You set up the shot as laid out in post #57 with the cueball at best an 1/8th of an inch from the 8 ball, jacked up shooting over the 8, needing to stop the cueball dead with no forward motion after contacting the 15 in order to have a straight in 13? As laid out that would be strong, since you pretty much have to punch down on the ball like a jump shot to get the cueball to stop dead.
I will go down and try to shoot it a few times, mind you it will be on a 9-foot. I know the shot, there are easier shots on a pool table. If you dont have to bridge over the full 8-ball the shot goes from hard with shape to a duck if you can stroke the ball with a level cue.
Here is the problem with sticking your opponent into a tough spot and forcing them to pull off the impossible...sometimes they do it, but by running out you are leaving them in the chair and it NEVER happens.
You are jacked up over the 8, punching down on the cueball enough to hold for the 13 in the side is almost impossible, especially with the angle one would want to get on the 9 and 14. So you are bridging over the full 8 on a cueball almost frozen to it stroking a table length 15 into the corner, and having to put enough tops on the cueball to make it follow through after hitting the 15 and come up table and off the rail enough to leave a decent shot on the 14.
If you get that far you are looking ok, you can cut the 14 in and nudge the 9 and only have to get the angle on the 9 to get short side on the 13 since that 2 you moved now blocks the corner and it does not pass the 3 into the other.
I mean, I guess we could be playing on the loosest valley in the world, it gets alot easier depending on the equipment.
But then I also see a diamond 7-foot as a "bar box", just a nice one that requires a far higher level of potting accuracy.
There are not 10% of the players in the BCA event that would have better then a 50% chance of getting out from there, and that 10% includes the pro's and masters who eat up a whole lot of that 10% leaving a small number of guys left in the open to fill in the rest, many who have a name like Fabrico Gustave and they happen to speak Spanish very well, not a lick of English and happen to be one of the 5 best amatuer ranked players in Spain.
In the VNEA I would say under the pressure late in the tournament (final 32 in the open) you would see about a 60% runout rate once players at that point leave themselves that shot bridged over that ball needing those remaining balls. Glen Atwell should shoot from there, Stan Touragenau would shoot from there with a high rate of success, I would be near breaking my cue apart at hill hill match against Kirkwood if I left him that. Those guys are a little special though.
With BIH and the right shot selection, you shouldn't even have to worry about having to shoot the 15 jacked up over the 8, In my example I bumped both the 2 and the 8 and would have had a clear shot on the 15.
If I give up ball in hand with 3 balls left in this very runnable position, everything in me prays that my opponent will play a safe.
Every safe he plays gives me an opportunity to pull some crazy safe out that turns things around.
If I am playing someone more than a race to 1 and they play safe here, then they "generally" can't beat me, so arguing about the proper way to play safe is pointless.
If you aspire to beome more than a B player, I believe you will need to start being more aggressive when given a very runnable table such as this.
Don't play 8 ball, nor play on a barbox, I'll still give it a try.
Give myself a little angle to bump the 2 ball enough to clear the 8 and play the 12 in the opposite side pocket. Then play the 15 up the far corner leaving myself position for the 13 in the same side as I made the 12, follow slowly to play the 14 & 9 both in the same corner & come over for the 8 in the cleared corner pocket.
Playing 8ball on a barbox. You're stripes and you have ball-in-hand.
Note: I tried to position the balls as accurately as I could. The 13-ball appears to be in an odd place to pocket in the lower side pocket. In actuality, it goes rather easily and I was aware of this from the onset.
With that said, there are plenty of options here. I'm sure there are going to be some awesome ideas presented and perhaps a few options we should take a moment to critique. I'll reveal what I did tomorrow when work isn't so demanding.
If the 12 goes in the side I shoot it bump the two out of the way. I then shoot the 15 in the top right corner and stop for the 13 in the side. The rest is elementary after that. If the 12 doesn't go in the the side I shoot the 15 ball into the 7ball pocketing his ball and freezing the cue ball on the 12.
With BIH and the right shot selection, you shouldn't even have to worry about having to shoot the 15 jacked up over the 8, In my example I bumped both the 2 and the 8 and would have had a clear shot on the 15.
I play quite a bit of straight pool so I can say with a degree of certainty that this outcome is extremely unlikely for the type of player that is going to run out from here. Because you have ball-in-hand and you're so close to the 2-ball, you have a lot of control over the precise location of the bump. Since you know you're shooting the 15 next, the precautions are going to be taken. With that said, either approach is fine - moving both the 2 and 8 or moving just the 2. Personally, I was concerned about moving both balls because I felt I would lose a degree of deliberateness and I felt I could effectively control the hit on the 2.
Indeed, perhaps I just need more practice against all you A+ players, want to lock up 3 sets this year in Vegas, race to 7 bar box 8-ball for $100 a set?
What I find interesting about the responses here is that most have agreed running out is, in fact, the correct approach in spite of how challenging the 15 ball might be. A lot depends heavily on the level of play of your opponent. I know the people I typically go up against will feel very fortunate if I give them back the table and I really would rather not think about what they might do to turn the table on me.
In sum, I feel it necessary to run out because no better opportunity might present itself if you don't. If you feel your opponent is apt to make more mistakes, then you might be able to get away with a safety here.
What I find interesting about the responses here is that most have agreed running out is, in fact, the correct approach in spite of how challenging the 15 ball might be. A lot depends heavily on the level of play of your opponent. I know the people I typically go up against will feel very fortunate if I give them back the table and I really would rather not think about what they might do to turn the table on me.
In sum, I feel it necessary to run out because no better opportunity might present itself if you don't. If you feel your opponent is apt to make more mistakes, then you might be able to get away with a safety here.
