8-Ball Runout: Dallas VNEA - Semifinals, Game 5

GAME FIVE had me on the hill at three games to one, and breaking for the match. I spread the balls pretty well, dropping the 14 in the side, but was left without an obvious opening shot. Stripes looked good, though, once you accept that the 10-11 cluster near the long rail should be dealt with by kissing the 11 off the 2 into the corner pocket.

I played the 1-15 combo into the corner, planning to drift the CB a little forward and to my right. My next shot would be the 13 in the corner, from which I would follow to the rail just above the side pocket, and then kiss the 11 in off the 2. But I left too much angle on the 13, which introduced an enormous scratch risk to using follow. So I had to strike the rail below the side pocket, and try to control the speed to hold the cueball for a shot on the 11. I hit the 13 with just a hair too much speed, and wound up not only hidden from the 11, but also hidden from every other shot on the table.

There was no good safety option because my opponent had all seven solids on the table and was a fine player to boot, so I went for a Hail Mary on the 13. I hit it hard with stun, as the 90-degree line would take me nearly perpendicular into the foot rail and up-table, hopefully without running into anything or getting hooked again. This worked perfectly, but I got a terrible roll when my opponents 7-ball stopped exactly between my cueball and the 11.

Although I couldnt see the 11 directly, I still had a reasonable shot at a kick-carom off the 11 into the 10. For those who own Ray Martins The 99 Critical Shots in Pool, this kick-carom is a textbook example of shot number 75, which he calls the by-pass shot. It is truly a critical shot to understand.

The key to consistently pocketing this shot is to carefully establish an aim point (not a contact point!) on the rail. In order to do this, you must visualize everything in terms of the center, or resting point, of the cueball. In this video, you can see that I use the mirror method, where the dirt track along the rail becomes the inversion line. After making the measurement, I place the tip of my thumb on the exact aimpoint, which in this case is a just little bit inside of the rail marker. With this aimpoint clearly in mind, I quickly walk around the table, get down, and shoot the center of the CB at the aimpoint while my mental image is still vivid. ALWAYS call the pocket before you establish the aimpoint, so you wont have to interrupt your mental imagery before shooting. As you can see, it works. And its a real morale-breaker for an opponent who thinks hes about to get a shot.

I planned to pocket the 11 in the corner, and play two-rail position on the 12 in the side, striking the second rail below the side pocket. In my euphoria over still having control of the table, I failed to allow for the left english that my cueball would pick up from contact with the 11, so I went wide, striking the 7. I should have, but did not, play the 11 with inside english. I still had a shot on the 12 in the side, but the cut was thin. Because I would now be using more speed than Id like for best position, I added inside (left) english to kill the cueball off both rails. Notice how the CB comes straighter out from the second rail, and travels less than would be expected. This kept me in the zone to cut the 8 into the corner.

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[lpdb7005]

Lovely runout, although you got a bit lucky on the shape for the 12.

[FunkyChateau]

@lpdb7005 You are correct ... it should have been routine play from this point, but I got a little careless about the angle off the rail when shooting the 11, and left myself with an angle on the 12 that made it more difficult to shape the 8. A lapse in concentration on my part. Any miss, this far into the rack, would of course be a loss against a capable opponent.

[hafa123]

good run out, great risk on that corner kick-split, gambit pays off this is a good game!

[FunkyChateau]

@hafa123 Thanks - I hate to leave a shot like this for too near the end of a run (risk of coming up with nothing afterward), but on the other hand it would be poor strategy to pass when I had such good position for it. Basically I was far enough into this rack that turning the table over would usually mean a loss, so I chose to keep firing away.

[mastercueartist]

@XYAtlguy lol you poor little apa wanna be pool players...this is valley not apa...its a huge difference...and its a tournament for another thing not leagues and you have no clue what division he is playing in..i would hope at least A if not AA...you apa players should know your place at the bottom of the line as far as leagues go

[XYAtlguy]

So if your on the hill with 3 games, your ranked what, a 5? And you break and run out consistently in 0 or 1 innings? SANDBAG much? LOL

[Dubfire73]

Yeah great run out!