The Ghost

danquixote

danquixote

DanQuixote
Silver Member
Been playing now for over 30 yrs, have read and own many books on pool,and have seen reference to a "ghost ball" which I understand. My first exposure to "Playing the Ghost" was on this forum. I have concluded...perhaps incorrectly.....that the Ghost is an imaginary player you envision while practicing. Was this imaginary entity first introduced in a training manual, or on a DVD. Please excuse my ignorance on this subject and enlighten me......I'm afraid of the dark.......Dan
 
danquixote said:
......I'm afraid of the dark.......Dan
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You have an owl in your avatar...I would think you thrive in the dark?? There is a search button at the top of the screen. Do a search using that word in the title of a thread. You will see a bunch of threads on the subject. Good luck, and fly well.
 
Dan,

Playing the ghost is a practice drill which can be played with any number of balls depending on how difficult you want it to be. You break then attempt to run the balls with ball in hand. If you fail to get out in that inning the ghost then clears the table. Score 1-0 ghost. Rerack the balls and try again. If you can't beat the ghost you can get a spot from him or play with less balls. It is a great drill for working on your patterns or recognizing problem shots in your game and it adds a sense of pressure which is good for the mental game.

I have been beat many times by the ghost. :smile:
he shoots real good.

Dudley
 
Dudley said:
Dan,

Playing the ghost is a practice drill which can be played with any number of balls depending on how difficult you want it to be. You break then attempt to run the balls with ball in hand. If you fail to get out in that inning the ghost then clears the table. Score 1-0 ghost. Rerack the balls and try again. If you can't beat the ghost you can get a spot from him or play with less balls. It is a great drill for working on your patterns or recognizing problem shots in your game and it adds a sense of pressure which is good for the mental game.

I have been beat many times by the ghost. :smile:
he shoots real good.

Dudley
Click to expand...

Thank you Dudley....appreciate the enlightenment. Where did you learn these rules for playing the ghost....I did the search the previous poster recommended and was rewarded with over 11 pages of reference.....I suppose if one were so inclined ....he could read them all and develop some kind of understanding......but I'm old and lazy, so I was looking to get a detailed explanation or specific reference to a thread.....Dan
 
Not really sure where I heard of the drill...... it is commonly played and sometimes people even bet on it.

There is a player who comes around my pool room who can give the 10 ball ghost 2 on the wire to 7. He plays scary good.


Dudley
 
The rules for the ghost are really easy.......Rack a game of 9-ball, break as you normally would, once the balls have come to rest (no matter what happed, unless you made the 9) pick up the cue ball and place it anywhere on the table you'd like. Then play the rack out just as you would if you were playing a real person, only this is total offense from here on out, no playing safe if you get out of line. If you can't run out or make a carom or combo on the 9 the ghost wins that game. You can also play 10-ball ghost. I like to start out each practice session playing the ghost in a race to 7. I gets me loose...I get to crack a few breaks and just get into the feel of pocketing balls.
 
Playing the ghost has been around for years. I think it started as a hustler/sucker bet.

What it comes down to is any skilled player that is left a open table or a few balls left will run out. Therefore if you miss the ghost (any opponent) will run out and win. You lose.

Watch any tournament and you will see that a player is rarely offered a second chance. If he returns to the table it is because of a safety that was played. Therefore the ghost is still in "control" of the table. It is assumed that the ghost never misses and is the best player ever. You are playing against the pool ghost that conquers all. The only way to win is to keep him off the table and to do this you must run out.
 
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There are many ways to play the Ghost. The basic idea is that if you miss the Ghost runs out so you only get one inning.

One way to play is a race to 10 as though you were in a tournament.

Add or subtract your own rules to keep it interesting.

Some people play the 6-ball Ghost and then add a ball when they consistently win. Consistently is defined by you.

Some people add rules to allow for safety play. For instance if I am smart enough to play a lock safe (requiring at least a two rail kick) I do not lose my turn if the Ghost (my alter ego) misses the escape attempt.

Purists would not like such an approach but then some people don’t like playing the Ghost because it is only aggressive pool.

The Ghost is ethereal and can be defined in many ways. :eek:
 
Yikes!!

:yikes::shocked2:
Dudley said:
Not really sure where I heard of the drill...... it is commonly played and sometimes people even bet on it.

There is a player who comes around my pool room who can give the 10 ball ghost 2 on the wire to 7. He plays scary good.

Dudley
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That is scary. Where do you play? I have a Sister in Santa Clara.

As our latino locals might say-your buddy 'plays strong-like a bull'.


3railkick

Ching-gow!
 
JoeW said:
There are many ways to play the Ghost. The basic idea is that if you miss the Ghost runs out so you only get one inning.

One way to play is a race to 10 as though you were in a tournament.

Add or subtract your own rules to keep it interesting.

Some people play the 6-ball Ghost and then add a ball when they consistently win. Consistently is defined by you.

Some people add rules to allow for safety play. For instance if I am smart enough to play a lock safe (requiring at least a two rail kick) I do not lose my turn if the Ghost (my alter ego) misses the escape attempt.

Purists would not like such an approach but then some people don’t like playing the Ghost because it is only aggressive pool.

The Ghost is ethereal and can be defined in many ways. :eek:
Click to expand...


This is basically the way I play it.

If, after the break, I have an open table and decide to run out then no safeties allowed in that rack. If I get out of line I have to shoot my way back in line.

If, after the break, the run out is very low percentage, but I see an effective safety, I will try to play to that safety. If I execute it, then I get ball in hand with a better chance at the break out.

I like this better because it is more like playing a living opponent.
 
3RAILKICK said:
:yikes::shocked2:

That is scary. Where do you play? I have a Sister in Santa Clara.

As our latino locals might say-your buddy 'plays strong-like a bull'.


3railkick

Ching-gow!
Click to expand...

I play at cuetopia (almaden and 85 in san jose)

Dudley
 
There is only ONE way to play the ghost. Either you run out, or you don't...period. Experts play the full rack (or more)...lesser players use less balls. It's still the same...run out or lose.

To the OP...'Playing the ghost' has been a gambling proposition for at least 30 years, and probably a lot longer! It's only recently that lots of people started using it as some sort of a "test" of their skill on the table (hint: it's only a small part of a real test).

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

JoeW said:
There are many ways to play the Ghost. The basic idea is that if you miss the Ghost runs out so you only get one inning.
Click to expand...
 
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I love playing the ghost, I add a little twist to it tho, When i break i will not take ball in hand if i can see my next ball. The only time i take ball in hand is if i have no open shot. I play about Five sets of full Nine Ball ghost, It has really opened up my stroke and has made me more agresive when i play other people.
 
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