End Game Situations..what to do?

Hi all. I've been playing one pocket for about 2 years and am still pretty green at it. Definitely shoot way too much at my hole. I do play decent 9ball level, enough when I was in college to win the ACUI tourny. I tell you that not to toot my horn as much to give you an idea of my play level so you can weigh that factor in evaluating my shot selection choices. The other day I was left this. My pocket is on top.

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Pretty familiar situation eh? I think this comes up nearly every session I play.

My thoughts were
a) Cut bank with about 2 cuetips of right and a bit of draw as well. Cueball 3 rails into the bottom corner uptable.
b) Kick the ball out bottom rail first with top and a bit of left. Try to stick whitey and take the object ball one rail out towards the top corner. Dont hit the ball hard enough to go all the way into the corner pocket or out of play completely. Hopefully end up straight in with the cueball.

So whats the correct play from here? B is what I chose because earlier I tried A and hit it so bad it curved, missed the 8 entirely and scratched. I have executed A quite a few times but I dont hold up well with this shot when I'm under alot of pressure. Should I practice A more until this shot is much more reliable? Tony Chohan came through south florida a while back and he for sure seemed to always take choice A and most of the times made or hung the ball and never seemed to scratch. I can maybe execute this shot 4/10 times whereas the kick is at least 7-8/10 if not more.

Should I do something completely different?

How does your advice change if we move the cueball one to 1.5 diamonds south?

You might try this

You might try this

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You would be surprised with a little practice how often you can get this ball close to your hole (on a fast table)

Interesting....hmmmm

That shot is not a sellout? Seems like I could
a) miss entirely (really bad)?
b) hit it too thick and leave a very makeable cross corner return bank?

This shot is what you recommend for $100 a game?

I will go to my table here and check this shot out. Thanks for the input!

[/QUOTE]Pretty familiar situation eh? I think this comes up nearly every session I play.

My thoughts were
a) Cut bank with about 2 cuetips of right and a bit of draw as well. Cueball 3 rails into the bottom corner uptable.
b) Kick the ball out bottom rail first with top and a bit of left. Try to stick whitey and take the object ball one rail out towards the top corner. Dont hit the ball hard enough to go all the way into the corner pocket or out of play completely. Hopefully end up straight in with the cueball.

So whats the correct play from here? B is what I chose because earlier I tried A and hit it so bad it curved, missed the 8 entirely and scratched. I have executed A quite a few times but I dont hold up well with this shot when I'm under alot of pressure. Should I practice A more until this shot is much more reliable? Tony Chohan came through south florida a while back and he for sure seemed to always take choice A and most of the times made or hung the ball and never seemed to scratch. I can maybe execute this shot 4/10 times whereas the kick is at least 7-8/10 if not more.

Should I do something completely different?

How does your advice change if we move the cueball one to 1.5 diamonds south?[/QUOTE]



With the way you have the balls 'Weied out', your shot B is one of the 2 best choices - just kick the ball out bottom rail first, left english, medium speed....The second option, and it's a good shot, and part of the arsenal of all very knowledgable one pocket players is this: Hit the long rail first with running outside english above the object ball, the cueball then deflecting off of the object ball with about a 1/4th of a ball hit - the object ball will then go 2 rails and end up near your pocket and the cueball will go 4 rails and ideally end up at the middle of the bottom rail, leaving no angle for your opponent to have a cross corner bank............Now, if the cue ball was say, another 6 inches forward off of the rail, and you're a player with good eyes who sees the edge of the ball well, then the thin-cut cross corner bank using maximum outside english is a viable shot....however, in choosing to shoot the bank, along with the concern of hitting it bad, there's always the dreaded danger of scratching one rail in the side or two rails in the corner.

