"A Ball Run - For A Running Fool"
Donny Lutz And Matt Sherman: The 8-Ball Debates
The first of my legendary debates with "The Grumpy Old Coach," Donny Lutz. All kidding and sarcasm aside, Donny is a master of 8-Ball strategy, expert in planning the next ball run-whether it is to run 10 racks of 8-Ball in a row or lead or coach a team to a national stage.
You'll savor every minute of our debates and add to your 8-Ball skills and strategies!
Q. Is It Best To Run As Many Balls As Possible Each Inning?
The Grumpy Old Coach: Generally speaking, no. Going for every shot is beginner's 8-Ball-the kind of 8-Ball that we played as kids in the '50s, and is still played in some bars, especially in the South. Eight-Ball is very much a game of complex strategy, which includes countless possible defensive maneuvers.
Those who call defensive shots "dirty pool" are living in the past. Such a philosophy would dictate that you would never kick a punt in football, or try to block a spike in volleyball. Rules that describe a legal shot actually prevent what was once called "dirty pool"-simply rolling the cue ball to a "safe" position.
I once saw an 8-Ball match between Nick Varner and Efren Reyes, arguably the two best in the world at the time. Nicky broke, made a ball, and proceeded to play five consecutive safeties before running the rack. He did not "go offensive" until he had all of his set of balls in position for an easy ball run.
Matt: C'mon, Donny. "The Kentucky Colonel" and "The Magician" played 8-Ball defensively? I don't believe it!
Take for example a strong intermediate player, able to pocket 85% of open object balls on a given table of 8-Ball. The player controlling stripes misses on their first inning and leaves all the solid or low balls. All our man has to do is run 8 balls to win. His odds? Statistically speaking, his win percentage will be 0.85 to the 8th power (85% multiplied by 8 shots) or 27.25%.
This fellow has approximately a 1 in 4 chance of running the table but you want him to hold back? After all, only 3 of 4 times or so will he miss the ball run, granting his opponent the table after he has cleared some but not all the traffic in the way to their ball run! :)
The G.O.C.: Which proves my point. If I buy your math, the win percentage of 27.25% is extremely low. I never go for the ball runout unless my odds are much better than 1 in 4.
Matt: 8-Ball experts frequently employ "two-way" defense, strokes with an eye to moving balls to improved positions. R. Givens' experience in The Eight Ball Bible is telling. He was running the table 20% to 40% of the time off the bat. The day he changed from attempting an immediate run to one inning of positional play beforehand, he doubled his percentage for that second inning.
At times you are "forced" to run to the eight or face a loss, but there is almost always a two-way shot possible.
The G.O.C.: I think the "two-way shot" that you refer to is an "offensive/defensive" shot, where one goes for offense and defense simultaneously.
Matt: Exactly. The goal of 8-Ball is discarded by weak shooters. Get position on then sink the eight. If you can't, avoid leaving just a ball or two plus terrible table position. We can do worse than emulate Varner vs. Reyes.
The G.O.C.: The only time it makes sense to go for every shot is if you are playing in a league that uses a point per ball scoring system, and your skill level does not include any knowledge of 8-ball strategy. I teach at least 15 varieties of defensive maneuvers, and all are used by champion 8-Ball players-who are smart enough to actually practice their safety shots.
I've actually won quite a number of 8-ball tournaments without running a single rack. Only fools and masochists go for every shot.
Donny "The Grumpy Old Coach" Lutz, BCA Certified Instructor, has recorded over 200 league and tournament titles including 43 league MVPs. Reach Donny at poolcool.zoomshare.com.
Matthew "Quick Draw" Sherman is the Guide to Pool and Billiards at About.com, a top five website millions of unique visitors monthly.
Donny and Matt live on opposite sides of Gainesville, Florida and are on opposite sides on many issues, but have somehow managed to win 5 doubles titles in recent years!
The 8-Ball Debates:Run Or Not Debate
Straight Cue Sticks Debate
8-Ball Or 9-Ball Debate
Bar Pool Tables Debate
Practice Methods Debate
Time Outs Debate
8-Ball Point Of No Return Debate
Break And Run Or Safety Debate
8-Ball Rules Debate
Break In 8-Ball Debate
Fantasy League Debate
