Intersting Safety Tidbit

NewStroke

NewStroke

Screamin Monkey
Silver Member
I got this from BlackJack's 9 ball book and I hope I don't screw it up. I also hope that I am not the only one that did not realize this.

When playing a safety, concern yourself with the placement of one ball. Either the ball you are hitting or the cue ball. Trying to control both balls simultaneously is difficult and your margin for error increases.

I have really been trying to stick to this rule and finding that it's really sticking it to my opponent.

I hope this helps at least one person. Thanks Dave!
 
And .... if given a choice, the cue ball should be the one you most carefully place (for an effective safety).
 
NewStroke said:
I got this from BlackJack's 9 ball book and I hope I don't screw it up. I also hope that I am not the only one that did not realize this.

When playing a safety, concern yourself with the placement of one ball. Either the ball you are hitting or the cue ball. Trying to control both balls simultaneously is difficult and your margin for error increases.

I have really been trying to stick to this rule and finding that it's really sticking it to my opponent.

I hope this helps at least one person. Thanks Dave!
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NewStroke, I'd just about given up on you when low and behold you come up with this little gem. Well done! :wink:
 
saftey play

When playing safe, especially if you have BIH after the opponent has just scratched, play the object ball to an area to setup the third foul safety. That is play a strong safety with the cue ball locked up and put the object ball nearby other OB's for the third safety. When they miss with foul number two and give you BIH again just roll up the cue ball to the blocker.

Take the time to pratice safety play, rolling up on the correct part of the OB to leave them kicking over the ball the other direction 2 or more rails. With practice you'll be able to do this with the two objects balls more than a foot apart.

I always consider winning with 3 fouls when they are on 1 foul already. The mental impact of a 3 foul loss can be devastating in a race, sort of like a good body punch in boxing. It's also good to know if they can jump well and if they can from what distanct between OB and CB. Don't leave an easy jump and lose the chance of an early win, just lock em up.
 
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NewStroke said:
I got this from BlackJack's 9 ball book and I hope I don't screw it up. I also hope that I am not the only one that did not realize this.

When playing a safety, concern yourself with the placement of one ball. Either the ball you are hitting or the cue ball. Trying to control both balls simultaneously is difficult and your margin for error increases.

I have really been trying to stick to this rule and finding that it's really sticking it to my opponent.

I hope this helps at least one person. Thanks Dave!
Click to expand...

That being said, some care should be taken to know where the object ball is going so it doesn't come back and knock the Cue Ball out of hiding.
 
I remember reading this same bit of advice in P&B magazine about 20 years ago. It was from an article by Ewa Mataya. Great advice but you can't convince a snotty C player of it. You know how it is, that type knows everything.
MULLY
 
8Ball48043 said:
And .... if given a choice, the cue ball should be the one you most carefully place (for an effective safety).
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To each it's own I guess. My concern is with the object ball and consider the hook a bonus. I feel that if I miss judge the hook at least the object will be where I want it.

Too many times if the concern is the cue ball and you miss the hook you may leave the object ball in a makable position.
 
dabarbr said:
To each it's own I guess. My concern is with the object ball and consider the hook a bonus. I feel that if I miss judge the hook at least the object will be where I want it.

Too many times if the concern is the cue ball and you miss the hook you may leave the object ball in a makable position.
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I think it would all depend on that particular situation but for myself I'm going cue ball if I have the choice. Putting an object ball behind something still leaves the cue ball sitting out to kick at it, for the most part. I'm more of the mind to try my best to put whitey where he can't kick at anything, or jump out of it. Cue ball control is what it takes and I think controlling the cue ball is much easier than controlling the object ball. Just my opinion, not worth a whole helluva lot.

My favorite safeties are the ones where you can actually do both balls. Which brings to mind, I think one thing about BlackJack's advice, and Ewa's because that's where I first read it, is on shots where you have some distance between the 2 balls, it makes it harder to control both of them, so you should focus on one or the other. Let us not forget that BlackJack is a very accomplished straight pool player and in straight pool, more often than not, you're going to do your best to put the cue ball away somewhere. Not that he said only focus on the cue ball, just making an observation.
MULLY
 
mullyman said:
I think it would all depend on that particular situation but for myself I'm going cue ball if I have the choice. Putting an object ball behind something still leaves the cue ball sitting out to kick at it, for the most part. I'm more of the mind to try my best to put whitey where he can't kick at anything, or jump out of it. Cue ball control is what it takes and I think controlling the cue ball is much easier than controlling the object ball. Just my opinion, not worth a whole helluva lot.

