Hill - Hill vs. the Ghost! How do you play it??

After looking at the table, I think even the top pros in the world will run out this table like 10-20% of the time without playing a combo on the nice. The bank-combo is quite obvious because the 9 is in a nice position near the rail. Also I like Aaron's suggestion on playing the 1-7 first and hoping to leave something to play 1-9 next, either a combo or a carom. Very tough layout though. Nice shot :)
 
Cameron Smith said:
The ghost is very much a breaking drill. From the looks of that layout you either had a bad rack or didn't hit them very well.

If 30% are unrunnable might I suggest you should put some time into the break?
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Good point, and we're kinda saying the same thing.

I hit the balls pretty good "for my level". I'm 24-25mph (yes on a radar gun) with good control. I can move the rock all along the headstring from rail to rail, with pretty good consistency, and actually have better control and power from the side rail.

I LOVE practicing on this table. It's got good, honest 4.5" pockets, and older, slower 860 on it. It's right near the door (in Florida) and stays humid and challenging. It's well worn in the rack area and TOUGH to get a tight rack on. I end up really leaning into the break to get things moving.

I put the hours in on that one and anything else feels like a vacation! I might find "a spot" and make 2-3 balls and cruise out for 4-5 racks then all the sudden she will clam up, "cross her legs" and I'll be facing full nine ball layouts with four ball clusters by a side pocket or multiples bunched up along the rails.

The upside is, with the "run out or die" situations you face vs. the ghost, it has forced me into making some outs I never would have thought I was capable of, on layouts that look more like 10-ball or full rack rotation than a crushed, six balls left, nothing touching 9-ball pattern.

I STRUGGLE to steal a tight set from the ghost on this one. I move over to an "easy breaker with buckets" and can cruise. By the time I am CONSISTENTLY beating the ghost on this one, I'll feel pretty solid claiming it.

But yes, I also see it as a "breaking drill" and will continue to work on it.
 
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GMAC said:
Me too. I guess I have be doing wrong my whole life. I always thought if you made a combo on the 9 you still had to complete the rack.
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I looked it up the widely accepted ghost rules on Winkipedia:

"Listen, if you're looking for a clue here, it's obvious you suck in pool anyway, so it really doesn't matter. Make the nine, by hook or by crook, and rack 'em."
 
dirtypool40 said:
http://CueTable.com/P/?@4AJBX2BHpj3CbEd4DRxF2EGCW3FMkr4GOhR4HTWa4Iakn1PXFV@


Came up last night. I broke, hill-hill and had this layout. I am telling you, this table break tougher than any I've ever played on. Seems like 30%+ of the racks are "UN-runnable".

I am no world beater, and this is as TOUGH an out as I have ever faced (and survived).

Before somebody posts, The 7 does not go cleanly to the 9, neither does the 8.


Ball in hand. Win from here or die.

What do you do?





Post your solutions, then I'll give up mine. I hope it's not obvious. I felt pretty sporty with what I came up with.
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With ball in hand, play the 1-9 bank combo. If it was a match as opposed to playing the ghost, follow the cue ball so that if you miss you leave your opponent safe, using the 4,7,8 as blockers and/or put lots of distance between the 1 and cue ball. It's almost impossible to run out if you're playing the ghost and not allowed to go for the cheese unless you get real lucky and break out the 2-5 and get a perfect angle on the 2 to play short side position on the 3. If that happens, you're got a fairly good chance to run out.
 
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dirtypool40 said:
Good point, and we're kinda saying the same thing.

I hit the balls pretty good "for my level". I'm 24-25mph (yes on a radar gun) with good control. I can move the rock all along the headstring from rail to rail, with pretty good consistency, and actually have better control and power from the side rail.

I LOVE practicing on this table. It's got good, honest 4.5" pockets, and older, slower 860 on it. It's right near the door (in Florida) and stays humid and challenging. It's well worn in the rack area and TOUGH to get a tight rack on. I end up really leaning into the break to get things moving.

I put the hours in on that one and anything else feels like a vacation! I might find "a spot" and make 2-3 balls and cruise out for 4-5 racks then all the sudden she will clam up, "cross her legs" and I'll be facing full nine ball layouts with four ball clusters by a side pocket or multiples bunched up along the rails.

The upside is, with the "run out or die" situations you face vs. the ghost, it has forced me into making some outs I never would have thought I was capable of, on layouts that look more like 10-ball or full rack rotation than a crushed, six balls left, nothing touching 9-ball pattern.

I STRUGGLE to steal a tight set from the ghost on this one. I move over to an "easy breaker with buckets" and can cruise. By the time I am CONSISTENTLY beating the ghost on this one, I'll feel pretty solid claiming it.

But yes, I also see it as a "breaking drill" and will continue to work on it.
Click to expand...

I know it's only one rack and one layout, so take this for what it's worth - an observation of that one rack.

I know you said you had to lay into the break to get things moving. Have you experimented with a cut break? If you can clip that 1 ball and get the cue ball into the 2nd ball, things often open up better. I play pretty regularly on a table where a tight rack is the rare exception, and that break has worked pretty well for me. You don't have to hit 'em as hard, and the balls tend to spread better with slug racks.
 
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