Would You Attempt This Shot?

D

DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
had this situation in a rack of 9-Ball yesterday, thought i would get some opinions on things here.

the cut on the '3' Ball into the corner is one of the main shots you need to master in this game. however, coming around 2 rails for position on the '4' Ball was fraught with danger. the danger being the '5' Ball and the corner pocket.

i remember seeing Efren play a similar shot in the Challenge of the Champions and Mitch Laurance making a comment about it being so nice that you knew exactly where the cue ball was going to strike the rail and come around for position.

anyway, i hit the shot with a little low/right, had little margin for error heading into Point A, hoping to miss the ''5' Ball and avoid the scratch. i did manage to pull this shot off successfully, and, believe it or not, that brought a smile to my face. there wasnt much room for error around Point A, and i knew i was facing disaster if i missed my mark by just a very small margin.

thoughts posters? would you guys have played this shot this way? any safeties you might have attempted?

DCP

p.s. Point A didnt show up, but its on the short rail, by the '5' Ball, where i wanted the cue ball to contact.

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I just set it up and shot it a few times on my 9'...

I shot the cue ball with a Firm Maximum draw stroke, pocketes the object ball in the corner and took the cue ball to the middle diamond on the right side rail and came straight back across back to the 4 ball...

I'd be more comfortable with that shot as it is easier to pocket an object ball when applying draw, and I'd prefer to take a scratch shot out of the equation....

Try it, actually a rather simple shot with very consistant reults...
 
I like playing a safe here. Perhaps banking the 3 towards the 6 ball and sending the cue behind the 9 or the 5.
 
Jedi V Man said:
I'd be more comfortable with that shot as it is easier to pocket an object ball when applying draw,
Click to expand...

I just have to say that that is not a universal-Nothing could be farther from the truth for me. I want to follow a ball anytime i can.
 
omg, dr!!!,,,your shot is fraught with danger. if i had to go for the shot, it would've been to the other pocket.
 
i would rather take my chances running into the left side of the 5 and coming off just the back rail... that way leaves you with a pretty decent shot at the 4 and rolls the five up near the corner pocket. all you would probably have to do is cinch the 4. playing the cue off 2 rails in between the 5 and the corner is a little risky... even if you get around it, gettin shape on the 5 could be tricky too.
 
Wow, great shot! I would have been too scared to shoot it that way with the 5 ball there; one little smooch and you're toast :)

One potential safety I can see would be to bank the 3 straight back up the table to leave a long tough bank. Might also be possible to bank the 3 up by the 6 while pushing the cb down by the 5; you might actually get a hook there if you can get the 5 or 9 in the way. On this shot, it's really easy to leave your opponent tough, maybe even hooked, so I would be tempted to do that.

If I were going to go offensive here, though, I would probably shoot the 3 in the bottom left, but I would try to draw to the long rail. If I thought I could hit the long rail above the 1st diamond, then I would use outside english and come back toward the center of the table one rail. If not, then I would use inside, and hope to go two rails, clip the 5 and pick up an angle that would carry me toward the 4. If I didn't think I could even draw above the corner pocket, then I would definitely play safe.

Good luck!
 
solution ...

There are a couple of options here:

1) The low right draw shot is one.
2) Shooting for the other corner pocket and coming 2 rails up beside
the 6 for shape on the 4 another option.

BUT, to me, the best option is to shoot the shot with low left english,
draw over to the long rail, come off INBETWEEN the 5 and 9 over
to the other long rail and back out into middle of the table. (Much the same way as a 3 rail bank for the side pocket would be,)
 
Well....I'm no pro so if someone is reading this that is A or above please tell me if my line of thought is to crazy. Assuming that the diagram is spot on I don't see myself going the rout suggested in the initial post. Drawing it to the rail and back would be a good choice but it would take a good stroke and depending on the cloth and such you could wind up behind the 9 or leaving yourself a difficult shot if not hit well. What about just hitting the 3 with a firm follow and clipping the 5 to come off the rail past the 9. The only danger is getting hooked behind the 9 but if hit with the intention to get past the 9, if it does go towards the 9 it should bump it out of the way. This would also put the 5 in front of the pocket for shape on the 6 allowing you to just shoot the 4 with mild draw or even just a stop shot. I don't like bumping balls for shape but if I felt like the angle was to extreme to draw to the rail and back this would be my choice. What do you think? Does that sound to crazy?
 
