Desperation 9-ball tactics?

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derangedhermit

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Tomorrow night, 9-ball tournament, double elimination, slop counts, loser breaks. "Compressed" handicaps, everyone is either a 3 or a 5 (as in "race to"). Against at least two weekly players, just "playing my best", I won't win 3 before they win 5. So I want some ways I can steal a game or two and beat these guys when I shouldn't.

"Loser breaks" means I will be at the table (breaking) at least four times before I lose the match. It also means they will be at the table at least twice, breaking, before I beat them. Let's assume that if they break, they win - they almost always will. Let's also assume I'm good for one, but only one, B&R out of my 4 or 5 breaks. So that's one the three wins I need.

What specific tactics of desperation can I try? Where do I get those other two wins tomorrow night? Here's how it has to go:

Game 1: They break and win, 0-1.
Game 2: I B&R and win, 1-1.
Game 3: They break and win, 1-2.
Game 4: I break, can't run out, they win. 1-3.
Game 5: I break, can't run out, but win, 2-3. (HOW?)
Game 6: They break and win, 2-4. (Hill-hill)
Game 7: I break, can't run out, but win, match! (HOW?)
 
Sounds pretty desprete to me :) tryto chase cheese snap the nine on break yell while your opp is shooting kick him in his chin . Or just step up :o:thumbup:
 
Hi,

If you can break and run a rack of 9-Ball and only have to go to 3,
there is no real problem (except for your opponent). The only thing
that really matters is winning 1 of the first two or three racks.

Now your opponent has to beat you 5-1, 4-1 or in worst case scenario 3-1.
In 9-ball against a break and run player that's pretty much impossible,
especially in a loser breaks format.

gr. Dave
 
Play safe right out of the box. Even if you have a shot play a jam up safe and it will usually take them out of their game especially if you move the ball close to the 9 for a possible combo.
 
They don't come any more desperate than me, so I've got KILLER info on this, but the OP has me on ignore, so there's no point relaying it to him. :(
 
Try controlling the tempo of the game. If your opponent is a fast player try slowing things down a bit when its your turn. (but don't do it to the degree of sharking) Also employ more safeties, playing smarter is always a good tactic.

But I think the best thing you can do is let go of the idea that you have to "get a tactical advantage". Just play the game and have some fun. Pay attention any of the positives or negatives of your game and let them play theirs.

Oh yeah, Mr Hoppe had the best answer by far!!!:thumbup:
 
If you can only break and run in 9-ball 1 out of 4 or 5 racks, you shouldn't be trying to break and run most racks. Instead, try to run to a safety. If you can clear out the low balls and play a passable safety, you may find yourself shooting on an open table with only 4-5 easy balls left. That's when you should try to run out.

Snookering your opponent on an otherwise-open table is a stronger move than most realize. Pros are a favorite to play a successful kick-safe (that is, make the hit and leave something difficult in return), but more often than not most amateurs will sell out on those shots even if they make a good hit.
 
On any shot out of your comfort zone always look for the good safety. This means not only playing safe instead of taking what for you is a lower percentage shot, but also where getting on the next ball is tough or impossible. If you can minimize your misses because you normally shoot (or feel you are supposed to shoot) at every open shot, you can increase the frequency with which you let him to the table facing a kick, bank, or at least long tough cut shot rather than selling out.

This strategy will hopefully result in you coming to the table more often with a shot or BIH to help you better deal with getting on the next ball or dealing with breaking a cluster etc.

If you get any practice time try this - after every miss reset the balls into their positions and look for and play a safety instead of trying the shot again. Another thing to do is to play a shot and then play safe, play a shot and then play safe etc. Helps you not only incorporate thinking safety as an integral part of the thought process, but helps you learn to visualize and see good safety opportunities with various amounts of balls on the table to provide cover.

You need to be pretty honest with yourself about your ability to make any shot you are facing.
 
some of the toughest shots in the world are lockup safeties or even good safeties. If you were that good then you would try and out shoot them, but since you say that isn't the case then you must get lucky. So, shoot hard and draw your cue ball when in doubt and you give yourself a chance to win. That is what luck is all about.
 
Yeah, call Tonya Harding. Since she isn't figure skating any longer, she has developed a pretty huge a ss. She'll come over and sit on him.
 
If your opponent has you locked up (or you do it to yourself) and you're not confident in getting the hit, take a foul. Tie something up. If you going to give ball in hand, might as well make them work a bit for the out.
 
