14.1 Run Question

What do you do?

  • Shoot the hanger - and end the run

    Votes: 30 27.8%

  • Shoot the break shot and accept the risk

    Votes: 78 72.2%
  • Total voters
    108
I really like this question :-)

I think if I would be in that particular situation where I'm on say 99 and my highrun is less than 100 I would definitely go for the "hanger" (thats why my highrun was exactly 100 for a long time:D)

But there is a second situation which is quite similar to this one:

A few months ago I was having a really good day playing some straight pool...I was on exactly 199 and ended up with a difficult break shot...
The breakshot was actually not really hard to pot...but it was actually really difficult to pot it and open the rack to go on with my run...

Considering the fact that I had scored a 200+ before I had to decide wheter to take another 200 or try to break my own record...and to be honest it wasn't an easy decision because making 200 is such a big effort and it really means a lot to me...

Unfortunately I tried to make the ball and open the rack...it rattled in the pocket...and there I was...sad as hell for not making the 200 and knowing that it will take a hell of a lot work and time to come back to this point again...:(

But I'm sure I will make the same decision again when I will have the opportunity to do it :)
 
200 is huge. 199 is OK. There should be a 200 club and it would have very few members.

I believe in goal setting. Goals help keep me focused and on my intended path.

Shoot the duck. Celebrate the event. Set a new goal. Move forward.

After achieving the goal (200) once, there will never be a doubt about your abilities to achieve this again. You've broken that barrier just like Chuck Yeager going through the sound barrier. He went on to break many other records. I bet the sound barrier didn't mean as much to him after that amazing feat.
 
Some of the stipulations make no sense, though i see what you're driving at.

You'll never get this far again - Why not? You can't play shape from the hanger... why not? This all seems too arbitrary. Straight pool is not a lucky game. You cannot fluke your way to X. If you are wayyyy beyond what your ability dictates, you probably are wrong about your ability. And you already exceeded that special number in your head. Like my number is 50... but one day i am at 99. Do i "settle" for the 100? Of course. I already locked in my 50 and i am thrilled to be here. No way i'm letting 100 pass me by. There's no reason I can't at least take a flyer at 101 afterwards.

This phone is slick but prolly not gonna handle cuetable too well. I had some hypothetical table layouts that might jibe with the question. how about a steep cut on a ball midway along the short rail near the rack, vs a deeply hanging ball in one of the corners uptable? The kind of hanger where anything but draw is gonna hit a nipple? But then, breaking from such a ball is as impossible as playing shape from it. Someone wanna diagram this?
 
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The correct answer is to pot the duck, quit, and post on AZB that you had an "unfinished" 200 ball run. Just say you got bored or something. :thumbup:
 
Steve Lipsky said:
For those who play 14.1, I have a question. We each have that “number” in our heads, a number which we know we might be capable of running, but that for whatever reason has eluded us throughout our playing career. For some, it might be 50. Others 100, 200, or higher.

So here’s the question. You are running balls, and you get to a situation where you have n-1 balls. If your goal is 50, you are at 49. There are only two open balls. One is a duck, but you can’t break the rack from it. AND getting position on the other break ball after making the hanger will be, for the purposes of this question, impossible. You have a shot at the break ball, but it’s super-tough. You estimate that your make percentage on it would be between 40% and 50%.

So… what do each of you do? Do you take the hanger and lock in the goal? For the rest of your life, no one will ever be able to take this number from you. But… do you want to end your career never knowing what you might have achieved that glorious day? Or do you go for the break shot in an effort to continue the run? Metaphorically, will you be able to live with yourself having ran, say, 199 and missing a risky shot?

(For the purposes of this question, assume there is a very reasonable chance you will never again hit this number, and that you know this during the run. Also assume this is in practice and your choice will not affect the outcome of a match.)

Thanks! I look forward to the responses.
Click to expand...

whatever will get me a bigger run. i prefer to go down swinging!!!!
 
straight pool

the name of the game is 14.1 continuous
except you can lose an important match with the risky shot
 
straight pool

hi steve
this is for your high run list:
mizerak said in an conversation with an politician and sigel his high run is
421(youtube)
allen hopkins said,talking about hohmanns high run at challenge of champions(commentary)his high run is 410
sigel said after running 150out on zuglan his high run is 339
early 90`s european billard magazine ,ortmann 348
enjoing the az forum from germany every day
 
Given that it's practice I'd shoot the break shot, every time, even if it were 2% instead of 50%.

My reasoning is, if it were n-37 you'd be shooting the break shot without question. Why change?
 
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