YOUR greatest shot ever.....

[Black-Balled]

Was playing a dick a race to 4 for a decent bit and it was 3-1 games for him and he needed 1 ball to take the set.

We fought for every ball and get to 3-3, he needs one, again.

My pocket is on the top r) of the pic. I 2 railed the nearer ball and sent the cb 2 rails into the farther ball. Made both in one shot.

He said F-U. Paid me and never would play again

I've tried that shot since then and can confirm it basically never works.

 

[Gravey39]

If you put the cue ball on the first diamonds(see pic) then go up 2” then one cue ball to the right. And use ALOT of top left aiming to the middle of the first diamond and right corner pocket, you will hit six rails and pocket a ball sitting in top left corner. I used to use this shot and make a lot of money in bars when I was 13. Edit: I thought I came up with this shot practicing at my uncles table in his basement, but I think if I remember correctly I might have gotten it from a truck shot book. It’s a fun shot to learn and you’ll blow a lot of peoples mind with it. I’ve used it a lot in bars in recent years too and have won tons of free drinks possibly a few hundred bucks lol. I’m not sure if the lines are the actual correct path or not. But once you get to the table and try it for the first time you will see the path. You have to use a lot of top left. Like basically right under where you will miss cue every time. If also actually pulled this off in a match before too.

 

[Vince_Former_BB]

I have a lot of great shots I missed. One in particular against Ray Martin.
It was so bad, I laughed, he chuckled, all the spectators laughed.
It was hill, hill, ,,,I lost.
The only time I was ok with losing, I still laugh.

I was dead straight on the 8 ball, stretched out.
Cue ball and 8 were seperated about 3 inches, just off the long rail about 2 inches, 9 ball is on the back rail on the brunswick emblem.
Stretched out I pocket the 8 with a nip draw. ( Easy Shot ) I pull my cue out of the way, I don't know how it happened, but I stroked it forward again, pocketing the cue ball with the 8.
Just shot that damm cue ball straight in.

Lol........That's hilarious. A muscle twitch or something. I've done similar things. Reflexes fire at juuuust the wrong time.

 

[Vince_Former_BB]

OK, I’ll play but I don’t have some fancy app to draw up so I put it on paper. Hope you don’t mind.

Playing 8 ball last pocket on a Valley. I’m stripes needing my last ball. Opponent plays safe leaving me $hit.

Did you play your stripe off he object ball by the side pocket and follow forward for the 8 or did the solid knock the 8 into a better spot?

 

[Shuddy]

I was playing in a bar table 8 ball tournament in Iowa, maybe 2018. Ronnie Alcano was in the field. I was playing him a race to 8. I was totally lost. There was a small group of people watching the match (to see Ronnie, not me). It was 1-1 and I ran down my solids but missed all of my break out attempts at the 8 ball. Things looked grim:

View attachment 622369

So I asked myself "Where will the 8 ball go if I hit it?" It seemed that it would hit the side rail and rebound into the 9 ball. It might even catch the 9 about half full and roll towards the lower side rail. It occurred to me it might even bank towards the upper left hand pocket. So then I asked "Could I ever play it there?" At first the answer was no, because the 15 was in the way. Then I realized that I had to elevate and draw my cue ball to avoid scratching in the side, so there was a chance the cue ball would clear the pocket.

View attachment 622370

I called the 8 ball in the upper left corner and hit the shot. All I wanted to do is have the 8 hit half the 9 and come across table and give it a chance. But wouldn't you know it?!? It went down EXACTLY like I had envisioned. The 8 banked, caromed, banked again, and was heading straight towards the top left corner. It looked like it was going to hit the 15 but the cue ball swept into it first. Both the cue ball and the 15 nearly hit the 8 but they somehow parted like the Red Sea and the 8 ball hit the center of the pocket.

Things got a little wild. Ronnie and I were just laughing about it, and we all stopped for a minute and shook our heads. It only got weirder. I went on to beat Ronnie 8-1 that set. Then I later played him on the loser side and won 8-0. In an alternate the break format! Somehow after making that shot everything went my way for the rest of the match.