If you truly are good enough to break and run 20-25% of the time, and your opponents aren't flat out world beaters, like top 50 in the world, I don't see why you would be so desperate getting 2 games on the wire with loser breaks. Just play normally and you are the favorite.
 
how? to improve

1. dont miss - but since thats out of the universe
2. if you are honest with yourself you'll ask yourself if you take some chances on a shot, hoping to end up over here or there. point is if you are "taking chances" to make something happen - stop. play safe (the general rule though is if the safety is as tough as the shot go for the shot.
3. admittedly you are not a consistent break and run player, but you sound confident enough that you can run 4, maybe 5 balls regularly, therefore that's when you make your move to win. when there are fewer balls on the table you are less likely to be able to manage a great safety when you need it most. so play your safe shots early on, go for your runs later. now that is based on the premise that you are not selling out the whole rack.
4. since you may be able to regularly run 3,4,5 balls then think ahead. dont tie up the balls that may be the few that you can run later in the rack.
5. nine ball is a game of angles and patterns. great players already have a whole rack plan in mind when they hit the table. if the plan is to run you can bet they have a pattern in mind. they visualize where each ball is going before the first stroke. sometimes they get out of shape, then they stop rethink the pattern, get down and play. the angles are what make the pattern predictable, the speed is what makes you able to get onto the correct side of the ball to move onto the next one, and next one, etc.
6. throw out three balls. shoot them in any order but choose the pattern before your first stroke and shoot that pattern. if you can do that at least 5 times, 10 is better. then throw out the three balls and now do the same thing only shoot the balls in numerical order but sticking to your visualized pattern. when yo can do that at least 5 times in a row, throw out four balls. dont go beyond that. believe me your game will elevate quickly if you can maintain pattern control with just that few balls. and why is that? b/c in a match all your looking to do is get yourself at the table when you know there are few enough balls that you can see at least two to three ahead. and make the run.
6. quick example: say there are five balls on the table and control is turned over to you. you see that you can easlily make the first two, but are not sure how to get to the third. well make one then look at the pattern again. you see that you can make the next ball but still not sure you can get a good angle on the one after that. shoot the second ball but this time bear in mind that instead of shooting to pocket that difficult ball, shoot to get in a place where a safety becomes the easier shot on that difficult ball. ok. change scenario. you look at the five balls they are all open, no clusters to break out, nothing in your way. look for the three ball pattern of the first three balls. make one and now look at the pattern for the next three (remember your only looking at four now b/c you made one). make the second ball. now look at the next remaining three. by this time you will have in mind a pattern that your are capable of doing.
7, all this is also based on the fact that you dont miss when you shouldnt and that is the nature of this game. i have seen just recently some champions some very simple shots. get over it, they do.
8. do not let your cue ball fly around. maintain control
9. practice, practice, practice. nothing difficult . just practice some simple straight shots use follow, use draw, use center ball, the idea is to move the cue to a place you have chosen and make the straight shot
10. if you are a big fan of lots of english, stop. 12 oclock, 6 oclock, and up and down that straight line will allow you to be more accurate. you dont need english to make a cut shot. stop with all the english. this is difficult discipline for an unseasoned player whose used to using 3 oclcock and 9 oclock or some other outside english. get your basic game under control.
lastly be flexible. all this is dynamic and changes as we shoot.

i know it's a book but i hope you gain something from the reading.
 
TSW said:
If you can only break and run in 9-ball 1 out of 4 or 5 racks, you shouldn't be trying to break and run most racks. Instead, try to run to a safety. If you can clear out the low balls and play a passable safety, you may find yourself shooting on an open table with only 4-5 easy balls left. That's when you should try to run out.

Snookering your opponent on an otherwise-open table is a stronger move than most realize. Pros are a favorite to play a successful kick-safe (that is, make the hit and leave something difficult in return), but more often than not most amateurs will sell out on those shots even if they make a good hit.
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My son told me something similar the other night. If he sees problems after the break, he isn't aggressive until the problems are resolved. He would also safety when he thought the result would simply be that he would probably have an easier shot on his next turn, since with a decent safety most opponents can't successfully attack.
 
stumpie71 said:
Play safe right out of the box. Even if you have a shot play a jam up safe and it will usually take them out of their game especially if you move the ball close to the 9 for a possible combo.
Click to expand...
I noticed tonight practicing that especially right at the first of the game, occasionally you can bury the CB or play a really tough safety. As things thin out, it gets harder to do.
 
DogsPlayingPool said:
If you get any practice time try this - after every miss reset the balls into their positions and look for and play a safety instead of trying the shot again. Another thing to do is to play a shot and then play safe, play a shot and then play safe etc. Helps you not only incorporate thinking safety as an integral part of the thought process, but helps you learn to visualize and see good safety opportunities with various amounts of balls on the table to provide cover.
Click to expand...
Tonight I played against myself, and this suggestion gave me the idea to play only safeties. The only time I could shoot to pocket balls was when my safety was good enough that I fouled (if that makes sense). If anyone watched a "game", I wonder what they thought.:grin:
 
14.1pocket said:
If your opponent has you locked up (or you do it to yourself) and you're not confident in getting the hit, take a foul. Tie something up. If you going to give ball in hand, might as well make them work a bit for the out.
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I actually tried something like this last week. I even had BIH, but the OB (2 ball, I think) was in a three-ball cluster that I decided was hopeless. So I tapped the 7 behind the 8 on a rail and handed him back the cue ball. He looked confused, so I told him I wasn't going to touch that mess. He laughed, plopped the cue ball down, banged in a shot that I couldn't even see, and ran out.

It's a sound tip. I have to learn to see the shots that successfully apply it.
 
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