What's the better shot here?

stljohnny

stljohnny

knowledge > execution. :(
Silver Member
This weekend I was playing a guy some cheap 9B, and spotting a couple of games, no biggie, it's fair - as long as I remember how to play the game.

Anyway, after a few racks of beating myself, I'm feeling pretty anxious but this rack is going fairly well. But then I roll too far off the 5 and find myself here:

CueTable Help



I was so frustrated that I blew a fairly easy position I couldn't even see how to get back in line. I stared at this shot for a good couple of minutes then tried to fire the shot lined with black (and of course missed it). I put this layout together to see what I could've done differently - and get some input from you all.

9 foot GC with double-shimmed pockets, medium-speed cloth, red-circle cueball.

The three offensive shots I see here are:
a) black line - pure draw, no side spin.
b) red line - outside english with some top
c) blue line - slow roll the 6.

My thoughts on each:
a) I draw pretty good and felt confident (considering) it.
b) I really thought I'd either roll way too far and get close to the middle of the table (still need to work on speed control with english and multiple rails)
c) I don't slow-roll too well, either underhit it so bad it doesn't drop or the other way and find myself frozen to the rail.


So my questions are:
1) Are these paths even correct - am I seeing them correctly?
2) What would you shoot - and why?
 
I'd take the drag shot on the 6 should give you an easy angle off the 8 to get to the 9..

JMO
 
Right choice

From my perspective the (black line) six in the corner with a bit of draw is the shot. Even if you hit the ob with stun you should still have a shot (although a tad longer than necessary).

I believe you made the right choice -
 
I'd slow roll it personally. You make the shot easier, you get sufficient angle on the 8 to get to the 9 and you're not rolling against your angles so you can't really screw it up unless you staple it to the rail.

If you want to hit it a little harder though, I'd consider high left english to check it off the end rail.

I'm not any good at this pool stuff though, so take it with a grain of salt.
 
I think the black-line option is probably the better shot for most players, but I don't hit that type of shot well. Myself, I'd slow-roll it, cuz I have better control that way.

Interesting. I look forward to seeing how others would do it.
 
Slow roll would be my choice, perhaps with a touch of high left. It's the easiest way to go for acceptable position on the eight, and a fairly easy position on the 9 afterwards.
 
I'd follow the Red Line track but I wouldn't try to stop above the 8, but rather have whitey continue to below the 8, playing it in the upper RH corner pocket.

Odds are I would have an angle on the 8 in order to get whitey over for the 9 in the lower LH corner pocket.
 
I like a stun shot.. Straight across and straight back

It will be hard to mess it up, unless you hit it too easy and leave the cb stuck on the rail.
 
stljohnny said:
The three offensive shots I see here are:
a) black line - pure draw, no side spin.

My thoughts on each:
a) I draw pretty good and felt confident (considering) it.

So my questions are:
1) Are these paths even correct - am I seeing them correctly?
2) What would you shoot - and why?
Click to expand...
You picked the right shot, IMO. But I would have put a tad bit of outside on the cue ball to make sure that I made the 6. This is a notorious shot for being undercut. For advanced students I teach that this shot can be hit with a hair less draw and a little right. It yields the same position as if shot with straight draw, but the pocketing percentage jumps way up.

YMMV.

CueTable Help


-td
 
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Hard to say for sure unless you are at the table, but I would lean toward the black line draw shot. If I was going to use the red line I would probably hit it hard enough to bring the cue ball back above the 8 and shoot it in the same pocket as the 6. The blue line shot looks to me like you couldn't hold the cue ball where it is in the diagram, I think it would roll further down near the end rail.
 
cigardave said:
I'd follow the Red Line track but I wouldn't try to stop above the 8, but rather have whitey continue to below the 8, playing it in the upper RH corner pocket.
Click to expand...
^^^This^^^ I used to drag-draw the CB to stay above the 8, but it leads to more jawed balls. Dave's way is very natural.
 
mosconiac said:
^^^This^^^ I used to drag-draw the CB to stay above the 8, but it leads to more jawed balls. Dave's way is very natural.
Click to expand...

and you guys are okay with trying a rail runner passed the side pocket? I can see how the position there is very natural though. the rails do play nice and as long as i hit it good, it should go right on by the points, but aren't you really just trading one risk for another?

I really love that draw shot with outside, but again, I have a tendency to over-stroke it and put too much spin on it, probably ending up below the 8. heh

Obviously, I still have to learn the subtleties of half-tips of english with reliable control.
 
> I also prefer to draw off the 6,esp with no interfering ball in the middle of the table.

However,when shooting this shot with heat on you,the very worst thing you can do is land in the middle of the table,because of the route that must be taken to get good on the 9,and without scratching in the side.

What I mean is,you can make this 8 REAL tough by stopping anywhere between where Johnny's red and black paths stop as a reference point. Set this shot up and try to pocket a frozen 8 ball from where the red path stops with low right and precise speed without scratching,you'll be there a while.

Sure,you can overspin it and come in above the side pocket,but why make it hard on yourself?

The real shot here is to shoot the draw shot,but about 2 feet further,so you have to commit to hitting it firm enough that the cue ball at least makes contact with the opposite side rail where the 8 is,ideally coming back out about 6 inches,so the shot on the 8 has a built-in natural,controllable route to automatically fall on the 9.

This takes some getting used to,so hit it a couple hundred times before you try it in competitition unless you already have. The 2nd worst thing that can happen here,assuming the ball is pocketed,is to wind up dead straight or with a very shallow angle.

Esp on tight equipment like Johnny describes. Tommy D.
 
I think the slow roll is probably the best because eve if it goes to the end rail, you will probably make it. That back and forth shot has a high probability of jawing the ball because it has to be hit pretty hard. Also, IMO, th best leave is they one where the cue ball rolls in line or nearly in line with the next shot. The slow roll gives you that. Your right about the follow, unless you can get far side of the 8 ball, it will be a miserable 8 shot.

When I say slow roll, I mean hit it low, but so it starts rolling again just before hitting the 6. Efren does this a lot.

Again, the key is to create in line patterns as opposed to crossing leaves. Makes you look better than you are regarding speed control.
 
I like the black line draw shot. Pretty simple and straightforward execution. Just make the six and draw the cue ball. This is a shot that most American style 9-Ball players are very familiar with. We've been shooting them all our lives.
 
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