Because call shot call safe 10 ball is boring as hell to watch, and play. That’s the whole reason MR is promoting luck 9 ball, the way it’s always been and always should be.
"Hit the pro side of the pocket" myth.
- Thread starter thenaturalpoolplayer
- Start date
And also coz I kick lots of balls in and can only call the pocket after they go in.
Lol
Did you coin the term "pro side"? Lol. That's my point, that NO ONE knows what it means except maybe the person who coined it.
Everyone has their own opinion or meaning. But I do think your definition of it, playing the ball to the side that will leave it safe if missed, is the most common opinion.
I think we just differ on the intention of aiming a shot like that. I believe the intention is to give you the best chance of making the ball. If the shot is accidentally overcut or undercut, and it misses the pocket and leaves the opponent tough, people say..."He missed it on the pro side".
And that only makes sense if the "pro side" is (as Max Eberly explains) the side or portion of the pocket that gives the player the best chance of pocketing the ball. Where the ball goes after missing the pocket is an added bonus for being able to at least target a specific portion of pocket opening.
In other words, a ball can miss to the left or right of the intended aim/target. If the player is aiming for the most accessible portion of the pocket and misses, it's better to miss outside of the intended aim rather than inside. When we miss outside of the intended portion of the pocket we're aiming for, the ball doesn't generally hang up and stay in the pocket.
Nevertheless, the intention was to hit the pro side of the pocket in order to pocket the ball, not in order to leave the ball tough in case we miss it. That part of the shot just comes with the territory, with the skill of being able to aim the ball into a certain portion or side of the pocket that gives the best magin for error. Most amateur players don't have the skills to aim that accurately, which explains why it's called the pro side of the pocket.
WobblyStroke
Well-known member
I think the 'pro side' is the side most pros will miss on due to playing higher percentage shots. Just like pros in golf prefer to miss putts on the high side because a mishit in that direction can still have some good things happen for them in terms of side-dooring the putt as well as the second putt it leaves after a miss. Missing low, you are dead. In pool, pros will favor a side of the pocket to make the ball in knowing that their standard miss size will either result in a make to the wrong side of the pocket or a miss on the side that leaves their opponent safe. If they just aimed up dead middle, they could miss either side of the pocket, one of those sides leading to a sell out.
One interesting caveat to this 'pro side' talk came up with a student of mine the other day playing 8 ball. He missed a ball and said, 'well at least I missed it on the pro side'. He was surprised when I told him the proside on that shot was to miss fat not thin bc while in rotation games, you want to leave your opponent shooting the same ball in a bad spot, in 8ball, you don't mind a miss hanging up over a hole. There are obv also CB pos considerations for what you leave your opponent, but strictly looking at OB only, the overcut just leaves you a tougher shot later and the thicker hit would leave you in a preferable position on your next inning.
So in summary, imo, the pro side of a pocket is the side you hit at that makes a more favorable miss more likely. Sometimes there is a tradeoff and you actually lower your overall make percentage on the pot, but the upside is that you lower your sell out percentage when you miss so the slightly more difficult pot is the overall percentage play that maximizes win probability for the rack.
I'm thinking that the pro side of a pocket is a specific portion of the pocket where the ob has the best chance to go in as cleanly as possible.
So hitting a ball on the "pro side" is simply aiming for that portion of the pocket, not purposely aiming thin or thick in case you miss.
The result/aftermath of missing a shot when aiming for the pro side just happens to be more favorable than if you had aimed to hit just anywhere in the pocket. The saying should be, "Well, at least he barely missed the pro side of the pocket on the good side."
So hitting a ball on the "pro side" is simply aiming for that portion of the pocket, not purposely aiming thin or thick in case you miss.
The result/aftermath of missing a shot when aiming for the pro side just happens to be more favorable than if you had aimed to hit just anywhere in the pocket. The saying should be, "Well, at least he barely missed the pro side of the pocket on the good side."
kanzzo
hobby player
Pool should be as simple as possible. The less talk, the better. Leavin tough after miss is a huge part of banks (frozen to short rail), 8-Ball, One Pocket (and 9-Ball / 10-Ball). So perhaps it's just a part of pool?