My favorite safeties are the ones where you can actually do both balls. Which brings to mind, I think one thing about BlackJack's advice, and Ewa's because that's where I first read it, is on shots where you have some distance between the 2 balls, it makes it harder to control both of them, so you should focus on one or the other. Let us not forget that BlackJack is a very accomplished straight pool player and in straight pool, more often than not, you're going to do your best to put the cue ball away somewhere. Not that he said only focus on the cue ball, just making an observation.
MULLY
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Without a doubt the optimal safety is the one that cuts off all avenues to the object ball. Not all situations will give us that opportunity. Everybody's favorite safeties are the ones where you can control both balls that results in leaving them no option but to kick and the more difficult the kick the better.

I thought we were referring to the situation where controlling both balls would be difficult to do. In that case I still will stand with my strategy. If the positioning of the cue ball is somewhat chancy because of distance then I'm controlling the object ball. I feel that in most cases there are more opportunities and easier to reposition the object ball than the cue ball. If I'm letting them see the object ball then I'm leaving off angle banks with very little chance of position or cuts that will not yield position. If they're going to win from what I leave they will certainly have to earn that game.

Not controlling the cue ball and leaving the object ball out in the open may give them an easy win.
 
thanks for the reminder newstroke, i sure wish i could get my teammates to play a safe once in a while. even if only one per night to start, guess some folks just dont think that way.

Mike
 
Ah yeah, dabarbr, I've definitely played those "if he makes this he deserves the win" safeties before. Sorry if my previous post came off as condescending, wasn't my intent. I was just saying for myself I feel I can control whitey better. But sure, there are tons of situations where controlling the OB is the way to go.
MULLY
 
Good point. Something else... end-rail to end-rail safeties. Leave the guy a full table bank if somehow either ball leaks out. Big fan of those wherever possible. Freezing either CB or CB to the short rails makes life really hard.
 
Safeties are critical, since my shooting is so-so they keep me in games a lot longer and occasionally I do run out. One thing I do is practise safes, I'm really surprised that some players rated higher than me in our league don't have a clue about them.

The concentrating on one ball is key as far as I'm concerned. Hardest part can be knowing when to go safe rather than try to do the low percentage runout, must be an ego thing.
 
Great topic. There is a portion of that section of the book available online - it is called "Unlocking the Safe".

This is the section that deals with that particular subject -

Rules to remember

Choose to control either the cue ball or the object ball.

Try to avoid controlling both at the same time with risky precision.

If you have to control both, ensure that you will be executing a stop shot or a simplified shot that will be easy to execute.

It is dangerous to over-complicate the safety or try to accomplish something that is just as hard as trying to pocket a ball that you cannot see.

The final paragraph of the text portion of that chapter sums up my views -

If there is one area of the game where we can find our opponent’s weakness, it is with a good safety battle. If I am able to lock him/her up, and he/she misses a one rail kick attempt, then I have detected a weakness. Armed with that information, I will have my opponent revisit that nightmare over and over, as often as I possibly can. This can also be a weapon for your next match up with this opponent, or a way to test him to see if he has strengthened that area of his game.

If there is one thing that I cannot stress enough about safety battles, it is to remember what works and what does not work. I would not leave Efren Reyes an easy one rail kick with the object ball sitting in front of the pocket. There is probably a 99.999% chance that he will not feel the least bit threatened at my weak attempt at locking him up. When I am playing safe, I want my opponent to know that I mean business. It’s nothing personal. I want to either run racks, or when faced with no shot - I want to leave him absolutely no daylight whatsoever. I always want to execute a safety with killer instinct. Passive, weak, desperate, or timid safeties will possibly give control of the table back to my opponent.

Remember that we always want to remain in control and be the actor, not the reactor. You can do this by not only leaving him shot-less, but option-less as well. The less options he has, the more helpless he will feel. This can work both ways. If you are the guy that is locked up, do whatever you have to in order to regain the advantage. If you cannot see the object ball, do everything in your power to at least make contact with it legally. Even if you leave him a straight in shot, it is much better than giving your opponent ball in hand. Above all else, choose your battles carefully. Do not play safe unless you absolutely have to. Weigh your options and play the percentages. Be a smart player as opposed to being a bold player. Apply what has been learned in this book, and you will start winning games that you could not win before.
 
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