balls all uptable

Hello everyone, I am brand new to the forum today and I'm excited to be a part of it! I am fairly new to the game of one pocket but I have fallen in love with it.

Anyway, on to the discussion... I was playing a decent player last night who was giving me 6-8 (I probably needed more) and every game we played I found myself in the same situation; all the balls uptable and the cue on the rail by my pocket. The question I have is what to do from here in order to gain momentum? I found myself without the option of banking much back toward my hole without leaving him a decent bank if I missed, and for the life of me I couldn't think of a safety that would accomplish much but get me into the next inning. I ended up getting impatient and going after banks that I shouldn't have in an effort to make something happen. I'm not looking necessarily for a one shot move, more of a general approach in order to sway the tides.

Thank you all in advance for your input

- Mike

pocket.speed said:

Hello everyone, I am brand new to the forum today and I'm excited to be a part of it! I am fairly new to the game of one pocket but I have fallen in love with it.

Anyway, on to the discussion... I was playing a decent player last night who was giving me 6-8 (I probably needed more) and every game we played I found myself in the same situation; all the balls uptable and the cue on the rail by my pocket. The question I have is what to do from here in order to gain momentum? I found myself without the option of banking much back toward my hole without leaving him a decent bank if I missed, and for the life of me I couldn't think of a safety that would accomplish much but get me into the next inning. I ended up getting impatient and going after banks that I shouldn't have in an effort to make something happen. I'm not looking necessarily for a one shot move, more of a general approach in order to sway the tides.

Thank you all in advance for your input

- Mike

Click to expand...

Welcome to the site Mike.

Red color highlighted line in your post is the way the game is played. You're doing it right.

Blue is bad. Be red.

Dennis

Welcome to the site!

Try putting yourself in your opponent's shoes. If shooting at your hole is not a good option, try to come up with three spots on the table where you would not want to be next if you were your adversary. Once you identify these spots you can analyze the different shots from a risk/reward viewpoint. Developing a plan will go a long way.

As I like to say to new one pocket players who come to the site, your three best friends in this game are the stack, the rail, and distance (in no particular order).

There's my general input. To get more specific to the situation at hand, a frequent sparring partner, good friend, and regular poster on here used to always tell me "Nobody likes their own $h!t thrown back at them." With all the balls uptable, a great place to leave your opponent next would be where he left you.

Good luck.

Welcome, Mike. If you plan to hang around here very long, I hope you have a good therapist at your disposal. :lol

I echo what Dennis and senor said but will add that in this situation I figure my job is to take care of the cb first while trying to find opportunities to move something downtable or to my side to create some danger for my opponent. I don't feel I have to shoot to make anything, just move to improve how the balls lay for me and keep my opponent off a free shot at his hole. Eventually I may be able to etsablish a position where he has to start leaving me uptable. At that point, I have a chance to take control. Go get 'em!

Skin

welcome to the site
you have gotten great advice so far from very experienced players
from dennis
survivng to the next inning keeps the cash in your pocket and gives your opponent a chance to do something stupid or make a make an unforced error

from senor
your three best friends in this game are the stack, the rail, and distance (in no particular order).

id like to add FROZEN TO as a concept that will always be your friend in 1p
the rail or a ball or the stack
if you combine distance AND frozen to... that can be a best friend...

I appreciate the feedback from everyone. I wasn't used to the "throw 'em all up table" approach and that took me out of my comfort zone with safety play. I'm sure it won't be the last time I see someone employ this strategy, hopefully next time I'll be better prepared to weather the storm.

with alot of balls up table the first thing you must learn is Patience. many players, even those who have played one pocket for a long time, get impatient and make errors that cost them the game. you must understand that some games you play will wind up with the balls up table. you must also understand uptable games are part of one pocket and must be played accordingly. dont let these positions frustrate you, instead accept it, dont rush, you will get better results that.

i like to find an opportunity, when in this position, to put a ball by my hole and to hide the cue ball so my opponent cant see that ball and obviously doesnt have a reasonable shot at his pocket. in this position after he shoots you now have the chance to put a second ball by your hole. this will create a problem for your opponent and likely give you an opportunity at a good scoring chance.

last, you should be practicing your long table banks, one rail, 2 rails and three rails. if you cant bank well you almost certainly will have the worst of uptable games. keith

Welcome PocketSpeed,
What a great game you've come across. The knowledge of what to do and the ability to do it, coupled with strategies and shot acumen (the game requires such a huge array of varieties of stroke) make this game timeless.

When looking not to just get to the next inning you will see the game in a way reveal itself.

Analyze your next 100 games and make notes to yourself written or mental the notes should be to gain an understanding of controlling the game. All while gathering experience with handling different shots in various scenarios.

