usually pushing out to a safety because their opponent can play the same one in return. They are usually pushing out to a shot of some type and that makes for a great game of offense. Almost never does a guy play a safety unless there is no option and then his opponent can play the safe and force him to push-out. Two-foul also frees up a player to take chances breaking up clusters or playing "tough" position because he knows he can always push-out if he gets hooked. You'll see many spectacular shots that one-foul players would never even attempt.

You are correct in that the biggest risk in shooting a difficult shot is selling out if you miss, but, I said "tough position or breaking up clusters". I did not say (at least I don't think I did) that it frees you up to shoot tougher shots than one-foul does (even though it does on one level).

That said I'm now going to appear to slightly contradict myself, but with a purpose. In comparing one-foul to two-foul many times a player comes upon a shot in one-foul where the smart, intelligent, logical, high-percentage thing to do is play safe and try to hook your opponent. It's simply the right thing to do.

But when playing two-foul and the same player comes upon the same shot, the right thing to do might very well be to shoot it. Of course it depends on the situation and table layout, but often the thing to do is shoot for one very good reason; if you push-out or play a safety you may never get a shot easier than the one you're looking at now.

Each player has to weigh the odds and percentages in his mind and settle on a course of action. This is the type thing that C.J. is talking about when he mentions the mental part of the game. Nothing is set in stone when playing two-foul but when playing one-foul, the "right" shot is usually obvious to all.

In regards to playing safeties in two-foul; you usually have balls spread open and it's usually not an option to hook your opponent from the object ball although those situations do arise. Most of the time, even when playing a safety, you will leave him long or off-angle or both. He'll usually be able to hit the ball is the point so there are not as many "lockdown" safeties in two-foul. It doesn't do any good to play a difficult safe just to watch him push-out anyway.

Another great thing about two-foul is it eliminates the "3-foul you lose" rule. You cannot have 3 consecutive fouls playing "any two" as BIH is always awarded after the 2nd foul and the fouls are reset to zero for both players.

Thanks for the questions, they are very good.

ONB
 
I have been a lurker here for quite awhile and I've been following the 2-Foul vs. 1-Foul comparison threads with much interest. I've noticed quite a few discrepancies in the descriptions of the 2-Foul game and I thought I'd tell what I know.

First of all, "any two" means that BIH is given to the player who does not commit the 2nd consecutive foul. You do not need to be "hooked" to push-out. You can push-out anytime you want for any reason or no reason. All you need to do is commit a foul of any type and your opponent can tell you to "shoot again". If you "scratch" in a pocket and it's the 1st foul, your opponent can tell you to shoot again from behind the headstring or he can take the shot.

Some players liked to play that "all balls made on a foul spot up" but that's not a hard & fast rule. Some liked to play that "all balls made on a foul stay down" but that's up for discussion before playing.

Some liked to play that if you scratched in a pocket for the 1st foul and the lowest numbered ball was behind the headstring then it would spot-up. It would spot up behind any balls already on the footspot.

Some liked to play that only the "ball before the money" spots up on a foul. If you were playing "even" that would mean that if either player made the ball before the 9 and fouled then the ball before the 9 would spot up. Whether or not BIH was awarded was dependent upon whether or not it was the 1st or 2nd foul. Either way, the ball before the 9 would spot up.

When you were giving up "weight" it changed things a little. If you were giving up the 7 ball and your opponent scratched (in a pocket, 1st foul) after making the ball before the 7 you could make him spot it up and shoot at it (behind the line)...but, if you elected to shoot the next shot the ball he made would stay down as it was not the ball before your money ball (9). Either way, 1st or 2nd foul, if you made him shoot again, his ball before his money ball would spot up if he pocketed it and fouled. Also, if you pocketed his "money ball" (7 in this example) and fouled, it would come up on the spot in any case. You could not shoot in his money ball and foul and leave it down.

The "other" way to play "two-foul" was to play "two fouls by the same player is BIH". There are two variations of this game. The 1st is that if you push-out and then I shoot and make a good hit on the object ball your foul is erased.

A few guys liked to play that if you push-out and then I shoot and make a good hit you are still on one foul. That's a rather ridiculous way to play in that it gives the incoming player much too much power.

