Hitting The Target

[Blackjack]

this diagram is what i am talking about. its not easy to draw the ball off the rail for position on the 2-Ball at either Point A or Point B. using the 7, 8, and 9 as blockers i practiced this over and over tonight, aiming first for Point A and then Point B on the next shot. i used a piece of paper cut a little bigger than the shape of a regular ball as my targets on the table at Points A and B.

hardly ever did i park the cue ball right on the target paper, and sometimes i missed by quite a ways. but..........making practice difficult on you seems like the best way to improve.

DCP

CueTable Help

Once again, the center of the table rule applies here also. I would NEVER get to position B as illustrated in your diagram. From there I would be shooting away from getting manageable position on the 7 Ball. Notice the direction of the cue ball after you shoot the 2 ball. If you try to get position on the 7 in the side, you open up the possibility of coming short or long - and you will end up with a bank on the 7, or you will have to pull off aome wild-ass shot that may or may not get you a shot on the 8 ball.

CueTable Help

However, if you find a general area in the center of the table, you will get on the 2 balls with an angle that affords you an opportunity to get on the 7 ball - as illustrated below....

CueTable Help

In this situation, you have several options when shooting the 2 and getting on the 7 (instead of limiting yourself to one option). From here we can play position on the 7 for 5 out of the 6 pockets. Notice that I did not come as far up table as you did in your diagram. When you learn to see these patterns, you will start to see your runout percentages increase. Also remember that the route that I show in this diagram (going from the 1 to the 2) is optional - as long as you get in the general target position area, you will be successful. Remember... its about getting the proper angles and you MUST be proficient at reading the rack properly - then you must execute the shots.

 

[DrCue'sProtege]

well, it just seems like people misunderstand what i am trying to do. i am not worried about running out the 7, 8, and 9 balls. i am just practicing here, nothing more, nothing less. all i am simply doing is practicing getting position in case these shot(s) would ever occur.

never said it was the way to run the rack in case this layout ever occurred. i am simply practicing this shot, trying to make it very hard on myself to land the cue ball right on Point A and Point B.

i never shot the 7, 8, and 9. i just kept shooting the diagrammed shot, working for position at either Point A or Point B.

Blackjack,
that shot you diagrammed is pretty difficult too. either way, getting good position on the 2-Ball in this diagram is very hard.

DCP

 

[olauzon]

the high right as Blacjack shows is not easy, but brilliant - thank you for showing that.

DCP, i'm sure others have asked or noted; but maybe your shaft tip shape hardness diameter as a whole promotes little action. your problem with long draws made me think of this long ago.. prolly wrong but thought i'd throw it out there.

 

[Blackjack]

well, it just seems like people misunderstand what i am trying to do. i am not worried about running out the 7, 8, and 9 balls. i am just practicing here, nothing more, nothing less. all i am simply doing is practicing getting position in case these shot(s) would ever occur.

never said it was the way to run the rack in case this layout ever occurred. i am simply practicing this shot, trying to make it very hard on myself to land the cue ball right on Point A and Point B.

i never shot the 7, 8, and 9. i just kept shooting the diagrammed shot, working for position at either Point A or Point B.

Blackjack,
that shot you diagrammed is pretty difficult too. either way, getting good position on the 2-Ball in this diagram is very hard.

DCP

DCP,

It doesn't matter if you intended to shoot the 7,8, or 9. The balls are set up in a pattern and you must follow the logical pattern that takes you from the 1 to the 9.

You will play the same way that you practice. I would have never taken either of the routes that you showed or attained the position you illustrated in your example of "hitting the target". The pattern makes no sense - and in both cue ball positions there is trouble waiting for you down the line - if you don't get back in line. Decisions you make on the 1ball must eventually lead you through the rack and ultimately get you on the 9 ball.

FWIW, I think that instead of seeing the runout, your mind is trapped into merely just seeing the shot. You need to train your mind to see both or you will continue to get the results you are getting now. If you are practicing 9 ball and you set 5 balls on the table, plan your routes to run all 5 balls, not just one or two. It's one thing to "get on the ball" - but - "getting correct" on the ball is a completely different animal. There is a big difference. It is errors in thinking, position, and pattern play that ultimately separate the champions from the contenders.

Champions practice to be champions, and contenders practice to be champions. What makes the difference? You said that my shot on the 1 ball was too difficult... well, listen up... if you are contender you will say that - if you are champion it won't matter. Think on that one for a while.

 

[third_i]

I don't use an object like a card or anything but I use the diamonds to mark where I want the BC to stop. If you can consistently stop the cb in one of the "diamond squares" you're pretty damn good.

We also used to play a game where to make the 9-ball or 8-ball(to win the game) you have to call both the OB and CB's pockets and you have to make the OB and scratch. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's really difficult. I actually credit that game as being the reason why I don't scratch very often.

 

[PoolSharkAllen]

CueTable Help

Ignoring the basic positioning principle of staying in the center is vital. Getting too cue or too perfect will cause you get out of line, or too straight and that will snowball into a problem as you struggle through the rest of the rack.

Blackjack,

The problem that I have is that I can visualize the pattern that I want to play but I oftentimes don't execute the pattern according to plan.

Yesterday, for example, I set up this diagram (from memory) at the local pool hall that I play at. After pocketing the 1, I came up short on the ideal position for the 2. Instead of the intended stop shot on the 2, I now have to play the 2 in the side and let the cue ball roll down the table and back for the 3. Depending upon where the CB ends up for the 3, I now need to make a "heroic" shot to get decent position on the 4. Ditto for playing out the rest of the rack.

I then set up the same layout a few more times and each time, somewhere along the way, I find myself getting out of line on the intended pattern and having to make a series of heroic shots to get back in line, if at all.

As I look at the various pages 3-9 of your diagrams, it doesn't take much of a CB position error to throw the intended pattern off.

 

[Rod]

As I look at the various pages 3-9 of your diagrams, it doesn't take much of a CB position error to throw the intended pattern off.

Sometimes a small error spells disaster, it always has and always will. The point BJ was trying to make if you're near center table running this particular rack is much easier.

When you get out of line then it can take even more finesse to get back in line. Many times the only way is using various combinations of english and with better speed control. The object is still getting around center table area.

Good players will leave wider angles and try be on the correct side of the next shot but that is still around center table for this layout.

This game isn't easy, you need to land in a zone and should be on the correct side for position on the next shot. Play position three balls in advance. If you do that, running balls becomes much easier.

Rod