Ok so I'm certainly
not an expert on 9 ball, the clownish version of pool with the giant
balls and pinball cushions, but in case you're not aware (lol fat
chance, I've made sure most of the planet knows about it), I
reached the semi-final of the national uni 9 ball championships
last year. So I like to think I know enough about the game to
offer some advice - and since I want the LSE to enter 3 teams to
the 9 ball championships for the 2009/10 season, I thought it's
worth putting some of that advice online. So here goes.
1. The
Break
The break??
You what?? You just smash the balls up innit! Well yes you can do
that, but one of the most effective things I learned last year was
the awesomeness of using the soft break. The tables in Solihull
are tapped - i.e. small divots are placed where
the balls should be racked, which means you can just place the balls
on by hand and they will stay put, resulting in a perfectly tight
rack every time. Why is this important? Well it
means that if you hit the 1-ball right in the middle (cueing from
the centre of the headstring), you are guaranteed to pot a wing
ball (one of the 2 balls on the side of the rack) off the break.
When I say the middle of the 1-ball, I do mean the middle.
Anything off that and it won't work. So this is why hitting the
balls softly (well, medium strength) is useful, you can concentrate
on hitting the 1-ball in the middle and not sacrifice accuracy due
to increased power.
Now, if you
strike the cueball about 1cm above centre (right in the centre and
you risk screwing back too far), the cueball will stun and park
itself smack in the middle of the table. This is the best place
for the cueball to be off the break, as statistically you're more
likely to be able to see the 1-ball. Certainly last year I found
I had a shot on the 1-ball more often than not off the break, and
it gave me a massive advantage. A couple of my opponents last year
commented
on how insane it was that my seemingly lame break could result in
such consistently positive results.
Don't believe
me? Google 'soft break' and 'Corey Deuel' and you'll see expressions
like "Corey killed 9-ball with the soft break". He potted
and got a shot on the 1 off the break almost every time. Here's
a video of him executing the soft break (4 times, same result every
time), you'll see he makes a wing ball every time (note he breaks
from the side rather than the centre but the impact is still the
same.
The GB9 Pro
9-ball Tour in the UK has made it a rule
that 3 balls must pass the headstring off the break - in other words,
they're forcing players to hit the break hard. Why? It's
not because they just like to see massive breaks... it's because
soft breaks are considered an unfair advantage
on tapped tables with a perfect rack. That's right, they're so goddamned
effective that it's pretty much considered cheating
and so on that tour, if you don't hit the break hard enough, you
forfeit your turn. And check out the 2009 ruling for the US 9-Ball
open:
-No soft
Breaks
Velocity is key to determining a proper break. Players must make
an honest attempt to break the balls as a man should.
'English' is
the American pool term for side-spin. Why do they call it English?
Well historically it dates back to colonial times, when the English
used to pwn the yanks. Basically they imparted side-spin on their
cannonballs which deflected them and thus bounced off American forts
at unusual angles, which Americans were powerless to defend against.
Americans will tell you this isn't true, and that I've just made
it up from the top of my head, but that's just because they're blinded
by their nationalism and don't want to revisit the painful memories
of the skillful cannonball control that damaged so much of their
land.
Ok, history
lesson over. Now, virtually every cuesport instructional book or
video I've encountered says that sidespin/English should be used
sparingly and only when absolutely necessary, and that even the
top pros hardly ever use it. I can tell you categorically that this
is incorrect.
Especially in 9-ball, the top players use it all the time.
I cannot exaggerate how incredibly useful it is, your options will
be opened up exponentially - and the best part is, it's
actually very easy on American equipment, and you get a lot more
action on the cueball than on an English pool table. You can send
the cueball round the table with very little effort. 9-ball is all
about shotmaking - the fact is there is no place on the table you
cannot get to in this game, you just have to know the shots.
Here are 5 fundamental
positional shots using English (which improved my game drastically
over just a couple of months) that you really need to master. Memorise
them, learn to recognise them in game situations and practise them.
In all cases they are instances where centre ball striking (including
screw/topspin) will not get you decent position on the next ball.
