What would you do here?

Playing 9 Ball: In which pocket would you try to shoot the seven ball?

  • A

    Votes: 22 14.4%

  • B

    Votes: 15 9.8%

  • C

    Votes: 63 41.2%

  • D

    Votes: 5 3.3%

  • E

    Votes: 65 42.5%
  • Total voters
    153
Masayoshi said:
Play safe on the 6.
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Honestly, that's not a bad solution. A player should really consider all options, in accordance with their current skill level or comfort zone, before committing to any shot in situations like this. If you know your odds of getting out here are worse than your odds of playing a good safety, then a safe is the way to go. Doing what it takes to win is what's important.
 
I'd stun the 6 in the * Pocket, shoot the 7 in the C Pocket, follow to the 8 for the B pocket & off the head rail for the 9 in the * Pocket
 
BC21 said:
Honestly, that's not a bad solution. A player should really consider all options, in accordance with their current skill level or comfort zone, before committing to any shot in situations like this. If you know your odds of getting out here are worse than your odds of playing a good safety, then a safe is the way to go. Doing what it takes to win is what's important.
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While a safety is a thought, one thing that has to be considered that you didn't mention is the other player's ability. Someone starting a safety battle from this layout is probably an underdog. Not much to be gained but if I wanted to get in a safety battle I would probably pocket the six and use the seven to start the safety battle. Doesn't really matter though, I don't like my odds if I start a safety battle now. Too late in the rack.

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
While a safety is a thought, one thing that has to be considered that you didn't mention is the other player's ability. Someone starting a safety battle from this layout is probably an underdog. Not much to be gained but if I wanted to get in a safety battle I would probably pocket the six and use the seven to start the safety battle. Doesn't really matter though, I don't like my odds if I start a safety battle now. Too late in the rack.

Hu
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In rotation games it's never too late to late to start a safety battle. One great lockdown can win the game quickly.
 
BC21 said:
In rotation games it's never too late to late to start a safety battle. One great lockdown can win the game quickly.
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To be more specific, too late in that rack. Odds are thin of anyone who would play a safe here playing a great lockdown. Without luck playing a helping hand, probably a weak safe at best. A weak safe, three or four open balls left on the table, your opponent has the initiative. Hard to imagine anything good happening next!

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
To be more specific, too late in that rack. Odds are thin of anyone who would play a safe here playing a great lockdown. Without luck playing a helping hand, probably a weak safe at best. A weak safe, three or four open balls left on the table, your opponent has the initiative. Hard to imagine anything good happening next!

Hu
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Fair enough. But the easy safe here is to just shoot a stop shot on the 6 and knock it 3 rails toward the 8 ball. Opponent will have to kick or jump for a hit. I think it would be a smart play for any player that doesn't have the confidence or skill to get out from here.
 
ShootingArts said:
To be more specific, too late in that rack. Odds are thin of anyone who would play a safe here playing a great lockdown. Without luck playing a helping hand, probably a weak safe at best. A weak safe, three or four open balls left on the table, your opponent has the initiative. Hard to imagine anything good happening next!

Hu
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Once again what possible purpose would a "lock down safety" serve?

Even if you get ball in hand you will still need to run those 4 wide open balls. If you can't do it from the original layout then you will also fail from your ball in hand position. Because at that point you just suck, no way around it.
 
Black-Balled said:
Please. Safety is beyond foolish, given the layout.
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Lol. For me or you or for many others here, you're right -- it's not a difficult out. But for others it might be a very difficult layout.

As someone who enjoys winning, I like when a weaker opponent thinks they can always clear off those last few balls, especially with a tricky or touchy layout. All I'm saying is that players of that caliber should learn not to sell out when other options are available.

If I'm playing a 400-500 Fargo player, and they're facing this particular situation, I'm hoping they go for the runout. Chances are they'll leave me the last 2 or 3 balls for the game. But if they play smart, realizing they probably can't run out, and so they plant the cb behind the 7 and 9 and send the 6 to the far end rail....well, I won't like that. Lol.

Fact is, if a player wants to win more often, they should always play within their comfort zone, avoiding low percentage shots or opportunities that are unlikely to end well. They'll find themselves winning more often.
 
BC21 said:
Fact is, if a player wants to win more often, they should always play within their comfort zone, avoiding low percentage shots or opportunities that are unlikely to end well. They'll find themselves winning more often.
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If your comfort zone isn't running out those 4 balls you are only kidding yourself you are going to win more often no matter what you do.
 
JC said:
Once again what possible purpose would a "lock down safety" serve?

