What Just Kills Me..........

D

DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
one word, pure and simple.........SPEED!!!

just keep getting on the wrong side of the ball, putting myself in a position where i have to "Come with a Shot" instead of letting the "Natural Angle" do the job for me.

if there's one thing i remember learning from Diana Minor its that you have to get on the "Proper side of the object ball" to make the game easier.

i am at the office now, and cant diagram some shots, hopefully can do so later tonight. perhaps i am playing shots wrong? perhaps i am going one rail instead of two, making things more difficult?

dunno, but Speed is killing me...........

DCP
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
one word, pure and simple.........SPEED!!!

just keep getting on the wrong side of the ball, putting myself in a position where i have to "Come with a Shot" instead of letting the "Natural Angle" do the job for me.

if there's one thing i remember learning from Diana Minor its that you have to get on the "Proper side of the object ball" to make the game easier.

i am at the office now, and cant diagram some shots, hopefully can do so later tonight. perhaps i am playing shots wrong? perhaps i am going one rail instead of two, making things more difficult?

dunno, but Speed is killing me...........

DCP
Click to expand...


Well, much of this gets corrected with experience and I have two meanings behind this. For starters, in time you learn how to manage angles more efficiently, playing position on the 2-ball in such a way so that you don't have to come with a shot to get on the 4-ball. Angle management is always a 3 ball sequence and it can get very tricky at times. Personally, it's this aspect of 9-ball that I really enjoy.

The second part of my answer is that sometimes you simply have to rely on perfect speed and experience will help correct this, as well. It's frustrating and rewarding all at the same time.
 
This is my downfall as well. My shot making ability remains pretty consistent, but my CB gets away from me whenever I take a leave from the game.

I've made a conscious effort to avoid position lines that cross the ideal position line for a given shot. I try to play an angle that rolls along that ideal position line as much as possible.

For example, this is a common poor position choice I used to make. I now shoot it like shown in page 2 which offers me much more room for error.

CueTable Help

 
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mosconiac said:
This is my downfall as well. I've made a concious effort to avoid position lines that cross the ideal position line for a given shot. I try to play an angle that rolls along that ideal position line as much as possible.

For example, this is a common poor position choice I used to make. I now shoot it like shown in page 2 which offers me much more room for error.

CueTable Help

Click to expand...
Not to mention in page 1 you're going straight toward the corner pocket. Good post, and good point.

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to mosconiac again."
 
you need to pay attention to what they call the attack line....in other words come into positon on your next shot in a way where it wont matter as much if youre off by a couple feet. Best way i can explain it is, draw a line from the pocket you want to play the ball in thru the object ball, this is basically the attack line. Now plan your shots before so you can move the cue ball along this line as it approaches the object ball.......so you either have a closer shot or a longer shot. Its when you arent coming in along this line but crossing it, that you have to have pinpoint position........so try to plan more of your shots using it.
 
DCP,
Of course everyone else is on target. There is one more issue, that becomes more important the looser your pockets are: What part of the pocket are you aiming at??? There is quite a bit of latitude in aim the larger the pockets are. Even tight pockets allow you to hit almost any object ball a little thicker, or a little thinner than center pocket. Pay attention to what part of the pocket the object ball hits - you may be making slight errors in targeting/aiming that make whitey go a little farther or a little less far than you think based on a center pocket hit.

This type of "pocket cheating" is absolutely essential to master for topflight 14.1; I'll bet it doesn't hurt in any game. You might try a few racks with pocket reducers (where your target is just one ball's width wide) to get a feel for the speed of whitey after contact. Then when the pocket reducers are taken out, make sure that your target is only one ball width wide, and you should improve your speed control substantially. Good luck.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
one word, pure and simple.........SPEED!!!

just keep getting on the wrong side of the ball, putting myself in a position where i have to "Come with a Shot" instead of letting the "Natural Angle" do the job for me.

if there's one thing i remember learning from Diana Minor its that you have to get on the "Proper side of the object ball" to make the game easier.

i am at the office now, and cant diagram some shots, hopefully can do so later tonight. perhaps i am playing shots wrong? perhaps i am going one rail instead of two, making things more difficult?

dunno, but Speed is killing me...........

DCP
Click to expand...
In addition to what everyone else has said, sometimes it's best to stay on the wrong side of the object ball and then play extra rails to get back. Often the margin for error is much greater on the wrong side, because you can have a much greater cut angle and still get easy position. If you try to get on the "correct" side and get a little too much angle you can't stop the cueball for position.

unknownpro
 
this is the type of shot that i am referring to. did i play this wrong? i didnt really see another option, at least not at the time. i wanted to float up to position A for natural angle on the 3-Ball, but i left it short at Point B, and was hosed.

these types of things kill my runouts. what did i do wrong posters? what can i do to correct these flaws?

DCP

p.s. can somebody fix this where it can be seen without having to click the link?

http://CueTable.com/P/?@3ATYV1BBqf4...QPMt2RNvF3UTYV3UaMg4kIBH4kEye3kQOO3kQfQ2kPtT@
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
this is the type of shot that i am referring to. did i play this wrong? i didnt really see another option, at least not at the time. i wanted to float up to position A for natural angle on the 3-Ball, but i left it short at Point B, and was hosed.

these types of things kill my runouts. what did i do wrong posters? what can i do to correct these flaws?

