Playing the Ghost Question

cue4me

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
When playing the 7-ball ghost I assume most rack 9 balls and then remove balls after the break. Assuming none are made on the break, is there a generally established procedure for which balls to remove? If a ball is made on the break, do you still remove two balls or just one?

Obviously to make it the most challenging for yourself you wouldn't want to start with less than seven balls on the table, unless you happened to make three or more on the break. I'm just trying to determine the usual method that players use to start each rack, if such a thing even exists.

Thanks for any input you choose to make.
 

cycopath

Call me Banger.
Silver Member
The way I play it is break and remove the lowest number balls on the table.

If I make a ball on the break, that’s one less low number ball to remove.

7 ball ghost. Break and remove the 1 and 2 numbered balls. If I happen to make the 4 ball on the break, I only remove the 1 ball. If I make the 1 ball on the break I only remove the 2 ball.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Jimmorrison

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If that’s how everyone does it, that makes the seven ball ghost a lot tougher then the six. Assuming you rack six, leave made balls down, and run out from there.
 

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You can also play it as racking all 9 balls, and making the 7 ball your money ball.

When I'm playing a smaller than 9 ball ghost, I personally just throw the balls on the table. I take half the balls in each hand, and throw them in the center of the table so they collide with each other. I start with a couple more balls as they often find a pocket. Then I remove the lowest balls before starting. It saves wear and tear on my body from racking and breaking. I used to play the 4 and 5 ball ghost a ton and used this method.
 

JazzyJeff87

AzB Plutonium Member
Silver Member
I just rack 7 ball in the old school flower pattern but maybe racking 9 balls would be better to get extra 9B break practice. I haven’t played any ghost sets in forever, or any pool at all actually. It’ll probably be very humbling lol
 

Jimmorrison

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Nice link, that was fun. Crazy that Ralf made that mistake at the end. 25 Gs for an eight man 7-ball event. Need to get back on TV.
 

couldnthinkof01

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Nice link, that was fun. Crazy that Ralf made that mistake at the end. 25 Gs for an eight man 7-ball event. Need to get back on TV.

I remember watching this on tv.
Quick games, good for the viewer.
Pressure can get to even the best of them.
Corey's break in every game are unsportsmanlike;)
 

PoolPlayer4

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I like to do ghost practice progressively. So, I start with 5 balls. If I run that rack, it goes to 6 balls for the next rack. If I fail on 8 balls, for example, then I go back to 7.This continues for a set number of racks I'm attempting. I always break 9 (or 10, if you like) so I can get break practice. Then I remove the higher number balls. This ensures that I'm always running the right number of balls and get no benefit from balls made on the break. It also helps me remember where I'm at -- 6 balls goes to the 6, etc. (unless I made a lower number ball, so it doesn't always work out perfect, but it still helps me remember).

Doing the ghost drills progressively helps you find your equilibrium point (I guess statistically this is your average). It also helps you feel like you're gaining from rack to rack, working up to 9 (or 10). It can also lead to a lot of cursing when you go backwards three racks in a row! I'll set a certain number of racks to attempt and see where my average ends up. This can be tracked from session to session.

Progressive scoring is the approach to drills Bob Jewett and Dr. Dave recommend. I find it is very frustrating but is a good way to get a numerical assessment of your skills.

Jerry Briesath has you throw out five balls and make sure no shots are blocked. I think that approach can have a lot of value too, so you're always working with runable racks. Then you work on five balls until you run 7 out of 10 racks before you can advance by one ball. I think Tor does it this way too.

One other thing I do is sometimes incorporate safety play. The extra rule is that if I'm stuck, I'll play a safety. If I successfully snooker myself so I can't get a hit on the next ball. I take ball in hand and keep going. This can be a fun approach too.
 
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