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© Copyright 2000, Jim Loy
I'm playing 8-ball here. I'm solids. My opponent has only one
ball left, near the corner pocket. I have a third ball up table. The eight is
near the spot. There are all sorts of safes here. I can play off my third ball
and leave him long on his ball. But I want to straighten out my clustered
balls.
I play safe off the green ball, leaving the position in the diagram on the right. My opponent kicks at his ball (banking the cue ball off the far end rail) and hits my balls softly, giving me ball in hand, with almost the same position that I had originally. I play the same safe, again leaving the position on the right. He kicks and comes up short. I have another ball in hand.
I play the combo with follow, making his
ball, and leaving the position in the third diagram on the left. I may have had
other shots (both balls in the bottom left pocket of the second diagram
perhaps), but the way I played it is just too tempting (and less risky). He
kicks (two rail) and misses the eight ball. I have another ball in hand and
win. Actually, I missed a relatively easy eight ball, and should have lost. But
the safety battle was a victory.
Here are a few "rules" that I like to live by, in eightball:
Rule #1: When your opponent has only one ball left, or just has the eight ball, he/she is often at your mercy, even if you have no good shot. You will straighten out your balls and leave him/her tough (long shots, banks, or snookered). They will make some of these tough shots, but you win more often. Make 'em suffer, as I did in the above safety battle.
Rule #2: If you are tempted to make one of your balls while calling safe, ALWAYS consider NOT making the ball. You may need that ball for shape (position) or a break.
Addendum:
Here is a situation (diagram on the
left) that came up in one of my games. I have solids, and I can make the green
ball, and leave myself a tough bank on the blue. I guess it is fairly obvious
that instead I need to bank the green to a rail and back to near its original
position, leaving the position on the right (making sure he cannot see the
eight). Then I may expect ball in hand, and an easy breakout. My opponent
should now shoot down my green ball, if he/she can, and the safety battle
continues. There are all sorts of positions in which you can play a killer
safe, leaving all possible avenues blocked.
I dream of playing a safe in which the cue ball ends up completely surrounded by my balls, so the cue ball cannot move without a foul. If done perfectly, we may have to remove the cue ball from that mess with some kind of suction cup.
Now I have something very important to talk about. Your are about to play a safety. Should you call "safe," or call a ball, or keep your mouth shut? First of all, you should probably not keep your mouth shut, as some opponents will interrupt your practice strokes and ask, "What are you shooting?" That can be upsetting. Why should you ever call "safe?" If no ball goes into a pocket, then it doesn't matter what you said, the position is either safe or not. Maybe calling "safe" is just a courtesy to your opponent, and will keep him/her from asking what you are shooting. No, don't believe that. This is only true if there is no chance of one of your balls going into a pocket, even with a miscue or some other miracle. In that case, you might as well call "safe."
But, if there is any chance at all of making one of your balls, then you should step back and decide, should I call "safe" or call the ball? You must assume that you are going to slop the ball in (miscue or two rails and two kisses or table roll or whatever), and then decide if you want to keep shooting afterwards. So here is my Rule #3: Don't call "safe" just because you don't expect a ball to go into a pocket. Call "safe" if you DON'T want to keep shooting after you slop the ball in against all odds. Call the ball if you DO want to keep shooting after you slop the ball in against all odds.
Tonight, one of my teammates had this shot on the
eight ball. Now there are possible safeties here. He could have knocked the
green ball into a pocket leaving his opponent with ball in hand but no shot at
the red, and maybe the game would be stalemated. He chose to make the combo on
the red and leave a tough shot on the green ball. He may have been trying to
move the eight to between the cue ball and the green ball. He called safe, and
the eight ball followed the red ball into the same pocket. Perhaps the cue ball
double kissed the eight ball into the pocket with follow. Perhaps he threw it
in with draw. He didn't explain what happened. Anyway, he should never ever
have called "safe," no matter how impossible it seemed that the eight ball
might go. He should have called "eight ball, right there," and then shot his
safe.