3rd Ball Safeties

Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This is a standard safety play for straight pool because it gives excellent results, meaning when played correctly, this safety puts your opponent on the defensive. The situation often occurs when you are straight on the break ball, or otherwise can't make a good break shot. Instead, shoot a stop shot and then you will have this safety. I've ordered the balls from 1 to 4 so you can see the "3rd ball" safety.

3rd ball Safety 1.jpg

Hit the 3 ball with follow and try to stick the cue ball against the 3 while sending several balls, or what Stu calls "threats" to the rail. A threat is a ball that is "threatening" to the incoming shooter because they challenge his ability to play a good return safety. A good safety is not necessarily one that simply hides the cue ball. A better safety is one that both hides the cue ball AND creates threats. If you can continue to create new threats during the back and forth of safety play (and you opponent isn't doing the same) it is usually a matter of time before you win the safety battle.

3rd Ball Safety 2.jpg

In this example, I didn't freeze the cue ball to the 3.

3rd Ball Safety 3.jpg

Had I frozen the cue ball to the 3, that would have given my opponent only two directions in which to send the cue ball (I think Arnaldo's eloquent use of language is rubbing off on me just a little :)). In this situation, he needs to see if either of those directions is desirable. If not, often his best option is to take an intentional foul by shoving the cue ball farther into the cluster with a legal stroke that is not a double hit. If he manages to move the cue ball even an inch, he has achieved his goal. The goal, in this case, is to rearrange the furniture (without leaving a shot) so that he might have better prospects for a good safety exit from the stack. His opponent also might not recognize this strategy and do something stupid. Otherwise, the reply to this safety is to tap the cue ball into a new and preferably frozen position, or otherwise attempt to make life difficult for the other guy.

It gets confusing as to who we are referring to after two or three exchanges, so let me say this: Player A executed a 3rd ball safety. Player B responded by shoving the cue ball into the pack. "A" replied by doing the same, keeping life difficult for "B." "B" can now reevaluate if he can make a legal safety without selling out, or alternatively must rearrange the cue ball in the stack with another tap. "A," of course, will do the same thing again if he is smart.

So now "B" has improved his situation a little bit. Originally, he came into a frozen ball situation (theoretically, not in my photo) and had no good shot without selling out. Now he is up to shoot and both he and "A" have 2 fouls. It is better to get your opponent on 2 fouls before you hit a potentially bad safety. At least it gives him something to think about, and he has two chances to make a mistake and give you a good safety option.

I think that covers a typical exchange with the 3rd ball safety. To conclude my situation where the cue ball is NOT frozen to the 3 (see photo above):

If I graze the 3 my only option is to hide behind the 4. This requires english and probably jacking up a little, and even if done successfully, might still leave a makeable 4/10 combination, so I'd rather take a foul than shoot this. The other option is to graze the 2 and go to the head rail. By walking around to the head rail, it was clear that the 13 did not pass the 1 to the corner, and I could not get around the 15 for a clear shot on the 6. So a good safety could be made IF I could get the cue ball to the side rail.

3rd Ball Safety 4.jpg

I'll give my opponent the 15/6 combo like this every time. What allowed me to execute this shot successfully was the gap between the cue ball and the 2. I was able to get the angle and english I needed for a pretty forgiving shot. Is it considered an error to execute the 3rd ball safety and NOT freeze the cue ball? I don't know. In this case not freezing the cue ball lost the safety battle for player A. Someone with more knowledge hopefully will chime in.

Please feel free to add to or take issue with anything I've written. I've taken safety lessons but that doesn't make me an expert.
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
This is a standard safety play for straight pool because it gives excellent results, meaning when played correctly, this safety puts your opponent on the defensive. The situation often occurs when you are straight on the break ball, or otherwise can't make a good break shot. Instead, shoot a stop shot and then you will have this safety. I've ordered the balls from 1 to 4 so you can see the "3rd ball" safety.