Best: Shoot the ball in the top left pocket.
Second: Play safe-I would thin the 3 into the 1 diamond on the top left rail and bank it into the five, send the cue ball down table and try to put it behind the 8. Could juice it and stick on the 6, but thats tricky.
Other: If you had to draw to miss the 5, then a little topspin might hit the left side of the five and send the cue up a little. Even if you hit it full, you still have a shot at the four and the five will be by the corner pocket so shape will not be as big an issue.
Real Balls: Draw to the side rail with a little left and come out of the corner.
 
Harvywallbanger said:
Well....I'm no pro so if someone is reading this that is A or above please tell me if my line of thought is to crazy. Assuming that the diagram is spot on I don't see myself going the rout suggested in the initial post. Drawing it to the rail and back would be a good choice but it would take a good stroke and depending on the cloth and such you could wind up behind the 9 or leaving yourself a difficult shot if not hit well. What about just hitting the 3 with a firm follow and clipping the 5 to come off the rail past the 9. The only danger is getting hooked behind the 9 but if hit with the intention to get past the 9, if it does go towards the 9 it should bump it out of the way. This would also put the 5 in front of the pocket for shape on the 6 allowing you to just shoot the 4 with mild draw or even just a stop shot. I don't like bumping balls for shape but if I felt like the angle was to extreme to draw to the rail and back this would be my choice. What do you think? Does that sound to crazy?
Click to expand...

Great minds think alike. I wrote it just before you posted. Not a bad idea.
 
i think if i was faced with this layout in an important game, and i assume thats how we approach all these layouts, its just too much chance of an error to play the 3 and come around and not get tangled with the 5 or scratch. From a safety perspective, i like where the 6 is......i would bank the 3 into the short rail and back into the 6, using it as a stop, and bury the cueball behind the 5.......even if i dont the 9 will probably be in the way.
 
DCP: Congrats on playing the shot just like Efren would have done...and in making it too. Shots like that, though considered risky to some of the other posters, should help you build more confidence in yourself. :)

Obviously other posters might have played this differently, but you're the one at the table who has to decide whether to go for it or play safe...so try not to second-guess yourself so much.
 
Nostroke said:
I just have to say that that is not a universal-Nothing could be farther from the truth for me. I want to follow a ball anytime i can.
Click to expand...

Perhaps your screen name has something to do with that logic;)

That right there is a Stroke shot, not a finess shot, but a stroke shot. You have to dedicate to it and shoot it with athority.....
 
I just tried that shot on my nine and like jedi says, with firm draw it is fairly easy to go almost straight across to the middle diamond and back across for shape. I did it nine out of ten tries. No safe for me here, run out.
 
sicbinature said:
I just tried that shot on my nine and like jedi says, with firm draw it is fairly easy to go almost straight across to the middle diamond and back across for shape. I did it nine out of ten tries. No safe for me here, run out.
Click to expand...

That's a good shot, actually 9 good shots....

Good Job.

:cool:
 
I'd probably play the rock with low inside english draw accross to about middle diamond right rail then kick forward behind the 9 off bottom and left rail and out with a nice angle on the 4

Maybe crazy its just the way i shoot
 
forgive me, but i forgot the original spread of the balls. you guys are right, in my original diagram some low english might have brought it over to the long rail and back out.

but, in the actual shot, the '7' Ball was straight across and i thought it was in my way. that was my reasoning for trying to go around two rails, by Point A.

below is the actual shot.
DCP

CueTable Help

 
I would do what branpureza and Harveywallbanger both suggested. Before reading their posts, I thought the best chance for me is to sink the 3 in the lower left with some 1:00 or 1:30 english, and medium to medium-soft speed. The CB should go into the left side of the 5, then the short rail, and then back up toward the center of the table. You have a very large window to hit in order to get a shot on the 4, and you should be moving the 5 into an easier spot at the same time. And best of all, you take the scratch totally out of play, and you don't have to hit the ball hard or with a great stroke.

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-Andrew
 
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