What's a safe anyway? An easy jump I pocket 9 out of 10 anyway? Easy kick to leave distance. Or jast balls separated by 8 feet with CB frozen to the short rail?
Defining safe would be in the eye of the beholder. Giving table back whenever you don't feel like shooting sounds boring and cowardly as hell.
Just man up, practice your kicks and jumpshots and if your opponent misses, just jump-kick-carom it in and run it out.
After over 20 years of pool never had a problem with my opponent not running out on me (but leaving me some easy kick).
(edit: I mean I am always happy to get a chance to turn the game around. I don't kick like Efren and I lose my share of games out of a safe but I am always happy to get a chance at the table and test my skills. And I absolutely love the fact, that all the good games don't need talking. I can spend five hours playing without a word or some rules dispute. As long as I pocket balls I stay at the table. When I miss, you can shoot.
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I just watched the final match of the last Mosconi Cup (SVB/Filler). One of the commentators remarked that one of the players missed "on the pro side" and then he explained what he meant.
xX-Wizard-Xx
Well-known member
I think the pro side is an idea..
xX-Wizard-Xx
Well-known member
in this bad illustration the idea is to aim to make the ball on the right side of that pocket ...... this gives you a margin of compensation for the left side of the pocket. if you miss and not cut the ball enough you hit the bottom rail and the ball bounces for difficult shot for the opponent. it gives him a bank instead of shot into the same corner
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xX-Wizard-Xx
Well-known member
xX-Wizard-Xx
Well-known member
cutting the ball to much to the left wouldnt be ideal. if you cut to much you could leave a good shot in the corner
xX-Wizard-Xx
Well-known member
basically proside is an idea that if you miss the shot the balls roll and end up in a least advantageous way ... though not all shot will give you the option
Understood. Used to play on Murreys which probably started the trend. At the time I still preferred snooker pockets. My favorite pool tables were at a place called the Palace. They had two Brunswicks or similar with ridiculously tight pockets but that era was all about marksmanship for me. I only made it out there three or four times and all the big time stuff was gone - what an opportunity. Anyway no way I had the ability then to hit the funnels on those tables or even dare trying. But all pool tables and even the tv snooker tables have some degree of funnel. And, on fresh tourney conditions these diamonds play as loose as the old bowling alley Brunswicks.
To me, "the pro side" innabout hitting the hole. I still put the ball through the aperture.
The "pro side" is about the leave. You funnel the ball. If it rattles, good chance it ends up out of play on the end rail. Or long cuts to the corner get hit thin so they bank out of play to the bottom rail.
It's this iffiness I'm arguing against. They parade the current hyperplayers as the state of the art but only a handful can mange consistent winning AND they struggle at it. Pool method still has a ways to go.
That's why one or the other and by shooter designation.
I like wild everything. I play 10 ball in the 9 ball tradition as well. I have no use for stifling requirements.
I'm not the guy on TV trying to sell pool. Two ways, aren't lucky. They are deliberate safeties.
Yup there's always language for arguing. Legal profession depends on it.
Ya know it's funny... I've been following this thread since the beginning. While I'm definitely not going to argue everyone else's opinion. My take on "pro side" is different. Probably because I only ever see the term used when discussing a developing player's efforts on the table.
Keeping that in mind. "Pro side" lingo is only ever applied to attempted thin cuts. ...and is only used to describe an overcut. For me "pro side" represents aggression on thinning a ball. Usually developing players hit everything thick because they are intimated by potential of missing the ball entirely. When I see a developing player thin a ball beyond how thin they already need to hit it. I equate that to confident aggression which is a professional trait.
I know my take on it is convoluted, and the prior descriptions are fair better and make way more sense. Just thought I'd toss in my take on it. "Pro side" to me is about potting aggression, not the leave.
Keeping that in mind. "Pro side" lingo is only ever applied to attempted thin cuts. ...and is only used to describe an overcut. For me "pro side" represents aggression on thinning a ball. Usually developing players hit everything thick because they are intimated by potential of missing the ball entirely. When I see a developing player thin a ball beyond how thin they already need to hit it. I equate that to confident aggression which is a professional trait.
I know my take on it is convoluted, and the prior descriptions are fair better and make way more sense. Just thought I'd toss in my take on it. "Pro side" to me is about potting aggression, not the leave.
