Ok,
I while back I made a thread on bar box tips and mentioned that I was going to a big 9 Ball tournament.
This time it is an EIGHT BALL tournament. For those interested, it is the 4 Bears Classic annual event, held in New Town, North Dakota.
I don't play much eight ball these days and I want to practice up a bit.
I am looking specifically for tips on breaking 8 ball racks on equipment that I am not familiar with and of course on 7 foot tables. These tables are VALLEY BAR BOXES, fwiw. I seem to get mixed results breaking on bar boxes but only in 8 ball. My 9 ball break seems pretty good.
I would also like to see tips for playing the game of 8 ball that you have found to be very important for your game. If some of the tips are the same for 8 ball and 9 ball, that will be just fine as well.
I will start off the thread with a couple of tips.
1. If your balls are tied up in clusters, you must make EARLY efforts to break out the clusters. The sooner you break out the clusters the better off you will be. Determine how you will break up clusters before just smashing into them. Some clusters require only a slight clip to dislodge them while others require more force.
2. If one of your object balls has a narrow window for making it, get to that window EARLY and get that accident waiting to happen out of the way.
3. Learn the 2nd ball break in eight ball, as it can give you different action on the break which might be beneficial if the 1 ball break is not working.
4. When you can do so without penalty, bump your opponent's balls and help them form clusters & tie them up, to inhibit his ability to run out.
5. If the regular squat break is not working, use more power to break and try to keep the cue ball more down table than up table.
6. Create other problems for your opponent whenever it makes sense. Block a pocket, tie up their balls et cetera.
7. Envision the complete run out but be willing to shift gears if you don't get the shape you were looking for. Adjust your game plan or run out patterns as new obstacles are put in your way.
8. Practice the combo shot (at different distances apart), where you use draw to hit your object ball so that it follows your opponent's ball into the pocket. It is not so easy to have your object ball follow your opponent's ball into the pocket and a little practice will go a long way.
9. Safety play is OK early on in the game if you can't run out, but not so good at the end of the game when you only have a couple of balls left on the table. Playing safeties at the end of a game when your opponent has more balls to hide behind is not the best idea.
10. If you are not pocketing balls on the break because of loose racks or for any other reason for that matter, try changing the speed at which you break, decreasing or increasing the speed of your break. It goes without saying that if your break isn't working, you might change cue ball position on break as well.
11. Use your object balls discriminately as blocking forces to inhibit your opponent from running out without regard as better players may be able to overcome these types of ploys but these type of defenses can pay big dividends against lesser opponents.
12. Practice banks and kicks on the bar box. IT IS NOT THE SAME AS BANKING AND KICKING ON THE LARGER TABLES.
13. Practice with the cue ball that you will be competing with. There are major differences between each of them and you have to be used to the different actions that you get with them.
14. Clean off the Aramity duller finish cue ball between racks to help eliminate skid. You can do this for any cue ball for that matter. It can't hurt and it could HELP regardless of which cue ball you are using.
15. On the break, when it is failing you, you may consider using English or stop using English on the break to change up the action of the cue ball and spread of object balls. Depending upon your stroke some side spin may help your cue ball direction. I doubt that the side spin transfer to the object balls is much to mull over; still I try to keep an open mind.
16. If you make multiple balls on the break, consider taking the one which you made the fewest balls on the break (all things considered equal except for the count). By taking the one (solids or stripes) that you made the fewest balls on the break of, you will have fewer obstacles in your way to run out. The theory is that you can run balls easier if you have less obstacles in your way.
17. When breaking out clusters, make sure to have an insurance ball available in case you don't get shape on the broken-out balls.
18. Avoid moving the cue ball too much, when there is no necessity. Most shots are not long distance shots and stunning, stopping or natural follow are probably better choices. The main thing is that because the table is smaller you have to pay more attention to controlling the cue ball to avoid being snookered.
19. Instead of attempting precarious, perfect shape, opt to take less perfect shape and not risk getting snookered or having a much worse shot or even worse, scratching. The bar table is small.
20. Know your abilities and avoid trying shots that you are most likely going to miss and turn over the table to your opponent. If you're most likely not going to make the shot, at least play a good safety on your opponent.
21. Sight down the short rails, to determine if the points by the side pockets, stick out or not. If they stick out, it may be almost impossible to shoot an object ball frozen to the side rail from one side of the table to the other, no matter how much you hope it will travel to the corner pocket and fall in. This problem is one that many Valley tables have even when new from the factory.
22. Do not pocket all of your balls if the eight ball cannot be made easily. Leave a roadlblock or two if you can't run out.
23. Watch how other players are breaking the rack on each table and record that to memory for when you are breaking on that table.
