Full Rack Shots in 14.1

[Poolmanis]

That's what I heard. He was also said to have shot the two rail kick to a back corner ball to drive the head ball two rails to the side, but I'm guessing that was only done in exhibitions against stick-holders.

I tried this shot in Finnish Champs final...

 

[Hard Knock Cues]

I tried this shot in Finnish Champs final...

And how did it end?

 

[DynoDan]

I found the one where a corner ball banks up table
It caught my eye when it said 50 percent make
So I tried it once at home and it went
I’ll be sure to play for that shot if I don’t get on a break ball easily when I practice, that one is astonishing

Back when the balls were never polished, and the cloth was fuzzy/slow, I used to use a bit of inside english to frequently make that shot.
I remember a couple times back then when first playing a stranger and I lost the lag, I called the corner ball, and when it dropped, so did my opponents jaw!

 

[Texas Carom Club]

Back when the balls were never polished, and the cloth was fuzzy/slow, I used to use a bit of inside english to frequently make that shot.
I remember a couple times back then when first playing a stranger and I lost the lag, I called the corner ball, and when it dropped, so did my opponents jaw!

I’ve done the same shot to the side pocket a few times and they always hate it lol learned it several years ago but mic lower percentage I think going across all the opened balls

 

[Will Maynard]

Awesome encyclopedia of full-rack shots, Will. I really liked how you explained what was going on with the ball contacts and the important secondary factors like cushions.

I think these shots are best tried under tournament conditions. The balls where I play are not all the same size and the tables are pitted so a really tight rack is very unlikely. I guess what I can do is look at the critical contact points for a shot -- sometimes there are only two or three -- and try the shot if it looks tight.

I wonder what shots they were using in Europe from 14-ball racks that were such a high percentage that they ignored the break ball.

Great work!

Thanks for your kind remarks, Bob.

I used a magic rack on some shots to ensure a tight rack. It would be interesting to see the effect on these shots under tournament conditions. Many of these shots may act differently due to reduced ball and cloth friction. E.g., for shots that experienced throw. Some of the shots that count on cushions that bank short, might do well on a Diamond table, if I'm right in thinking that Diamonds bank short as well. My cushions are Brunswick Monarch cushions that were installed in the early 60s and they've held up very well.

I bet that you and Dr. Dave could analyze these shots from a physics (force vector analysis) viewpoint. I'd like to see that.

I too am curious about the European rack shots.

Thanks again for your comments!

 

[Will Maynard]

I found the one where a corner ball banks up table
It caught my eye when it said 50 percent make
So I tried it once at home and it went
I’ll be sure to play for that shot if I don’t get on a break ball easily when I practice, that one is astonishing

Great! It felt good, didn't it?

Just don't bet the ranch on it.

 

[Texas Carom Club]

Great! It felt good, didn't it?

Just don't bet the ranch on it.

No never but to keep a practice run going I’d shoot it every time

 

[Dan White]

And how did it end?

Well, he's wearing sunglasses so I think we know!

 

[Dan White]

Anyone who has played 14.1 Straight Pool knows that sooner or later you’ll be faced with a full 14 ball rack and no break ball, or none that will allow breaking the rack to continue a run. Most of us know several possible shots using just the full 14 ball rack but are unlikely to take these shots during a match due to the low make percentage.

In spite of this I was curious about how many possible full rack shots there are, but I have never seen any research or videos on this topic, other than a few single shots. So I undertook a study to uncover as many shots as I could. This took over 6 months and 1500 racks of sporadic research.

I began by trying various shots and when a shot succeeded I would generally try that shot 10 more times to get a make percentage for that shot (not counting the first make). Often while I was attempting to make certain shot, a different new fluke shot would go. That would send me down the path to duplicate that new shot.

There are lots of variables at play here, so it was important to always have a consistent tight rack with identical placement (magic rack was used on some shots). Also, I tried to have the same conditions each time: humidity, ball and table cleanliness, same table.

I captured 80 unique shots and broke them down into corner ball shots, head ball shots, and mid-rack shots. Here are 3 videos showing those 80 shots. There are shots that I wouldn’t have guessed could succeed and there some shots that were stunning. There are certain shots that I could not duplicate and about 9 that I did not attempt to duplicate. For the rest, I show the shot, where I struck the cueball, my stroke speed, my make percentage, the target ball and target path. There is commentary throughout.

These shots are of little value in a match game as the make percentages are too low to be practical. But I learned a lot about full tight rack shots and the interaction of forces that play out among all 14 balls. A study of physics and vector analysis would certainly help with this study. Newton’s Third Law of Motion (“for every action (force) in nature there is an equal and opposite reaction”) is at play here, e.g., when a ball rebounds off the frozen balls beyond it.

Please have a look. Try these shots yourself. Your make percentages will certainly differ from mine as 10 tries on a shot is not statistically significant. Your playing conditions may net different results than mine. I welcome all comments and if you know of other shots that have been made or that you would like to see if they can be made, please pass that along.

I hope you enjoy these videos.

Thanks,
Will

This is the most interesting pool video I have seen in a long time! I love the music at the end of each one. One nitpick... you said the carom shot at the end of video 1 was 6 out of 15 "40%" but the graphic on the screen shows 20%. Not critical.

Thanks so much for the painstaking labor of love!

 

[Will Maynard]

This is the most interesting pool video I have seen in a long time! I love the music at the end of each one. One nitpick... you said the carom shot at the end of video 1 was 6 out of 15 "40%" but the graphic on the screen shows 20%. Not critical.

Thanks so much for the painstaking labor of love!

Good catch, Dan. I should have explained the 20% vs 40%. Since 3 of the 6 made shots were scratches, I didn't count them in my make percentage so it was 3 of 15 successful shots in my mind (20%). You have a good eye for detail.

Thanks for your comments.

Will

 

[Poolmanis]

And how did it end?

Another ball came from rack and hung in middle pocket jaws..
1-ball then came perfect line towards middle pocket 2 rails... and combo the interfering ball in
My opponent missed 1st break shot but buried me middle of stack and i lost safety battle. Then he ran 2 racks and same again. I lost safety battle but he missed his chance and i got to table and I ran 70+ and got bad contact to ball I had to roll slowly because i was poorly on position.
He then ran 84 to win 125-70+something.
He is a 14.1 beast. I saw him running 3 games in row out another year. 101 and out then two times 100 and out..

P.S what´s funny about why i break like that.. I promised week before tournament, "If I am on Final and Playing vs Heiskanen I promise to kick-bank 1-ball two rails to middle. otherwise I will starting normal " They knew I was favorite to make that shot back then and i knew i most likely have 1 inning to try run out game. He was so solid back then.