Record vs. the 9 ball ghost

westcoast said:
I think you are better than you say it you are if you play that well. You certainly don't suck
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I actually beat the ten ball ghost twice in a row a few months ago and would say I played good. I felt more pressure trying to beat that the last small money ring game I played in. By far.

Its the fact that I had lost, no exaggeration, 50 sets in a row at least to it before that point.

Believe me, if you saw me shoot on a bad day, you might be inclined to throw out a "Hey, you suck!" or "You're a bum!" my way, lol.

Didn't someone post a story of Antonio Lining or Luat spotting the ghost 10 to 21 on a barbox and he still won?
 
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Playing the ghost

I am what would be considered a strong A , borderline AA player. When I'm playing well and am in stroke, playing the ghost with BIH isn't hard. I remember winning 5 sets straight in a race to 7 when I was playing my best. A table that breaks well is key though, with a few combos the percentages change a bit.

IMO If you can beat the ghost then you can beat ANYBODY. It a definate distinction between players who can and can't. It's great competition when practicing alone.
 
iusedtoberich said:
My opinion:

Pro player would win 100% of the time, no question.

"A" player would win 60% of the time.
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I'd even up the A player odds to about 85% or higher. I'm pretty sure I heard a local pro here say he gives the ghost 2 games for every miss when practicing.

Most of the time it's playing 8 ball or less rotation if making a ball on the break, and when someone is always playing and in stroke it can look as simple as tiddlywinks..... of course that's only when there is NO pressure, which changes 'everything'. JMO

td
 
I once knew a mid-range A player who would spot every ball on the table (playing 9-ball) with the stipulations that he got the break, the first shot after the break, and 2:1 on the money. Some good players would jump on the spot without realizing that the guy was basically just getting 2:1 odds to beat the ghost (no BIH after the break, but the ability to play safeties kind of evens out to a certain extent). It goes without saying that this game was a winner for him, and probably would be for some strong B players as well.

Aaron
 
I am a B player and I usually run out 7-8 out of 10 against the 9ball ghost...

It really is all about the break. I have a good break but it's not a pro break in that more often than not I don't control the cueball and 1 ball well enough to get a shot on the 1ball all the time. If I did that maybe I wouldn't be a B.... I have nights where the break stars align and I can put together packages... They just don't happen enough....

HMMMMMM... Time to go work on the break methinks.....
 
Aaron_S said:
John Schmidt said a player who is beating the 10-ball ghost on 4.5" pockets is a pro on some level.

I agree that a strong B player should give the 9-ball ghost a good run, perhaps not win 50% of the time, but at least 40% I would think.

A players should expect to beat the 9-ball ghost most of the time. Strong A's and shortstops will sometimes blank the 9-ball ghost in races to 9.

The 10-ball ghost checks under his bed for Chris Bartram before he goes to sleep.

Aaron
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This is right on, imo. Assuming we are using the same ratings of "pro, open,a,b,c,d" then a solid A player beats the ghost 9 outta 10 times. Pattern racking means nuthin. Breaking from the box means squat. Doing it on a tight barbox is a bigger joke. Top players beat the ghost 99 out of 100 tries. Believe it. Hell, I remember Donny Mills saying that he would play with NO ball in hand and only shoot if he made a ball on the break.


Eric
 
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Eric. said:
This is right on, imo. Assuming we are using the same ratings of "pro, open,a,b,c,d" then a solid A player beats the ghost 9 outta 10 times. Pattern racking means nuthin. Breaking from the box means squat. Doing it on a tight barbox is a bigger joke. Top players beat the ghost 99 out of 100 tries. Believe it. Hell, I remember Donny Mills saying that he would play with NO ball in hand and only shoot if he made a ball on the break.


Eric
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so he can break and run 9 ball more often then not? i find that very hard to believe. i realize its different than 8 ball but when that pro tour 8 ball thing was going a couple years ago, the very best in the world were right about 30% break and run.
 
jdxprs said:
so he can break and run 9 ball more often then not? i find that very hard to believe. i realize its different than 8 ball but when that pro tour 8 ball thing was going a couple years ago, the very best in the world were right about 30% break and run.
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Lets put it this way- if Donny can rack his own, I'm betting on him all day.