DCP

p.s. can somebody fix this where it can be seen without having to click the link?

http://CueTable.com/P/?@3ATYV1BBqf4...QPMt2RNvF3UTYV3UaMg4kIBH4kEye3kQOO3kQfQ2kPtT@
Click to expand...

The first thing I noticed was the combo on the 9. for the money, I probably would have played for it...It looks farily wired up.

Regarding the hosed shape....you came up short, but it looks like you could still draw back into the side rail and come accross for the 3.

If I were going for the runout, I may have opted to go off the 1 ball two rails more into the 2 ball.....Really depends exactly how the balls lay in real life...

The way you played it seems fine also....you just came up short...

When you hit the ball that thin, speed is hard to judge...if you hit it a little thicker or thinner the CB will go a different distance....You may have hit it with the correct speed, but you hit the OB a little too thick......No one will really know that for sure except you...

but you still had plenty of opportunity to run out......What would you have done if your opponent left you that position on the 2....I personally would be very happy to be left with that opportunity...
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
this is the type of shot that i am referring to. did i play this wrong? i didnt really see another option, at least not at the time. i wanted to float up to position A for natural angle on the 3-Ball, but i left it short at Point B, and was hosed.

these types of things kill my runouts. what did i do wrong posters? what can i do to correct these flaws?

DCP

p.s. can somebody fix this where it can be seen without having to click the link?

CueTable Help

Click to expand...

I think you chose the right route.. As another poster said, you might just need to pay close attention to which side of the pocket you make a ball in. This could have been a result of hitting the object ball a smidge too thick..

And for the record, the position you ended up with is just fine. Just softly roll the 2 in, roll into the 9 bumping it to the bottom rail, and end up with an angle to go two rails back and forth on the 3.

Russ
 
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BRKNRUN said:
The first thing I noticed was the combo on the 9. for the money, I probably would have played for it...It looks farily wired up.

Regarding the hosed shape....you came up short, but it looks like you could still draw back into the side rail and come accross for the 3.

If I were going for the runout, I may have opted to go off the 1 ball two rails more into the 2 ball.....Really depends exactly how the balls lay in real life...

The way you played it seems fine also....you just came up short...

When you hit the ball that thin, speed is hard to judge...if you hit it a little thicker or thinner the CB will go a different distance....You may have hit it with the correct speed, but you hit the OB a little too thick......No one will really know that for sure except you...

but you still had plenty of opportunity to run out......What would you have done if your opponent left you that position on the 2....I personally would be very happy to be left with that opportunity...
Click to expand...

I just thought the same thing the first time I saw that diagram. I'd go for left/tiny bit low english and come off the rail to the left a little to wind up on the fat side of the 2.

If you have a shot to win the game on the next shot... I would always go for it.

(Top right english would come two rails off to basically put you in the same position, but you take the chance of winding up close to the rail instead of in the middle of the table. Anyone disagree?)
 

CueTable Help



Here is two ways to play the runout from where you ended up. You had great position!

Layout three is is you don't have the confidence to kill the cue ball one rail.. This position route goes two rails back and forth.

Layout four, you get good position by using draw, and maybe a little draw drag if you get slightly thin.

Russ
 
but remember, by nudging the 9-Ball you are leaving yourself a very tough shot on the 3-Ball, and a very difficult position play to get on the 5-Ball.

however............if you get on the proper side of the 2-Ball so you can just float down with the natural angle onto the 3-Ball, then you are in business to run the rack!!!

it all comes down to speed, Speed, and SPEED!!!

also, the diagram doesnt quite show it, but the 2-9 combo wasnt lined up very good.

DCP
 
Speed is where it is at!

I am with you so much it hurts....but it hurts in all the best ways.
When you are down to speed as the number one killer you are getting very close to moving the entire show to a whole new level. I would much rather be seeing the shots and not yet have the skill to execute them then to have the skill to execute but not be creative enough to see the shots!
When I slay myself at the table, 9 times out of 10 anymore, it is due to speed. The good news is that I am seeing the patterns necessary to solve the puzzle that I am presented with.
Scottycoyote is spot on...he is calling it the zone of attack...I affectionetly refer to it as the zone of opportunity. It has to do with rolling the stone down rather than across your shot opportunity. Find the lane that gives you the greatest latitude for success while minimizing the opportunity for disaster. If you can combine this with the other (read: my) rules;
1. leave it off the rail
2. leave yourself a plan B
you will have arrived. Me personally I haven't but that doesn't keep me from acting like I know what the hell is going on.
Speed is where it is at!
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
but remember, by nudging the 9-Ball you are leaving yourself a very tough shot on the 3-Ball, and a very difficult position play to get on the 5-Ball.

however............if you get on the proper side of the 2-Ball so you can just float down with the natural angle onto the 3-Ball, then you are in business to run the rack!!!

it all comes down to speed, Speed, and SPEED!!!

also, the diagram doesnt quite show it, but the 2-9 combo wasnt lined up very good.

DCP
Click to expand...

Ida know man.. I'm only a C player :D, and the shot as diagrammed still doesn't seem so tuff..

Russ
 
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