I've seen a lot of great shots and made my share, but for me that was my most memorable Hail Mary.

This is insane.

 

[Vince_Former_BB]

This is insane.

Yep.........million to one shot but you recognized the potential and pulled it off. Pretty cool. It's remarkable when you exhaust all NORMAL possibilities then come up with some creative, off-the wall shot and it works. When I shot mine I actually started chuckling to myself. There was no pocket for the 1. No single rail bank. The three railer was blocked too. The ONLY shot I saw was the safe and it was sending the 1 right at the 10. I'd been playing one pocket the night before as well so that was still in my head. I chuckled to myself.....tapped the pocket with my hand and played it. Was a hoot. My opponent just stared at me..........blank stare.

 

[jtompilot]

Did you play your stripe off he object ball by the side pocket and follow forward for the 8 or did the solid knock the 8 into a better spot?

I played the stripe into the rail off the solid, into the rail, off the solid into the corner. Cue ball straight down the table to play the 8 ball into the last pocket where the stripe went into. Yes it was a double bank, double carom. The guy quit me after that shot

 

[Tin Man]

OK, just one more. This one isn't the greatest ever but it was my personal favorite in terms of situation.

I was playing Darryl Peach at the US Open, probably 2012. The score was 8-6 me going to 11. Big rack. If I win I'm up 9-6 and breaking and I'm a huge favorite, but if he wins and goes 7-8 with him breaking I felt it was about even money.

He missed a two way shot on the 6 ball but got me hooked behind the 7 here:

I didn't like any of my kicks. Going to the end rail seemed desperate, there was nothing to hook him behind really and no percentage play. Maybe a blast and hope but I didn't like my end of it at all. The side rail wasn't much better. The side pocket was kind of in my way and the 7 blocked the top of the 6, so I'd be kicking in front of the side with a ton of inside spin, softly to let it lengthen, hitting a small target, and what's worse I felt there were a lot of scratches off the back of the 6 ball in the bottom left corner if I caught half the 6 ball.

I stared at it, and then I realized I wasn't quite hooked! I could possibly thin the edge of the 6 directly! I thought about where the 6 ball would go, and I had the idea that it would hit the end rail, bank to the upper side rail, and maybe go up table. Meanwhile if I used a straight draw I could get the cue ball to bend and go across table, maybe running into the 9 off one or two rails to slow it's movement. I laughed to myself that I could even MAKE the 9. Something like this:

I decided it was my best attempt. It was really thin though. I got down on the ball with low outside spin, but then I realized that it was too much of a sliver of the 6, any spin would lead to a foul. I had to hit straight draw and make sure I got a good hit. I lined it up, smooth stroked it, and watched! The 6 went two rails up table, but the cue ball hooked with the draw and curved into the 9 ball, cutting it clean into the corner!!!

I was ecstatic! I walked over to my friend watching from my corner and said "I don't play pool Mr. Felson, I play bill-iahds" with that Finley accent.

It only got better for me. I broke a ball in, came with a long bank on the one ball, and then ran the last two racks and out to win 11-6. Darryl never shot again. It was a great feeling man. I think I went on to snipe Karl Boyes before finally being eliminated by Roman Hybler. He played a super good set on me. But anyway, that was worth the whole trip right there. Fun game!

 

[jay helfert]

I was playing in a bar table 8 ball tournament in Iowa, maybe 2018. Ronnie Alcano was in the field. I was playing him a race to 8. I was totally lost. There was a small group of people watching the match (to see Ronnie, not me). It was 1-1 and I ran down my solids but missed all of my break out attempts at the 8 ball. Things looked grim:

View attachment 622369

So I asked myself "Where will the 8 ball go if I hit it?" It seemed that it would hit the side rail and rebound into the 9 ball. It might even catch the 9 about half full and roll towards the lower side rail. It occurred to me it might even bank towards the upper left hand pocket. So then I asked "Could I ever play it there?" At first the answer was no, because the 15 was in the way. Then I realized that I had to elevate and draw my cue ball to avoid scratching in the side, so there was a chance the cue ball would clear the pocket.

