14.1 Strategy

[mthornto]

If you learn to skin the stack ever so slightly on safes it will improve your game exponentially

I'm not meaning to nit pick your post, but I want to expand bit on this point.

Thinning balls is defiantly a skill to learn, but I see it way overused. IMHO, thinning a ball in the pack for a safety is a last resort. Typically, all you accomplish with this move is to leave your opponent without an offensive shot. This is only half the goal of a safety. A complete safety leaves your opponent no offensive shots and very limited defensive shots. It is much better to play safeties into the pack, sticking the cue on the side and popping out balls on the other side. This puts your opponent in a much tougher position and increases the likely hood he will leave you a shot after his turn.

Babe Cranfield addresses this in The Straight Pool Bible.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

I'm not meaning to nit pick your post, but I want to expand bit on this point.

Thinning balls is defiantly a skill to learn, but I see it way overused. IMHO, thinning a ball in the pack for a safety is a last resort. Typically, all you accomplish with this move is to leave your opponent without an offensive shot. This is only half the goal of a safety. A complete safety leaves your opponent no offensive shots and very limited defensive shots. It is much better to play safeties into the pack, sticking the cue on the side and popping out balls on the other side. This puts your opponent in a much tougher position and increases the likely hood he will leave you a shot after his turn.

Babe Cranfield addresses this in The Straight Pool Bible.

GREAT point which also leads into what would be defined as a proper safety situation. The best safeties in straight pool open up the table while leaving your opponent nothing and these scenarios really only occur at the beginning of the rack, not the middle or end.

 

[The Kiss]

Yes, but if any time you are trying to play safe off the stack and are knocking balls off into open shots....Some guys play these type safes too hard and have no touch....

Develop a touch that is better than the other guys....It comes in handy..

You can't freeze every safety to the rack, or play safe on dead balls

 

[SpiderWebComm]

GREAT point which also leads into what would be defined as a proper safety situation. The best safeties in straight pool open up the table while leaving your opponent nothing and these scenarios really only occur at the beginning of the rack, not the middle or end.

I always thought Hopkins was the best at this. The tic-battle never worked with him. You were always stuck to half of the rack - and the other half was spread everywhere else. Inevitably, you'd be on 2 at some point grinding your teeth flat because you're totally f-ed into either giving up the 3rd or him running the set out (ask him if he thinks 8-6 per rack, ha).

 

[Blackjack]

I also agree with Jude 100%. Sorry Kiss, but that is an extremely novice approach to the complex game of 14.1 continuous. There are many intricacies that develop throughout the rack, and you need to familiarize yourself with situations, clusters, and secondary break shot opportunities. 75% of the time I don't spread the balls all over the table. I just try to move them enough so that they aren't touching each other.

Clearing balls off the rails may sound logical to a beginner, but there are several key ball opportunities and excellent break shots that can be played off the rail.

Break shots are never going to be perfect or exactly the same every time. It is wise to familiarize yourself with different types of break shots.

A good way to practice is to spot a ball in an ideal break shot position. Toss another ball anywhere on the table and practice getting position for that break shot. This goes back to what Vince Lombardi used to say - "practice what you DON'T KNOW instead of what you do know."

 

[SpiderWebComm]

Kiss, I think your strategy is valid to against average players... but prevents your growth as a 14.1 player. If you always think 8, you'll be lucky to get 16 (forever). If you keep thinking 100, you'll go from 8 to 16 to 25 to 50...etc.

If you only aim for the moon, you'll NEVER hit the stars. If you're used to aiming for the stars, you're putting a lot of holes in the moon.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

I do admit, I am a bit spoiled. In the poolroom I go to, I will typically say hello to a half-dozen people who have run 100-balls. I mean, they're there regularly. What's worse, there may be a half-dozen more who aren't there regularly. To put it lightly, when you make a mistake, they give you a lot of time to think about it.

It's not a fantasy. I'm not in Heaven. It's not Iowa.

 

[mthornto]

Clearing balls off the rails may sound logical to a beginner, but there are several key ball opportunities and excellent break shots that can be played off the rail.

This is going to give me something to think about. In Rempe's How to run (either a rack or 100 don't remember which) he mentions getting balls off the rails early. I am sure he meant it as a generality, but I took it to heart and always look to clear the rails early. I do this to the point of not even considering leaving them until later. I will have to take a close look at these situations when they come up and see if I can find opportunities for these rail bound devils.

 

[pdcue]

I play 14.1 at a fairly high clip

- Steve

Now there's an understatement if I've ever heard one.

First, it's great to see guys like you and Jude posting on 14.1.

Second, best to ignore Thekiss-wit,
I strongly suspect it's an alias for Fast Larry,
the way he hijacked the thread from how to run balls,
into how to win if you can't run 10 balls, even
after being told repeatedly that wasn't what the
OP was asking about

If it isn't FL, it's his cousin - SCRABBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From those of us who care:
any and all little gems you and/or Jude care to
pass on are greately appreciated.

Dale

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

This is going to give me something to think about. In Rempe's How to run (either a rack or 100 don't remember which) he mentions getting balls off the rails early. I am sure he meant it as a generality, but I took it to heart and always look to clear the rails early. I do this to the point of not even considering leaving them until later. I will have to take a close look at these situations when they come up and see if I can find opportunities for these rail bound devils.

I think Blackjack will agree, rail-shots that are used as break-shots should be considered secondary options. I mean, I don't think BlackJack sees a ball on the rail and thinks, "that's my baby!" He's looking at it as a viable option in-case he doesn't have an idea break-shot or needs to pocket it in order to stay at the table.

Rail shots can also have several benefits when used as key-shots. If you have a ball just off the rail near your break-ball, it's usually rather easy to attain adequate position.


The point Blackjack is making more than anything else is that you need to have an open mind when you look at the table.

