What would you do - 8 Ball

K

Koop

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Last night my opponent left me this on the 8 ball.
He got lucky and the 14 rolled right into the path of the side pocket and the 15 was blocking the cross side.
What I did worked although I know how risky it was. Just wondering what you guys/girls would have done. I was on the hill and he needed 3.
Cueball is about a quarter of an inch from being frozen on the rail and it's a 9 foot table.

Thanks,
Koop

CueTable Help

 
Given the score, I think I would have shot the 8 in the upper right corner. Moving the cue ball 3 rails and leaving him the cue somewhere on the right side of the table.

May be a little reckless, but I have been shooting unconscience lately.
 
Neil said:
There's a number of things you could do, but I would just shoot the 8 into the upper far corner. It's really no harder than the safe or the combination or the reverse bank.
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That was my first thought but it was a complete sell-out if I missed. Not to mention he was beginning to gain momentum.
What I did was probably so wrong on so many levels...LOL..but it did work.
 
I think this is do or die situation. be cause of his 15 wich can be played from almost anyware on the table, you have to play for the right upper corner. You can try a safety to cut the 8 to the left corner and block the 14 path, and leave the cue ball on the right short rail so the 15 is rather hard to play.
 
I have to say, the cut down the corner was not as easy as I have depicted, sorry for that. It was there but not as easy as this looks.
 
Another possible option is the inertia phase shot. You hit the 8 so hard with so much spin, the 8 comes about 1/16" of an inch off the table and hits the 14 at a downward angle. Since the 14 is unable to move, the 8 actually passes through the 14 and pots in the side pocket.

Careful though, hitting this shot too hard can create a black hole on your table. :)
 
Below is my response. The exact location of the 15 ball is critical here. I'm assuming it's not makeable from where I intend to leave the cueball. If it is, you have to think of something else. The critical element here is getting the right speed on both the cueball and 8ball so that you leave the cueball on the rail AND the 8ball floats in the natural path for the 14. There's a reasonable chance you'll block it so it's worth going for.

CueTable Help

 
Jude Rosenstock said:
Below is my response. The exact location of the 15 ball is critical here. I'm assuming it's not makeable from where I intend to leave the cueball. If it is, you have to think of something else. The critical element here is getting the right speed on both the cueball and 8ball so that you leave the cueball on the rail AND the 8ball floats in the natural path for the 14. There's a reasonable chance you'll block it so it's worth going for.
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Hi Jude,

I was hoping you would join in. If I remember correctly, the 15 was makable from there although that is a great shot that I honestly didn't think of.

Koop
 
Ok, I may as well tell you what I did so you all can tell me I am insane...LOL

I played the 8 down in the corner but off his 14. Crap, I should have mentioned this is APA and off another ball is legal, sorry.

Anyway, my thought process, however flawed, was that if I went for the straight in shot and missed, he had two bunnies by either side. By playing off the 14 I was hoping to move the 14 above or below the 15 and send the cueball to the top of the table by the corner pocket, at least making it difficult. Wouldn't you know that I nailed the shot, perfectly. Probably couldn't do it again if you set it up a hundred times but hey, I hit it when it counted.

Ok, let the bashing commence :grin:
 
Koop said:
I played the 8 down in the corner but off his 14. Crap, I should have mentioned this is APA and off another ball is legal, sorry.
Click to expand...

I have never played APA, played BCA. As long as you call your pocket and make a legal hit then it shouldn't matter if it hit another ball, correct?

I am just curious, as you mention that off another ball is legal, are there leagues or rules that prohibit this outside of APA?

Nice shot by the way.....
 
Just because the 15 is near the side dosen't mean there is not a shot there.

You could use the bank the move the 15 or, block the 15 enough to make any useable shape very hard.

This is one reason knowing how to bank is very important.
 
Koop said:
Ok, I may as well tell you what I did so you all can tell me I am insane...LOL

I played the 8 down in the corner but off his 14. Crap, I should have mentioned this is APA and off another ball is legal, sorry.

Anyway, my thought process, however flawed, was that if I went for the straight in shot and missed, he had two bunnies by either side. By playing off the 14 I was hoping to move the 14 above or below the 15 and send the cueball to the top of the table by the corner pocket, at least making it difficult. Wouldn't you know that I nailed the shot, perfectly. Probably couldn't do it again if you set it up a hundred times but hey, I hit it when it counted.

Ok, let the bashing commence :grin:
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I'm not going to say your shot is wrong. If the 15 can be made from anywhere, you're sorta shit-out-of-luck. You have no choice but to hit it and pray. The carom versus the straight cut are both low probability shots. The only difference is, with yours, you're giving yourself an opportunity to get a little lucky in case you miss.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
The only difference is, with yours, you're giving yourself an opportunity to get a little lucky in case you miss.
Click to expand...

That's the only thing I was thinking in choosing that one over the straight in.
Not to mention, being nearly glued to the rail didn't help.
 
MahnaMahna said:
I have never played APA, played BCA. As long as you call your pocket and make a legal hit then it shouldn't matter if it hit another ball, correct?

I am just curious, as you mention that off another ball is legal, are there leagues or rules that prohibit this outside of APA?

Nice shot by the way.....
Click to expand...

Thanks,
Not sure but I know there are lot of players opposed to leagues that probably don't play with the same rules. That's the only reason I felt the need to clarify.

Regards,
Koop
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
Below is my response. The exact location of the 15 ball is critical here. I'm assuming it's not makeable from where I intend to leave the cueball. If it is, you have to think of something else. The critical element here is getting the right speed on both the cueball and 8ball so that you leave the cueball on the rail AND the 8ball floats in the natural path for the 14. There's a reasonable chance you'll block it so it's worth going for.

CueTable Help

Click to expand...

This is most certainly the shot I would shoot. In fact, it's the only reasonable shot I see and a very effective one a that, if executed well.

Even if you don't block the corner pocket with the 8-ball, if you leave the cueball on or near the end rail the shot on the 14 is very difficult. I like my chances with my opponent rolling that 14 ball the length of the table from the end rail.

If you block the corner pocket with the 8 there is really no offensive shot for your opponent, and any effective safety from that distance with the 8 relatively near the corner pocket will be really tough to find and to execute.
 
This was my first thought, too, when I saw the diagram. You don't turn the cue ball loose, you don't sell out easy, and you make your opponent do the heavy work behind his mistake. Given the score, I think the long cross cut in the upper right is shooting at a white flag.
 
It all depends on the situation-
the safety Jude shown up is a good choice but also hard to play (8-ball with good timing to shut the door for the 14 and even so the cueball has to go perfectly with the right speed)
i think if this would happen on a *unknown* table i would try the 8-ball into the upper right corner- like the guy said before- DO it or DIE.
 
There is another possibility, I wouldnt attempt it(under most circumstances) but it is possible, Shoot Jude's shot and instead of leaving the CB on the short rail, shoot a bit harder and have the CB roll up right on the 15-putting him too close to his work. Leaving a good shot maker on the short rail isnt enough because both balls are still in play. If you know the table real well and have good touch and speed control jamming him up on the 15 will win you the game, but its a do or die play.
 
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