Run This (42)

I like getting rid of the 7 first so I don't have to contend with it later. Balls like that, up by the side pockets that are blocked by another ball in the side pocket, can be deceiving. They don't look like trouble, but they can end up coming back to haunt you if you leave them lying around until the end and don't get a good angle to get just right on them. For that reason, I'd go 7, 1, 4, 11, 2, 8. Or even 2, 11, 8. 4, 8 is obviously the best ending pattern, but there's no good way to get to it, really.

Edit: Apparently I have too much time on my hands and I diagrammed it. This one was pretty routine, I think. All of the balls down-table lead to the 8, so the only thing of any significant concern is getting rid of the lone ball up-table, then getting back down to take care of the balls that lead to the 8.

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I'm not so sure I'd give up on that 8 ball as the key ball. Because it's on the lower side of the side pocket closer to the rack, you can get there from just about any of the balls other than the 1 without having to do too much. If it was on the top side of the side pocket, I might go another route.

My untrained eye saw the 11 and the 1 as the two balls to be a little concerned about. I'm going after the 11 first, and I feel like if I make a one good shot from the 11 to the 1, I'm out. I'm using the 7,1,8 or the 7,8,1 as my back up plans if I don't like the angle that I've left myself going from the 11 to the 1. The one's not a great key ball, but it's manageable.

I'm not too worried about getting a perfect angle coming back down to the 7, because again, the 8 is on the lower side of the side pocket and there's a lot of open space once you clear out the other balls.

So here's what I'm gonna try:

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I would've run it exactly the same way that spoons did. Saves me the trouble of diagramming it. :D
 
I would have gone Jimmy's way, except I'd probably go to the other side of the 1 with a stun off of the 7.
Actually, I think i like the 2 before the 11.
 
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tsw_521 said:
I would've run it exactly the same way that spoons did. Saves me the trouble of diagramming it. :D
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Actually, you probably would have run it the way I diagramed it. If you ran it like me, you probably wouldn't have gotten out :banghead:
 
bluepepper said:
I would have gone Jimmy's way, except I'd probably go to the other side of the 1 with a stun off of the 7.
Actually, I think i like the 2 before the 11.
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I liked your way until I set it up on a real pool table. Some times, when I'm really bored like last night, I'll actually set these things up on my table to see if I really would play it the way I said I would online. ;)
 
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Jimmy M. said:
I liked your way until I set it up on a real pool table. Some times, when I'm really bored like last night, I'll actually set these things up on my table to see if I really would play it the way I said I would online. ;)
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Yeah, I guess it depends on the particular angle on that 7-ball what feels right when you get down over it.
On the cuetable, it feels like a near half-ball angle, where you couldn't help but head directly towards the 1-ball if you followed the ball like this:

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but I may be wrong.
Either way, I'm with you on getting rid of the 7 first. If the 8-ball wasn't blocking the side pocket, I wouldn't mind it so much.
 
home table

Jimmy M. said:
I liked your way until I set it up on a real pool table. Some times, when I'm really bored like last night, I'll actually set these things up on my table to see if I really would play it the way I said I would online. ;)
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Great Idea! I sit here at work checking these out, I should try them on my table to get the practice. :thumbup: Chalk 1 up for Jimmy, thanks.
P.S. Good tounament last weekend.
 
I'm sure I've said this before, but I'm a beginner at this straight pool thing, so I'm just trying to learn here.

I'm really curious as to why people seem to like getting rid of the 7.

To me it's a great little safety valve. It's nearly in the middle of the table, and it goes in 5 out of the 6 pockets right now without having to clear things out of the way. If I get out of line, I see it as a way to get back on track.

Is this typical beginner thinking? Is there some trap that I haven't discovered with that ball? or am I just seeing the pattern differently than others do?

Thanks!
 
Balls up in the middle of the table when there are balls blocking one, or both, side pockets can definitely be deceiving. In this particular case, not only is the 7 blocked in 1 side pocket, the other side pocket is somewhat tough to play position for because you have the 13 as a ball to potentially get hooked behind. Also, there are really no natural routes to get on the 7 in one of the corners. And, lastly, if you just look at the layout, then take the 7 away and look at the layout again, you'll see how well everything fits together without it being there.

The 7 just doesn't fit into the natural pattern, so get rid of it, and the rest of the rack is routine with every ball leading to the next; the 1 leads to the 4, which leads to the 2 or 11, which either lead to the 8.


spoons said:
I'm sure I've said this before, but I'm a beginner at this straight pool thing, so I'm just trying to learn here.

