giving up big spot in one pocket

G

Gmanpoke

Banned
Played a guy last night giving 10 to 5. I played so tight. put him on the back rail, moved balls up table. Just tried to pick up a ball here or a ball there. I really didn't even want to temp him with a sell out tough shot, because if he makes it, I could be way behind. Game took about an hour and 15 minutes.

How do you typically play when giving up a big spot and the other guy only has a small number to go to?

Steven
 
I can't speak to how you're SUPPOSED to do it. But I usually play pretty tight, try to minimize errors as much as possible. I've given people 90 ball head starts in 14.1 and I generally just focus on playing mistake free. I don't risk too much because I could easily lose in one inning if they get going. So I'm often happy enough to run 10-20 balls at a time and play safe. But that speaks more to my pattern play than anything, I'm still working on that.
 
Gmanpoke said:
Played a guy last night giving 10 to 5. I played so tight. put him on the back rail, moved balls up table. Just tried to pick up a ball here or a ball there. I really didn't even want to temp him with a sell out tough shot, because if he makes it, I could be way behind. Game took about an hour and 15 minutes.

How do you typically play when giving up a big spot and the other guy only has a small number to go to?

Steven
Click to expand...

You should play that way all the time. Sounds like you have a little game in ya. :)
 
Gmanpoke said:
Played a guy last night giving 10 to 5. I played so tight. put him on the back rail, moved balls up table. Just tried to pick up a ball here or a ball there. I really didn't even want to temp him with a sell out tough shot, because if he makes it, I could be way behind. Game took about an hour and 15 minutes.

How do you typically play when giving up a big spot and the other guy only has a small number to go to?

Steven
Click to expand...

If you are giving up a big spot it means you can out play him offensively. In other words when he makes a mistake it will cost him other wise you could not give such a big spot. The problem with how you played is you took away your ability to run balls with them all up table. You can't trade balls with him you need to run out and that can only be done with balls in play. Top one pocket players give big spots because they run balls, that and only that. Bumping balls up table benefits the guy getting the spot. Another thing happens also, When you run balls once you overcome the spot and the game is essentially even it is usually over, the guy just gives up. To re make my point, you can't be trying to get 10 balls one at a time. There are no guarantees any time you make a game but play more aggressively and I can assure you, if the game favors you you will win. Play timid and anything can happen. The only reason you are giving the spot it because of your abilities, use them.
 
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Well put

macguy said:
If you are giving up a big spot it means you can out play him offensively. In other words when he makes a mistake it will cost him other wise you could not give such a big spot. The problem with how you played is you took away your ability to run balls with them all up table. You can't trade balls with him you need to run out and that can only be done with balls in play. Top one pocket players give big spots because they run balls, that and only that. Bumping balls up table benefits the guy getting the spot. Another thing happens also, When you run balls once you overcome the spot and the game is essentially even it is usually over, the guy just gives up.
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I believe this to be the perfect answer, so I'll just leave it at that.
 
macguy said:
If you are giving up a big spot it means you can out play him offensively. In other words when he makes a mistake it will cost him other wise you could not give such a big spot. The problem with how you played is you took away your ability to run balls with them all up table. You can't trade balls with him you need to run out and that can only be done with balls in play. Top one pocket players give big spots because they run balls, that and only that. Bumping balls up table benefits the guy getting the spot. Another thing happens also, When you run balls once you overcome the spot and the game is essentially even it is usually over, the guy just gives up.
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying and it makes sense. I guess the way I looked at it, and maybe I'm wrong, I felt I could out move him too. And, I thought there was less risk with me out moving him than out shooting him. With the small number he had to go to, I wanted to out move him first then out shoot him. If I was giving up a big spot and he had to go to a bigger number say like 13 to 8, I would want to go offensive try to out shoot him first.

Thanks for your reply.

Steven
 
TX Poolnut said:
You should play that way all the time. Sounds like you have a little game in ya. :)
Click to expand...

I really don't have much of a game, but I play very chance I get and trying to get better.

I played Chip Compton last week. Chip gave me 10 to 4. We played 12 games and I finished down 4 games. I won the last 2 games and he quite me (nit). Just kidding. Chip is a nice young man and I appreciate his willingness to help me. Joey Gray was sweating the action and both Chip and Joey were coaching me.

Steven
 
thrown out he playbook!

I've spotted people as much as 14-1 in onepocket and a method I like to use is putting them in a spot where they have to take an intentional foul or the chance of them fouling is high. Examples are passing up makeable shots in the beginning to freeze them to the rack as many times as it takes to get them to commit a foul or hooking them behind the pocket corner. Running 6 or 7 your first inning doesn't help much if the spot is that high. I might pass up a straight in shot 20 times in a row to get them to foul a few times, then when the match is 14-4 I start running balls.

I use a similar technique in 9ball and 14.1. In nineball when I have to spot someone 7 in a race to 9 or a ball spot my goal is to make 100% of my shots so in handicap tournaments when they only have to win two games I play safes on shots that I would never pass up in a regular match up. I am playing so many safes that I'd say almost every third shot is a safe. When I employed this new technique in our local monthly tournaments all the good players laughed at me and tried to convince me that it would never work. They tried to convince me that I was giving lesser players too many chances to get lucky.

It was amazing to realize that everyone had a stubborn belief in the power of aggression and going for the shot. Even after I had won 9 months in a row they still didn't think it would work and I was just getting lucky. The same thing happened in our straight pool league. I was spotting people 90 in a 125 match and instead of taking a risk and going for big runs like I would in a more even match up I was winning match after match running 14's and playing safe a crazy amount of the time. I was taking numerous intentional fouls and leaving players long sell out shots.

Think about your beliefs on game strategy and question whether they really work for the unique handicap situation your in. Try a new method that would work only for that match, you might be surprised that just because a technique doesn't work in normal play doesn't mean that it wont be the perfect key to locking up the win with a crazy handicap.
 
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