Playing position for side pockets

Scratch85

Scratch85

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Looking for opinions.

For a long time, it has been said, “don’t play position for the side pockets.” Or at least a version of that. Maybe more accurate is, “only play position for side pockets, when you are certain of good position.”

This seems to be more true on slower tables and softer rails than it does on a Diamond, where moving the cue ball is easier. What are some opinions of playing position for side pockets?

Is this a common strategy? Do players these days even concern themselves with side pockets?

Mostly curious.


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9BallKY

9BallKY

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My advice (which is worth nothing) is to just play. I play position wherever I need to. Depending on the situation and where I need to be at after that.
 
HawaiianEye

HawaiianEye

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I don't care what anybody says.

I play position for whatever pocket I think gives me greater odds of accomplishing what I want to do.

If it is only to make a single ball, I play position for whatever pocket gives me a shorter shot or a "fuller" pocket to shoot at.
 
L

longhorns2

AzB Silver Member
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I've heard that because of the size of bar box tables and especially valley tables that the angles you get to the sides tend to be less receptive. Also because it's a shorter table there are t really very long shots to the corners.

On regular tables you still have to use the sides, just don't take them for granted just because you have 80% of the table where you could leave it to have a shot
 
Scratch85

Scratch85

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Side pockets can get steep. So can corners a few diamonds away. But that’s not what I meant.

Side pockets divide the table in half. Get on the wrong side and you are going up table not down table. Probably means a 3-railer to get back in position. Get on the wrong side going to the corner, probably means draw instead of follow.

3-rails on slow vs 3-rails on a Diamond. I prefer the Diamond. Draw vs follow, don’t care much what table.


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HawaiianEye

HawaiianEye

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Scratch85 said:
And that’s the crux of the question. Greater odds of making the next shot or continuing your run after that shot?



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Click to expand...

I thought I spelled that out.


I play position for whatever pocket I think gives me greater odds of accomplishing what I want to do. (That means continuing the run, if that is what I'm attempting to do. It also means making the ball, if that is all I have to do.)
 
Last edited:
Scratch85

Scratch85

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HawaiianEye said:
I thought I spelled that out.


I play position for whatever pocket I think gives me greater odds of accomplishing what I want to do. (That means continuing the run, if that is what I'm attempting to do. It also means making the ball, if that is all I have to do.)
Click to expand...



You did, I agree. And not trying to dispute playing what’s best for the table and circumstances.

So I assume you play side pocket position more on a Diamond than you do GC or an A E Schmidt or an Olehausenn or a Valley. Because the situation calls for it.


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pt109

pt109

WO double hemlock
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In snooker, side pocket position is played much more than pool.
I see a lot of side pocket shape in pool that is unnecessary...corner shape would've
eliminated the need for a more precise angle.

But in the last twenty years, I see more side shape played even at the pro level..
...because the standard pockets have gotten tougher...
..by the time the pockets get to 4.25 or less, the sides get used a lot more...
..like snooker
 
C

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
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Scratch85 said:
Looking for opinions.

For a long time, it has been said, “don’t play position for the side pockets.” Or at least a version of that. Maybe more accurate is, “only play position for side pockets, when you are certain of good position.”

This seems to be more true on slower tables and softer rails than it does on a Diamond, where moving the cue ball is easier. What are some opinions of playing position for side pockets?

Is this a common strategy? Do players these days even concern themselves with side pockets?

Mostly curious.


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Click to expand...
I guess the thinking is that playing position for a ball to be made in a side pocket that could be played in a corner is, that if you end up falling on the wrong side of it, you have no option but to unnecessarily go all the way down to the end of the table and back up with the cue ball (usually 1 to 4 cushions) for positioning on the next ball. Early in the game when there many obstructing balls on the table that is certainly a potential problem, but with few balls left on the table in a rotation game such as 9-ball, skilled players shouldn't have a problem doing that if necessary, particularly if the chances of getting position on and making the object ball in the side pocket are considerably higher than getting position on and making the object ball in the corner pocket.
 
D

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
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For the last 30 years i played one pocket almost exclusively

only when i am offered a high dollar game of 9 ball or straight pool do i use side pockets
about 5 times in 30 years

so i find side pockets to be very difficult for me,if the angle is funny i miss
 
HawaiianEye

HawaiianEye

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Scratch85 said:
You did, I agree. And not trying to dispute playing what’s best for the table and circumstances.

So I assume you play side pocket position more on a Diamond than you do GC or an A E Schmidt or an Olehausenn or a Valley. Because the situation calls for it.


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Click to expand...

The only tables I play on at the moment are 9-foot Gold Crowns.

Playing on Valley bar tables is a bit different. The side pockets on Valleys don't accept some of the "angles" you can get away with on a Gold Crown.

I've cut some balls into the side pockets on Gold Crowns that look almost impossible to make when cutting from the end rail to the side pocket. You could almost never get away with those shots on a Valley. You would catch the point of the pocket before it accepted the ball.
 
Patrick Johnson

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
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There's a lot to recommend corner pocket shots - easier sighting, more "accepting", more flexible shape. But side pocket shots are not only unavoidable; they're an essential part of the game, and I want to be as confident of them as any shot.

pj
chgo
 
Maniac

Maniac

2manyQ's
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I've seen this with my own eyes: SVB setting up on a LOT of side pocket shots when he could have played for the corner...especially on his money balls.

But then....that's Shane van Boening.

Maniac
 
skip100

skip100

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The harder you typically hit the ball, the less appealing side pocket shots become. For soft hitters on level tables side pockets are great.
 
HawaiianEye

HawaiianEye

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skip100 said:
The harder you typically hit the ball, the less appealing side pocket shots become. For soft hitters on level tables side pockets are great.
Click to expand...

On the Gold Crowns I play on, you can hit the side pockets as hard as you can hit the corner pockets, if you are hitting the center.

I practice almost-straight-in shots into the side where you have to "throw" the cue ball into the side rail or up into the end rail with "TONS" of English on the cue ball and then go 3 or 4 rails for position on an opposite end rail.

I don't like tables that play soft, as far as balls hitting the rails a foot or so before the pocket, but I like tables that will take "hard" shots into the center of the pocket.

It pisses me off when I know I hit a pocket dead center and it pops out because of the rebound off the back of the pocket.
 
TATE

TATE

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Side pockets actually give you a lot of position options to the next ball as long as you're willing to go down table and use English to maneuver the ball. Many times it's better to have too much angle on a side shot than not enough. Don't be afraid to go down table and back.
 
HawaiianEye

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
TATE said:
Side pockets actually give you a lot of position options to the next ball as long as you're willing to go down table and use English to maneuver the ball. Many times it's better to have too much angle on a side shot than not enough. Don't be afraid to go down table and back.
Click to expand...

Most people try to use too much English when navigating the table. I prefer using natural angles and using a "firm" speed to get around the table. For me, speed is much more predictable and consistent than trying to gauge "how much spin" matched with "speed" to use.

If you have a "stroke" you can navigate the table with hardly any spin, as long as you can stay in line for the path you want to take.
 
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