Lastly, no offense to the Grinder, but his shot recommendation is, to put it as politely as I can...irrational..............................Ghost

End Game

End Game

I like going to the bottom rail first with left hand english hitting the object ball and making it go to about the middle of the table close to my side pocket. Trying to hit the cue ball so it sticks to where it hit the object ball. This leave you with almost no shot to your pocket and I will have a decent chance of a good shot or bank when you get through. I don't like sending the object ball to the end rail because of the bank possilblies. My thought is if I can leave the object ball in the middle on my side you are going to leave me a shot.---SmSTART(
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)ENDSmitty

When the object ball is that close to the pocket (as shown) so the bank requires a real thin hit, try top right english sending the cue ball to the long rail between the side "A" and the corner "B" to avoid the scratches. You get a little less 'masse' factor with top right than bottom, too, which improves your shot accuracy, correct?

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When the object ball is up a little more, so you can hit it a little thicker, then you can go with the low outside english to miss the potential scrathes -- especially if you are playing with rails that play short. If the conditions are right, and the ball is out enough, and you can comfortably cue the cue ball with that low right, then I like this shot. Of course that is alot of 'ifs'!

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On tables with new dry cloth that slide alot you have this route available:

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One pocket Smitty said:

I like going to the bottom rail first with left hand english hitting the object ball and making it go to about the middle of the table close to my side pocket. Trying to hit the cue ball so it sticks to where it hit the object ball. This leave you with almost no shot to your pocket and I will have a decent chance of a good shot or bank when you get through. I don't like sending the object ball to the end rail because of the bank possilblies. My thought is if I can leave the object ball in the middle on my side you are going to leave me a shot.---Sm
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Smitty

Click to expand...

I'd like to add that given the lie of the cue ball in the original post, close to the head rail, I believe I'd be shooting this kick option as well. Just don't kick too far 'under' the object ball or you will nose dive into the pocket for a game-over scratch!

A very key situation

A very key situation

This lie comes up in the end game repeatedly. With at least one ball on the other side of the table, and in certain situations, the bank would be the right shot. Banking that ball to your side would be worth the risk -- the bank is risky-- however, afterward it would be difficult for your opponent to keep you from having a bank after his safety. This is that situation. START(
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This is how it would look after execution.
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With one ball on the table in a high pressure game, and because you dont figure to actually make the shot, the risk doesnt justify the reward. Most of the time all you will be doing is putting a ball on your side that can be easily removed. The kick is a simple, no pressure option. The bank option (or the Ghost's rail first, 4 rail cue ball) becomes strong only when you have that other ball in reserve on the back rail waiting to be free-banked.
However, move the cue ball 1 diamond closer and the bank is the right shot because you are more likely to hit the shot good.

the Beard
Squeeze on, brothers!

Endgame Situation #2

Endgame Situation #2

Thanks for the input guys. Whenever it gets down to one ball like this, I find myself struggling to know when to duck and when to shoot at my hole.

I like One Pocket Ghost's rail first, four rails around when the cue ball is closer to the bottom rail. In trying the shot out on my home Diamond, it seemed to be very effective when the cueball was about 1.5 to 2 diamonds lower, whereas when the cueball was near the center of the uptable end rail I think the kick offered the best results. I think I may have been overhitting the kick. Leaving the ball near the center of the table seems to have alot of value.

Here's another endgame situation I had the other day. I tried it as diagrammed and missed and the return was almost identical to the first endgame situation I diagrammed above but only this time my opponent spun the bank shot for the cheese. Anyways, heres what I attempted:

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Cue ball and object ball were both off the rail about about 0.5-1 inch. Is this how you guys would have played this?

End game

End game

Steve you are so right. I forgot to say anything about the scratch. You really need to make sure that you come in good solid contact with the object ball to prevent a scratch. Also not hitting the cue ball hard will help it not have a bounce back effect.---Smitty

End Game #2

End Game #2

You know I'm not sure I have ever run into this situation in all the time I have been playing. However I think that you may be trying to hard to make a ball every time its your shot instead of playing a good safe with the odds in your favor to get another shot that is better than the one you're facing. I think I would try to thin the object ball sending the cueball 2 rails to the bottom rail or 3 rails to the position where it started. The object ball would go across the table to your side. even if the object ball goes in the side pocket he has no easy shot.START(
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End Game #2

End Game #2

Looking at the set-up again, I think I would hit the object ball 1 rail tothe middle of the bottom rail and follow the cue ball to the top rail. This is always a good place to leave someone.START(
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Smitty

I was in this situation the other day and did play to make this. However the real focus was to put the cue ball on the head rail. The ball just happened to rattle lightly and fall. The speed was just enough to get both balls to the opposite rails and I shot it just slightly right of head straight on. Unless I missed something, I was guessing you were shooting to pocket A?

