Practicing Safeties

RobustBrad

RobustBrad

Looking to play in CO
Silver Member
What drills do you work off of when practicing safeties? I've just been randomly throwing out a rack of 9 balls and trying to play safe on each ball.

Kick shots are my weakness and I know I have to work on that more. Any drills in particular your using?

Thanks,
Brad
 
Get your accustats dvds out or watch the mosconi cup vids on youtube or any good pro matches. Pause when a safety is coming up. Guess what the right safety is. Then hit play and watch what the pro does. Then set up the exact safety and shoot it til you can do what the pro does. Do this for a while and when a similar safety comes up in a match you will recognize it and do the right thing.

This is also a good way to learn top shelf offensive shots.
 
There's a game me and my friend have been playing. My friend told me it was originally invented by Nick Varner. The rules are pretty simple:
Standard 9-ball rack and all 9-ball rules apply except:

-You can make only 1 ball at a time which scores you 1 point and after that you have to play safe.
-You can only score by making a ball, fouls don't count in scoring.
-You can only pocket a ball with the first shot of the inning.
-If you pocket balls on two consecutive shots, the latter shot counts as -1 points and the opponent can choose which player continues.
-Balls pocketed in the break stay down and don't score, but you can continue and pocket the lowest numbered ball on the table.

All other 9-ball rules apply. Pocketing the 9-ball counts as 1 point, no extra points but you can continue by breaking and making another ball after the break.

This is pretty simple but effective game to practise playing safeties. You soon learn to play position, just any random position for a safety is no good in the long run. Me and my friend usually play a race to 21 points.
 
Luxury said:
Get your accustats dvds out or watch the mosconi cup vids on youtube or any good pro matches. Pause when a safety is coming up. Guess what the right safety is. Then hit play and watch what the pro does. Then set up the exact safety and shoot it til you can do what the pro does. Do this for a while and when a similar safety comes up in a match you will recognize it and do the right thing.

This is also a good way to learn top shelf offensive shots.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's a great idea. I'll have to setup the laptop next to the pool table and go that route.

Thanks for sharing that.

Cheers,
BRad
 
When I play the ghost, I modify the general rules and will play safeties on myself. Then work on my kicking or jumping to get out of the safety.

Carl
 
mjantti said:
There's a game me and my friend have been playing. My friend told me it was originally invented by Nick Varner. The rules are pretty simple:
Standard 9-ball rack and all 9-ball rules apply except:

-You can make only 1 ball at a time which scores you 1 point and after that you have to play safe.
-You can only score by making a ball, fouls don't count in scoring.
-You can only pocket a ball with the first shot of the inning.
-If you pocket balls on two consecutive shots, the latter shot counts as -1 points and the opponent can choose which player continues.
-Balls pocketed in the break stay down and don't score, but you can continue and pocket the lowest numbered ball on the table.

All other 9-ball rules apply. Pocketing the 9-ball counts as 1 point, no extra points but you can continue by breaking and making another ball after the break.

This is pretty simple but effective game to practise playing safeties. You soon learn to play position, just any random position for a safety is no good in the long run. Me and my friend usually play a race to 21 points.
Click to expand...

That's a good way of doing it also. I'll have to try that one.
 
One way I like to practice safeties is to break a rack of nine-ball and take the right shot from wherever the cue ball is. I just play as player one and then player two, just taking the right shots every time. If I don't have a shot, I have to play safe, then I see if I can play a safe on my own safe or kick out of it until finally one of "us" sells out. Basically I play a game of nine against myself instead of practicing with BIH.
 
I like to play one pocket. You have to be conscious of both object and cue ball. Good practice of tucking in behind balls and taking away shooting lanes etc. Good practice I think and the skills can be related to any game.
 
