who plays...

[i need somethin]

... a better safe. A straight pool player or a one pocket player.

Me and a buddy of mine had this discussion and we couldnt settle it between ourselves so i want the help of you guys to put this to an end.

If im not mistaken a one pocket player is always on the deffense unless, he can find someway to "rearange the furniture". In one pocket you always try to find a trap to leave your opponent in so he sells out which in my opinion is the purpose of a safe.

Now i do understand that a staright pool player does have to defend against every pocket but most of the time in staright pool you are shooting at a hole whether you know you might sell out or not.

What do you guys think???

We were playing 9-ball when we had this debate if thats of any importance and we were trying to 3 foul each other because the table was tough.

 

[SupaFoo]

One pocket hands down!

 

[ShootingArts]

one pocket is most demanding

Shooting one pocket safeties you may be trying to do three or more things with one shot much like many moves in chess are accomplishing multiple things. Good one pocket safes are the most demanding I believe, simple safes are often the easiest in one pocket.

Better or best safety player? Does an apple or an orange taste better?

Hu

... a better safe. A straight pool player or a one pocket player.

Me and a buddy of mine had this discussion and we couldnt settle it between ourselves so i want the help of you guys to put this to an end.

If im not mistaken a one pocket player is always on the deffense unless, he can find someway to "rearange the furniture". In one pocket you always try to find a trap to leave your opponent in so he sells out which in my opinion is the purpose of a safe.

Now i do understand that a staright pool player does have to defend against every pocket but most of the time in staright pool you are shooting at a hole whether you know you might sell out or not.

What do you guys think???

We were playing 9-ball when we had this debate if thats of any importance and we were trying to 3 foul each other because the table was tough.

 

[asn130]

i don't know....

I might say the straight pool player, simply because of the importance of freezing the cueball to another ball & preventing a shot at any pocket.

In 1P you often leave your opponent a shot that is makable but with a very high degree of difficulty.

I'd like to hear the opinion of some top 1P or 14.1 players on this one.

 

[Hierovision]

In 1P the goal of any safe is to remove direct shots, banks, kicks, or even the opportunity to move balls towards their pocket.

Often it will require a shot where the CB moves 3 inches to freeze against a rail and a ball.

Straight pool safes usually involve removing direct shots and sometimes they remove most possible banks in a given rack. While that is great for a safe in any game, 1P safes involve so much more it's not fair to compare the two. 1P safes will not often translate to other games, but I still voted for 1P players since they are the most strategic IMO.

 

[crawfish]

Pinoy players aren't on the list? Technically, that is a category.

 

[metallicane]

Since you play way more safeties during 1P than 14.1, I would say 1P players should be able to play better safeties than any other player due to more practice at it.

 

[sokaiba]

I thought about this for a bit and I think that one pocket players play more safeties but 14.1 players have 6 pockets to guard against. JMO.

 

[CreeDo]

Since you play way more safeties during 1P than 14.1, I would say 1P players should be able to play better safeties than any other player due to more practice at it.

What he said.

Also, although guarding against 1 pocket vs. 6 sounds easier, it's not really because when the other guy thinks of a response to your safe, he also has to guard against 'only' 1 pocket. Beyond that, in 1p you can't even let the guy come close to the pocket. You can't even leave him a cross bank into that pocket. If he just comes close he can put you in a trap. Whereas in straight pool he's gotta make it, coming close is no good, and most guys won't take a flyer at a cross bank in straight pool is they can't be real sure about making it.

 

[alstl]

Most straight pool players also play one pocket and rotation games. One of Irving Crane's many titles came when he beat a guy 150 to -3 and his high run was 20 balls.

Perhaps a better question is which game punishes bad safety play the most. At a world class level you miss a safe in straight pool you might not get back to the table, and a match consists of one game. One pocket or 9 ball you miss a safe it may cost you the game but seldom the match.

 

[td873]

... a better safe. A straight pool player or a one pocket player.

What do you guys think???

As for which is more difficult, they are each difficult in their own way, so like Hu said, for a proper comparison, you really need 2 apples. But, here is my take:

The type and purpose of a safety is fundamentally different between point games and money ball games.

IMO, 1-hole and straight can be lumped together, since they are point games. You need to prevent your opponent from getting more points than you. In fact, most 1 pocket and straight pool safeties are not difficult to execute, rather the best ones are sometimes difficult to recognize. That is, you may have 10 different safety opportunities, but need to pick the right one. Further, the incoming player virtually ALWAYS has a shot of some kind. They/you are simply constantly weighing risk/reward and electing the "best" safety for the circumstances. There is no specific goal of having your opponent penalized.

The opposite is true for money ball games [i.e., where pocketing a specific ball ends the game]. The safeties are typically very easy to spot (like "keep my opponent from hitting the 3-ball") but they could be very difficult to execute. When executed properly, the incoming player typically NEVER has a shot. With these shots, you are not actually weighing risk/reward, you are simply trying to force your opponent to foul.

So, IMO, there is no real "better" safe. There are only good ones for the game you are playing at the time.

-td

 

[grindz]

Snooker players............................

td

 

[alstl]

In straight pool, one pocket and 9 ball a bad safe can cost you the game. Difference is in straight pool the match is one game. If you watch the legendary Crane vs Balsis match from 1966, Balsis plays what appears to be a good safe but Crane found a multiple ball combination in the stack and ran 150 and out.

I can't say who plays a better safe because most players play all games, but I'd say the safe is more important in 14.1 on a world level because if you lose the safety battle you might not get out of your chair until it's time to shake hands.

 

[Thomas McKane]

Straight, of course

I love 1p, and it has some AWESOME safety's. But. In straight pool you cannot leave ANY shots at all. In 1p you only have to avoid leaving a shot (or bankshot) into one pocket on the table. You will get punished far more in straight pool if you don't leave safe, for sure.

 

[CreeDo]

I love 1p, and it has some AWESOME safety's. But. In straight pool you cannot leave ANY shots at all. In 1p you only have to avoid leaving a shot (or bankshot) into one pocket on the table. You will get punished far more in straight pool if you don't leave safe, for sure.

I disagree, you don't have to make the ball in 1p, sometimes just coming close can leave the other guy in a brutal trap. There are times where hanging it up is better than making it, even.

Also, you can leave a shot in straight pool and there's still no guarantee they get into the pack. In a typical game they still need to get over 100 balls and every breakshot is a new set of problems and a new risk of getting safe/stuck/scratched. People talk like straight pool is this game where you don't have to get back to the table from every mistake, I think I even heard pros commentate on a video that it's not like 9 ball, where you can miss and still get a lucky safe and have a hope of winning.

Except at the very highest levels, you pretty much DO have to get back to the table in straight pool. Not many of us clean up a 150 point game in 1 or 2 innings. It's definitely easier to run out 1p than straight pool. You don't have to get back to the table when only 8 balls are needed.