View attachment 622370

I called the 8 ball in the upper left corner and hit the shot. All I wanted to do is have the 8 hit half the 9 and come across table and give it a chance. But wouldn't you know it?!? It went down EXACTLY like I had envisioned. The 8 banked, caromed, banked again, and was heading straight towards the top left corner. It looked like it was going to hit the 15 but the cue ball swept into it first. Both the cue ball and the 15 nearly hit the 8 but they somehow parted like the Red Sea and the 8 ball hit the center of the pocket.

Things got a little wild. Ronnie and I were just laughing about it, and we all stopped for a minute and shook our heads. It only got weirder. I went on to beat Ronnie 8-1 that set. Then I later played him on the loser side and won 8-0. In an alternate the break format! Somehow after making that shot everything went my way for the rest of the match.

I've seen a lot of great shots and made my share, but for me that was my most memorable Hail Mary.

Very cool shot Demetri. Two things come up for me, okay maybe three things. The first is a shot I made on Jimmy Fusco at the last Stardust tourney that was featured in Shots, Moves and Strategies. Most of you probably have that book so I will let you look it up. I couldn't describe it very well here anyway. It was just one of those crazy things (Like Demetri's shot here) that worked. I went on to win that match, thanks to that one shot they totally deflated Jimmy.

The second shot that stands out for me was during a One Pocket match at Grady's tourney in Tunica back in the mid 1990's. I was playing Mike Lebron and the score was 2-1 his favor going to three. We got down to the last ball and Mike made a good shot leaving the cue ball on the far end rail and the object ball about two inches above his pocket on the side rail. I could tell he was pretty satisfied with his leave, chatting with Weenie Beenie and others on the rail. I took a long look and fired hard directly at the ball, slamming it five rails around the table and watched it slowly swish into my pocket! Mike's smile had evaporated and there was only dead silence from his corner now.

The second shot is not a single shot at all. It is a series of shots that I made in a 9-Ball tourney in L.A. back in the 80's. I was dead hooked on the object ball (pre jump cue days), that was out in the middle of the table between the side pockets. I just kicked to make a good solid hit and kicked that ball straight in the side pocket - BANG! Unfortunately I was now hooked on the next ball, that was also mid table at about the second diamond up from the corner. I thought oh well, here we go again and kicked hard at the ball. BANG once more, straight in the corner it went. Sure enough I'm hooked again and damned if I didn't kick that one in just like the last two. Yes, only to end up hooked for the fourth time! No problem, I smacked that ball straight in for four in a row that all went straight into the pocket. Only two people were watching, the guy I was playing who was kind of pissed about all this and his buddy who didn't seem too impressed. I've never done anything like that before or since (never made a direct kick-in like that more than one in a row) and never seen anyone else do anything like that either. That was by far the craziest thing to ever happen to me on a pool table.

 

[SmoothStroke]

Lol........That's hilarious. A muscle twitch or something. I've done similar things. Reflexes fire at juuuust the wrong time.

A muscle twitch sounds good. For years I believed I double dogged it.
It was hilarious, It was so funny I wasn't even embarrassed. I was a young guy playing a champ, you think I would want to crawl in a hole.
After that shot everybody was my friend and the jokes flowed, I still hear to this day.
This guy has the best draw follow stroke on the planet, and we laugh.

 

[JC]

If it didn't happen on video it didn't happen...........

Here I am making a mockery out of what the opponent thought was a pretty good safety. This last November at a tournament.

I have made so many shots like this curving around blockers I can't even begin to count. This one just happened to be recorded.

 

[ShortBusRuss]

Two shots..