 

[Blackjack]

I think Blackjack will agree, rail-shots that are used as break-shots should be considered secondary options. I mean, I don't think BlackJack sees a ball on the rail and thinks, "that's my baby!" He's looking at it as a viable option in-case he doesn't have an idea break-shot or needs to pocket it in order to stay at the table.

Rail shots can also have several benefits when used as key-shots. If you have a ball just off the rail near your break-ball, it's usually rather easy to attain adequate position.


The point Blackjack is making more than anything else is that you need to have an open mind when you look at the table.

Exactly, Jude. When clearing the table, I always look at which balls need to be on the table (for key balls, set ups, cluster break ups, break shots, etc) and which balls serve no purpose and can be eliminated. George Fels called these balls, WP's or "Whenever Possibles" in his book Mastering Pool. Eliminating the wrong ball at the wrong time can spell disaster when you get down to 5 or 6 balls and see your options dwindling.

When the tables starts to open up, you need to designate 3 balls:

Break Ball
Key Ball
Set up ball

The set up ball is the most important shot because that is what will lead you to key ball that will set you up for your break ball. If you recklessly pop balls in without paying attention to what you are doing then you're a real underdog to put up any high run numbers.

 

[rikdee]

Reading the rack

I hope this won't be considered an attempted "hi-jacking" of this thread, but something that has always confounded me about 14.1 is finding dead balls in the stack that you can use to break them up.

At higher skill levels, reading the rack is a necessity. If fact, after the break shot and until the rack is sufficiently spread, you should always 'check the stack'. Easy and effective secondary breaks can often result.
Reading the rack is about understanding the interaction of the balls. Nearly all rack shots are either caroms or meshes. Being able to gauge the direction of the intended ball demands judgement of just how much it will deflect or will be thrown often as a result of speed of stroke and the actual, but often quite subtle, distance(s) separating the elected ball(s). Cue ball spin is also a factor to consider and can by it self affect the shot.
Get in the habit of checking the stack. From time to time it will extend your run and amaze your friends.

 

[Vinman]

Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the great response, already more than I hope for.

Blackjack, thank you, I found the threads you mentioned. There is a wealth of information that I look forward to applying to my game.

I recently got back into the straight pool and have surprised myself by putting together some decent runs. I usually manage to run three racks during my practice sessions, but of course I want to improve on this. I don’t have much time to play, so when I do I try to make it productive and that is why I’m seeking advice.

 

[Blackjack]

Here are some diagrams of how to approach the last few balls. I have also placed in a page where I explain having a game plan from start to finish. I hope this is useful to the people that love straight pool.

 

[Steve Lipsky]

Blackjack,

I am extremely happy to see you posting instruction again. We all appreciate it!

- Steve

 

[sjm]

Knowing how to win control of the table in a safety sequence is critical, and knowing when it's time to hit the brakes in favor of defense is critical, but......if you are a "B" player or better, once you have control of a table, you should never be statisfied with less than a runout that leaves a break shot. Learn not to settle for less!

 

[VIProfessor]

Look, I could go 13-1 on a rack. If I'm the one racking, I'm not comfortable. B-level straight pool players are capable of running 50 balls so what's your 13 worth then?

I'm not saying you shouldn't think defensive when it's appropriate but you have to understand that straight pool is NOT a defense-oriented game. There are guys you've never heard of who are going to take your luke-warm safeties and not return to their chairs until their pop loses its fizz.

When you start thinking 8-6, even over the course of 10 racks, that's only a 20-point lead. C-level players can eat that up in one inning. You want goals? Your goal in EVERY rack should be to get into the next rack. That's it. You want control. You don't want your opponent to have a single scoring opportunity. If they're at the table, somehow, you failed to accomplish the task at hand. 8-6 every rack may win you games. Hell, I can talk all day about how to win when playing my sister but that doesn't mean it's worthy of posting. 8-6 every rack only shows that every rack, you failed to convert.

One more time. TAP! TAP! TAP!

 

[kennyratt]

To Jude, Steve and others trying to help; Thanks for all of your advice and expertise. It is GREATLY appreciated!!! Regards, Kennyratt

 

[Slider]

I'm not meaning to nit pick your post, but I want to expand bit on this point.

Thinning balls is defiantly a skill to learn, but I see it way overused. IMHO, thinning a ball in the pack for a safety is a last resort. Typically, all you accomplish with this move is to leave your opponent without an offensive shot. This is only half the goal of a safety. A complete safety leaves your opponent no offensive shots and very limited defensive shots. It is much better to play safeties into the pack, sticking the cue on the side and popping out balls on the other side. This puts your opponent in a much tougher position and increases the likely hood he will leave you a shot after his turn.

That's what I'm finding out from better players who have spent some time in straight pool. Just the other day a friend showed me how and when to hit the second ball from the corner, spit some balls out the other side and kill the cue on the stack.

I have to say though, that nudging a ball back into (or behind) the pile and leaving the cue ball on the head rail does tend to satisfy both of the requirements of a good safety - as long as something "dead" isn't generated in the process.

Ken

 

[The Kiss]

See here is where the rubber meets the road...We have 2 bonafide pros and another NYC player telling you the only way to win is to run balls..Well at the A level or higher that is Absolutely correct


But where the game of pool is played in the trenches in most rooms across the country the Level of play is not fantastic....So better defense and overall smarter play is what is going to seperate 1 player from another..

I say to get better master the Defense as well as pocket balls and play the smart paterns....The overall game is complex it is a chess match...

8 to 6 is a winning rack not your goal.....This board is generally weak on real pool.....Somreone finally posts a good question and you get drummed out of here by the experts...Someone even had the balls to call me Fast Larry..

Whatever....

Who ever the origanal poster was try to Defense it will improve your game...