The entire point of two-foul 9-Ball is that the first player to foul or push-out gives up control of the table (potentially) to his opponent. That's the penalty and it's a tough one. Your penalty for getting out-of-line or making a mistake is possibly giving up control of the table. That's a huge penalty and should be the only penalty in my eyes.

With the one exception of playing "two by the same player" where guys might play you were still on a foul if you pushed-out and I make a good hit, any good hit by either player erased all fouls by both players.

I have seen this point missed on this site so I state it again: any good hit, without a foul occurring, erases any fouls for either player (except as stated above).

C.J. is correct in stating that two-foul 9-Ball is much superior to one-foul 9-Ball. Players, when faced with a tough shot will elect to shoot and take their chances rather than play a safety as you might in one-foul. There is much more offense because of this. Two-Foul is so rich in strategy that you really could write a book about it. A guy may push-out to a bankshot when he's hooked early in a set and you may tell him to "shoot again". Later in the set, with the match on the line he may push-out to the same bank that you've been telling him to shoot but this time you might take the shot. Much thinking and "daring" goes into the two-foul game.

Rarely are there more than one or two push-outs in a game between top players and even more rarely is a BIH given up. Remember, players aren't usually pushing out to a safety because their opponent can play the same one in return. They are usually pushing out to a shot of some type and that makes for a great game of offense. Almost never does a guy play a safety unless there is no option and then his opponent can play the safe and force him to push-out. Two-foul also frees up a player to take chances breaking up clusters or playing "tough" position because he knows he can always push-out if he gets hooked. You'll see many spectacular shots that one-foul players would never even attempt.

I know this is all very confusing to younger players who've grown up accustomed to one-foul BIH rules but two-foul is a much better way to play 9-Ball for a very important reason; it helps you protect your money. It doesn't matter if you are giving weight, getting weight, or playing even, it helps you protect your money. After all, that's the bottom line isn't it? Do you really want to kick at the 7 ball when you can push-out on it? Of course not.

Any questions feel free to ask away.

ONB

Agree Agree Agree....except I want to make it clear that to get BIH it must be two fouls in a row by the same player, NOT any two fouls in a row. That's the way 9-Ball was played most of the time back in the 60's and 70's. The other way we played back then was "try to hit the ball" meaning you must make a legitimate effort to hit the object ball (even if you were hooked). Guess what, the better player had all the edge here too! If you failed to hit the object ball your opponent could make you shoot again.
 
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Agree Agree Agree....except I want to make it clear that to get BIH it must be two fouls in a row by the same player, NOT any two fouls in a row. That's the way 9-Ball was played most of the time back in the 60's and 70's. The other way we played back then was "try to hit the ball" meaning you must make a legitimate effort to hit the object ball (even if you were hooked). Guess what, the better player had all the edge here too! If you failed to hit the object ball your opponent could make you shoot again.

If you were playing "any-two" then it was "any-two". If you were playing "two by the same player" then it was as you say. The game evolved for the better:).

To your point about "trying to make a good hit"; Since no player worth his salt would actually try to make a good hit for his money when hooked, maybe this is why they just started playing "a foul is a foul", since it is. I could just see someone being staked for good money and he has to shoot at the object ball when the other guy plays a safe and hooks him. I'm glad I missed this by a few years.

ONB
 
If you were playing "any-two" then it was "any-two". If you were playing "two by the same player" then it was as you say. The game evolved for the better:).
ONB

Any two was how I learned and I never even heard of two by the same player for several years and never saw it played that way. Admittedly, I didn't get out of my own area of the country for some time, though. Rules for racking ring 9 ball were different five miles down the road from where I played.
 
Hey BB. The pro's tried the rules ' BIH after any miss in vegas in the 90's I think. They liked it, but it never caught on. Death Ball...please...what a joke on pool.
 
Any two was how I learned and I never even heard of two by the same player for several years and never saw it played that way. Admittedly, I didn't get out of my own area of the country for some time, though. Rules for racking ring 9 ball were different five miles down the road from where I played.

I first learned "two by the same player" and liked it until I realized that all the better players played "any two". Only the weaker players wanted to play "two by the same player", reason probably being that they were scared that the good players would push to a spot they didn't like and they wanted an option. The one thing they never realized is that when they were the ones pushing-out they pushed to the wrong place most of the time anyway.

Playing "any-two" gives the better player a slight advantage, in my opinion, because although he may not get back to the table, he is controlling his own fate for the most part. I always thought the penalty of maybe relinquishing the table was enough without having your opponent be able to push-out in return.