I teach defensive 10 Ball to my student as I know practicing safes & kicks are pretty tough to do. Usually played with 2 players but can be practiced alone.
Defensive 10 Ball Rules of play

The play of Defensive 10 Ball may only be appreciated by top players right now but it is one of the quickest ways for an intermediate player to improve upon their safety and kicking skills.

It is racked and played similar to a normal rack of 10 ball with the 1 in the front and the 10 in the middle but scoring is different.

The object of the game is to earn as many points as possible during each rack.

Players earn 1 point for each ball pocketed but you are only allowed 2 offensive shots in a row and then you must play safe.

You can score more than 2 points if you happen to sink more than 1 ball on a single stroke.

A typical break starts the game and all balls pocketed stay down and are worth 1 point each to the breaker BUT whether the breaker made a ball or not the 1st shot after the break must be a push out. A push out is when a player chooses a position on the table to reposition the cue ball (of course by shooting it to a new position and not by picking it up and placing it with their hand), once the player has repositioned the cue ball the next player up has the option to take the new challenging shot or pass it back to the other player.

After the push out players may now pocket balls or play safe. If you pocket a ball on your first stroke of an inning you are allowed a second shot and if you pocket another ball you must now play safe on your 3rd stroke.

All ball in hand rules apply, if player “A” fails to make a legal hit or shot player “B” gets ball in hand and is allowed a maximum of 2 offensive shots before they must play safe. This is where it pays to play tight safeties. If a player pockets a ball accidently or on purpose on their 3rd stroke the object ball is spotted on the foot spot and the cue ball stays where it is so it is sometimes advisable to execute such a shot.

If balls get tied up to where nobody wants to break them up then the 3 foul rules applies. If no balls are pocketed for 3 consecutive innings in which a player has committed 3 consecutive fouls the opposing player wins 5 points and a new break.

The player that sinks the 10 ball has the break in the next rack. There are 10 points per rack and players should agree to race to a certain amount of points, 25 points is generally an interesting race.
 

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RobustBrad said:
What drills do you work off of when practicing safeties? I've just been randomly throwing out a rack of 9 balls and trying to play safe on each ball.

Kick shots are my weakness and I know I have to work on that more. Any drills in particular your using?

Thanks,
Brad
Click to expand...

I think the best way to practice kicks is by using the cue ball only, just start hitting the cue ball into the rail and watch what various spins do. Then try making the cue ball scratch 1 rail from various angles until you get a feel for how the cue ball moves. Then move to some 2 or 3 rail kicks with different spins to see where the cue ball travels. Eventually you will get a feel for what you can do with the cue ball and now when you add a ball to hit it will become much easier because you know how the cue ball will travel.

Also makes sure that your kicking in both directions, i learned from this that i like to kick to the right much more than the left, so i have to practice kicking to the left more.
 
Find a good kicking system to start with. There are plenty of them out there (like the mirror system) that make it easy to find the geometric kicking/banking aim point. That will help you at least get a hit most of the time when you are hooked, and it's also a good way to learn how english and speed affect kicks and banks. With a good stroke and a lot of practice, you will eventually be hitting virtually everything, and you will be 1/2 ball accurate on most easy kicks. At that point your kicking skills will be in the high B or low A range. Going beyond that requires an excellent stroke and more time and effort than most people are willing to put into it, but you can find more help here once you get to that point.

Regarding safety play, I would recommend first finding a good system for 2 and 3 rail kicks. The spot on the wall system, for example, is super easy and fairly accurate once you learn how to apply it. Being able to hit the OB very thinly and drive the cueball 2 or 3 cushions to a safe spot is one of the biggest defensive shots in 9-ball. It is heavily used, but hard to hit perfectly if you are hiding behind only one or two balls. Having a good 2/3 rail system will get you in the neighborhood on these types of safety shots. Really, if you can hit thin-ball safeties pretty good, and you can bank balls straight back and lay them on the short rail, you have a pretty good start on 9-ball defense. In 9-ball you only have to cover one ball, so the hardest things are learning when you duck and when to shoot, and protecting against the easy jump shot (closer is better, frozen is best).