24. Know the rules. Nuff said....
25. Pockets are huge on Valley tables, so trust your shot making ability more than position play. Be willing to settle for shots that might otherwise make you feel uncomfortable on the big table (they will go). The less CB movement, the less likely you're gonna end up in trouble.
26. Cut angles are different on bar tables as compared to the larger 9 foot tables. Get used to the different cut angle perspectives.
27. When playing a safety, and it is not easy to hide the cue ball, concentrate on distance instead, even though it is on a bar box, leaving a long hard shot can be the ticket, especially if you have some blocker balls, a longer shot for your opponent, will even make it harder for him to put a good safety on you.
28. Take no shot for granted. Even though it is a Valley pool table/ bar table with large pockets, you must be precise with your shooting. Over-confidence on a bar table is a common problem for those who are used to shooting on a 9 foot table.
29. One technique to use for 8 ball run outs is to work backwards from the 8ball, seeing which pocket it goes in and then imagining the process of the second to last ball to be pocketed and so forth.
30. Walk around the table compeltely, looking at the layout from different angles. You may find other shots and paths for the cue ball that you didn't envision from the original cue ball position.
31. If you decide to establish your category immediately and know that it's not worth attempting a runout, look for the opportunity to play a good safety and have your opponent kicking right out of the gate.
32. Evaluate the choosing of your categories carefully, as it may be the difference between winning and losing.
33. Play to YOUR strengths, not your weaknesses. Do what you know you are capable of doing and avoid high risk shots and situations. I know one guy who is about a 5 in the APA leagues but he is one of the most patient players I have ever seen and will play safety after safety, until his opponent becomes agitated and wins LOTS of matches that he should not win against far better opponents. If you like banking and you're confident about a bank shot, don't hesitate to use it to get out of a difficult situation.
34. Avoid bumping into balls UNLESS you know for sure, where those balls and the cue will wind up after the shot. 7 foot tables are often congested.
35. If you make four balls on the break and the cue ball is laying perfect and the rest of the balls, look like you could make them blind-folded, RUNOUT. :grin:
36. If you're playing in TEAM COMPETITION, hold onto your Pom-poms, and your megaphone until AFTER your teammate has won his match. Keep quiet during your teammate's time at the table. Let the team captain do all of the suggesting. All that rah-rah stuff during a person's time at the table is just another way of distracting them. There will be plenty of time to congratulate your teammate on a good shot, good decision, or a good win (after his match is over).
37. Identify the key ball early on, (the one you will shoot just before the 8 ball) but don't hesitate to change it if something else comes into the picture that will improve your chances of winning even more.
38. Before you change your break because you aren't making balls on the break, make sure that you or your opponent are providing a good, tight rack because a loose rack even one with a couple of small gaps between balls could be the reason for you not making a successful break.
39. If you must hit a cluster at a slow speed, you should consider using side spin on the cue to obtain needed separation between the cue ball and the object balls.
40. Straight pool is a great game to practice breaking up clusters with and you may use that experience in breaking up clusters in 8 ball.
41. If you are playing a better player or just an overconfident player, when breaking up clusters and running out is dangerous for you and detrimental to your opponent as well, leave your ego at home and let your opponent do the heavy lifting and you do the clean up. It works for top 8 ball players like Linda Carter. ;-)
42. Examine the layout for "wired balls". If you have a shot in the stack for balls that are frozen together or are just pointed to the pocket, take advantage of them at your earliest opportunity as it may not last long. Also, if you notice your opponent has wired balls, make sure to nudge them so that they are no longer wired.
42. Take no shot for granted. (And read Linda Carter's list in case I missed something).
43. As you are running the rack, you should not leave the final two balls before the eight on opposite sides of the table OR opposite ends of the table because it will make it difficult to get shape on either ball as well as the eight ball. From Linda Carter's notes: "try not to leave the last 2 balls (either the last ball and the 8, or the last 2 balls before the 8) on the same short rail, if they aren't within a few inches of either pocket. the reason being is that you have to stay within a certain wedge on the first ball to stay good on the next ball, so I will take one out earlier if possible. I also do not like leaving the last 2 on opposite side rails at about the same position. That means I will usually need an angle on both and you may be flirting with a side pocket scratch. That's just my preference.
13. This has to do with point 12, but a previous poster talked about pocketing all the balls in one area and not running all over the table. I certainly see many players chasing the cueball with no clue as to what they're doing, but I will take that ball on the same rail as the 8 early, then use another ball uptable to drop back down to the 8, to avoid getting out of line or too steep of an angle by playing them as the last 2. There are other instances where you will have a wider margin of error by coming from above than staying below where the 8 is."