View attachment 440344

Hit the 3 ball with follow and try to stick the cue ball against the 3 while sending several balls, or what Stu calls "threats" to the rail. A threat is a ball that is "threatening" to the incoming shooter because they challenge his ability to play a good return safety. A good safety is not necessarily one that simply hides the cue ball. A better safety is one that both hides the cue ball AND creates threats. If you can continue to create new threats during the back and forth of safety play (and you opponent isn't doing the same) it is usually a matter of time before you win the safety battle.

View attachment 440345

In this example, I didn't freeze the cue ball to the 3.

View attachment 440346

Had I frozen the cue ball to the 3, that would have given my opponent only two directions in which to send the cue ball (I think Arnaldo's eloquent use of language is rubbing off on me just a little :)). In this situation, he needs to see if either of those directions is desirable. If not, often his best option is to take an intentional foul by shoving the cue ball farther into the cluster with a legal stroke that is not a double hit. If he manages to move the cue ball even an inch, he has achieved his goal. The goal, in this case, is to rearrange the furniture (without leaving a shot) so that he might have better prospects for a good safety exit from the stack. His opponent also might not recognize this strategy and do something stupid. Otherwise, the reply to this safety is to tap the cue ball into a new and preferably frozen position, or otherwise attempt to make life difficult for the other guy.

It gets confusing as to who we are referring to after two or three exchanges, so let me say this: Player A executed a 3rd ball safety. Player B responded by shoving the cue ball into the pack. "A" replied by doing the same, keeping life difficult for "B." "B" can now reevaluate if he can make a legal safety without selling out, or alternatively must rearrange the cue ball in the stack with another tap. "A," of course, will do the same thing again if he is smart.

So now "B" has improved his situation a little bit. Originally, he came into a frozen ball situation (theoretically, not in my photo) and had no good shot without selling out. Now he is up to shoot and both he and "A" have 2 fouls. It is better to get your opponent on 2 fouls before you hit a potentially bad safety. At least it gives him something to think about, and he has two chances to make a mistake and give you a good safety option.

I think that covers a typical exchange with the 3rd ball safety. To conclude my situation where the cue ball is NOT frozen to the 3 (see photo above):

If I graze the 3 my only option is to hide behind the 4. This requires english and probably jacking up a little, and even if done successfully, might still leave a makeable 4/10 combination, so I'd rather take a foul than shoot this. The other option is to graze the 2 and go to the head rail. By walking around to the head rail, it was clear that the 13 did not pass the 1 to the corner, and I could not get around the 15 for a clear shot on the 6. So a good safety could be made IF I could get the cue ball to the side rail.

View attachment 440347

I'll give my opponent the 15/6 combo like this every time. What allowed me to execute this shot successfully was the gap between the cue ball and the 2. I was able to get the angle and english I needed for a pretty forgiving shot. Is it considered an error to execute the 3rd ball safety and NOT freeze the cue ball? I don't know. In this case not freezing the cue ball lost the safety battle for player A. Someone with more knowledge hopefully will chime in.

Please feel free to add to or take issue with anything I've written. I've taken safety lessons but that doesn't make me an expert.

Disagree with at least some of this. Bear in mind, I am no expert either. But I have played some pretty good players, and have seen a LOT of things go wrong, for myself as well as other people. I also have some moments of brilliance of my own, as we all do. Since most tournament races are pretty short, I've found that giving as few opportunities for bad rolls and miracle shots by my opponent as possible, is the way to go, to maximize my chances of winning.

The goal of this kind of safety is to send ONE ball to the rail underneath the stack, and one on the other side. If you are planning to do this, make TRIPLE sure that the stack is properly frozen! Unfrozen stacks will do very weird things. There is no need to smack the shot as hard as illustrated, IMO. Getting more than one ball on each side, may be a bonus, but you also risk tying up threat balls and even having "dead" combinations formed on the rail. Especially if you don't freeze. Hitting hard, without freezing is begging to get a bad roll! It is imperative, then, to freeze the ball to the 3! This gives the opponent no "no foul" option other than to skim the stack and lag to the end rail, leaving you the "threat ball" on the side rail and the ball underneath as the second ball to break the stack. Depending on the exact lie, he can do some stuff with english to make the shot harder for you. But if he's good, he won't do any of that.

