Once stripes has decided there is no good shot and gives ball-in-hand back to solids I think the play is to shoot the 3-9 combination. But instead of using draw on the cue ball to impart forward roll on the 3, I think you line up the combination straight in and use follow on the cue ball. After making the 9-ball the cue continues to follow and nudge the 3 into the pocket. Then you play a soft safe and leave the cue behind the 2 so there is no direct hit on the 8 ball.
8-Ball Stalemate??
- Thread starter FeelDaShot
- Start date
DeeDeeCues
Well-known member
Almost a no lose situation for solids, I'd argue against stalemate 'till blue if I was solids or the ref.
Stripes needs to open up that corner without pocketing his ball, bump that 3 into the 4 to allow some sort of kick off the safety.
Actually, the official rules did have a three-foul rule at 8-ball from 1980 to 1985. The history of changes to the rules of eight ball is the second article in this compilation from 2002:
There's going to be a way for solids to pocket the 9 and get a lock up safe. Either a combo or a carom. You don't want to be kicking for an 8 ball on the side rail.
EDITED: changed my 11 ball reference to the 9B
Agreed, but if I were solids I wouldn't pocket his ball, just keep playing safe until he kicks at it and knocks it in, play your cards right and you'll have BIH when it happens and run out.
If I'm stripes the only thing I'm concerned with is opening that 9 ball without making it. To me, nothing else matters before that because you will just continually be in the same spot. Hence, I'm knocking that 3 ball into the 4 ball and opening a lane to the 9 along the short rail without leaving room behind them to pocket either of them in the top right corner, also trying to prevent the bank or combo/bank back to the bottom left corner. Then, unless I get locked up behind the 8B somewhere I at least have a fighting chance at kicking that 9 in. If I don't break it out, I'm stuck MUCH further away without BIH and the 9 is still buried. No way I'm NOT trying to open up a lane for the 9. Yes, the opponent could the exact same thing again but he can also make errors.
I was watching a match a while back between some pros and one guy had the other guy locked up like this on a side rail and the guy that was locked up did something similar, tried locking up something else but then he still couldn't hit his OB so his opponent got BIH and got him on the three foul rule, yes, that doesn't apply here but, I learned then - when you have 1 ball left and it's locked up in jail and can't get out - you have to at least provide a path to it.
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The guy with stripes can just move the 8 in front of and very very close to the 2 on the rail. the incoming guy with BIH now has very limited options to run out- if he pockets the 9 followed in the same hole by the 3 with draw, he still has the 8 in front of his 2 on that rail with no where to put the 2- now it is a whole new safety battle and the guy with stripes only has the 8 ball to worry about.
I think that the most important thing to do with BIH since you cannot hit your only stripe left on the table is to use the 8 ball to make the opponents run out to be very, very difficult with the automatic BIH that he will no doubt receive.
Either try to move that 8 right in front of the 2 on the rail or move that eight to the middle of the opposite top rail and frozen to it if possible.
I think that the most important thing to do with BIH since you cannot hit your only stripe left on the table is to use the 8 ball to make the opponents run out to be very, very difficult with the automatic BIH that he will no doubt receive.
Either try to move that 8 right in front of the 2 on the rail or move that eight to the middle of the opposite top rail and frozen to it if possible.
CSI/BCA has a rule "you cannot pick up cue ball and hand it to opponent"....Because your opponent can just hand it back to you and so on and so on....You have to attempt to hit your ball or hit it into a rail but cannot pick it up...After 3 tries each it is declared a stalemate and play game over...At least this was the rule...Rules change fast in pool sometimes though...
Interesting situation. I agree with jbullerjr’s thinking. If stripes plays his shot on the eight ball (toward the opposite pocket on the short rail), then solids has two options: (1) hit the three with draw and try to make both balls and get position on the two (measureman’s shot), or (2) roll the cue ball down the long rail, hitting the two, pocketing the nine, and trying to get behind the three and/or two. The best option will depend on the exact location of the two, three, and nine balls, and how close stripes is able to get the eight ball to the opposite corner.
That were my exact thoughts. No really they were. I get credit for it. Mark it down.
The match is available to view on Facebook. Look up the Facebook page titled "Billiardnet.tv". The video was posted two days ago on 12/19. The video description reads:
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I never liked the ability to just pick up the cueball, it should be an unsportsmanlike foul, but I'm pretty sure at least one league uses it as an OK thing to do. If you don't attempt to make a legal strike of the cueball, it should be loss of game or at least a warning one more blatant foul would be a loss of game.
FYI, I just posted a video demonstrating and evaluating many options for this situation, including those recommended in this thread. Check it out here: