How do you play this?

cleary

cleary

Honestly, I'm a liar.
Silver Member
Its hill-hill. The 4 7 are dead into the corner pocket. Close enough that the cross side 4 ball MIGHT not go, but far enough that the 4-7 combo still has to be hit clean to make.

Do you go for the combo or play safe?

CueTable Help

 
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If 4 and 7 are not dead to the corner, I probably wouldn't try to combo. The balls are so close and you're shooting away from the line of shot; it's very missable.

Depending on the situation, I would probably play safe either behind the 9 or the 8. I tend to prefer the 8 because i believe that gives you a better error of margin (7 might be a big ball if you miss the save).

Edit: When you said the balls are dead to the side, I assume you meant the 4 won't go to the side.

Can you roll forward behind the 7 or the 4 7 contact is unavoidable?
 
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Safe's the smarter play, but I'd either bank the 4 cross side, or play safe, depending on how I was shooting.

J
 
if I'm solids I shoot the 7 and lock the cue to the 4...good luck making your 9 ball buddy! OH, this is 9ball....since I play it so rarely, and never for anything of any significance, I'd slice the 4 off the 7 in the bottom (in the pic) side, and hope for the best. I hate 9 ball. lol
 
cleary said:
Its hill-hill. The 4 7 are dead into the side pocket. Close enough that the cross side 4 ball MIGHT not go, but far enough that the 4-7 combo still has to be hit clean to make.

Do you go for the combo or play safe?

CueTable Help

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If the 4-7 are dead in the side....
..I suggest you look at the quote of Cicero on Blackjack's sig-line.
 
Typical *percentage-situation*. I would recommend here always a safety.
 
Safe

Play safe, push the 4 to the side rail hard enought to hit and try to leave the CB stuck on the 7.
 
Is it 2-foul?;)

I would bank the 4...at about 4562323mph.

We would know who the winner was after that.
 
I wouldn't go for the combo.

I know I can stiff the 4 cross-side with inside, but do I want to chance the whole set on it?

Trying to slow roll the 4 to the rail and freeze on the 7... that's a pretty touchy shot. It looks like you might have to cut the 4 too much, so it might be hard to hide behind the 7. You can try a little nip shot, but if you don't get a rail, or you don't get behind the 7... then you probably sold out a shot, or a easy safe for him.

Another option, would be to use some low right and and draw off the 4 down to the end rail, possibly hooking him behind the 8. You aim to make the 4 ball just go straight back and forth.. who knows maybe the 4 will end up behind the 7, or maybe your cueball will end up behind the 8, or maybe the cueball will behind the 8 AND the 4 ball will behind the 7.. who the hell really knows in this life??????:D

If you're all touchy feely type of guy with all that Efren magic, I suppose you could come off the 4 and hook his sorry a$$ behind the 9.

I say, because you have to shorten up the bank, it's probably only a 60% chance for me... The cross over bank is out, only the straight back is in play here.

So after that long winded rambling.... because I only have 1 pocket to make my object ball (the combo in the corner does not look any good to me.. looks like there is a cut involved) and even though I"m a offensive minded guy... at hill-hill, I'm probably going to go down trying to hook his a$$ and see how he likes it. If I miss my safe, they he's going to like it just fine. If I hit my safe, it's going to tick him off, with it being hill-hill and only a few balls left.

I'm probably go for the 4 to the rail and the cueball froze on any part of the 7, which means he will be kicking.:)
 
1. Use the seven to hold the four, place the cue ball behind the 9 or close to it
2. Slow bottom-right and full on the four, using the seven and eight as possible blockers and sending the cue ball down table

There's a bunch of options, depends on what shot you're most comfortable with making
 
I think you have to play safe here. Playing the combo and getting position is just too low percentage, especially at hill-hill. If bumping the 4 to the rail and holding behind the 7 is indeed available then that's probably the best shot.
 
4 to the side rail, cb behind the 7. Looks like it is there. Worst case... your opponent would have a bank shot.
 
I ended up trying the combo and missing. It was dead into the corner pocket, I just cut it too thick. Set it up after the set and nailed it. It was a gamble to play that shot and ended up costing me the set. I was playing a much better player and felt I needed to take a chance and attack rather than give them another shot at the table.

The "trying to lock up on the 7ball" safe was not there. You had to cut the 4 ball too much.

I think trying to hid behind the 8 ball would have been the smarter play. Or at least get some distance with the cueball and leave them a hard shot.
 
cleary said:
Sorry, I meant to say combo was dead in the *corner* pocket.
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Well, if the combo was 'dead' in the corner rather than the side...
..then I will still ask you to check Blackjack's sig-line...ok, here it is already

Dead balls are harder to find than they are to make...Cicero Murphy
 
cleary said:
Sorry, I meant to say combo was dead in the *corner* pocket.
Click to expand...

When the combo is dead (normally when they're frozen or very close to each other) and the directions of the two balls line up straight toward the pocket. So when you hit it, the other ball can be easily pocketed. It's very counter intuitive as how this term is used in other sports. Similarly, when someone says the guy is in dead stroke, that typically means the guy is playing well at his peak, almost like a subconscious state at which he never misses a shot.
 
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