Facing a great opponent, you should never try the skim the stack (up table) option if he does this safety against you, UNLESS he accidentally ties up the threat on the side rail (as a result of too hard or too soft of a hit). Instead you should PUSH the ball into the stack (if it is loose at all), hoping that he is stupid enough to do the same, or at least lack the touch to do it perfectly. That way you may get a possibility of skimming a ball horizontally and going back into the stack. You are in big trouble anyway, in this situation, so risking that the opponent "steals this move from you it's ok. Better to take three fouls than leaving him long with tons of balls near the hole. I would feel terrified of leaving my opponent this illustrated situation! Take your medicine if you have nothing productive to do. Taking 3 fouls is A LOT better than selling out 30-40 balls and potentially the game. I'd much rather have my opponent shoot from the rail with one or two balls out, maybe even none (after my rebreak) than shooting at a potentially game winning combination with tons of easy balls to get position on. You are also denying him the confidence he'll automatically get from pocketing lots of balls. Give him NO air, at all! (Talking about A-players here).

Second picture: A great player might elevate in the shown situation, hitting the two ball combination and freezing you to the 3 and the 2, sending the 14 to the rail. Provided he is careful and errs on the soft side, he actually risks nothing! If the ball doesn't reach the rail, it's still a good intentional foul safety. If it does reach, now YOU are well and truely "boned"! IMO, these kinds of shots are actually easier in tournament conditions (slick cloth, clean balls) even if that may seem counter intuitive. Well, you don't have to sell out from there, but you are at a disadvantage, and will now probably be forced to try the "horizontal safety" off the 3 or take 3 fouls.

Playing a great player, the exchange may not go the way either of us described, anyway. I once did this to an opponent, and he actually kicked to the rail back into the stack, hitting a frozen ball "combination" in the stack, to the rail, giving him a legal safety and freezing me to the balls! I've also seen dead balls formed from shooting this safety too hard, and balls being kicked in this way. I even had a guy kick a lone threat ball in and run out! In a tournament! You can't guard against these kinds of things completely. I tell you, some players are SCARY good at kicking these days.This may seem far fetched and low percentage, but it does happen. Freeze the ball, and it is far less likely, since even kicking becomes a lot harder!
 
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Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The goal of this kind of safety is to send ONE ball to the rail underneath the stack, and one on the other side. If you are planning to do this, make TRIPLE sure that the stack is properly frozen! Unfrozen stacks will do very weird things. There is no need to smack the shot as hard as illustrated, IMO. Getting more than one ball on each side, may be a bonus, but you also risk tying up threat balls and even having "dead" combinations formed on the rail. Especially if you don't freeze. Hitting hard, without freezing is begging to get a bad roll!

You know, when I hit this shot I was surprised at how many balls made it to a rail! I don't know about moving only 2 balls, but maybe you're right. If you look at the second picture the 6 creates a big pocket for a kick on the 5. I don't know what % shot that is for any given player, but I like your comment about mistakenly creating dead combinations to kick at on a rail.


Facing a great opponent, you should never try the skim the stack (up table) option if he does this safety against you, UNLESS he accidentally ties up the threat on the side rail (as a result of too hard or too soft of a hit). Instead you should PUSH the ball into the stack (if it is loose at all), hoping that he is stupid enough to do the same, or at least lack the touch to do it perfectly. That way you may get a possibility of skimming a ball horizontally and going back into the stack.

I should have added that the goal of rearranging the stack is typically to get a good angle to skim a ball and go to the side rail and back into the stack.

You are in big trouble anyway, in this situation, so risking that the opponent "steals this move from you it's ok.

Your contention that creating too many threats in the original safety is bad bears out in this example. Well, that and not being frozen on the 3. I was only able to play the successful safe reply because of the 15 and 6 blocking each other. I mean, yes, a great player could make that combination with confidence I suppose but you can't presume to be playing a world champion every time.

