What would you do here?

[JC]

Why would anyone play safe on this layout? Especially with ball in hand.

Now they are considering to push the 6 down by the 8? For what possible reason on god's green earth would anyone do this? Is it going to be easier to get from the 6 to the 7 with the 6 at the other end of the table even with ball in hand than where they already lay? Or does just fouling the opponent make them tingly at the loins?

It's ok to consider this in your mind while weighing your options but only for a nanosecond or so. And please don't say it out loud.

At some point they are going to have to shoot these four balls in order to win the game. With the starting position in this layout a person could ask for nothing more.

 

[straightline]

There's no F so you can bank the 7. WTH kinda poll is this?

 

[Cameron Smith]

There's no F so you can bank the 7. WTH kinda poll is this?

Also no option to play the 7-9 combo. Clearly the best shot selection.

 

[JC]

Also no option to play the 7-9 combo. Clearly the best shot selection.

Ok Eric here's your "jump it up" opponent!

 

[ChrisinNC]

Why would anyone play safe on this layout? Especially with ball in hand.

Now they are considering to push the 6 down by the 8? For what possible reason on god's green earth would anyone do this? Is it going to be easier to get from the 6 to the 7 with the 6 at the other end of the table even with ball in hand than where they already lay? Or does just fouling the opponent make them tingly at the loins?

It's ok to consider this in your mind while weighing your options but only for a nanosecond or so. And please don't say it out loud.

At some point they are going to have to shoot these four balls in order to win the game. With the starting position in this layout a person could ask for nothing more.

I think the ball-in-hand scenario was introduced just to determine what pocket someone would choose to set up to play the 7-ball in if they did have BIH on the 6-ball, no other reason. At least that’s the way I read it to mean.

 

[Straightpool_99]

I know some of you were joking, but on this forum you can never be entirely sure that everybody is! If you are playing safe in the given position, you're akin to a person who wins the lottery grand prize and uses his entire winnings to buy more lottery tickets.

You have 4 balls to run with a close position and even a little angle, what more could a pool player want? Oh yeah, ball in hand on the nine. Well you better forget about that. It's four flippin' balls. As badly as i played when I started back up again, I still managed to run 4 balls occationally. You can do it too. Here is a observation I made long ago: if you can't run 4 balls, your safes are going to be even worse. Might as well go for the run, and if you miss, you can still luck a safe sometimes. I think the percentages are more in favour of that, than a person who can't run 4 balls executing a perfect safe on a fairly open table with few balls. That is if you're playing someone fairly competent. If they're both beginners, then it's a coin toss no matter what anyone does.

I actually lost in the last 16 of my countrys national championship, because I got a bad position on the 8, which was close to the 9. It was actually not possible to make from where I was. From 7 to the 8 was actually tough postion and I failed. This was hill-hill and I had fought very hard to run that rack, but there were breakouts needed and they didn't go my way. I executed the safe perfectly, leaving my opponent glued behind the 9 (in the spot area) and the 8 in the middle of the table. To me the kick looked nearly impossible, it was a tough reach, and my opponent could not hit the side rails, he had to go to the bottom rail, with hampered cueing. Needless to say, he kicked it in and got picture perfect position on the 9. That kick was extremely low percentage, but with the position he got, it was just twisting the knife in the wound, I thought. I mean he probably would have made a 9 on the spot from anywhere, but still he didn't have to get straight in and close, did he? I kind of got disillusioned with safes after that.

 

[VIProfessor]

E all day. There are many more ways to get funny going beneath the seven compared to above it.

One of the things that caught my eye is that if I have to glance off the 9 while pocketing the 7 in E, I should still be alright. However, if I have to glance that 9 while shooting uptable, there are many more unfavorable outcomes.

 

[Fatboy]

Why would anyone play safe on this layout? Especially with ball in hand.

Now they are considering to push the 6 down by the 8? For what possible reason on god's green earth would anyone do this? Is it going to be easier to get from the 6 to the 7 with the 6 at the other end of the table even with ball in hand than where they already lay? Or does just fouling the opponent make them tingly at the loins?

It's ok to consider this in your mind while weighing your options but only for a nanosecond or so. And please don't say it out loud.

At some point they are going to have to shoot these four balls in order to win the game. With the starting position in this layout a person could ask for nothing more.

Maybe I got my man on 2 and would rather 3 foul him, just to piss him off. That’s a reason why to play safe. There is lots more to consider in pool than just the run out.

best,
Fatboy

 

[JC]

Maybe I got my man on 2 and would rather 3 foul him, just to piss him off. That’s a reason why to play safe. There is lots more to consider in pool than just the run out.

best,
Fatboy

I hate that rule, fight like a man!!

When I try that shit he usually kicks a good hit with the optional lucky safe and suddenly I'm staring at the abyss.

On another note, it's E on the back stretch!

 

[Bluewire686]

Hello guys,

I am doing some research for a possible future video. Could you give me your vote on the pocket of your choice for the seven ball? I allowed to choose multiple pockets, in case you are trying to have multiple options depending on your accuracy in cue ball control.

