What's the Move?

By Jimmy Reid

Put o­n Your Thinking Cap

It's not always the best shot maker who wins 8-ball games and tournaments.  The fact is, very rarely is the best shot maker going to beat the best thinker playing 8-ball, and here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about.

You have the Red balls-what's your first shot?   Some of you probably think that cutting the 12 and caroming the 1 ball in the side pocket is the right shot, and believe me, it's not a bad choice. Other straight shooters might try to break them up right now by pocketing the 13 ball with low right-hand english and forcing the cue ball into the 2 and 8 balls. However, I think that both of these shots leave a little to be desired.

By shooting off the 12 and making the 1 ball, Red leaves Yellow an opportunity to gently touch the far side of the 2 ball.  Yellow could eventually get a bank o­n the 2 ball in the event that Red didn't run out the next inning, and Red's best shot would be a backward cut o­n the 11 or long shots o­n the 10 and 12 balls-all are missable. Breaking them up right now with the 13 ball is almost automatic in the mind of a straight-shootin' 9-ball player, but that could lead to a lot of trouble.

Instead, here's my choice for the first shot:  Studying the table, I've decided o­n my best first two shots that should ensure a win. I elect to first shoot the 10 in the corner with high english and medium speed. Knowing that if I get just the right angle o­n the 12 - 1 ball combo next, it would be pretty easy to leave the 12 ball in the side pocket and, at the same time, go up the table to play a good safety o­n Yellow. I'll either get ball in hand or help break out the 2 and 8 balls. 

So I'm trying to make sure that I come off the long bottom rail far enough to get below the 12 - 1 ball combination shown below:  Oops, I didn't come off the bottom rail as far as I wanted. I can still make the 12 - 1 ball combination, but from this angle, the cue ball will be headed toward the corner pocket after making it.

My main focus now is to shoot easy enough to leave the 12 in the side pocket and to make sure the cue ball doesn't reach the corner pocket. Had I gotten more of an angle o­n this combination, it would have been easier to play an almost-automatic winner by getting ball in hand.

With ball in hand and the 12 ball hanging in the side, I would place the cue ball at an angle o­n the 13 ball to draw into the tied-up 2 and 8 balls.  Wow, if that's the worst Red could do with his first two shot selections, I'd have to agree that they were correct, wouldn't you?

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