[Pin]

I suspect I'm not the only one who's done this.

Usually it's 8-ball. Pretty much everything's in the clear, you're in good shape, just hold it together and keep sinking balls...

Then you do something stupid. You miss a pot, it rattles and rolls safe. Or you try a tough shot at pace, it goes wrong and clatters into some of your other balls, and all of a sudden you've got two or three balls that need to be developed before you can get out.

How did this happen? You were in great shape, your opponent wasn't looking threatening, and you've screwed your own self up.


Seriously, how frustrating it is to do that to yourself.



So how do we stop doing it and make sure all our shots take us somewhere closer to winning?

[MitchAlsup]

The first thing to do is to think the shot fuly through; trace out where you expect every ball to go while the shot is in progress. If you start to see more than one ball occupy the same position, think the shot over again.

Secondly, only hit the ball hard enough to get all the way in the pocket. That way, if you miss, the ball remains infront of the pocket (works a lot better for 8-ball than 9-ball. For 9-ball, you should be playing 2-way shots, where you get position on the subsequent ball, and he gets nada if you miss.) For 8-ball, as Larry says, Don't make the 6-th ball if you can't make the 7th-ball. If you have only 1 ball on the table, your opponent can almost always play a 2-way so you can't get any position of even a shot.

[Pin]

For me the problem is that I plan where every ball is going in theory, but don't consider what could go wrong if I screw up.
It doesn't seem good to be so negative when you're planning.

I agree on that just getting the ball to the pocket is a good move, so long as positional requirements allow it.

I've noticed that when I'm playing my best, not only am I sinking balls consistently, I also only take on good percentage shots and will develop balls that feel too tough or low percentage. By only letting the opponent to the table when (and how) you intend to, you retain great control of the game.



I think the lay-up is really under-used in pool. If you control what you leave your opponent, you can do better by setting yourself up an easy shot, making sure you get back to the table, then potting everything, than going for something tough and risking everything.

I think I under-use this tremendously. I just don't spot the opportunities where I can leave my opponent absolutely nothing consistently enough, where I have opportunities to develop a tough situation for 'free'.



I'd not thought much about the 2-way shot. There's not much 9-ball played here in the UK - but the concept sound very valuable. I'm going to see if I can make it work for my 8-ball game.

[Pin]

Does Fast have any thoughts on the original question?

[Pelican]

Pin said:

:What does it take to stop shooting myself in the foot?

Aim up around your knees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

J/K, Pel

[FASTLARRY]

Pelican, on May 18 2009, 10:02 PM, said:

Aim up around your knees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

J/K, Pel

I had a kid who shot him self in his foot, got a .45 bullet out of my gun, went out on the driveway and was beating it with a rock, it fired, and he had a hole in his foot. It would be funny except he was a teenager.
I had some kids that were dumber than a rock.

[Pin]

I came up with some ideas.


Types of shot where I often lose control of whats happening on the table in my shot:

- Playing a thin cut shot, so the white keeps a lot of speed after contact
- Cannoning into a ball or cluster
- Playing a dead plant at pace and sending the first object ball off somewhere (esp when using throw on the plant)
- Shooting a pot faster than pocket speed (eg for position requirements)
- Taking on a low percentage shot.



Times when losing control can work in your favour:

- It looks like you'd be going into the other guy's good balls
- The other guy is in a stronger postion than you are / his balls are better placed



Ways of keeping control over what happens on your shot:

- Whenever I spot anything from the 'lose control' list, stop and reconsider my shot selection
- Play shots at the pace to leave the ball near the pocket if you miss
- Lay a tough ball up (and leave the white somewhere favourable) instead of trying the shot
- Try to ID where everything will go on the shot



Any other thoughts for the list?