I while back I made a thread on bar box tips and mentioned that I was going to a big 9 Ball tournament.
This time it is an EIGHT BALL tournament. For those interested, it is the 4 Bears Classic annual event, held in New Town, North Dakota.
I don't play much eight ball these days and I want to practice up a bit.
I am looking specifically for tips on breaking 8 ball racks on equipment that I am not familiar with and of course on 7 foot tables. These tables are VALLEY BAR BOXES, fwiw. I seem to get mixed results breaking on bar boxes but only in 8 ball. My 9 ball break seems pretty good.
I would also like to see tips for playing the game of 8 ball that you have found to be very important for your game. If some of the tips are the same for 8 ball and 9 ball, that will be just fine as well.
I will start off the thread with a couple of tips.
1. If your balls are tied up in clusters, you must make EARLY efforts to break out the clusters. The sooner you break out the clusters the better off you will be. Determine how you will break up clusters before just smashing into them. Some clusters require only a slight clip to dislodge them while others require more force.
2. If one of your object balls has a narrow window for making it, get to that window EARLY and get that accident waiting to happen out of the way.
3. Learn the 2nd ball break in eight ball, as it can give you different action on the break which might be beneficial if the 1 ball break is not working.
4. When you can do so without penalty, bump your opponent's balls and help them form clusters & tie them up, to inhibit his ability to run out.
5. If the regular squat break is not working, use more power to break and try to keep the cue ball more down table than up table.
6. Create other problems for your opponent whenever it makes sense. Block a pocket, tie up their balls et cetera.
7. Envision the complete run out but be willing to shift gears if you don't get the shape you were looking for. Adjust your game plan or run out patterns as new obstacles are put in your way.
8. Practice the combo shot (at different distances apart), where you use draw to hit your object ball so that it follows your opponent's ball into the pocket. It is not so easy to have your object ball follow your opponent's ball into the pocket and a little practice will go a long way.
9. Safety play is OK early on in the game if you can't run out, but not so good at the end of the game when you only have a couple of balls left on the table. Playing safeties at the end of a game when your opponent has more balls to hide behind is not the best idea.
10. If you are not pocketing balls on the break because of loose racks or for any other reason for that matter, try changing the speed at which you break, decreasing or increasing the speed of your break. It goes without saying that if your break isn't working, you might change cue ball position on break as well.
11. Use your object balls discriminately as blocking forces to inhibit your opponent from running out without regard as better players may be able to overcome these types of ploys but these type of defenses can pay big dividends against lesser opponents.
12. Practice banks and kicks on the bar box. IT IS NOT THE SAME AS BANKING AND KICKING ON THE LARGER TABLES.
13. Practice with the cue ball that you will be competing with. There are major differences between each of them and you have to be used to the different actions that you get with them.
14. Clean off the Aramity duller finish cue ball between racks to help eliminate skid. You can do this for any cue ball for that matter. It can't hurt and it could HELP regardless of which cue ball you are using.
15. On the break, when it is failing you, you may consider using English or stop using English on the break to change up the action of the cue ball and spread of object balls. Depending upon your stroke some side spin may help your cue ball direction. I doubt that the side spin transfer to the object balls is much to mull over; still I try to keep an open mind.
16. If you make multiple balls on the break, consider taking the one which you made the fewest balls on the break (all things considered equal except for the count). By taking the one (solids or stripes) that you made the fewest balls on the break of, you will have fewer obstacles in your way to run out. The theory is that you can run balls easier if you have less obstacles in your way.
17. When breaking out clusters, make sure to have an insurance ball available in case you don't get shape on the broken-out balls.
18. Avoid moving the cue ball too much, when there is no necessity. Most shots are not long distance shots and stunning, stopping or natural follow are probably better choices. The main thing is that because the table is smaller you have to pay more attention to controlling the cue ball to avoid being snookered.
19. Instead of attempting precarious, perfect shape, opt to take less perfect shape and not risk getting snookered or having a much worse shot or even worse, scratching. The bar table is small.
20. Know your abilities and avoid trying shots that you are most likely going to miss and turn over the table to your opponent. If you're most likely not going to make the shot, at least play a good safety on your opponent.
21. Sight down the short rails, to determine if the points by the side pockets, stick out or not. If they stick out, it may be almost impossible to shoot an object ball frozen to the side rail from one side of the table to the other, no matter how much you hope it will travel to the corner pocket and fall in. This problem is one that many Valley tables have even when new from the factory.
22. Do not pocket all of your balls if the eight ball cannot be made easily. Leave a roadlblock or two if you can't run out.
23. Watch how other players are breaking the rack on each table and record that to memory for when you are breaking on that table.
