Which Route & Why?

[DrCue'sProtege]

Ok, i saw this shot come up in one of my tapes the other day, not sure who the player at the table was. it might have been Earl, or it could have been Efren, Johnny, Nick, Buddy, just dont remember, but i am going to assume Earl.

Anyway, Earl chose Route B instead of Route A to get to the 9-Ball off of the 8-Ball. As the CB came to a rest for his shot on the 8-Ball i thought Route A was the perfect way to play it. But, again, Earl went with just a little bit of low left to go along Route B for the 9-Ball.

Why did he take this route? And is it really easier than a little draw off the rail and back down, which is Route A? I personally would have chosen Route A.

Mike

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[DogsPlayingPool]

I would have gone with route B also. The two rail path seems a little more natural and easier to control the speed. Controlling the speed is important in this shot because the CB is traveling across the line of position rather than along it.

 

[Mark Avlon]

Which route can you shoot consistently and accurately? Why is that route easier to be consistent and accurate?

 

[DrCue'sProtege]

Which route can you shoot consistently and accurately? Why is that route easier to be consistent and accurate?

For me, personally, i still like Route A. The reason being is i can shoot the 8-Ball in the corner pocket a lot harder and, therefore, with more accuracy. If i go with Route B then i cant quite hit the CB as hard as i can going with Route A and i might be more apt to miss the 8-Ball.

I feel more confident pocketing the 8-Ball with Route A than i do with Route B. maybe its just a personal preference thing.

Irregardless, this should be an easy two ball out for any halfway decent player. I just just curious why Earl chose Route B. Maybe it was indeed because he thought it was the natural path.

Mike

 

[Bob Jewett]

Which route you take depends on the cut angle you have on the 8. If the shot is nearly straight in, you have to play the one-rail draw shot. If you have a fair amount of angle, the draw is tough, especially on new cloth where the side spin won't grab on the cushion. For the angle you show, it looks to me like you could play a simple one-cushion follow shot to the end rail and out.

 

[poolfire]

def. b

why try and juice the ball .....almost natural shape going with b

 

[Renegade_56]

For me, personally, i still like Route A. The reason being is i can shoot the 8-Ball in the corner pocket a lot harder and, therefore, with more accuracy. If i go with Route B then i cant quite hit the CB as hard as i can going with Route A and i might be more apt to miss the 8-Ball.

I feel more confident pocketing the 8-Ball with Route A than i do with Route B. maybe its just a personal preference thing.

Irregardless, this should be an easy two ball out for any halfway decent player. I just just curious why Earl chose Route B. Maybe it was indeed because he thought it was the natural path.

Mike

Generally speaking, having to shoot harder detracts from accuracy,,,,,,,

 

[DrCue'sProtege]

Generally speaking, having to shoot harder detracts from accuracy,,,,,,,

i agree. what i meant was that i could shoot Route A a little harder, which seems to work well for me. If i had to juice a shot, then yes, accuracy would be lost.

 

[KRJ]

Hmmmm

I'm going to shoot "C".

I'm going to shoot with a lot of inside english and spin the ball back into the "shot zone", thus there is very little chance I'm not going to have a shot on the 9. Hit it soft, I got a shot, hit right and it falls into the "shot zone".

Keep it simple, go one rail instead of two. Also, by going A or B the cue ball can pass thru the "shot zone" or fall short of the "shot zone", and you have a very tough shot. The shot zone is kind of a runway. I like to hit the runway as straight on as possible, and thus you can't go thru or come up short. You would have to crush the ball to roll to far on this shot. Just another option. I'm very comfortable shooting inside English, so if you are not, that this is not the shot for you. Just another option.....

 

[pooltchr]

I'm going to shoot "C".

I'm going to shoot with a lot of inside english and spin the ball back into the "shot zone", thus there is very little chance I'm not going to have a shot on the 9. Hit it soft, I got a shot, hit right and it falls into the "shot zone".

Keep it simple, go one rail instead of two. Also, by going A or B the cue ball can pass thru the "shot zone" or fall short of the "shot zone". The shot zone is kind of a runway. I like to hit the runway as straight on as possible, and thus you can't go thru or come up shot. Just another option. I'm very comfortable shooting inside English, so if you are not, that this is not the shot for you. Just another option.....

