Another what's your shot?

what, that sometimes you just FEEL IT, that you just KNOW the trick shot is gonna go right in the hole, that you visualized it in your mind's eye and made it happen? sometimes, you just gotta GO FOR IT? [cue inspirational 80's butt rock]

Sorry, not buying it :) Pool's a percentages game. The flyers drop sometimes and the fans loves it and we talk ourselves into thinking they were inspired shots. But like I said, sometimes you visualize a great shot in your mind's eye... get down... fire it at warp speed... and then go back to your chair cuz you rattled it.

If your opponent were in this situation, and he announced his intention to shoot this shot, do you think "oh man, that's a hanger, he's about to win in one shot. I'm toast." or do your eyes turn into dollar signs?
 
first lemme say I reread my post and it came off kinda sarcastic. Sorry about that.

I respect your posts and your opinions, and usually agree with your answers in the "How would you play this" category. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. At the end of the day I've never seen Johnny Archer playing a shot that is wrong on paper 100% of the time. I also don't see him two stroking a tough shot and hitting so hard he he has no idea where the CB might end up and where the OB will be after a miss.

You see it as playing your opponent, I see it as your opponent played you. You were so concerned with showing weakness that you took a blatant flyer at an off-angled 2-9 bank combo (and rushed it no less) ...because for some reason you were scared of the breakout play. And for some reason you're worried about what your opponent thinks of you. You figure Ralf Souquet ever hit a ball faster because he was worried his opponent "smells blood" when he takes a minute to shoot?

Kirkwood got in your head and tricked you into taking the wrong shot. You cracked under the pressure and allowed yourself to say "f@# it, I'm riding the 9, the right shot just doesn't feel right".

The ball went, and according to you it maybe changed how he played. That's great. But if I'm kirkwood, I really hope you keep taking those flyers in future sets. I'd be thrilled to know that my opponent sees the right shot but lacks the confidence to play it.
 
I do agree with the concept of "if you see a shot failing, you are more likely to fail." I won't say you absolutely WILL fail because I've taken shots I was scared of and they still work out. Sometimes good mechanics make up for mental weaknesses and vice versa.

I don't have any trouble swallowing the idea that the breakout was the wrong shot, but I'm having a lot of trouble believing what you did was the right shot. I feel like your normally good advice could backfire here and encourage people to take bad shots because the right shot scares them. If you envision failure on the "right" shot, don't respond to that by playing the flyer. Play the 2nd-best "right" shot (andrew's). Or third best "right" shot (ponytail's).

You can say "I don't have ralf's firepower" but you don't need to be a particularly straight shooter to make the two and draw back.

Or, maybe you do? As I look at more, the 2 just barely cuts to the right. Not sure if you intended to diagram it that way. It looks like cheating the pocket was needed to draw back straight enough to bump those balls. Maybe that's why the shot didn't feel right.

The main thing that bugs me is that there's no plan B if you miss this low percentage shot. You're counting on luck basically. If there's no runout, riding the 9 is a good calculated gamble. But it would be nice to know where whitey and the 2 are going, and at least have an idea in the back of your head of getting a 2-way safety.
 
alstl said:
Draw back into the three.
Click to expand...

I think some of you are over thinking this. The right shot is to draw back into the top side of the 3. That way you eliminate the chance of hitting the 6 on the bottom side and safeing yourself. And if you miss the top side of the 3 you can still play a safe. That is what i would do without any thought to any other options. It's the right move.
 
Neil said:
You are missing one crucial part my friend. The fact that the shot I did take, while looking like a flyer, actually wasn't a flyer. I SAW that shot in my mind going in. I KNEW in my gut it was in. My conscious mind, I knew would say "your an idiot if you shoot that". That is why I two stroked it. So as NOT to allow my conscious mind any time with it.

It wasn't a "Gee, I hope this goes in", or a "what if it doesn't go?" shot. It was a "this ball is IN" shot. I don't know if you have ever had that experience or not. But if you do, shoot it!
Click to expand...

Have you ever KNOWN the ball was in, and then it didn't go in? I've definitely had THAT experience :D
 
Bar box, I would probably draw back into the cluster. 9 foot table, I would play for a bump safe on the 3. IE pocket the 2 with a bit of draw, trying to get straight on the 3 into the rail and slow roll the 3 into the rail.

CueTable Help



Chuck
 
I think I understand what Neil is saying. If you sense something bad is going to happen, it most likely will. Better to go with a shot that makes you feel more comfortable, even if it's a typically lower percentage shot. If your brain says its a no-go, respect its opinion.

Other times you just feel like you can make it, even if the second option shot looks harder on the surface. If your brain can lock in on the shot, the percentages go up considerably.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top