Eric > and all night
 
jdxprs said:
so he can break and run 9 ball more often then not? i find that very hard to believe. i realize its different than 8 ball but when that pro tour 8 ball thing was going a couple years ago, the very best in the world were right about 30% break and run.
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He's kinda good at making the wing ball.

Aaron
 
Luxury said:
Wait a minute. I thought I was a favorite against the ghost on my 9 fter but I didn't know making a ball on the break is required. Is it?
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No it's not. You can also scratch on the break, you still get BIH. Actually, when playing the ghost one might be more successful using a soft break, paying more attention to getting a good spread than to making a ball. This might also minimize the need to go up and down/around the world for shape, making a run-out easier if the balls are all on 1/2 of the table.

This discussion just makes one thing very clear. Obviously in a competition making a ball on the break is very important because otherwise you're not still at the table. But given a ball on the break it just shows me how important a shot on the one (i.e. lowest ball) is in determining the outcome in top level competition. It would seem that is the only thing keeping 9 Ball from being a run-out competition at the professional level.
 
Aaron_S said:
John Schmidt said a player who is beating the 10-ball ghost on 4.5" pockets is a pro on some level.

I agree that a strong B player should give the 9-ball ghost a good run, perhaps not win 50% of the time, but at least 40% I would think.

A players should expect to beat the 9-ball ghost most of the time. Strong A's and shortstops will sometimes blank the 9-ball ghost in races to 9.

The 10-ball ghost checks under his bed for Chris Bartram before he goes to sleep.

Aaron
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aaron i did not get the last line here?
 
break is everything

As someone said before, at the top levels making a ball and having a first shot is what it's all about. Especially with winner breaks formats. 9 ball is really just too easy of a game where the best keep the opponent in the chair. This is also why a good AA can give big spots to B level players, they're not a threat to runout early. So the last 3 is what they really need, but they usually think 2 games or 8 and a game is enough.

I hadn't played the ghost for awhile on my practice table, I've been working on other things. I played race to 5 last night, BIH after all breaks and won 3 of 4, only losing the one set 4 games to 5 when I missed an 8 ball for the win.

The best part about the game is it forces you to shoot everything (not duck) and puts pressure on practice sessions. I may start spotting the ghost, maybe 6 to 7.

It would be cool to have break and run competitions and see what the greats could do when forced. Kind of like the 7 ball on ESPN where they have only 1 called safety per race. They shoot, shoot, then duck and make it look way too easy most of the time.
 
master9baller said:
It would be cool to have break and run competitions and see what the greats could do when forced. Kind of like the 7 ball on ESPN where they have only 1 called safety per race. They shoot, shoot, then duck and make it look way too easy most of the time.
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They had something like that last year I think. I know Stoney Stone was in
it and I cant remember who else.Seems there were about 8 in it and it
was streamed. I want to say it was in Georgia because Jesse Meddlebrook was in it also
 
never once played the 9ball ghost, so don't know how hard or easy it is....

I like to practice the 1P challenge (like Jay sets his up at the Derby). Just a little harder than normal 1P break (and I like to hit between the 2nd and 3rd balls instead of head and 2nd ball), and try to run all 15 balls into 1 pocket (no ball in hand). It's certainly not easy, but it has helped a ton at being a bit more offensive when playing 1P.
 
I play on a triple shimmed GC against the ghost, so sometimes I forget how easy the ghost could be on an easy Big table, a B player is not beating my table against the ghost, my bad.
 
peteypooldude said:
Will you do this breaking from the box?
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Yes i will do this breaking from the box. I might have the worst break on the planet LOL so im not counting on the break. Im counting on whats going to happen after the break. If I can have my 15 year old buddy breaking for me i will give the 10 ball ghost 10 games on the wire going to 50.
 
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