ONB
 
An important thing I found out was that when my opponent pushed out to play a safety and I knew that safe was not going to hurt me I would usually give it back to him, even if it was a routine safe.
Even when playing simple safes there was a chance that he might botch it and give up a shot. Even the best get lazy or hasty and make mistakes. Many times you wind up with a simple straight in shot.

By letting them play that simple safe you give them one opportunity to make a mistake. In the course of a match this could be the difference.

This is an excellent point and one mostly forgotten now. Thank you.

ONB
 
"Any two" was the best way to play.

"Two by the same player" could pretty much be like "one foul" at times. You push out and the guy takes the shot and hooks you...now you're stuck trying to hit it if you could.


Anybody remember the guy that played "two by the same player" better than anyone in the world?

It's how he got his original nickname.



What was it...ummm...ahhh...oh yah, I remember now....Mike "Captain Hook" Sigel.
 
The level of "Dead Stroke" in "TWO SHOT" where the game seemed to play through them

Any two was how I learned and I never even heard of two by the same player for several years and never saw it played that way. Admittedly, I didn't get out of my own area of the country for some time, though. Rules for racking ring 9 ball were different five miles down the road from where I played.

People generally played either way in most parts of the country. It was our objective to get them to play "any two fouls" because then they couldn't "re roll out"....this favored us because the true "road warriors" were shot makers and could jump, cut, and bank equally well.

Usually every player has a weakness and the strategy was to exploit it over time in a certain way to make the other player "weak".....and eventually start dogging it. When someone finally reached that point, form my experience they rarely wanted to play again.......every....although there were exceptions of course.

The strategy in 'Two Shot Shoot Out' is extremely advanced at the highest level, we'd still like to show everyone why it's more strategically advanced than One Pocket.

We are all talking about the obvious strategies, however, there's a level that's much more advanced, the level that players like Vernon Elliot, Omaha John, Keith McCready, Earl Strickland, and David Matlock played at.

These are the players I learned from and played against through the years and they were on the Third Level.......the level of "Dead Stroke" in "TWO SHOT" where the game seemed to play through them and the creativity of shots sky rocketed into the "4th Dimension"......this is when Pocket Billiards is at it's best and is the Master Game.

It's very entertaining to see, I'm in the process of matching up some 'Two Shot Shoot Out' games in the future, I'd like to play Rodney, Earl, Johnny, Corey, Dennis Hatch, and Shannon Dalton at some point......we may be able to get these matches televised, and we can definitely get them streamed here in Ft. Worth Texas.
 
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I'm in the process of matching up some games in the future, I'd like to play Rodney, Earl, Johnny, Corey, Dennis Hatch, and Shannon Dalton at some point......we may be able to get these matches televised, and we can definitely get them streamed here in Ft. Worth Texas.

That's what I'm waiting for.
 
one things for sure, we'll never get where we want to go by doing the same ole thing

That's what I'm waiting for.

Right now I'm talking to Rodney about doing a 'Two Shot Shoot Out' match in December after the Mosconi Cup. He'a going to the "All Japan Open" next week to tune up for the MC. Shot for shot, Rodney is still one of the five best players in the world in my opinion.

There's a lot of interest right now in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and the Omega Tour has set their entire 2014 Schedule which is exciting. They run first class tournaments and I may start playing in some next year - this year my plate was too full earlier in the year and I my game stayed at 85%. It's up around 90% now though, so we're making progress. ;)

Rodney is also working on some projects that are interesting and I'm sure he'll share the insight of his vision as it nears fruition..

Earl is another one that played 'Two Shot Shoot Out' as good as anyone, and it would great to play him and see what shots he comes up with. They just announced when the SKY SPORTS documentary was coming out, December 1 at 9 PM.....I think that's what it was, I'll correct it later if I'm off on the time or day.

Dennis Hatch and I played 'Two Shot Shoot Out' on several occasions for money through the years. We all know he's one of the most dangerous, offensive players in the biz....it's a matter of time before he wins another major tournament.