Even if you get ball in hand you will still need to run those 4 wide open balls. If you can't do it from the original layout then you will also fail from your ball in hand position. Because at that point you just suck, no way around it.
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Right now the 4 balls aren't wide open. If a player has doubts getting on the 7 well enough to get to the 8, then playing the safe and rearranging the 6 ball and and possibly the 8 ball might leave an easier opportunity.
 
easy-e said:
Agreed, but what better starting position are you hoping for?
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I like what's already there, a run out. So I'm not hoping for any other starting position.

But if there's a player that doesn't like the 6 to the 7, in any pocket, or the 7 to 8, then knocking that 6 ball 3 rails toward the 8 might create a more favorable opportunity, especially if rewarded with a ball in hand.

Each player needs to be honest about their likelyhood of getting out here. A weaker player going for the runout simply because that's what better players would do, or because that's what others expect should be done, is a quick way to lose.

Each player has to play their own game within their own current limitations. The key is being honest about limitations and not letting your ego or pride or peer pressure cause you to do something stupid, something outside of your comfort zone that is likely going to result in losing.
 
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ShootingArts said:
To be more specific, too late in that rack. Odds are thin of anyone who would play a safe here playing a great lockdown. Without luck playing a helping hand, probably a weak safe at best. A weak safe, three or four open balls left on the table, your opponent has the initiative. Hard to imagine anything good happening next!

Hu
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Well, the safety comment was replying to someone who asked what to do in the case of 3.5 inch pockets. Even with a weaker safe, I am betting against most people running out from the 6 with the 7, 8, and 9 on opposite sides of the table like that without ball in hand. Maybe a fargo 750+ would make short work of it, but others, I doubt it.
 
JC said:
If your comfort zone isn't running out those 4 balls you are only kidding yourself you are going to win more often no matter what you do.
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All I'm saying is that there are plenty of players that would struggle running out in this situation. The problem isn't pocketing the 6, it's getting on the 7, then pocketing the 7 and getting to the 8, then to the 9. It's a tricky little out if your cue ball control isn't very good or if you aren't a solid shot maker.

Average players have a Fargo score between 450 and 500. I would bet their runout percentage from here is easily less than 50%. That means they're likely going to lose half the time or more if they go for the runout. And the ones who realize and accept this fact would actually win more often in these situations by playing smart.

Excluding the luck factor, winning requires at least one of these two things, and usually both:

Playing well - being able to pocket balls consistently while maintaining good control of the cue ball.

Playing smart - Knowing when your odds of running out are not good, for whatever reason, so you choose not to attempt it, opting for a safety instead.
 
BC21 said:
Right now the 4 balls aren't wide open. If a player has doubts getting on the 7 well enough to get to the 8, then playing the safe and rearranging the 6 ball and and possibly the 8 ball might leave an easier opportunity.
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I don't disagree with your thinking, you need to be comfortable, but by playing safe you're doing two things:

-HOPING to get a better runout.
-Giving your opponent a chance.

Giving your opponent a chance has a few different outcomes. They could foul, giving you BIH with maybe a better position. They make a legal hit, probably leaving you worse than you are now. Or they could get lucky and fluke the 6 in or leave you in very bad shape. The player should attempt the runout, and if he doesn't run out, he should at least learn from his mistake and do better next time.
 
easy-e said:
I don't disagree with your thinking, you need to be comfortable, but by playing safe you're doing two things:

-HOPING to get a better runout.
-Giving your opponent a chance.

Giving your opponent a chance has a few different outcomes. They could foul, giving you BIH with maybe a better position. They make a legal hit, probably leaving you worse than you are now. Or they could get lucky and fluke the 6 in or leave you in very bad shape. The player should attempt the runout, and if he doesn't run out, he should at least learn from his mistake and do better next time.
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Good points. It depends on the player I suppose. The likelyhood of your opponent kicking and leaving you hooked by accident is slim. More than likely they'll either get a hit and leave a shot or leave another safety option, or they'll foul. And all of these outcomes are better than going for a low percentage runout where losing is the most likely outcome.

Sometimes we have to drop our ego and play more strategically, rather than play ballz out every time simply because you have a starter shot.

I think a good video that would help weaker players would be to take this exact situation and show how effective the safety play would be against a good player, one that can kick well and won't give up a ball in hand.

The hardest part about choosing not to go for the runout is actually admitting that you don't think you can get out from here. That's something a player has to realize and accept based on his or her own experience. Without an honest assessment of skill level and current limitations, a lot of players will lose this game based on what they do with that 6 ball. This is usually where a weaker player will go for the runout, because it looks obvious with that easy starter shot. But what'll happen most of the time is they'll miss the 7 or not get a good a shot on the 8. And they'll leave their opponent the last 2 or 3 balls.
 
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