Fouls and safeties, rules of thumb.

[Straightpool_99]

These are some of my thoughts regarding strategy, when two EQUALLY skilled players are playing a match of 14.1. These are my thoughts on it, I think many of you might disagree, so feel free to offer your critique.

Players with high runs in the 20s or low 30's. You never take 3 fouls. Any safety is better than the penalty for 3 fouls. If you have no shot with a wide open table, shoot a legal safety and leave him long. Odds are that he'll mess it up some way even if he has several open shots. If you are a mean son of a...you can mess up the best breakball in the process.

Players with high run close to or over 40. You should almost never take 3 fouls. If you have a wide open table and are stuck to a ball. Take 1 foul without moving the ball much, to see what your opponent does. If he puts you back, look for the most awkward position on the table and try to put your opponent there, taking a foul if you must. Try to get him on the rail. If he is stupid enough to put you back in, take the shot, at least you gave yourself a chance. You might even shoot a safe, just don't foul!

Players with high runs over 50. Taking 3 fouls is now more of an option. You should very carefully consider leaving your opponent any shot, even a tough one, when you are on fouls. If he makes it, you are now his bxxh, and in the chair as well. He can leave you stuck to a ball, without options, when he runs out of shots.

Extremely skilled players with match running potential. No set rules, but you can't leave anything. If you are stuck behind a ball with an otherwise open table, you are probably screwed and need to take the 3 fouls.

 

[stevekur1]

These are some of my thoughts regarding strategy, when two EQUALLY skilled players are playing a match of 14.1. These are my thoughts on it, I think many of you might disagree, so feel free to offer your critique.

Players with high runs in the 20s or low 30's. You never take 3 fouls. Any safety is better than the penalty for 3 fouls. If you have no shot with a wide open table, shoot a legal safety and leave him long. Odds are that he'll mess it up some way even if he has several open shots. If you are a mean son of a...you can mess up the best breakball in the process.

Players with high run close to or over 40. You should almost never take 3 fouls. If you have a wide open table and are stuck to a ball. Take 1 foul without moving the ball much, to see what your opponent does. If he puts you back, look for the most awkward position on the table and try to put your opponent there, taking a foul if you must. Try to get him on the rail. If he is stupid enough to put you back in, take the shot, at least you gave yourself a chance. You might even shoot a safe, just don't foul!

Players with high runs over 50. Taking 3 fouls is now more of an option. You should very carefully consider leaving your opponent any shot, even a tough one, when you are on fouls. If he makes it, you are now his bxxh, and in the chair as well. He can leave you stuck to a ball, without options, when he runs out of shots.

Extremely skilled players with match running potential. No set rules, but you can't leave anything. If you are stuck behind a ball with an otherwise open table, you are probably screwed and need to take the 3 fouls.

these are pretty good strategies !!

i was going to print this out for my league players, but this may give some the advantage. it may be better that they learn this stuff on thier own !!

thanks for sharing
-Steve

 

[Straightpool_99]

these are pretty good strategies !!

i was going to print this out for my league players, but this may give some the advantage. it may be better that they learn this stuff on thier own !!

thanks for sharing
-Steve

Thanks. I should add that at the highest levels, ie from 50break upwards, the way the table breaks plays a big role in the decision making. If you feel that you can achieve close to an ideal break, then taking 3 fouls should be done more often. If the balls tend to open, then maybe you should risk a low percentage shot/safety since you are bound to leave some sort of shot whatever you do.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Thanks. I should add that at the highest levels, ie from 50break upwards, the way the table breaks plays a big role in the decision making. If you feel that you can achieve close to an ideal break, then taking 3 fouls should be done more often. If the balls tend to open, then maybe you should risk a low percentage shot/safety since you are bound to leave some sort of shot whatever you do.

How the rack breaks depends a lot on all the gaps between the balls in the rack. I don't always check the rack, but if I happen to see a corner ball is loose, I'll break on it if the other corner ball is tight.

In a match in the 1975 US Open, Luther Lassiter beat Dick Lane 150-(about)120 while taking 3 fouls three times. The usual result of Lassiter's penalty breaks was that Lane was frozen to the end rail with no reasonable shot and no good safety and on two fouls. Lassiter's high run in that match was 103, so the 54 points of foul were a minor annoyance. I don't remember if Lane ever took a third from Lassiter's break.

 

[acousticsguru]

These are some of my thoughts regarding strategy, when two EQUALLY skilled players are playing a match of 14.1. These are my thoughts on it, I think many of you might disagree, so feel free to offer your critique.

Players with high runs in the 20s or low 30's. You never take 3 fouls. Any safety is better than the penalty for 3 fouls. If you have no shot with a wide open table, shoot a legal safety and leave him long. Odds are that he'll mess it up some way even if he has several open shots. If you are a mean son of a...you can mess up the best breakball in the process.

Players with high run close to or over 40. You should almost never take 3 fouls. If you have a wide open table and are stuck to a ball. Take 1 foul without moving the ball much, to see what your opponent does. If he puts you back, look for the most awkward position on the table and try to put your opponent there, taking a foul if you must. Try to get him on the rail. If he is stupid enough to put you back in, take the shot, at least you gave yourself a chance. You might even shoot a safe, just don't foul!

Players with high runs over 50. Taking 3 fouls is now more of an option. You should very carefully consider leaving your opponent any shot, even a tough one, when you are on fouls. If he makes it, you are now his bxxh, and in the chair as well. He can leave you stuck to a ball, without options, when he runs out of shots.

Extremely skilled players with match running potential. No set rules, but you can't leave anything. If you are stuck behind a ball with an otherwise open table, you are probably screwed and need to take the 3 fouls.

I do not agree unless there is a time or inning limit. "Make them earn it" was one of those things I learnt touring the U.S. quarter of a century ago - that's got nothing to do with how good anyone is or isn't. It's got more to do with self-respect - and pragmatism: not giving the game away, one has still got a chance to win. Also, keeping one's opponent away from the table may pay dividends - especially if s/he's a superior player, no use getting them into a rhythm (that's their job).

Personally, I have fond memories of a couple of important matches where my opponent only needed a ball or two, getting out of position and playing a deadly safety on me, and that I won accepting a three-foul penalty, re-breaking, and running out after they missed a tough shot from the head rail (which may seem even tougher if one only needs a handful to close out). Running e.g. 40-to-50-and-out in those situations didn't seem like much given I'd effectively been dead and just had some new life breathed into me again. I've also failed in the same scenario, but I'm trying hard to forget…

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti

 

[acousticsguru]

Thanks. I should add that at the highest levels, ie from 50break upwards, the way the table breaks plays a big role in the decision making. If you feel that you can achieve close to an ideal break, then taking 3 fouls should be done more often. If the balls tend to open, then maybe you should risk a low percentage shot/safety since you are bound to leave some sort of shot whatever you do.

If the table breaks well, it's an option one might consider right at the start of the game - which one rarely sees anymore these days (players will fire at a white flag).

(It's debatable what a "white flag" is, of course: got beaten out of a tourney a couple of weeks ago by a youngster who continually shot all the wrong shots - believe me, the term "pattern play" would have no place in this scenario - but would simply not miss. Even a spot shot from the middle of the head rail - glued to the Brunswick - with five-rail position on the next ball looked like a hanger - silly me, did I really mean to leave him that…?! )

Greetings from Switzerland, David.
_________________

„J'ai gâché vingt ans de mes plus belles années au billard. Si c'était à refaire, je recommencerais.“ – Roger Conti