Johnny always wanted to play "One Foul" with me, but I'm sure he would like to play "Two Shot" under the right conditions. He will do great as this year's Team Captain, he was my "right hand player" last year and knows the Mosconi Cup better than any living human....he's been there and done that......a LOT of times. :D

2014 is going to be the "break away year" for Pro Pocket Billiards, there's a huge amount of changes fixing to happen and they will be the "difference that makes the difference".....one things for sure, we'll never get where we want to go by doing the "same ole thing".....'The Game is the Teacher'
 
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That's what I'm waiting for.

Right now I'm talking to Rodney about doing a match in December after the Mosconi Cup. He'a going to the "All Japan Open" next week to tune up for the MC. Shot for shot, Rodney is still one of the five best players in the world in my opinion.

There's a lot of interest right now in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and the Omega Tour has set their entire 2014 Schedule which is exciting. They run first class tournaments and I may start playing in some next year - this year my plate was too full earlier in the year and I my game stayed at 85%. It's up around 90% now though, so we're making progress. ;)

Rodney is also working on some projects that are interesting and I'm sure he'll share the insight of his vision as it nears fruition..

Earl is another one that's really breaking away and making an impact. They just announced when the SKY SPORTS documentary was coming out, December 1 at 9 PM.....I think that's what it was, I'll correct it later if I'm off on the time or day.

Dennis Hatch is going to break out of his shell and produce some world class pool. We all know he's one of the most dangerous, offensive players in the biz....it's a matter of time before he wins another major tournament.

Johnny will do great as this year's Team Captain, he was my "right hand player" last year and knows the Mosconi Cup better than any living human....he's been there and done that......a LOT of times. :D

2014 is going to be the "break away year" for Pro Pocket Billiards, there's a huge amount of changes fixing to happen and they will be the "difference that makes the difference".....one things for sure, we'll never get where we want to go by doing the "same ole thing".....'The Game is the Teacher'

I would greatly appreciate it if you two guys would wait & talk in another thread. That's about enough hijacking in this one.

This thread is about Two-Foul 9-Ball.

ONB
 
These matches we're talking about will all be "Two Shot Shoot Out' 9 Ball.

I would greatly appreciate it if you two guys would wait & talk in another thread. That's about enough hijacking in this one.

This thread is about Two-Foul 9-Ball.

ONB

We're actually on topic, I went back and clarified the "Two Shot Shoot Out" part so it's clear.

These matches we're talking about will all be "Two Shot Shoot Out' 9 Ball. We've only been talking about that game and it's my #1 subject to discuss.

We've been talking about the game for last 10 days, at some point the game needs to be played to really showcase it. We're playing 'Two Shot Shoot Out" in Ft. Worth quite a bit these days and it's bringing my passion back, that's for sure.

I have no idea what your real name is, have we played this game before? Were you a gambler back in the 70s, or 80's? "Old Nine Baller" seems to indicate that you were a 9 ball player many years ago, I'm just curious if you played with Bobby Leggs, Vernon Elliot or Luther Lassiter. I heard Luther lost interest in pool when they wanted to play One Foul, but unfortunately I never got to meet Luther or see him play in person.....did you?

I re read your original post and you do seem to be a high caliber player, and I do have a question regarding the rules. If the object ball is frozen then it "kills" that rail so do you have to contact the object ball to another rail, or can you can still hit that rail with the cue ball - which is correct?

Also, if the cue ball is frozen, can you hit an object ball and go back to that same rail with the cue ball, or do you have to go to a rail other than the one that the cue ball was frozen to?
 
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This isn't correct, when a legal hit is made it wipes out the existing foul

"Any two" was the best way to play.

"Two by the same player" could pretty much be like "one foul" at times. You push out and the guy takes the shot and hooks you...now you're stuck trying to hit it if you could.


This isn't correct, when a legal hit is made it wipes out the existing foul on the first player.....you never have to "kick" at balls playing "Shoot Out' unless you roll out and hook yourself, and that's usually not a good move unless the ball is hanging or close to the pocket.
 
We're actually on topic.

These matches we're talking about will all be "Two Shot Shoot Out' 9 Ball. We've only been talking about that game and it's my #1 subject to discuss.

We've been talking about the game for last 10 days, at some point the game needs to be played to really showcase it. We're playing 'Two Shot Shoot Out" in Ft. Worth quite a bit these days and it's bringing my passion back, that's for sure.

