League 8 Ball (APA)

Bluey2King

Bluey2King

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am a APA 5+ in 8 Ball
What do you guys think is the proper way to handle 8 ball play.
I have been studing how to play better 8 ball safties etc. I want to keep play moving so a match lasts no more than a hour.
When I play a lower ranked player that has been trained to block the pocket and tie up the balls, I an not good enough to make these shots and get good break outs to continue my without shooting myself into 8 ball hell. (one ball on the table)

What do you guys do?
How can I train myself to move along the game and not get into these long back and forth wars.
I am not saying that the lower player is doing anything wrong it is a legit way to play and I love a good safety, but they are just tieing up ball with no intention of breaking them out.
Thanks
 
Bluey2King said:
I am a APA 5+ in 8 Ball
What do you guys think is the proper way to handle 8 ball play.
I have been studing how to play better 8 ball safties etc. I want to keep play moving so a match lasts no more than a hour.
When I play a lower ranked player that has been trained to block the pocket and tie up the balls, I an not good enough to make these shots and get good break outs to continue my without shooting myself into 8 ball hell. (one ball on the table)

What do you guys do?
How can I train myself to move along the game and not get into these long back and forth wars.
I am not saying that the lower player is doing anything wrong it is a legit way to play and I love a good safety, but they are just tieing up ball with no intention of breaking them out.
Thanks
Click to expand...

If I can't clear the pocket through a normal position route, I will just play a safety where either the CB or my OB pockets the offending ball. This doesn't really help your opponent because a) the pocket's not blocked to you anymore and b) your opponent lost a gimme he could have used to play position on something else.
 
APA 8 ball

I am also a league player and a 5 in 8 ball in the Omaha, NE area. When I feel brave I go for the fancy banks and try the harder breakouts, but when I am playing my best I will play safe and that is usually the safe and best way to go. You can play safe by rolling the cue ball onto an opponents ball even so there is no angle to make it and no other shot and if they are a lower ranked opponent they will likely just get a good hit and clear the pocket for you. You can also make the opponents ball will a carom shot off of yours and hide the ball behind your ball so they have to kick, one of my favorite safes. To get better at safes I would recommend practicing them when you only have one ball on the table and your opponent has several to choose from. When you can master the one ball safe this way it will improve your game a lot. Don't let lower ranked players get you down. Sometimes luck is involved in the game and luck can be beat by smart play rather it be a safety shot or even taking a shot that is harder knowing that if you miss your opponent will not have an easy shot. Good luck and hope I helped...
 
In my opinion, you should not be worrying about the length of time it takes to win the game. I know that the long, safety battle games can be frustrating, but you can learn soooo much from them. Stay focused, and be patient. Wait for a good opportunity to get a break out. Do not try to force the issue. Take what the table offers. You will improve as a player. Just my opinion. Good luck.

Braden
 
BradenK said:
In my opinion, you should not be worrying about the length of time it takes to win the game. I know that the long, safety battle games can be frustrating, but you can learn soooo much from them. Stay focused, and be patient. Wait for a good opportunity to get a break out. Do not try to force the issue. Take what the table offers. You will improve as a player. Just my opinion. Good luck.

Braden
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I was just going to edit my post to say much the same thing. Unfortunately, some people are more than willing to report slow play to the LO. Even more unfortunate is that they use the clock to determine if someone is playing slow, not what is happening at the table. A long safety battle is not "slow play". Taking an excruciating amount of time for each shot is.
 
Safeties

A safety battle is as much fun to play as is pocketing balls. Learn to enjoy the challenges, failures, successes and education that safety play offers and you will find safeties winning games for you. If you don't know what that means now, you will in the future. Have fun and play well.

Jo
 
krupa said:
I was just going to edit my post to say much the same thing. Unfortunately, some people are more than willing to report slow play to the LO. Even more unfortunate is that they use the clock to determine if someone is playing slow, not what is happening at the table. A long safety battle is not "slow play". Taking an excruciating amount of time for each shot is.
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This is what is happening. These players are coached to block pockets and tie up balls absolutly no runing off their balls. I am getting heat because these patty cake matches are taking 1.5 hrs. We had one take 2.5 hrs my team mate S/L 6 they put up a S/L2 who was coached to play this way and the bad thing is the 2 was a pretty good shot. It took 50 innings, she won one game early so our guy had to be careful and it was the deciding match. We didn't get out of there until 2:15 am.
I think I will try locking up a couple of balls and start shooting off theirs.
 
