Ridiculous 8-Ball Losing Shots

H

heater451

Registered
Playing at the local restaurant/bar, first in warmup game, and second in match--8-ball, Race to 1, 7-ft table, "call shot" rules. I lost the games via ridiculously low-probability shot results.

This one--I don't remember the previous shot, but I think it was one that left me without limited control of the positioning, and I snookered myself. I kicked slightly wide, expecting the hit from the 2nd cushion, but managed to thin-cut, and squeak the 8 past the 10 (almost) blocking the side pocket (looking at it here, I allowed too much space by the 10--the 8 passed by about 1/8" (2-3 mm):

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This one, I got out of shape 2 balls prior, and fell short of getting to the 'long side' of the 8 near the end rail. I decided to go with the primarily aggressive bank, with a thought to possibly block the 9 out of the bottom-left corner (again, I diagrammed badly--it should be closer to the 1st bottom-left diamond).

The 8 had a good line and speed to pot, but due to the thin-ish cut, I hit it hard enough that the cue ball *caught back up* to the 8, and somehow cut it perfectly, where the 8 got a slight speed boost into the pocket! With the rule set in play, the double-kiss constitutes a bad hit, so I lost.

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Hoping to hear other "you gotta be f*cking kidding me" stories....
 
straightline said:
I don't understand the first example. You kicked too hard and sold out?

The second example: bar rules are ridiculous.
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I was just going for a hit on the 8, and not a light touch safety. And since I planned for the cue ball to come off the second cushion, I hit fairly firm, to avoid a "no cushion after contact" foul. --Yes, the 9 probably would have made contact with less power, but I tend to default to hitting harder on safety kicks, for the same desire to avoid an ncac foul. Anyway, the cue ball managed to perfectly cut the 8 across to the far side.

And while I (mostly) agree about bar rules, on this one it boils down to "8 ball clean", and the double-kiss fails that test.
 
heater451 said:
I was just going for a hit on the 8, and not a light touch safety. And since I planned for the cue ball to come off the second cushion, I hit fairly firm, to avoid a "no cushion after contact" foul. --Yes, the 9 probably would have made contact with less power, but I tend to default to hitting harder on safety kicks, for the same desire to avoid an ncac foul. Anyway, the cue ball managed to perfectly cut the 8 across to the far side.

And while I (mostly) agree about bar rules, on this one it boils down to "8 ball clean", and the double-kiss fails that test.
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Oh. You pocketed the 8. Hilarious. I try to forget stuff like that. :ROFLMAO:

Have had the kiss shots happen numerous times. They usual elicit laughter - except in those no slop stitchuations. Normal one from my banger period was slamming the 9 at the corner, it spits out but the cue ball immediately rams it back in.
 
Too many to remember! Couple of weeks back, (league night) my first shot at the table...made my ball and used another ball as a stopper for the cue. It then bumped the 🎱 and into the side pocket it went 🤷
 
Here's one I'll never forget.

I was 17 years old, playing an older player who was a strong player in the area races to 7 for $100 a set. I was spotting him the last two. At 17 years old in the 90s this wasn't big money but it was enough to matter to me.

I won the first two sets fairly handily and he asked me to double the bet. I accepted. The third set went hill-hill.

After the break I had the shot diagrammed below. I had a carom shot on the 9 ball, but I had to put a touch of inside spin on the cue ball to twist the 9 towards the pocket. I got down and shot it perfect! The 9 ball smoothed into the heart of the pocket, the cue ball stopped and slowly spun in place.
Then, out of nowhere, the one ball reversed two rails and clipped the edge of the cue ball with just enough speed that the cue ball was cut into the same corner pocket as the 9 ball. I scratched! The 9 spotted up and he ran down to his money ball and won the set. He then unscrewed and quit me even.
I can still feel it...
1746733819129.png
 
Here was one where I was hill-hill and half hooked on the 8 ball. I felt the cue ball would be tracking towards the corner two rails so checked to see if there was a gap between the two stripes. There wasn't. I made the curve shot, the cue ball went two rails, and somehow it just ticked and doubled caromed through those balls moving each one just a couple of inches, then headed straight into the pocket. That one hurt too:

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OK, last one for now. I was playing SVB in the finals of a regional bar table tournament. I had played a perfect set up to this point and had a shot on the 8 into a half blocked pocket, but the ball provide a sideboard making it unmissable. I thought!

I shot the 8 ball and it rattled the jaws and came out without ever hitting the side board ball! I didn't know this was possible. Since then I was only able to recreate this on certain diamond bar tables with odd cuts. It cost me the set.

Fortunately he had to double dip me and I played a perfect set the second time around and beat him for the tournament win. One of the few times I've beat him a set in a tournament and while it was on a bar table it was a good one. Helped me walk off this odd 8 ball miss!