So they are really very, very, very useful :) You can view the video
I've made of all these below, which makes it a lot clearer just
how handy it is.
i) Inside
English (a.k.a. check-side)
Take a look
at the tablebelow. You've either overhit or underhit
the 7 and ended up in a horrible position on the 8 such that there's
no straightforward way to get on the 9. Fortunately however you
can put right-hand check-side (or "inside English") to
change the angle off the cushion and get the cueball nicely on the
9. You need to aim slightly thinner than you would with centre ball
striking, and a bit of top might help depending on what angle you
have.
ii) Outside
English off 3 cushions
While this looks
like a difficult shot and is certainly rather crowd-pleasing, it's
actually as easy as a drunk
Essex girl. Any time you see this kind of shot, running side
("outside English") will be your saviour. Little bit of
topspin and right-hand side will send the cueball 3 cushions and
you're going to be guaranteed position on the 9 (unless you're a
tard and massively overhit it). It also reduces the potential for
error as the cueball is travelling into the potting line.
So if you slightly over or underhit it, you'll still be on.
iii) Outside
English off 1 cushion
In this situation
you have a very thin cut on the 8 and even if you screw like a maniac,
the white ball will go under the 9 or cannon into it and you're
buggered. If you put lots of right-hand side on however, it will
exaggerate the angle and come above the 9 for an easy pot.
iv) 2
cushions outside English
This is one
of the most useful shots in the game - whenever you see this situation,
the solution is really really easy if you use side. Anything else
and you risk losing the cueball - as with ii) above, the cueball
is travelling along the potting line after the 2nd cushion and passing
the 9, which means you can over or underhit with a high margin of
error. Watch the video for this one and you'll see how awesome it
is :)
v) Severe
side off a straight pot
Don't try this
one on an English table, you just can't get the level of spin that
you can with the yank balls. What you've got is a straight pot on
the 8 and the 9 is on the other cushion - you've got no chance,
right? Nah, it's easy actually - aim slightly to the left, put some
topspin and lots of left-hand side and this will magically win you
the game. The cueball will travel just off straight and onto the
top cushion and then bounce at an insane angle for the 9.
Now here's the
video of those 5 shots so you can see how they work:
"Waaaah!
But side makes potting difficult!",
I hear you whinge.Well actually, it's not really
- 15 minutes of practice and you'll quickly pick it up. Also, using
side actually makes some pots easier. Let me repeat that. It
makes some pots easier. Once you've practised a bit with using
side, you'll see that you need to change the aiming very slightly
(thicker for outside English, thinner for inside English). Once
you know this, you can aim thin cuts slightly thicker (which in
most cases makes pots more straightforward). Take a look at this
example.
This is a very
difficult shot and can easily go wrong. In particular, the 9 is
just off the cushion (if it's stuck to the cushion it's generally
easier) which makes it even harder. Now, with a thin cut like this,
if you aim as normal the cueball will push the 9 to the right very
slightly (if you want to see scientific proof of this let me know
and I'll photocopy some pages from an excellent book on billiards
techniques). So you have to hit it thinner with centre-ball striking.
This increases the margin of error quite a lot.
Although it
may sound counter-intuitive, whenever I have a shot like this, I
put a medium amount of right hand side on the cueball and aim to
hit the 9 thicker, just thicker than the correct angle would be
if you discounted the pushing effect of the cueball. You can actually
get away with being off with your aiming by a cm or 2 either side
and the ball will still spin into the pocket. I
appreciate you may not believe me, but it's true. I use this
shot all the time and it still kinda shocks me when the ball goes
in. Try it in practice, you'll be amazed :)
3.
Bank shots (a.k.a. doubles)
Quick history
lesson again. Why do Americans call it 'banking'? Well it's all
because of the infamously corrupt banking system in the USA. As
you may be aware, the current financial crisis is due in part to
banks throwing money at useless mortgages but then by repackaging,
bounce them around and still end up making a profit. In the same
way in pool, you can aim into a useless cushion and you can nonetheless
'securitise' it into a triple-A rated, highly profitable pocket.
The most important
thing you need to know about doubles on American pool tables is
that you need to widen the angle. The cushions
on American tables will straighten the ball up a lot more than English
pool tables, so if you see what looks like a perfectly straight
double, you need to aim slightly off centre.