I even had a guy kick a lone threat ball in and run out! In a tournament! You can't guard against these kinds of things completely.

Maybe that was me! I recall kicking at a 1 ball in the open field about a foot from the corner pocket and making it in a league match. My opponent wasn't a threat to run a ton of balls, so I took a chance.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
...
Your contention that creating too many threats in the original safety is bad bears out in this example. Well, that and not being frozen on the 3. ...
In my experience, the problem with hitting the rack too hard is that the ball(s) driven to the short cushion have too much speed and return to the rack. That allows my opponent to go down to the foot cushion without much danger.

But I don't like the original position of the cue ball in the first picture above. It is along the line of the 3-5. I would much rather have it along the line of the 3-10, or just a little to the right of that line. I feel that if I shoot the 3 straight at the 10 I have a much better chance of freezing the cue ball to the 3.

There are also similar safeties onto the bottom of the rack from the foot cushion. Similarly, I look for a line that sends the ball I hit nearly straight into its neighbor. For example, shoot the 9 straight into the 15 in the first picture. This kind of shot is often present even when the rack is disturbed, but then you have to be more careful about bad gaps.
 

Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
But I don't like the original position of the cue ball in the first picture above. It is along the line of the 3-5. I would much rather have it along the line of the 3-10, or just a little to the right of that line. I feel that if I shoot the 3 straight at the 10 I have a much better chance of freezing the cue ball to the 3.

I am aware that you can get more speed on a specific ball like the 10 by shooting straight through the 3/10 directly. I even deleted a comment in my original post. Your and straightpool's comments remind me that such angles are important to consider when hitting this safety, and not just to hit it any old way as long as you can freeze the cue ball. It's been so long I actually played an opponent that I've forgotten nuance like this.

I've never hit this safety on this table and after trying a few (done correctly this time) I still get numerous balls to the rail even when hit slow enough to die on the rail. The cloth isn't unusually fast, either.
 

Will Maynard

Registered
In my experience, the problem with hitting the rack too hard is that the ball(s) driven to the short cushion have too much speed and return to the rack. That allows my opponent to go down to the foot cushion without much danger.

But I don't like the original position of the cue ball in the first picture above. It is along the line of the 3-5. I would much rather have it along the line of the 3-10, or just a little to the right of that line. I feel that if I shoot the 3 straight at the 10 I have a much better chance of freezing the cue ball to the 3.

There are also similar safeties onto the bottom of the rack from the foot cushion. Similarly, I look for a line that sends the ball I hit nearly straight into its neighbor. For example, shoot the 9 straight into the 15 in the first picture. This kind of shot is often present even when the rack is disturbed, but then you have to be more careful about bad gaps.

I agree with Bob's comment regarding contacting the 3 in line with the 10. Also, it seems to make a big difference in the success of the safety if there is even a small gap between the 3 and 10.
 

Will Maynard

Registered
This is a standard safety play for straight pool because it gives excellent results, meaning when played correctly, this safety puts your opponent on the defensive. The situation often occurs when you are straight on the break ball, or otherwise can't make a good break shot. Instead, shoot a stop shot and then you will have this safety. I've ordered the balls from 1 to 4 so you can see the "3rd ball" safety.

View attachment 440344

Hit the 3 ball with follow and try to stick the cue ball against the 3 while sending several balls, or what Stu calls "threats" to the rail. A threat is a ball that is "threatening" to the incoming shooter because they challenge his ability to play a good return safety. A good safety is not necessarily one that simply hides the cue ball. A better safety is one that both hides the cue ball AND creates threats. If you can continue to create new threats during the back and forth of safety play (and you opponent isn't doing the same) it is usually a matter of time before you win the safety battle.

View attachment 440345

In this example, I didn't freeze the cue ball to the 3.