This is the 9 Ball situation you're facing:

View attachment 603295

Low left off the two rails in pocket E , low left on the 7 postion on 8 , then the nine , or you could just hit 6 with little right stop the CB 7 in the C pocket follow down make the 8

 

[flmusclehead]

Hello guys,

I am doing some research for a possible future video. Could you give me your vote on the pocket of your choice for the seven ball? I allowed to choose multiple pockets, in case you are trying to have multiple options depending on your accuracy in cue ball control.

This is the 9 Ball situation you're facing:

View attachment 603295

On a fast table, Drag shot on the 6, Follow 7 into C getting angle on the 8 Ball to come back down for the 9... No side spin needed...

 

[smoochie]

I choose E....Top right and you go two rails

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Here's a comparison that shows the similarity of shape for A, B, C & D - miss one and you'll likely get another.

pj
chgo

 

[ChrisinNC]

Low left off the two rails in pocket E , low left on the 7 postion on 8 , then the nine , or you could just hit 6 with little right stop the CB 7 in the C pocket follow down make the 8

I still say it’s no picnic getting good shape from the 7 to the 8 when choosing to play the 7 in pocket E and bringing the cue ball off both opposite long rails, even if you leave an ideal angle on the 7.

Using left or low left, if you hit too much low, too much left or too hard, you risk a myriad of potential problems - leaving the 8-ball straight and/or even scratching in pocket B.

You hit it too easy or not enough left, you risk either leaving too much angle on the 8 or leaving the cue ball on the side cushion, in either case making for a tough shot on the 8.

On tour cut pockets or tougher, even a pro level player would do well to get out from this layout 9 out of 10 times, and it would take a very good player to get out 7 out of 10 times. In a match situation, you don’t get to try it 10 times in a row - you only get one chance at it!

 

[Straightpool_99]

Here's a comparison that shows the similarity of shape for A, B, C & D - miss one and you'll likely get another.

pj
chgo

View attachment 604226

I seriously can't believe anyone can look at those comparisons and chose a pocket other than E?
1. You're playing for A or D, you're not playing on tight pockets, I can tell you that right now.
2. You're playing for B, your speed control better be perfect, which is also true of A. Small errors in direction or speed will spell disaster in both these shots. With this length of travel, you don't need to be off by more than a fraction of a tip or just a little bit off on your speed. You can scratch, land on the rail, land straight in or come up short. Depending on your angle from the 6 you can end up on top of the 8 as well.
3. C and D are just a nightmares overall. You miss your position window by even a fraction, either way, the position can become from very difficult to downright impossible to pull off consistently. The side pocket can get in your way, you may have to shoot with speed with spins that many players are unfamiliar with. Stun run through, with sidespin, long distance....Yeah, I don't think any sub 600 fargos are pulling those shots off consistently. I'll be happy to be proven wrong.

I'm not saying I, or any other moderately competent recreational player can't pull these shots off. I'm saying that with a 100 tries, the successrate (given time between attempts to avoid "dialing in") is not even going to be close to that of E. With dialing in, it will still be pretty clear, I think. I'm also saying that some of you might be surprised at how difficult these shots can actually be on a normally tight (not gaffy) table.

"Insurance position" is a useful concept. Sometimes, like in real life insurance situations, the insurance is not as good as you thought it was. The very thing you needed has been carefully and precisely removed by skilled statisticians in a way that exempt you from compensation unexpectedly. Bad luck and pool Gods do this work in pool.

 

[alstl]

There are obviously a lot of people here who are much better players than I. If I have an option I avoid going across the line for shape with an obstructing ball. If I'm looking at the diagram correctly you can go one rail for the 7 in the side and drift up for the 8 or one rail toward the 7 and follow up for the 8. For E you are coming across the line to land on a dime.

 

[ThinSlice]

Here's a comparison that shows the similarity of shape for A, B, C & D - miss one and you'll likely get another.

pj
chgo

View attachment 604226

Should have recorded it but I tried it my way and ran out first try. I know, I know. No video then it didn’t happen. So my point is that although you can follow around for the 7 but, if you miss shape then you just made it extremely difficult because you only have one pocket to shoot at. If you stun on the 6 or slight draw you have potentially 3 pockets to shoot at depending on the angle on the 7 and you can still get shape on the 8. Shooting the 7 up table is the better and smart play.


Sent from my iPhone using AzBilliards Forums

 

[ChrisinNC]

Shooting the 7 up table is the better and smart play.


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Apparently you don’t play on tight, unforgiving pockets. If I have a choice between positioning to play ball in to a pocket 2 feet away versus a pocket 7 feet away, I’m choosing to play position to play it in the closer pocket virtually every time - as long as that allows a workable angle to play positioning for the next ball.

 

[Patrick Johnson]

Another perspective...

pj
chgo

 

[Cameron Smith]

Are there any pros left on this forum who can weigh in on this?

Maybe someone can drag Danny H away from his anti-626 crusade for a moment.