24. Know the rules. Nuff said....
25. Pockets are huge on Valley tables, so trust your shot making ability more than position play. Be willing to settle for shots that might otherwise make you feel uncomfortable on the big table (they will go). The less CB movement, the less likely you're gonna end up in trouble.
26. Cut angles are different on bar tables as compared to the larger 9 foot tables. Get used to the different cut angle perspectives.
27. When playing a safety, and it is not easy to hide the cue ball, concentrate on distance instead, even though it is on a bar box, leaving a long hard shot can be the ticket, especially if you have some blocker balls, a longer shot for your opponent, will even make it harder for him to put a good safety on you.
28. Take no shot for granted. Even though it is a Valley pool table/ bar table with large pockets, you must be precise with your shooting. Over-confidence on a bar table is a common problem for those who are used to shooting on a 9 foot table.
29. One technique to use for 8 ball run outs is to work backwards from the 8ball, seeing which pocket it goes in and then imagining the process of the second to last ball to be pocketed and so forth.
30. Walk around the table compeltely, looking at the layout from different angles. You may find other shots and paths for the cue ball that you didn't envision from the original cue ball position.
31. If you decide to establish your category immediately and know that it's not worth attempting a runout, look for the opportunity to play a good safety and have your opponent kicking right out of the gate.
32. Evaluate the choosing of your categories carefully, as it may be the difference between winning and losing.
33. Play to YOUR strengths, not your weaknesses. Do what you know you are capable of doing and avoid high risk shots and situations. I know one guy who is about a 5 in the APA leagues but he is one of the most patient players I have ever seen and will play safety after safety, until his opponent becomes agitated and wins LOTS of matches that he should not win against far better opponents. If you like banking and you're confident about a bank shot, don't hesitate to use it to get out of a difficult situation.
34. Avoid bumping into balls UNLESS you know for sure, where those balls and the cue will wind up after the shot. 7 foot tables are often congested.
35. If you make four balls on the break and the cue ball is laying perfect and the rest of the balls, look like you could make them blind-folded, RUNOUT. :grin:
36. If you're playing in TEAM COMPETITION, hold onto your Pom-poms, and your megaphone until AFTER your teammate has won his match. Keep quiet during your teammate's time at the table. Let the team captain do all of the suggesting. All that rah-rah stuff during a person's time at the table is just another way of distracting them. There will be plenty of time to congratulate your teammate on a good shot, good decision, or a good win (after his match is over).
37. Identify the key ball early on, (the one you will shoot just before the 8 ball) but don't hesitate to change it if something else comes into the picture that will improve your chances of winning even more.
38. Before you change your break because you aren't making balls on the break, make sure that you or your opponent are providing a good, tight rack because a loose rack even one with a couple of small gaps between balls could be the reason for you not making a successful break.
39. If you must hit a cluster at a slow speed, you should consider using side spin on the cue to obtain needed separation between the cue ball and the object balls.
40. Straight pool is a great game to practice breaking up clusters with and you may use that experience in breaking up clusters in 8 ball.
41. If you are playing a better player or just an overconfident player, when breaking up clusters and running out is dangerous for you and detrimental to your opponent as well, leave your ego at home and let your opponent do the heavy lifting and you do the clean up. It works for top 8 ball players like Linda Carter. ;-)
42. Examine the layout for "wired balls". If you have a shot in the stack for balls that are frozen together or are just pointed to the pocket, take advantage of them at your earliest opportunity as it may not last long. Also, if you notice your opponent has wired balls, make sure to nudge them so that they are no longer wired.
42. Take no shot for granted. (And read Linda Carter's list in case I missed something).
43. As you are running the rack, you should not leave the final two balls before the eight on opposite sides of the table OR opposite ends of the table because it will make it difficult to get shape on either ball as well as the eight ball. From Linda Carter's notes: "try not to leave the last 2 balls (either the last ball and the 8, or the last 2 balls before the 8) on the same short rail, if they aren't within a few inches of either pocket. the reason being is that you have to stay within a certain wedge on the first ball to stay good on the next ball, so I will take one out earlier if possible. I also do not like leaving the last 2 on opposite side rails at about the same position. That means I will usually need an angle on both and you may be flirting with a side pocket scratch. That's just my preference.
13. This has to do with point 12, but a previous poster talked about pocketing all the balls in one area and not running all over the table. I certainly see many players chasing the cueball with no clue as to what they're doing, but I will take that ball on the same rail as the 8 early, then use another ball uptable to drop back down to the 8, to avoid getting out of line or too steep of an angle by playing them as the last 2. There are other instances where you will have a wider margin of error by coming from above than staying below where the 8 is."
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