This question brought to mind George Fels' "Whenever Possibles"
"Mastering Pool" by George Fels
Contents:
Preface
1 Advanced Straight Pool
2 Advanced Eight-Ball
3 Advanced Nine-Ball
4 Advanced One-Pocket
Index
This following excerpt is from pp 22-24 (the straight pool section)
beginning at paragraph 7 of the sub-section 'Sequence'. GF's "Mastering
Pool" (1977) morphed into "Advanced Pool" (1995). This same excerpt is
on pp 39-41 in that one.
*****
Any game that depends on *improvisation* to the extent that pool does
would seem to defy rules of thumb. Still, we'll begin with some
generalities, and proceed to examine just how often those generalities
apply.
I believe that the underlying concept of straight pool sequence is that
*whenever possible* - and those are two terribly important words - you
should strive to do whatever's easiest.
Now that in itself represents a gross over-simplification. So let's
take a closer look at the statement as it applies to straight pool, and
what it really means.
1) It means that you don't hit the cue ball hard when you can accomplish
the same objectives hitting it soft. Most of what you've already read
in these pages talks to that.
2) It means that you don't apply English to the cue ball when you can
accomplish the same thing hitting center ball. Pete Margo of New
Jersey, one of the game's premier players, even states the case
geographically: "Out East, we play center ball, and leave all the fancy
English to the Midwest players." I don't know how he documents that,
but it's unarguable that the world's best straight pool is played in the
East, so don't be a stubborn Midwesterner. I think the operative word
in Margo's statement is *fancy*. English has its place in the game, but
you employ it when it's *functional*, not because it's more
aesthetically pleasing, or you're more comfortable hitting the ball that
way, or (shudder) you took a guess.
3) It means that *whenever possible* (well, I told you they were
important words), *you don't move a second object ball that is already
pocketable, after sinking the one you called*. Think about that. It
sounds elementary, but it has more to do with cutting the game's men
from its boys than I could ever describe to you in words. Just watch
the next pool game you see, and take note of how often the players
scuttle their own ships by moving balls unnecessarily, even if
accidentally. Master the knack of not doing that, and I guarantee you
that you game will improve by a conservative guess of 50 percent, likely
even more. *Please* learn this.
4) It means that *whenever possible* (w. p.), you don't choose cue ball
routes that require your driving or *forcing* the cue ball, as opposed
to rolling it, someplace.
5) It means that w. p., you don't drive the cue ball to a rail when you
can get it to an advantageous place without using a rail.
6) It means that w. p., you don't employ two-rail routes where one-rail
routes will get the job done.
7) It means that w. p., you don't employ three-rail routes where
two-rail (or, sometimes one-rail) routes will do.
8) It means that w. p., you provide yourself with a second shot that you
can count on as part of all your mid-rack break shots. This is the
exact same principle as the Safety Valve pass in football. I'm not
talking about the specific shots we just discussed, of course, but their
smaller brothers and cousins that you use to separate (a good word)
smaller-than-fourteen-ball clusters. We'll get back to this.
9) It means that w. p., we position ourselves to shoot at balls on or
near the rails early in our sequence. I have to be out-front enough to
credit all the pool authors who preceded me for this point, too; it's
mentioned in just about all the beginners' books. This time around, I
want to give you the *why* behind that tip, and show you where it fits
in the scheme of things.
Balls on or near the rails represent two potential sources of trouble:
They may block routes that you need to move your cue ball efficiently;
and they may also occupy areas into which you may need to drive more
object balls on your subsequent break shots. In that case, you only end
up creating more miniclusters along the rail, causing you to interrupt
the sequence you originally planned and execute more break shots.
Remember, the fewer times your cue ball is required to move secondary
object balls, the better for you.
Don't worry about remembering all of this. Nor will you have to carry
my book around the table with you as though it were some kind of pilots'
checklist. Take my word for it, experience and confidence will
eventually cause all these considerations to come to you spontaneously,
and in milliseconds. While you're still learning to put these concepts
to work, your play might slow up some; but once you see that these are
really the things you need to know, they'll automatically become part of
your game.
Now, as to all those "Whenever Possibles": What makes the game of pool
so intriguing and infinite is the frequency with which it will deny you
the chance to take those simplifying steps. You will be forced to
violate every single one of w. p.'s 1 through 9, and plenty of times,
too. When you are required to do that, your success will depend on how
much *control* you can retain over all the variables that confront you
at that point. What the very maximum in control will do for you is that
it will let you resume your simplifying process at the earliest
opportunity. What you never want to do, in this or any pool game, is
guess. I've said it before: The player who obtains the most
certainties for himself is the player who figures to win.
George Fels