Good luck,
Aaron
 
A while ago, I came up with this little game I like to play: The Safety Dance.

It's similar to other methods already mentioned, but it's focused on getting safe moreso than escaping the safe. It's easy to modify to include the escape option, so that if, after the safe is played, you can make a good hit that doesn't sell out the ball, play safe again. If the hit leaves a simple pocketing shot, the safe worked and take it off the table, then go on to the next ball.
 
Luxury said:
Get your accustats dvds out or watch the mosconi cup vids on youtube or any good pro matches. Pause when a safety is coming up. Guess what the right safety is. Then hit play and watch what the pro does. Then set up the exact safety and shoot it til you can do what the pro does. Do this for a while and when a similar safety comes up in a match you will recognize it and do the right thing.

This is also a good way to learn top shelf offensive shots.
Click to expand...

The TAR Alex P vs SVB race to 100 is full of good safeties!
 
One pocket is always good. I also like playing one of the rotation games, where pocketing balls doesn't count for anything, but can be useful to setup a safety. The only way to get a point is by executing a successful safety. The more balls on the table, the easier it is. As the game progresses, getting a safety gets harder. When the ball count gets low enough that it's ridiculously hard to get a safety, agree to rerack and continue the count. Play to some set number of points. Requires a bit of scorekeeping. If you don't have a standard straight pool counter, there are plenty of apps (Scoreboard (Flip Style))
 
peteWazzup said:
One way I like to practice safeties is to break a rack of nine-ball and take the right shot from wherever the cue ball is. I just play as player one and then player two, just taking the right shots every time. If I don't have a shot, I have to play safe, then I see if I can play a safe on my own safe or kick out of it until finally one of "us" sells out. Basically I play a game of nine against myself instead of practicing with BIH.
Click to expand...

I do this all the time! It's the only way I can really get a feel for safeties when practicing alone
 
Switching gears from nine ball take 7 stripes (or solids) and throw them on the table. Also throw out the 8 ball making sure the table layout is random.

Player 1 takes cue ball in hand in the kitchen or out of the kitchen depending on your skill level and plays safe on one of the stripe balls.

Player 2 then tries to make the 8 legally. If player 2 makes the 8 legally they win and you switch roles. If player 2 gets a legal hit but doesn't make the 8, Payer 1 is back up to try again to try to play safe. If player 2 does not get a legal hit Player 1 gets a point. They can also take ball and hand on a bad hit (once again depending on skill level), or play it as it lies.

If player 1 gets to a certain point total like 3, or 5 for example then you switch roles.

This is a good simple game you can spar and practice not only safes, but your kicking. Player 1 can make one of his/her stripes to continue shooting to play safe on another ball which will help planning the safe ahead of time.
 
Practicing safeties

Big thanks to Joe Tucker and BlackJack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Both of you give exerps of your books or teaching methods for free to us on the forum. I do not take this for granted as some others seem to do.
I think a "thank you sir" is the least thing we should give to you!

Keep on your great work-without people like you a lot of players would still have the playing standard of 30 years back.

Best
EKKES
 
Play a 9ball session with a friend.... .25 a foul... .25 on balls kicked/jumped in off a safety when called and .25 on the 9ball... No three foul rule and if you use the jump cue and still foul you play dbl..... Nothing like your buddy getting a roll of quarters to start the session and then busting him.... LOL
 
theUBC said:
Big thanks to Joe Tucker and BlackJack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Both of you give exerps of your books or teaching methods for free to us on the forum. I do not take this for granted as some others seem to do.
I think a "thank you sir" is the least thing we should give to you!

Keep on your great work-without people like you a lot of players would still have the playing standard of 30 years back.

Best
EKKES
Click to expand...

You are precisely correct EKKES. Both of these guys are top shelf.

THANK YOU SIRS!
JoeyA
 
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