Play it or safe it or Option C?

Donovan

Donovan

Play it safe or go home.
Silver Member
8-Ball Last pocket for JellyBeans? He has got pocket B and missed. I have pocket A and am hearing a ton of woofing from some guy who would not leave me alone until I played his ego-accelerated last pocket game against him. What would you do? I'll post the results of what happened tonight.

CueTable Help



(This by the way was the same night after the "Greatest Game I Ever Played " story I wrote in the other thread.) http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=25205 Post #32
 
Obvious to me ...

You play off the tit of his pocket, come back across 1 rail back to your pocket.
 
YOU GOT THE NUTS - WHY GIVE THEM UP!
He has a side pocket & you have a corner.
Just nudge the 8 to the rail and wait for him to give you a shot.
There is no way he should win this game having a side pocket.

TY & GL, OHB
 
I'd push it past the side a bit. Skill and a little bit of luck you can hook the cue behind the nipple.
 
I would hit it a little harder then nudging it and put it on the top half of the table and on the rail opposite of his pocket. Force him to take a really nasty bank and it might put you in a better shot for your pocket.
 
Donovan said:
8-Ball Last pocket for JellyBeans? He has got pocket B and missed. I have pocket A
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You have the best of it. Even if you're not the best mover, you have to play a moving game.

Fred
 
Your opponent having the side pocket makes you the prohibitive favorite here. Im with OHB, bump the ball and wait for a better scoring opportunity in the near future.

Playing off the titty of the side pocket has a possible double kiss and trying to hook him on the side titty has a potential scratch. You really have the best of it from here, why force the issue and take unneccesary risks?
 
Donovan said:
8-Ball Last pocket for JellyBeans? He has got pocket B and missed. I have pocket A and am hearing a ton of woofing from some guy who would not leave me alone until I played his ego-accelerated last pocket game against him. What would you do? I'll post the results of what happened tonight.

CueTable Help



(This by the way was the same night after the "Greatest Game I Ever Played " story I wrote in the other thread.) http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=25205 Post #32
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D-man,
It's the safety I posted last year after a lesson with Grady Mathews, and that he showed the AZB room during his seminar at DCC this year.

Slow roll at the eight, aim slightly left of center. The cue ball ends up in the jaws of the side pocket, and your opponent is hooked because the eight rolls a little further down the rail. He has to kick, and may not even be able to hit the eight if you do it correctly.
 
stop shot.

If you stop shot the eight leaving the CB there and the eight on the bottom rail it doesn't give him much of a shot and just about anyway he hits it will leave you open in some way or another.
 
He's definitely in a hole

Side pockets are no fun in last pocket, play the safe and wait for your shot. Put the eight up table just a bit and stick the cue to the tit if you can, even if you come out a bit he is still stimied.
I think this is why I hate last pocket, because this game could go on for ever!
 
uwate said:
Your opponent having the side pocket makes you the prohibitive favorite here. Im with OHB, bump the ball and wait for a better scoring opportunity in the near future.

Playing off the titty of the side pocket has a possible double kiss and trying to hook him on the side titty has a potential scratch. You really have the best of it from here, why force the issue and take unneccesary risks?
Click to expand...

No posts past this one were necessary...except the one where you tell us what you did.
 
Black-Balled said:
No posts past this one were necessary...except the one where you tell us what you did.
Click to expand...

BB,
I guess I would have to disagree (though I KNOW you are a proficient player). If you practice Grady's safety 5 minutes a day for a few days, I do NOT think the risk of scratching enters into it - very, very low risk; very high reward.

There is, some risk of selling out a shot into the upper right corner; but since this is last-pocket that risk disappears. Just err on the side of not scratching.
 
Williebetmore said:
D-man,
It's the safety I posted last year after a lesson with Grady Mathews, and that he showed the AZB room during his seminar at DCC this year.

Slow roll at the eight, aim slightly left of center. The cue ball ends up in the jaws of the side pocket, and your opponent is hooked because the eight rolls a little further down the rail. He has to kick, and may not even be able to hit the eight if you do it correctly.
Click to expand...

Willie, the advisability of this safety is directly realted to how tight the pockets are. This safety is far easier to execute on a tight pocket table (especially one with a deep pocket shelf) than on a looser table. On a loose table, you couldn't execute this consistently if you practiced it for five hours a day!

If there is ever a position in which one should chance this, and I'm not really sure there is, maybe this is it. After all, ball in hand is not a loss, as opponent would have a double bank at best into his opponent.

Still, playing last pocket, when you have a corner pocket and your opponent has a side pocket, you're a very heavy favorite, so a strong case can be made for a more conservative approach. Good players know this, and avoid using the side as their last pocket in most situations.
 

CueTable Help



Sorry i was gone for so long today.

Well, I accomplished both objectives. I played the bank off the point with draw and slight left. The cue did get rested up against the rail in the pocket. Then the 8 came off the point with lots of spin and twisted itself right in. I played the safe hoping that the 8 would be out of reach. This shot goes maybe 15% of the time for me, so the safe was obviously more important. Every table plays different, so actually shooting this shot and not playing the safety is not the safest bet. So you might say I shot the right shot and got a little lucky.
 
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Donovan said:
...I played the bank off the point with draw and slight left....actually shooting this shot and not playing the safety is not the safest bet.
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Great shot, and an accurate analysis, too. Well played, Donovan!
 
Donovan said:

CueTable Help



Sorry i was gone for so long today.

Well, I accomplished both objectives. I played the bank off the point with draw and slight left. The cue did get rested up against the rail in the pocket. Then the 8 came off the point with lots of spin and twisted itself right in. I played the safe hoping that the 8 would be out of reach. This shot goes maybe 15% of the time for me, so the safe was obviously more important. Every table plays different, so actually shooting this shot and not playing the safety is not the safest bet. So you might say I shot the right shot and got a little lucky.
Click to expand...

Nice shot, Donovan.

As usual, I'm late on this but...

I like this shot:

Cut the OB into the rail so that a little less than 1/4 of the OB catches the side pocket tit, with a punch stroke, three railing the 8 ball to your pocket and sending the CB near the head rail:

CueTable Help



It's aggressive but the risk of making a mistake is low (unless you hit it really bad :p )


Eric
 
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