Up until the past month or so I've been mainly a 9-ball player. I've never really cared for 8-ball much because I'm more of a run out player and there are lot of dead ends in 8-ball run outs.
Lately, I've had sort of a change of heart once I gave the game another chance. I realized that in 8-ball, if you're going to run out, you better make damn sure you get out or else you leave the table wide open for you opponent. This is a lot of added pressure that goes unnoticed. There are also several options on which path to choose when tempting a run out so there is a lot on your mind. You need to be very mentally strong with the ability to make a decision and never second guess it while your down on your shot.
With all that said any good player can run out a good break or play a mediocre safe if the run out isn't there. However, a great player almost always plays for the run out. They very specifically break down the table and choose specific balls for certain purposes. They identify their setup ball for the 8. They identify the ball to shoot before the setup ball. They also identify which ball is going to be used to break out problem areas and which ball is going to be used to setup the break out shot. As I said before, there are a lot of things going on in your head in 8-ball.
But no matter how good you are, you can't 100% predict what's going to happen when you execute a breakout shot. You always end up with some unknown and often your run comes to an end. Great players get very creative and can be impressive to watch in these situations.
One shot that great 8-ball players have all mastered is the object ball carom. Meaning that they shoot their object ball into another object ball(or opponents ball) and it caroms into the pocket. I'm not talking about shooting a combo shot, I'm talking about a carom. Most good players don't even see these shots as options whereas the great players see them right away and aren't afraid to shoot them because they know they've already chosen to run out and they've got to make it happen. This is a shot that you rarely ever see in 9-ball and as I've been transitioning to 8-ball I often look over. It's a shot I must master.
Anyways, that's my 2 cents...or 20 cents lol.
Lately, I've had sort of a change of heart once I gave the game another chance. I realized that in 8-ball, if you're going to run out, you better make damn sure you get out or else you leave the table wide open for you opponent. This is a lot of added pressure that goes unnoticed. There are also several options on which path to choose when tempting a run out so there is a lot on your mind. You need to be very mentally strong with the ability to make a decision and never second guess it while your down on your shot.
With all that said any good player can run out a good break or play a mediocre safe if the run out isn't there. However, a great player almost always plays for the run out. They very specifically break down the table and choose specific balls for certain purposes. They identify their setup ball for the 8. They identify the ball to shoot before the setup ball. They also identify which ball is going to be used to break out problem areas and which ball is going to be used to setup the break out shot. As I said before, there are a lot of things going on in your head in 8-ball.
But no matter how good you are, you can't 100% predict what's going to happen when you execute a breakout shot. You always end up with some unknown and often your run comes to an end. Great players get very creative and can be impressive to watch in these situations.
One shot that great 8-ball players have all mastered is the object ball carom. Meaning that they shoot their object ball into another object ball(or opponents ball) and it caroms into the pocket. I'm not talking about shooting a combo shot, I'm talking about a carom. Most good players don't even see these shots as options whereas the great players see them right away and aren't afraid to shoot them because they know they've already chosen to run out and they've got to make it happen. This is a shot that you rarely ever see in 9-ball and as I've been transitioning to 8-ball I often look over. It's a shot I must master.
Anyways, that's my 2 cents...or 20 cents lol.