I'm really curious as to why people seem to like getting rid of the 7.

To me it's a great little safety valve. It's nearly in the middle of the table, and it goes in 5 out of the 6 pockets right now without having to clear things out of the way. If I get out of line, I see it as a way to get back on track.

Is this typical beginner thinking? Is there some trap that I haven't discovered with that ball? or am I just seeing the pattern differently than others do?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
spoons said:
I'm sure I've said this before, but I'm a beginner at this straight pool thing, so I'm just trying to learn here.

I'm really curious as to why people seem to like getting rid of the 7.

To me it's a great little safety valve. It's nearly in the middle of the table, and it goes in 5 out of the 6 pockets right now without having to clear things out of the way. If I get out of line, I see it as a way to get back on track.

Is this typical beginner thinking? Is there some trap that I haven't discovered with that ball? or am I just seeing the pattern differently than others do?

Thanks!
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I'll tell you the way I looked at it fwiw :)

I look backwards from the ball I choose to break with to the keyball and then to the ball just before the key ball, the ball best fit to get on the keyball. I felt the best break shot was the 13, and the natural keyball was the 8.

In finding the ball before the keyball I like to find a ball that is easy to get on and allows for a simple stop shot to the keyball.

The 7 ball has potential to be that ball before the keyball, except it doesn't have a ball nearby that will easily get you to good position on it with.

The only other ball that offers a great angle to get you to the keyball (which I chose as the 8) is the 4 ball. I always look for balls like the 4 ball when the key is near the side pocket. Side pocket keyballs can be tricky if you over run position on them. Balls like the 4 are dead in line and simple.

With the one being a trouble ball alone at the other end, and the two ball offering immediate access to the trouble one, and with the 11 being a natural one rail to the 4 for stop shot position for a stop shot 8 ball, the 7 was perfect to get on the 11 with.
 
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Thanks for the info everyone. Logically that makes sense, but it probably won't sink in all the way until I get to the table and see it in action (if only I had a table at home to set this up with right now).

Now I'm curious though, what TSW saw that was different. If you're reading this TSW, would you mind sharing your thinking?

Thanks again!
 
Sorry 3andstop, I didn't realize how close my second pattern was to yours. And I see your points on the 7 and the 4. I love the 4 for a key ball to the key ball if it can be saved. And I think the way you did it works. The 11-ball is nice too, but i think you're right that the 4 is nicer. Edit: I don't think I could hold the shape I showed off of the 11-ball with the angle I had. I think just going straight up for the 8 off the bottom rail is the answer if you have that severe of an angle.

Spoons, I agree with what Jimmy said, and I'd add that if you're coming across the angle on the 7 in whatever pocket you have in mind for it, you can easily overshoot or undershoot it, leaving you centerfield on a ball that's far from a pocket, which means it has something like 4 degrees of error. Add to that narrow error a significant cut angle and I start shaking in my boots. Then again, if you have nice control of the cueball it's probably a nonissue.
 
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Thanks again Jeff, I'm starting to see the merits in taking care of the 7 early. Although in my pattern I was playing the 1-7 with a natural angle which should cut down the risk a little. If I were to overshoot that, I suppose I could always scramble and play 1-8-7 as a backup.

I definitely don't have pinpoint control, which is why I played for that side of the 1 ball to give myself the biggest margin of error I could on the position.

That's also why I said to TSW that if he ran it like me, he probably wouldn't get out ;)

Thanks again. This thread is a great resource for a guy like me who's just trying to get into straight pool!
 
spoons said:
Thanks again Jeff, I'm starting to see the merits in taking care of the 7 early. Although in my pattern I was playing the 1-7 with a natural angle which should cut down the risk a little. If I were to overshoot that, I suppose I could always scramble and play 1-8-7 as a backup.

I definitely don't have pinpoint control, which is why I played for that side of the 1 ball to give myself the biggest margin of error I could on the position.

That's also why I said to TSW that if he ran it like me, he probably wouldn't get out ;)

Thanks again. This thread is a great resource for a guy like me who's just trying to get into straight pool!
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I'm glad you enjoy them. They've helped me a lot too. And I've been playing straight for about 15 years. Actually, I don't see the 1 to the 7 a bad play at all in your pattern. The 11 to the 1 might be a little difficult to get nice on though. But I agree the natural angle makes the 7 much better off of the 1. And you really can end up in a big zone to be able to get to the 8-ball key.
 
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