View attachment 440346

Had I frozen the cue ball to the 3, that would have given my opponent only two directions in which to send the cue ball (I think Arnaldo's eloquent use of language is rubbing off on me just a little :)). In this situation, he needs to see if either of those directions is desirable. If not, often his best option is to take an intentional foul by shoving the cue ball farther into the cluster with a legal stroke that is not a double hit. If he manages to move the cue ball even an inch, he has achieved his goal. The goal, in this case, is to rearrange the furniture (without leaving a shot) so that he might have better prospects for a good safety exit from the stack. His opponent also might not recognize this strategy and do something stupid. Otherwise, the reply to this safety is to tap the cue ball into a new and preferably frozen position, or otherwise attempt to make life difficult for the other guy.

It gets confusing as to who we are referring to after two or three exchanges, so let me say this: Player A executed a 3rd ball safety. Player B responded by shoving the cue ball into the pack. "A" replied by doing the same, keeping life difficult for "B." "B" can now reevaluate if he can make a legal safety without selling out, or alternatively must rearrange the cue ball in the stack with another tap. "A," of course, will do the same thing again if he is smart.

So now "B" has improved his situation a little bit. Originally, he came into a frozen ball situation (theoretically, not in my photo) and had no good shot without selling out. Now he is up to shoot and both he and "A" have 2 fouls. It is better to get your opponent on 2 fouls before you hit a potentially bad safety. At least it gives him something to think about, and he has two chances to make a mistake and give you a good safety option.

I think that covers a typical exchange with the 3rd ball safety. To conclude my situation where the cue ball is NOT frozen to the 3 (see photo above):

If I graze the 3 my only option is to hide behind the 4. This requires english and probably jacking up a little, and even if done successfully, might still leave a makeable 4/10 combination, so I'd rather take a foul than shoot this. The other option is to graze the 2 and go to the head rail. By walking around to the head rail, it was clear that the 13 did not pass the 1 to the corner, and I could not get around the 15 for a clear shot on the 6. So a good safety could be made IF I could get the cue ball to the side rail.

View attachment 440347

I'll give my opponent the 15/6 combo like this every time. What allowed me to execute this shot successfully was the gap between the cue ball and the 2. I was able to get the angle and english I needed for a pretty forgiving shot. Is it considered an error to execute the 3rd ball safety and NOT freeze the cue ball? I don't know. In this case not freezing the cue ball lost the safety battle for player A. Someone with more knowledge hopefully will chime in.

Please feel free to add to or take issue with anything I've written. I've taken safety lessons but that doesn't make me an expert.

Great discussion around this scenario. Thanks for sharing.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Might as well put my other response here....

In the old days, no one ever, even with a gun to his head, would roll onto the two top balls.

The play of choice is to put the cue ball about where a good side-of-the-rack break ball would be and then play full onto the ball next to the corner ball on that side. This pushes balls both to the foot rail and opposite side rail and often leaves the incoming player in a very bad position.

That safety is generally so reliable that I rarely check for gaps in the rack, but I have been bitten by gappy racks when no ball gets to the cushion. Usually the mistake people make when playing the safe is to hit it too hard so the loose balls come back to the rack.

There is a similar shot when you are below the solid rack (shot B).

For both positions, play softly with follow. You want a nearly full hit, slightly favoring the side that will leave the cue ball frozen to two balls (the one you hit and the striped ball). The follow is to help stick the cue ball to the ball you contact in spite of the cue ball's tendency to bounce back from multiple frozen balls.

For shot A, if the cue ball is to the right of the "limit" line you can't hit the object ball full and the shot is iffy. Shot B is shown near the limit line and you should play off the corresponding ball on the other side of the rack. If for some reason that side is not available and you have to play to the ball shown for B, you can try jacking up with right side and swerve into the needed line. You will have to practice that kind of soft swerve if you want it to work in a game.

CropperCapture[528].png

There are two problems with the "roll to the head pair" safety of the OP. The first is that there is often a very easy return safe, either to barely touch a side rail or to go to the side rail and come back with reverse side spin to freeze on the side of the rack. The second is that if there are gaps in the wrong places a ball can pop out and leave your opponent an easy shot.

