I was talking to a friend of mine here locally about the leages he is a part of. He told me he plays in both APA and TAPS. I cannot remember which one but he was telling me that one of them has rules against a player playing safety. I was under the impression if you did nit fee you could run out the table then you should do your best to not leave your opponent a shot if possible. So my question is really is my friend mistaken or is safety play forbidden in APA or TAPS leagues.
Playing Safety
- Thread starter Kevin3824
- Start date
It is forbidden by most bangers, but both of those leagues permit safety play. You have to announce your intent to play safe and make a legal hit on the ball.
Ok so if I hit my ball and a rail without making a ball in It is their turn despite how I leave them. Under that circumstance I would not even need to call safety I could simply call the most likely pocket knowing I won't make it. If I hit my ball first and knock theirs In in 8 ball and leave them nothing to shoot at is that allowed as well?
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I was told you can't play safety. Then He qualified it a little by saying you can't play obvious safe like when you leave the cb blocked from hitting the opponents ball first
Then I agree with Ideologist in that it's a banger saying that. I've never heard of a league that forbids you to play safe, especially because safeties are so essential to pool and it can force you into some pretty ungodly spots. Imagine a layout where every one of your balls is in a tough spot, and your opponent's got nothing but hangers... without safeties you can't win that match.
You CAN play safe in APA, you just don't need to call it. The reason why you need to call "safe" in other leagues, like ACS, BCA, et al, is because if you don't call safe, your opponent does not know where you are calling the shot. And if you are playing safe, you must likely don't have an "obvious" shot. Thus, your opponent is going to interrupt you and ask you where it's going.
The other reason is if you make a ball. In non APA leagues, you can call safe, make a ball, and your turn is over. Not so in APA, if you make a ball, you still MUST shoot. And since it's slop, it would be silly to call "safe" since if you make a ball anywhere, you are still shooting, thus your opponent does not care what you are shooting at, as long as you hit your ball first.
This sounds less about safety play and more about the rail-after-contact rule. When it was said that "safety play isn't allowed", I'd guess the type of safety being referred to was the 'roll 6" behind another ball' safety prevalent in bar rule sets.
Defense and safety are used interchangeably constantly. Though your example is a true safety in that you can call it, make a ball and then still give up the table. With APA, you simply don't make the ball. Just put it close and be sure to hit a rail if possible.
In our area, some will call their intent first just to let the scorekeepers know and others don't. If I am keeping score and you call it out before the shoot I will mark it right then so even if you accidentally make the ball you had already declared your intent. The entire premise of a Defense in APA is intent on making a ball so if at any time you are not intending on making a ball, it is a Defensive shot and should be mark as such. The sportsmanship thing to do is to let the scorekeepers know either before or after the shot so it can be marked appropriately.