Safety play options
- Thread starter alphadog
- Start date
What’s up, Alpha? Just a hack here, so I’m talking out my rear, but couldn’t you...
-call safety
-make the 7 with stun
-leave the cue ball up against the pack
-call safety
-make the 7 with stun
-leave the cue ball up against the pack
bank the 7 2 rails up table trying to land it in the middle of the short rail
also trying to leave the cb on the rail
also trying to leave the cb on the rail
I like pocketing the 7 and putting the cue ball an inch or two off the short rail.
Then graze the end ball of the rack(not the 14) bringing to cue ball back to the short rail.
Now I have left no shot but my opponent has to worry about the couple balls I knocked out of the rack when he plays safe.
Then graze the end ball of the rack(not the 14) bringing to cue ball back to the short rail.
Now I have left no shot but my opponent has to worry about the couple balls I knocked out of the rack when he plays safe.
Tough stun with not much angle.
If you miss hit the shot you could knock the 14 loose.
None of the choices to this point puts any pressure on opponent. Playing a safety from under an undisturbed pack is kid stuff, and it's nearly as easy if something has been loosened. Loosening anything by thinning the rack runs the risk of leaving a dead ball or even a shot unless you leave the cue ball against the rack, and even then, you usually won't give opponent a problem. Sending the cue ball up-table while pocketing the seven also gains nothing as it leaves a back scratch response.
Assuming you are so straight that you don't think the break shot is worth the trouble, your one chance to give opponent a big problem is to pocket the seven and play shape for the second ball safety from the front in which you will be able to leave the cue ball frozen to the thirteen while loosening balls both underneath and to the left of the rack. If you execute this, you'll be way ahead in the safety battle. If you do anything else, don't expect to have the advantage against anyone who knows what they are doing.
Assuming you are so straight that you don't think the break shot is worth the trouble, your one chance to give opponent a big problem is to pocket the seven and play shape for the second ball safety from the front in which you will be able to leave the cue ball frozen to the thirteen while loosening balls both underneath and to the left of the rack. If you execute this, you'll be way ahead in the safety battle. If you do anything else, don't expect to have the advantage against anyone who knows what they are doing.
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From the back of the rack, it generally doesn't put any pressure on your opponent. Only from the front will you be a big favorite to gain a solid advantage in the safety battle.
This safety has been around for at least 50 years and more likely 100 years. It's the king of all safeties. Anytime you are forced into a defensive sequence to start a rack, you should try to play shape onto this.
Needless to say, at top level, this safety is not as good as a break shot. At top level, opponent retains the right to take three fouls, so they always have the option to limit the damage to 16 points (-18 for three fouls but -2 for you as you'll take be taking two intentional fouls in the process). The late and legendary straight pooler Jack Colavita opined that an open table is, on average, worth 35 points to a top pro, so a break shot is worth more than this safety.
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Regardless, the safety from the back merely starts a safety battle, one that may last several innings, and, typically, neither you nor opponent will have the edge unless there are already other loose balls (typically not the case when this safety occurs at the beginning of a rack).
SJM is right. You pocket the 7, stopping the cueball or nearly so..Then you shoot into the 13, pushing the 11 out and into the rail, another ball out on the left side of the pack, and leaving the cueball frozen to the 13. That to me, is the only surefire and good safety option. Not a whole lot of speed is needed. You need one ball out near the bottom rail, one near the left long rail. Your opponent will be in a difficult situation. Make sure, now, that you get the balls out. Do not be tempted to smack it too hard so you risk tying up your "threat balls" or so soft that you only got balls out on the bottom and not the side of the rack.
If you leave the opponent on the bottom rail, he's going to do something similar to you like what I just outlined, but with the 11 or the 3. If you're going to leave your opponent with an undisturbed pack and one ball out, your job is to make sure these "2. ball shots" are not available. Also, you need to protect against the full on the two front balls safety (less strong and more dangerous for the shooter). Against a strong kicker, freezing the cueball and having more than one threat ball is necessary. If only one ball is out, and especially if he's not properly frozen, he can even finesse you back to a similar situation or kick the open ball safe some kind of way. I had an open ball on the opposite side of the rack from the cueball, and my opponent kicked it in and ran out on me, in a championship. These aren't theoretical "wives' tales" here. I may not be the best player in the world, but I've lost straight pool games from every position imaginable
. Don't forget that there are corner ball banks in an undisturbed rack, as well. If you leave the perfect angle on one of those, they can be very makeable. Ask me about that too. I got my Poolhall degree at the school of hard knocks..
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