Here's an example
of what looks like a straight double. The angle is perfect so that
if you drew a straight line down the centre of the 9 and off the
cusion at the same angle, it will go into the centre pocket. Sadly
what will actually happen if you hit at anything stronger than pocket-weight
is that the 9 will travel along the blue line. So aim slightly left
of centre on the 9 - this takes a lot of practice but once you realise
this basic fact about American cushions, it makes doubles a lot
easier.
Now, you can
use this knowledge of how the cushions work to your advantage when
it looks like the double isn't on at all. Basically, the harder
you hit, the straighter the object ball will bounce off the cushion.
So in the following example, what appears to be the correct angle
if you hit the 9 in the middle is that it will go wide. And of course
as you know if you hit the 9 slightly to the right, the double kiss
is inevitable. But if you hit the centre of the 9 and smack it hard,
it will straighten up a lot and follow the blue line:
4. Tactics
"Tactics?
This is 9-ball yo!" I hear you protest. Well, I agree, 9-ball
isn't as strategically sophisticated as 8-ball, but being the sneaky
devious git I am at 8-ball, I tried to apply the same philosophy
to 9-ball. In 8-ball, it's all about potting the black before your
opponent does, and doing whatever it takes to ensure that goal.
With 9-ball you're somewhat handicapped by the fact that the balls
are numbered for you, so you don't really think about strategising
too much, you just keep potting the balls in order. One thing I
noticed, and which I'm sure you have as well, is that you can often
win in 9-ball when your opponent has done all the hard work, but
then misses and leaves you a couple of straightforward pots to win.
I thought "hmmmm, how can I manufacture such a situation...".
The key is when the balls aren't open, and there's a cluster of
unpottable balls somewhere on the table. Let's imagine this is the
table, and you're in play:
Chances are
you're rather
excited about all those easy balls over the pockets. So you
just start potting away, chuckling to yourself at the sitters just
lying there for you. But wait... have you noticed that disgusting
cluster of balls near the cushion there? Yes I know, you'd rather
not think about that right now, it's too painful. You'll hopefully
have a perfect angle on the 6 to develop them maybe? Don't be an
idiot. Let your opponent deal with that nightmare.
What I did rather a lot at last year's 9-ball championships, and
which was incredibly effective was deliberately miss an
easy pot. In the table above, for example, I would pot
1,2,3,4 and 5 and then mysteriously miss the 6 and leave it hanging
over the pocket. "D'oh! How could I have missed that",
I exclaim while
rubbing my mind's hands with glee. Now my opponent has to pot
the 6 and somehow open up the cluster. Don't get me wrong, he might
manage - but to be honest the standard of uni 9 ball players isn't
that high, save for the top 10-15. The chances of them a) disturbing
the cluster AND b) leaving themselves with a shot
on the 7 are very, very low. More likely they'll miss entirely (in
which case you have an easy snooker to lay with ball in hand) or
have no pot on the 7. Either way you're in a much stronger position
than if you had tried to disturb them yourself.
Umm... and yeah
that's pretty much the only tactic I know of in 9-ball - oh wait
- there's one other very useful tactic which you can use, especially
during desperate times. It's one of the best-kept secrets in 9 ball
and if you do it right it can bring rich rewards. I probably shouldn't
even be telling you this... but here goes.
Smash
the balls as hard as you can; something will probably go in if you
hit them hard enough.
-------------------------
Part
2: Martin's 9-ball tips
First off I
have to admit that I am a huge fan of 9-ball, and if my tips and
comments on 9-ball seem to slightly patronize English 8-ball, this
is mostly intentional. Lee has already covered most of the basics
so I've decided to give some more advanced tips and hints to improving
your game. Note that many of these ideas are simply ideas. 9-ball
allows for a lot more creative shotmaking than 8-ball and the most
effective solution is not always the most straightforward shot.
Caroms and angles
and rails (oh my!)
Also know as a billiard,
it means striking an object ball, controlling the white sufficiently
for it to run into another object ball (usually a sitter, and preferably
the nine), pocketing it. Not very often used in 8-ball for pocketing
purposes, but it still allows you to creatively win games in spectacular
ways.
9-ball is all about controlling
where the white goes and there are 2 easy rules to determine which
angle the white will take upon impact.
The "v" rule:
is used to show where the white will go when you strike the white
with follow (top; meaning it's rolling on impact). Hold your palm
over the object ball and imagine where the white will hit; make
the "v" sign over it with the index finger indicating
the path of the white; the long finger (fuck you finger, after potting
the nine) makes a 30 degree angle which is the direction the white
will go after the object ball has been hit.
