Which balls to choose?

If you choose solids, you might miss the very first ball you shoot......
 
i'd take the solids with the 8 surrounded by low balls like that. the six ball shouldn't be too hard of a first shot since the 3 isnt pressed up against the cue.

for the people who chose stripes, your first shot better be the nine with a little high right english and try to bump the one out of the 8 balls way, while holding position on the 10 as your next shot.
 
Last edited:
Stripes. Once you clear the 12 & 14, you don't even have to move the 8 ball and can shoot it in the side or far corner pocket.


i agree, using the 9 or 10 as the key ball to get under the 8. Or you can start with the 9 ball and easily bump the 2, opening up the bottom right pocket for the 8 ball.
 
Last edited:
Neither is bad, but I would prefer the stripes. I'm not sure that I would go for the run out though.
 
^ Why not? Nothing is tied up for either set of balls. The only issue I'd see with solids is trying not to bump any other balls when shooting the 1-ball.

I like stripes, 13, 14, 12, 11, 15, 9, 10 with the 8 either down table or in the side depending on the angle left by the 10 to offer onto the 8.
 
stripes. you don't even need to break out the 8 but you can if you want.

13, 14, 12, 11, 15, 9, 10, 8 is a possibility i see also...
 
Last edited:
This layout came up tonight. Solids or stripes?

CueTable Help


I'm shooting the 9-ball....with a bit of draw.
A hit on the 2-ball or the 8-ball gets you a shot on a high ball....
...and makes the out look good.
 
I'm shooting the nine ball first and trying to bump out the 8 ball from the get go. I know you aren't supposed to bump balls if you don't need to but I don't like trying to get behind that eight to shoot it in the far corner. There's not a good key ball for that.

Pretty easy table. Even if I failed to bump out the eight ball on my first shot, I like my chances of getting it clear.

**Edit** Upon further inspection I think I would actually just try to nudge the 2 ball out of the way to clear the pocket for the eight. Smooth sailing from there.
 
Last edited:
stripes as the 13 is the easiest ball on the table and neither solids or stripes has a blocker.
13,14,11,15,9,10,8 ball in the side by the 14.natural shape for the whole run.
seems like an easy runout either way.

(should read 13,14,12,11,15,9,10-8 in side)
 
Last edited:
stripes as the 13 is the easiest ball on the table and neither solids or stripes has a blocker.
13,14,11,15,9,10,8 ball in the side by the 14.natural shape for the whole run.
seems like an easy runout either way.

and then your opponent calls foul for not shooting the 12. lol JK!!
 
If I bump, I bump early.

i agree, using the 9 or 10 as the key ball to get under the 8. Or you can start with the 9 ball and easily bump the 2, opening up the bottom right pocket for the 8 ball.

Exactly.

The problem though is that if you start out shooting the 9 ball and miss bumping the two out of the way and you have to shoot the 10 ball without moving the two, you will probably have to bump the 8 ball.

The truth is that any time you have a trouble ball, it is best to get if out of trouble on the first or second shot of the rack or as quickly as is normally possible. Leaving the problem ball to solve last is almost always a disaster waiting to happen.

I might even bump the 8 ball when there are lots of other object balls to pocket if my cue ball carom goes poorly.

And like always, doing what you are capable of is far more important than doing what other people are capable of.
 
If you choose solids, you'd better be prepared to work for it(D'ing up after a couple and then fight it out) or be prepared to work for it(tougher shots). I'm with PT on this one. If you take that 9, it's nearly as easy a layout and you could hope for. Either that, or if I'm feely uneasy, take the ball in the side to make sure I'm stripes and use the other side shot to come up underneath the 2/8 and bump something further uptable.. and then you're still golden for the runout.
 
Thanks for the replys. The stripes sure look better and better the more I think about this. It wasn't as clear to me on the table.

My first pick was solids but after some debate with a couple friends I went with stripes. Didn't work out though...
 
Thanks for the replys. The stripes sure look better and better the more I think about this. It wasn't as clear to me on the table.

My first pick was solids but after some debate with a couple friends I went with stripes. Didn't work out though...
How far did you get? I think the choice depends on the level of the player and what sorts of shots they have trouble with. I think among APA 3-4 level, solids are the better choice.
 
Back
Top