bbb said:

In three-cushion billiards, when the cue ball "goes short," it means that the cue ball does not travel far enough after hitting the cushions, failing to reach the intended object balls or the required cushion contacts. This can result in a missed shot or failure to score a point, as the cue ball must make contact with both object balls after hitting at least three cushions
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the cue ball in this case went too far (long)
if it would have hit before the object balll it would have not travelled far enough (short)

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That's regular english. "Short" is an earlier expression for short rail. A three railer going short is a three railer going long in pool.

KINGSCOURT905 said:

Dave, in the tests you ran, did the medium-speed one-railer leave Filler a worse leave when it missed than the three-railer did, or was the miss pretty much a sell-out either way?

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You can watch all the shots in the video to judge for yourself. The 3-railer gave a bad result much more than I thought it would (especially at the slow-ish speed Filler used).

The best advice I was ever given regarding playing the ghost was offered by the late and great Jimmy Fusco. He spoke of the break and ball in hand version on 4 1/2" pockets, which were the norm when he and I had the discussion.

Jimmy offered that a typical amateur should start by playing races to three against the six ball ghost. Once they win five straight sets, they can move on to the seven ball ghost, but if they lose five sets in a row, they should drop down to playing the five ball ghost, and so on. One quickly learns where their proper level lies and can easily measure their progress. The process offers motivation for the player to advance as well as avoid falling back, which comes with pressure.

Stronger players, Jimmy said, should race to five against the ghost. Fargo 650-700 players tend to level out at the nine ball ghost, players in the Fargo 700s tend to level out against the ten ball ghost. Only an 800 player is likely to be the favorite against the eleven ball ghost, and anyone who beats the twelve ball ghost more than half the time is a serious threat to win a major championship. I recall that shortly before he won his US Open 9ball title in 2006, John Schmidt mentioned to me that he was winning most of the time against the twelve ball ghost.

I recall watching the legendary Dennis Orcullo at Derby City, in about 2019, gambling with a side-better that he could beat the ten ball ghost in a race to seven using "ten ball last" rules on a 4 1/4" pocket table. Dennis won the first few sets before the side-better pulled up.

dr_dave said:

Agreed. Just because you miss a shot doesn't mean you mad the wrong choice.

Based on the amount of time Filler took to decide, there obviously wasn't a lot of "comfort" on this one.

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There is not a lot of comfort on any shot where you can't see the ball, but one must assume it is the shot he thought was best for HIM or he would have shot it differently.

If he had hit it or made it, would it have been the wrong choice?

maha said:

a pause can work for some. for many it gives the little bit of time for your muscles to tighten up and choke.

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Pausing according to Tor Lowry’s description of Efren Reyes is not the pause according to Shortstop on Pool. Efren pauses with his cue tip right in back of cue ball. He then does two strokes (frontstroke and backstroke, and frontstroke and backstroke) before hitting the ball. Shortstop on Pool pauses at the end of the backstroke and before the frontstroke and hitting the ball.

Tor Lowry claims this is especially important in stressful situations where Efren Reyes' method reduces tension and prevents missing the shot due to a poor stroke. This agrees with maha's post that the pause at the end of the backstroke makes things worse for some in tense situations.

Shortstop on Pool disagrees finding that the pause at the end of the backstroke reduces tension because of this moment of silence. Not only that but the pause helps from a physical effect. Pausing prevents the muscles and tendons of the backstroke conflicting with the muscles and tendons of the front stroke and a resultant bad effect on the stroke.

Reconciling both approaches, Efren Reyes approach works despite the ill effect associated with battling muscles and tendons. Shortstop on Pool's method works despite the greater tension in stress situations because of the pause. Efren Reyes method is best for players more susceptible to stress while Shortstop on Pool's is best for the player that is more calm, collected, and cool.

Unreconcilable is both methods contention they are best in stressful situations.

Tennesseejoe said:

Just google it...it is there.

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You spelled it wrong.

[emoji257][emoji257][emoji257]

[emoji838]$1025 Butt only[emoji838]


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Buy a very expensive new break cue ???

Sorry, you lost me at “league”.

KINGSCOURT905 said:

Mensabum, thanks — checking the balls first is one of those things I know I should do and then just skip when I'm annoyed at the table. And backing off the speed feels backwards when nothing is dropping, but I can see how it works. Once you get a ball to fall at that softer speed, you are actually breaking instead of just smashing and hoping.

When you back off like that, do you keep the cue ball in the same spot, or do you move it too? I've been keeping mine in one place out of habit, and I'm starting to think that's part of my problem.

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Are you an AI?

Dave, that clip is a good one to sit with, because my first instinct watching Filler was the same as a lot of guys here, take the shorter kick and just make sure you hit it. Then Poolmanis made me rethink it. On slick new cloth like that, I have missed more one-rail kicks than I care to admit, the cue ball just slides and slides and I am past the ball before I know it.

What sold me a bit on the three-railer was his point about a too-full hit still leaving a safety most of the time. At my level in Hamilton, that matters more than the make percentage, because I am not making that kick very often either way, and leaving my opponent a shot after a thin miss is what actually loses me the game.

freds, your numbers put it plainly too, 95 percent to hit it one rail and maybe 10 percent to make it, against 75 and 20 the long way around. Dave, in the tests you ran, did the medium-speed one-railer leave Filler a worse leave when it missed than the three-railer did, or was the miss pretty much a sell-out either way?

KINGSCOURT905 said:

just hitting it harder.

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I like hitting with draw AND follow. Both work pretty good for me. Last weekend I was told I have a good break.

slach, I was in the same spot not that long ago, hearing guys at the hall talk about playing the ghost and just nodding along. When I finally tried the regular 9-ball version on my own, with ball in hand after the break, it still beat me up for weeks. My break kept leaving the cue ball in the middle of nowhere, and then I was trying to run out with no margin at all.

Cleveland_Rocks, your modified pro version is the one that caught my eye, especially no ball in hand when you make a ball on the break, and no early nines. That feels a lot closer to a real game than getting a free reset every rack, and a scratch on the break costing two for the ghost would make me think twice about just swinging for the fences.

If I was starting from scratch, would you tell me to start with Bob's progressive version, taking balls off until I could actually run the number in front of me, or jump straight into your modified pro version and just take the losses while the break sorts itself out?