The 90 degree rule: is
used to show the direction of the white when it is not rolling at
al upon impact (either a very hard shot or a soft draw shot where
the draw has faded on impact). Make a reverse L with your right
thumb and index finger and place it over the object ball. Let your
thumb be the direction the object ball will be traveling. The index
finger will be the direction of the white.
This is extremely useful
in 9-ball as often the 9 gets stuck in the jaws, but you are left
with a hard (or none existing) combination shot. Knowing how to
control the white gives you an extra ace up your sleeve.
With some practice
you can start seeing some advanced carom shots taking form when
the run-out is uncertain, or there are many clusters.
It looks daunting
to play a three cushion carom shot, but most of 9-ball is all about
controlling the white and often you need to bounce it off several
cushions. Unlike 8-ball where if you screw up position on a ball
you are still left with other balls to shoot at, there is no Plan
B in 9-ball. Hence, often the easiest position is acquired through
shooting off 2-5 rails.
Rail first
Another positional aspect
not very common in 8-ball is hitting the rail first before pocketing
an easy ball in the jaw. This is more or less impossible with 8-ball
pockets as they are ridiculously unforgiving when shooting from
an angle, but allows you new angles to play with in 9-ball.
Imagine you
have the 7 sitting in the corner jaw; the 8 on the other side of
the table tight on the middle of the top cushion. Shooting with
follow might bring you too close to the centre of the table, ending
up with an impossible angle on the black. Drawing would be too difficult
and might leave you with a long shot. An option is shooting into
the rail first with inside English, hitting the cushion first, pocketing
the ball and then sailing into the top and long right cushions before
gaining the perfect angle for the black.
Advanced
banks
In 9-ball there
is a good chance of making bank shots off more than one cushion.
An example of the 2-rail bank is where the angle for a cut shot
is too steep. Hit the ball with inside English and watch the fireworks
Another key thing to
keep in mind is that the spin you impart on the cue-ball, is given
a reflection in the spin on the object ball. Roughly 2 % of the
spin you give the white, will transfer in the opposite direction
to the object ball. Hence, if you give the white heavy left English,
the object ball will get weak right English after they hit! Thus,
even if you don't have the angle for a bank you can try to create
it by using side.
Fouls
and safeties
A key concept of 9-ball
(and particularly for Solihull, as most players there are not used
to reading cushions for escaping), is knowing how to place safeties.
If you do not have an open pocket for a shot so not despair, but
try to place the white as close up to an interfering ball as you
can. There is no such rule as "total snooker" and the
player has to drive the object ball of white into the rail after
contact. Hence, when laying a safety, also think about how to seal
off as many rails so that your opponent is faced with hitting off
3 cushion or more.
This leads me to the
second ay of winning in 9-ball. 3 fouls! Always be aware that when
an opponent fouls, he only needs to foul 2 more times in a row to
conceded the frame. I often rather go for the snooker even if the
pot is wide open as it might allow me to break open a few clusters
at the same time as leaving my opponent with nothing. If the runout
then is on, you might go for it, but if things go awry always remember
that he only needs one more foul.
A very useful
shot for safeties is the stun shot. Shot pretty hard just a little
tiny bit over the centre of the cue ball, with the object ball close.
The object ball travels several feet, but the white nudges forward
just a couple of inches, nesting behind another ball.
Tactics can play a large part of 9-ball if you want
to, but this will often mean not being able to complete a runout
in one go.
A good tip is to think of two-way shots. Always
consider what will happen if you miss. Missing a ball is not too
bad, if your opponent cannot see the ball afterwards. However, you
have to be able to have a shot on your next ball too
Another sneaky tactic is using a shot to create
a cluster. If your opponent has snookered you really bad you might
consider nudging 2 balls together, making it just that much more
difficult as your opponent now has to break them up before he can
pot them. Of course you leave your opponent a ball in hand (so it's
better to try this earlier in the frame as there are more balls
to choose from), but the point is that he can't do anything with
it.
There are other
aspects of 9-ball that I'll discuss later, but the key thing to
remember about 9-ball is to be creative and think several shots
ahead. And don't be afraid to bounce them off the cushions!
