My 8 ball play in APA this last weekend
- Thread starter Shorty
- Start date
if you can shoot long shots id play the 7 straight in the corner with some draw then put the six in the corner by the 8, roll up for some angle on the 3 put the 3 in the corner and get the cue ball straight in on the 1, pocket it in that corner with draw and put the 8 in the same corner.
If you sat him behind the 6 and he couldnt kick off the long rail and hit it then he really couldnt have been that good. If you come two rails at it you are much more likely to hit it and there its anyway to pocket the cue because even if you short it you hit the 6 so it wont scratch in the side. If you hit the 8 and get lucky it could go cross side or tie up the 6.
*edit* if i were to play safe I think I would tap the 3 ball off the short rail and stick the cue behind it (just be careful of the scratch) As long as the cue hides behind any part of that three he doesnt even haev a straight kick at anything. Hed have to go all the way up table withreverse english to even have a chance at its likely hed scratch of giveyou ball in hand.
If you sat him behind the 6 and he couldnt kick off the long rail and hit it then he really couldnt have been that good. If you come two rails at it you are much more likely to hit it and there its anyway to pocket the cue because even if you short it you hit the 6 so it wont scratch in the side. If you hit the 8 and get lucky it could go cross side or tie up the 6.
*edit* if i were to play safe I think I would tap the 3 ball off the short rail and stick the cue behind it (just be careful of the scratch) As long as the cue hides behind any part of that three he doesnt even haev a straight kick at anything. Hed have to go all the way up table withreverse english to even have a chance at its likely hed scratch of giveyou ball in hand.
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Loun said:
Yeah, I maybe could of drew and got out...but problem is, I can't draw a ball like that. The tables were super fast though. The main thing to keep in mind though is this guy is a 4 just like me in APA. He is really a 5, but recently went down and been kicking everyones backside. He had also already used up his timeout, as had me...so I shifted into defensive mode and made it interesting.
Shorty
Shorty said:
Shorty, as you probably already know, in 8-ball, it's more strategy than execution. The key to winning that game is to not sell-out the 8-ball. It's already tied-up with balls you can pocket so you know you can guarantee another turn at the table, if you need it. If you don't feel comfortable running it outright which is okay (it's important to be honest with yourself in 8-ball), you leave that cluster last and play shots that you're uncomfortable with at pocket-speed, hanging them up if they don't fall.
Eight-ball played right can be as strategic as 1-pocket. With strategic patterns, you can give your opponent multiple turns in a game he is certain to lose and it really does feel better than breaking and running out.
Jude Rosenstock said:
Thanks there Jude...and one day I would love to shoot with you or take some lessons from you. You are a pretty darn good shooter from what I have seen on here and probably be a good person to learn from.
It's funny you should compare it to a run out, that kid was so pissed he would hardly shake my hand...but last time we played he beat me 3-1 on a crap run out. He missed a ball by almost a diamond and it went two rails and in for him to then run out on me. Guess his luck finally wore out?
Shorty
Shorty said:
Thanks for the compliment Shorty and I'll definately take you up on the offer. I compare it to a run-out because it's all about playing the table right and in 8-ball, it's not as obvious as it can be in 9-ball. Even though I don't play 8-ball at all anymore, I have a warm-spot for the game and get all giddy whenever there's a chance to talk shop. 8-ball may very well employ more aspects of pool than any other game and can easily be the toughest to master next to straight pool. On a bartable, the game is just downright beautiful.
You played it well and deserved the win. Even better, your opponent obviously didn't appreciate the thought involved and is just asking to get trapped again!
Shorty said:
First off, congrats on the win.
Second I'd like to commend you on thinking about the whole picture and not just the next ball. I'm constantly amazed at how many league players don't take into consideration things like used timeouts. Knowing that player was on his own up there gave you a decided advantage and you were sharp enough to use it. Had his coach been available to him, he would've certainly warned him about the potential scratch coming off the side rail.
Nice job!
Jude Rosenstock said:
tap tap tap. I call it the combo-dinner of pool---a little bit of everything. 8-Ball gets a bad rap because it is perceived as basement pool, but if played with skill, as Shorty demonstrated, it is indeed a beautiful game.
I'd like to see it on TV, but I guess the bangers have control of the clicker right now.
Jeff Livingston
A diffrent thought
Not to insult your game at all, but if you are a 4 he made the wrong choice after you made what I believe to be the wrong one. You being a 4 I would take my chances putting the 7 ball on the end rail and making you run out with two trouble balls. ( the 7 and the 1)
I may not play as well as the others here but I have a philosophy that you gave him a free shot. You could run a couple of balls and play safe where he can see the 8 ball and he's not going to make it. 4's have a habit of not making 5 ball outs, even if they are easy. I think you made the wrong choice given your opposition. I don't seem to agree with the rest here, but maybe that's why I'm not the best here.