I use my balls to combo into there "blocker" making it and opening the pocket...it's a gamble, but if you can make them burn timeouts early in the match you can gain control.
 
Generally in 8 ball, if you can't run out, find a safe early; maybe it's your current shot or maybe play position 2 or 3 shots ahead to really lock your opponent up... but the more you have on the table while the're shooting, the more difficult their gam will be. Also, look for ways to bump your opponents balls and tie them up while you're running out. Pick your shots in groups rather than moving up and down the table. Pick your key ball (shot that grants easy position to the 8) before you start your run. Make break outs/fix problems as early as intelligently possible in your run. 8 ball requires (generally speaking) much less movement and spin of the cue ball. So if you slow down and pick your basic patterns before you start shooting, a run out is very easy from a good break. 8 ball is a very strategic and challenging game, and I'm very surprised it is not held in higher regard within the player community. Any other question feel free to ask. I'm an APA 7 and enjoy talking strategy and helping other players.
 
Missing Link said:
I use my balls to combo into there "blocker" making it and opening the pocket...it's a gamble, but if you can make them burn timeouts early in the match you can gain control.
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This paired with a safe is a great way to open the table. And if you're playing on Valleys, it's sometimes simple to follow their ball in and make both in those buckets-for-pockets lol. Line up your OB as if it were the CB and you're aiming to follow theirs and scratch. Shoot the OB on that line, soft enough for it to be rolling naturally when it gets there. Practice it, it's pretty easy when their ball is deep in the pocket and very useful in 8 ball.
 
Bluey2King said:
This is what is happening. These players are coached to block pockets and tie up balls absolutly no runing off their balls. I am getting heat because these patty cake matches are taking 1.5 hrs. We had one take 2.5 hrs my team mate S/L 6 they put up a S/L2 who was coached to play this way and the bad thing is the 2 was a pretty good shot. It took 50 innings, she won one game early so our guy had to be careful and it was the deciding match. We didn't get out of there until 2:15 am.
I think I will try locking up a couple of balls and start shooting off theirs.
Click to expand...

2:15 in the morning! First off, check the rule book. There's a sudden death rule that will allow you to play one rack instead of an entire match. Secondly, tie up 2-3 of their balls early on and then start shooting their ducks in for them. Yes, you will foul and give up ball in hand but sooner or later they will be forced to break a ball out and realize you or anyone on your team can play the same b.s. game if you want too. It will pretty much come down to playing one good safe at the end or a nice break shot.

If that doesn't work around midnight start complaining that you need your meds. Give it 30 minutes and then start acting a little crazy. Chances are they will pocket the 8 out of turn just to get the hell out of there and never screw with you again:D
 
I've been a 7 for years. One valuable tool against pocket blockers is practice carom shots. You CAN bounce your ball off theirs to get it into the pocket. Practice it. If things like that happen by chance, they can happen on purpose. Shoot their ducks in for them either by using your balls or just deliberately fouling. If you can knock their balls into a massive cluster against a cushion, that'll help you.
Try to accomplish as many things in each shot as you can. Don't dedicate your last shot to attempting a David Copperfield shot that you've never made in a million tries. If you do, all you've accomplished is breaking the cluster to your opponents benefit. Remember, if it doesn't go in, you don't shoot again.
Identify balls that you can shoot that will naturally redirect the CB into clusters. Identify where you need to shoot them from and avoid shooting them unless you're in the right position to accomplish your break. You DO want to shoot break shots as early as possible, but make sure you actually make contact. Identify balls that only go to one pocket or have very narrow windows to shoot them from and try to get there as quickly as you can. You don't want to try landing there from 3 cushions on your second to last shot. You want to do those two things as early as you can because if you screw it up the first time, there are still balls to use to get back to the problems. When you're out of open balls, you're also out of solutions.
Constantly evaluate your run. If you're out of position, STOP. Think about what you're doing next. Just because you had it planned out 2 shots ago doesn't mean the same plan will still work. We have a decent 6 who still won't stop and look how he screwed up his leave. Very few break and runs happen exactly as planned. Most require at LEAST a plan B if not C or D.
 
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Safety game

Do not ever get down to 1 ball that is tied up bad. You play a safety when you have 2 or 3 balls left, this way you can manuever one of balls to where you could break out the tied ball when making 1 of the other 2 left.

