To control you must cluster
To control you must cluster
newfosgatesucks said:
7 ball straight back right and leave whitey on that top rail! My tendency when I have a 60 percent or less shot. Especially being up in the set.
If the ball count was even, rather than Ike leading 3 to 1, that shot would still be wrong. At the minimum you are going to leave a passover cross side on the (9?) ball. A shot that all bank players would be happy to shoot.
The worst part of shooting the 7 ball -- with a lead -- is (1) you would be passing up an opportunity to
cluster the balls by shooting the 8 ball. (2) You would be leaving balls on both sides of the table. That's wrong when you have a lead, because it gives your oppo who is behind, the best chance to get multiple balls when he get a shot. It is also much harder to play safe when the balls are all over the table. (3) Now knowing that, to carry the concept further. When clustering balls you want to cluster them on the
head of the table, not the foot. The reason being, if you have to knock a ball off into the pocket, cuz when it spots up, the spotted ball will be 5 or 6 diamonds away. Leaving a long straight back only, rather than a cross side if the cluster was on the foot of the table. So shooting the 7
is starting a cluster, but on the wrong end of the table. (4) Now you can see the power of shooting the 8 two rails in the corner. If you miss you leave nothing, but you will have started a cluster on the correct side of the table.
Anyone who has watched me play bank pool will notice that when I am behind there are balls all over the table, and when I am ahead there is usually a cluster of balls on the back rail, mostly out of play. If you watch my protege, Jet Johnson you will see the same strategy in effect. That's how you play the game and that is how you win.
Beard