Right thought process? 8-ball layout, APA

[Jude Rosenstock]

Did I do the right thing here? 8-ball match, hill-hill, the usual...

You're Solids... there's not a way to make the 14 in the corner without fouling.

Rather than mess with the cluster, I decided to give up ball in hand, but I moved the 8 closer to a pocket so I had an easier shot after I eventually put the 3 down.
Is this a good thought process, or am I creating a snowball for an avalanche?

CueTable Help

The problem with this strategy (or any strategy involving giving up BIH) is the flexibility a good player will have with. See, at this point, I have the luxury of either playing safe and knocking in your ball OR further tying up the problems and creating a stalemate. You're simply not winning here by giving up BIH against a good player. This is what I would do in response to the shot above -

CueTable Help

Right spin should allow a soft hit (make sure the 14 doesn't travel far) yet give the cueball enough speed to get behind it.

 

[Russ Chewning]

CueTable Help

From the diagram, you could actually make the 3. I am assuming you could not, but could legally contact it. In which case, I probably would have played this and forced my opponent to make a kick that should be a sell out if not hit perfectly.

This is a league match, so in all probability, this is being shot on a bar table. Your shot has to be rolled extremely slow... And if it rolls off to either side, it might be disaster...

Russ