First, playing barbox 8-ball before I really knew how to play the game.. My last ball in the middle of the top rail, 5 feet away, with cue ball also in the middle of the table. I had figured out a while back that a bank with the particular layout back to the corner pocket on this particular table, was a scratch two rails in the corner if I played it with running top english. Opponent had the 8 ball in one corner, his last ball in the other. I saw a possibility to bank my ball back into his, pocketing it, with my ball staying right there to be made when the cue ball came two rails. Called it, shot it, and the only thing that kept me from making it, was the banked ball rolled off an inch or two, cutting his ball in slightly, instead of making it straight in and stopping there. Cue ball came around and got in behind my ball, frozen to it and the rail, leaving an impossible kick for him. Won that game from absolutely nowhere. In hindsight, the four-railer is the shot, but good luck getting that to go on a crappy bartable..


Second, I was up to $60.00 a game (~1996) playing a guy from Chicago some last-pocket 8 ball. I was playing real well, and he started slow-rolling the cue ball into the head ball of the rack to slow me down. He popped one makeable shot off the rack from the corner ball, and it ended up almost dead straight in to the corner, with the rest of the rack nearly frozen together. No other makeable ball on the table, even with ball in hand.

I had just bought "Winning One Pocket", and "Shots, Moves, and Strategies" because this same guy had been woofing at me to play One Pocket. In one of the books was a shot that Bucktooth had played on somebody in a game of One Pocket, where it laid almost exactly the same, and he jumped the cue ball onto a ball he could see straight in, and made the ball, hopping the cue ball about two feet up in the air, and about 5-6 inches sideways. I figured what have I got to lose?, and gave the shot a try, having never played anything remotely like it.

Executed it perfectly, the cue ball burrowed into the stack, and pushed a few balls out. I had exactly one shot, in the side, and ground out the run, nudging a ball out here, secondary break there. Got AWLLLLLLL the way out for the cash, and needless to say... He quit me after that game. :-D

 

[CharlesUFarley]

I was playing in a bar table 8 ball tournament in Iowa, maybe 2018. Ronnie Alcano was in the field. I was playing him a race to 8. I was totally lost. There was a small group of people watching the match (to see Ronnie, not me). It was 1-1 and I ran down my solids but missed all of my break out attempts at the 8 ball. Things looked grim:

View attachment 622369

So I asked myself "Where will the 8 ball go if I hit it?" It seemed that it would hit the side rail and rebound into the 9 ball. It might even catch the 9 about half full and roll towards the lower side rail. It occurred to me it might even bank towards the upper left hand pocket. So then I asked "Could I ever play it there?" At first the answer was no, because the 15 was in the way. Then I realized that I had to elevate and draw my cue ball to avoid scratching in the side, so there was a chance the cue ball would clear the pocket.

View attachment 622370

I called the 8 ball in the upper left corner and hit the shot. All I wanted to do is have the 8 hit half the 9 and come across table and give it a chance. But wouldn't you know it?!? It went down EXACTLY like I had envisioned. The 8 banked, caromed, banked again, and was heading straight towards the top left corner. It looked like it was going to hit the 15 but the cue ball swept into it first. Both the cue ball and the 15 nearly hit the 8 but they somehow parted like the Red Sea and the 8 ball hit the center of the pocket.

Things got a little wild. Ronnie and I were just laughing about it, and we all stopped for a minute and shook our heads. It only got weirder. I went on to beat Ronnie 8-1 that set. Then I later played him on the loser side and won 8-0. In an alternate the break format! Somehow after making that shot everything went my way for the rest of the match.

I've seen a lot of great shots and made my share, but for me that was my most memorable Hail Mary.

We have a winner. No need for more examples. lol

 

[dquarasr]

At my skill level, my greatest shot ever still hasn't been hit.

 

[peppersauce]

You’ll have to use your imagination a little for this. I’m on my phone, so can’t diagram it. I was in a bar table tournament and played the OB off the point of the side pocket down the long rail to play a combination on the 9 using another ball along the long rail. So 3 ball combination. I can’t remember why I chose to play that Hail Mary, but I know the table wasn’t runnable. Completely planned, but probably one in a thousand, maybe even worse odds.