Mike
Not to insult your game at all, but if you are a 4 he made the wrong choice after you made what I believe to be the wrong one. You being a 4 I would take my chances putting the 7 ball on the end rail and making you run out with two trouble balls. ( the 7 and the 1)
I may not play as well as the others here but I have a philosophy that you gave him a free shot. You could run a couple of balls and play safe where he can see the 8 ball and he's not going to make it. 4's have a habit of not making 5 ball outs, even if they are easy. I think you made the wrong choice given your opposition. I don't seem to agree with the rest here, but maybe that's why I'm not the best here.
Mike
CantEverWin said:
Mike there are a bunch of ways to play it. He could have tried to pocket the 7 and run out. He could have hid the cue behind the 3. He could have put the 6 closer to a pockey and given the kid a clean shot at the 8... as long as he left him with a longer shot at the 8 theres no way he will be making it.
As far as the other kid goes. He can put the 7 on the rail and make it harder to run out, he could push the 6 down into the 8 giving it some seperation while leaving the 6 and the 1 tied up. He could have kicked 2 rails and made a safer attempt at hitting the 8 without fear of scratching in the corner pocket...
There are a lot of ways they both could have played it. As long as they both realized that whoever broke up the 1-8 would more than likely be the one at the disadvantage in the end then do whatever you think you should. In pool there are a lot of different ways to play a lot of shots... his way worked this time, next time maybe it doesn't there is no way of telling but one thing is for sure. His was wasnt "WRONG" it just wasnt what you would have done.
Loun said:
You can play the game of pool wrong and still win. We have seen many people do it. There are a lot of way's to play the situation. you are correct, but in my eye's his was wrong. Playing safe on the first shot is.If I set that situation up for him 10 time's and he plays it that way everytime, the odds are not in his favor to win as much as the other choices.I'll take 80% over 50% any day of the week.
If you still think I am wrong then here's another arguement. If you took the top 5 players in the world, and gave them that situation, I believe they would all play it the same. (I am not saying that they would play it my way) There may not be just one right way to play something but there are always higher percentage way's. I believe that those are the right way's to do things...
One last thing...
The other thing you have to consider is I was jacked up over the three and had no clear shot at the 7 that I felt comfortable with. Being in a wheelchair best I could do was to just make sure I rolled the 7 and stuck him behind the 6. I had run a couple of balls when I was left close to the 3.
Now do you see why I did what I did?
Shorty
The other thing you have to consider is I was jacked up over the three and had no clear shot at the 7 that I felt comfortable with. Being in a wheelchair best I could do was to just make sure I rolled the 7 and stuck him behind the 6. I had run a couple of balls when I was left close to the 3.
Now do you see why I did what I did?
Shorty
Shorty said:
Chad,
This is what I would have done. Shoot the 1 with stop shot. Take the 3 next with a little follow and have the cue ball land between the 6 and 7. Now you can have a choice to shoot the 6 or 7. I'd do the 7 in the corner. Then the 6 and finally the 8 in the same pocket as the 6.
But your 'dirty'
pool solution works too....-Erik
doozie I wouldnt recommend a 4 do it that way because if he misses the 1 (worriying about the leave on ther three or any other reason) then the game should be over. In that situation if you cant run out the balls with certainty i really think you have to eitehr make 1 or two then play safe or play safe first shot. But any good player will be able to kick at and hit the 8 or at the very least miss everything all together and give him ball in hand to try to run house (but definitely not short it and scratch) but definitely another take on it. You really want to leave that 8 tied up though in my opnion til the very end in case something happens.
Loun said:
That was my thinking. Also by playing safe and leaving a few of your balls on the table, you have a lot of options - some of which would be to snooker your opponent being as he only has one ball left, so easy to do.
I am learning (by playing the better players) that they don't go knocking all their balls in and leave just the 8. They have a lot of patience and will have say 3 balls left in a situation like this, then make a shot and intentionally miss. Then their opponent's only option is to hit the 8 or an intentional foul. If they hit the 8, then you probably could run out at that point. (Players who leave themselves with just a clustered 8 ball on the table probably would not think of shooting an intentional foul and would hit the 8 - not realizing that by doing this, they have lost the game.)
So I've been learning that it is good to leave a few balls on the table, be patient, and wait out your opponent. If you are more patient than they are, eventually they will mess up and leave you with a run-out.