That was my first thought. I always determine what the natural path of the cue ball will be, and try to work as closely as possible with that.

Good call.

Steve

 

[DrCue'sProtege]

I'm going to shoot "C".

I'm going to shoot with a lot of inside english and spin the ball back into the "shot zone", thus there is very little chance I'm not going to have a shot on the 9. Hit it soft, I got a shot, hit right and it falls into the "shot zone".

Keep it simple, go one rail instead of two. Also, by going A or B the cue ball can pass thru the "shot zone" or fall short of the "shot zone". The shot zone is kind of a runway. I like to hit the runway as straight on as possible, and thus you can't go thru or come up shot. Just another option. I'm very comfortable shooting inside English, so if you are not, that this is not the shot for you. Just another option.....

But......having to shoot with inside english isnt natural. the announcers said Earl went with just a little low left to bring the CB around. and now you said you want to shoot it with alot of inside english.

If wanting to shoot the shot as easy as possible is the key, having to hit it with alot of inside english doesnt seem the way to go to me. but then again, if your personal preference is inside english, then perhaps thats best for you.

Mike

 

[DrCue'sProtege]

That was my first thought. I always determine what the natural path of the cue ball will be, and try to work as closely as possible with that.

Good call.

Steve

The natural path of the CB on this shot would be to hit the middle diamond on the short rail. i am not sure why you guys say using alot of inside english is the natural way to shoot the shot.

Mike

 

[greyghost]

But......having to shoot with inside english isnt natural. the announcers said Earl went with just a little low left to bring the CB around. and now you said you want to shoot it with alot of inside english.

If wanting to shoot the shot as easy as possible is the key, having to hit it with alot of inside english doesnt seem the way to go to me. but then again, if your personal preference is inside english, then perhaps thats best for you.

Mike

mike I'm in agreement with you here, I shoot inside often and i use it very well. I'm either doing earls shot, the draw you shoot would be my second choice and third would be the inside.

Why? well b/c if you don't swing that inside wide enough you could scratch in the side or get a nasty kick off the side pocket corner. Or your inside could go straight back down table and scratch in the bottom corner.

If I were to shoot inside it would be traveling the CB back down table 2 rails almost 3 for the 9 in the bottom left corner if we are looking at it from the computer screens perspective.

Earls shot is the most natural, and you have to have the most command of stroke to properly shoot that inside english route......don't get me wrong I hit that type of inside shot often but its to gain position b/c I'm blocked from the other side....i don't just shoot that shot b/c i can, even tho i hit it great it has to be the shot i need, and all I need here is a little left spin a-la' earl.

comprendre?
-Grey Ghost-

 

[pooltchr]

Keeb...if the layout is accurate, pure top spin would send the cb almost straight into the footrail. A little right would bring it back to the side rail, and the spin would help it up the table.

I would rarely try to draw a ball when follow and a little side will get the job done. Follow is always the natural roll of the cb.

Steve

 

[KRJ]

Hmmm

That was my first thought. I always determine what the natural path of the cue ball will be, and try to work as closely as possible with that.

Good call.

Steve

Thanks Steve ! You were looking at the same shot as well ! Yeah, I wanna move the cue ball as little as possible... it seems more natural to me, and I can judge the speed on this shot a whole lot better than the two rail shot..... Plus there is just some much more room for error... I can hit this somewhat bad and still have a shot at the 9. Scratching in the side is the only concern, but I'm never gonna come close to that unless I shank the 8 completely !

PS: Just ran in my basement and set this up on my 9foot B/wick. Getting behind the cue ball reaffirms the shot selection.....I used 1/2 tip of inside and came right up for almost straight in on 9. Decided not to even use the long rail to get the position, just came back off the short rail with a little angle and rolled up on 9. Looking at in person, the other options would only come up if this path was blocked.....

Ghost, set this one up in person. See if this perspective changes your mind at all. If not, no biggie. But it seemed even easier once I got behind the cue ball. 1/2 tip inside is nothing on this shot and since the 8 ball is only 2 diamonds out from the corner. Be really hard to NOT have a shot on the 9 unless you FIRED in the 8 ball.

RJ