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Tin Man said:
Here was one where I was hill-hill and half hooked on the 8 ball. I felt the cue ball would be tracking towards the corner two rails so checked to see if there was a gap between the two stripes. There wasn't. I made the curve shot, the cue ball went two rails, and somehow it just ticked and doubled caromed through those balls moving each one just a couple of inches, then headed straight into the pocket. That one hurt too:

View attachment 823687
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I've been there, in the way that you convince yourself of being safe from the scratch, and yet find your best laid plan going astray!

Btw, nice work with the Chalkysticks pad.
 
Here's a story about a loss out of nowhere...

I was at the pool room and stepped outside for the party. Came back in and a friend was prestroke with his back to me.

I whacked the back end of his stick and made it shoot the ball before he was ready to pull the trigger. He looked at me with an unbelievably disappointed expression and said, 'we're gambling here'.

I saw his opponent' face, more angry than disappointed and added that to the fact they were playing 1p and the balls were now spread open wide.

Cost me $50. They each took $25 of it and I went away.

Doh.
 
Black-Balled said:
Here's a story about a loss out of nowhere...

I was at the pool room and stepped outside for the party. Came back in and a friend was prestroke with his back to me.

I whacked the back end of his stick and made it shoot the ball before he was ready to pull the trigger. He looked at me with an unbelievably disappointed expression and said, 'we're gambling here'.

I saw his opponent' face, more angry than disappointed and added that to the fact they were playing 1p and the balls were now spread open wide.

Cost me $50. They each took $25 of it and I went away.

Doh.
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I am sorry, you did make me genuinely laugh out loud though.

Hu
 
I was playing an 8 ball tournament race to 2 Score is 1-1 I’m breaking. I make the 8 on the break and the cue ball jumps the table. I lost game and set because I made the 8 on the break.
 
Once in a 9 ball tournament hill hill with my opponent and I play a great safe and get BIH with the 7,8 and 9 on the table. The 7 is about 8 inches off the rail but the 8 ball is blocking its path to the closest corner. All I have to do is set the CB between the 7 and the rail and roll the 7 in the side. I went to place the CB and dropped it on the rail and it rolled into the 7 giving my opponent BIH for the easy win.
 
I was very young, just started playing pool well enough to gamble in bars. Found a place kinda in the old warehouse district, had highway and railroad frontage, close to the Mississippi River and docks. Big tables and small action, three or five a game. Bear in mind I am making a buck and a quarter an hour and taxes take a quarter so a buck an hour net. Even three dollars for five or ten minutes on a pool table wasn't to be sneezed at. Things rolled along nicely until Friday or Saturday night. Then they had a live band in the room next door. The place was packed and they opened some big accordion hinged doors big enough to once let forklifts drive through and about twenty feet wide, they let the crowd bulge into the pool room.

They were there for the band and when they backed into pool tables they just sat on them, ignoring games in progress! I moved people off the table when they were in the way of a shot but the people playing me didn't quit so I didn't either. A pretty girl, long auburn hair, beautiful smile, decent figure, kept sitting on the table when she wasn't leaning against it with three or four other people either on or against it too.

I got down to the eight ball and it was at the far end of the table, little more than a tap in but the girl's ass was in my way where I needed to stand to shoot the shot. I had already moved her twice that game. Instead of moving her again I moved my bridge back to almost where the joint would be and nudged the cue ball which nudged the eight. Unfortunately I ran out of stretch about two inches before I reached the cue ball. The cue ball had been about eighteen inches from the pocket, the eight maybe twelve, not touching the rail but only an inch or two off. Now they rolled up until the eight was maybe two inches from the pocket, the cue ball only six inches or less from the object ball.

I wasn't the wonderful mellow guy I am today. Steam was rolling out of my ears. The girl looks around at me unaware of just why I am so annoyed. She gave me an absolutely beautiful smile showing a full set of brilliant white teeth, "smile, Jesus loves you." I hadn't hit a girl since I was two when it was explained to me that boys didn't hit girls no matter what. I held the cue in both hands, shaking I wanted so badly to see how many teeth I could take out with one swing of the house cue. I had seen several teeth embedded in a house cue when I came in a place not long after a fight and I wondered how many of those shiny white teeth might embed in the cue. It took me a minute or two to cool off and I stubbornly played one more game after paying off and before giving up play.

I wrote that place off as a Monday through Thursday spot and never gambled there again on the weekend. I can still remember that eight rolling and stopping just shy of the pocket and the brutal battle of will not to do something that was over the top punishment for the girl and that would have earned me real prison time even back then. Not the first or last time I short stroked the money ball but the events around it happening made me never forget that time over fifty years ago.

Hu
 
Fore Rail said:
What crap rules was this tournament using?
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With coin op tables, before electronics the money ball on the break had to be a win or a loss since somebody had to pony up for the next game. I have played both ways, a win or a loss. However, I never remember playing on a coin op where the money ball going in and a foul wasn't loss of game. Very common rule. It was often played on standard tables too, pretty much expected in play around town.

Hu
 
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