The other day I was playing a rotation player (personally i'd rather watch paint dry) and it was my shot and I said to him "okay here's a shot that simply does not come up often in 9-ball". Onepocket is the only game in town for most of us here. Eat, breathe and sleep the game.

Always look to move a ball near your pocket, when this is not an option look to tie up balls that go in your opponents pocke tbut not yours. There are usually a minimum of four shot selections choose the one that is correct for you. As your screename states speed is of paramount importance.

End of my two cents:
When I was a kid of 22 or so more than twenty years ago a old player in his 70's befriended me (he liked to talk me into getting him miniatures from the liquor store next door to the poolroom). One day after he busted a straight shooting kid (I was really surprised) I asked him "what's the secret to 1-hole" his response was "half a q-ball is a mother-f*c*er"

I too like member Skin echo what Dennis and Senor said but will add that in this situation I figure my job is to take care of the cb first while trying to find opportunities to move something downtable or to my side to create some danger for my opponent. Always looking to execute without error.

post anything and post often
cheers

Just my input.

When alot of balls are up table, it seems to me that there are tons of opportunity to do a shot where, you either bank one rail or multiple rails with the object ball towards (often only towards but not in) your pocket and you lock them up on the ball in front of the object ball you have just struck.

IE.

Two balls in a line, one in front of the other. You shoot a stop shot or whatever where you hit the ball behind the other one and then try to freeze up on the ball in front of it.

This does two things.

1.) It makes the other player play defensively, verses offensively. (He cant shoot the bank shots you are currently giving up if you have a ball threatning your hole.)

2.) If you do happen to make it, you typically have another shot where more than one ball can be made.

Clear as mud? :frus

The mistake I see novice one pocket players shoot is, shooting a ball towards their pocket without regards to protecting it from being easily knocked away or towards the other players pocket. Look for shots where you can shoot toward your hole, and move the cueball where it cannot be easily knocked back out!

Best of rolls,

ken

pocket.speed said:

Hello everyone, I am brand new to the forum today and I'm excited to be a part of it! I am fairly new to the game of one pocket but I have fallen in love with it.

Anyway, on to the discussion... I was playing a decent player last night who was giving me 6-8 (I probably needed more) and every game we played I found myself in the same situation; all the balls uptable and the cue on the rail by my pocket. The question I have is what to do from here in order to gain momentum? I found myself without the option of banking much back toward my hole without leaving him a decent bank if I missed, and for the life of me I couldn't think of a safety that would accomplish much but get me into the next inning. I ended up getting impatient and going after banks that I shouldn't have in an effort to make something happen. I'm not looking necessarily for a one shot move, more of a general approach in order to sway the tides.

Thank you all in advance for your input

- Mike

Click to expand...

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the forum.

One thing to consider is that if you can hit your banks well enough to leave it in the jaws of the pocket (speed is very important) you will be able to shoot at allot more aggressive banks. Your opponent will have to spend their turn taking the ball out or knocking it in. There are times to shoot and times to move but without offense defense doesn't matter.

Dud

pocket.speed said:

Hello everyone, I am brand new to the forum today and I'm excited to be a part of it! I am fairly new to the game of one pocket but I have fallen in love with it.

Anyway, on to the discussion... I was playing a decent player last night who was giving me 6-8 (I probably needed more) and every game we played I found myself in the same situation; all the balls uptable and the cue on the rail by my pocket. The question I have is what to do from here in order to gain momentum? I found myself without the option of banking much back toward my hole without leaving him a decent bank if I missed, and for the life of me I couldn't think of a safety that would accomplish much but get me into the next inning. I ended up getting impatient and going after banks that I shouldn't have in an effort to make something happen. I'm not looking necessarily for a one shot move, more of a general approach in order to sway the tides.

Thank you all in advance for your input

- Mike

Click to expand...

You want to do to him exactly what it sounded like he was doing to you. Frustrate him. He will get frustrated too, believe me - there is nothing worse that a guy you know plays worse than you not making a mistake for a long time. Just remember, you can, and will, frustrate him if you play right.

The number one thing I would say is to avoid scratches. When the games get like that, it is usually better not to take a chance with scratching. Better just to execute simple safety shots. Very very simple shots can be so effective in many instances.

In essence, "turning the tide" of the game will rely on how patient and prudent you play. There are shots that can put a guy in a good trap in those games, like somebody mentioned banking a ball to your hole and hooking him, but I would stick to what I said initially and just make sure he knows you are there to grind it out.

