Safety battles

[Gregg]

I was playing a game of eight ball, hill hill, and it came down to a bitter, grinding battle of safeties.

Now, to me, this game of cat and mouse for the win at the end of the game can be the most fulfilling, enjoyable, and rewarding part of any eight ball game.

It's not like nine ball, where, safety play comes up, but both shooters are shooting on the same ball.

When the match was over, (I won 4-2 in a handicapped match if you care) my opponent was saying that he would rather shoot balls for 10 minutes and miss all of them, then go back and forth with safeties.

Sure it's nice when layout allows you to run out a rack, but how do some of you feel about "playing chess" on a pool table?

 

[PROG8R]

It depends on what is at stake. Just hitting them for shits and grins, I'll will only engange in a safety battle for maybe a minute or two. If its league and nothing is at stake then maybe a few times before I go 'COWBOY', but if its for a trip to VEGAS, or for cash, I can do it all day long.

 

[ScottW]

Me, I prefer not to HAVE to play safe, but if it means the difference between a win and a loss, I'll happily do it.

In fact, last week, safeties are what won a league match for me, against a guy I hadn't beat in league in two years.

 

[Gregg]

Me, I prefer not to HAVE to play safe, but if it means the difference between a win and a loss, I'll happily do it.

In fact, last week, safeties are what won a league match for me, against a guy I hadn't beat in league in two years.

Right, it's sure nice when you can run out when possible.

For me, if it's for a win or loss, even with my practice shooting partner, I will play safe. If you can't do it in practice, you probably can't do it when it matters, either. Safety play takes knowledge, experience, cue ball control, and you can't just turn it off and on when necessary, IMO.

 

[Blackjack]

A safety battle is a great test of skill. The only people that will complain about it are people that lack knowledge in that area of the game. A good player will welcome the challenge. Especially in 8 ball, you can learn a great deal about the game by engaging in a safety battle with 1-3 balls on the table.

 

[Gregg]

A safety battle is a great test of skill. The only people that will complain about it are people that lack knowledge in that area of the game. A good player will welcome the challenge. Especially in 8 ball, you can learn a great deal about the game by engaging in a safety battle with 1-3 balls on the table.

Right, some of the highest level of difficulty/most impressive shots I've seen have been defensive shots.

To me personally, there is nothing more enjoyable than watching a master eight ball shooter put the cue ball on a dime, when necessary.

 

[supergreenman]

If the pattern is there, I'd rather run out, but I love safety battles. I like my odds when it comes to a safety battle.

 

[9Ball_JJ]

I love safety battles!! It just makes me grin a little bit when guys get upset about me playing a smart safe rather than a risky shot, then they get all mad and start complaining about me not being able to run out. Then they get even more mad when I win the game....I love it. LOL

 

[GADawg]

A safety battle is a great test of skill. The only people that will complain about it are people that lack knowledge in that area of the game. A good player will welcome the challenge. Especially in 8 ball, you can learn a great deal about the game by engaging in a safety battle with 1-3 balls on the table.

Correct you are. I enjoy the strategic safety battle games. Most people only think about a safety when they are in dire straits at the end of a rack and try to play a safety as a last resort. If you look at the rack early on and see problems in running out, that is the time to begin your safety strategy.

 

[ShootingArts]

strongly agree

I strongly agree. Sometimes I run a handful of balls knowing that the end goal of this time at the table is to finish with a strong safety. In eightball especially it can be a good idea to dump the headaches on the other player or work on them from ball in hand.

Hu

Correct you are. I enjoy the strategic safety battle games. Most people only think about a safety when they are in dire straits at the end of a rack and try to play a safety as a last resort. If you look at the rack early on and see problems in running out, that is the time to begin your safety strategy.

 

[Black-Balled]

I love safety battles!! It just makes me grin a little bit when guys get upset about me playing a smart safe rather than a risky shot, then they get all mad and start complaining about me not being able to run out. Then they get even more mad when I win the game....I love it. LOL

Not a battle, per se, but along the vein of the frustrating of other folks...I am playing a guy, going to 9 and it is 4-4. I play the following
START(
%CH3^2%EN7^7%HY9T9%I[2S4%KJ6^7%MK6]9%NI5]5%Pm2X1%Ur7Q1%VC7P7
%WD2Q7%XY1U1%][9O1%^s3P7
)END
he says, "fahking a-hole", and folds from that point on. Ahhh, so satisfying to be the hammer!

 

[Gregg]

Not a battle, per se, but along the vein of the frustrating of other folks...I am playing a guy, going to 9 and it is 4-4. I play the following
START(
%CH3^2%EN7^7%HY9T9%I[2S4%KJ6^7%MK6]9%NI5]5%Pm2X1%Ur7Q1%VC7P7
%WD2Q7%XY1U1%][9O1%^s3P7
)END
he says, "fahking a-hole", and folds from that point on. Ahhh, so satisfying to be the hammer!

Sweet safe. I can't stand people getting upset with good safe play;

Not playing safe when you can't run out is equil to giving up. It's an aggressive tactic to gain an advantage over your opponent.

The guy I was playing last night thought he was slick, making a few, and leaving me on the eight ball, hooked. He had no ball anywhere near (this was not a top flight match, as I was giving up weight to him, and it would have been tough to break out his ball, as the eight was behind it, inches from the pocket) and I simply gave him ball in hand, with very little to shoot at after he made his last two. He when I said "Ball in hand" and handed him the cue ball, he look at me like I was crazy, and said "What!?#". It never occurred to him that I would refuse to break out the cluster, and that I would let him do it. I later won the game, and the match.

