Dag I accidentally learned something from Ralf

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I like to play position with a simple thought in mind...keep the CB on a path moving towards the next object ball (and intended pocket). I would shoot this shot with draw and come off the second rail moving towards the 3 ball and the corner pocket I will be shooting it into. I don't like to cross my position zone from the side unless I have to or the speed of the cueball is easy to guage.
The follow shot is crossing the position zone and granted, you should be a lock with BIH, but whenever I can, I play to roll my CB at my shape. Not across it. If you hit too hard or too soft you still have some sort of shot. If you roll across the position your speed control gets a little tougher. Of course some players never yell, "HO! HO! HO!", except at Xmas.:grin:

Neil said:

This is almost identical to a shot on here about a month or so ago. Where it was argued quite extensively that a top pro would never shoot that shot with follow.

Another thing to point out here, which I feel if quite big- Look at the 3 to the 4. You have a small area that you really want to get to for position because of the 5. If you don't get there precisely, you have a bigger angle on the 4 than you want to have to be able to get on the 5.

Now, if you move the 5 when shooting the 2, and are careful with the speed you use, you still have a good shot on the 3, and can easily get very good position on the 4. Leading to easy position with several options to get on the 5.

Once in a while, it IS advantageous to move balls that are already in the open. I feel this is one of them.

Click to expand...

Good stuff right here. Some, including myself, may have thought that he came up short for position(who knows, maybe he did) but I get the feeling the Ralf may have planned it this way for that very reason.

Ralf played the shot like that because he wanted to make sure that cueball was nowhere near the rail for the shot on the 2 ball. He played the shot slowly enough with margin for error so that he would never snooker himself. Took the rails out of the equation. I am certain that he wanted comfortable bridging position for his next shot. He knew in advance that even if he eneded up on the wrong angle, he'd still be able to manouvre that cueball because he would have a comfortable bridge. 5 in a way, but no problem if you're using normal stroke.
Gotta remember this one, because in a match situation, I would not have thought of it. I'd probably use bottom right draw and screw up position by putting the cueball next to the rail, especially on an unknown table.

I think he came up alittle shorter then he wanted but in all reality he needed to play the carom on the 5 to open the table to a comfortable layout. one he would not get snookered on at all. only prob. after that was from 5 to 6. and he planned it right( two rail pos.) but executed horribly. great (lucky) draw shot to get on 6 left him out. and i agree with the post above . he played the 1 to the corner to stay off the rail no matter what the outcome.

He took a harder shot on the one than he had to for a not ideal shot on the 2. He had something in mind for sure, but I dont think he executed exactly what he wanted to do. But it was passable enough to get out.
In other words he played the wrong shot on the one to get the cue ball to a safer place for the 2, and almost messed up. He got away with one there.
Chuck

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> How can you NOT learn something from the best player of his generation?

I think the situation played a role in the decision. He HAD to get out there. Falling where he did on the 2 ball gives you more options than falling 1/8 to the left of straight in and frozen to the rail,which happens more than you think with heat on you.

Like the old-timers used to say "draw for show,follow gets the dough :thumbup2:. Tommy D.

I love it. This was an excellent shot to bring to our attention. I will play BIH on the short side in some instance but I would have never thought to play it this was here. Going either way is going to have a high probability of success but he definitely gave himself a few more percentage points to work with.

Excellent thread here. The best of what this forum can be. Props to the original poster. I like the well thought out discussion, about two different schools of thought, in playing proper position in 9-Ball. Another thing I like is no one sees the need to keep reprinting the original diagram with different lines and other changes. Every one is having this discussion using the OP's diagram to refer to. Keeps the entire thread cleaner and easier to read and follow.

All that being said, I can clearly see both options as good ones. It all depends on what shot you are most comfortable with. Most pros would probably agree that it is easier to play accurate position by following the cue ball, rather than drawing it. But following the cue ball here means having it cross the line of best position. Drawing the ball correctly, brings the cue ball along the best position lines before and after striking the second cushion.

It is also very easy for a right handed player to reach the cue ball to shoot this shot properly. It's a very comfortable long draw shot, that shouldn't be a problem for a competent player. Whichever choice is made, it all comes down to proper execution. Either shot will work just fine if it is properly executed. Personally, I don't think it is the best choice to play the cue ball off the five. I don't like playing position off object balls, unless it's absolutely necessary. And I don't think that it's necessary to run this rack. Good position play from the 2-4 balls will handle all that. There is only about a one in ten chance that the cue ball will end up hooked by the five ball. Remember, you will be drawing the cue ball from the three toward the five ball. If it hits the five, it shouldn't hinder the position. The four ball is actually a big ball to make from where it lies on the table. You can drop the cue ball anywhere near the bottom rail for good shape on the four, or run into the five.