The third problem that we used to have at the rec center is that if the corner ball moves away, the ball next to it is often dead to the corner on a three-ball combination down the side of the rack if you just blast the cue ball along that line. Maybe there is a double hit or three. We weren't real nitty about clean hits back then.

The standard play when up-table and to a solid rack is to lag to the back of the rack very softly so that a couple of balls are just loosened out the front of the rack. Nothing gets to a cushion but you avoid any chance of leaving a shot.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
... Usually the mistake people make when playing the safe is to hit it too hard so the loose balls come back to the rack.
...
As in the picture above.:wink: Except the force was sufficient to get lots of balls to various cushions.
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Agreed with Bob on the optimal angle from which to attempt this safety. If this many balls come out, you've either hit it too hard or the rack isn't frozen. Typically, only two or three balls should come out, establishing threats on the side of and under the rack, but that is enough to give opponent a really big problem in their return safety.

FYI, I refer to this safety as a second ball safety, not a third ball safety, but whatever it is called, it is one of the most effective safeties in straight pool.

Check out this thread from 2004 about how Irving Crane used this safe to trap Joe Balsis back in the day.

https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=7866
 
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DynoDan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
....I even had a guy kick a lone threat ball in and run out! In a tournament! You can't guard against these kinds of things completely....!

Tell me about it! Years ago, I played that same safety on a S.W. Michigan room owner, on his favorite ‘action’ table near the counter, leaving a threat ball a foot from the corner pocket. BIG mistake. He was on two fouls, and I was already counting my winnings as I was sure he was now ‘over-a-barrel’, and the score was about even. He then proceeded to kick it in from the headrail and run out!
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Tell me about it! Years ago, I played that same safety on a S.W. Michigan room owner, on his favorite ‘action’ table near the counter, leaving a threat ball a foot from the corner pocket. BIG mistake. He was on two fouls, and I was already counting my winnings as I was sure he was now ‘over-a-barrel’, and the score was about even. He then proceeded to kick it in from the headrail and run out!
If you are already on two, some kick shots become much more appetizing. Suppose there is a one-rail kick but there is a good chance you will scratch or miss the ball completely. If you are not on a foul, an error will be a sell out. If you are on two fouls, an error is a third foul and you get to shoot an opening break shot. Even if 15 points is a lot to lose for you, the play may still be worth trying depending on the scores.
 

stevekur1

The "COMMISH"
Silver Member
This is a standard safety play for straight pool because it gives excellent results, meaning when played correctly, this safety puts your opponent on the defensive. The situation often occurs when you are straight on the break ball, or otherwise can't make a good break shot. Instead, shoot a stop shot and then you will have this safety. I've ordered the balls from 1 to 4 so you can see the "3rd ball" safety.

View attachment 440344

Hit the 3 ball with follow and try to stick the cue ball against the 3 while sending several balls, or what Stu calls "threats" to the rail. A threat is a ball that is "threatening" to the incoming shooter because they challenge his ability to play a good return safety. A good safety is not necessarily one that simply hides the cue ball. A better safety is one that both hides the cue ball AND creates threats. If you can continue to create new threats during the back and forth of safety play (and you opponent isn't doing the same) it is usually a matter of time before you win the safety battle.

View attachment 440345

In this example, I didn't freeze the cue ball to the 3.

View attachment 440346

Had I frozen the cue ball to the 3, that would have given my opponent only two directions in which to send the cue ball (I think Arnaldo's eloquent use of language is rubbing off on me just a little :)). In this situation, he needs to see if either of those directions is desirable. If not, often his best option is to take an intentional foul by shoving the cue ball farther into the cluster with a legal stroke that is not a double hit. If he manages to move the cue ball even an inch, he has achieved his goal. The goal, in this case, is to rearrange the furniture (without leaving a shot) so that he might have better prospects for a good safety exit from the stack. His opponent also might not recognize this strategy and do something stupid. Otherwise, the reply to this safety is to tap the cue ball into a new and preferably frozen position, or otherwise attempt to make life difficult for the other guy.