 

[lewdo26]

Sweet safe. I can't stand people getting upset with good safe play;

Not playing safe when you can't run out is equil to giving up. It's an aggressive tactic to gain an advantage over your opponent.

The guy I was playing last night thought he was slick, making a few, and leaving me no the eight ball, hook. He had no ball anywhere near (this was not a top flight match, as I was giving up weight to him, and it would have been tough to break out his ball, as the eight was behind it, inches from the pocket) and I simply gave him ball in hand, with very little to shoot at after he made his last two. He when I said "Ball in hand" and handed him the cue ball, he look at me like I was crazy, and said "What!?#". It never occurred to him that I would refuse to break out the cluster, and that I would let him do it. I later won the game, and the match.

Don't do that, though. Tap the cueball gently, or roll it in the pocket. Just grabbing the cueball is poor etiquette, IMO.

 

[Gregg]

Don't do that, though. Tap the cue ball gently, or roll it in the pocket. Just grabbing the cue ball is poor etiquette, IMO.

I'll remember that. I never thought that someone would see it that way, to me a foul is a foul, but I am also a traditionalist, and want to do things the correct way. From now on, that's exactly what I'll do.

 

[ScottW]

Don't do that, though. Tap the cueball gently, or roll it in the pocket. Just grabbing the cueball is poor etiquette, IMO.

Why do you think simply picking the cue up and handing it to your opponent is 'bad etiquette'?

 

[GADawg]

Don't do that, though. Tap the cueball gently, or roll it in the pocket. Just grabbing the cueball is poor etiquette, IMO.

I agree that it is poor etiquette to just pick up the cue ball. When it's your shot, you should shoot, even if it is an intentional foul. Who knows what might happen. If you're on the eight, you might miscue, scratch and lose.

In fact, I just looked at the BCA rules and rule 3.29, quoted below might apply and if you picked up the cue ball two times, it would be loss of match. Opinions?

3.29 SPECIAL INTENTIONAL FOUL PENALTY
The cue ball in play shall not be intentionally struck with anything other than a cue attached tip (such as the ferrule, shaft, etc.). While such contact is automatically a foul under the provisions of Rule 3.19, if the referee deems the contact to be intentional, he shall warn the player once during a match that a second violation during that match will result in the loss of the match by forfeiture. If a second violation does occur, the match must be forfeited.

 

[Billy_Bob]

I love a good safety battle with an intelligent opponent.

I don't enjoy playing safeties with "shot maker" types because they do not understand what is going on - it seems they are not capable of looking ahead at future situations.

For example I was playing a not too bright "shot maker" type in a BCA rules tournament. He had shot in all his balls except one, then scratched leaving his last ball on the table giving me ball-in-hand. All my balls (7) were out in the open except two which were clustered. So I take the cue ball and shoot at the cluster with a stop shot. This moves my balls out into the open and leaves my opponent snookered.

So my opponent stares at me and says "What are you doing, trying to mess with my head or something?" I said "I'm trying to win!"

He did not understand that I would have trouble running out with that cluster there, that for me to run out and win, I would need to fix that cluster and that I was fixing it NOW while I had many balls on the table and I could easily snooker him. Also he would have trouble leaving me without a shot since I had balls everywhere. I had the advantage.

So he shoots at his ball and misses giving me ball-in-hand again. Then I ran out and won. He looked at me like I had somehow "cheated". Of course any kind of thinking, lining up shots, etc. *is* considered cheating to these types of players.

But as I say, there are two types of players. The thinking/strategy types who prefer 8-ball, and the shot maker types who prefer 9-ball.

As to picking up the cue ball and handing it to your opponent, I love it when someone does this to a player who has never seen this done. The look on their face is priceless. And if it is against the rules to do this, then no biggie, an intentional miscue or a kick shot which misses will accomplish the same thing.

 

[Gregg]

As to picking up the cue ball and handing it to your opponent, I love it when someone does this to a player who has never seen this done. The look on their face is priceless. And if it is against the rules to do this, then no biggie, an intentional miscue or a kick shot which misses will accomplish the same thing.

Right, this is what happened to me. After this guy called a timeout, talked the shot over with his teammate, did his thing at the table, then I gave him ball in hand, he was like "WHAT?!@" He couldn't believe I took this as an option.

 

[DaveK]

A safety battle is a great test of skill. The only people that will complain about it are people that lack knowledge in that area of the game. A good player will welcome the challenge. Especially in 8 ball, you can learn a great deal about the game by engaging in a safety battle with 1-3 balls on the table.

That's quite a paragraph, very well said !

Shooting safeties in 8 Ball can result in huge advantages in several ways. One of my personal favorites is when your safety causes one or more of your opponents balls to become tied up ... nudging balls to the rails or into clusters, that sort of nastiness. From your opponent’s perspective, it’s quite a blow to see his balls mashed together, if you know what I mean As Billy Bob said, shooting a safety that includes a required break-out (hey, does that make my nasty shot a "desired break-in" ?) is an excellent strategy, it's simply preparing to run-out later. These shots, and conversely escaping from them, are some of my favorite parts of 8-ball … too bad your typical bar room pool player rarely see that around here. A true safety battle where consecutive kick-safeties/leaves are played is a wonderful creation to watch, imo, and an incredible rush to be involved in ... ideally ending with a legal pot on the 8 !

Dave