How do you play this common shot?

Jude Rosenstock said:
Trying to cut it from that distance might be the absolute worst thing to try and do. Yes, it's definitely a makeable shot but in order to feather a ball like that, you have to be willing to miss it entirely.

Not if you shoot it with inside. :eek: :)
 
2rgrbn said:
I'll cut that un-cuttable ball in 7 out of 10 all day. I mentioned that situation dictates and a decision here should be based off of ones playing style and / or strengths. In my style of play I love a cut, however I am not a strong bank shot guy. So I would cut it unless I felt that my opponent thought a cut like this was impossible which it is NOT then I may play safe in an effort to leave him a cut shot that he viewed as un makable
Wow! That's wild! If you can cue the ball accurately enough to cut that in 7/10 tries I think the bank is a hanger for you. There's far more margin for error in the bank.
 
I agree that the distance between the the cue and the object ball adds to the difficulty. At this point we have 2 players that would attempt the cut and 2 that would take another route. Based on this the cut is a reasonable option. It may not be an option for everyone, again I have not once said that a bank or a safe play was a bad option. In this example the balls being 1/2 inch in either direction of where they are now could make a huge difference in cutting or not cutting the ball. As I have said from the beginning situation and personal strengths In My Opinion should dictate ones approach to this shot. I mentioned that there are any amount of safety plays and there are, In this case I don't think that there is a text book safety play. If you choose to play safe then it would be on a case by case basis depending on what you view as your opponents strengths. I am not denying that there are reasonable arguments against the cut there are it is a risk that you may miss the ball completely and that would be a loss. Again I offered an option and it is not an unreasonable or ridiculous option.
 
If a guy says he feels he has to cut it in then I believe him. There was a time that I couldn't make a bank to save my life but could cut this in all day long.

Now of course my percentages on both are about equal. They just aren't as good as when I only went for the cut.
 
Surprising

Considering that most of the comments in this thread are from "the usual suspects", I'm surprised that none realized that the safety shown in post #21 is definitely not a 1/2-ball cut.

Actually, a 1/2-ball hit (with the right speed) is a good way to bank the ball.
I refer you to "Banking With the Beard", page 113!

And since this discussion is supposedly for a "common shot", it follows that you should have been practicing it, especially on your home table.

IMHO, that is.

Ed
 
philw said:
Wow! That's wild! If you can cue the ball accurately enough to cut that in 7/10 tries I think the bank is a hanger for you. There's far more margin for error in the bank.
I am not trying to show out as a world beater I don't bank balls well I do cut balls very well. I would also guess that if any of the reasonably strong players on this sight took a solid one hour practice session cutting this shot in, they would cut it in at a high percentage. I never said the bank was a bad option I have repeatedly said there are many approaches to this shot and one's personal strengths / style of play and situation should dictate the approach. What is the problem with that.
 
2rgrbn said:
I am not trying to show out as a world beater I don't bank balls well I do cut balls very well. I would also guess that if any of the reasonably strong players on this sight took a solid one hour practice session cutting this shot in, they would cut it in at a high percentage. I never said the bank was a bad option I have repeatedly said there are many approaches to this shot and one's personal strengths / style of play and situation should dictate the approach. What is the problem with that.


Im just wondering about the context of this discussion. Are you talking a 9ft table with 4.5 inch pockets or a bar table?
 
I agree with Hu.

The safe is probably harder then the shot.

CueTable Help



I do practice getting safe on the 9 from that possition but all things considered it is probably better to bank it in.
 
all though i have cut this shot in numerous times, when the money is on the line i try to bank it in the side with the speed to leave it on the short rail if i miss leaving the cue ball up near the pro's break spot btw you can't cut that shot in with a low deflection shaft
 
I'd try to bank it in. I know some ppl said that would try to cut it in and I am cut-in type person, but I would still go for the bank as it was the easier shot. Granted I would shoot it harder than needed because for one I'm not all that great at banks and two I wouldn't wanna leave it jarred in the pocket.
 
If I was really on with my angles that day I would actually hit that ball head on and want the double kiss. I am a very slow stroke player and if I felt that I could leave the CB/9 in basically the same spot as where the 9 originally was I would go for it.

*Edit* scratch that
After typing it I thought about how stupid that move would be. It could possibly leave the 9 on either side of the CB making an easy shot on the 9. I would have to hit it perfect. I would only do this if I was so far in the zone that I didn't even think about it which would make it a non-issue.
 
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Neil said:
No one is saying it is an easy cut. Far from it. You could make easy money betting pros on that shot not making it 1 out of three. ..
70% sounds pretty easy...
33% is far far away...
 
poolstar31 said:
Im just wondering about the context of this discussion. Are you talking a 9ft table with 4.5 inch pockets or a bar table?
I played this shot last night for about 1.5 hours on a bar box and about 2 hours on a 9ft. On the bar box I no real problem cutting or banking the ball. On the 9' with the balls dead in line the cut went 3-4 out of ten with a complete miss of the object ball 2 out of 10 average, with the cue ball moved to the left 1". The cut was considerably easier 6-7 out of 10 on the cut and still 2 out of 10 complete miss of the ball. The bank for me was the highest % I started out 50/50 and was making it 8-9 out of 10 after I found the groove. In the end the best play I came up with was the thought process shown in the diagram below I had varying results all similar to what is shown but in most cases even when I failed to hold the cue ball as shown in the diagram a difficult shot was left for my opponent.

CueTable Help

 
2rgrbn said:
I played this shot last night for about 1.5 hours...The bank for me was the highest % I started out 50/50 and was making it 8-9 out of 10 after I found the groove. ...

This is why it is the proper shot choice! Kudos for putting in the table time on it...+1 for 2 sized tables:eek: .

And the safe you WEI'd...a good shot, but I don't think it can be done from there- you need more angle to roll the CB off the OB that way, and you need more speed on the OB if you are impacting without roll on the CB...

I'm just sayin!
 
Black-Balled said:
This is why it is the proper shot choice! Kudos for putting in the table time on it...+1 for 2 sized tables:eek: .

And the safe you WEI'd...a good shot, but I don't think it can be done from there- you need more angle to roll the CB off the OB that way, and you need more speed on the OB if you are impacting without roll on the CB...

I'm just sayin!
The tables I played were at Hard Times (relatively fast) holding the cue on the end of the table was critical to the safe being a good play when this safe failed to end in a reasonable play was in cases that did not throw the nine enough for it to get the second to rail with enough angle to not leave a shot at the corner. Even in cases where the execution was off it left the opponent with a similar shot to the one that I started with. My final call after spending the night working on it would be to practice the bank until you are comfortable with shooting it and play the speed to possibly end up with the diagram below if you miss. This is not the only play and it may not be the best but it is what I would do. The last diagram is the safe I would play and this diagram is the shot with insurance that I would if I was going for it.

CueTable Help

This shows the ball missing the actual idea is to make the ball with tthis being the result (hopefully) if you miss.
 
2rgrbn said:
...The last diagram is the safe I would play and this diagram is the shot with insurance that I would if I was going for it. ...This shows the ball missing the actual idea is to make the ball with tthis being the result (hopefully) if you miss.

If I gotta miss, then this is what I am hoping for too. Posted earlier c/o dabarbr...
 
Black-Balled said:
"In" being of extreme importance, BULL $HIT. You may choose that 7/10 times, but to make it? BS.

70% Laughable...

i argee,,, none can make that shot 7/10. from that distance you need a very clean table and hope to hell the ball doesnt skid!
 
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