Would You Shoot This Shot?

D

DrCue'sProtege

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
had this spread tuesday night after the break shot. the '1' Ball had barely enough room to pass between the '5' and '8' Ball. when i say barely it was less than an inch to spare, probably more closer to 1/2" clearance.

so, do you posters take this shot on? or play a safe? looks to me like since the rest of the table was spread nicely, with a runout very likely, you take this shot on. i elected to attempt to pocket the '1' Ball, but missed and collided with the '5' Ball.

DCP

p.s. cue ball is at Point A

CueTable Help

 
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I'd shoot it very softly, so the one has just enough speed to roll into the pocket if it doesn't hit the 5 or 8. The reason I'd do it that way is the CB should roll forward just a couple inches if you roll it in like that, leaving you fine position for the two. If the 1 clips the 5, it'll probably hide behind the 8, and if it clips the 8, it'll probably hide behind the 5. Played at that speed, it becomes a two-way shot.

-Andrew
 
Every time...

I'd, without a doubt, shoot this ball in every time. When it looks like there is a half-inch of room there is actually much more. As I learned in my lesson with Mark Wilson, if it looks like it won't go it definitely will. If it looks impossible then it'll probably still go...lol.
 
zeeder said:
I'd, without a doubt, shoot this ball in every time. When it looks like there is a half-inch of room there is actually much more. As I learned in my lesson with Mark Wilson, if it looks like it won't go it definitely will. If it looks impossible then it'll probably still go...lol.
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I agree, no way would I pass on this shot. I pride myself on shooting past or through balls. There's a couple of tricks plus a mentality advantage when shooting these shots. Playing OP and 14-1 it comes up all the time. Of course it helps to have a dead straight stroke too.

Rod
 
Rod said:
I agree, no way would I pass on this shot. I pride myself on shooting past or through balls. There's a couple of tricks plus a mentality advantage when shooting these shots. Playing OP and 14-1 it comes up all the time. Of course it helps to have a dead straight stroke too.

Rod
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Yeah, I forgot that little caveat...lol. A straight stroke is required for these types of shots...lol. In all actuality, all shots on the table should be hit with the precision required for this shot and you should always aim for a specific part of the pocket. That is, of course, something that I almost never do because I get lazy...lol. DCP, why don't you shoot this shot about 100 x's where it looks like it won't go and then you'll have no fear the next time it comes up.
 
DrCue'sProtege said:
had this spread tuesday night after the break shot. the '1' Ball had barely enough room to pass between the '5' and '8' Ball. when i say barely it was less than an inch to spare, probably more closer to 1/2" clearance.
Click to expand...

If it goes, I think I have to shoot it, especially coming from that angle.

Fred
 
Shoot

I like Andrew's approach, but would probably shoot a little harder than he would because longer soft shots can veer off sometimes.

Another possibility noone has mentioned is to hit the 1 on the left side, and bing it straight down table below the 9 on the end rail, and take whitey to the long rail and back over to hide behind the 3 ball.
 
I tend to judge these by how much pocket is visible to the ball. On my table at home (buckets) I will shoot at anything more than 1/2 pocket. I will not shoot at 1/2 of the pocket at the pool hall, there must be 3/4 of the pocket visible (much tighter pockets). Note that this MUST be a lower percentage shot compared to the same shot with no balls shading the line. A slight error in line without those balls and you still pocket the ball. With them, a small error will hit one (or both). Of course this means you will miss it more. If the straight in shot can be made 47 times out of 50, then with 1/4 of the pocket covered you might expect to hit it 40/50. With 1/2 the pocket covered maybe it's a 30 of 50 shot. It all depends on how straigth you shoot. Without an objective understanding of how well you shoot under these situations you will never be able to make optimal decisions at the table.

Dave
 
DCP,

Where's your lock-up safe? If you're going to pass up on a ball that goes right into a pocket, with a wide-open table, you better have a hanging lock-up safe available. And since you don't here, this is a no-brainer.

This is the kind of analysis you can take to other situations. With an open table and no legitimate game-winning safe, if there is any reasonable shot, you're taking it. If you miss, you miss, but you sure as hell have to shoot this ball.

And zeeder, your advice is so true. A dear friend of mine once taught me the same thing, and I've used it since. If it looks like it just barely doesn't go, it goes :).

- Steve
 
Given that the shot is lined up nicely, and there is not a lot of green between CB and OB, I might try making the OB jump slightly, in case it doesn't actually go by the two obstructing balls. But then, I just like to be creative and have fun. If it were a money game, I might reconsider...but for fun, I'm definitely jumping the OB over the edges of the other balls.
 
a different question is what is the right shot for you. Depending on how you play it might be to play safe. To answer your question though, I'd shoot that. You can also play it 2 ways fairly easily if you control the cb and the 1, but it's going to be a weak safe.

DrCue'sProtege said:
had this spread tuesday night after the break shot. the '1' Ball had barely enough room to pass between the '5' and '8' Ball. when i say barely it was less than an inch to spare, probably more closer to 1/2" clearance.

so, do you posters take this shot on? or play a safe? looks to me like since the rest of the table was spread nicely, with a runout very likely, you take this shot on. i elected to attempt to pocket the '1' Ball, but missed and collided with the '5' Ball.

DCP

p.s. cue ball is at Point A

CueTable Help

Click to expand...
 
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