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loveshiscue said:

Thanks for the input guys. Whenever it gets down to one ball like this, I find myself struggling to know when to duck and when to shoot at my hole.

I like One Pocket Ghost's rail first, four rails around when the cue ball is closer to the bottom rail. In trying the shot out on my home Diamond, it seemed to be very effective when the cueball was about 1.5 to 2 diamonds lower, whereas when the cueball was near the center of the uptable end rail I think the kick offered the best results. I think I may have been overhitting the kick. Leaving the ball near the center of the table seems to have alot of value.

Here's another endgame situation I had the other day. I tried it as diagrammed and missed and the return was almost identical to the first endgame situation I diagrammed above but only this time my opponent spun the bank shot for the cheese. Anyways, heres what I attempted:

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Cue ball and object ball were both off the rail about about 0.5-1 inch. Is this how you guys would have played this?

Click to expand...

You and Donavan were both right in choosing to shoot this 2 rail bank - it's the right shot - you can win the game with it, and as long as you're capable of shooting at pocket speed, the sellout factor is extremely low.

Donovan, yes I was playing it in pocket A. I also like to try this same shot rail first with the cueball when the object ball is froze or near froze but I need to practice that shot more as its not one I can clearly "see the angle" like most direct hit shots.

Question to some of the more experienced one pocket players. What end game shot would you say is shot the wrong way most by amateur and even intermediate one pocket players. Grady's tape shows one
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One rail straight back according to Grady is the wrong shot. He likes thinning the ball towards your side of the table and taking whitey back down table.

End Game

End Game

If the ball is froze like it appears to be in the diagram then just thinning it is good. However you want to make sure that you move it over and up to at least the first dot on your long rail and leave the cueball over by the side pocket. That pretty much take any shot out of your oponents hands.
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Smitty

The Finishing Touch

The Finishing Touch

Get a copy of Grady's tape "The Finishing Touch" it is a GREAT learning tool for eng game play.

Problem

Problem

Donovan said:

I was in this situation the other day and did play to make this. However the real focus was to put the cue ball on the head rail. The ball just happened to rattle lightly and fall. The speed was just enough to get both balls to the opposite rails and I shot it just slightly right of head straight on. Unless I missed something, I was guessing you were shooting to pocket A?

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Click to expand...

I am responding in your thread since I have noticed you seem to know a lot about computers. I had the onepocket.org wei pooltable saved in my favorites menu and have been using it with no problem for months when pasting these problems. All of a sudden it does not work. When I paste nothing happens on the table. Can you help? It asks about a clip from a movie, I dont know if it was always that particular question as I always just clicked on ok twice. tks

RileysDad said:

Get a copy of Grady's tape "The Finishing Touch" it is a GREAT learning tool for eng game play.

Click to expand...

LOL, I just ordered it right before, and I mean right before, I opened up to read this....CRACKS ME UP!!!

suki said:

I am responding in your thread since I have noticed you seem to know a lot about computers. I had the onepocket.org wei pooltable saved in my favorites menu and have been using it with no problem for months when pasting these problems. All of a sudden it does not work. When I paste nothing happens on the table. Can you help? It asks about a clip from a movie, I dont know if it was always that particular question as I always just clicked on ok twice. tks

Click to expand...

To be honest, I don't know exactly when or why it starting asking that, but just keep clicking OK.

In my best guess, it has to do with an upgrade from either windows, adobe acrobat, real, or quicktime. It probably is looking for an extention to work with one of those. THE GOOD NEWS is it doesn't really hurt anything except having to hit OK another time...it has happened to many users, so you did nothing wrong and just joined the club. I hope this helped.