Interesting Ball in Hand Layout - What Would you Do Here?

[GG11]

Interesting layout that happened last night in league.... what would you do here.... I'll post what Tony did after a few responses..

You have Ball in Hand....what's your strategy? The Four Ball is Frozen and so not cuttable in the side pocket.

CueTable Help

 

[Black-Balled]

Shoot the 4 to bottom L) pocket and follow for 6. Anywhere but straight is is workable, but I prefer tthe angle to go to bottom rail.

 

[CreeDo]

You plant the cue ball in the jaws of the side pocket, giving yourself an outside angle on the 4 to make it easier to get on the 6.

 

[sfleinen]

GG:

Is that 4-ball frozen right on the "horn" of the side pocket (e.g. more on the table side than the pocket side)?

If so, would a hard center-ball stun shot (aimed directly into the center of the side pocket) "bend" the horn of the side pocket out of the way and pocket the 4-ball into that pocket? Maybe with top applied to bounce off the rail and fish-hook down table for the 6-ball?

If the 4-ball is located too far from the horn of the pocket to do this, then I'm thinking what Black-Balled suggests -- try to pocket that 4-ball down the rail (past the side pocket -- yikes!) into the bottom-left corner ("bottom-left" as viewed on the cuetable diagram) and follow down for the 6-ball.

Dying to know what Tony did...
-Sean

Interesting layout that happened last night in league.... what would you do here.... I'll post what Tony did after a few responses..

You have Ball in Hand....what's your strategy? The Four Ball is Frozen and so not cuttable in the side pocket.

CueTable Help

 

[Cornerman]

I would play safe. Ha!!!

Actually, I'd tell my opponent that unbeknownst to him, when the clock hits 9PM, the game changes to 8-ball. Them's the house rules. And look at the time! 9:01PM. And I have stripes. How fortunate.

Fred <~~~ wouldn't even dream of playing safe

 

[GG11]

GG:

Is that 4-ball frozen right on the "horn" of the side pocket (e.g. more on the table side than the pocket side)?

Dying to know what Tony did...
-Sean

LOL -- The four is more table side than pocket side...If it were more pocket side, TR showed me a shot once that had him hit the 4-ball almost head on into the rail and the cue double-kissed the 4 ball in the side pocket. He may have tried that if it were available...but the 4 is a hair below the point of the side pocket....and frozen.

 

[cookie man]

Dead bank, cue on the spot, low right, drill 4 ball cross corner.

 

[cleary]

this is a fun shot. Just touch the 4 and freeze the cueball on the inside of the pocket. Very touchy shot, but if it works, it would be a hard kick with that 8 in the way.

CueTable Help

If the side pocket isnt uneven, high inside should shoot the ball in the pocket and get good shape on the 6.

CueTable Help

if your lucky, draw off the point

CueTable Help

 

[Samiel]

cleary's safety is fun shot to do against someone who doesn't kick too well. Otherwise I believe it's a fairly straight-forward run-out since the 4-ball will go into either pockets.

 

[mia]

You plant the cue ball in the jaws of the side pocket, giving yourself an outside angle on the 4 to make it easier to get on the 6.

What he said.
Playing the safe ain't a bad idea, but giving how soft you have to hit it to freeze the CB to the point, its too risky. Cause the object ball will move off the rail, but just enough to make ANY see on it an easier sdhot for your opponent.

Of course, knowing the level Tony plays at, I'm sure this isn't too difficult for him.

Still, I'd play the cueball in the jaws and draw.

 

[cleary]

cleary's safety is fun shot to do against someone who doesn't kick too well. Otherwise I believe it's a fairly straight-forward run-out since the 4-ball will go into either pockets.

How would you go about kicking at the 4? With a frozen cueball, I dont see an easy hit on the 4.

I mean, the safety is a low percentage out, but the goal would be to move the 4 off the rail slightly to make pocketing/position easier.

 

[Ponytail]

You plant the cue ball in the jaws of the side pocket, giving yourself an outside angle on the 4 to make it easier to get on the 6.

BINGO!!! We have a winnar!

Doing the same thing.

 

[GG11]

We have a winner!!

Mr. Cleary!!