Another time I was playing a 730-740 Fargo level player in a tournament on 9 footers and he played safe. I started measuring out the z kick and I can only imagine that he was thinking something like, “Hurry up and miss so I can run out.” But I made the ball, Efren style. And went on to win the match too. Again, what are the odds? But it was a fun day and I played really good that match.

 

[dquarasr]

At my skill level, my greatest shot ever still hasn't been hit.

Actually, I have what was a great accomplishment for me as an APA level 4 player in 8-ball.

I was playing a level 6, and we were hill-hill. Opponent had one stripe left, I had two solids. Eight-ball was about 3" from the short rail not far from the center diamond, my 2-ball was about 5" from the same short rail, about 2" off to the side of the 8-ball, CB right around the center of the table. My opponent's last striped ball was in the middle of the table. I had no shot on either of my solids. I could have tried to cut the 2 into the corner, but it was a very tough shot, guaranteed to sell out if I missed. So I played a safety.

I eyeballed the angles, hit my 2-ball to the rail with gentle follow at a slight angle. CB gently bounced off the short rail, and froze directly to the 8-ball. My opponent had no way to get to his stripe; the CB was frozen, the path to his stripe was blocked by my 2-ball in one direction, and blocked by my other remaining solid in the other direction.

He tried but missed, I got BIH, and ran the two solids and the 8, to perfection, winning the match. My best safety ever. Very satisfying! Even low-level players can feel like a Fargo 800 for at least one shot!!!

This was on the same night I had previously played 9-ball as a 4 against a 7, and made the 9-ball with a calculated three-cushion shot; it wasn't slop, I walked the table and pointed out the angles and got lucky it did exactly as I had planned it. It wasn't one of those (fairly) easy three-cushion shots where the CB travels to the OB in front of the pocket; this one was where the OB traveled the three cushions.

These shots are complemented by MANY, MANY, MANY more instances of missing very easy money ball shots, but this thread isn't about worst shots, it's about best shots, the ones that bring you back to the table with (false?) hope that golfers experience every so often with that unlikely birdie or eagle (no, I don't play golf; pool is maddening enough).

 

[bbb]

my best shot was more luck than skill
playing against someone i really wanted to beat
we get to the hill game
i am running out the last few balls and get bad shape on the 9
i decide to cut it into the side pocket (not playing call the 9 )
it hits the point and SLOWLY "banks" into the diagonal corner pocket....
the look on my opponents face as the 9 fell in was priceless

 

[kollegedave]

I am not sure if this is the absolute best shot, but it comes to mind because of the situation.

I drew a decent player in round one of the Derby City One Pocket several years ago. In some respects, it was a soft draw as I avoided the champions, but in another respect it was a tough draw in that I didn't get a cupcake match as there are a few to be had in Round 1. If I were gambling with this guy (at the time) I would have thought I was a bit of an underdog and playing him even might not be the best idea if profit is important. Also, challenging is that the match STARTED at 10:30 PM.

Anyway, he wins a toughly contested first game, and now I am down 0-1, to a guy that I think should probably win anyway. Every game after the first game is tough. The match ends up going hill-hill. There are a few balls left on the table, but I don't remember where they were, I just remember the shot he left me, because I saw it immediately. I have played this shot before, and I have always hit it well. I make the carom below, and then I slice the eight in to win the match. The match ended at 1:30.

 

[kollegedave]

This was another shot that came to mind, and again, it is a bit situational. In this match, I am gambling by the game in one pocket with one of the better players in my area, and he is giving me 8/7. I am down a game or two, and he needs one to win the game, and he has it in the jaws of his pocket. I need all the balls except the ball in the jaws. I end up running out.

 

[Pin]

Maybe my favorite was this one from league 8-ball: Local rules make it a foul to pocket an opponent's ball, and a normal tactic is to block pockets.

The other guy covers the corner pocket near the 8, but I see another of his balls at the middle makes the middle a wide pocket, and the 3-rail to the middle is one of my pet shots.

So I run off my balls down to the 8, take it on, it goes round the table, clips his ball and gets bumped into the middle.