My scratch % is high on this break...
- Thread starter alphadog
- Start date
1
100% Correct on that. If the object ball is further away from the rack the spin has more time to take and the cueball path starts curving (forward or back from the tangent line) which makes it harder to determine exactly where the contact point is...on a good note, when further from the rack the path of the cueball makes it less likely to scratch.
Upon reflection, likely a rare scenario:
A slug-rack that didn’t spread, your opponent (with BIH in the kitchen) maybe has no makable shot, but regardless, you are still already ‘on one’. If you are ‘stuck’ instead with that same layout, you might still get downtable without fouling, putting the pressure on him.
But, if you knocked balls out close to the pockets and are stuck….then you’re up the proverbial creek, etc., and might end up taking 3 fouls & risk another opening break if you can’t easily get safe.
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More mental masturbation:
While admittedly requiring a lot of re-racking effort, it might be worthwhile to work out the percentages. Does hitting the rack in a specific spot reliably send an interfering OB toward the pocket? A close-to-the-rack, very sharp cut hit hard enough to reach the pocket seems a fairly low % shot to begin with, and if the BB is high also, you risk scratching cross-side. If the percentages are close (and my opponent was less experienced at 14.1), I might chose instead to attempt a slow carom off the rack, only knocking a couple balls loose. At least getting more certain CB position would likely be easier.
It allows you to aim for a slight undercut, which slightly modifies the attack angle in a desirable way, making it easier to draw toward the center of the table.
Problem with that is speed. It's approximately a half ball hit on this shot which means throw effect is negligible. To undercut the ball and make it would require some amount of SIT which from that distance and angle means a soft speed.
The problem with that speed is you'll lose the draw by the time you get to the ball.
Pros on new cloth can feasibly execute it that way but the average player on average table conditions likely won't fare well.
VarmintKong
Cannonball comin’!
Isn’t a half ball hit with stun THE most affected by throw?
You're likely thinking of cut induced throw (CIT) as opposed to spin induced throw (SIT) which was what I was referring to. CIT has the opposite affect which would make it worse.