LOL -- Tony simply nudged the 4-ball to the second diamond and "titty-hooked" poor Trevor. Trevor tried one rail kick and left Tony the open table.

I'm not saying it's the right or wrong shot, I'm definitely NOT the person qualified to answer, just relaying an interesting shot. Even Danny Barouti said, "I've never seen that shot before!" LOL

And there's your fun Friday Shot of the Week!

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

We have a winner!!

Mr. Cleary!!

LOL -- Tony simply nudged the 4-ball to the second diamond and "titty-hooked" poor Trevor. Trevor tried one rail kick and left Tony the open table.

I'm not saying it's the right or wrong shot, I'm definitely NOT the person qualified to answer, just relaying an interesting shot. Even Danny Barouti said, "I've never seen that shot before!" LOL

And there's your fun Friday Shot of the Week!

This is a funny situation. If the 4ball were actually "frozen" to the rail, I'm not sure I'd play the safety since I have to make sure the cueball touches the rail or it's a foul. If the 4ball is near frozen (which is what I think you meant), the safety is much easier.

Placing the cueball on the lip of the side to create that outside angle works great and I've done that a bunch of times. The only thing is, Tony has to get the cueball to travel a little more than what one might be comfortable with in such a situation. With such an easy safety available, why bother taking the risk?

 

[mamono]

this is a fun shot. Just touch the 4 and freeze the cueball on the inside of the pocket. Very touchy shot, but if it works, it would be a hard kick with that 8 in the way.

I like this safe, never really thought about doing it. Since my speed control is a lot better now than it was many years ago when had this opportunity, I would love to try this method. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Neil]

............

 

[sfleinen]

This is a funny situation. If the 4ball were actually "frozen" to the rail, I'm not sure I'd play the safety since I have to make sure the cueball touches the rail or it's a foul. If the 4ball is near frozen (which is what I think you meant), the safety is much easier.
[...]

Jude:

Even if the 4-ball is frozen to the rail, with the hemispere of the 4-ball extending just past the point of the side pocket, it shouldn't be too difficult to go straight into the 4-ball, with just a hint of angle (very, very minute) towards the inside of the side pocket, to have the cue roll-up against the wall of the side pocket. (Even if the cue ball bounces off that side wall slightly, I'm guess the result will still be that the horn of the side pocket will obscure a direct hit on the 4-ball, no?) I guess the answer depends on how deeply the pocket shelf extends into the pocket on that particular table, to answer the question of what kind of scratch risk this shot is...

A touch shot for sure, but as you stated, a higher percentage than going all out for an aggressive shot.

Pretty fun shot by Tony! I'll bet poor Trevor didn't think so...

-Sean

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

Jude:

Even if the 4-ball is frozen to the rail, with the hemispere of the 4-ball extending just past the point of the side pocket, it shouldn't be too difficult to go straight into the 4-ball, with just a hint of angle (very, very minute) towards the inside of the side pocket, to have the cue roll-up against the wall of the side pocket. (Even if the cue ball bounces off that side wall slightly, I'm guess the result will still be that the horn of the side pocket will obscure a direct hit on the 4-ball, no?) I guess the answer depends on how deeply the pocket shelf extends into the pocket on that particular table, to answer the question of what kind of scratch risk this shot is...

A touch shot for sure, but as you stated, a higher percentage than going all out for an aggressive shot.

Pretty fun shot by Tony! I'll bet poor Trevor didn't think so...

-Sean

I think we can write this off to an equipment-specific situation. Since I know the tables Tony played this shot on, I think it's fair to say if you need to achieve a rail with the cueball, there's added risk. If not, it's an easy safe.

 

[Neil]

A touch shot for sure, but as you stated, a higher percentage than going all out for an aggressive shot.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you on this one. IMHO, there is NO reason to play safe when you have an open shot. And, you do here. The shot requires no more skill than the safe does. Try it a few times, it is easier than many think it is.

 

[uwate]

You have an open shot with ball in hand. You gotta swing here and put the cueball deep in the jaws and draw out to the middle of the table. Playing safe has to be nearly as tough and even if it isnt, you have a good shot to win..why take the chance of your opponent kicking in a ball and running out?