It gets confusing as to who we are referring to after two or three exchanges, so let me say this: Player A executed a 3rd ball safety. Player B responded by shoving the cue ball into the pack. "A" replied by doing the same, keeping life difficult for "B." "B" can now reevaluate if he can make a legal safety without selling out, or alternatively must rearrange the cue ball in the stack with another tap. "A," of course, will do the same thing again if he is smart.

So now "B" has improved his situation a little bit. Originally, he came into a frozen ball situation (theoretically, not in my photo) and had no good shot without selling out. Now he is up to shoot and both he and "A" have 2 fouls. It is better to get your opponent on 2 fouls before you hit a potentially bad safety. At least it gives him something to think about, and he has two chances to make a mistake and give you a good safety option.

I think that covers a typical exchange with the 3rd ball safety. To conclude my situation where the cue ball is NOT frozen to the 3 (see photo above):

If I graze the 3 my only option is to hide behind the 4. This requires english and probably jacking up a little, and even if done successfully, might still leave a makeable 4/10 combination, so I'd rather take a foul than shoot this. The other option is to graze the 2 and go to the head rail. By walking around to the head rail, it was clear that the 13 did not pass the 1 to the corner, and I could not get around the 15 for a clear shot on the 6. So a good safety could be made IF I could get the cue ball to the side rail.

View attachment 440347

I'll give my opponent the 15/6 combo like this every time. What allowed me to execute this shot successfully was the gap between the cue ball and the 2. I was able to get the angle and english I needed for a pretty forgiving shot. Is it considered an error to execute the 3rd ball safety and NOT freeze the cue ball? I don't know. In this case not freezing the cue ball lost the safety battle for player A. Someone with more knowledge hopefully will chime in.

Please feel free to add to or take issue with anything I've written. I've taken safety lessons but that doesn't make me an expert.

Hey Dan, this looks like a great post you can bring over to the Straight Pool Fanatics page.

Would you be so king as to do the honors. I would like you to get the kudos.

Thanks
Steve
 

Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hey Dan, this looks like a great post you can bring over to the Straight Pool Fanatics page.

Would you be so king as to do the honors. I would like you to get the kudos.

Thanks
Steve

Kudos or the blame? lol Sure give me a little time and I'll do that. Funny thing it I was looking at the comments here and I decided to reshoot the safety and not let so many balls out. I'm having trouble uploading images to AZ right now for some reason so never posted. This will give me a reason to do that, at least for facebook if not here.
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
Tell me about it! Years ago, I played that same safety on a S.W. Michigan room owner, on his favorite ‘action’ table near the counter, leaving a threat ball a foot from the corner pocket. BIG mistake. He was on two fouls, and I was already counting my winnings as I was sure he was now ‘over-a-barrel’, and the score was about even. He then proceeded to kick it in from the headrail and run out!

Here is my story: I'm playing in the national championship of my country. Luckily the venue is my home room. Unluckily I draw a player ranked in the top 5, on the top of his game. Now this would make for a very tough game, but we get assigned to the toughest table in the house. I know that table like the back of my hand, it's a nightmare to play on, tight with bad pocket cuts, fast and uneven cushion speed. I mean I got forced to play there all the time with one of my friends, but we rarely play straights on it, it's just too tough. It's always humid in the corner where the table is located. I figure I might have a chance. In all my time in that club, a decade, I've never seen anyone come close to run 100 on that table. The high run is less than half of every other table in the room, I believe I held that record at the time it was 65 balls I think. Everyone hates it and one of my superstitious friends claims the table is cursed, lol. . I figure, if I play scrappy and don't sell out, I may still pull this one out.