It's pretty hard to be aggressive from the position you described, but you need to get at least one ball near your pocket. Find one you can bank safely, if you can. That's when you can begin managing the game, when he comes to the table and has to deal with that ball. You might be able to keep him in that fix for several consecutive shots until you get the break you are looking for. This is what is called being a 'move up', and it's a big asset in a moving game. To make a good break is to obtain a move up at the beginning of the game, and the responder is struggling to reverse it.

Also, a ball near your pocket is usually better on the short rail than on the long rail. No banks. Welcome and good luck.

What probably happened was, you helped him move the balls uptable.
Start looking for opportunities to do as most here have suggested before they all move away. It's ok to leave long tough shots, as long as you have a potential punishment by your pocket in case they miss.
Rod.

Dudley said:

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the forum.

One thing to consider is that if you can hit your banks well enough to leave it in the jaws of the pocket (speed is very important) you will be able to shoot at allot more aggressive banks. Your opponent will have to spend their turn taking the ball out or knocking it in. There are times to shoot and times to move but without offense defense doesn't matter.

Dud

Click to expand...

Learn to make those impossible shots look easy. Just do what Dudley does, fire those babies in the hole and run out. And don't forget to double the bet.

Scrzbill said:

Learn to make those impossible shots look easy. Just do what Dudley does, fire those babies in the hole and run out. And don't forget to double the bet.

Click to expand...

I shoot tough shots cuz I don't know better.... just ask the ghroast.

Mr. Doright (sometimes)

Something that you may want to look for in an up table game is not necessarily banking a ball to make it, but putting a ball by your pocket and protecting it by leaving the cue ball in a spot where your opponent can't see that ball that you moved towards your pocket. This way, you can play aggressively and safely. You don't worry about selling out because you create a problem that your opponent has to answer and you don't create a monotonous situation where you shoot a bank and miss, your opponent banks the ball away.

Like someone said before me, distance, stack and a rail are good. So is sticking a guy on a ball. I think that is one of the most devastating things you can do in one pocket. I'm guessing that you wind up in the up table game with this guy most of the time because he feels safer with the balls up table. If you start to move balls towards your pocket and protect them, you will take him out of his comfort zone.

Another thing that you can try to move balls down table (this carries more risk) is pocketing a ball and trying to stick your opponent on the rail or behind a ball so he can't see the ball when it gets spotted. This way, you can move balls back down table and continue to force an offensive game.

I really hate playing up table games, so I try to get better and moving balls down towards my pocket without letting my opponent see the ball that I moved.

Defense may win championships but great passing beats great coverage, metaphorically speaking.

tylerdurden said:

You want to do to him exactly what it sounded like he was doing to you. Frustrate him. He will get frustrated too, believe me - there is nothing worse that a guy you know plays worse than you not making a mistake for a long time. Just remember, you can, and will, frustrate him if you play right.

The number one thing I would say is to avoid scratches. When the games get like that, it is usually better not to take a chance with scratching. Better just to execute simple safety shots. Very very simple shots can be so effective in many instances.

In essence, "turning the tide" of the game will rely on how patient and prudent you play. There are shots that can put a guy in a good trap in those games, like somebody mentioned banking a ball to your hole and hooking him, but I would stick to what I said initially and just make sure he knows you are there to grind it out.

Click to expand...

I would echo this. Especially since you are the player going to the shorter count -- a scratch or two and the benefit of your handicap is long gone!

For about a year I had a regular sparring partner who always played for that uptable game. It drove me crazy too, but did end up teaching me some patience and tactics in the long run -- I hope

One of my questions would be, who has the lead at this point? If it is you, then hell, sit back and be patient (avoiding scratches!) because the pressure is on them, not you. If you are behind, then yes, you would like to see the balls back in play (if they can benefit you).

About the easiest way to get a couple balls in play is to pocket one up table where they are clustered, and at the same time tuck the cue ball behind one of the other balls up there so that your opponent cannot remove the ball you just put on the spot. If you let them see the spotted ball, of course they either bank it knock it back up table. But if they can't see it, they can't knock it away. Once you get that one ball on the spot, then try to add a second one on the spot if you can, because two (and more) is a lot tougher for them to just knock back uptable. Now you are really building something down at the other end of the table.

One up side of learning this part of the game is that there tends to be a common repetition of similar shots, so it probably isn't going to take you that long to get used to those particular shots, with just a little practice, and observation of what better players do in that situation to hit them well consistently. And if you do scratch, burn that mistake in your memory to avoid in the future.

Another thing I learned playing that same guy that many times, is I learned to try to avoid leaving him the kind of position that would let him force an uptable game early in the rack. Especially, the more you let him get underneath the stack and start knocking balls up table, the easier it is for him to force you to do the same thing. If instead you make it harder for him to play safe under the balls, then its harder for him to start that knocking balls uptable sequence.