How good is your Defense???

[champ2107]

i spare for a friends 8 ball team, i actually play so often now i am not sure im a spare. lol we play on 9 footers and it seems most teams are at a master level and few A level. I got into two safety battles in the last two weeks. the first game must have taken almost 30 minutes to finish and we took about 15 shots each and i kept my last three balls around the 8 ball and knew i would get him eventually because he had no plan and i had control of the table and i new how i was going to finish him off using the 8 ball. I ended the game with 2 straight ball in hands using the 8 ball as a blocker. The guy is a good player and i expect to get run out if he breaks but he has no safety strategy or plan.

The second game was against a real strong player who finished second at the canadians 8 ball barbox in the A division a couple years ago. he runs 6 balls and now cant get on his 7th ball so he intentionally shoots the 8 ball up beside his last ball on the rail. Im sitting there with all my balls on the table and think "wow hes done" he cant beat me now with only one ball on the table and i have all mine, 7 shots later i win, which i new would happen, he even said to me you had the game won 5 shots ago some good players may know how to do a safety but do not know how to win a battle of safeties.

 

[Cuebuddy]

I have a sudden feeling my defense isn't good enough! Gonna have to brush up on Einstein Nine before you get here. I had read about it before but must have confused it with something else, this ain't what I remembered.

While I think I understand what the OP means, you can't beat a better player on defense. A better player will eat your lunch when you go defensive. A better shotmaker isn't always a better player though. I do strongly agree when you play a defensive shot, it needs to be a strong defensive shot. Planned safeties that you knew you were going to play for several shots are usually much stronger than safeties that you are forced to play because the leave from the last shot left you with no offensive shot.

Hu

I don't think you have much to worry about Hu. For the last three weeks I have been nursing a slump and near as I can figure I am about half way through it.

It would be fun to play a few games of E-9 when I get to town. Who knows maybe it will catch on down there.

As far as beating a better player.....I don't know if I buy in to that, I mean if you beat him then you are the better player. lol

 

[Banks]

Because you will need it to defeat a better player than you.

Do you look for safety patterns on each shot you take, or just when you don't have a shot? There are some D setups that I immediately recognize. I'll also take a look to see what the table's set for. If my runout is getting shaky, you'd better believe I'm looking for pit-stops.

Do you practice safeties? I didn't at first, until I started screwing them up when I needed to execute. Practicing them helps you understand the hits, the angles for best chance to hide, etc.

Can you freeze the cue ball against a ball when shooting a safety or not? Sometimes.

Can you shoot out of a safety, and safety your opponent back? Usually, or at least more often than not. If you get into safety battles, you had better learn how or else you'll have the tables turned real quick.

I bet I practice something that one in a thousand might practice, and that is double kiss safeties. I am talking about a ball being close to the rail, and hitting it and it coming back off the rail to hit the cue ball, and sending it to a safe spot. I started using this one after practicing the shot to kick at balls. A little draw to avoid that funny curve or stun and you're all set.

So discuss, and rate your defense, 1 being non-existent to 10 damn good.

7 or 8, maybe.

Nice post and good questions. Sometimes this is a huge gap in a player's game and can spell doom if somebody catches on..

 

[measureman]

One day I was playing defense so good on my table that the guy playing alone 3 tables away never got a shot.

 

[3RAILKICK]

I bet I practice something that one in a thousand might practice, and that is double kiss safeties. I am talking about a ball being close to the rail, and hitting it and it coming back off the rail to hit the cue ball, and sending it to a safe spot.


These are a lot of fun.

Sometimes, they are the perfect 'wacky shot' for the situation.

Especially, when they lay good for a two-way shot.

Another example of the collision/tangent line possibilities that we usually overlook, and when we see someone else shoot it (by miscueing?)-we might say-hmmm-that might be useful sometime-to somewhat predict both ball paths.

My safety play is about a 3. That needs to improve. But my tendency to shoot wacky shots is about a 9. That's why my safety play needs work.

To OP-good thread.

and re double kiss shots-1 in a thousand may overstate -unless you enjoy 1P




-huh Mike