I have no idea what your real name is, have we played this game before? Were you a gambler back in the 70s, or 80's? "Old Nine Baller" seems to indicate that you were a 9 ball player many years ago, I'm just curious if you played with Bobby Leggs, Vernon Elliot or Luther Lassiter. I heard Luther lost interest in pool when they wanted to play One Foul, but unfortunately I never got to meet Luther or see him play in person.....did you?

I re read your original post and you do seem to be a high caliber player, and I do have a question regarding the rules. If the object ball is frozen then it "kills" that rail so do you have to contact the object ball to another rail, or can you can still hit that rail with the cue ball - which is correct?

Also, if the cue ball is frozen, can you hit an object ball and go back to that same rail with the cue ball, or do you have to go to a rail other than the one that the cue ball was frozen to?


In my area we always played that the rail was'nt dead,but you could'nt double kiss a froze ball,without hitting a different rail.
 
Old Nine Baller said:
The "other" way to play "two-foul" was to play "two fouls by the same player is BIH". There are two variations of this game. The 1st is that if you push-out and then I shoot and make a good hit on the object ball your foul is erased.

A few guys liked to play that if you push-out and then I shoot and make a good hit you are still on one foul. That's a rather ridiculous way to play in that it gives the incoming player much too much power.
ONB

stevelomako said:
"Two by the same player" could pretty much be like "one foul" at times. You push out and the guy takes the shot and hooks you...now you're stuck trying to hit it if you could.

CJ Wiley said:
This isn't correct, when a legal hit is made it wipes out the existing foul on the first player.....you never have to "kick" at balls playing "Shoot Out' unless you roll out and hook yourself, and that's usually not a good move unless the ball is hanging or close to the pocket.

You said you re-read my original post. Maybe you need to re-re-read it. There are/were two different versions of "two by the same player".

ONB
 
Right now I'm talking to Rodney about doing a match in December after the Mosconi Cup. He'a going to the "All Japan Open" next week to tune up for the MC. Shot for shot, Rodney is still one of the five best players in the world in my opinion.

There's a lot of interest right now in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and the Omega Tour has set their entire 2014 Schedule which is exciting. They run first class tournaments and I may start playing in some next year - this year my plate was too full earlier in the year and I my game stayed at 85%. It's up around 90% now though, so we're making progress. ;)

Rodney is also working on some projects that are interesting and I'm sure he'll share the insight of his vision as it nears fruition..

Earl is another one that's really breaking away and making an impact. They just announced when the SKY SPORTS documentary was coming out, December 1 at 9 PM.....I think that's what it was, I'll correct it later if I'm off on the time or day.

Dennis Hatch is going to break out of his shell and produce some world class pool. We all know he's one of the most dangerous, offensive players in the biz....it's a matter of time before he wins another major tournament.

Johnny will do great as this year's Team Captain, he was my "right hand player" last year and knows the Mosconi Cup better than any living human....he's been there and done that......a LOT of times. :D

2014 is going to be the "break away year" for Pro Pocket Billiards, there's a huge amount of changes fixing to happen and they will be the "difference that makes the difference".....one things for sure, we'll never get where we want to go by doing the "same ole thing".....'The Game is the Teacher'

We're actually on topic.

These matches we're talking about will all be "Two Shot Shoot Out' 9 Ball. We've only been talking about that game and it's my #1 subject to discuss.

We've been talking about the game for last 10 days, at some point the game needs to be played to really showcase it. We're playing 'Two Shot Shoot Out" in Ft. Worth quite a bit these days and it's bringing my passion back, that's for sure.

I have no idea what your real name is, have we played this game before? Were you a gambler back in the 70s, or 80's? "Old Nine Baller" seems to indicate that you were a 9 ball player many years ago, I'm just curious if you played with Bobby Leggs, Vernon Elliot or Luther Lassiter. I heard Luther lost interest in pool when they wanted to play One Foul, but unfortunately I never got to meet Luther or see him play in person.....did you?

I re read your original post and you do seem to be a high caliber player, and I do have a question regarding the rules. If the object ball is frozen then it "kills" that rail so do you have to contact the object ball to another rail, or can you can still hit that rail with the cue ball - which is correct?

Also, if the cue ball is frozen, can you hit an object ball and go back to that same rail with the cue ball, or do you have to go to a rail other than the one that the cue ball was frozen to?

My mistake, I didn't see anything about "two-foul" in your post. From all appearances you are not "on topic" as you say.

I am not now nor never was a "high caliber player".

ONB
 
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