Of course we’d all rather have a clear open shot at the object ball, but in this article we’ll explore defensive options for kick shots, more specifically, kick shots where the object ball is close to the side rail. Next month, we’ll look at many other kick-safes with many different scenarios. But for now, we’ll start with shots where the object ball is close to the rail because those are easier to control. When an object ball is further away from the rail your margin for error decreases, which makes the safety more difficult. Many players make the mistake of thinking that when you’re hooked, just hitting the ball is enough to consider the shot successful. However, when you’re playing against very strong players, leaving an open shot is almost as good as giving them ball-in-hand, so having a clear plan is important. Let’s consider the 9-Ball layout below. This type of scenario comes up more often than you might think, whether the ball was originally tied up from the break or you or your opponent put it there as a safety.  In this particular shot, the cue ball has a clear path to hit a small part of the object ball, but this shot would be useful even if you’re unable to see the ball. When a ball is tied up you should have one of two objectives: 1) Open up the balls and leave your opponent with no shot OR 2) Keep the balls tied up and leave your opponent no shot. With this layout, it’s difficult to separate the tied up balls and play a controlled safety so we’ll examine an option of keeping the balls tied up. Many players would aim very thin on the left side of the 1-ball where the cue ball would first contact the 1-ball, then the rail, then it would come off of the rail and drift towards or behind the 5-ball on the opposite side. This is a perfectly good option but it’s also a very touchy shot where you could easily miss the safe or scratch in the side pocket if you don’t play the correct angle.  Another option that many people don’t think to play is similar, but instead you aim for the rail first and instead of sending the cue ball behind the 5-ball, you give it more speed and send it off the side rail down table and hope to block a shot on the 1-ball with either the 6-ball or by leaving the cue ball down towards the bottom rail. This too can be a touchy shot, and you may have to aim to hit just a very small sliver of the object ball depending on your exact layout. This shot actually comes up quite often so try setting up similar shots and practice how thick and how hard you need to aim in order to get the results you want. Another shot we should look at is when you’re hooked from the object ball, and it’s just a bit further from the rail than the shot before, but this time it’s not tied up.  In this case, many players are only concerned with making a legal hit on the object ball. However, you should always have a plan in mind of where you want the object ball and the cue ball to land after your shot. The “hit and hope” method has a low success rate for most. The most effective safety shot in this situation is where you can separate the cue ball and the object ball and likely even hook your opponent behind the ball that you were originally hooked behind. In order to achieve this, you want to kick off the side rail with low english so the cue ball has a little draw when it comes off the rail. You should set this shot up and get comfortable with how the draw affects the angle of the cue ball’s path off the first rail and in order to see what type of speed is good for different variations of this shot. Next month’s article will explore some different shots where you have multiple options for which rail to use in order to kick at a ball and how to choose the most effective shot.

Cristina De La Garza Cristina De La Garza is a WPBA Touring Professional from Austin, Texas. Cristina joined the APA in 2004 and competed in several top regional and national APA tournaments. She made her WPBA debut in 2008 and through her finishes in the 2009 season, earned her Tour card for 2010. She will share how her experiences in the APA shaped her development and taught her important concepts that she still applies to her game today. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Related Articles :
Cristina's Introduction to APA / Pro Players Play Safeties, Too! (Tuesday, April 20, 2010)
Cristina Instruction: Identifying Your Strengths and Weaknesses (Wednesday, May 26, 2010)
Cristina Instruction: In Over Your Head (Friday, July 02, 2010)
Cristina Instruction: Preparing for Tournaments (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)
Cristina Instruction: You Have to Learn How to Lose Before You Can Learn How to Win (Monday, August 16, 2010)
Cristina Instruction: Key 9-Ball Safety Shots (Wednesday, September 29, 2010)
Cristina Instruction: I’d Rather Be the Worst Than the Best (Tuesday, October 19, 2010)
Cristina Instruction: All is Fair in Love and Pool (Tuesday, November 16, 2010)
Cristina Instruction: Using English to Find New Paths for Shape (Monday, December 20, 2010)
Cristina Instruction: Setting Goals for the New Year (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)
Cristina Instruction: Coaching (Tuesday, February 22, 2011)
Cristina Instruction: Short-Rail Kicks (Monday, March 21, 2011)
Cristina Instruction: Back to the Basics (Friday, May 13, 2011)
Cristina Instruction: Finding the Tangent Line (Thursday, June 23, 2011)
Cristina Instruction: 10 Tips to Change Your Game (Tuesday, July 26, 2011)
Cristina Instruction: You Are What You Think You Are (Thursday, September 01, 2011)
Cristina Instruction: Tee Shot vs. Break Shot (Thursday, September 29, 2011)
Cristina Instruction: Run Out More 8-Ball Racks (Monday, October 24, 2011)
Cristina Instruction: Mastering Rail First Shots (Wednesday, November 23, 2011)
Cristina Instruction: 2-Rail Kicking System (Wednesday, December 21, 2011)