Getting Out When It's Easy - 8-ball

Jude Rosenstock

Jude Rosenstock

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
So I was playing today and had a fortunate thing go my way and found myself solids with ball-in-hand. Instead of just smacking them all in, I took a very deliberate route to get out and figured I'd let you guys have at it, too. Most importantly, I'd like to know where you'd start and why.

CueTable Help

 
no trouble balls to break out...I go with the 5 ball - why? To get the 2 balls furthest away from the 8 outta the way. 5,4, 7 (top screen) side, 6 (bottom screen) side, 3, 2, 8. I'm not sure if you were looking for english used on each shot, etc., but that's the order I'd probably feel the most comfortable with. Where'd you start?
 
Is this a trick question?

Start with the 5 in the corner, take the four in the opposite corner next moving out and up the table. Take the 7 across in the side with some follow and then back for the six in the . Leave a little angle and take the 3 in the corner with low english should bring you back out for the 2 back in the same corner leaving you the 8 in the opposite corner.
Sounds so easy when I write it...
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
So I was playing today and had a fortunate thing go my way and found myself solids with ball-in-hand. Instead of just smacking them all in, I took a very deliberate route to get out and figured I'd let you guys have at it, too. Most importantly, I'd like to know where you'd start and why.

CueTable Help

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6 in left side. Roll up, 7 in right side. Get a slight angle on the 5,bounce off a little for the angle to come uptable for the 3, keeping a slight angle on it,shoot the 2 straght in and holler for the rack man. Why? So little cue-ball movement required and it's easy to get the 6 and 7 first so you don't get tangled up on them {possibly} later.
 
trustyrusty said:
no trouble balls to break out...I go with the 5 ball - why? To get the 2 balls furthest away from the 8 outta the way. 5,4, 7 (top screen) side, 6 (bottom screen) side, 3, 2, 8. I'm not sure if you were looking for english used on each shot, etc., but that's the order I'd probably feel the most comfortable with. Where'd you start?
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Although you can do it other ways, this would be the professional route to take.
 
poolhustler said:
Same here, except maybe 6,7,5,4,2,3,8......:)
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To me getting on the 3 gives you a bigger margin for error. If you go for the two first you have the chance of getting on the bottom side and having to go across table and back. If you get on the top side of the table you may run into the six.
 
Some answers I agree with, some not so much. Unfortunately, only one person has stated why they chose their beginning.

Although this does look easy, I see lots of people mess up what should be a no-brainer. I guess, the point isn't to state your pattern but to state your logic. The key balls are pretty obvious. The 2/3 have to be last. How do you get to the 2/3?
 
that was another reason I chose the 5 and 4 first over the 6 and 7. I think I can be a bit more precise with my leave for the 3 coming from the 6 than I could coming from the 4. Getting from the 4 to the 7 might seem tricky for some, but it's the way I "saw" it, and that's what I'd go with.
 
If I'm tired or not shooting well, I might think about leaving the 5 and 4 last just to keep a lid on things because if I got out of shape somehow, I could always dump the cueball on the rail near the 5. The 5 blocks the pocket on the bank.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
Unfortunately, only one person has stated why they chose their beginning.
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Can I have partial credit at least? :o

Although this does look easy, I see lots of people mess up what should be a no-brainer. I guess, the point isn't to state your pattern but to state your logic. The key balls are pretty obvious. The 2/3 have to be last. How do you get to the 2/3?
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I like getting rid of the 6/7 first because they are in the middle of the table, so less rails nearby to help me out if I land a little funny on them.

I'll probably try to go 1 rail from the 4 to the 3/2, but if I get too straight I can go two rails with high inside to help get up table. If that happens, I might shoot the 2 before the 3. JMO. :)
 
Start with the 5. That way I'm working towards the 8, and have more options if an earthquake or something hit and I overran position.

5, 4, 7, 6, 3, 2, 8. I can center ball it the whole way.
 
Okay, I'm going to sleep but before I do, I'll tell you my thoughts:

I like Cuebacca's reason most and it's completely consistent with my thoughts. Whenever I get a chance to get rid of balls in the middle of the table, I take it. They simply serve no purpose and can only end up being a problem toward the end. I also really like the route presented with the 5-4-3-2. There are rails nearby and so long as I don't leave myself straight, I won't leave myself uncomfortable. Those rails are going to help make that happen.

One person suggested leaving the 5-ball last. I have a few problems with this. First, you're not giving yourself a good chance to get easy position on the 8. There's a lot of traveling to be done there. Also, you have to get yourself into run-out mode. None of these shots are terribly challenging so long as you keep control of the cueball. There's no reason to think defensively but even if you do, you make a point to do it. No two-way shots here. Either you play to run out or you play safe but don't do both. You'll only give your opponent something to work with and that's much more than what he deserves.

Working from left to right (or top to bottom) is not a bad idea. It ends up looking perfectly reasonable so long as you make one of the mid-table balls and get position to take out the other. Personally, I think this ends up requiring a little more work since you're taking one extra long shot and one funky position play but most here are definitely capable of pulling that off.

My reason for posting this is simple. It's a situation that you'll likely handle successfully 90% of the time going any way. I just think if you go Cuebacca's way, your chances for success are somewhat higher.
 
David Beck said:
Start with the 5. That way I'm working towards the 8, and have more options if an earthquake or something hit and I overran position.

5, 4, 7, 6, 3, 2, 8. I can center ball it the whole way.
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Problem with this route is that it's too easy to miss ideal position on the 7, and depending on your leave, you risk having to go back and forth between the 6 and the 2 or the 3. If you get on the right side with a slight angle, you'll be forced to play your key balls (2 and 3) too early, and it would probably be a long shot at that. If you feel more comfortable going from left to right, I think playing the 4 to 6 is the safer route. If you get on either side of the 6, you can set up for a shot on the 7 in a variety of ways.

I would go with 6,7,5,4,3,2,8 like Cuebacca.
 
6,7,5,4,3,2,8 is the smartest way to play the runout. You could maybe switch the 6 & 7 up but it's a must to take them first. Working from one side of the table to the other doesn't apply here.
 
Route

I would go with the 7, 6, 2, 5, 4, 3, and 8 ball. Why? Even though the balls are spread out some, a rule of thumb in Pool is you always start in the middle because it gives you more room for error on the remaining balls.

The reason you take the 2 ball after the 6 is because if it is left with the 3 until the last, you may have the wrong angle, possibly a backcut angle, and you end up with bad shape to shoot the 8. Getting the 2 out of the way after shooting the 6 (six allows you to get the proper angle for shape on the 2), which allows you to get a good angle on the 5, and shape is natural after making the 4 on the 3 to finish up the run.
 
Cuebacca said:
6, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, 8. :)
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This is my route as well. In general I might like to keep a ball somewhere in the middle of the table to make it easier to get back to the other side. However, in this case, the 4 ball offers super easy shape to the 3 and then 2.

Honestly, the hardest part of this runout is getting perfect on the 7, since you could conceivably over or under hit the 6. It's not hard, just what I see as the riskiest part, since a really bad angle on the 7 could send you back to the wrong side of the table (possibly too far for a controlled shot on the 5) or under the 5 or with a bad angle. If you have good shape on the 7 there's nothing but stop/stun shots all the way to the 8.
 
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