After a short while I'm up 80-24, may have been 70-something I don't quite remember what my score was. I remember the first run, only. But the game is to 100 points so I'm pretty confident about my situation. At this time neither of us has missed a ball. I broke, he ran 24 and safed. I win the duel run 40 something, safe, win the duel and get up to 70-80 points to his 24, I'll have to ask the guy I was playing if he remembers my score. My numbers may be slightly off, but it's about right I think. I shoot a shot where I freeze him to a almost full pack leaving one ball out close to the side rail and another underneath. Up to this moment, in my mind I've done nothing wrong. The only reason I didn't run bigger numbers is that the table is breaking extremely tough. The balls are sticking like glue, but I'm pocketing better than ever in my life.

You know what's coming. The guy kicks the ball in and runs 76 like butter. It's the smoothest run I've ever seen, and the best I've ever seen on that table. To this day, it's the highest run I've ever seen on that table, on the table next to it I've seen double that. The specs are almost identical, it's like the freaking Bermuda triangle in that corner. In that tournament nobody but me and him ran more than 40 balls on that table, though there were many high runs on the others. That's typical of my luck. I believe the cushions were changed a while after that and I haven't played on it for a couple of years now so hopefully it plays better now. Maybe I'll go for the high run, one of these days;).

I've also once played that safety on a full pack and had a guy kick that in, but it wasn't a big tournament and I don't believe he ran out from there.
 
Last edited:

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Here is my story: I'm playing in the national championship of my country. Luckily the venue is my home room. Unluckily I draw a player ranked in the top 5, on the top of his game. Now this would make for a very tough game, but we get assigned to the toughest table in the house. I know that table like the back of my hand, it's a nightmare to play on, tight with bad pocket cuts, fast and uneven cushion speed. I mean I got forced to play there all the time with one of my friends, but we rarely play straights on it, it's just too tough. It's always humid in the corner where the table is located. I figure I might have a chance. In all my time in that club, a decade, I've never seen anyone come close to run 100 on that table. The high run is less than half of every other table in the room, I believe I held that record at the time it was 65 balls I think. Everyone hates it and one of my superstitious friends claims the table is cursed, lol. . I figure, if I play scrappy and don't sell out, I may still pull this one out.

After a short while I'm up 80-24, may have been 70-something I don't quite remember what my score was. I remember the first run, only. But the game is to 100 points so I'm pretty confident about my situation. At this time neither of us has missed a ball. I broke, he ran 24 and safed. I win the duel run 40 something, safe, win the duel and get up to 70-80 points to his 24, I'll have to ask the guy I was playing if he remembers my score. My numbers may be slightly off, but it's about right I think. I shoot a shot where I freeze him to a almost full pack leaving one ball out close to the side rail and another underneath. Up to this moment, in my mind I've done nothing wrong. The only reason I didn't run bigger numbers is that the table is breaking extremely tough. The balls are sticking like glue, but I'm pocketing better than ever in my life.

You know what's coming. The guy kicks the ball in and runs 76 like butter. It's the smoothest run I've ever seen, and the best I've ever seen on that table. To this day, it's the highest run I've ever seen on that table, on the table next to it I've seen double that. The specs are almost identical, it's like the freaking Bermuda triangle in that corner. In that tournament nobody but me and him ran more than 40 balls on that table, though there were many high runs on the others. That's typical of my luck. I believe the cushions were changed a while after that and I haven't played on it for a couple of years now so hopefully it plays better now. Maybe I'll go for the high run, one of these days;).

I've also once played that safety on a full pack and had a guy kick that in, but it wasn't a big tournament and I don't believe he ran out from there.

Giving your opponent a big problem is not a guarantee of success, but it usually works. Irving Crane often used to say "the percentages don't always work" but they remain the percentages.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Giving your opponent a big problem is not a guarantee of success, but it usually works. Irving Crane often used to say "the percentages don't always work" but they remain the percentages.
Exactly.

I still remember a safe I played in Terry Stonier's room in Sacramento in a nine ball tournament about 1976. I leave Napa Jack by the right foot pocket and the four ball on the same side rail on the headstring but with three balls between them and any one-rail kick blocked. Of course he kicks 2/3 rails at that four, it slides all the way down the long rail and goes in and he runs out.

I should have froze the cue ball to three balls.:frown:
 
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