I do not shoot what I call 'no future' shots, shots that will make an object ball, but you have no future as far as running the rest of the balls out, I play a safety instead. You want to maintain the 'edge' of the table on each turn, and leaving a couple of balls on the table allows you to continue playing safeties with them or until you can move them for a breakout shot on the tied up ball.

A good safety is just as good as making a good shot, and many times will result in you getting ball in hand, then you can do something about the tied up ball.
 
Snapshot9 said:
Do not ever get down to 1 ball that is tied up bad. You play a safety when you have 2 or 3 balls left, this way you can manuever one of balls to where you could break out the tied ball when making 1 of the other 2 left.

I do not shoot what I call 'no future' shots, shots that will make an object ball, but you have no future as far as running the rest of the balls out, I play a safety instead. You want to maintain the 'edge' of the table on each turn, and leaving a couple of balls on the table allows you to continue playing safeties with them or until you can move them for a breakout shot on the tied up ball.

A good safety is just as good as making a good shot, and many times will result in you getting ball in hand, then you can do something about the tied up ball.
Click to expand...

Very well put. Positioning the balls for an easier break out while playing safe can require a touch and is important to practice. Also, if you're matches are going till 2 am... there is something seriously wrong here!!! I've never seen an APA match go past an hour (maybe a little over)... and I'm racing to 6 or 7 games. And I would consider myself to be a weaker 7...

I think the latest we've finished was about 11:45. Bartender was pissed... our bar closes at 11 on Tuesdays lol
 
A) Learn how to make your ball after rolling it into their ball sitting in the pocket. All that is really required is a dead straight hit on their ball and just faster than pocket speed on the rolling object ball (with zero side spin). This clears out pockets that have been blocked without loosing your inning.

B) learn to play better safties so the SL2s-3s end up giving you BIH. Especially good is to just kiss the CB against an OB so the opponent has to shoot 2-3 rails to hit anything.

C) Leave enough balls on the table that you have low probability of having to give BIH away.

D) if in doubt, improve your position while making their position worse. Sometimes you might be able to slow roll an OB back under the ball they blocked the pocket with. If you make it, fine, if not, you just frustrated their effort.

E) Most important:: Learn to shoot (and make) 2-way shots. Pick the shot where if you make a ball you get descent position on your next shot but the opponent gets no shape on anything they might shoot at (in case you miss). And while doing this. learn to slow roll the OB so that if it does miss it stops in the jaws of the pocket. The ONLY time you use more energy that slow roll is when you need to move the CB to a specific position for your only next shot.
 
Just carom into the blocking balls and move them out of the way or sink them after you have pocketed your object ball with the cue ball.

Easier than a 17 year old girl on prom night.

Or learn how to bank a shot...
 
I am going to admit I didn't read anything after the OP's question... I started to but just couldn't...

Best kept secret to playing 8ball... When you intentionally miss or play an intentional safe make sure you leave your object ball near one of the side pockets... You can usually get an angle on just about any tear out needed from a shot in the side......
 
Great advice listed here...use it all!
8 ball is a chess game-learn to love the thinking part of it, otherwise switch to 9 ball and problem is solved. No-one should be concerned about time of match...it'll be over when someone is victorious. Learn to get position on balls that you currently think you have to break out...one big mistake 5's make is to try to break everything out...problem with breakouts is you never know where the cue all is going after the break out, and you don't know where the object balls are going either...it's a hail Mary and very dangerous. It's also un-necessary because as you start to better read the table and improve your position play, you'll realize that you can runout without breaking out ANYTHING! Great 8-ball players almost NEVER break out balls, they may NUDGE a ball from time to time just to separate it from another, but try to just strategize a way to run out without breaking balls to smithereens.

Just shooting their ball in and taking the foul is awesome advice, assuming you are playing someone lower rated than a 5 in APA, they can't run more than 3 balls consec anyway, so let em get a couple off the table and then u run em.
Good luck
 
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If they are tying up a pocket with a blocker or hanger just open it up with a combo or caroom into it. This can be done by slamming your balls around the table to redistribute them. It is a slop league and chances are you will make a ball.


Another is to tie up one of their balls with a blocker and then on the next shot free up your ball(s). As others have said play a safe to where they have to use a timeout. Keep doing this until they used their timeouts up. Then keep playing safe or placing your balls close to the pocket to run out. Let the other player clear their balls off and then run out yours .

Patience is the game. Just call your safeties so you are not accused of sandbagging.


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