How do you play this?

This is what I would do...

Play safe, push the 4 to the side rail hard enought to hit and try to leave the CB stuck on the 7.

However, I would use inside spin with a stop shot, slightly cutting the 4 hard enough to just come a little back off the side rail.

The inside will put reverse on the four and sharpen the angle a bit to hold the CB behind the seven.

Jaden
 
Play safe. Just shoot the 4 ball straight on and stop the cue ball right there but hard enough to make the 4 ball get to the third rail.

Pretty simple. By hitting it and stopping it all you have to worry about is the correct speed.
 
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Play safe. Shoot a stop shot on the 4 parking the cue ball right behind the 7.


This same exact safety is illustrated in my book Lessons in 9 Ball.

diagram_004.gif


In your shot, there really isn't a "dead" ball. Dead balls are balls that are wired into the heart of the pocket. They are lined up and easy to make. That is what makes them "dead". In your shot, there is too much involved in making that combo go. A lot can go wrong - especially when it involves letting go of the cue ball. For me, that space between the 4 and 7 is a deal breaker. The safe is on, and its the smart move.
 
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depends on how I am feeling but I would definantly not play the combo to the corner, here's what I would consider.

1. If i'm feeling very good and on a run I would bank the 4 ball into the side playing shape for the seven ball on the corner on "Top-left" (as you view the table here on the internet)

2. if i'm not feeling good, I would just play a solid safe stuck my opponent behind the 7 ball.

only these 2 options I think are the best for me.
 
Purhaps the balls were closer in person than on cuetable, but the a stop shot and hide on the 7 was not an option. The cueball might have been a slightly different angle as well, it's hard to exactly remember the exact placement, but it was very close to this.

To drive the 4 to the rail and not touch the 7, you could not hold the cueball. That was the first thing I wished I could do.

Saying they were dead, I didn't mean they were wired. Simply meaning if the 4 hits the 7 square the ball goes in.

I tried the shot after the match and nailed it. It wasn't that hard of a shot just clearly a lower percentage than a safe.
 
Maybe more like this.

CueTable Help



So the duck behind the 7 would have ended like this at best.

CueTable Help

 
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Maybe more like this.

CueTable Help



So the duck behind the 7 would have ended like this at best.

CueTable Help


Find it hard to believe nobody else wants to play this in.
It's dead, from about 2 feet away and not a thin cut.

I stink one-handed compared to Jesse Allred...
..but I would bust a room shooting that shot one-handed.

And you have two likely pockets for position after.

pt..<..who wore out several vehicles looking for worse gambles
 
In the first scenario the bank is the only shot for any self-respecting 9-baller. In the second, the combo.
 
Those balls are too far apart to be considered "dead".

Since you say the score is hill/hill...and I assume a very meaningful match like the US Open or something....The further apart the balls are....the more likely I am going to play safe.
 
Those balls are too far apart to be considered "dead".

Since you say the score is hill/hill...and I assume a very meaningful match like the US Open or something....The further apart the balls are....the more likely I am going to play safe.

ditto

......
 
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